He had to be honest.
Holt wasn't always sure why he was out.
He usually just rolled with it, looking for the situational cues.
Frankie was looking at him.
He was in Home Ick.
She looked kind of ticked off at him too.
"Hey Frankie what's-"
"I don't really wanna talk to you right now." she looked away from him.
Holt's heart sunk, what did Jackson do?
At least they were still lab partners and he wasn't expelled or on his way to another school… or city… or correctional institution.
Everyone was still talking, teacher was grabbing some male students for help assist with the lesson, he guessed class hadn't really begun yet.
His list of crimes was still fresh on his brain. Recalling something Rochelle had pointed out. "Is this about Holt skipping swim?" he knew Frankie could get upset whenever they got in trouble.
"Yes. Well, no. More like, he's avoiding me or something. Every time I try to talk he uh.. well you know"
"Passes the baton.. Right." he rested his face on his fist looking at Frankie scribble lightning bolts on the counter "You know um. Holt's not that bad of a guy he's just probably too scared to mess up around you."
"Do I need new ears or did I just hear you say Holt's not that bad of a guy?" she looked at him mildly amused.
Holt smiled, considering, he could always compliment himself in Jackson's body and make himself look good… "Well he's not. I mean he clearly still likes you."
Frankie smiled biting her lip "Oh… just him?"
"Well~" Holt was interrupted by Kindergrubber starting class by ringing a cow bell, then setting it next to… a cow's head.
At the front of the class she had lined up several farm animal heads goat, sheep, cow, pig..
Just their heads.
"Hello class, today we will be learning how to appropriately cook a zombie favorite and normie accessible meal: brains." she smiled warmly.
Frankie nudged Holt hard in the ribs "Hey you can eat it too" she whispered excitedly.
"Oh… boy!" he grimaced back.
"While classically served similar to eggs due to it's soft texture there are a variety of creative and innovative ways to prepare it. Though I hear it's fine raw for our gray classmates out there, other monsters tend to want a bit more seasoning. I have several instructions up here for those of you who want to fry, bake or mix it up a bit. But feel free to go offroad" she winked sweetly at Deuce "As usual the tastier, the better grade. But you'll do fine as long as you try your very best! Have at it." she stepped back as everyone started scrambling for a good station placement, preferred head and fighting over sharpest cleaver.
"Oh I have an idea." Frankie started standing up "I'll grab a knife and an oven, go grab the head" she sparked excitedly running off to find additional ingredients from the school's stores.
Holt knew exactly which one he wanted, bigger was better after all. Going over to squeeze between two werewolves growling over a sheep head, and lugging his prize back to a corner Frankie was setting up in.
He thud his bull head on the table proudly "Hey Frankie it kinda looks like Manny right?" he smiled a bit too much.
Because she made this really worried concerned face back.
Holt continued opening it's mouth like a puppet "Heeey, I'm on the casket ball team and always make foulsss" he made a bad impersonation. Until Frankie swatted him on the hand with a wooden spoon.
"It's not nice to make fun of other students. Especially when we're about to cut that thing open." she scolded.
Holt rolled his eyes since that was the point.
"Speaking of, if you hold it steady I'll-" she grabbed the cleaver.
"Naw I got it." he smiled taking the cleaver from her hand about to start hacking.
Frankie rested a hand on his wrist "Since when did you get over your squeamishness?" she asked weirdly.
"If a guy can't show a girl he can hack up a body, what good is that guy?" Holt answered her question with a question.
Frankie mulled this over thinking of her own future "Well that's true but you got grossed out when we made cookies."
"Oh my ghoul, what?" Holt resisted laughing "Er I mean. Just let me handle this~ Gotta show you I can find you replacement eyes if your's go bad." he winked at her.
Then held the cleaver up above his head and slammed it down on the forehead of the beast.
It squirted blood everywhere.
He hadn't thought that far ahead.
His stomach rose to his throat. "Oh it's all.. juicy."
"Aww your shirt.." Frankie hissed through her teeth looking at his blood splattered yellow shirt.
Just his shirt though, he'd taken off the burnt sweater vest during math when he realised he was still wearing it. She scurried off to fetch him a black apron while Holt rubbed blood off his cheek.
He wasn't squeamish but chopping into it was letting out the weird smell.
