Jacob slowly walked up the stairs, dreading what was coming next. He knew he couldn't say anything to change the situation and began to accept the harsh reality. As he ascended, his mind raced. He needed to somehow stop them from looking through his belongings, but he felt powerless.
When he reached the third floor, he reached into his pocket and felt a piece of paper. His eyes widened as he remembered it was the drawing he was planning to show Roads. He knew he couldn't get caught with it.
Entering the science room, Jacob was met with the curious and concerned faces of his classmates. "What happened?" they asked, noticing his tear-streaked face and red eyes. The security guard stood near the door, watching Jacob's every move.
Jacob walked over to Roads who had been holding onto his items from class to class. With tears in his eyes, Jacob whispered urgently, handing Roads the paper from his pocket. "Take this and don't open it, don't show it to anyone, please," Jacob pleaded. Roads nodded and asked, "What happened?" Jacob just shook his head, unable to explain, and walked away with his bag and other belongings.
The security guard asked, "Is that everything?" Jacob nodded, heading back downstairs with his things.
Once back in the room, Jacob nervously placed everything on the table. He hoped his mom wouldn't see his ignored assignments.
They opened his bookbag in front of him, taking out multiple folders filled with scattered "SAD" pages. His mom analyzed all of the papers and asked, "So this is what you've been doing in class?" while biting her lip. Jacob knew what that meant; she was ready to hit him. He kept crying, anticipating the inevitable. But suddenly, she didn't hit him. Instead, she gathered all of the papers into one stack and said, "I'll talk to you when you get home,"
After finding nothing in his bookbag and folders besides comics, they sent him back upstairs to continue his school day. The teacher smirked as he walked away.
Jacob walked upstairs with his head down and tears flowing. He couldn't stop crying; everything was pouring out. He felt humiliated, ashamed, and embarrassed. There was nothing he could say or do. As he made it to the third floor, his English teacher, Mr. Lanfair, noticed his demeanor.
Once Jacob approached, Mr. Lanfair said, "Hey, go wipe your face in the bathroom, okay?" Jacob, not knowing what to do, nodded and walked to the bathroom, wiping his face, although it didn't matter because his tears kept flowing. Once he returned Lanfair stated, "We're having a test, but you don't have to take it." Jacob didn't want to take the test, but he didn't enjoy getting special treatment just because he was sad, so he told the teacher to give him the paper. The teacher asked if he was sure, but Jacob insisted, so he was given the test and allowed to go into class.
Once in class, all the students looked at him with concern. They all asked if he was okay and how he felt. He couldn't give a response and only kept his head down while walking to retrieve his stuff from Roads. Roads also asked what happened but was met with the same response. Jacob softly said, "Thank you. Do you still have that paper I gave you?" Roads nodded his head, taking the paper out of his pocket and handing it back to Jacob. Jacob stared at the paper briefly before throwing it away.
Jacob returned to his seat, sitting behind Roads and Keys. Keys turned to face him as he had his back turned. "Are you okay?" she asked softly.
"Yeah," Jacob replied just as softly, but he began to blush. Despite being cheated on several times, he was still in love with her. Talking to her, looking at her, even her barely glancing at him made him blush immediately, and today was no different. He was blushing profusely despite her not doing or saying much. Despite what just happened, he could still show his affection for a girl who probably didn't feel the same way about him. But he didn't care; he was too far in love. It hurt loving her, but his mindset was that anyone could have her, as long as he had her as well.
"I can't really remember the rest of that day," Jacob said while monologuing, pausing before continuing. "What I can remember is that I began to actually hate my mom after that day. Not some regular 'I hate you' and went back to your room for the day. I mean I genuinely hated my mom, like I despised her. I hated seeing her, talking to her, I hated her existence. It felt like I was suffering just from her being near me." he paused, his voice shaky with haunting memories.
"This hate lasted for a long time, which leads me into 8th grade," Jacob softly says to Trivia.
