Jean blinked after his friend, watching her flee towards her home.
"Riza!" He tried calling after her, but she didn't turn. The door slammed closed behind her and she was gone, leaving him in the street alone.
What… What was that all about?
Jean swallowed thickly. An uncomfortable pressure started to build in his chest, pressing on his heart.
Had he said something wrong?
Oh God, he really hoped he hadn't.
Panic started to well within him, worried his stupid mouth had run away with him again without him realising it.
He didn't want to leave her like this. Riza was clearly upset, and it was worrying.
Jean never liked to see Riza upset, and admittedly he didn't see it often, but that didn't mean that it didn't happen. With a father like Berthold Hawkeye, Jean knew it happened quite a bit. Riza was just an expert at burying it for later when she was alone or hiding it completely.
Things weren't easy with her father. It made Jean angry every time he thought about it. He had half a mind to confront the man about it every time he saw him, but Riza had asked him not to. She didn't want to cause a scene, but it was so unfair. She deserved so much better.
Jean supposed though, that if he were in Riza's shoes, he too wouldn't want someone else to cause a scene or an uncomfortable confrontation on his behalf. At the end of the day, Jean would be able to walk away to another house and not live under the man's shadow. Riza wouldn't. She was stuck there.
His feet carried him a step forward before he paused. Riza was very reserved, even as his best friend. She didn't like to be pushed and wouldn't talk about something that was bothering her until she was ready. She would need time to make sense of and process whatever was bothering herself first before she came to him. Jean knocking on her front door to try and get it sorted out wouldn't be beneficial to anyone.
But still… He couldn't bring himself to leave –
His phone buzzed in his pocket and interrupted his train of thought. Digging it out, he held his breath, a small part of him hoping that it was Riza.
MH: Hi sweetheart, I've been asked to do a shift swap with someone this weekend, so I'll be finishing at four today. Is Riza coming for dinner? And what flavour ice cream should I pick up? xxx
Jean swallowed. A lead weight settled inside his stomach.
JH: Riza won't make it tonight. Can you get vanilla?
MH: Of course. Tell her I said hello then. See you soon. I love you xxx
JH: Love you too. See you soon x
If she was finishing early tonight then Jean would need to get home quickly so he could go pick her up.
His mother never asked for, nor expected, a lift home from work, but Jean would always try his best to be there for her. It was the least he could do after all she'd done for him growing up. His mother would always argue it was her job to look after him, and her honour to do so as well, but she worked herself until she was dead on her feet so she'd have enough money to spoil him. She'd buy him everything he asked for at Christmas and birthdays. They never missed a holiday, going at least once a year, and that would take a lot of saving up. He knew, because he looked at the same hotels and destinations they'd travelled to now he was older.
With one last glance at Riza's door, Jean bit his lip.
He was torn.
Finally deciding, Jean walked away from Riza's house, his shoulders rounding forward in defeat. He hated himself for doing it, but he didn't want his mother to have to make an hour-long bus journey when he could drive there to pick her up and cut that journey down for her to fifteen minutes.
He'd just have to text Riza later. He'd give her time to cool off first, then text her after dinner.
As soon as Jean was home, he tossed his schoolbag onto his bed. He changed quickly, throwing on a plain t-shirt and a pair of shorts. The heat outside was still stifling, and he was still desperately clinging to summer. Donning his sunglasses, Jean paused as his eyes settled on a photograph pinned to the corkboard in his room. It was of him and Riza. They were both grinning and happy, each with their arms around one another. His mother had taken it while they were one holiday in Aerugo. Her sad expression from earlier popped into his head. Taking a deep breath, Jean let it out in a rush, his resolve solidifying.
He'd go and see Riza after dinner.
As he pulled into the street the hospital main entrance was on, Jean squinted in the afternoon sun to try and spot his mother. She was perched on the bench at the bus stop, looking down at her phone. While still at a distance, he peeped his horn. His mother glanced up in fright, eyebrows drawn together as she tried to figure where the noise had come from, then her mouth parted in shock. Jean grinned at her and waved, pulling up at the kerb.
"Jean," his mother exclaimed happily as she opened the door. "You know you don't have to come pick me up from work."
He shrugged. "I know but I want to."
"Oh, I'm sure you have so many better things to do than run around after me."
"Not really," he shrugged. Indicating, Jean pulled away once his mother was strapped in.
"How was school?"
"It was…" He pulled a face.
His mother chuckled. "You've only got one year left, remember that. Only a few months to really buckle down and make them count."
