JACKSON

 He fucking knew it. Bryson’s condition was too much to be justified by anything other than drugs and Nathan was right to suspect him all along. But how? This place was supposed to be extremely safe, so how had they failed that badly that two patients had done drugs in here? Only then did it hit me; Nathan had been used once again. Used to satisfy some one else’s needs, toyed around with and fooled. How much stupider could he be to believe that Bryson maybe, perhaps had the tiniest interest in him? A storm of emotions over took him as the punched the wall behind him, a gesture that wasn’t like him; “Or else what?” He spoke rebelliously, unaware that he had no personal reason to be mad at Jackson.

Jackson’s eyes widened with panic. The last time he had gotten into an altercation with a patient he had ended up in the infirmary, unable to move from pain with more broken bones than he cared to count. “I’m not trying to make you do anything or demanding things, I was just asking in the hope that you wouldn’t speak to anyone about it,” he replied hastily, his words coming out weak and laced with fear that he never intended to be there. As the other patient’s fist connected with the wall Jackson’s entire body froze as if an ice cold substance has replaced all of the blood in his veins. “If you tell someone I’m not going to do anything I just don’t want to get in trouble, that’s all.”

Standing up behind her desk at the sight of the younger, Estelle immediately changed her plain-faced expression into a warm and welcoming one. With one nod at his introduction, she sat herself down in time too. “I know. It’s nice to meet you, Jackson. I’m Estelle. I want you to feel as though this is a safe place. Don’t worry, I’m not a threat.” A chuckle left her lips as she tried not to stare too intensely at the bruises residing on his skin. The blonde had paid visits to the infirmary and she recognised not only his name but his face too. Hopefully, he would soon warm to her and open up. 

Jackson raised an eyebrow at the woman sitting before him, questioning her response without even having to speak. “I guess I’ll believe it when I see it,” he replied; not in a confrontational manner but as more of a challenge to see if she could live up to her words. Estelle seemed familiar to him but he couldn’t quite put a pin on why that was. He supposed it was probably due to the fact that although Serenity was a large building there wasn’t that many people to know and it was more than likely he had seen her around. “Why do we have to change therapists so often?” he asked, truly curious to know why he couldn’t stay in Ayla’s care - though that wasn’t to say that he wanted to, of course.

Feeling his heart beat faster with each passing second, Nathan struggled to keep himself from overthinking as that would result in him shutting down and never speaking his thoughts. The teenager had never found out the reason behind Bryson’s behavior that day, and if there was one person that knew the truth for sure, was this guy in front of him. He certainly did not seem like his roomate; he could not attack him if things got out of hand without Nathan defending himself. He was never an aggressive person, but circumstances in Serenity had led him to change. Taking a deep breath, the boy shoved his hands inside his pockets and checked around them one last time, just to ensure that no one was close enough to listen; “What did you and Bryson do that day inside our room?” He finally raised his eyes to question in an assertive manner, staring deep into Jackson’s eyes.

Jackson was completely taken aback when the other patient finally spoke, seemingly demanding an instant answer. He was so surprised by the question that he barely even noticed he had answered it. “Drugs.” The word had slipped out so quickly in response that he had no time to stop himself. “I mean...” he started, the sentence he wanted to say to backpedal out of the situation falling short before he could even start it. “Look, don’t tell anyone,” Jackson pleaded, his eyes falling to the floor to break the hold Nathan’s stare had on him.

Spacing out, Nathan’s eyes were glued on the boy in front of him, but he was not listening at all. His mind was all blurry as he was struggling to come up with something to say himself, the two sides of his brain debating whether he should be upfront with the other, or just shut up and pretend not to know a thing. However, it was then that Nathan felt as if reality had violently punched him in the face, while he was reminded that one of his major goals was to be able to step out of his comfort zone. He had always been shy, introverted and seemingly weak, but he was determined to change that. There would be no harm in just a simple question, right? If he was wrong he’d just apologize. These thoughts were more than enough to fuel the brunette to jump up from the armchair and stand still in front of the other for a moment before speaking; “Hey um…Can we talk for a minute?” He asked as assertively as possible, now looking like an entirely different person. Making it more than obvious that he had been meaning to ask ever since he noticed Jackson, Nathan started pacing out of the room before checking behind his back, wanting to make sure that the other male would be following.