In 8th grade, Jacob found himself with a new English teacher but the same math teacher and the same science teacher. As he settled into the school year, he met some new students and familiarized himself with his new teacher. However, much hadn't changed from the previous year. Jacob was still chasing after Keys, his grades were still poor, and he continued to disappoint his family. Even his math teacher continued to target him relentlessly.
He knew he was depressed, but he didn't want to talk to anyone besides his friends. He felt that if he talked to doctors, they would take him away from his family or think he was crazy. Jacob couldn't face that possibility, so he kept his feelings to himself. Although he hadn't been medically diagnosed, it was clear to anyone who knew him that he was suffering from depression.
Even in 7th grade, he had been depressed, though he hadn't wanted to admit it. The only significant change from 7th grade to 8th grade was his comics. Jacob had stopped writing them entirely. He went from creating comics every day to never writing another one. The dream of his stick figure series had died with him in 7th grade. However, just because he stopped making comics in 8th grade, it didn't mean he didn't struggle.
Ms. Johnson, his math teacher, continued to target Jacob, being harsh and rude whenever she saw fit. She went as far as to disrespect him on multiple occasions, saying he would fail and mocking him for giving up his dreams of creating comics.
However, Jacob had changed. He no longer cared about the rules or being respectful. He had become more focused on himself and finding happiness, which resulted in him chasing after Keys.
One day in 8th grade, Jacob showed up to class feeling particularly low. He spent the entire day crying. While working, he accidentally spilled his water bottle all over the floor. Looking down at the mess he created, he walked outside to grab tissues to clean it up without asking. After cleaning his mess, he went back to his desk and began working on his math assignment, but then Ms. Johnson spoke.
"I can't remember what she said; I don't even care what she said, but it was enough to make me leave," Jacob monologues. He got up out of his chair silently and walked out in the middle of her class. He didn't care to listen or comply. This would become his regular behavior in her class. Instead of taking her verbal abuse, he would skip her class over the most minor of inconveniences.
That day, he went to the office and told the counselors how he hated being in that class and couldn't work with that teacher around. For the rest of the day, they sent him to the 2nd-grade classroom to help teach the kids, giving him time to focus on something else.
Despite his bottled-up feelings about school, Keys, and his family, he found a bit of happiness teaching the kids how to work and how to read. As a student himself, he could also make jokes and play around with some of them. Although he got caught up in teaching the kids and focused less on his own work, it was a massive boost for his happiness that day.
But that's all it was—a day. After school ended, he went into his room and cried for hours until he fell asleep. He would then wake up crying or cry while getting dressed for school, and then cry at school. This cycle repeated until suddenly the 8th-grade class was split apart. The class was bad and uncontrollable, so the school decided to split them into two classes.
This change had both benefits and negatives for Jacob. He lost half of his friends due to the split, but he ended up with the new English teacher. The new teacher was kind—too kind for the class, which took advantage of her kindness. However, due to the teacher's leniency, when Jacob was feeling depressed, which was almost every day, he could get away with a lot more.
During this period, Jacob struggled in all of his classes while still attempting to date Keys. She had already cheated on him about five times with many of his friends over the years, but he still wanted her back. Each time he went back to her, it was killing him—it was like living through a torture scene to be near her. Luckily, they had been split apart due to the new class arrangements.
Another day came and Jacob walked into his English class and set up three chairs in a row, as many students had taken to sitting on tables, the floor, or even outside. Once Jacob had lined up all three chairs, he lay on top of them, covered his face with his jacket, and began to cry. No one paid him any attention because this had become his usual routine. Jacob would find a spot to cry, whether it be outside, in a corner, or in the open.
As he lay there, tears streaming down his face, he began to think deeply. "I don't feel like myself. Who am I?" he pondered. "Well, you're Jacob," he told himself. But then his thoughts conflicted, "Yeah, but you don't feel like Jacob. Is this really how Jacob feels? Jacob is always happy and excited." "Well, if I'm not Jacob, then who am I?" he wondered, his sobs intensifying.
