A.N. ~ fair warning, there is mild swearing ahead. Not excessive in my opinion, but that's up to you to decide. Just thought you'd like to know, and if you'd prefer I avoided cursing completely, say so in the comments and I'll make do without them...also, blood and violence in this chapter. If you don't want to read it, don't read this story, period. You just shouldn't get involved with Creepypasta if you don't like it.
Jakara slowly blinked open her eyes, relieved that the mattress and blankets around her were warm…until she remembered that she'd fallen asleep on the couch. She turned her head to come face-to-face with wide, unblinking grey eyes that stared blankly ahead and an unnaturally wide smile.
Jeff, what the heck? Why'd you move me? …how did you even fall asleep like that? She tried imagining sleeping without being able to close her eyes, wondering at the whole thing and just shaking her head slightly. She'd never understand how he could manage never blinking. The shower must suck for him, she realized.
It was dark out, but with a slightly bluish-purple tinge that hinted at the first rays of sunlight. The fifteen-year-old actually didn't mind waking up around this time, since it meant she got to lie in her warm bed and doze.
At least, normally it did. Something about having a murderer lying right next to her, staring and not seeing, unnerved her.
But then she remembered their earlier conversation, back when he'd asked her opinion of him. He'd actually seemed somehow…innocent when he did, like a small child questioning the meaning of an insult he wasn't familiar with that had been directed at him.
Examining Jeff's overall appearance once again (and shoving an image of the Joker out of her mind) Jakara studied the thick, messy hair that sprawled chaotically around the boy's shoulders. His eyes, although abnormally wide and round, were, when she thought about it, actually a nice shade. Especially since pale eyes looked somewhat vivid when outlined with black, as his were. The irises were light grey, but dark enough to make them resemble the rainclouds that hadn't left the city for weeks.
His mouth, although scarred, was proportionate to the rest of his face, though since he was whiter than his hoodie (which she'd washed out and bleached), he seemed somewhat ghostly, appearing almost sick when he slept.
"Like what you see?" She jumped, realizing with an almost florescent blush that he had woken up, obviously long enough to see her scrutinizing stare.
"As a matter of fact…" The blush somehow increased as she realized what had just left her mouth.
Blast it, autopilot, did I say you could turn on, she silently demanded, wishing she could disappear.
To the student's surprise, however, faint pink could be seen brushing the killer's face as well and they simultaneously averted their eyes.
This weird feeling…don't tell me I'm actually—Jakara cut herself off, shaking her head in denial. There was no way in this or any other universe that she was actually starting to…crush on the scarred teenager beside her.
Great, that protective urge is back. I swear, she's worth killing some days. I can't believe I actually give a crap about this little…sarcastic…funny…twerp? Jeff almost face-palmed as his train of thought veered off its original course, straight into the territory he'd been trying to deny.
"H-hey, Jeff?" He glanced out of the corner of his eye to where the girl was still blushing and staring at the ceiling.
"Mm?"
"Why'd you move me?" His blush increased and he looked away.
"No reason…" Like heck if he was actually going to admit he'd been having nightmares. Especially to the annoying girl beside him who never failed to return any jabs he made at her…or make a joke he'd not expected…or give him correction or a scolding fearlessly, actually as though she couldn't care less about his status as a murderer.
She actually had the nerve to sleep with him in the same house as though she trusted him not to do anything bad, stretch in ways that exposed her neck and stomach - actually making them larger targets…the list was probably endless in the ways she managed to anger him.
She's really stupid, brave, or crazy, he, for the umpteenth time since meeting her, thought.
"Like what you see?" The mumbled, somewhat hesitant question brought him back to reality, making him realize that he'd been the one staring that time. His pale eyes darted away from Jakara's dark ones and the pink on his cheeks actually hit red.
"As a matter of fact…" That was just about the final straw and they couldn't even look at each other for almost ten minutes, trying to stop the blood from rushing to their cheeks and get over the embarrassment. Not to mention the conflicting emotions.
Well, that confirmed it, what with the part where I look like a tomato and the happy buzz in my chest when he said he…crap, I'm freakin' crushing on a killer. My first crush in…forever, and it's on Jeff the flippin' Killer. Something really is wrong in my head.
…great, I can't even find any motivation to lie to myself 'cause I wouldn't believe me anyway. I actually don't want to ever hurt this little bra…joker. I'm getting protective, and it's for someone I've known for…five days. Fan-fricking-tastic.
Jakara leaving the bed drew his attention and Jeff watched as she opened her closet, grabbing a pair of loose, dark brown pants, a thin blue T-shirt with a V-neck, and snatching her trademark grey hoodie off its hanger before exiting the room.
Dang, that girl's—he actually slapped himself before the thought could finish.
"You're a murderer, idiot. You don't do 'nice'. Or 'friendly', or anything! You kill, feel happy, and have a nice nap." He got up, rubbing his fingers over the rough, leathery skin of his face and carefully fingering away sleep.
In a little while, Jakara was at the couch, sifting through her backpack as usual before nodding her satisfaction and checking the watch she'd donned in the bathroom.
"Six fifty-eight. Oh, joys."
Guess that's not so bad. At least I won't be late...
"I'm getting breakfast. Probably won't be back down, so I'll see you after school. You know the drill." He nodded, waving slightly and having the gesture returned before the girl shuffled up the stairs, leaving him alone once again.
Jakara felt the strong hand on her arm and twisted to see a stone about to hit her head. She raised her free arm to block it, but a fist drove into her stomach and she doubled over, giving the mysterious attacker a chance to successfully land a blow with the rock.
The teenager fell into a roll, jumping back to avoid a knife and finally seeing the face of her opponent. He was a man probably around his mid-forties with dark brown hair like hers, but with black eyes.
