LOTAE
Act IV
"How are ya feelin', dear?" Jake's voice broke the fog of stupor and fantasy. Jade looked at his eyes, the same eyes her grandfather possessed. Years had passed and most of her life she had been apart from him but she still could fee kindness and love emanating from him. "Jade?" Jake placed a warm and soft hand on her shoulder and knelt down in the grass with her. God tier or not, strength of a first guardian was irrelevant, she couldn't help but feel weak. She sniffled and tried to hold in her tears. She had done enough crying over her loss it was time for action. "Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry!" her conscience beat her with the notion that she was strong and that her shattered heart would mend. "It's quite alright to shed tears, Jade, we all do from time to time." Jake's words tore down the walls Jade tried to erect to hide her despair. Jake wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight. The tears weren't as painful as before, she had gotten used to crying as of late. But she was comfortable, she was at home. "T...thank you grandpa." She whispered into his chest as he held her. Jake chuckled, "Not a problem, grandma."
Elsewhere and not too long ago, a pair of reunited kin, looking to break up the assumed romance between Jade and Jake meet to discuss plans. These plans, unlike ordinary plans are accompanied with the memories of times passed, and talk of love, infatuation and confusion. "John?" a female voice traveled under his door, meeting with his ears. "Jade?" John whispered to himself looking back towards the door to the hall. He watched as the door creaked and opened. It was Jane; she carried a look of determination in her eyes and a cake within her hands. John cringed at the sight of the colorful frosting, bright sprinkles. "Now John, you honestly can't hate cake after you've tried my cakes." She made her way into his room almost dropping the cake as she stepped across the threshold. "I'm… good … Jane…" He stared at the cake, all the memories coming back to him. His father's sick humor… his father's disgusting cakes…He was feeling sick to his stomach again. "What was it with Dad and Jane? Why did they like cake so much?" his mind tried to find some similarities, that kept it preoccupied as Jane approached with the disgustingly fluffy and sweet vanilla cake.
Before Jane could even make it half way across the room she placed her foot on a strange comic book with a blue woman on the cover and slipped. Both the cake and Jane came crashing to the floor but her fall was broken by her own cake. John was still in deep thought, contemplating the similarities between his dad and Jane when he looked at her. Jane pushed off the ground and she was covered in cake. She removed her glasses and saw John looking straight at her, trying his hardest not to laugh. Jane tried to shrug off her mistake by licking the frosting from her lips but it was too much for John. He started laughing so hard it could be heard down the hallway. Jane felt positively embarrassed and blushed at her blunder but John's laugh has an effect on people, they can't help but join in with him and that she did.
After a while the pair had calmed down and the laughter had settled John handed Jane a towel and she wiped the frosting off her face. It was silent for a moment; the two shared this peace and were content. They both grinned at each other and chuckled at their toothy grins. Jane interrupted John's laughter with her finger, on the end of it was some of the cake's frosting. "Now John, you seriously must try this cake. It's the bees knees!" he groaned at the thought of even attempting to ingest the sugary decorative cake covering but he trusted her. "Fiiiine." With that he opened his mouth and she placed the frosting onto his tongue. "There" she said with a smile, "So what do you think?" John tried his best not to try and spit the frosting back out while Jane sat back and watched, smiling and awaiting his praise. "It's… not half bad actually." He lied of course, to him all cake tasted bad. But she jumped with joy nonetheless. To any normal person without a background of taste bud abuse in the form of cake Jane's cake would probably taste wonderful. But something drove him to want to make her feel happy. "She reminds me of my Nana… I wish I could talk to her again. I wonder if Nana's cakes are better. I wonder if Jane would like her cakes. Maybe I should introduce Nana and Jane sometime, I'm sure they'd make great friends." His mind wandered for a bit while Jane whispered her plans to get Jake to notice her. John wasn't trying to be inconsiderate; he just couldn't focus because he had other people on his mind… or just one person. He wasn't particularly interested in the plans till Jane started talking about that one person; Jade. At the mention of her name he was suddenly interested. "We should definitely try making them jealous, I know Jake has or… had feelings for me, and I get the vibe that Jade liked you too." Jane was whispering so that no one besides John could hear her. "You think Jade likes me as more than a friend?" His sudden contribution to the conversation almost threw Jane off, and asking such an obvious question at that. "Of course she liked you, I can feel it!" Jane smiled, filled with confidence about her statement. "But… shes my sister… I guess… and what about Karkat's diagram?" John whispered to himself, but it wasn't quiet enough to pass by Jane's ears.