"Soul," he whispered to himself. The name seemed to stick and resonate with him. "When I'm sad and depressed, I'll call myself Soul. When I'm happy and feel like myself, I'll be Jacob," he decided. From that day on, Jacob began to refer to himself as "we" and call himself Soul when he was feeling down. But then a thought occurred to him, "If I'm Soul when I'm depressed, then I'll always be Soul."
This revelation hit him hard. He continued crying, but something had shifted within him. From that day onward, throughout the rest of 8th grade, he referred to himself as Soul during his bouts of depression.
One day in Jacob's room he sat alone. His overwhelming emotions made him consider ending his own life. But he was scared, Jacob thought about what would come after death. The uncertainty caused him to hesitate and feel fear. He didn't want to die, but he couldn't bear to continue living in agony.
"This is gonna sound stupid, I know it does Soul but just listen… I love her too much and every time I chase after her, she hurts me. I have to stop loving her" Jacob whispered to himself. "And how do you stop loving her?" Soul questioned.
"I'm far too emotional and I always had an overactive imagination. What if I used those against myself? What if I imagine scenarios of me with her everyday, the height where my emotions are the strongest and then force myself to not care for her. If I can't feel any love for her in the highest moment of my emotions, then I would surely get over her and stop being so lovestruct" he suggested.
Soul considered the idea "And if this doesn't work?"
"Then I'll kill myself," Jacob declared solemnly.
Soul then asked, "What's the moment you'll feel the most love for her?" They both paused and pondered before reaching an agreement: "Death." Jacob then elaborated, "If I imagine her dying every day and force myself to feel nothing, I believe I won't love her anymore in real life,"
Jacob looked sad yet resolute as he prepared to carry out this plan. The day ended like every other; he cried himself to sleep and woke up tearful, dreading another day at school. However, upon arriving at school, Jacob sensed a shift in the atmosphere.
Jacob found a corner where he could let his tears flow freely, allowing his thoughts to wander into the depths of his mind. He fixated on Keys—the memories of her smile, her scent, her presence as a whole. Yet, alongside these memories, he forced himself to imagine her death in vivid detail. Sometimes it was peaceful, a passing in her sleep or a death in his arms. Other times, his imagination was darker.
With each death, Jacob felt a strange mix of relief and pain. It was a painful exercise, but he clung to it as his only path to numbness. Over and over again, he subjected himself to these visions, hoping they would dull his love for her.
Yet, every time he felt himself making progress—Keys would appear. Their encounters in the hallways or at lunch were always coincidental. Her conversations, her laughter, her smile, they would reignite his love all the same.
Jacob despised this cycle of falling in love. He yearned to erase her from his thoughts.
Another day came and Jacob found himself in an unexpected situation as he helped Keys and her friend in a computer class. Despite the split in their class, they sometimes saw each other.
"I'm going to get a brand new scroll, I did a survey online" Keys announced cheerfully. Jacob frowned, but looked concerned. "What do you mean? That sounds like a scam," However, her friend chimed in with enthusiasm, "I did it too! Can't wait to get mine."
Reluctantly, Jacob decided to let them believe what they wanted, focusing on his own work. But the conversation took a turn when the girls started discussing boys' butts. Jacob felt uncomfortable; he had no interest in such topics. The discussion, happening right next to him, grated on his nerves despite his attempts to ignore it.
He tried to bury himself in his computer tasks, but the uncomfortable conversation lingered in his mind.
After finishing up with the computers, Jacob, Keys, and her friend walked back to class together. It was a rare occasion because their classes had been merged temporarily, and they were all headed to the same room. Jacob was focused on talking to his friends or finding a corner to cry in once arrived.
As he set his bags down, he suddenly felt a powerful shove from behind that sent him crashing into nearby desks. Stunned and grasping the edge of the desk, Jacob turned around to see Keys standing there, her expression unreadable but her actions unmistakable.
