Sorry for the delay folks, real life is kicking my hindside of late. Also, this chapter required a bit of research too, you'll see what I mean.
Jack stalked up to the picnic table the friends had commandeered for their regularly scheduled meet up, fury written onto every line of his face. Chucking his bag to the ground with a previously unseen viciousness, he threw himself into the open seat next to Aster. He slammed his notebook onto the table so hard that Tooth's Grande iced tea half-sweet nearly toppled off the edge, causing her to squawk in surprise and grab for it. Jack grunted in her direction in what could be vaguely considered and apology, but was so far outside of his usual dubious charm and good cheer that it was only worrying. They table fell silent, four pairs of eyes staring holes into jack as the boy sat there, tense and angrily flipping pages until he reached a fresh one, scribbling the date into the top corner so hard the pen tore through the page. It was only then that the boy deigned to lift his head and address his companions.
"The fuck is everyone staring at?"
Ah, Aster thought, absorbing the shock and sudden bashfulness of his tablemates, apparently angry Jack was scary Jack.
At least, scary to everyone else currently sitting there staring at the boy, all agape. Aster was barely even phased. Honestly, the boy was allowed to be pissed off sometimes, no one was that happy-go-lucky all the time. Not that it excused him from taking it out of his friends, mind you. Aster had seven sisters, a mother, and no father or brothers to stand with him in masculine solidarity. No amount of misguided teenage angst could possibly top the mood swings of eight women in the throes of simultaneous premenstrual syndrome. No need for panic here folks, Aster totally had this.
"So what bug flew up yer nose?" Aster didn't even flinch when that surprisingly hard, steely glare settled onto him.
"Excuse me, asshole?" Ok, now that almost earned Jack a raised eyebrow, if only because he usually didn't resort to such blatant name-calling.
"Look Jacko, you're pissed. It's pretty damn obvious. So if you think we're just going to sit here and let you work it off on us, or not offer to listen to a mate in need, then you're stupider than I thought."
"I'M NOT FUCKING STUPID!" Now that, that did make Aster blink. In fact the whole table flinched at the sudden outburst, the students at the tables nearby turning to stare. There... was a lot of old hurt there, that much was obvious. Aster opened his mouth but didn't have time to say anything because Jack was leaping to his feet, snatching wildly for his bag to make a run for it. Aster reacted purely on instinct; leaping up to grab the boy's shoulders and forcibly sitting them both back down. The angle pulled Jack closer to Aster's body, the tow of them nearly overlapping each other on the narrow bench. Jack made a sound that could only be described as a snarl, twisting in Aster's firm grasp in an attempt to escape. Aster for his part simply dug his fingers into bony shoulders, surprised by how little there was to the boy beneath his perpetually oversized clothes. Jack struggled harder, digging his fingernails into the back of Aster's hands in an effort to make him let go, and finally, Aster lost his patience.
"ENOUGH!" The volume was impressive, for sure, startling the surrounding tables once again, but it was the totally no-nonsense tone that actually made the boy freeze, brilliant blues snapping up to meet Aster's own warm green. "Enough Jack." Aster said, voice softer, soothing, hands released the boy only to rub gently at the likely bruise shoulders. "Whatever's got you so riled up can be fixed, yeah? You just gotta tell us about it." Jack stared back, obviously debating the merits of discussion versus fleeing; seeming to know that if he tried to leave again, Aster wouldn't stop him this time. Of a moment, he sighed, slumping into Aster's shoulder. Aster for his part didn't say a word, just held the boy a bit tighter, wrapping one arm around the skinny shoulders to hold the boy, and the other moving up into unnaturally white hair to massage the boy's scalp.
Jack stayed, silent and needy in Aster's arms for a few long moments, before he finally began to speak. The words were slightly muffled but still audible where his mouth was pressed into Aster's collarbone, the warm exhale of his breath making Aster shiver just a little.
"Memory loss, reduced attention span, poor judgment and decreased coordination." Huh, sounded like a laundry list of hardcore suckage right there, Aster couldn't help but think, even if he wasn't sure of the relevance.
"Jack, we don't understand…" Tooth broke in gently, and Jack shifted his head a bit so he could crack one eye at her, the action moving his mouth away from Aster's skin and filling the taller man with disappointment.
"Those are the side effects of mild Cerebral Hypoxia." Across the table, Aster saw Sandy sit up a bit straighter, the expression on his face saying in no uncertain terms that the name had meaning to him.
"Jack, what is this... Hypo something you tell of?" North's usually booming voice had taken on a gentle quality, the kind you'd hear someone using to soothe an easily startled animal. Which wasn't inaccurate, as Aster could feel Jack's quickened heartbeat within his skinny chest where Jack was pressed to him. Quick, skittish, rapid heartbeat and ready to bolt at a moment's notice? Jack was just a frightened rabbit right now, nothing more. The boy in Aster's arms swallowed audibly, tensing slightly before pushing himself back up, arms crossing tightly over his chest as he began to explain.
"When I was fourteen, I took my kid sister ice-skating o the local pond. All the kids went, but that year had been warmer than most. We knew enough to stay away from the middle, at least the older kids did, but I looked away for just a moment, and when I looked back, Emma was too far out, and I could hear the ice cracking. I grabbed a hockey stick, took my skates off and tried to get closer. The ice was cracking more and more, and she was so scared, and I just kept telling her it would be okay. And it was, for her, she was able to grab the end of the stick and I pulled her off the thin ice. I was too heavy though, and I fell under. At least, that the story as I've been told it. I don't actually remember. I woke up in the hospital three days later missing two years worth of memories and was told that I'd flatlined three times in the ambulance They thought they were going to lose me."
