Jenni

I don't understand the war going on.

If you wanna view his character to be transgender, go ahead.

If you wanna view his character as a male protagonist who likes feminine things, go ahead.

If you wanna literally interpret anything else?

Go ahead, love.

I don't recall Gooseworx ever fully confirming one way or another. And she probably won't as I can understand she doesn't want to get shit for the countless time about a TADC fact.

View Jax in whatever way you think fits him, and it won't cause inconvenience if someone sees his character from a different angle.

Just… don't be aggressive about it?

Don't go and correct people if they interpret him differently, don't go around and throw homophobia at someone's head if they view him male. And don't be homophobic if someone views him as something different. His character has many sides to enjoy.

We're here for inclusion and The Amazing Circus always stood for individuality.

Instead of feeling attacked, Joseph waved his hand in a dismissive manner.

"They fuck around with weaker people, they get a makeover. I don't give a damn."

JoJo's very direct. Too much for anyone's good, really… Smokey thought while they stepped over the pavement to the nearest hot-dog stand. It was one they'd run past after the confirmation and hour ago. Even though neither of them remembered whose idea it truly was anymore.

JoJo and Smokey only met the day before, after the pickpocket incident. However, the hero of our story didn't let things sit around and decided to accompany our young man, Smokey Brown.

Once they arrived, Joseph leaned his arm onto the plastic counter attached to the stand. His blue eyes glowed with the sun and the inner mischief that liked to fade back into a stormy shade whenever something tickled his temper. Which, as Smokey already learned, happened often enough.

"Two hot dogs," he told the seller with a finger pointed down. "And I swear, if you use sauerkraut or whatever crap—"

Just when the seller scratched the hairline underneath his hat, the boy's voice being more invading than anticipated, shoes echoed gentler over the ground. Another voice—also carrying an accent that didn't belong to New York—spoke up.

"Give it a try. Did you even have one yet?"

Smokey blinked up at the voice. Oh… also a foreigner. She's kinda pretty… But he shook his head as Joseph stood back to his full, huge presence, arms crossing over a broad chest that had taken more punches than hugs in his life.

"You done? Your voice is obnoxious enough to make my ears bleed when you don't mind your own business," he said dryly.

Not shying away from putting the pinky near the ear and turn it, as if the sound hurt down to the soul. Something that usually ended up with a slap or kick. Both painful. Both worth it, at least to him.

Smokey twitched at that. "JoJo! She's just trying to be kind!"

I chuckled low at the way the younger one hit his friend's arm. I don't think he even felt that, but the symbolism counts, I suppose… I thought, stepping next to them at the stand.

"It's fine," I told Smokey. "I just wanted to check. Because it's actually not that bad; you should give it a try."

The hell is wrong with the chicks in Manhattan… Joseph thought while watching her order three hot dogs, unsolicited, invited by her gesture. She's neither intimidated nor flattered…

I handed them both theirs and only then took my own, nodding in gratitude to the seller, who was finally able to breathe again with Joseph's eyes off his work. Smokey smiled up at me. His voice growing a bit softer.

"Thank you, Miss."

I shook my head at him. "Not for that! I hope you like it."

While taking my own bite, I watched the tall boy sniff at the food and wrinkle his nose, murmuring something that sounded close to a British insult under his breath before finally taking a bite—chewing slowly like he expected it to blow up in his face.

Smokey waited for the explosion, all the while I kept quiet with a slightly curious shimmer in my eyes. But then, Joseph sighed, reaching up with his free hand and scratching the back of his head in, what I assumed, must've been defeat.

"Okay," his voice lowered, "it's not THAT bad. But it's still a weird-ass combination. Who puts sour stuff onto ketchup!?"

I blinked up at him. "…Don't you put milk into bitter tea?"