Rage surged through Jacob like a tidal wave. He felt a mix of embarrassment, shame, and betrayal. The source of so much pain in his life, had just shoved him without any reason. His mind raced with conflicting thoughts — he had never harbored violent intentions towards her, not even in his moments of imagining her death. All he had ever wanted was to protect her or forget about her completely.
Yet, in that moment, something inside Jacob snapped. Anger clouded his judgment, and he found himself running towards her with a thought to strangle her.. He extended his hand towards her neck.
But then, as suddenly as his rage had erupted, everything went blank. Jacob couldn't recall the details of what happened next. All he could remember was the feeling of three friends kneeling on top of him, their voices urging him to stop, telling him it wasn't worth it.
As he lay on the ground, Jacob looked up and saw the fear in Keys' eyes. He had crossed a line he never thought he would, lost control in a way that frightened him..
Realizing the gravity of the situation, he raised his hands in surrender. His friends slowly backed away, allowing him to rise from the floor. He felt ashamed and guilt washed over him. Without a word, he retreated to a corner of the classroom, retrieving his bags and jacket, and collapsed into sobs.
As he sat crying in a corner, a girl approached him, concerned about his well-being. But Jacob lashed out "SHUT UP, BITCH!" His voice reverberated through the classroom, shocking everyone who heard it. The girl, taken aback and hurt by Jacob's outburst, quickly turned away, muttering cuss words under her breath. Jacob's guilt washed over him again. He desperately tried to apologize, but it was too late.
Hours passed, filled with Jacob's uncontrollable crying. Eventually, Keys approached him, offering apologies repeatedly. But Jacob, drained and emotionally exhausted, couldn't bring himself to accept her apologies.
Months passed, and Jacob's routine continued. Every day, he tortured himself with his overactive imagination, trying desperately to find a reason to stop caring about his love. It was an arduous process, especially since she would often talk to him just when he felt he was getting close to letting go. But her interactions with him had become less frequent, and eventually, Jacob reached a point where he was convinced he had finally done it.
One day during school Jacob approached Keys in the lunch line. As they struck up a conversation, he realized something—he felt nothing. No sadness, no anger, no love. It was as if he had never known her. He retained all his memories of her but felt nothing.
After their conversation ended, Jacob ran over to his friends the Cloud twins, and excitedly told them how he no longer felt anything for Keys. From that day forward, while he still talked to her, he wasn't in love with her, and that was all he had hoped for.
However, his relentless focus on numbing caused him to neglect his studies. With only a few months left of school, Jacob needed to catch up.
Another day while Jacob was in class, he and several other students were called to the office to discuss their grades. The principal warned them about the risk of failing and threatened to call Jacob's mother. However, this time Jacob wasn't nervous. Instead, he laughed.
"I'm not going to fail," Jacob said confidently.
The principal, clearly annoyed, responded, "You are going to fail."
Jacob continued to laugh. "I'm not going to fail. I did the math. My average would make me pass if I do well these next couple of months."
The principal felt disrespected, but instead of calling his mother, she gave them a stern lecture before sending them back to class.
Jacob began to feel a renewed sense of confidence. He was no longer referring to himself as Soul; he began to understand that both Jacob and Soul were parts of him. Embracing this duality allowed him to feel more whole.
To show this change, Jacob changed his name on social media to "Soul Arts." This new name was meant to reflect his art and all the pain he carried through experiences and identity.
During the final weeks of school, Jacob found himself walking down the hallways, where he noticed Ms. Johnson taking down her decorations. The school year was ending, and it made sense. As Jacob passed her, she spoke up, "I can't believe you actually passed."
Jacob turned around with a cocky grin. "Of course I did. I told you I was going to."
Ms. Johnson retorted, "You must've cheated. No way you were able to finish all of my assignments in time."
"No, I'm just that smart," Jacob replied before turning around and waving her off. As he walked away, he felt a sense of pride. That teacher had put him through hell, and while he had lost several battles, he finally got the last laugh. It may have been a small victory, but when all you've known is failure, a small victory is enough.