He blotted at the shirt but well, it was blood so not coming out. Plus it wasn't really his shirt so he didn't give a crap.
Frankie draped the apron on him, wearing her own now too, and goggles "I think you just got through the skin."
"And like the meaty junk too" he added nudging the flesh around. Tying his apron behind him. He had glasses on so figured those counted as goggles. Raising the cleaver again and bringing it down as hard as he could. Just to be met with a hard knocking sound again. Less blood that time.
"You're trying to get through the skull right?" Frankie asked with a nervous giggle.
"Yeah just gotta chop" Holt insisted.
"I don't know, it's bone, maybe we should find a saw…"
"No I got it" his statement about chopping through bodies for potential girlfriends ringing through his mind. Really only applicable for one ghoul after all.
Hitting it again.
Then a few more times frustratedly.
Taking a breath glaring at it.
Once more…
He just had to pretend it was someone or something he really didn't like.
Like this situation.
Or yesterday morning in the locker.
Raising the cleaver above his head and bringing it down hard one more time.
Thwok.
"Ehhh" Frankie started looking at the small dents he was making.
"Oh my ghoul do I have to help everyone in this classroom?" a sassy voice butt into their corner. Holt looking to see Clawdeen rolling her eyes. "First off. If you'd read the paper. You'd see you're supposed to cut off the face first obviously"
She slid between them grabbing at Holt's cuts and digging her claws in to tear apart it's face. Slipping a sliver off to chew on. Scraping some of the fat off too.
"Here see you can pop the eyeballs out now? Were you using them in your uh… what are ya'll making?"
"Muffins!" Frankie started excitedly.
"Oh that sounds good! you can probably blend some of the face meat in there too…" she seemed to salivate after swallowing.
Holt made a disgusted noise, meaty muffins not sounding too hot even to his monster tastes.
"Well sorry it's not bran muffins Mr. Calculator" Clawdeen rolled her eyes "Got something against meated pastries?"
"Oh that reminds me I forgot the eggs" Frankie sat up and ran off to the class fridge.
Holt scraped off some fat with the cleaver "I got something against werewolves coming over here to beg for treats" he piped back, not super happy she was here to show him up. Wanting to prove to Frankie he could butcher it himself.
"Oh you little…" she growled grabbing his cleaver out of his hand.
Holt stiffened up, as she slammed it down on their skull cracking it open.
"You're. Welcome." her ears down flat "Listen" she flitted slanted eyes at Frankie still across the room "If it wasn't because my best ghoul was kinda into you for some reason. I would not normally let that one slide."
Holt blinked "She's still into me?" he asked her.
Clawdeen rolled her eyes and huffed, going back to her own station without another word on the matter.
He smiled innocently while Frankie returned with some eggs "Oh where'd Clawdeen go?"
"Well she has her own thing to make." Holt shrugged. Then wedged open the skull excitedly exposing the brain "Who's up for some brain muffins?~"
"Oh my gosh, yaaay~" Frankie piped up excitedly "You harvest that I'll get started on the batter." she preheated the oven while her hands were clean, getting to work while Holt struggled to pull apart the skull further.
Squeezing out handfuls of brain into a bowl. Since it kind of fell apart if he grabbed it hard enough.
"I'm so proud of you~" Frankie beamed mixing her muffin batter in a bowl.
"Oh?" he smiled back looking at her pretty dual colored eyes.
"You're like for sure over your squeamishness? I mean, a normie like you sticking your hand in a cow's head gettin' out the brains for our project~" she nudged him with her elbow "You'll make a regular mad scientist yet~!"
He smirked "So mad scientist, huh?"
"Well.. I don't know what you really wanna do but it seems fitting." she reached into a cabinet above their station pulling out a muffin pan. "Your mom's a doctor right?"
"Yup, Dr. Jekyll…" this brain scooping was tedious, he wasn't sure how big the cavity was after all "So… I mean. Do you think it'd make more sense to like… do that later?"
"What do you mean?" she asked innocently "We could go to the same uni if you're interested in that. Doesn't that sound great?"
"Yeah but… I mean… if like say Holt wanted to be… a rock star.. do you think that holding off on a science career till later would make more sense?" he asked trying to word it like Jackson might. But he really doubted Jackson thought about this sort of thing.
