ʏᴏᴜ sᴀɪᴅ ɪᴛ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʙᴇ ᴀʟʀɪɢʜᴛ.

He tries to think back on the last time they went into the woods, how they tried to find clues and ended up with just more questions than answers. That’s always how this ended up—too many questions left unanswered. But that didn’t stop Jay from thinking he could somehow find an ending to this all, even if it was over-ambitious on his behalf and that he may even put more people in danger.

He doesn’t know what has happened to Jessica in the meantime, either, so it’s something else that has been slowly dragging on his thoughts. It’s something that keeps him up at night other than Tim’s coughing or midnight runs to the bathroom to smoke a cigarette. It was difficult for them both, and Jay knows that.

     ”Yeah… You’re right.      We’ll find something this time.      We’ll stick together and get through this together.”

It sounds pretty lame when he thinks about how he says it. Them walking through an empty hotel hallway, chatting about walks through the woods and making it seem like they’re going to not make it out alive. But Jay refuses to think that way. He knows they’ll win in the end—they have to.

The nudge gets him walking again and he can’t help but smile at Tim’s words. The question had been a heavy one and at least his buddy has the gall to try and make it more light-hearted than he had.

     ”You got me there.      What would I do without you?”

    but they have people to look for, someone good and someone they used to be friends with, so it's not as though he has a choice in the matter. that jay is so determined to go look around there, and that there might be something there for them to look at, doesn't really help matters much at all, and he almost wishes it was something less dark.

    what, though, could be better than a forest? (not much.)

         ❛  hopefully,  ❜ he murmurs, but keeps that to himself.

         ❛  we've got this. i mean, third time's the charm, right?              just replace that with however many this is.  ❜  is said             louder, and doesn't know who he's trying to convince.

    tim isn't usually the funny one, or the cheer everyone up whenever possible kind of guy. that was brian's job, or even seth's when he tried to. really, he's the one that sits at the side and smokes while everyone else got on with what they were doing and generally just ignored his presence.

    but he figures that, if he can cheer up someone even just a little bit, becoming that guy isn't too bad. especially if it helps them get through this, one small smile at a time; so it doesn't overwhelm them, at least.

A brusque nod of thanks was given in the man’s direction, something catching Jeff’s eye during the tight motion. A mask was gripped, the fingers clasping the plastic in a white-knuckled way that almost seemed intimate, yet expressly repulsed.

Perhaps it was a product of a wild party that continued early into the evening, which could provide explanation for the stranger’s fatigue. Maybe regrettable things have occurred on both sides of the painted facade. He had no idea to what extent this applied to the man, but something within him itched when gray eyes had laid upon the polished surface. It wasn’t a question one would normally ask when wearing sunglasses, but a frigid gaze wasn’t Jeff’s defining physical feature-

      ❛  uh—  ❜

tim doesn't quite know what to say to that. people generally don't know him, nor recognise him. one of those faces, he thinks, but mostly just because he doesn't know people, and that means that they don't know him, or bother to remember him.

he looks the man over, just a quick once to see if he has any recognisable features, before shaking his head slowly. no, tim is sure that he would recognise such a man, and he's certain that he's never met him in his life. where he would recognise tim from, he doesn't know, but maybe it's just a case of mistaken identity. or, he hopes it is at least, since being recognised by a stranger is worrying, even when it's not meant to be, and he would rather avoid any problems, especially when he's doing fine.

                                                        ✞✞✞                  [ theres so many jokes that april could be making                     after the sarcastic remark she just made, but she                    kept her mouth shut instead. she kept her gaze on                    him, running her tongue across her bottom lip as                     her eyebrow raised even more at his gestures. she                     could tell that she had just annoyed him and it only                    caused her to smirk in glee. since april had become                    a rabbit of HABITs, she had made it her daily task to                    make somebody miserable or annoyed. she moved                    her hand and placed it on her hip, cocking her head                    to the side whilst her hand moved up to play with a                    single strand of her hair. ]

              if he could, he would have bared his teeth at her in anger, animalistic               and instinctual. the masked man has never taken kindly to strangers               (or anyone really, but that's not important) and this one has the gall to               tread on his  forest and act  as though his  orders for her to leave are               nothing?  if he  weren't so  caught  up in other  things he would  have               tackled her by now, but time is ticking and he can't afford to get into a               fight with a rabbit and her master.

     ”I can’t really make any promises like that,       and you know it. But…       I’ll try my best.       We can’t let everything that has already happened go to waste.”

When Tim returns the embrace it instantly has the southerner relaxing into him and he practically leans down into him, moving his head so that he could rest his forehead against the others shoulder. Arms loosen and move so his hands are at the outsides of Tim’s arms and he grips there gently, wants him to understand that he really is going to try his best.

Jay doesn’t want to let Tim down. Not after all of this—not after telling him how he really feels about him on top of all of this. Being this close makes Jay feel a bit warmer than usual, knows he’s really hiding his face in the man’s shoulder so he doesn’t have to look him in the eye. Because he’s never really felt this way for someone like Tim and he isn’t sure how to handle it. It feels like a burden has been lifted off his shoulders but another one placed in its spot.

     ”Haha…       Good to know.”

         ❛  if either of us are going to see this through—  ❜

    it's going to be you, he wants to say. it's always going to be jay that makes it out of this, in every scenario that tim has managed to concoct in his already fractured mind. he can't see this ending in any other way - he doesn't want it to - and even if he has no control over fate or the moirae or whatever the hell is out there, he's going to do his damndest to make sure that this ends with one (jay) or both of them alive.

    the embrace is comforting, and he tightens his hold as if to reassure both of them (mostly himself) that they are okay, that nothing monumentally life ruining has happened yet and that maybe they can make it out of this alive and find their own happiness. tim isn't very good with words, would have no idea how to put across what it is that he's feeling and all of his intentions, but he figures that this is close enough and he'll have to settle for the contact to do his talking for him. they do say that actions speak louder, right? so relying on them shouldn't be too bad.

        ❛  i wouldn't want to anyway.  ❜

 Whether or not the Masked Man could even comprehend anything related to personal comfort, Jay did not really know. He was so used to him being an odd presence in his life lately, that he hadn’t really considered something like this to happen—where they were both in the same room and nothing was really happening. 

 Light blues search the mask, as if he could really find something there when he knows he can’t. The figure refuses to speak—and he wonders if it’s because he doesn’t want to hear his own voice. If speaking brings back Tim’s consciousness or if maybe it’s too distorted to understand. (He’d be thankful he doesn’t speak if that’s the case).

 The hand on his head moves and Jay finds himself tipping into the touch. Strands move as fingers push back through his hair, and he gives a low hum—a content sound. This was oddly nice, especially from the Masked Man. He keeps catching him off guard doing things like this—

   ”… Thanks.” It was all he could offer, most of his tension slipping away in the form of slouching his shoulders instead of holding them up and uncrossing his legs enough so he could sit closer to the other.

Jay is something of a curiosity to the Masked Man. Despite all he had been through already, the other hadn't given up yet - he's decided that continuing on this road of turmoil (one that can't end well for anyone) is the best idea, even after all he's seen and the fact that it has started following him.

And this comes from the masked one who runs every time it draws near, unable to be in its presence for longer than he has to be (which is a very short time). It's admirable, in the stupidity of it all - both admirable and able to cause a person to bash their heads against the nearest wall, if only because Jay is so stubborn about it.

The masked head tips forward in acknowledgement of the thanks. He doesn't think he's done much - isn't one for comforting, not with a face like his and previous actions haunting them both loudly. But if it's made Jay relax, then maybe he isn't doing so badly.