We pulled up in back and started unloading the cans to whoever came up to help. Nick took four, I had three, Jack grabbed two, and after I was introduced, Emma took the last. She was physically the exact opposite of her brother with brown hair and warm brown eyes, they were the same height, but not identical in their features. Emma was just as talkative as her brother, and their banter was animated enough to make even Koz chuckle. Which made all of us laugh.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Anna talking to that Allen kid, and noticed he didn't look pleased about something. Emma caught my stare, "He's pissed we're here." She provided.
"Why would he care who showed up to help?"
"He doesn't like Jack. Allen's a fake religious hypocritical ass." She hissed. Thankfully her twin was too busy signing away with Sandy to notice what was being said, but Koz did. He and I have known our fair share of ridicule; him less so than I. Koz had come out while in his early teens, a few years before we met, and while I always knew what gender I preferred, coming out when and where I did was not my brightest moment. Head of the art club and cricket captain in my final year… just not my finest idea.
"Jack's always been nice to him, apart from little pranks, but he's still a jerk to us," She went on, not noticing Koz and my stares, "I know my bub can be annoying sometimes with all his pranks, but he's harmless."
"So his mouth does get him into trouble, eh?" I smirked and the sheila gave me a look before trying to hide her snickers. Only then did I realize how it sounded and tried to back track.
"Not like th-" I started, but was interrupted by Jack.
"Only for you 'roo, only for you." He said insincerely, and grabbed my shoulder and placed a hand over his heart. Sandy fell off his bucket stool, and Koz was shaking as he tried to help his boyfriend up.
"Piss off you bloody brat!" I wanted to be mad, but barely made it to annoyed. Thankfully North came over to break us up and march us back to work.
By the end of the day six of the twelve booths we were given we fixed up, sanded, and primed for paint. We had nine tote boxes of lights, four of which were untangled and repacked for safekeeping. A few people were even nice enough to come by to drop off candy for the sprogs. Not bad for a Sunday.
North had taken a real liking to Jack. The boy had flung his paintbrush around and gotten white primer all over the mans' face, then proceeded to call him Santa for the rest of the day, and begged him not to put him on the naughty list. North thought it was hilarious. "I did not know you could read Russian, my boy!" He'd asked, gesturing to his two tattoos on his forearms.
"I can't, but you look like Santa, so Santa it is big guy." Jack replied.
The group Emma came with stuck to themselves, much like the group from the church. Emma and Jack hung with our group, and we all agreed that this was one of the best days we'd had in a long while. It was easy to laugh around them. Emma hovered between Anna and Sandy and Koz, much to my old friends' chagrin. She took great delight in pestering him, so that earned her brownie points with me. Jack mostly stayed with North, only popping over to bother me occasionally, but when he did it was with information only North and our group knew.
"So, your last name's Bunnymund? For real?"
"Shut your trap, mate. I know how it sounds, why do you think I hardly use it?" I sighed. Damnit North.
"I can totally see why."
The next time he came by was as pleasant as the first.
"You host the Easter Egg hunt too? Man it must be destiny, with your last name."
"Look here kid, just stop. I know how it looks. You're supposed to be helpin', not hinderin'." I growled.
"Do you dress up in a bunny costume?"
"No." Much to the groups' disappointment, I silently added.
"Maybe you should next year. I bet it'd be cute." He smirked, and off he went back to North.
I was thankful my back was to him at that comment or he would have seen the very faint red tint take over my face. And what the hell? I'm twenty-eight, will be twenty-nine in November. I couldn't even remember the last time I blushed at being called cute, even if it was being said in a teasing manner. This… this was not good. Jack was just a sprog. I shouldn't be getting worked up about this, but things needed to be finished so I locked those thoughts away while I dipped my paint roller again.
A while later things were still going smoothly. Booths were being primed, lights- untangled. Anna, and Emma were sorting candy, Sandy and Koz were walking the area to see how to best set things up and looking mighty pleased with themselves, I might add, then off to my left I heard Emma.
"Hey! Let him go!"
I looked back and saw Allen with his hands fisted in Jack's hoodie, there was white paint slashed across his face, in his hair, and splattered on his chest. He was a good two inches taller than Jack, and he looked to be snarling something at him. Jack had his hands up and and was trying to look as nonthreatening as he could, with a smile plastered on his face. I was halfway to them when the others noticed; North and Koz moving after me.
"What's going on?" I demanded as I placed my hands on both boys' shoulders to push them apart.
