I woke up with my face on Jack's chest. I took a moment to lay there and enjoy the warmth of his skin and the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest.
I took a deep breath and sat up, trying not to disturb him. I stretched briefly and my movements woke him up. He slowly blinked his eyes open and immediately wrapped his arms around my waist.
I smiled and he pulled me down to him until my chest was against his.
"Sorry for waking you up," I smiled.
"I'll never be mad if I'm waking up next to you, Love," he replied softly.
I grinned and he pulled my face to him, kissing me softly.
"Jack?" I whispered, looking into his eyes.
"Yeah, Love?" he whispered back.
I leaned forward and put my lips next to his ear.
"I want food," I whispered.
He chuckled and wrapped his arms around me as he scooched himself to the edge of the bed. He stood up and carried me downstairs.
We were both just wearing our underwear and I liked the skin-to-skin contact.
He set me down when we were in the kitchen and kissed the top of my head before heading to the kitchen to make breakfast. I sat on one of the stools and watched him.
His phone started ringing and I could tell from the sound that it was FaceTime. He answered and propped his phone up against a bowl.
"Oi mate, wassup??" I heard a guy ask in an Australian accent.
"How many times do I gotta tell ya, I'm fuckin' British," Jack yelled with a small smile.
"Ahhh Jack, you know I love fucking with you," the guy answered normally.
"I dunno why I let you," Jack answered.
I watched curiously, not wanting to say anything because I was interested in this dynamic.
"Sooooo what are you doing?" the guy asked.
His voice came off overly confident. Cocky, even. I could tell he was sassy. There was an odd roughness to his voice that I didn't hear often.
"Makin' breakfast, what about you, fucker?" Jack replied.
I raised my eyebrows and continued watching. Jack glanced up at me and gave me a smile.
"Not shit. Who ya smilin' at?" he asked. I froze and looked at Jack, who stared at me.
"Ooooh. It's a girl," the guy taunted.
I scrambled to my feet and grabbed a blanket from the couch, wrapping myself in it. I walked back over to Jack and waited. He reached his hand out and pulled me to him.
I glanced at the phone screen and saw a strange-looking guy. He had black hair and really pale skin. The area around his eyes was all black and he had a bloody smile carved into his skin. I stared at him, not sure what to think.
He leaned forward to the camera and smiled.
"Am I scaring you, darling?" he taunted.
"No," I spat back as I narrowed my eyes.
He leaned back and chuckled a little.
"Good, you got a feisty one, Jackaboy," he said.
"Shut up," Jack replied.
"You have a lot of strange friends, Jack," I said as I looked up at Jack.
"I know," he replied with a chuckle.
"Sooo, who do I have the pleasure of seeing on my screen?" the guy asked.
"This is Y/N, my girlfriend," he answered before looking at me, "this is my idiot friend Jeff."
"Oooh nice to meet you, Y/N. Now, sweetheart, do you wanna lose the blanket?" Jeff asked with a smirk.
"Don't make me fly there and beat your ass, Jeff," Jack said sternly.
Jeff put his hands up innocently with a devilish grin.
"So, Jack, are you ever gonna visit your dear friends?" Jeff asked sarcastically.
"Yes, I've just been... busy," Jack answered as he looked at me.
"Yes, I see that. Don't worry, you can bring her. I'd love to meet her," Jeff said. The words didn't sound nice coming from him.
"Rightttt," Jack answered.
"Unless you're afraid, Jack," Jeff challenged.
"Oh, she can handle you guys, trust me," Jack said. I smiled as I remembered what I was. It was weird, after spending a couple of decades thinking I was a human.
"We'll see. Soooo get your British ass over here soon or I'll come and drag you here myself," Jess asserted.
"Alright, alright," Jack dismissed.
"I'm serious, Jack. I've done it before and I will do it again," Jeff continued.
"I don't doubt you, Jeff. I'll come visit soon, promise," Jack reassured.
"Okay."
"Alright, I love you," Jack teased.
"Don't say that to me," Jeff said, seeming offended.
"But I just looooove you so much," Jack continued with a smile.
"Okay, I'm gonna go throw up. You two have fun," Jeff said.
"Later," Jack said as he hung up.
When he was done, he turned to me and wrapped his arms around me.
"I'm speechless," I finally said.
Jack chuckled and I smiled at him before leaning up to kiss him. He kissed me for a moment, and I pulled him closer to me, wanting to deepen the kiss. He entertained it for a moment then pulled away from me.
"As much as I love kissing you, I need to make you food before you eat me instead," Jack teased.
I playfully pushed his shoulder and he smiled, focusing back on our food.
When we were finished eating, we were sitting on the couch, my head resting in his lap as he played with my hair.
"I think you and Hayden should meet. Like for real," I said randomly.
"Oh?" Jack questioned.
I looked into his eyes and started playing with a string on his hoodie.
"Well, I know you guys didn't start off the best and I think it would be good," I explained.
"Yeah, I'm fine with that," he answered.
"Are you sure?"
"Of course, Love. I'm not threatened by him," he answered.
"I know," I smiled.
"Speaking of, I want to meet with him today and see if he can help me figure out why I'm here," I told him.
