Some years after episode 10.
Ana has hated Valentine's Day since school: all those pieces of pink cardboard, the sudden need to show feelings...
Ana:
This holiday is overrated and raised to a cult 😡
The couples around are going crazy! They walk, hold hands, hug and kiss... Infuriating
[16:01]
Tell me that at least you understand me, huh?
[16:02]
Jake:
So you do not even think that I can participate in "the crazy couples festival?"
:)
[16:02]
Ana:
You? A guy who's been wanted for more than 4 years?
In a relationship and openly goes outside?
Nah
You're not an idiot 😐
[16:02]
Jake:
It seems to me that you could do without such comments.
[16:03]
Ana:
Srryy 🙏
You know, sometimes I can be too harsh... Peace, gum, friendship? 🥺
[16:03]
Jake:
It is okay... I am used to it :)
But it was "Peace, friendship, gum" there. I looked at it on purpose.
[16:04]
Ana:
Boring programmer
[16:04]
Jake:
I am :)
But you know, Ana, your reaction to this holiday...
[16:04]
You remind me now of a loner who gets angry because she's a little jealous.
[16:05]
Ana:
Oh, yeah l
[16:05]
Jake:
Ana?
[16:05]
What happened?
[16:06]
Ana herself didn't fully understand what had happened. She was just hastily shuffling her feet in the crowd in order to quickly find herself in the walls of her apartment, isolated from the romantic craziness and suddenly a van with a garish painting pierced millimeters from her face. And that felt like... It was as if they had hooked a fur hood at the last moment and held it, so now she was sitting under a traffic light and not...
"You have to be careful, girl, very careful," a raspy voice.
She was lightly slapped on the back somewhere in the area of the shoulder blade. She turned around — a short old man was smiling and holding out her phone with a cracked screen. And why did it seem that the rest of the passers-by simply did not see both of them?..
"Y-yes... Exactly... Thank you..."
The old man nodded — how funny his long silver mustache snaked! In any other situation, Ana would definitely smile. He nodded, clapped on the shoulder once more and walked away into the crowd. Ana was almost sure she heard him muttering, "What a trouble, now I have to account for the extra arrow." She shook her head. Everything could seem due to fear! Although there was still a tingling sensation on her back, where the old man had touched her...
Her hands were shaking a little as she got up, walked to the corner of a large brick building, turned on the phone again.
Ana:
Holy macaroni...
I think I was almost smeared across the crossroads... Oh, FSM*...
[16:10]
Oh, I mean, I'm fine now, I was just a little scared
[16:11]
Jake:
Annabel.
We are going to have a serious conversation.
[16:11]
Ana:
Maybe it's not necessarily?
[16:11]
Jake is now offline
She took a deep breath of the frosty air and on wobbly legs, holding on to the rough buildings and sticky cold stacks, and went straight ahead. Ana was wandering the streets. She didn't want to go home, because there would probably already be a boring hacker waiting there to properly scold for inattentiveness on dangerous sections of the road, like a dumb kid. Jake was very fast when he needed to be. He appeared out of nowhere for a couple of hours and disappeared into nowhere, leaving only memories and a very special Jake's smell on towels and sheets. She didn't want to go home, but here's a problem: on February 14th, it's simply impossible to go anywhere without bumping into at least one cute twittering couple, and she began to feel sick just looking at this cloying picture. Of the two evils, it was worth choosing the lesser to minimize losses.
Jake had the keys. This is not according to the rules, and the landlord would probably turn into the angry snake if he found out that in the apartment, besides quiet Ana, there is also a strange guy in a shapeless jacket with a hood. But when it came to Jake, the rusted gears of the rules mechanism started to move by themselves.
The room is cold — the window has been left open in the morning rush —and a thick, lingering twilight has already spread into the corners. And yet a man's figure stood out in the darkness.
Jake is a slightly less shy boy than Ana imagined after the texting that began more along with the investigation into Hannah's disappearance. And he wasn't a boy at all, he was quite a man: he didn't told about his age, but by all clues it turned out that this year he would turn 28 or 29. And now he was sitting on the couch, impatiently tapping on the volume button of his mobile, in one of the completely ridiculous poses. Ana promised herself that one day she would understand how he would so easily put the heel of one foot on the base of the thigh of the other. She is some years younger, but when trying to repeat such feats, everything that could theoretically jam stuck.
