EIGHT
It isn't until school is out that Alex manages to text him back. She's a bit early walking out of the office to get her stuff, but once the bell rings it's the usual stream of people bursting into the halls with chatter and the clang of locker doors. Jess had stayed behind a bit, helping her with her things before having to sprint off to the parking lot, and Alex starts back home again.
Mystery TA Man Jonas
(Sorry.(
(For all that.(
The odd thing is how her tone has shifted from the last time they were talking. It's not hesitant, but it certainly isn't positive, either. She still has those images in her head. Clarissa going out a window, sitting on a street lamp, those red eyes— Alex has seen them somewhere before. She knows she has. Some shitty horror maybe, or in other tidbits, but it feels so wrong. So alien. Which makes sense, considering eyes aren't supposed to be red. Since when are human eyes red? Ugh, she's overthinking this again.
.
Jonas isn't sure why he feels the need to excuse himself early from his volunteer duties - or make excuses at all - but he does anyway. His head is down as he walks the halls toward the parking lot, scrolling through his phone. The message from Alex pops up just as he's exiting the building.
Alex Strickland
(?(
(You're okay tho?(
Why would she need to apologize? He's seen people faint before, that looked pretty legit, he thinks he'd know if she were faking-
"It's Jonas, right?"
Whatsername. Jess. Standing right in his path.
Oh God. This again? How much he'd prefer to just stay Mystery TA Man. But his mom had flat out said it not even an hour ago, for the whole class to hear. "…Yeah." He doesn't elaborate.
Her hands are shoved in her pockets as she rocks forward and back on her feet, briefly swaying into his personal space, making him stiffen and step back, warily. "So how do you know Alex?"
Who? The response is on the tip of his tongue - a flat and boldfaced deception - before he stops himself. Wait, no, her name was used, too. Can't use that lie. "I don't."
Jess's lips quirk in that smile she'd given him earlier, when he'd caught her passing the note. "Awfully nice of you to sweep her off her feet, then."
His fingers tighten into a fist before he forces them relaxed again, eyes darting away even as his irritation is evident. "That's— not what happened."
"What, you saving her?"
"That's definitely not what happened." How the hell does she figure that?
"It's not?" Oh God, she's one of those. She has that little almost-victorious smile, like she knows she's pushing the right buttons. And he's just paranoid enough to worry she is, though he has no idea what she's aiming at.
"She fell into me."
"Into your waiting arms?"
His ire is rising. "Look, I didn't want anyone hurt."
"Especially Alex."
"Anyone."
"Alright, alright, I concede. You don't want anyone hurt." For a minute, it looks like Jess is backing off. But she's still smiling, as she rocks herself back and forth, letting the silence fester. "Took the extra time to pick her up, though."
He's not gonna pretend not to be annoyed. "Look, is there a point you're getting at, here? Christ, since when does a guy get grilled for doing a good deed," he grumbles, rolling his eyes, not quite rude enough to just push past her.
She rolls her eyes a bit, "I'm not grilling you for helping her! Look, I was worried about her, too. I've been her friend since middle school, and seeing her just dip out like that was kind of freaky. But no one just offers up a designated seat and picks someone up without at least knowing them a little first."
"It's not a designated seat, I'm not even-" Not even a real TA. "-It's just where I sit, it's not a thing, you're trying to make it a thing."
"I mean. It kind of is? Look— I'll leave, and you can forget about this, but I'm sure someone else is gonna ask tomorrow."
His patience is running dangerously thin. He straightens his back, taking a step into her space with as much intimidation as he can muster. "And I'll tell them what I told you." The heat of his anger cools to a hard chill. "I was being a decent human being. It's not my fault none of you twerps stepped up."
Her lower lip presses out a bit, almost a line, and she takes a step back. After a good minute of staring each other down, Jess tosses her hands to the air, and starts walking away. "Alright. I'll let you deal with the masses. Don't come crying to me when the shit starts flying."
Jonas just barely stops himself from mimicking her to her back, instead rolling his eyes and continuing his path to his truck. He swipes open his phone again, texting one-handed.
Alex Strickland
(Ran into Jess(
(That girl's a fuckin peach(
(Kill me.(
.
Walking home isn't great, but she's used to it. Been doing it ever since middle school. Usually, Ren gets picked up, and Nona takes the bus; which means she's on her own for the roughly 20-25 minute span of time to just… pip around on her phone or something. When she gets the notification from Jonas, Alex doesn't really want to answer. But he's worried, and Jess probably got in his face, so. May as well.
Mystery TA Man Jonas
(Sorry about her, too.(
(She doesn't really know when to quit, in case you didn't notice.(
(Physically, I'm alright, I guess. Walking home.(
(Mentally not so much.(
Then again, when is she ever mentally sound? Alex never reaches out to her mother, she's the formal, logical one of the two. They've always butted heads. Almost even more than her parents did, when she hit puberty. Usually she'd go to her dad, but… he isn't here anymore. Alex's jaw tightens. Sure, he's just a text message away, even if he is in another town. This isn't something she'd go to him for anyways.
Her hands are still shaking as she texts again.
.
Walking? Jonas frowns down at his phone. The truck roars to life in all its ancient glory, the parking gear clunked into drive, gear shift as sticky as always, despite being an automatic. A real piece of shit. But he loves it anyway. Hence the name. Bily. Short for POSBILY. Piece of shit. But I love you. To his mom, this is simplified to Bily. His dad knows the truth of it.
He shouldn't be checking his phone while driving, but he can't help his curiosity, glancing down as it buzzes on the passenger seat.
Alex Strickland
)Scratch that. Physically I probably need way more sleep than I'm getting.)
)But I don't want to go to bed.)
)And that's not just my weird brand of insomnia.)