Jackson watched the other boy as he seemed to completely ignore everything he had said and then summon him to join him somewhere else for a ‘talk.’ He was so stunned by the sudden change that his feet seemed to carry him without a second thought and took him in the direction that the other boy was walking. “What’s this about?” he asked, wracking his brain for something that it could have been but he didn’t even know the other patient so was drawing a complete blank.

Holding him closer, allowing one hand to fall down to the small of his nape, Demi couldn’t help but let her eyes fall shut momentarily. Her tone was now a whisper as she comforted him in the same position, her finger tips lightly tracing the skin of his neck. “You’re not an idiot. The cocaine is an idiot.” Whilst his grip grew tighter, she could feel his muscles tensing up and it certainly wasn’t because he was scared, but because of the pain. The brunette took it into her own hands to pull back but instead of returning to her own chair, she shifted herself onto the side of his bed, letting her fingers graze down his arm, to squeeze lightly on his palm. “You haven’t lost me, I promise.”

“You’re very right about that,” Jackson agreed. The feeling of admitting that his drug use may have caused a problem was new and strange - though strange didn’t quite seem to cover it - but saying it to Demi didn’t truly feel like admitting it. Not like how it would feel if he told a therapist or a doctor. “I’m glad to hear that,” he said, using his good arm to dry his puffy cheeks, getting rid of the fresh tears that had fallen. “Sorry I’m so embarrassing,” he joked, gently squeezing her palm as she had done.

Instantly noticing the weird looks that the other was giving him, who was also probably wondering why Nathan was looking at him like that in the first way, the younger boy averted his gaze from Jackson’s. Staring blankly down at his book for a few moments, the brunette’s mind was racing with questions. What was the right thing to do? Could he call him out so simply? Should he ask about back then? And what if…he was wrong about him in the first place? Nathan let out a deep exhale to calm his beating heart, before gathering the courage to stare into the other’s eyes again. “Yeah, I do. Not a lot of interesting things to do here anyway.” He responded with a forced smile, before his eyes trailed down to Jackson’s cast on his arm. “You, um…you alright?” Nathan asked as politely as possible with a suggestive look.

Jackson waited patiently for a response, the cogs seemingly turning in the boy’s brain as he appeared to have to think of something to say. “I completely agree,” he said, thinking about the eternity - or at least what felt like an eternity - that he had spent in Serenity House. “I’m alright, distracting myself from my injuries with reading. I just finished Trainspotting,” he replied, holding up the book that had been tucked under his arm to show the other patient. It was a thinly veiled attempt to deflect from his ailments but it was worth a try. “I’d recommend giving it a read though I think it’d be pretty hard to understand if you’re not Scottish. Worth giving it a go, though.”

“Come on in. Take your time.”

@jackson-ahern

Jackson walked in the room timidly, closing the door behind him. All the therapists in this place are so young he thought to himself as he moved towards the desk. He wasn’t sure what to expect from this staff member. It had been hard enough for him getting used to his meetings with Ayla and now he was expected to see someone new? “Hi, I’m Jackson,” he said simply, wanting to get the awkward introductions well and truly out of the way as he sat himself down.

Sniffing, as to try and clear up the wreckage that resided on her face, Demi stretched her wrist outward and held onto his hand lightly. The brunette allowed Jackson to do his talking, all she could do was let her eyes trail the wires that decorated the infirmary. Her eyes slowly found their gaze back to his at his final set of words though, her brows furrowed and her lips parted, almost trying to take in what he was saying. “Jackson, you can’t be serious…” As she let her palm glide away from his, she looked him dead in the eye for a moment before hopping up out of her chair and lightly wrapping her arms around his neck. “Of course, we’re still friends. Don’t be an idiot.”

All of Demi’s words drifted away into nothing once he felt the warm, familiar feeling of her embrace. Jackson hadn’t realised quite how terrified he had been at the thought of possibly losing his best friend. In the wake of what had happened, he hadn’t given himself the time to process the emotions which with one gentle hug had come rushing to the surface. “Can’t help it, Demetria,” he replied, tears starting to roll from his eyes as he buried his face in her hair and threw his good arm around her. “I’ve heard idiocy is incurable, I fear I’m stuck with it for life,” Jackson joked while a small smile appeared on his face, ignoring the searing pain in his ribs to pull her in a little tighter.