"Jake... You're visible, so you're a mediocre spy. Please tell me that you walk the streets more carefully. I can't stand it if the Feds are gonna catch you up again!"
The main thing now is to chat him up a little, maybe that careless phrase will be forgotten...
"Annabel, do not even try."
The phone was thrown on the sofa cushion, and Jake himself, with the lightness of a tiny bird, fluttered to his feet. He was so gloomy, dissatisfied with either her inattention or his unplanned outing. The muscles in his cheekbones were clenching. Jake is taller and, standing in front of the window, even with noticeable thinness, he could loom over a menacing gloomy shadow. Ana squeezed her eyes shut, shrinking, mentally asking him to calm down and unable to actually open her mouth. And suddenly she pressed her cheek against the soft down sweater. Her eyes were wide open, and white fur of his sweater was clenched in her fists.
Over the years, Jake has hugged her. In that psychological crisis, when Richy was "dying" in front of her, unknowingly picking off the crust of an old injury. It was the first time they met in person. Jake knocked on the door for a long time, then somehow got inside - either by himself, or Ana gathered her strength and let him in. Red, out of breath, with a pack of her favorite chicory in one hand and a soothing tincture in the other. Wearing a black mask turned upside down. He sat next to her all night, putting his arm around her shoulders and muttering some awkward encouraging words. Ana did not remember any of them, but for years she remembered the soft breathing close to her ear and the feeling that she had someone to rely on. Even the sessions with the doctor did not make her feel as calm as the time when she dozed off on his lap.
Then months without communication at all and finally a new year spent together. Jake, of course, forgot his hat, and Ana had to put one of her spare ones on him. Then they even got to the fair — not as bright as Christmas ones, but anyway.
He wasn't near her only once: during the discord in the group that arose after Richy's confession. However, Ana wasn't with them then either, although Jessy and everyone else definitely could have used some support.
And more, more... One or two meetings a year, each of which invariably ended with hugs. In short, there was an experience. But why did it feel different now? Without calmness and warmth, but with a rapidly pounding heart and the heat of boiling blood. It is alarmingly ticklish, as if butterflies were frolicking in the stomach. And Jake, too... He used to say that Ana was untouchable to him in a sense, that she was like a third sister, and didn't allow touching below the shoulders. And now his hands were on her waist, contrary to the unspoken rule. And the whisper seemed different, more... Gentle?
"When you disappeared without finishing the sentence, I almost went crazy with worry. I tried to access the location, but the signal did not go through."
"So now you know how I felt then."
"I know. But then I was almost caught, I had to hide in places that girls from good families shouldn't even think about, so as not to get dirty. And here in the middle of an ordinary day..."
It seemed to Ana that if the hugs became even tighter, Jake would simply strangle her himself. She tugged at the edge of his sweater. Zero reaction.
"Bro, this is getting really awkward... Let me go, huh?" She muttered.
"Alright," step back. Jake stared at his hands for a few seconds as if they weren't his at all, then put them in his jeans pockets. "Are you hurt? It's still an accident."
He flinched at the last word — albeit indirectly, but the incident with Jennifer and the tangle of sticky secrets it generated affected everyone in the group, not only the direct culprits.
"I'm fine, I smeared my jeans a little when I fell, and I was scared... what?"
Even when he pulled away, Jake continued to stare at her. It was as if he had seen her for the first time and was now trying to explore every feature.
"You have a scratch on your cheek. Can I take care of it?"
"Come on, it's a small thing! It will better itself."
"You should be more attentive to your health."
"Who would say. But okay, if it makes you feel better."
Jake knew Ana's apartment almost better than she did, and had no problem finding a first-aid kit in the bathroom. Ana knew something was wrong, but she didn't fully understand why it took her breath away just because he was close enough to apply antiseptic and stick a pink star-shaped patch on the cheek. They both expertly earned bruises and abrasions, such treatments weren't new. And the reaction was.
And why is there still so much tingling on the back?
"Jake, you..."
"Please don't talk about the my dark circles. I know. I've been working nights lately."
