It was cold.

Jack had been walking for hours now. He'd left right around ten A.M., and now he was hungry and cold and not feeling good. He really regretted I told you you'd regret it you're so STUPID leaving the comfort of his home now, but he didn't think he could go back now. No, he'd left, and he would stick with it.

Not looking where he was walking, he ran into someone about half a foot shorter than him. Jack simply stumbled back a few steps, but the kid fell completely to the ground. Jack was ready to run but no Jack wait this kid looks familiar.

The kid looked like he was going to cry. He was one of the ugliest kids Jack had ever seen – small and skinny and mouse-colored. His face had an odd, pinched look and his eyes were too small, his cheeks a little hollow-looking. And what the hell was he doing now?

"Percival Wymes Madison!" he hollered, curling up into a tight ball. Jack blinked. Percival… Wymes… Madison. The telephone kid.

Great, he was still as crazy as ever you're one to talk you're far from sane this kid's just scared he was obviously affected greatly by that damn island he was just six when the plane crashed do you expect him to be sane do you really.

The kid would help him, Jack decided. He reached out his hand, and the kid, who had stopped rolling around on the sidewalk, shrunk from it. "Calm down," Jack snapped, and Percival backed up a bit. He forced his voice to stay calm. "I'm not going to hurt you."

With trembling fingers, Percival took Jack's hand. Jack pulled him up, ignoring the voice in the back of his head that was telling him to take him with you you need another one you can't make it by yourself or at least ask if you can STAY WITH HIM TONIGHT jesus christ jack you've got to stay somewhere.

Well, maybe the second suggestion made a bit of sense.

"T-thank you," Percival said, effectively snapping Jack out of his thoughts. "I mean, for helping me up and not just rushing on."

"No problem," Jack said curtly. He wasn't sure how to breach the subject of him staying with the kid, but he needed to do it before Percival left. "Hey, do you know where I could stay for the night?"

Percival looked up at him through those tiny, black eyes. "I s'pose you could stay with me, if my mum will allow it. Dad's been gone for forever, and it's just me'n'mum now. She won't mind, I don't think."

Jack smirked. "Great," he said.


Percival's mum was a small, tired-looking woman who looked blankly at Jack for a few moments, then turned back to the television. Percival hugged her quickly, then took Jack's hand and led him to what Jack supposed was the kitchen. The walls were covered in large, colorful drawings that nobody seemed to have had the time or energy to clean off such a shock he lives in a dump you can't stay HERE Jack he's below you he's so below you you need a better place a nice house with CLEAN walls and CLEAN floors and parents who CARE but aren't too overbearing like yours too bad you didn't run into Maurice or Bill both of them were fairly well off weren't they and Bill's family was even like a family, they didn't even have to pretend to like each other-

"Are you okay?" Percival asked, and Jack tore his eyes away from the walls and focused them on Percival. He looked concerned. His hand was in what looked like a cookie jar. "Sorry we don't have very much, but I think we have some cookies."

After a bit more of Percival rummaging and Jack sitting at the table and staring at his hands – there was nothing that he had to think about his hands, they were perfectly pale and freckled and short-nailed – they both had two cookies, a glass of water, and a half of a bagel with a thin layer of butter on it spread out in front of them. Percival ate quickly, as if it were a race, while Jack picked at his bagel and took sips of his water often. He was hungry, but he just… he just didn't feel right eating this. After a bit of consideration, he pushed both of his cookies over to Percival.

"What? Don't you want them?" Percival asked, hesitant to grab them. Jack shook his head and Percival managed to eat them in thirty seconds flat.

Jack could feel the younger boy watching him as he ate. He didn't know why. He didn't like it. He hadn't liked people looking at him since the island but before the island you'd been fine with it, hadn't you you loved it when people watched you you wanted people to watch and stare and applaud every move you ever fucking made you LIVED for attention Jack and now you hate it you say bullshit Jack bullshit you just don't want someone realizing that there's something WRONG with you.

Jack ate the rest of his bagel a bit savagely – bad word Jack bad word – ripping it apart with his teeth and washing it down with the rest of his water. Percival didn't take any notice of it; of course, he'd eaten his food the exact same way.

"I can show you to where you'll sleep, if you want," Percival asked. Jack nodded, and Percival jumped up from his chair and walked out of the room. Jack followed, looking nervously around at the cramped, dirty, colored-up rooms.

Eventually, they made it to a small room at the back of the house. "Sorry we don't have anything more," Percival said. He pulled one of the blankets and one of the pillows off of the bed. "You can have the bed, if you want. I used to sleep on the floor all the time."

"Uh…" Jack looked around at Percival's room, a little shocked at how small it was. Not everyone's as rich as you Jack sometimes people have less money and that's OK and we shouldn't judge them for it now let him have the damn bed you can stand to sleep on the floor for once Jack don't be a prick. "No, that's okay. You can…"

Percival shook his head vehemently. "No, you're the guest," he said. It was just then that Jack realized that he hadn't actually told Percival who he was. "Anyway, Jack-"

"How do you know my name?" Jack asked, grabbing onto Percival's shoulder. Percival shrunk away.

"I-I-I – I just figured," Percival said. "You look like him. And you… you walk like he did. Except you're much quieter."

"You didn't mind the island, did you?" Jack asked. Percival shrugged.

"I don't 'member much," he mumbled. "I was little."

"Right," Jack said. Percival nodded.

"You take the bed."


And here we go. Next chapter we get back into Bill's POV, so that should be fun, right? :D