"That sounds like a good idea."
"Yeah. I hope it works..."
"Well, maybe when you guys are done, you can bring him here and we can get to know each other," Jack suggested.
I was surprised by how calm he was about the whole thing, but at the same time, I wasn't. He was so kind and I could tell how much he trusted me.
"Okay," I said with a smile, "well I'm gonna go get dressed and try to find him."
"Need help getting dressed?" he asked seductively.
"I think I might," I replied with a grin as I sat up.
He grabbed my face and kissed me passionately. He hooked his arms around me and carried me upstairs, kissing me the whole way.
When we got to my room, he sat me on the bed and leaned over me until I was laying down. He broke our kiss and began leaving a trail of kisses down my body.
I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feeling.
"This is not helping," I breathed.
"Oh, pardon me. I'll stop then," he grinned as he stood up straight.
I pouted and reached for him, pulling him close to me again. He laced his fingers with mine as he held my hands down.
He looked all over my body, taking in the sights. I was glad I was able to see his eyes now. It was nice to know where he was looking. He locked his eyes with mine and I waited breathlessly to see what he'd do.
"You're gonna have to wait, Love," he whispered.
"Why?!" I objected.
"Because I like the thought of driving you crazy all day," he said as he looked at me seductively.
I couldn't help myself and I leaned my head up, kissing him passionately. He returned it, then stood up abruptly.
"Get dressed," he said with a smirk.
"Okay, Daddy," I joked as I stood up.
He wrapped his arms around me from behind and pulled me against him.
"Oh, really?" he asked.
"Two can play at your game," I winked, looking up at him.
He chuckled and let me go and I began rummaging through my clothes, pulling out the easiest things to put on.
When I was dressed, I faced Jack and he instinctually put his hands on my arms.
"Have fun and good luck," he told me.
"Thanks," I smiled as I leaned up to kiss him.
I sat on the railing of the porch as I touched the crystal hanging around my neck. I closed my eyes and thought about Hayden coming to me. I opened my eyes and let my dangling legs swing as I waited.
About five minutes later, I saw Hayden, descending from the air and pulling his wings into his back.
"Aren't you worried people will see you?" I asked.
"No, and it's the fastest way," he shrugged.
I chuckled and he approached me.
"So, to what do I owe this pleasure?" he asked.
I hopped off the railing and stood in front of him.
"I want help figuring out what I'm supposed to be doing here," I told him.
"I told you, I can't help you directly," he reminded.
"I know. But we can, you know... expedite the process," I replied.
"Okay. What do you have in mind?" he asked.
"Well, how did you find out about yourself?"
He sighed and looked out into the distance.
"You're not gonna believe it," he told me.
"Really? After everything I've learned, I won't believe this?" I asked monotonously as I crossed my arms.
"I don't even know. It was like movie-type, books flying off the wall shit," he told me.
"You're kidding," I said as I put my head in my hands.
"I told you."
"It's not that I don't believe you, it's just... ridiculous," I laughed.
"I know."
"Well, it's worth a shot, right?" I asked.
"I guess so, yeah."
"So, to the... library?" I questioned.
"I wasn't in a library," he sighed.
"Well, you will be this time," I asserted as I pulled up the directions on my phone. There was one only a short walk from Jack's house, so I began walking and Hayden trudged along.
"So, you're gonna spend some time with Jack when we're done here," I told him.
"Oh, am I?"
"Mmhmm," I replied.
"Alright," he agreed.
I glanced at him, not expecting him to agree.
"Come on, we've been over this. I have no reason to not like the guy," he told me.
"You promise this isn't an 'in love with my best friend' situation?" I asked.
He chuckled at my question for so long that I started to get a bit offended. I stopped walking and crossed my arms.
"I'm sorry, it's nothing against you. But no," he answered.
"Good," I said as I kept walking.
When we entered the library, I pulled Hayden to the side.
"So... do I just walk around or...?" I asked him quietly.
"I mean, I wasn't doing much more than that," he replied in a hushed tone.
"You're so much help," I told him sarcastically.
"Glad to be of service," he replied with a sarcastic smile.
I began walking around the library, pretending to browse the books so I didn't look like a crazy person. Once I made a full lap and nothing happened, I returned to Hayden.
"Nothing's happening!" I yelled in a whisper.
"Try a little harder," he suggested.
I took a moment to focus my thoughts on finding something that would help me. My crystal began glowing a little and Hayden gave me an encouraging nod.
I walked around again, slowing down in the non-fiction section. Just when I wanted to give up, a book flew off the shelf, movie-style. I heard Hayden's quick footsteps approaching as he came to stand next to me.
We both looked at the book, laying face down on the floor. He motioned for me to grab it so I bent down and picked it up.
I was kind of nervous, but that all disappeared when I flipped over the book. It was relatively blank aside from the title:
'Chernobog'
"Huh?" I asked as I looked up at Hayden.
HAYYYYYYY. I REALLY DON'T HAVE ANYTHING RELEVANT TO SAY BUT I HATE NOT LEAVING NOTES DOWN HERE SO PEACE LOVE AND SUNSHINE BABES <3