Jacob concluded his story, his eyes focused downward as he explained it to Trivia. Trivia looked empathetic towards Jacob. She began to write on her board, "I'm sorry," but Jacob quickly responded with a smile, "Don't be. I don't care anymore. That stuff happened years ago, and I'm not the same person I used to be."
Trivia studied his expression, searching for any signs of deceit, if he actually did care. After a few moments, she realized he was being genuine. He truly didn't feel bad anymore and was comfortable being open and honest with her.
Trivia, seeing that Jacob wasn't uncomfortable, reached out and wrote on her whiteboard once more, "So, what about your mom?"
Jacob answered easily, "Oh, we're fine. I talked to her about it once I made it to high school. She was far more understanding, and we were cool afterward," he said nonchalantly.
Trivia then wrote, "What about your most recent relationship?"
Jacob thought about it for a moment. "Well, to put it simply, I broke her trust and didn't understand her which caused her to break up with me"
Trivia furrowed her eyebrows a bit, hoping for a story. However, she wasn't too upset because she understood if he didn't want to go into detail.
Jacob then climbed out of her bed. "I'm gonna go shower now. That story took like an hour," he said before walking into the bathroom. Trivia watched him walk away for a moment, hearing the water turn on from the other side of the door. She stared deeply, lost in her own thoughts, processing everything Jacob had shared with her.
"Soul…" she thought, closing her eyes and recalling her time alone before Jacob had arrived at the school. She thought about her imaginary friend named Neo and how she later understood that Neo was just a representation of what Trivia wanted: to be free, to buy clothes, to have fun, to make friends, and to enjoy life to the fullest. "Could I have what he has?" she wondered as her eyes drifted downward to her bedsheets.
Her fingers dug into the bedsheets as she laid back and brought the blanket up towards her face. She stared up at the ceiling, letting out a deep sigh. Her brown and pink eyes drifted upward, searching for answers to something that seemed so out of reach.
"How come he knows so much about himself?" "How come he is so confident?" she pondered. She slowly reached for her scroll, opening the camera and facing it towards her face. Stretching her hands towards the sky, she looked at half of her face through the camera screen. Her gaze focused on her mismatched eyes. She extended her hand, grabbing her bangs, and twirling the curls in her fingers with a disappointed expression. She let out a deep sigh as she looked down.
After a while, Trivia slowly put her scroll away, closing it and pushing it to the side. She looked around the dorm room, noticing the other girls had already arrived or were arriving. Trivia had forgotten they existed, mainly focusing on herself. But something caught her attention.
"You're still crying because your mother yelled at you," one of the girls said to another.
"B-but?" the crying girl stammered.
"There are no buts, your mother isn't here so don't care about her!" the other girl retorted.
Trivia side-eyed them. Usually, she would listen to this gossip for information or even be annoyed, but for some reason, hearing this made her think of her own family.
"She was far more understanding and we were cool afterward," she recalled Jacob's words. Trivia didn't think much about her parents, and she was sure they didn't think much about her. But Jacob's story had confused her thoughts. "Could they really understand me?" she wondered.
Her relationship with her parents was more like strangers living in the same house. She didn't even know what her mother's favorite color was, let alone anything about her past. Her mother could never remember Trivia's favorite fairy tale as a kid. Even when Trivia tried to think of her father, all of her memories were full of being scolded or seeing him working.
Trivia's eyes grew sad. "That's impossible," she thought. She knew Jacob had a bad relationship with his mother and he was able to fix it, but she didn't think it was possible for her to do what he did.
Trivia turned to the side to see her scroll. Slowly, she opened it, looking at the blue light that gleamed. With a hesitant finger, she hit the messages icon, where she saw her parents' faces, labeled under the names "DeadBeat #1" and "DeadBeat #2." Trivia studied their faces on the screen, taking in each detail. With a heavy sigh, she clicked on her mother's messages, not knowing what to expect or why she was doing this. Maybe she thought her mother had messaged her and she hadn't seen it, or maybe she wasn't hoping for anything.