Smokey almost choked on his bite before turning around, wiping his mouth with suspiciously quick rubs. Christ, that's a way to win an argument… Joseph's shoulders tensed at the comment, although he didn't reply with sarcasm this time. He just averted his gaze with a tug at the corners of his chapped lips.

"Damn. You have a mouth on you, girlie." He didn't sound angry, just smugly intrigued.

With my smirk widening until it crinkled my eyes, I shrugged my shoulders, tugging tissues from my pocket and handing them out. Joseph took one with a quick snatch and eyed me from head to toe without regard for etiquette.

"You're lucky you're pretty," a shit-eating grin found him, "otherwise I would've dunked your head into the sauce."

Smokey's cheeks went red from secondhand embarrassment. "JoJo! Stop being vulgar, man!"

"What!? It's the truth!" he snapped back.

I laughed in amusement. "Lucky me, then."

I did a deep research with Gemini, and this was the outcome. I wonder if it's accurate!

Your hands clenched around the corner in order to stop yourself from slipping. It's softer in noise. Not that he would catch you.

All of it took place quicker than you're able to process. One day you're on vacation, enjoying the cool weather of England, and the next you sat in a plane on your way to New York.

A huff escaped your lips, which you tried to tone down by placing the hand over your mouth. Every single sound's going to give away your whereabouts.

Meeting him wasn't on your bingo card. Nor learning about his crazy friends and family. Life handed you a ticket to a new chapter without your awareness. And you'd taken it.

Your knees cracked after kneeling. Cursing the volume of it, you went back to peeking through the keyhole. Hiding in the storage room's not the most creative, but certainly smart.

These tiny walls held a lot of stuff. Some of it you didn't even recognize. Like someone collected trash off the streets, just to place them here. At least it didn't stink.

That faithful day, when you ran into him, the feeling hit you immediately. He looked into your eyes for a short second, offered a slick smile, saw you blush and decided to ask you out to a coffee.

Later you learned that it's quite uncommon for him to simply ask girls out on a date. Yet he did with you regardless. Did it make you lucky?

The shadow falling over the keyhole caused your breath to hitch. Swearing you're able to smell his scent, you crawled back a little. If he'd look through the small hole, you'd be busted.

Whatever the reason had been – you learned in a short period of time how witty albeit insidious his character truly was.

The doorknob wiggled with the crackling sound of wood. Your heart stopped beating as you only could taste the bitter defeat on your tongue.

He told you crazy stories about his adventures. Things so out of place that no normal person would believe a single fraction. Yet you never once doubted the truthfulness of them.

Vampires, Evil, Breathing that controlled energy of the sun. It's insane enough for a person to bring him into a psychiatry.

Your nerves tingled after the door was opened. Eyes stared up into the one's of the person who'd finally found you. Nobody moved an inch.

It's like danger was drawn to him. Apparently his dad died when he was young. But his grandfather, he was the person where the whole curse began with. Or was it is great-grandfather? Sometimes you confused elements of the story.

»I found you«, he said and leaned the arm onto the doorframe. »You thought you can hide? From me?«

With the sound of your butt hitting the ground, you finally let go all the tension. A shrug's the only answer you had.

He raised an eyebrow before laughing. The sound's rather contagious, therefore you joined him in less volume. But now that the hide and seek game was over, it indeed felt funny.

You then stretched your poor legs. »I thought maybe!« the confidence in your voice came out.

»But you always find me under ten minutes. It's almost like you cheat.«

He crossed his arms, a little frown on his face. »That's such a cruel allegation, (N). I'm just damn good at games.«

The little sparkle around him made you roll your eyes affectionately. You held out your hand afterwards. He wasted no second to help you back to your feet.

Being closer to his body, you saw a slight hint of red on his cheeks. Probably from running after you. So much for being effortlessly good at hide and seek. It had you smirk regardless.

»Alright then, you won.« You let go to brush past him with a smile. »Time to go back and clean the kitchen.«

»Ugh... When did my life go from slaying Vampires to unloading the dishwasher?«