Nathan had always loved reading, and was really glad to find that there was a big collection of books in Serenity. It wasn’t unusual for the boy to be spotted there, silently reading and watching others as they interacted. However, on that particular evening, a specific figure grabbed Nathan’s attention. At first, it was because of the marks on his face and the cast on his wrist that made the younger teenager stare at the other, but soon enough his eyes widened in further surprise. This was the guy Nathan had seen walking out their room that day, the guy who God knows what they had done with Bryson. There were still questions in his mind, but the brunette was too shy, too introverted and hesitant to start a conversation. After all, what had happened between the do shouldn’t concern him…though it was soon proven that the other would spare him the struggle of having to talk to him, as he did it first himself; “I-um…No, sorry. Just thought I had seen you somewhere…” He replied nervously, fidgeting with the pages of the old book.

Originally posted by emreturkmen

Jackson looked over the other boy curiously, trying to recall a time when they could have met but drawing a complete blank. “I don’t believe we’ve met, I’m Jackson anyway,” he replied, tucking his book gently under his cast covered arm so that he could extend his hand for the other boy to shake. “I see you like to read as well,” nodding in gesture towards the book that his fellow patient was fidgeting with. It seemed as if the other male was hesitant for some reason, or was at the very least nervous in his presence but Jackson couldn’t even begin to imagine a reason why. Perhaps it’s the injuries, he thought to himself, not having come into contact with many people who weren’t staff or didn’t already know he was hurt.

At his comment, she tried her hardest to swallow the smile, but she couldn’t- her lips helplessly pressing up into a small one. “No, I wouldn’t,” she muttered, worry crossing over her face as his expression twisted. Her heart ached and her smile quickly slipped back into a frown. “Hey, hey are you alright?” Scout thoughtlessly tightened her grip on his hand, glancing worriedly at the machines, terrified that something had spiked- that something had gone wrong. Her eyes then warily drifted back to his, disbelief crossing over her face as her cheeks quickly ripened. “Not as bad? Jackson I-” She then caught her tongue and sighed, shaking her head, glancing down at their hands and quickly letting go of his when she realized how tightly she had been holding onto it. “You don’t have to tell me what happened but- but don’t tell me you feel fine or whatever. I know you don’t know me that well but- but I care and you can tell me the truth.” Scout then desperately leaned closer to him, softening her voice as she looked at him with concern. “Can I get you anything? Anything at all?” 

“Yeah, funnily enough I had a suspicion you wouldn’t but it’s probably best I just stick with that. People say the truth has a way of coming out eventually but certainly for my sake I hope that this one stays put where it is,” Jackson replied, giving Maddie’s hand a gentle squeeze in return for her own. “I’m fine, I promise,” he said as he adjusted the pillow behind his head. “Just need to avoid large bouts of laughter by the time being, which may be somewhat difficult as all I seem to do is crack jokes... and ribs,” he added, followed by a short laugh. Jackson shook his head, his mouth curved into a grin in attempt to hide the shooting pains. “There I go again, just can’t help myself,” he said, drawing in a few deep breaths to bring himself back to a calmer state. “No, I’m fine but thank-you for the offer. Your company is more than enough.”

Upon immediately seeing her, Jackson had already resorted to his usual witty self but straight away, found his own joke juggling the bruises and broken bones into the air. His wincing and squirming only broke her heart more as she let his hands slip from hers, sitting back in the chair that sat next to his bed. Am I okay? Not at all. But this visit wasn’t about Demetria’s well-being, it was about his. “No, I do. I’m sorry. I’m sorry that he did this to you, Jackson.” She muttered, as a singular tear spilled from her duct and rolled down her cheek, almost in slow motion. “You… Passed out and I told him to leave. He left and now- now you’re here.” Exhausted and broken, the brunette slipped back into the chair as she tried to cradle herself for comfort. Knowing that the guy she had fallen for did this to Jackson only made her heartbreak feel worse; there was no coming back from this. 

