Chapter 12: A Different Nostalgia
[This chapter contains scenes from Episode 7: To Catch a Changeling from Trollhunters]
"I find these claims hard to believe, even from both you and your Trollhunter, Blinkous." Vendel sat across from them as Jim, Toby, Blinky, and AAARRRGGHH spoke with him.
"Vendel, I assure you with 100% certainty, all six of these eyes laid eyes on the one and only Killahead Bridge. Not to mention a Changeling guarding it." Blinky retorted emphatically.
"Be that as it may, Trollmarket is currently in a state of panic. Talk of Impure and Gunmar are circulating and making everyone paranoid." Vendel sighed, turning his pale eyes on Jim. "Young Trollhunter, I find your drive and skill to keep Trollmarket safe reassuring, but your acts have suddenly poured oil on this fire. You should have kept this to yourself and come to me in private."
"I'm sorry, Vendel." Jim bit his lip, finally seeing things begin to unfurl differently due to his meddling. "But everyone deserves to know what's happening. We can't just keep it secret from them."
"This isn't about keeping secrets, Trollhunter, it's about keeping level heads. For centuries, trolls believed the threat of Changelings to have disappeared along with the threat of Gunmar. Now, that peace of mind has been replaced with panic and distrust. Anyone could be a Changeling, and that has driven Trollmarket to chaos."
Jim understood what Vendel was saying and it all made sense. Unfortunately he didn't know any other way to go about it. Trollmarket needed to know and be aware of the Changeling threat. They needed to know about Killahead Bridge. It was better that they know then be caught unawares.
"If the Bridge is still in this museum, as you claim, I will organize a battalion of warrior trolls to go and retrieve it." Vendel stated, gripping his Heartstone staff firmly as he prepared to stand.
"The Changelings know we found it." Blinky shook his head. "I believe they would already have hidden the Bridge should we return to claim it. At the very least, Bular would be there, and none but the Trollhunter can hope to face him in combat."
"Yeah, that guy's pretty gnarly." Toby laughed nervously.
"Then what do you suggest we do, Blinkous?" Vendel paused, raising an eyebrow as he stared at the six-eyed troll.
"Well, Master Jim says he has a plan." Blinky turned and placed a reassuring hand on Jim's shoulder.
"And what might this plan entail?" Vendel turned to look at Jim now, but he couldn't answer him plainly.
"It's… kinda complicated. But I promise, I'll do my best to keep Trollmarket safe. We all will." Jim looked over at Toby and AAARRRGGHH, both of them nodding reassuringly at him.
"Very well. I will give you the benefit of the doubt, Trollhunter." Vendel sighed, finally standing up and turning to leave. "I will do my best to quell the unease you sewed in Trollmarket. But I hope you deliver results befitting of your claims sooner rather than later."
The next day at school was wildly different than Jim remembered. Probably due to the fact he was managing to not flake out on the play causing Mrs. Janeth to chew him out, and also because he didn't write a letter to Claire because he thought Draal was going to kill him. He hadn't even realized he'd forgotten it until he and Toby were walking up the steps to the school building in the morning.
Jim hadn't realized just how much he shared with Claire before she knew anything about his life as Trollhunter. That letter really kicked things off but now, he would have to find another way. He still had his promise to keep.
After classes ended and Jim was about to head down to Trollmarket, he spotted Claire with a couple of her friends. He found his gaze lingering on her for a while and she must have noticed because she turned almost immediately and spotted him.
She smiled before walking over, waving. Jim felt butterflies flit about in his stomach as he waved back, awkwardly smiling as Claire stopped only a few feet away.
"Hey, Jim."
"Hi."
The two of them stood there in silence for a bit, neither of them quite sure what to say. They both opened their mouths at the same time to speak, but stopped as they noticed the other was about to say something. Laughing, Jim couldn't help but enjoy the awkward little moment.
"Sorry, you go first."
"I was just wondering where you were for last night's rehearsal." Claire brushed a lock of hair behind her ear as she looked up at him. "It isn't like you to just flake like that. I thought something might have happened."
Jim couldn't help but chuckle inwardly at the irony of that statement. "Yeah, something kinda came up."
"Well, I hope you don't make it a habit, mister." Claire teased, pointing an accusing finger at him. "Mrs. Janeth had Steve fill in for you."
"Well, it's good to have an understudy just in case, right?" Jim smiled back brightly. "But I promise I won't make a habit of it. I just had something really important to do yesterday."
"What kind of important?" Claire asked, tilting her head as she sat down on the steps leading down to the road, motioning to Jim to join her. He did, laying his bike down on its side as he took a seat right next to Claire. As he settled in he glanced over at her, noticing a heavy blush to her cheeks. That was when he noticed he just naturally sat extremely close to her, his arm behind her and almost around her waist.
Jumping a little, Jim quickly scooched to the side, putting a little bit of distance between them. "Sorry, sorry. My bad."