"I know, Mum."
"Then you'll be free and released into the big bad world. Then the real work begins," she joked.
"Don't remind me," he sighed. The thought of applying for university left a ball on anxiety in his stomach and he didn't want to think about it right now. It was only the first day back after summer. It was far too early to be thinking about that… Right?
If only that excuse would fly for the rest of the school year.
"You'll be fine, Jean. You're a smart boy," his mother replied fondly. "Have a little more faith in yourself."
He hummed in reply, not committing to a response. He wanted to believe her, Riza too, when they said he was doing well, but sometimes he didn't know how he got such high marks on his exams. Half the time it felt like a guessing game. He must be very lucky, but that had to run out at some point.
"Would you mind stopping off at the shops on the way home," his mother asked.
"Of course not."
"I was going to pick things up this morning but got called in early so I could finish early."
"What time did you start?" Jean asked, brows drawing together. She was already due to start at six o'clock that morning? If she was due in earlier, what time had she started?
"Four."
Jean blanched. "Ouch."
"Yeah," she replied, stifling a yawn. "I foresee a nap on the couch in my future."
"Are you the same tomorrow?"
She shook her head. "No. Normal shift tomorrow."
Jean nodded, making a note. That meant she would finish at six o'clock at night, not four, like she had today. He'd have plenty of time to get home from school and hopefully get dinner prepared for her coming home.
At the shops, Jean hopped out the car before his mother could.
"I'll go in and get it," he offered. "Do you need anything else picked up?"
Marie smiled back at him. "No, just the ice cream. Are you sure you want to go?"
"Yeah. I'll be two minutes."
He shivered once stepping into the air-conditioned store after the temperature dropped considerably compared to outside. As he waited in the queue Jean pulled out his phone, typing up a quick message. He'd been debating it all throughout the drive over, but he decided to go with it. Riza was his friend, and he was only looking out for her.
JH: Hey. Sorry if I said anything to upset you earlier. I didn't mean to if I did.
Jean swallowed. Shifted his weight from side to side, his feet shuffling, as he reread it, making sure it sounded all right.
JH: If you need me, you know where to find me. I'm right here for you. Always.
He was called forward and Jean hit send before he could chicken out. Putting his phone back into his pocket, he paid for the ice cream and hurried back out into the afternoon heat. His mother smiled tiredly at him as he handed her the ice cream, and he drove them both home.
True to her word, Marie fell asleep on the couch after dinner. She'd been fighting it throughout their meal and the sound of the television had lulled her into a peaceful sleep. Jean vowed to wake her in half an hour so she wouldn't get so much rest she wouldn't be able to sleep that night.
Jean checked his phone for the fifth time. It wasn't like Riza to ignore texts and he wouldn't be so petty not to reply just because she held a grudge against him. At the very least, he'd receive an "okay" or an "all right" text. He was worried when he hadn't received anything yet.
Just as he was debating calling her, there was a knock at the front door. Standing from his chair, Jean approached and opened it.
Riza was on the other side.
Jean blinked at her. "Hi." He hadn't expected her to show up at his door.
"Hey." Her greeting sounded almost sheepish, but it was still quiet. Her demeanour had changed completely from yesterday. Whatever had been weighing on her mind… It either held a lot of weight to it or there was a lot.
Jean was determined to lighten the load, if he could, and if she was comfortable with it.
"Come on in." Jean opened the door further so she could enter. "Mum's asleep on the couch," he added in a quieter voice.
Riza understood immediately and nodded. "Right. Okay."
He hated seeing his friend so quiet and subdued.
"Do you want to go upstairs," Jean offered, already knowing Riza would appreciate privacy for whatever reason she was here. He assumed it was to talk.
She nodded and quietly kicked off her shoes.
"I'll need to come back down and wake Mum up in about half an hour, but we've got some time."
His bedroom door was closed quietly behind him while Riza made herself comfortable by sitting cross-legged at the foot of his bed.
"Do you…" He wasn't sure how to broach the subject. "Do you have anything you want to talk about? Or do you just want to hang out?" Jean would be happy to offer either.
Riza bit her lip. "I'm sorry for leaving you so quickly after school. I…" She sighed heavily and her shoulders dragged down further.
Jean moved to sit opposite her on the bed. He turned his full attention to his friend and shifted to lean forward slightly to show he was listening to her intently. As he always would.
"I did have plans for this weekend. I'm supposed to help Dad move a few things in his lab."
