the great unwashed

              his fingers drum against the table, eyes glued to the window. he had no idea what kind of car she drove anymore. he made sure to walk mainly because something told him that seeing his old cherry red mustang would make jen want to turn around & leave. they weren’t the crazy teenagers they were years ago. he couldn’t see them ever sharing a drunken make out session in his mustang again. so, it just sat parked in his designated parking spot below his apartment. a heavy sigh. 

                jennifer walks into the waffle house and his breath is caught in his throat. she barely changed. sure, she looked older but in a ‘i’m not twenty years old’ way. justn’s sure he looks the same—..minus getting his braces off and the fact he looked like he hadn’t slept in weeks. aren’t dark circles the latest trend or whatever? girl’s have been purposely giving themselves dark circles. maybe he could say he was just trying to fit in. though, jenn probably knew. “hey jenn.” he’ll finally speak, pushing her coffee closer to her. “got you a coffee,” he’ll clear his throat. “nothin’ i just—…” a nervous laugh, a shrug of his shoulders. “wanted to see you.”

             there’s anticipation when she pulls into the parking lot. searching for the old mustang she used to know so well. it feels like a lifetime ago, and maybe it was. because this is certainly a new life for all of them. the tense set of her shoulders relaxes when she doesn’t see it, something she didn’t even realize would make her tense. it’s not like she can really explain it. breath pulls from her, berating herself for the thought. she can do this, she can see justin even if he’d brought his car. justin isn’t shitload. 

                        it doesn’t change the ghosts of memories that follow her everywhere

               there’s a feeling when they’re in the same space. she watches him with dark eyes, leaning back in her seat. she takes the coffee, nodding as she swallows. “--thanks.” she’s not even sure why she’s surprised. she had asked for coffee, but somehow she hadn’t expected it in front of her. air pulls from her, looking up at him again. he looks--- tired. worn out. she’s been out of the loop but she knows it couldn’t have  been easy. it wasn’t easy for her and she’d barely skimmed the surface of the horror they’d faced. “it’s good. to see you.” she nods, because it is. for long moments her nervous gaze examines her coffee, picking up sugar packets to dump into it. “how--- how are you, justin?” 

            he stays slightly, his fingers curling and uncurling in his lap. every time his hands would ball into fists, they were tight. white knuckled. occasionally a knuckle or three would crack loudly. his jaw clenched & unclenched and he’d just stare down at his feet, long eyelashes & heavy eyelids hiding his blue eyes. “this isn’t how life is supposed to be, yo.” he isn’t supposed to be like this. he should have been out of this town or—…at least dead. “this shit is fuckin’ bullshit and you know it. don’t it is what it is me, yo!”

              “i don’t think anythin’ ya’ can do can surprise ‘em at first. like, every time ya’ do somethin’ he’s always like ‘most would be surprised, i am not’,” yes, she deepened her voice to mimic dave. she tried her best. luckily for her, amy seemed to like her quite a bit. probably because she didn’t really get to be around female company, usually stuck between john & dave—…especially whenever it came to ‘missions’. april was always happy to tag along. dave didn’t usually agree to it but april had a knack for just showing up. hey, she could help! “’m not surprised. most people don’t remember vegas–…” she’ll stand on her tiptoes, pressing into the kiss. “hmmm!!! show me ‘ow strong ya’ are, baby. bet ya’ could hold me up fer’ hours,” 

             it’s not every day he sees letha waiting for him in his apartment. originally whenever he caught her scent, he was expecting a fight. paint him pleasantly surprised that she wasn’t trying to set his home on fire. obviously, she didn’t want to be here. the anxiety raising off her in waves, like puffs of smoke. he’ll take a deep breath, enjoying the scent before he finally points his attention towards the poltergeist. 

                                 “ what on earth do you need my help for, letha?” 

               dark eyes examine him with a frown, shifting in her space. gods, part of her just wants to set something on fire because it’s xathan but she can’t. she’s here for help. which means some sort of peaceful exchange. she picks at split ends with a frown, shoulders rolling. 