"Oh." she stopped stirring, then went to stirring faster than before "I hadn't really thought about that. I guess kind of. But… I mean if you became a mad scientist first, maybe you could figure out a way to…" she motioned at them with the spoon getting a bit of batter on his apron "I don't know? Fix things early on and not have to worry about it."
He shrugged "I mean. That makes sense I guess." he lied stiffly "But no one's ever been able to… fix it in my family so far…"
"I guess. I could see you doing both at once!" she suggested "Doctor Jekyll by day, Holt Hyde guitarist and DJ by… well I suppose that'd be more of a weekend thing..."
"Yeah I probably shouldn't think about it too much." he scooped out the last of the brain "I mean monster school, everyone's got different life spans and stuff here. I guess we should just take a lesson from that and live in the moment!"
Frankie gave him that weird look again. Holt bit his tongue too much of his personality showing through.
"So uh did you wanna use the face meat for anything?" he asked.
"Actually not really" she whispered glancing at Clawdeen "I think it'll throw off the flavor. Too savory not sweet and brainy. It'd take too long to cook against the batter too." she added. Then dumped his bowl of brain into her mixture, mixing the chunks up to blend it better. Then started pouring it into muffin papers.
Holt took it as his cue to clean up, sliding the leftovers into a bucket, looking around to see what everyone else was doing with their meat. There seemed to be a barrel at the front of the class for gut dumping.
Hauling it up there, skull and all, noting not everyone had leftovers, Clawdeen looking at him while she chewed on a sheep horn. Standing next to Cleo actually. Both giving him this look. Till they realised he was staring at them back, then went back to gossiping or whatever it was ghouls talked about under their breath.
Dumping it in the drum at the front of class, probably going to feed some sort of non-student-creature in the school… or become next week's lesson.
Frankie was wiping up the counter when he returned, trying not to seem too out of breath from how heavy a bull's head could be. An oven timer set, the muffins were missing so he guessed they were baking.
"Well that was… fun" he started to wash his hands in the sink while Frankie scraped flour in.
"Haha yeah it was certainly some-OOPS!" Holt heard a soft thud in the sink, and Frankie started reaching after her right hand that had slid into the sink, still gently clutching a napkin.
"I'm so sorry!" she gushed. As Holt smiled and grabbed it for her.
Rinsing the blood and guts off of it, taking an awkward amount of time to actually dry it off too before handing it back to her. Closest he could get to holding her hand these days.
She popped it back onto her arm blushing "That always happens around this time sorry… At least it's not in the eye-scream this time huh?" she laughed nervously. Recounting a memory Holt hadn't shared with her.
"Won't it just fall off again like that?" he asked. Then clicked his tongue at her "I've already proven to you I can sew it if you want~"
She put her head down clearly sort of embarrassed "No it's fine.. it's too much of a hassle. Hey! Jacksonnn" she didn't stop him as he ran off to their counter to grab her pencil pouch and return to their cooking station. Getting out her giant darning needle.
He pointed at the counter as Frankie sighed and rested her bad arm on it. Holt pulled out the cord that held her together from the bits it remained in her skin. Rethreading and carefully resewing her together, trying to use the same holes she had before in her flesh, taking his time as they were still waiting for the muffins.
"Thanks so much…" Frankie practically pouted.
"Thanks sew much?~" Holt parroted.
She softly laughed, well more of a quiet snort.
"Don't mention it" he shrugged, hoping his boyfriend skills were becoming apparent to Frankie in particular today. Sewing… cutting up bodies… thinking back to self compliments "I mean half the reason I'm in Home Ick is because Holt thought it'd be a good idea to get some sewing skills incase you needed someone around for that…"
"What really?" she asked.
Holt hoped that didn't come off as too creepy until she admitted to what she was more confused about.
"You listen to his ideas?" Frankie pressed.
Though seemed… hopeful looking.
Until you two get your act together there's no room for me!
Holt blinked finally understanding her break up speech.
He just needed to prove he was getting along with Jackson. Which he wasn't. Because Jackson was a tool and a giant dork.
Frankie didn't need to know that though.
'Sides it was making his real image look good.
He held her hand steady "Well, yeah. I mean otherwise we'd just tear ourselves apart." which was oddly what had resulted in this mess.. "No offense."