"That's okay." Claire cleared her throat as she turned away, nervously adjusting her hair as she forced a laugh. "An-anyways, what important thing were you doing yesterday?"
"Oh… well…" Jim stumbled over his words, unsure of what to say. Once again he found himself desperately wanting to tell Claire everything. It would be so simple to show her Merlin's amulet or just bring her to Trollmarket with him. But he couldn't just make that decision in the moment. "I… got really behind on homework. And the thing is, my mom said she wouldn't let me do the play if my grades slipped. So I was studying all night."
"I get that." Claire giggled. "My parents are super strict about grades too. If you want, maybe you could come by my place for a study sesh?"
Jim was all smiles as he just gazed into Claire's eyes for a long moment. Maybe a little too long as she started blushing again but they were interrupted by the honking of a car horn. Claire turned and Jim saw her dad waiting in a car nearby, waving for her to come over.
"I'm down for a study sesh. "Jim quickly took her offer, standing up and offering her a hand as she joined him. "Your place, right?"
"Yeah. See you tomorrow at six?" Claire smiled, tucking her hair back yet again as she looked up at him.
"Yeah, totally. See you at six."
Jim waved as Claire ran off, hopping in the car and driving away. Maybe getting her to love him again wouldn't be as hard as he first thought. At the very least, things still seemed to be moving in the right direction, even if they were different than last time.
Preparations in Trollmarket were fairly straightforward. Blinky and AAARRRGGHH took them to RotGut's to procure a gaggletack and explained more about their plan moving forward to find the Changelings in their midst. While Jim hadn't quite planned on them taking the same course of action as they did last time, he went along with it for the moment, but was furiously thinking about how he could keep Toby and the others from finding Strickler.
The Changeling had repeatedly stated why it was so important for their connection to remain secret at the moment. Bular had grown suspicious of him once before and they couldn't risk more people knowing of his involvement. At least, not until they could deal with the Gumm-Gumm and ensure events transpired the way they needed them to.
Jim did his best to rein Toby in throughout the day, making sure they didn't use the gaggletack too much in front of everyone. Thinking back on it, they really had been way too blatantly obvious in their search for Changelings. That was what led to Toby's precarious situation at the dentist's later that day. Jim made sure to hold onto the gaggletack after the school day was over though, insisting to his chubby friend that they should go together if they wanted to investigate his dentist.
However, at the moment, Jim was content as he sat down on the couch in Claire's living room, setting his backpack down next to him as he took in the familiar scenery. Claire was currently in the kitchen, prepping them snacks, but already had several books out on the coffee table along with her own homework.
Just across the way, Jim saw the little blond-haired baby in his swing, happily bouncing up and down as he bubbled and laughed. Jim couldn't help but smile at the adorable baby Enrique, crouching down next to him and playfully poking his cheeks.
"Hey, Enrique. Nice to see you again." He tickled the baby as Enrique grabbed his finger with his chubby little hands and cooed.
It was strange to be there in Claire's house again, meeting Enrique while he was still Enrique. Thinking about it, this was the only time he actually met Claire's real little brother. The next time he saw him, he'd already been replaced by NotEnrique.
Jim was still torn up that he probably wouldn't be able to stop it from happening again, even though he knew it was going to happen, but hopefully he would be able to save Enrique from the Darklands much sooner this time.
"Don't worry, little guy. You won't be gone for long. I promise."
"I hope you like guacamole. I put a little milk in it. Secret family recipe." Claire walked out holding a massive bowl of guac before glancing over at Jim and Enrique. "Wow. He really likes you."
"Thanks." Jim smiled, standing up. "Man, that's an absolute bathtub of guac."
Claire laughed playfully as she sat down on the couch, quickly grabbing a chip and scooping up a mass of guacamole before eating it. "I wish! I would totally take a bath in guac. It's so good!"
Jim laughed with her, quickly grabbing a chip for himself and scooping up the guac, eating it happily. "Mm! This is still the best thing I've ever had."
"Still?" Claire asked as she laughed, bringing attention to Jim's slip of the tongue. "What? Have you had my guacamole before without me knowing?"
Jim bit his lip as his mind raced for an excuse. He was letting his guard down. It was just so comfortable being around Claire he forgot himself. They'd had so many little dates here and there just spending time together and joking that the fact they weren't even dating now was hard for him to internalize.
"Ah… sor-sorry, slip of the tongue." Jim tried to laugh it off, filling his mouth with another chip. "But seriously, this is the best."
"Thanks." Claire was still smiling, but her overly jovial attitude had diminished as she looked at him. "You know, Jim. You're an interesting guy."
Jim nervously ate another chip, glancing over at Claire as she hadn't taken her eyes off him in a long time. However, she just smiled at him, turning to the books laid out on the coffee table.
"Come on. Let's work on this homework."
Jim nervously nodded, grabbing his own books as they started to work on some math problems together.