             “it’s kind of hard to forget about the fuckin’ bikers who are still somehow convinced that like, we kidnapped & possibly killed their kids,” god damn mind worms—…making you see things & believe things. god, he thought john’s dog was real for the longest time. “yeah, he did. didn’t homie try blow dave up in a burning trailer?” not to mention he had suffered a shot gun blast to the chest because of that cop. is it sad he was kind of glad that his head exploded? granted, he probably did save the others from—…himself. well, he wasn’t himself. he was shitload. ah….a hand comes to rest on his forehead. “i’m just—….sick of explodin’,” 

                “well, no fuckin’ SHIT, sherlock. y’all ain’t very popular with this TOWN. bunch of monster hunters. not to mention those bikers STILL think y’all tried to kill a BUS FULL of their kids.” though, things were better. the fact that—…his mind was blanking out. he couldn’t remember a lot of NAMES since his latest demise. “me? well, they all STILL think i killed detective appleton.” though, it wasn’t necessarily WRONG. though, it was more like SHITLOAD making his head explode. “it’s FINE. nothin’ ya’ coulda done about it, YO. like, you know how it is. it goes the way THEY want.”

             fuck. why is the fuck is she doing this? fingers push through her hair, form flickering for long moments before she settles herself. she can do this. leila is who the fuck knows where, and letha doesn’t have much in the way of support. so here she is. it lasted for a while, staying the hell away from xathan, but she’d run out of options. 

                  “ i need your--- help. with somethin’ i can’t do on m’own.” trading favors for this is... unfortunately worth it. fucking STUBBORN HUMANS. 

              “i don’t think dave is ever surprised. especially by the crazy shit ya’ get inta’,” a scoff leaves her, her head moving back into the touch of his fingers. she’s pretty sure that david had become tolerant of her whilst amy always seemed to love her. then again, it wasn’t like amy really got a lot of girl time—…usually surrounded by the likes of david & john. she couldn’t blame the redhead at all. “haven’t you, like—…been ta’ vegas? now that’s a city!” she’ll grin at him, head tilting to the side as she makes her way over to him, her movements smooth & catlike. “show me how much ya’ missed me,” 

              justin knows he should have just LEFT her ALONE. let her start her normal life. let her have a NORMAL life. one that didn’t involve a COSMIC HORROR that justin seemed to embody. he’ll look down at his phone as he locks the apartment door behind him, placing the keys into the pocket of his basketball shorts. hands runs through UNRULY CURLS as a takes a deep breath. “okay, coffee.” he’ll mumble to himself.

              [ text: JENN ] not at the trailer park anymore lol walking now. ill get u a coffee.

            long legs carry him at a BRISK pace as he makes his way to the waffle house, bursting through the door with more URGENCY than needed. he’ll slide into a booth close to the window so he was able to look. menus & coffee are placed in front of him, smiling nervously at the waitress as a nodded a thank you. fingers DRUM at the table as his legs bounce, staring out at the parking lot.

              justin white is BAD NEWS, more so since that night. no matter how much time has passed since then, the memory can be called up like it was yesterday. part of her is TEMPTED to slam the door and hide in her apartment. it wouldn’t be the first time. but, she moves anyways, going to her car, and staring a little blankly out the windshield until she feels her phone go off again. 

           justin had always been a bully by nature. it was how he protected himself to say the least. especially whenever he went from rich kid to poor kid because his dad was some kind of drug lord. granted, he did a good job pretending he owned a business—…even justin was shocked whenever his father was arrested. he’ll lazily bring his beer up to his lips as he sinks into his couch further. “that’s just how it is, innit? bet you regret ever comin’ to this town in the first place, yo.”

             one thing you HAVE to learn about justin is to NOT become offended by what he has to say. most of the time it was from a place of his own PAIN & insecurities. granted we aren’t excusing his actions. justin white could be a REAL COCK. justin would have thought that the whole MAGIC thing was bullshit if it weren’t for the things he had witnessed. if the MONSTERS he’s seen existed than why not magic as well? he’ll simply give a one armed shrug, bring his beer to his lips. “sure. you roll it, though.” he’ll SNICKER. “where ya’ stayin’?”