Jackson’s face twisted into an expression of guilt. Upon seeing how torn up Demi was it only served to make him feel worse about his terrible, intoxicated mistake. “You can’t blame yourself, promise me you won’t,” he said, reaching out to her weakly with his better arm and offering her a hand to hold in comfort. “Even if you’re going to do it anyway at least lie and tell me you won’t,” he added, his familiar cheeky smile forming on his face. “What’s done is done, all we can do is go from here. All I need to know is that my own stupidity hasn’t ruined one of the best friendships I think I’ve ever had. Physical injuries are nothing, they’ll heal but honestly I don’t know what I’d do if you said we couldn’t be friends.”

As soon as she had heard, Scout practically rushed to ISO to find Jackson. All these people that had been so kind to her were getting injured…it all seemed like a unfair coincidence. It was almost as if Scout had turned into a terrible jinx, a bad luck charm, and it ached her to even think about. Her mental diagnosis caused her to belittle her own existence, convincing her she was nothing more than a grenade that would one day obliterate everything in her wake. When she saw Jackson, her heart fell to her stomach and her eyes glazed, lips parting slightly as she watched him helplessly toy with the plastic tubes slithering around his arms and throat, keeping him balanced and well. “You did, of course,” Scout whispered, dainty fingertips moving to curl the fabric of his bed sheet between them. “I heard you were hurt…I came to see how you were feeling and…” Scout helplessly looked down at him, noticing his injuries and how they seemed to line up with Aiden’s…Strange. “What- what happened to you? Who- Who did this?”

No matter how much pain he was in, seeing Maddie had already managed to brighten his spirit which clearly showed in his face. He reached out and gently placed his hand over hers where it was gripping at his bed sheets, the colour already seeming to flood back into his cheeks where just moments before there was none to be seen. When the question of how he had been hurt was posed, however, Jackson couldn’t keep his face from falling for a moment. Taking a deep breath he pulled himself back and worked a smile onto his face again. “Would you believe me if I said that I fell down the stairs?” he asked, letting out a short laugh but instantly regretting it and wincing in pain. “Note to self, no humour,” he said, sinking back into the pillow but maintaining the warm grin. “It’s not as bad as it looks,” he lied as he thought back to the medication, the chest tube, the cast and the stitches, reaching up instinctively to touch the lac on his forehead.

Being lead through long, windy corridors of Serenity that Demetria didn’t even know existed, she was finally welcomed to the oversized, heavy doors that lead to the infirmary. With a security guard, stood at each of her shoulders, the brunette crept through the doors, her eyes exposed to a series of nurses that frantically rushed around, giving their aid to anybody who needed it. She could feel her lungs clogging up, her heart skipping beats as those very same eyes hopped from bed to bed, looking for Jackson, her best friend. Upon being greeted by his pale, bruised face, she couldn’t help but exclaim his name as she half excitedly, half regrettably sprinted over to his bed side and took his hands in hers. “Oh Jackson, I am so fucking sorry.” Demi spoke, her eyes beginning to fill up with that all-too-familiar liquid that was tears.  

@jackson-ahern

Jackson awoke sore and tired but felt minimally fresher than he had the day before. His chest tube, still protruding from his side, dug in every time he tried to turn over so he had resigned himself to laying relatively still on his back for extended periods of time. He was desperate for just a moment of comfort but with the pain caused by his injuries it seemed unlikely that he was going to get it anytime soon. Too busy adjusting his nasal cannulae that delivered pure oxygen to his lungs, Jackson didn’t even notice the person moving over towards his bedside until they were practically next to him. With a start he looked up at them with a warm smile but his face fell when the reality hit him. 

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” he tried to assure her, doing his best to try and push himself up into more of a seated position. “This whole mess is my stupid fault but please be assured that I do not have feelings for you nor will I ever do anything like that again,” Jackson joked, letting out a small laugh as he tried to brighten the mood but regretting it instantly as the pain rocketed through him like a bullet. With a very obvious wince, he lowered himself back down on to the pillows and simply turned his head to face Demetria instead. “Are you okay? What happened with Aiden? Everything gets a little blurry after well, this,” he said, gesturing his arm to show off the cast around his broken wrist.