He swallowed at the mention of her father, fighting back the feeling of the usual anger at his mistreatment which threatened to spring to the forefront of his mind. He managed to keep them at bay.
Riza needed him right now. And she didn't need him angry.
"At lunch…" She paused, collecting herself for a moment. "Well, last night when I got home he barely said a word to me. He apparently didn't wonder where I'd been all day. Probably didn't even notice I was gone," she mumbled to herself.
Jean's hands subconsciously clenched into fists on his knees.
"And it just kind of piled up. At lunch I realised just how… difficult… it is sometimes. With him." Her final sentence was barely audible. Jean had to strain forward to hear her.
"If you ever need to get away from him you know our door is open."
Riza flashed him a sad smile. "I know," she replied firmly. "And I know I should have told you instead of leaving but –" Another heavy sigh left her lungs.
"Riza, you don't need to tell me anything you're either not comfortable or ready to share," he assured her. "I'll always be here for you," Jean added with certainty. He knew that as well as he knew his own name. "I will always be around to listen to anything you have to say. But if you need some time to be ready to do that, then that's okay. I get it."
Riza shifted forward onto her knees. She crawled over to sit by his side. As Jean lifted an arm to hug her around her back, Riza moved her head to rest against his shoulder.
"I know you are Jean," she replied softly. "Same goes for you too with anything. Thank you for always giving me time and space."
"Always, Riza."
They remained sitting together for a while, Jean's arms around her, hopefully offering her the comfort she needed.
Left alone with his thoughts, he mused over their relationship. Riza truly was like a sister to him. He loved her like one and it always made him so happy when his mother included her in things or asked her if she wanted to come with them to do any type of activity. Jean had no doubt Marie would adopt Riza in a heartbeat if she were able.
There were no awkward feelings between them now they were teenagers and never had been. Jean had never seen Riza like that but would always admit she was beautiful. She was so pretty but often didn't see it in herself. Luckily, Rebecca was always there to boost her confidence and self-esteem in that area, where Jean lacked. If he commented on things such as her appearance in that way, it felt… inappropriate.
She was his sister.
It would be weird.
Riza sighed beside him and Jean hoped it was in contentment. He hoped she'd finally found some kind of peace in his presence.
Jean was loath to disturb them, but duty called.
"I have to go and wake up Mum," Jean murmured.
He thought Riza might have fallen asleep, she was so quiet and still, but she sat up immediately and let him go.
"Yeah, of course. Do you want me to leave?"
Jean blinked at her for a second longer. "Do you want to leave?"
Riza paused. And shook her head.
"Then stay," Jean replied simply.
He walked down the stairs quietly so not to disrupt his mother abruptly from her sleep.
"Mum?"
His mother stirred on the couch and blearily blinked her eyes open.
"Oh, Jean." She yawned and slowly started to sit up, disturbing he blanket he'd placed over her so it pooled in her lap. "I know I said I predicted a nap would happen, but I didn't realise I'd fallen asleep," she laughed quietly. "Thank you for waking me."
"Yeah, sure. No problem, Mum. Riza's here, by the way."
A smile spread across his mother's face. "Oh, lovely! Do you both need anything?"
Jean shook his head. "No, we're good. We're going to hang out upstairs."
"Okay, sweetheart. Have fun."
Jean nodded and left her to stretch and waken herself up.
"Did she start early today?" Riza was still sitting on his bed, off to the far side, but now her phone lay discarded on her lap.
Jean nodded as he closed the door behind him. "At four."
Riza winced. "Ouch."
"That's what I said," Jean laughed. He grabbed his phone from his nightstand and hopped back onto his bed to lean against the wall behind his pillows.
"That's early for her though, isn't it?" Riza shuffled over his bed to sit next to him, leaning against the wall and bringing her own phone with her.
Jean nodded. "She did a shift swap for someone. It did mean she finished earlier though, so that was nice. I was able to pick her up straight after school."
"Oh, okay. That's good then."
"Hey, look at this." Jean scrolled through his phone to find the video he'd saved to show her. "I saw this earlier."
On his phone screen a Shiba Inu puppy bounced around to chase a toy. It's barks were so tiny and adorable as it tried to catch its toy, but ultimately tripped over its own paws, falling over onto its face.
Riza cooed and Jean could practically see her heart melting. Her expression softened and one of her hands lifted to press over her heart.
"That's so cute!" Her eyes were so focussed on the video, unable to tear away as it looped around to the start again.
Jean grinned, pleased he'd been able to cheer her up and make her smile.
That was all that mattered to him.
