( –– * 𝓈𝓊𝒻𝒻𝑜𝒸𝒶𝓉𝑜𝓇

that was the thing about treeville– the town as a whole, including everyone in it, desired for everything to appear perfect when it wasn’t and wouldn’t ever be. whether they liked to admit it or not, that was the truth of each of their lives. a viewpoint that jenna fully understood. setting down her coffee cup on the table between them, she turned to face him with her full attention, waiting as if he was about to continue on rather than leaving her with little pieces of the story to work with. “nothing’s perfect. it won’t be, never will be. you’d thinl people would accept that eventually.” leaving her own answer bland, jenna let out a light sigh as she tilted her head in thought. “how big exactly is this life decision? like is it something that if you didn’t do you’d regret for the rest of your life or is it something that you’ll forget about in a years time? ‘cause like for example, if it’s somethin’ like you wanna skydive or whatever and she doesn’t want you to, you pick your battles, you know? but if this ‘skydiving’ thing is gonna have you in regret for years then again, you pick your battles and figure out does she matter more or does the decision?”

her eyes flickered down to the pack of cigarettes in vivian’s hands, pausing before she took one to easily place between her lips. the topic of herself was long forgotten as jenna chose to focus specifically on dimitri. “i thought he was doing pretty well with this job.” she spoke lightly, but the underlying air of bitterness that jenna could not let go of remained and each time she caught herself doing it she attempted her best to stop it but this time there was no holding it back. “there’s no danger,” she began with, “well except that one time. but overall there isn’t much. he’s got chris there. and he’s got an entire force to back him. if need be.”

if jenna couldn’t figure out her own life how in the hell was she supposed to figure out dimitri’s? he was the one who had always figured things out, for the both of them. the one pulling her out of the darkness and aiding her in fixing everything she had broken. now, the one chance she had to provide that same support back, jenna was dumbfounded. out of anxiety, her fingers laced within and let go of one another periodically before she let out a deep sigh. “you could work with rescue dogs.” it was the first thought that came to mind, probably due to the fact that elton crossed her mind more often than not. and if that backfired, at least it added some humour to the conversation.

“so that’s a no?” the question was more of a dag at herself than anything else, really. had she been so preoccupied with her own feelings and deprecations that jenna hadn’t taken the time to see dimitri truly was struggling? that not everything was as good as it seemed to be? “then i guess-” with the next words came a deep breath from jenna’s mouth before she continued, “maybe she’s right.”

“there’s always somethin’ you could find to gain.” though her words were lighthearted, there was an underlying truth to them. there was no doubt in jenna’s mind that vivian of all people could spin almost any circumstance in her favor. something jenna was continuing to figure out every day. the moment dimitri’s name slipped from vivian’s lips her steps slowed down, taking it all in. perhaps this wasn’t the best moment to discuss it but jenna couldn’t hold it in much longer. “y’think that would be a trigger for him too? or just his job?”

“i am for real when i say…like, engagements and marriage? overrated.” matty let out a loud sigh as he smoked his cigar and sat on the table at the park. he was always one to pester and jenna was no exception, he enjoyed talking to her because she didn’t really expect anything out of him aside from being who he was, just like renata. “you move in with someone, talk about your future and then…it’s like everything goes to hell, you know what i mean? ren and i fight like cats and dogs, but it’s never about serious shit, not until now.” he whispered as he let out some smoke.

at first, jenna was chuckling lightly at his words. every man about to get married was bound to complain and pester and matty was clearly no different. it always did seem that marriage and weddings were more a thing for women and families. “you sound like you’d prefer one of those married in vegas one and done kinda things.” jenna commented with a laugh before bringing the coffee cup in her hand to her lips for a sip. though his next words shifted the conversation into more seriousness. for a moment, she hesitated. “how serious we talking here?” matty and renata were two extremely private people, if the two of them weren’t always together half the town might not even know they were together. “i know it’s not really my place but you know if you gotta talk about anything, i’m here.” 

clearly she wasn’t missing out on much, or perhaps she was and had absolutely no idea. the small town of treeville might have to be the perfect cover up for a mob after all; it was a thought that often did cross jenna’s mind every so often since dimitri’s incident no matter how much she tried to push those away. maybe it was her way of dismissing the whole thing or thinking she was okay with it. whatever it was, it still had jenna’s lips pressing into a line in an attempt to hide all. “how triggering can speeding tickets really be?” she asked with an airy laugh. jenna would take every chance, even the smallest, dumbest of them, to lighten his mood. “i mean, unless you were in like- a million car chases. give or take.” her shoulder lifted and fell lazily before she pulled her bottom lip in and shook her head. “i thought you’ve gotten better working here.”