"Actually, I wanted to, em... You have beautiful eyes."
Jake froze, just batting his eyelashes and staring so intently, as if trying to discern signs of a lie even in a minor detail. She thought he mentioned that he rarely received compliments, but is it really that rare? The eyes are really beautiful. A little slanted, brown, but so bright. Like amber catching the rays of the setting sun.
"Thanks, I guess." Jake put the first-aid kit back in its place, returned and sat down on the sofa next to it. "Although I don't think so."
"You should. You really are..." Ana bit her lower lip. What is it all about... The words came out of her mouth, as if bypassing her brain. It's not her style at all. "Forget it. You know, you still haven't told me what you think about this "holiday."
Jake moved away a little, trying to do it as unobtrusively as possible, with slow movements. But... Ana touched his arm, silently asking, "Don't get off the subject." He shook his head: "I do not."
"I used to like it before. There was something entertaining about all this love around, even if I usually stayed out of it."
"Before? And now?"
"Now..." Jake tilted his head so that the overgrown black hair hid his face, but a few seconds before Ana managed to notice a sad smile sliding across his lips. "I do not know. To be honest, I lost more than just my name that night, and I still don't know exactly who this new me is and what he likes and dislikes. I am used to loneliness, I've almost come to terms with it, but at night it still suffocates me. And that's kind of one of the few things I still feel. And this holiday. You are probably right. It just does not matter... Huh, that's weird."
"What?"
"It felt like something hit me," he rubbed his shoulder, "but it seems to be impossible."
"It's really weird. Let me see, huh?"
"Not a good idea. You will have to lift the sweater."
"Please don't be shy and just think of me as a doctor. Think about it, if it was a poisoned needle, and you won't get help in time?"
"Ana, you're a linguist. This is first thing. Second one: take a break from watching spy movies, please."
"I won't calm down."
Jake sighed; she shouldn't even have said it. Over the years, a man like him has surely learned that one of her strengths is senseless and ruthless perseverance.
"Okay, look." He turned to make it more comfortable for her.
Ana rubbed her palms with a satisfied smile and lifted the sweater with slow, creeping movements from the bottom up.
"There doesn't seem to be anything, although the skin is a little red. And this tattoo... How long ago?"
"I think I was the same age as you are now. Or even less."
There was a tattoo on his back — a large colored daisy. There is such a cute discrepancy with his serious hacker image that it is almost impossible to keep a smile. Ana ran her palm over the hot white petals — Jake shuddered, hurriedly pulled on a sweater, but didn't turn around.
"Are you okay?" She asked, trying to touch his hair, but he shuddered again and openly moved away. "Uh, okay."
"I am sorry, but it's better not to touch me yet. Or... I'd better go, since you're not hurt."
Ana shrugged her shoulders. Jake behaved strangely, but this happened to him from time to time. She used to it. Maybe without these behavioral shifts, he wouldn't be himself.
"I won't touch you, I promise. Just stay a little longer, please. It's dangerous to go out now."
"Okay. Only for a short time and really without touching."
"You're kind of weird, seriously." She shook her head. "You know, if you're sad about something that can't be told, let's at least fight sad thoughts with delicious food?"
The desired dish was already ready and waiting in the refrigerator, all that remained was to reheat it. Maybe, on a hunch level, Ana knew she was going to meet Jake, so she prepared herself. When it came to cooking dishes just for herself, she pretended that she had paws and went to the nearest store for snacks, for which she didn't need to turn on the stove.
"Jiaozi?" Jake glanced at the plate filled with dough balls, then at the fork. He sighed softly. "A little weird... You do not like Chinese food, don't you?"
"Actually, where I got it, they were called "dumplings". But judging by the seller's explanations, the essence is the same. So," she picked up one ball with a fork and put it in her mouth, "eat and don't worry."
Jake bit his lip to make sure he didn't smile. He rarely admitted that stupidity could occasionally amuse even him, and even less often showed it. He pricked one ball on a fork, examined it from each side, sniffed it, only then tried to eat it.
Ana covered her mouth with her hand to keep from laughing out loud. Even if he had his reasons, Jake's suspicion sometimes reached the point of absurdity. But that's about it, too...
"...cute."
"What?"