Trivia stared at the screen. There were no new messages. She knew it. She knew they hadn't messaged her, and she knew she hadn't messaged them. But it still hurt. Tears welled up in her eyes as she bit her bottom lip. Her breath hitched as she took in the screen. Maybe she had hoped they would message her. The last message sent was on April 1st by her mother:
"Make sure to tell your father Happy Birthday," her mother had written.
"Why should I (¬､¬)"
"Because he's your father. He buys you all the gifts you want; the least you could do is wish him a Happy Birthday," Carmel had replied.
"He doesn't know what I want, and I never asked for those gifts! Just send him a card and say it was from me; you do it every other year, so do it this year," Trivia had retorted.
Trivia's eyes scanned the screen as she read the messages. Her sadness turned to anger as she thought about her relationship. She grabbed her scroll, squeezing it in her hand as her breathing became erratic. Every moment and every unwanted gift they had given her played in her head. Her hands tightened and clenched around the device before she finally tossed it, throwing it in a random direction.
Instead of the sound of glass shattering, Trivia heard the device slam against skin. She looked up, confused, and saw Jacob in his kimono, catching her scroll in his hand. He looked equally confused as he glanced down at the scroll that had flown into his grasp. "You okay?" he asked.
Trivia tried to hide her anger, not wanting Jacob to see her in this state of mind. She brushed her hair behind her ear. Jacob stared at her for a moment, then glanced down at his hand to see her scroll. Noticing the open conversation with her mom, he quickly switched out of the messages app and opened a video game she had been playing earlier.
He walked over and handed Trivia her scroll. "I know it's just a game, but you don't gotta rage. Remember, we're poor. We can't afford another scroll," he said, pretending he didn't know what was troubling her.
Trivia stared at the screen, her eyes fixated on it momentarily. She thought that when the scroll hit his skin, it had somehow switched to a new app. She looked up, meeting his eyes, and nodded before taking her scroll back.
Jacob walked over to Trivia's bed and lay down on the opposite end, turning onto his side and putting his headphones on as he watched GrimmTube videos.
Trivia leaned back onto her bed, staring at the ceiling before her eyes drifted down to her scroll in her hand. She pulled the scroll towards her face, she clicked on a GrimmTube video and went to a playlist called "Entropy." She hit shuffle and then play.
"Hi there! Welcome to our channel. If you're watching this video, you might be dealing with a strained relationship between you and your child, or perhaps you're a parent trying to mend a broken bond with your son or daughter. First of all, I want to commend you for taking this brave step towards healing and rebuilding that important relationship."
Trivia rolled her eyes at the words, reaching out to turn it off. Her finger hovered close to another random video, but she paused. Her eyes traced the screen, and her ears tuned into the words more clearly. Trivia inhaled deeply before exhaling and pushing her scroll to the side, letting the video play. Maybe she was too lazy to turn it off, or maybe she wanted to listen—she wasn't sure.
As she listened, she began to think about her family situation. Several minutes passed, and the video ended, leaving a silence that was soon filled by the next video, also about family troubles. "Urgh, again!?" she thought. She was getting sick of hearing these types of videos, but she couldn't make herself turn them off. She sighed, closing her eyes once again while listening.
Her thoughts began to drift, her mind recalling her ninth birthday. Trivia had been gifted a music box and some fairy tale books by Hei Xiong. She remembered the weight of the music box in her small hands, her fingers slowly clasping around its handle as she turned it to play its tune. The room was filled with various gifts, but the music box's melody was the only sound that mattered to her in that moment.
As the music box played, Trivia began to hum softly, "Happy Birthday to you, Happy birthday to you," nodding her head along with the tune. Her humming grew softer and sadder with each repetition. She was the only one there to sing it, the only one who was there to celebrate. She fell to her knees, the music box slipping and shattering on the floor.