Her occupied hand half grabbed around his. "None taken."
"Holt can be um. Pretty smart. Way smarter than most monsters give him credit for." he complimented himself matter of factly "So can really have the best ideas sometimes. Like this weekend actually. He and I were wondering." just make it sound like it was a group idea. "If you were available~?"
"For a date?" she asked slowly.
"You know if you were interested in maybe pressing play?" he jerked as her arm conductively zapped him. Frankie fixed her hair, sparking nervously.
"I might be…"
"Alright!" he pumped a fist in the air. Then stopped, trying to retrain Jacksoness. "I mean. Yeah…" he smiled blushing. Still there, in the moment. No running or dancing to celebrate just quiet time.
Quiet time could be nice he guessed.
But wasn't as fun as taking her on a quick dance down the halls to celebrate a second chance.
Swallowing as he tried to keep still.
Weirdly hard.
He flipped her hand over still sewing slowly not wanting to damage her skin too much "So like, not Cleo's party right?"
"No, I'll be with the ghouls all night anyway" she seemed giggly but couldn't leave the stituation, Holt having her all tied up at the moment.
"Sunday ok?" he asked slowly, knowing for sure there wasn't anything going on then.
"Sunday doing what?" her fingers flexed and closed on the table.
"I don't know. I was thinking like monster truck rally or maybe hit up this one uh" wait no that was a place that had local bands play a lot "amusement park." Jackson's car was his now, he could take them anywhere.
"How about a picnic…?" Frankie suggested meekly.
Holt looked up at her. Blushing, biting her lip, a tiny bit of brain on her apron. He swallowed pulling the thread tight. "Picnic sounds voltageous!" he beamed back using her catchphrase.
He got a date with Frankie.
He got a date again with the most electrifying ghoul in school.
"I'll bring a casket for two~" he started knotting.
"We could pack it together, maybe go shopping before hand" she shrugged.
"Anything for you Frankie Ffff…" ine. Did Jackson say that? Was that a him thing? "Frankie~"
Then looked down at her freshly sewn arm "Was that good?"
Frankie flexed her hand "Couldn't have done it better myself!" she lifted her arm from the counter finally "No seriously I cannot sew with my left hand for the unlife of me…" she swatted her forehead.
Both of them jumping as their oven timer went off. Holt swinging past Frankie to open it up and check on the brain muffins. They looked ready, Holt nonchalantly grabbing them.
"Jackson!" Frankie squealed jumping over to him, as he tossed them on the stove.
"Hey!" he resisted as she pulled his hand from him, then well, something he hadn't thought about.
"It's blue…" Frankie cocked her head "Is that the color normies turn when they're burned."
Holt pulled his hand back "I'm not… burned."
It was blue.
His blue.
He clenched his jaw thinking about their situation again, missing his skin again. Date or not.
Frankie seemed to pick up on him being just as weirded out by a blue palm as she was.
"Like the parts that you touched." Frankie pointed out still sounding worried "Go run it under cold water." she insisted.
"I'm half fire elemental." Holt pressed back "I mean I thought Holt got all of it but…" the blue was slowly fading to dark pink. "Didn't know it did that…" then smiled "That's so cool!" Pressing his hand to the pan again before Frankie jerked it off.
"Jackson what are you doing you're going to hurt yourself!" she pushed him away from the stove.
"What! No I'm not. Hey look. Every time we…poof" he made an exploding motion to imply transforming "We catch fire right? Makes sense I'd be fireproof too." but smiled a weird look in his eye at his fading blue skin again "But didn't' know it did that…"
"Well stop!" she pointed out the dark pink skin it was fading to "See that! That's being burned."
"It's not being burned, it just kinda stings a lot." he whisked his hand away, shaking it "Do you happen to have a lighter on you, I wanna see what else fire does" to this body. He was wondering why he hadn't taken advantage of experimenting with Jackson's normie skin sooner.
"Nooo." she whined shoving him "You're gonna make me take back my date"
Holt dropped the muffin he was trying to lift from the pan.
"What?! No take backs"
"Nope I totally will. If. You. Don't. Stop it." she glared at him. Sparking threateningly.
Well there was a bunsen burner in mad science, he could wait.