Ana shuddered. Those thoughts out loud...
"Your caution looks pretty cute. And blushing ears too!"
"Ana... Why are you doing this?" Jake sighed heavily, ruffled his hair, and turned to the window.
"Did I offend you in some way or something? What's the reaction?"
"I do not know. I am not reacting normally to anything today. Especially at you."
"I would like to understand." Ana frowned, stretched out her hand to take him at least by the jacket, but pulled it back, remembering the promise. "But I can't do it."
"And I would like to explain, but I cannot find the words. I mean... Today I see you in a different way, not as a younger sister. I cannot imagine what's broken in me."
Jake was a lot more emotional than she'd ever imagined. That's where she saw him drop his head on the table almost theatrically. "You'd get your hair dirty a little bit, you fool." She thought, and pushed the plate away just in case.
"Well there... And suddenly it seemed to me that your every action was cute and funny. You even suddenly stopped looking like a bore. Maybe it's because of all these couples around?"
"I do not think it can have such an impact. But if the two of us feel that way..."
"What then?"
"Nothing. I do not know, it's just weird."
Jake was saying something else, but Ana didn't hear him. Now that he finally raised his head, a half-forgotten song from an old romantic movie was playing in her mental player. Just his face, beautiful lips that opened to an imaginary melody. Such a stupid, unnatural state. It's like an obsession. She wonder what kind of hair he has? It looked pretty tough, but maybe it's just an appearance? And his lips too... They looked dry. Just now, because he was worried about a strange condition, or always? It's even a pity that she didn't watch it before.
And it is also written in books that noses get in the way when kissing... Oh FSM! Where did these thoughts come from in her head?!
"You know, I... my brother raised me and he sometimes said that sometimes the best way to get rid of the disease is to wait until the symptoms grow and let the body deal with the problem itself."
"What an original advice for a doctor. But it's not just an unexpected memory, is it, Ana?"
She shook her head.
"Our reaction today is like a disease. I want to get over it as soon as possible so that I can communicate with you normally again. You're not..." Her voice faltered, letting her down. "Would you mind?"
"You do not want to, do you?.."
"I want to. And you?"
"There're no words could describe how much."
"Then you start. I promised not to touch you."
Jake swallowed with noticeable difficulty, but got up and walked over. Usually he's much taller, but now, while sitting on a stool, she had to look somewhere in the chest area. A strange, exciting feeling, seasoned with the nervousness of longing.
Jake was still hesitating. He had tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear and was now standing slightly bent over. Maybe because Ana was watching? She closed her eyes and raised her head. After all, this is Jake, the same friend she could always rely on. He definitely couldn't have done anything weird or scary. Therefore...
"I trust you, remember?"
His breath tickled her lips. It seemed that he was about to finally kiss her and with the curse of a strange holiday would fall, they would return to their usual status of "best remote friends." But instead, Jake just brushed his lips across her cheek, shifting slightly to the right at the last moment.
"I cannot. Sorry."
"I'm so ug..."
"On the contrary. I really like you now, but that's exactly why... I cannot. You're shaking."
"I'm... just a little nervous. But you too! You're shaking like a petal in a storm."
Jake raised his hand and looked at it, as if he hadn't realized for the first few seconds that it was shaking. He sighed and sat down on the edge of the rickety table.
"I am a little afraid that we won't be able to be friends again if we interrupt this illness like this."
"Jake..."
"It's not easy to be friends with someone who used you, even if for the common good."
"No, seriously..."
"Maybe it's better if we just don't see each other."
"Get off the damn table, you'll fall!"
"What?.."
But it was late. The table was old and rickety, made of colored plastic. The last thing Ana expected to see in a city apartment was this, but saving required sacrifices. Maybe sometimes too serious.
The kitchen turned into a nightmare: the table with its legs up, broken plates on the floor, stuck dumplings. And Jake. He managed to react, even put his hands in front of him.
"How are you?" Ana jumped up to him.
"Physically I am fine." Jake laughed nervously. "But how stupid is that, Gosh... I'll help you clean it up, okay?"
"Thanks, but you... You'd better go to the bathroom if you don't want to stay with me until morning."