"JADE IS YOUR SISTER? …who's Karkat?" both of them had been whispering but the words rang out in his mind like she was shouting at him. He beat himself mentally for even thinking of uttering anything on the matter. John blushed as he thought again of himself and Jade. "Y…yeah she is my sister… I think." John was embarrassed, confused and stuttering. Suddenly the unthinkable had become apparent. John, her new friend and confidante, had some romantic feelings for his own sister. She didn't know how to proceed, and she sat in silence a moment. She certainly didn't condone that sort of thing – she grew up under the idea that it was wrong - but it must not be the same where he's from. To break the awkward silence she had to say something, and after some thought, she suppressed her own misgivings and responded, "It's quite alright with me, John. You should never question the love of another. I questioned love, and look at me." She shrugged and John raised his gaze from space to her eyes and saw that they were genuine and kind, the sort of eyes to bring comfort to those that took the time to look into them. And that they did. John smiled at her and she smiled back. "Alright Jane, how are we going to go about doing this?" John had suddenly taken more interest in the plan at hand, driven by the comfort Jane had brought him in his thoughts of Jade. His mind was at ease and they began talking and planning to get their unrequited loves back. The discussion was lacking from both members of the group. As they both were distracted by the memories and thoughts of Jake and Jade. All the things they would have done differently, all those things they wouldn't have said. "Why didn't I just tell him how I felt before we even started this dumb game?" Jane's mind had a habit of causing her to make poor choices, and then lecture her on making those poor choices. Before long into the plotting that the duo tried to do, but were failing miserably, the floor beneath them shook and was followed by a loud bang, something was slammed. "Was that a door? It sounded more like a gunshot." John was surprised by the noise but Jane had something else on her mind. "Someone must have left the tower… Maybe Jade left, which means Jake would be alone… it wouldn't hurt to check." Jane didn't know if either Jade or Jake left but she didn't want to pass up the chance to tell him how she felt in private. She opened the door to the hallway and looked outside. The hallway leading to Jake's room was still and void of life besides the occasional vine or foliage in a windowsill. John looked out the window, captivated by something outside. Jane couldn't stop to find out what; she had to get to Jake. While she searched, John would sit and daydream as he looked out the window.
The snow was soft, the wind was comforting and Jade's body was warm as she sat on top of John, pinning him to the ground. "She's just playing right?" John's mind raced as she pressed her hands on his shoulders. "Something tells me that she doesn't want to play catch anymore…" he thought to himself as he realized the situation he was in. "Whoa, this is going way too fast." His conscience was firing all the warnings to stop what he was doing, but for what? Because it was going too fast? Is that the worst thing his conscience had to offer? His sister had mounted him and was pinning him to the ground. "Get her off?" his conscience suggested but he decided against it, "Why?" At that moment it was just them, boy and girl, brother and sister, no one to tell them this was wrong. The proximity of her body to John's, as well as the feelings that he had repressed which were now surfacing intoxicated him. They shared air, they shared touch and they were to share each other. Drunk with love he did what now came naturally. He let his abilities go freely as the wind curved and worked its way over her body like his hands wished they could. The results of his efforts were immediate, her eyes widened from his endeavor. She was unfamiliar to this touch and she enjoyed it deeply, and he couldn't get enough of her heat. She was blushing; the red in her cheeks was easily noticeable. " I didn't know gods blushed, Jade" he said playfully. It didn't remain one sided in "endeavors" for long as Jade made her intentions known, "She wants to kiss me?" his conscience mused. She had her hands resting on his shoulders but she had the space around them to use as she pulled him closer. "Just a kiss?" John lost his sense of guilt and restraint. He too was blushing then, and Jade noticed, "I didn't know gods blushed, John" she smiled as she said it and moved closer. "Did I honestly find nothing wrong with this?" he had trouble thinking clearly. "Where was the voice of reason?" he asked himself, there was no response. "It's better than kissing a corpse." He wanted this, he wanted Jade, so it wouldn't hurt to try and find out. He caressed her back and scratched her ear as he leaned into his first real kiss. This isn't how he pictured it, but he wouldn't want it any other way. As John moved towards Jade and she towards him a whistle sounded through the air. "Goddamn, that ball" his thoughts snapped out of the embrace of passion and he knew the ball was coming down towards them. "I can't let it hit her." as the thought came to him he had moved to the side and grasped the ball before it hit Jade. Just as he had caught it, she had kissed his cheek instead of her intended target. He looked into her eyes, a look of disappointment within them. "What went wrong?" he wished he had mind reading abilities because what was going through her head was a mystery to him. "Why can't we kiss now? Did I do something wrong?" he would give anything for a second chance. But now he'd have to get her back.
John's daydreams were distracting him and he had work to do. He had to get Jade back as Jane had to get Jake back and the sooner the better. He left his room quickly and preceded down the hall way to locate Jane, "Maybe she'll be in her room" he said to himself.