Christ, is he really…?
Jonas sighs. Yeah, he is.
They live in the same neighborhood, it's the same way home. She's only a few minutes ahead of him, after all of it. The pickup slows and he leans across (one of the benefits of a large wingspan) to pop the door open.
"Get in, loser, I'm saving your life again."
.
Alex jumps a bit when she hears him yelling at her, but she's paused on the sidewalk, staring at Jonas like he's just asked her to jump off a bridge. There's two options she's presented with. One, keep walking, and risk both fainting again and not getting home alright. Two, get in the car and deal with the guy who's been both keeping her in check and not doing that at all. After considering her options, she just shakes her head, climbing into the passenger seat of the truck and closing the door behind her.
"And you call me insane. I was just walking, Jonas, it's not like I'll die." Sure, fainting about a half hour beforehand probably wasn't good, but she's fine. It's all fine. She glances around the interior, not exactly keeping her eyes off of Jonas, but wanting to figure out what his endgame will be. "Nice truck, though."
It's cool in a piece of shit kind of way. But she likes that. It's like why Alex never wears the fancy dresses her mom gets for her, or the button ups, or the heels. Heels are the wrath of God upon this great green earth.
.
"Thanks." His wry tone makes it clear he doesn't believe her, but he's not about to argue because it's perfectly fine for him, regardless of her feelings on the matter. As soon as she's settled in, Jonas pulls back out into the road.
"I'm not saying you'll die. I'm saying you'll crack your head open in the pavement and endure extensive pain and suffering, eventually becoming a vegetable. So here I am. Saving you from a life of blinking your words one letter at a time." The whole truck hums, as it does, a steady vibration. He glances over at her, at the bags bruised under her eyes, the sheer weariness seeping out of her. "Christ, Alex, take a nap. It's like a fifteen minute drive. You look like you need every second you can get."
.
Okay, that's probably dipping into the extreme level of the pool, but she isn't going to call him out on it. Because he's right, in a way; she shouldn't really be walking alone just after fainting. But she also doesn't like the idea of just going to sleep in someone's pickup. Even if it is comfortable. And kind of rocking. And now she's yawning, and god damn it she does not want to go to sleep. Nope. Not today.
"Nah, I'll be fine. If it's a fifteen minute drive, it won't be worth the trouble." She doesn't want to see whatever her dreams have in store for her again. "I can just cycle reset myself, y'know? Wait until a decent time to go to bed and then pass out, wake up refreshed or whatever." That's a kind of sound argument. A mostly sound argument.
Back to fiddling with her phone to try and keep herself awake. With Ren doing his own thing, Nona keeping away from her own device to get work done, and her mom still at work, there isn't much to do. Which means there isn't much helping her get any less tired. And she ran out of coffee a little bit ago.
.
The words are hardly out of her mouth before Jonas snorts. "Suuure, 'cycle reset.' Says the girl calling at 4am while pwning teh n00bs on the interwebs." It doesn't take a mind reader to guess that wasn't a first-time occurrence.
He shoots a glance over at her, lips hooked in a grim smile. "Well you managed to pass out on me once, what was the secret there?" He's not about to abduct her or anything, but he does turn to go down the scenic route, silently adding another five minutes to their trip. "Do I just have to start droning on about very personal stories that I don't tell anyone in order to put you out?"
.
Internally, Alex cringes at his words, though she manages not to make some kind of stupid quip back at him. "Look, I didn't mean to fall asleep when you were talking! It just kinda… happened, I guess. So, sorry about that." Man she's apologizing a lot today. Then again, it's also for things she did two days before, which has to count for something. "I didn't mean to pass out, either. Though I feel like that should be obvious. You can clearly tell there is something wrong."
Everyone else can, too, but she doesn't say that. Instead she settles herself further into the passenger seat, gives up on trying to use her phone as a distraction, and instead focuses on Jonas. Maybe if he keeps her talking, Alex won't fall asleep. But he's probably thought of that already. And— that's another thing; since when did he start caring about her sleep cycle? Or how healthy she is?
.
"Yeah. Something that could definitely be helped with a bit of rest." Sleep, food, basic hygiene. Things that could help anyone feel more human. He adds in another wrong turn, looping back on himself. "If we're both stuck with this whole dream thing, the least I can do is help, right?"
.
She shoots him a look of annoyance. Alex is being kind of like a petulant kid, sure, but she doesn't want to go to sleep. Weird shit happens when she goes to sleep. The only time it hasn't happened is when— Oh. Oh, that's a theory.
When she called Jonas, she hadn't gotten any odd dreams. Or, less than her normal odd. The nightmare ones. "Fine. Whatever. I will go to bed. But only because you made a deliberate wrong turn back there to make the ride longer." She curls her legs up onto the seat, crosses her arms over her chest, and closes her eyes. "Don't think I didn't notice that, I know my own way home." A pause. "Thank you."
The truck keeps rattling along, and she has the afterthought to undo her ponytail, teal hair crimped a bit from the hair tie falling back onto her shoulders. Alex, for someone so loud when talking, is oddly quiet now. Her head rests on the window, jostling every so often, but it doesn't bother her.
.
Jonas attempts to hide his not-quite-smug smirk, watching her out of the corner of his eye as he winds his way further into the quieter half of suburbia. "Thanks for the pity nap, princess." It's a low, sarcastic drawl— though sincere enough in its sentiment.
Notes: A bit later than usual, mostly cause writing has slowed down, but there's still some in reserve so they'll get posted even as we work on things. Winter makes me sad and sluggish, so my apologies. Thanks for stickin' around to keep an eye on these two dorks. ❤
-OWT (also, fun fact, we keep referencing 'get in loser I'm saving your life again' while playing video games)