QUIN
After Lydia leaves, Jasper closes off worse that he ever has before. He wouldn't come out of his room except for meals, and he'd answer in single syllables.
He wouldn't talk about school or his friends. He refused to acknowledge the presence of his Prints. Or lack thereof.
When they drove Jasper back up to school, he hugged them both and offered them forced smiles before reassuring them that he was fine. And that was that.
Jasper didn't call or text. Lydia wasn't speaking to him and so she couldn't offer any information as to how he was doing. Quinn was stuck in a cycle of calling his son and being ignored.
"Jasper Darcelle McKormic, if you don't call your mother back by tonight I'm telling your father to put a hold on your prescription. We're worried sick about you." Chloe hangs up with force and crosses her arms as she looks out through the kitchen windows at the back yard.
"We shouldn't threaten our son." he mumbles and looks down at the latest batch of research from the Block Pills.
"I haven't heard from him in weeks, Quin." she responds. "I'm worried sick. Those pills aren't tested all the way yet, and if our son is going to be a guinea pig, I'm checking in on him every chance I get."
"He's going through a tough time right now. A lot of things are changing."
"That doesn't give him the excuse to shut out his mother like this."
"He's always been a closed off person, Chlo."
"He'd at least humor me and answer my calls." she mutters darkly and looks down at her cell phone. "Do you think there's something wrong?"
"I'm sure he'd come to us if he needed to."
"That boy is more of a mystery than anything else in my world."
"He'll call." he offers a small smile.
"Don't think I don't see that you're worried too." she says softly and crosses her arms with a worried frown.
"I'm always worried." he sighs and chuckles. "He's an enigma."
BLAIR
The pills hit a reset button in their lives.
One day everything is fine and happy, and the next it's like they're back in August. Blair avoids being around Jasper, and Declan follows his lead with a confused frown and limited questions.
They avoid eye contact and don't speak. Track Training makes things easier and Blair throws himself into practices and regiments in hopes of maybe forgetting what happened.
Jasper has meals with Tessa, Dianna, and Spencer in their usual corner and Blair reverts to the high top table he and Declan used to share.
After a week, Declan demands answers and since he's not sure that Jasper wants people knowing about the pills, he advises Declan to look for answers somewhere else.
Two days later, Declan shows up at Blair's room with sad eyes and a tight hug. That's when Blair finally lets himself be sad and angry. He cries and crumbles in the middle of his room and his roommates at least have the decency to leave as Declan pats his pack and tries to comfort him.
"I'm sorry, man. This sucks." he offers once Blair's tears dry on his cheeks.
"I don't get it." Blair confesses and turns to look at Declan. "What happened?"
"I don't know." Declan whispers and they don't talk for a long time. They just stare at the carpet and sit together.
Eventually, Declan leaves the room and comes back two minutes later with Spencer who's holding a plastic bag and a sheepish smile.
"Hey." he greets and joins him on the floor. "Figured you'd need come comfort food."
"What are you doing here?" Blair had asked and watched, dumbfounded, as Spencer pulled out a gallon of ice cream, spoons, and a hoard of Little Debbie snacks.
"You're my friend." Spencer explains and tosses him a Moon Pie. "And you're sad and it's my job to try to make you feel better."
"But you're Jasper's friend."
Declan and Spencer both roll their eyes at him and shove food into their mouths and Blair slowly follows suit.
"This isn't Romeo and Juliet, dude, I'm allowed to be part of both sides." Spencer explains. "Besides, what he's doing isn't fair."
"I want him to be happy." Blair mumbles and shrugs. "This makes him happy."
"You make him happy." Declan states seriously. "He's just too much of a-"
Declan cuts himself off when Spencer sends him a warning look.
"He's too scared to admit it." Spencer finishes and sighs. "So what's the plan?"
"What are you talking about?" Blair asks and opens the gallon of Cookies N' Creme.
"You're not just going to let him go, are you?" Spencer demands
"He's happy." Blair shrugs.
"You're kidding." Declan scoffs. "Dude, you're not giving up."
"We're not in a Rom-Com, you guys. I'm not doing this. If he wants to take these-"
"You're going to let yourself be miserable?" Spencer asks and pushes him in shock. "Dude!"
"I don't want to take this away from him."
"No offense dude...but aren't relationships about compromise?" Declan asks and takes a scoop of ice cream from the bin.
"He wants nothing to do with me."
"Not fucking true." Declan argues. "He wants to be with you."
Blair sighs and runs a hand through his hair before looking at Declan.
"If he wants to be with me, why doesn't he want my Prints? Why are they suddenly a problem? He let me see them before. Hell, he let me touch-"
"I really don't want to hear about what you got to do to my friend." Declan interrupts and sends him a look. "Please."
"Not that. We never went past kissing; he wasn't into it and I didn't want to push. Before break, we were fine. Normal, almost. I just don't understand."
"Have you tried asking?" Spencer asks and Blair shakes his head.
"I think we both need space."
LYDIA
It takes Jasper two weeks of the semester, almost a month in total, to call.
Lydia watches her phone ring for a while, surprised at the caller ID before she answers it and brings it to her ear.
Neither of them talk for a long moment and then he sighs and calls her name and she gets the urge to cry and scream at him all at once.
"Hey." she whispers instead and waits for him to talk.
"How are you?"
"You know...drowning in work." she hufs out a laugh and clears her throat when it comes out almost cruel. "How are you?"
"Honestly? Pretty shitty." he sighs. "Can we please not be awkward?"
"Why did you call?"
"I want to talk to you."
"About?"
"My friends all think I'm a jerk and they're not really talking to me. Half of them think I'm a horrible person and the other half think I'm a coward. Blair hasn't even looked my way in weeks and I miss him like hell. And I haven't talked to you in so long, I feel like there's something missing in my life and how pathetic is that?" Jasper scoffs and Lydia hears that he's crying now. "A grown man can't live without his sister."
"Jasper?"
"I don't know what to do, Lyds." he sobs and Lydia listens to his ragged breathing for a while and lets him cry it out in silence.
"I'm sorry." she whispers when his sobs turn into sniffles.
"I don't know what to do anymore, Lydia."
A/N:
New Chapters of Metanoia are uploaded every Wednesday and Saturday.