"Alright." he rolled his eyes then took a bite of the muffin. Chewing. And chewing. The brain adding a weird texture, and flavor.
She leaned against the counter taking a hot muffin out herself to taste test "I still think that's dangerous but kind of let's me believe…"
"Believe what?"
"That maybe you're right. Maybe you're a monster after all."
Holt grinned, realising he was actually really hungry, it wasn't long till lunch after all. "Told you!" finishing off the muffin. Looking at the rest "Hey Kindergrubber only needs like one of these to taste right?"
Frankie rolled her eyes "Just take mine." she held out the remaining muffin that Holt gleefully took.
"Speaking of… blue skin" she then brought up "I'm down with this date on one condition…"
Holt didn't' like the sound of that.
"Holt comes too."
He started coughing, choking on his muffin. Stumbling over to the sink to get some water in his hand and drink. Oh, she was right, this did feel better on his red stinging hand.
"What?" he finally gasped out.
"If you're really getting along, that shouldn't be a problem right?" she grilled him.
"Yeah but, I asked you."
"I thought it was both of you's idea."
"Well." Holt groaned "If you insist." drying his hands, then checking the clock in the classroom. What time did this class end?
"Well we're done with our work so I'm gonna tell him ok?" Frankie piped up "Sides he keeps avoiding me…"
"What now?" Holt grabbed his headphone's around his neck protectively.
"Don't make me force him out~~" Frankie sang teasing a trigger.
Holt was reminded of his earlier experience in the office. Rolling his eyes "Only for you…"
"Frankie!" Jackson was literally cornered, suddenly. The last thing he remembered was avoiding this exact situation.
"Holt…" she smiled. Looking down and blushing "We need to talk…"
That sentence was never a good thing.
Jackson swallowed nervously, might as well be back in Bloodgood's office.
But this was Home Ick actually. Looking past her to their project, grabbing a muffin to stuff his face with.
Tasted kind of odd.
What kind of muffin was this?
"Mm hm?" he pressed not making eye contact.
And still chewing.
This was a chewy muffin..
"Why have you been avoiding me?"
Jackson shrugged, his mouth full to avoid direct questions.
"Jackson said it was because you still liked me."
He swallowed hard still not answering.
"That both of you still like me…" she leaned back against the counter watching the classroom
since he didn't want to make eye contact.
Jackson felt hot again. Wondering if Heath's fire made that go away. The pressure of heated emotions just blew off like steam?
Versus Holt's body just got too hot to touch apparently.
"So is that true? Do you still like me?" she asked him directly.
He could have taken another bite but "Yeah." he answered quietly.
"And you and Jackson have been… getting along better?" she seemed hopeful.
Jackson weighed the question. Not going straight to honesty. This was about what Frankie wanted, not the truth.
In a way though this was the most they'd talked in a long time, even if it was mostly arguing, he was literally in Holt's shoes right now.
"We try." he started. Which was true, in some ways he thought he was always making an effort, even if Holt didn't want to cooperate. Because he was selfish and a tool.
Frankie didn't need to know that too.
"Otherwise we'd tear ourselves apart." he looked at Frankie's stitches "Uh… no offense."
She raised her eyebrows, biting her lip like she found something funny he hadn't caught. "None taken."
"What's with all the uh questions though?" he asked nibbling on his squishy chewy muffin again. Kind of an eggy sour taste…
"Uhm. Jackson asked me on a date and-"
"Wait what?! You're going on a date with him?" so he wasn't allowed to go on a sleepover but-
"Hey give me a chance to talk." she put her hands on his headphones so he wouldn't tear them off again. In the process getting weirdly close to him. Jackson bit his lip feeling super hot again.
"You've keep avoiding me whenever you start freaking out.. "
"I thought you were mad at me… for skipping." Jackson admitted. "Um date?" he squeaked out confused.
"Yeah… Jackson asked me. And I was gonna go but. I want you there too" she let go stepping back.
Jackson blinked scratching his neck "Of course Frankie." why was he always a mess around her. "So we're off pause?"
Frankie winked as the bell rang, handing him a muffin and taking the tray with proper oven mitts on this time. "I'll keep you posted." then went to turn in their project.
Leaving Jackson alone, and confused in the corner.
Did he just ask her out or the reverse?