Jacksepticeye Imagines

18: Rooftop Mist

I jogged across the forest floor, avoiding fallen logs, jumping over little streams, and kicking up dirt and dew under my shoes. I came to a slow stop as I approached it, and as I stopped walking, the light mist that seemed to hand on the ground swirled once again around my ankles. I looked up, shielding my eyes from the sunlight. "Jack, how come you didn't tell me this was here?" I asked, looking over my shoulder at Jack, who walked up behind me.

"I forgot it was here until you pointed it out. I haven't been back home in forever, so I didn't remember until now." Jack and I had taken a visit to see his family, and we'd been staying with them for the past couple of days. I'd relished in the greenery that seems to never end in Ireland, spreading farther than the eye can see. Being out here in the woods though, on a walk with Jack, gives me a serene, undisturbed feeling that only washed over me every so often. 

"You forgot that there was a giant, probably climb-able water tower within a mile of your house?" I asked. Jack shoved me lightly before staring up at the old structure and answered,

"Well, if you lived here for the majority of your life, you'd forget about it as well." Seeing his point, I fell silent and looked up at the tower. It gleamed in the evening light, the top of it just flat enough for people to walk on. The rungs on the ladder leading up to the roof seemed very well-kept for a building that looks abandoned otherwise. Rust is beginning to form on the other sections of the tower, but the roof and the ladders look intact, and almost brand new.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's climb it!" I said. Without a second thought to hold me back, I ran up to the first rungs on the ladder and put my hands on it. The metal was cool to the touch, and it had a copper color up close. I shook the ladder to see if it was actually attached to the building, and I was highly satisfied to see that the rungs didn't move at all and the whole building did not come crashing down on top of my head. I began climbing the tower, only looking back down after a few seconds of climbing. I saw Jack still on the ground, looking up at me. Even though I was only so high off the ground, he looked much smaller from my perspective, like he was part of the earth and couldn't enjoy the sky. 

"What's it like?" I heard Jack yell from the ground.  I looked down and saw him squinting up at me with a hand covering his eyes.

"It's just a ladder, so far!" I yelled back. "Why don't you come up and check it out? I want to get to the top!" 

"I don't like heights, (Y/N), and you know that, but I'm going to risk it because I want to see what you're seeing." Jack said. With that, he approached the ladder on the tower and grabbed the first rung. He looked skeptical as he climbed slightly higher, and looked up at me after getting fully off the ground.

"Are you sure you trust this ladder?" Jack asked. "I don't know about this." I shook my head slightly, looking up at the tower above me before replying,

"I trust it; it looks very well-kept and the ladder is holding the both of us without any trouble. It has to hold a lot of weight other than us, anyway- it was a water tower once."

"Just for you, (Y/N)." Seeing my point, Jack continued climbing. I kept going as well, looking back once in awhile to make sure that Jack was still going as well. Once I was sure that he wasn't stopping, I stopped looking over my shoulder and focused on getting to the roof. It took more effort and time than I had anticipated, but once I got to the roof, it was all worth it. Jack joined me not more than a few seconds later, and we both looked together at the beauty before us. The deep green hills dotted with trees stretched for miles, and the beginnings of a city could be seen through the haze on the horizon. I could see Jack's parent's house from here, a little log cabin that seemed like it was made from a toy kit from this high up. I sat down and sighed at the sight of it all, and Jack sat down next to me and took my hand, seeming to be in just as much awe.

Perhaps the best part of it all was the sunset. After Jack and I had been up there for some time, talking in hushed voices for fear of disturbing the quiet, the sun began to go down. It was at that point where the clear sky was every shade of orange and pink, and the stars and moon could be seen rising alongside the sunset. The sky seemed so pristine and so close that I could touch it, but the calm seemed so fragile that touching the sky could very well shatter it. I squeezed Jack's hand, my eyes unwavering as I watched the sun disappear slowly below the green hills to awake the other side of the world. In response, Jack put an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close to him. There we stayed, watching the moon make its appearance over Ireland, accompanied by a massive array of stars. The city in the distance slowly lit up, once streetlamp and one window at a time. I smiled at the night, at the darkness that so quietly fell over the countryside. Jack and I stayed atop the water tower for as long as possible until it was unavoidable that we had to go back. Back to the little log cabin that will be just the right size when my feet once again touch the ground. 

Jack went down the ladder first and I followed, speaking softly to me about the way the night sky looks. I listened to his voice as we climbed down the tower, but Jack suddenly ceased talking. I turned to look at what has caused it, and I saw why as soon as I turned my head. Countless fireflies has risen from their hiding places among the grass, and they were lighting up the forest with the light green glow. Jack laughed softly and began to climb down faster. I watched from my place on the ladder as he hit the ground, running around for a second until he cupped his hands around something. He looked back up at me and called up,

"Aren't you coming down to catch fireflies?" I smiled and nodded, and I descended as quickly as possible. As I neared the ground, I started to descend faster, and I was taken by complete surprise when my left foot slipped off of the ladder. Jack audibly gasped below me, and I heard him running. I would have gone flying off of the tower had my hands not been tightly gripping the ladder rungs above me, and I came to realize that the dew from the ground earlier must have stayed on the ladder from when Jack and I climbed earlier. My heart was going a million miles an hour as my body swung back and forth, losing momentum too slowly for my liking. Eventually, I stopped swinging so violently and I managed to calm down slightly. As carefully as possible, I re-anchored my feet to the ladder and climbed slowly down the rest of the way. My heartbeat returned to normal only after both of my feet had been firmly planted on the ground, and Jack let the firefly in his hands return to the sky and he wrapped his arms around me.

"We're supposed to get you back in the house in one piece. Don't scare me like that, please, (Y/N)." I laughed into the night as Jack buried his head into my shoulder as if he couldn't believe I was actually safe.

"And in once piece I will be, Jack. I'm okay now, I promise." Jack let go of me but took me hand and squeezed it. I smiled at his gesture, and we began walking home, away from the beautifully frightening water tower.

"Can we come back tomorrow?" I asked. Jack laughed, his voice ringing across the forest as we walked hand in hand in the direction of home.