His jeans are covered in stains that are hard to miss. But Jake seems to have succeeded. He ran his hand over his leg and laughed again. Hoarse and somehow desperate. Ana couldn't really explain, but for some reason she blushed.
"And if I want to?"
"Oh. And where you hid all the shyness?" She sighed. "Okay, then stay. We'll go to the laundry at night, there's a 24-hour-open nearby."
"Okay. Ana... Can I?.."
He didn't have to say it out loud, she understood it. The tilt of the head, the opened mouth, even the flutter of eyelashes... There were enough seemingly unrelated details to draw a conclusion. To replay the whole question in her head.
"Can I try to cure you?"
"You can."
This time it was fast. Jake leaned forward, only froze for a couple of seconds — for his silent "maybe you'll change your mind again?" and her "no way!" and kissed her. So simple, without awkwardness, without unnecessary bookish passion with bites and hands under clothes.
Jake pulled back, looked into her eyes, and tucked a newly stray strand of hair behind her ear. So confused and happy that a smile blossomed on her face. And again this imaginary melody... Oh, FSM...
"It seems that this was not enough."
"Maybe," Jake groped for her hand, "now you should try to do the same? Perhaps this will help?"
"Just admit that you enjoyed kissing."
Ana tried to look away, but she couldn't take her eyes off the pale face. She always paid attention to the dark circles under his eyes, but did not notice the small mole above the left one. Just like Hannah's! So they're really related... She believed Jake, but sometimes jealous doubts still arose. Yet many years ago, Hannah, who did not know about they are half-siblings, had special feelings for him.
"It's a very pleasant feeling. I liked it."
"Then consider it a reward for honesty."
Ana leaned forward, resting her palms on his hips and kissed his dry but still inviting lips. Jake held her by the waist, gently responding to the kiss.
They stopped for a moment. They froze millimeters apart. Jake's breath tickled her skin, his gaze clouded, his eyelashes fluttered... It's so strange and beautiful. And that's still not enough.
"It seems your method didn't work."
"What a pity. Shall we try again? Suddenly on the third attempt..."
"Just admit that you liked it too." Jake smiled.
"Maybe a little." Ana giggled, running her finger along the line of his chin. "But I need a little more to make sure."
"More, then... Have you forgotten who you are talking to again?"
"Nope." A smile. Her fingers slid to his neck. "With a man who was embarrassed to kiss me five minutes ago."
Jake didn't answer, just smiled so that the butterflies in her stomach started dancing again. One hand rose, fingers buried in her hair. Ana swallowed hard, but tried to look into his eyes, tried to read his intentions by the slightest movements, but it did not work. It seemed that Jake would just tease her with words and looks further, but he leaned forward, touched his lips to the place just above the collarbone. A shudder ran through her body.
"Should I continue?"
"Better let me touch the petals again."
Jake smiled, and Ana thought that this holiday might not be so bad.
***
An old man was sitting on the edge of the roof, dangling his bare feet. His long silver mustache snaked as if alive, and the rim of his glassless pince-nez glittered in the February sun. Smiling and squinting with a noticeable cunning, he watched the windows of the house opposite and seemed to really see something from a great distance. There were shuffling footsteps behind him and the rustle of that long church robe, the name of which he constantly forgot. They've come up with varieties! And in his time...
"Cupid, you've started to miss a lot," a quiet voice answered only with a ringing in his head. Paying tribute to the hardships of earthly life, this young man did not even try to start talking properly again. "They'll be furious again."
"Good evening, Valentin." Cupid pulled a small, almost toy-like plastic bow towards him by an invisible thread. "What can you do, age takes its own, young man. Although this time, it seems that I hit the right targets. Better than planned, don't you think?"
Even sitting with his back to Valentin, Cupid could tell that he squinted and also looked at the neighboring house.
"Two extra arrows have completely changed the two strands of fate," he hesitated for a moment. "The girl would have understood everything much later, having crossed the ocean of doubts. A young man... Heavenly Father, what will happen now, Cupid? You..."
"Who knows. Some milestones are not available to you or me. We will see the consequences, they will see the consequences. And now let them sleep. We have to go, Valentine. It's time to play with another couple."
Cupid got to his feet. A pair of small wings unfolded behind his back.
_______
*Flying Spaghetti Monster