"It was just a misunderstanding, Bunny." Jack said, while throwing out a 'Sorry dude.' to Allen.
"It was not a misunderstanding, you freak." Allen spat.
"It was an accident, Allen. I didn't mean anything by it."
"Bullshit! You threw white paint on me and implied I was gay!"
Jack laughed. "I couldn't pass up on that joke, I really couldn't."
"I'm not a fucking faggot like you, Overland. Why are you even here? Don't you have a cock to be sucking right now, you little slut?" Allen shouted, and the venom in his voice surprised me. Some church goer he was.
I looked at Jack and he just shrugged. "I'm not the one covered in white, man." He said; there was an almost bitter quality to his tone, and while looking at him I didn't see Allen raising his fist. There was a crack, and Jack barreled into me face first. One of my arms came up around his shoulders, while I used the other to fling Allen away. I felt Jack being moved from my side, no doubt by North, and then I advanced on the other boy. I grabbed the back pf his shirt and wrung it up as I drug him back to his group of church volunteers and threw him to the ground in front of them.
"Get out." I hissed, it almost sounded like a growl I was so infuriated. "I don't want to see you lot here again. If I catch any of you back here I will personally drag you back to wherever you crawled out from."
I began to walk off when I heard Allen say, "You'll go to hell for defending that bitch."
Koz caught my arm before I could whirl around to confront the little prick. He told me to head inside with Anna to help clean up Jack's face, and that he would deal with Allen and his ilk. He gave me a push, and I stalked off, fists clenched by my sides. I hated people like that.
I took nice deep breaths to calm down as I walked to Anna's office. She kept all the first aid amenities there. She looked up and greeted me as I reached the door, before patting Jack on the shoulder and walking to me.
"Can you finish? I need to go call the church those kids came from. We won't be taking volunteers from them anymore." She said, with a dark look on her face. Anna loved kids, and was fiercely protective of the ones that offered their time, or recourses. Plus it seemed she'd taken a shining to Emma.
Nodding, I slid into her chair and finally got a good look at Jack's face. There was a cut above his eyebrow that bleeding and a raw scrape on his cheek; a bit worse than I thought, but not as bad as it could have been. Grabbing an alcohol pad I started for his cut, wiping the blood that oozed down and then gently sponged the cut. He hissed at the burn and tried to flinch away but I grabbed his chin to still him.
"Sorry, Jackie," I mumbled, "gotta get this clean." He sighed and I realized just how close we were. I pushed that though down, but not before noticing that he smelled like spearmint.
With the cut clean, I grabbed a tube of antibiotic and pain relieving cream and squeezed a drop onto my finger then gently dabbed his cut. He was silent as he watched me dig through Anna's medical box, looking for some butterfly bandages. Finding two I peeled off the backing of one and brought my other hand up to tilt Jack's head to the side for a better view. Angling it diagonally would work best for the most coverage.
After applying the bandage I began to pack up the kit, after asking him if he wanted anything for his scrape. He declined so I offered painkillers instead, he heartily accepted.
"Thanks, Kangaroo." He mumbled after gulping down his pills.
"Not a 'roo, mate." I smiled and ruffled his hair, Jack smiled back. "C'mon, let's go see if your sis killed any of 'em yet."
Both groups of volunteers were gone when we walked out. Emma trotted up to her brother and hugged him. "You okay, little bro?" She mumbled into his shoulder.
"Geeze you're only older by two and a half minutes, But I'm fine, Em. I've been in worse scrapes than this ya know." He grinned at her, and she pinched his arm.
North came over and informed us that Anna had spoken with the head of the church Allen was a member of. "He wants to come and speak with Jack and us about the incident. Jack, would you be willing to come by the Pole to speak with him?"
Jack took a breath to answer, but Emma rushed in, "He's not gonna talk to that guy by himself." She said and crossed her arms over her chest.
"No, he will not. Aster will be with him." North smiled at me. He'd talked to Koz and Sandy. I really didn't like them right now, but nodded an affirmative.
"Sure, I was in it as deep as Jack was, I reckon."
North nodded and clapped us both on the back, giving Anna a thumbs up.
"Could we do this on Saturday? I have classes and work." Jack asked.
North nodded, "Of course, my boy. We will tell him to come at one, that afternoon. You are most welcome to come early and help with classes if you wish."
Jack looked at him curiously. Cute.
"North and I hold classes for sprogs on Saturdays at nine. He does clay sculpting, and I hold a painting one." I offered.
"Sounds fun, I'm in."
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