Jack pauses here, obviously shaken, and Aster can't stop himself from reaching out to place a hand on the boy's knee in reassurance. Jack shoots him a quick, grateful grin, placing his and over Aster's and lining their fingers together.
"I was without oxygen for about seven minutes before some of the observing parents managed to pull me out and start CPR. I should have been a vegetable, but the funny thing about cold water is that it actually buys you a little bit more time. I lost the memories though, and things were… harder, after. I changed. I got flightier, less focused, more prone to making poor decisions, and I got clumsier. My art got harder, like, my fingers just didn't want to listen anymore. I went to psychologists and physical therapists and doctors and specialists and its gotten better, but the lack of air… well, it shows sometimes." Here, Jack's face settled into an expression so flat Aster knew that he could only be trying to hide the hurt. "I hate being called stupid. Dumb, idiotic, retarded, stunted, I hate it all, cause it's technically true. I'm brain damaged."
The table was utterly silent for a moment, the occupants carefully absorbing that thought. It was Sandy who spoke first, Leaning forward, two fingers tapping his throat in a repeat of the gesture he'd made the first day they'd met, Sandy's smile seemed to say 'it's okay, you're not the only special snowflake at the table.' Jack must've gotten the message, because he smiled.
"You guys… it doesn't matter?"
"It matters to us, only because you are friend! Better understanding of you only strengthens these bonds. We do not care about differences Jack, you are exactly who you are meant to be!" Nicholas was back at top volume, beaming across the table like a proud Papa at the younger boy. Jack couldn't help but smile even wider despite having to wipe furiously at his suddenly watery eyes; Nick's grins were infectious that way. And those weren't tears, no, just a bit of hay-fever acting up, for sure. "Besides!" The large Russian continued, "Aster is a vegan! That is much worse a little bit of forced breath-holding."
"Oi! Lay off, mate! I can eat what I want!" Aster snapped back, but there was little real heat. This was an old argument between them, and neither really carried any actual hurt feelings about the snide comments and little digs. "If we're going to be like that, then you absolutely have to know that Nick was born without an indoor voice, and what a handicap that is, let me tell you." This made Jack laugh a little.
"Devilishly handsome though. I wanna show Santa his picture, so he'll know what I want for Christmas. So if a fat man puts you in a bag one night, you better brace yourself, Nick!" Jack leaned forward, resting his chin on one hand and batting his eyelashes dramatically at the aforementioned man while making kissy faces. This sent the larger man into uproarious laughter, as most of Jack's antics usually did now that everyone was used to his over-the top flirtation. Even Tooth couldn't stop the unladylike snort of amusement. Aster, despite the momentary flare of jealously, couldn't quite hold back his own chuckle, giving Jack's hand a bit of a squeeze beneath the table. The boy looking over at him sidelong, nearly drowning Aster with that liquid blue gaze. And okay, possibly a bad choice of metaphor, all things considered, but Aster's brain never quite seemed to function properly in Jack's presence. Must've been the dyed hair, that white was very distracting.
"Well, if we're airing our personal faults, I have a violent temper." The whole table turned to look at Tooth, skeptical. "No, really!" She insisted, sitting forward. "There's a reason why Pitch started the whole Tooth nickname, you know."
"Aaaannnd…?" Jack leaned closer in anticipation.
"And, well, I might have punched him in the face once. And maybe, knocked out an incisor?" Tooth looked suddenly shy, like the judgment of god himself was about to rain down. What she got was an overly enthusiastic Jack practically vibrating out of his seat.
"Oh. My. GOD! Tooth, are you serious? What the hell, how'd that even happen?" Jack crowed, bouncing so hard he was nearly tumbling off the bench. Sandy was blinking, obviously shocked, and Nick was torn between looking slightly horrified, and a lot impressed.
"Well, he's mellowed a lot since then, let me tell you! But, three days into term our freshman year I ran into him in the hall by accident, and spilled my frappuchino on one of those god-awful vampire shirts he wears. Anyway, he loses his temper and called me a 'clumsy, tawdry, painted whore.' I responded with a right hook. In retrospect, I think I only did so much damage because he wasn't expecting it. So there he is sitting on the ground, bleeding from his mouth and just staring at me like I'm some kind of crazy lady, and I, well…" here Tooth fidgets looking absolutely mortified. "I kinda flipped him a quarter and told him that he could have my 'tips' for the day to call someone who cared."
That does it; Jack actually does tumble from the bench he's laughing so hard, nearly dragging an equally hysterical Aster down by their still-conjoined hands. Sandy is red-faced and howling his strange, soundless laughter, and Nick is pressing loud, smacking kisses to one of Tooth's flushed cheeks, murmuring to her of his pride in his 'little warrior queen.' Tooth has the grace to look abashed at her poor behavior, speaking louder to be heard over the commotion.
"I apologized to him later, once I'd calmed down. I even offered to pay his dental bill, but he waved it off and said it'd teach him to underestimate the Tooth Fairy, now wouldn't it? Anyways, the nickname spread, and now, even the teachers call me Tooth. I don't mind it, really…" Tooth still looked a bit sheepish, not that Aster could blame her. Beside him, Jack had righted and calmed himself, as had Sandy and Nick. They settled into a comfortable silence then, for a moment, just enjoying the sun and the company. Eventually, Jack stirred, picking up his forgotten pen and readying his notebook.
"So, to work, my lovelies?"
"To work!" Sandy signed, and laughing, they did.
And if Jack took his hand again under the table, well, Aster wasn't going to say anything against it.