the hint of a smile mirrored onto jenna’s own lips as it always did around dimitri. “you’re saying speeding tickets and indecent exposure aren’t the most exciting cases to look over?” sarcasm dripping from her words as she made a show of picking up the first file that was in her reach to wave in front of him for a moment before letting it drop from her fingers back onto the desk. “except this one doesn’t get you taken for––” that was when jenna cut herself off before starting something that didn’t at all need to be brought up. her gaze dropped to the files, away from him as if it hid her emotions in any way. “look, you’re the only one who can answer if this triggers you or not. not me, not viv. so, does it?”

vivian always had been one with a flare for the dramatics, and it was quite possibly the full reason that left jenna standing on the walkway while the blonde made her way towards the man despite her objections. at least she was consistent. but that didn’t stop the aggressive rolling of jenna’s eyes. she had two options, really–– one of which was to follow vivian’s lead, go up and interrupt their conversation with something far more embarrassing or to turn her back and continue on the way they were once headed. before she had even moved from her place, the blonde was back at her side. “oh, and i should believe that because...?” was asked with a raise of her brow. just like old times, minus the rough tone that was once the only way jenna had communicated with vivian. now it was seemed to be a joke between the two. something that was kept up from habit rather than actual disdain. 

had dimitri not offered to finish things up jenna might have continued on her rant of whichever television series she was currently binging, but the words out of his mouth prompted her to sit up straighter in her seat across from him-eagerly watching as he packed his things though still, a small smile remained on her lips. “need any help? or am i not allowed to see the top secret cop stuff?” the joking came to an end, however, with the question directed at her. that alone had jenna’s smile fading to a near pout. “w-what do you mean? are you starting to second guess it?”

since they were children jenna was keen on playing along with jokes, good or bad, for as long as it had to pertain, though this time specifically she let the act fall with a soft sympathetic smile sent in dimitri’s way. “don’t be, i know you’re busy and i’m just here annoying you but hey it could be a lot worse than me talking about all the reality tv i’ve been so fortunate to catch up on. i won’t bore you with it a second time. i nearly bored myself with it, really. how much longer s’this gonna take?”

matching the exaggeration to the tee, jenna’s eyes rolled to the back of her head dramatically as if the entire conversation was getting the best of her. “look i was simply giving credit where credit was due, y’didn’t have to overdo it so much.” when the blonde began to step away, jenna’s feet remained planted in place while she watched her. “now ok that idea right there––another not so stellar. you’re already making me regret it.” she called out to her though jenna was almost sure that vivian was blocking out her voice at this point.

the only thing quite possibly worse than sitting in her apartment with absolutely nothing to do was watching dimitri go through the current police report on his desk all while jenna sat across from him in her own hope of finding some outlet of entertainment from this visit. “are you kidding?” she asked in exaggeration with wide eyes. “have you not heard a word i said?”

that answer alone had jenna’s smile widening even more. her party days were long behind her but that didn’t mean she couldn’t still appreciate the whole thing. especially considering this was their wedding they were talking about. “you sound really excited about it, i’m sure you two will be able to make it a party with or without the wedding,” she joked with a laugh before shaking her head at him. “no c’mon, makes total sense. but i’ll let you win this one as long as we can get some of those churros on our way back.”

the smile on her face remained bright as matty spoke about his fiance, but jenna would be lying if she said there hadn’t been a twinge of jealousy in her stomach at the love the two of them shared. despite it though, there was no two people more perfect for one another than matty and renata, at least from what jenna had seen so far. “i mean marriage really is just a basic legal document, its sorta breath of fresh air to see you guys not obsessed with the wedding,” she replied jokingly before her eyes were rolling at his question. “yeah, so it takes longer to check you out than me ‘cause more ground to cover or whatever the saying is. get it?”

not giving the comment much thought, jenna continued walking in the direction they were heading. not daring to look back and have to actually go through with vivian’s idea of confrontation. “you’re kidding right?” she called out with a quick glance over her shoulder to prompt the blonde to continue walking with her. “you’ve usually got a bunch of stellar ideas up in that head of yours but that one isn’t my favorite, i’ll be honest.”