Her vision blurred slightly and dizziness caused her to stagger. The rock had narrowly missed her temple, and the headache pounding through her skull was worse than anything she'd experienced before.
A hand wrapped around her neck and she was slammed against a stone wall, lifted up off the ground. Her eyes made out the flash of a knife heading towards her chest and she shoved her left arm in the way, losing a screech as the blade plunged into her skin.
But the pain wasn't her enemy. It woke her up, brought reason back to her panicking mind and helped her realize that she was being held up, and her feet were conveniently level with a certain place no men wanted to have hit.
And so she kicked as hard as she could, being dropped and receiving the satisfaction of a pained howl. "J-jerk, serves you right," she wheezed, coughing a few times before staggering to her feet.
The man grabbed one of her ankles, pulling her back down and slashing at her throat. She jerked back, unable to block and not escaping completely. The fifteen-year-old gasped as the blade ran through her skin, kicking his face before wriggling away to stand and run. Looking back, one hand cupping the seeping gash on her neck, she saw him slowly getting up.
"Dead, you little rat! You and everyone you love! I swear!" Chills tingled down her spine. His voice was…scary. Not in a completely threatening, thundering way. What frightened her was how it became shrill and broke. He sounded insane.
Jeff heard the door slam and smirked. He knew it was Jakara, but still, he hid around the corner of the hallway, preparing to jump out and determined to not end up on his back again.
But something was wrong with these footsteps. They were unsteady, and the brush of fabric against the wall scratched in his ear. He stepped out and his eyes went as wide as humanly possible. The brunette was pressing her right hand against her neck, dripping blood anyway, and a red stain was blooming on the sleeve of her left forearm.
"What happened?" He noticed yet another blotch of red, this one on the right side of her head.
The student only looked up blearily at him before collapsing, setting the killer into motion as he quickly turned her upright before running to retrieve the first-aid kit from where she'd left it.
Jakara slowly opened her eyes, but let them slide back shut. She was on something soft and warm, and a blanket was on top of her. She shifted slightly and realized how heavy with sleep her limbs were. She truly didn't want to even move. Just doze off.
"Jakara, you better not close your eyes again or I'm burning your eyelids off, too." That woke her up more and she realized she was on the living room couch. Jeff was sitting on the floor beside her, looking annoyed and…concerned?
"Wh—" She weakly coughed. Her throat was sore and hurt, both inside and out.
"Yeah, princess, you passed out from blood loss. By the way, this makes us even. What happened?" She tried talking again, but it just hurt too much and she slowly dragged her right hand out from under the blanket, making as though she was writing with a pencil.
Sighing, the boy left the room, returning in a couple minutes with a sheet of scrap paper and a pen.
'I was attacked. He tried killing me.' The annoyance on Jeff's face darkened until he looked nearly murderous.
"You got away, then?" She nodded. "Left a blood trail?"
'Probably. I don't know.' Then fear stretched across her face and she began writing quickly. 'He said he'd kill anyone I loved. Time?'
"About six forty."
'Jacy.' She underlined it and looked worriedly at him.
"Ah, I don't know. Dinner's not ready, but you can just say you're sick." He touched the bandages he'd wrapped around her head. "As for these, you can just say you slipped and hit your head. It's wet enough to make that believable."
'No. I mean what if he goes after Jacy?' The boy frowned.
"Can't your sister take care of herself? You're bad enough, what about an older version of you?"
'She doesn't study martial arts. She's tough, but this guy almost killed me.' Her eyes practically begged him and Jeff sighed.
"Fine. Where's your sister and what does she look like?" The brunette pointed to a picture of her and her sibling, and while the killer examined it, she wrote down the address of where the older girl worked. "Alright, I'm closing the blinds and locking the windows. Give me the key to the door. I'll slip into your bedroom through the window later, once you unlock it."
Jakara nodded, handing him the small bronze key and watching as he double-checked the knife in his pocket, locked the window, and went into the kitchen, reappearing a few seconds later and handing her one of the larger knives.
"You keep this under the blankets, and you use it on anyone who tries anything, got it?" She nodded and he briskly walked off to check other windows.
Jakara heard the door opening and closed her eyes, regulating her breathing and even allowing some drool to slip from the corner of her mouth, listening as footsteps she knew weren't her sister's approached.
As soon as they stopped, she swiftly drew the knife out from under the blanket, propping herself up on one arm and preparing to attack before stopping. Jeff was standing with a smirk in front of her. But she noticed that, unlike how he usually stood when stationary with his feet on almost the same line, one was back somewhat, as though he'd been preparing to retreat.
Then dizziness flooded her and she plopped back into her resting position, careful not to lie on top of the weapon and pulling the blankets back over her shoulder. She looked hopefully at the killer and his amusement instantly vanished.
"Sorry. He beat me there." His pale eyes moved away and Jakara stared, finally chuckling nervously, in a higher pitch than usual.
"Hey, that's not funny, Jeff. Where is she?" Her rasping voice escaped through a smile, which disappeared as he shook his head with a sigh. "You mean…"
"She's dead." The world seemed to stop and spin at the same time, and a whirlwind of thoughts tore through her mind.
Jacy's dead? No, no she's…but that means foster care—why the heck am I thinking about that?! My sister's dead and I'm already worrying about myself? But…why not? She's gone, so is it selfish to worry for myself? I feel bad about it. No, why am I not crying? I cried when mom and dad were killed in that fire, so why can't I now? So many other questions and bits of memories from time she'd spent with her sister crashed through the fifteen-year-old's thoughts.
Jeff sighed upon seeing her eyes wide and staring off blankly. Knowing she'd be unresponsive for a while, he left to find something to make their dinner with.
A.N. ~ yeeaahhh, I should probably mention that I have a habit of not sparing my OCs, so be careful who you love.