Her brown eyes stared at the broken pieces scattered around her. She reached out, touching the fragments. As the sunlight pierced through her bedroom blinds, tears began to fall, landing on the floor amidst the shards. Trivia gritted her teeth, the tears streaming uncontrollably.
Suddenly, she felt a gentle touch on her right shoulder. She turned to see Neo crouching beside her. Despite often being rebellious, Neo was also empathetic.
Neo's presence provided a small measure of solace. "It's okay," Neo mouthed but no words came out. "You're not alone."
Back in the present, Trivia opened her eyes as she let out a gasp, she felt a weight on her wrists, pulling her back down onto her bed. Confused and alarmed, she realized her semblance had manifested involuntarily again—manifesting shackles around her wrists.
She struggled against the chains for a moment. But as she calmed her breathing and consciously focused on releasing the mental shackles, the illusions began to fade. With a deep sigh of relief, Trivia managed to sit up slowly, her eyes shifting upwards to the ceiling as she tried to regain her composure.
Jacob noticed Trivia's demeanor as she reached for her whiteboard and wrote out a question.
Jacob shifted closer, sitting as he waited for her to continue. Trivia glanced at him briefly before focusing on her whiteboard again, her hands trembling slightly as she wrote.
"You said you managed to fix your problems with your mom, how?"
Jacob sat in silence for a while. After a moment, he began to speak softly "She changed," Jacob started, "Everyone does, it just took a lot of time, a lot of reminding."
As Jacob spoke, Trivia's frustration grew, her skepticism evident in her eyes.
"I know that expression," Jacob remarked gently, slowly moving closer to Trivia. His brown eyes locked onto her brown and pink irises. "You don't think it's possible for them to change, do you?"
He paused briefly, allowing his words to sink in before continuing. "My brother—I always thought he was an amazing person," Jacob reflected. "My best memories were playing games with him and always having fun."
Jacob's expression grew more serious as he shifted his gaze back to Trivia. "A few years ago I tried to live with him in Higabana," Jacob began. "During that time, I hadn't seen him in years, but I expected him to be the same person I knew from when I was a child."
He paused before continuing, "He wasn't. He was abusive. He would scream and yell at his wife and even beat her."
Trivia's eyes widened in shock. "I couldn't forgive him, I just couldn't. I hated him," his voice rose with anger, his eyes momentarily looking down. "I hated seeing it, I hated that his kids had to see that."
Suddenly, his anger seemed to dissipate, "But I ended up having talks with him about it. Throughout his long rants, he seemed to regret being the type of person he was, so I held him to his word."
He paused, his gaze softening as he reached out to touch Trivia's shoulder.
"Years passed and my brother isn't the same person I saw him as in Higabana," he continued. "He's much calmer, wiser, and more fun like I remembered him as."
He took another deep breath before shifting to speak about his mother.
"My mom used to drink a lot," he confided. "She says it's because my dad used to drink. I have no clue if that's the reason, but what I do know is that when she was drunk, she was aggressive and she scared the hell out of me. My dad, on the other hand, was more chill."
"I remember when I was a little kid and my dad still lived with us, I asked my mom to talk. She complied, and I told her that I was scared of her when she used to drink."
"I said all of this while crying to her, but she listened and made a promise to change. According to her, my words woke her up, and she went into a depressive slump for about a week before promising not to drink anymore."
"Even now I can talk to my mom about anything. We're very close because we understand each other now. She knows how hard I work, and I know how hard she works. We can respect that and continue to better our relationship,"
He paused briefly before continuing, "Even simple things can help. I remember when I told her to watch an anime with me, and she actually agreed although never being interested in anime. She even grew to watch about 3 seasons by herself, having a favorite character which is a frog faunus."
His smile became infectious, though Trivia remained contemplative, her thoughts swirling.
"My point is, you have to understand each other and also attempt to reach out to them," Jacob emphasized, his gaze unwavering as he locked eyes with Trivia.