Elsewhere a young woman was confronting her biggest challenge yet, "Tell him you love him, damn it!" Jane nearly shook in her shoes as she stood before Jake English in his room. He pushed his glasses up on his face, a bead of sweat ran down his brow. "Is he nervous?...Does he know?...WHAT DOES HE KNOW?" Jane started breathing deeply; in through her nose and exhaling through her mouth, she had to calm down. "Is everything alright, dear?" Jake went to continue but Jane stopped him; she wanted to be the first to talk and get this off her chest. Her hand was on his chest as she stopped him, his eyebrow raised at her advance. "CAN YOU GET ANY MORE OBVIOUS? YOU'RE PRACTICALLY FEELING HIM UP!" she squinted as her thoughts continued berating her. "Ladies first aside here, dear, I have something I think you might want to hear." Jake's words were the hammer to her pessimism as he broke through her mental catfight with herself. "Y..yes?" she stuttered, "DEAR GOD WOMAN HOLD YOURSELF TOGETHER!" her conscience might as well have been standing next to her beating her with a rolled up newspaper every time she made a mistake. It was nearly unbearable how much she stumbled around topics like this. Jake steeled himself for the words that he had to say, as if he were preparing to exhume the world's biggest secret and it would nearly kill him to do so. As Jake prepared to risk life and limb to tell Jane this innermost secret John was also about to tell Jane something. "Hey…Jane? Wake up." He shook Jane as she slept in her bed. She was wearing her skirt and t-shirt. "She must have changed before heading to sleep I guess." John shrugged as he nudged Jane's arm. She didn't wake, she only stirred in her sleep. Jake, still talking to the Jane residing within his room, took his time. Every word had to be perfect and understandable. "Jane, dear, I have feelings for a certain woman…" he mentally patted himself on the back, "Bravo, Jake , my boy. Keep her in suspense, don't want to scare her off now do we?" he grinned and proceeded with his revelation. "…This certain woman, this certain young and beautiful woman sporting the cutest bucktooth grin I've ever seen, has had a place in my heart for a while now." She blushed and tried to hide her nervous smile. But her conscience had other plans for these kind words, "What if he's talking about Jade, she also has a bucktoothed smile!" she frowned at the thought but Jake continued. "And I do so enjoy the way she sports a beautiful pair of eyeglasses and a skirt that tickles my fancy." Jane nearly jumped for joy at the characteristics that fit her to the letter but it wasn't specific enough for the pessimism within her. "JADE HAS THOSE SAME CHARACTERISTICS… JAKE GET TO THE POINT!" Jake scratched his head and looked at the ceiling then at Jane's shoes, "The point, my dear, that I'm trying to get to is that I'm in love with …" her mind blanked for a second and she fell to the floor "WAIT NO, YOU GET UP RIGHT THIS INSTANT. WHO DOES HE LOVE? WHOOOOO!" only moments later she awoke in her bed. "So cliché… the suspense is killing me…" she thought to herself. John shook her again and her eyes opened slowly. "J…jake?" John shook his head, "It's me, John." Jane rolled over facing the wall opposite from John, she wasn't angry with him, but interrupting a monumental secret like that will definitely bring a girl down in the dumps. Before John could say another word Jake walked in carrying Jane in his arms. She was dressed in the golden Prospitian garb and was sound asleep. "Now I get it." John said to himself. "We should take "you" back to Prospit, my dear." Jake said as he placed Jane in a chair next to the bed Jane was in. "I'll go grab Jade and we'll head there now." With that he left Jane's bedroom and went down stairs to exit the tower. Quietly to herself, Jane sighed and a tear rolled down her face where the pillow she rested her head on absorbed it. "He was obviously talking about Jade, why would anyone choose you over a god?" the tears came in accordance with the depression sweeping over Jane's mind. Rather than standing there silently John reached over and wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. She was surprised by his embrace and welcomed it, he was the only one she could entrust her feelings to here.
-gardenGnostic , ectoBiologist have been added to memo— FRUITY RUMPUS ASSHOLE FACTORY, BORING ROAD TRIP THROUGH THE FUCKING AFTERLIFE EDITION - WE'RE HERE, ASSHOLES.
CCG: OK "ASSHOLES" WE'RE ALMOST AT YOUR GOGDAMN "NEW SESSION" OR WHATEVER. KEEP THE BLACK SLUDGE YOU CALL COFFEE HOT BECAUSE WE GOT SHIT TO TALK ABOUT.
GG: Oh not you again…
EB: Hey Karkat! It's been a while!
CCG: YEAH ITS BEEN THREE FUCKING YEARS SINCE YOU SEXUALLY ABUSED ME WITH A DRIVE BY BUCKETING YOU ASS.
GG: what…?
CCG: WE'LL TALK WHEN WE GET THERE, KEEP YOUR PANTIES ON. NO REALLY KEEP THEM ON WE DON'T NEED ANYMORE SUGGESTIVE THEMES AFTER THE SHIT THAT WENT DOWN IN THE LAB.
EB: I wonder if we have any stairs I could use…
CCG: …WHAT? NEVERMIND, LETS MEET AT PROSPIT, WE'LL BE ENTERING THE SESSION SPACE SHORTLY I FUCKING GUESS. ROSE KEEPS UPDATING ME ON OUR JOURNEY STATUS BUT I COULD FUCKING CARE LESS WITH THAT DOGHEADED FUCKTARD AND EQUALLY DOGHEADED PROSPITIAN FOLLOWING US.
John and Jade, both in unison shook their heads. Bec Noir is coming and now there's two of him? These thoughts would have to wait, the trip back to Prospit was before them.