However, Trivia quickly wrote. "But I'm their daughter. They should contact me."
Jacob brow furrowed slightly. "Yes, however, communication is a two-way street," he countered. "Sometimes you aren't always going to get a reply unless you say what you want first."
He leaned closer, his voice soft but firm, "If I didn't talk to my mom first and try to understand her, then she would've never reached out to understand me. Sometimes the child has to start the change, but you'll never know if you never try."
As Jacob spoke, Trivia looked down in silence. She couldn't argue with Jacob's logic because deep down, she knew that she had never made the effort to understand her parents either.
As Jacob playfully knocked on her forehead, Trivia couldn't help but let out a surprised laugh, her hands instinctively moving to hold her forehead as she looked up at him.
"Now try and get some sleep," Jacob said with a chuckle and a warm smile. He hopped off the edge of her bed, leaving Trivia to contemplate his words.
After Jacob left, Trivia remained lying on her back, her eyes fixed on the ceiling as her thoughts returned to the tangled web of emotions surrounding her family. She replayed Jacob's stories in her mind—the challenges he faced with his brother and mother, and how they worked through their issues to find understanding and closeness again.
Suddenly, Trivia felt a tug on her foot, and her eyes widened in nervousness. She glanced down to see Jacob, she tilted her head to the side with a slightly annoyed expression.
"You need to create the place I need to sleep and, uhhhh," Jacob's voice trailed off in embarrassment. "I don't think you have enough aura after trying to keep my appearance so can I sleep with you?" Trivia's eyes widened briefly.
Nodding in understanding, Trivia gestured with her hands: she pointed to herself, then Jacob, followed by a playful throat-slitting motion. Jacob chuckled in response. "Yeah, yeah. I wouldn't. I won't even look at you," he reassured her before settling down on the edge of her bed.
As Jacob settled into the bed beside Trivia, she scooted to the side to give him room, her small body not taking up much space. Seeing Jacob lie down next to her filled Trivia with a subtle happiness. This was like scenes from the movies, moments she had seen in stories about friends and sleepovers. It was her first time experiencing sleeping next to someone else in her own bed.
As they both lay there, Trivia couldn't help but feel anxious. Her hands fidgeted nervously as a whirlwind of thoughts raced through her mind. What if she hugged him too tightly? Would Jacob find her too eager for a friend? Was it weird to even think about hugging him? Did people in Mistral even hug in bed, or was that just in movies? Her insecurities grew, and she became unsure of how to act.
Meanwhile, Jacob's heart pounded in his chest. "Calm down, Calm down, Calm down, Calm down!" he repeated in his head
Gradually, they both rolled over onto their sides. In an unexpected moment, their eyes met. Trivia quickly turned onto her back to avoid his gaze, feeling self-conscious and unsure. Jacob attempted to play it cool, glancing at her briefly before turning to face the opposite direction, avoiding eye contact altogether.
Trivia lay on her side. Her hands felt clammy with nervousness, her mind swirling with thoughts. Then, Jacob's words echoed in her mind: "You'll never know if you never try." It struck a chord within her.
Meanwhile, Jacob lay beside her, trying to distract himself with GrimmTube videos on his scroll. As he scrolled through, seeking a video to watch, he suddenly felt small arms wrap around his waist, and Trivia's face pressed against his back. Jacob tensed instinctively, unsure of what to do, but he refrained from moving, not wanting to disturb her. His heart raced, his hands trembling slightly around the scroll.
Trivia sensed Jacob's initial reaction but noticed he didn't pull away or say anything. Encouraged, she continued to hold him from behind, feeling the warmth of his body mingling with hers. Gradually, her tense nerves began to relax, a broad grin spreading across her face. She closed her eyes slowly, her breathing steadying as she settled into the embrace.
Jacob's breaths deepened as he tried to calm his racing mind. Feeling Trivia's presence behind him, he gradually relaxed into her embrace. Clicking on a video to watch, he sought to distract himself further until they both drifted to sleep.