Chapter Thirty

You didn't know how to look for an attic. You guessed it was probably one of those pull-down things—like a string somewhere that you would pull and then stairs came out...? Right? Maybe it would be a set of stairs. If that was the case, you might be in trouble. You were certain you'd not seen any stairs in the house. You were still pretty glum about the whole thing with Ryo, even though Jason had coincidentally found you and comforted you immediately. You were glad to have him around. He was kind. He was supposed to be helping you, actually, but he insisted on taking a break to make some food. You sighed. You should probably get some food, too.

You entered the kitchen with a short wave. "Hi. I decided food was a good idea," you smiled at Jason.

"I told you it was," he shook his head. "I made a sandwich for you already."

"What!" you said in genuine surprise. "This is so sweet, thank you!" You immediately started eating, to Jason's amusement. He smiled at how cute you were being right now. It had been a while since he had gotten to spend time with you, and Ryo making you upset was the perfect time for him to cut in.

"Yeah, well, you should really eat more. You've been pretty busy," he reprimanded as he sat beside you.

"Whatever," you huffed. "Thanks for making me a sandwich."

"I'm guessing you've had no luck so far?" he said in between bites. He was trying really hard to concentrate on what you were talking about, but it got so hard sometimes. When was this all going to be over? When was it finally going to be time for him to take you into his arms forever? He almost sighed at the thought.

"No, I haven't" you said, but he hardly heard you. "Why would Quince even tell us about the attic if it's so hard to find?"

"Just in case, I suppose," Jason shrugged.

"I wish we could ask him," you pouted.

"Hey," Jason smiled as he tilted your face up to look into his eyes. "We'll find it, I'm sure." He was lying, of course. At least, he hoped he was. He wasn't sure what he'd do if you actually found it.

"Well, I know Jenna was doing a lot of searching anyway. Maybe we should take a look at the books she messed with in the library?"

"That's a good idea," Jason nodded. The two of you were done eating, so you went ahead and went to the room.

You looked for the books you remembered her having but struck blank. You frowned. Shit. You were sure they wouldn't be too hard to find, and yet...

"Ah, maybe she took them with her?" you laughed nervously, embarrassed that your idea was useless.

"It's possible," Jason shrugged. He turned to you and put a hand on your shoulder. You looked to him.

"Am I being ridiculous?" you asked, sadness lingering on the edges of your voice. I definitely am being ridiculous, you thought pitifully.

"Maybe," he tilted his head with a thoughtful look, a long gaze that was lost somewhere in the depths of your face. "But sometimes we need to do silly things to comfort ourselves. That's not ridiculous."

"I just want the answers laid out in front of me. It seems impossible," you spoke.

"It probably isn't. There wouldn't be the rule if it was impossible to find," Jason comforted you. "This place is weird. It might just show up sometimes, or maybe only when you yawn and sneeze at the same time."

"That's absurd."

"So is everything."

"Maybe," you sighed for the millionth time. "I guess I haven't really hung out with anyone since she disappeared, huh?"

"Yeah, you super haven't," Jason agreed as he subtly pulled you just a little closer. "I've missed you." His eyes wandered to yours for a moment and you were struck by how emotional he seemed. Guilt weighed down on you in an instant. He seemed to look at you with a gaze far too full of longing and love.

"I'm sorry," you teared up a little. Shit. "I'm just so worried, I guess, and I can't seem to chill out."

"I know," he laughed. It was a sweet sound. The hand not already holding you rested on your cheek as he leaned his forehead on yours—oh! This is... really close. "It's going to be alright, (y/n), I promise you." He said that and then pulled you into a hug. It felt warm and kind, and in that moment, you realized that you'd been feeling incredibly alone in this house—in this universe. You let some tears fall as you held him back.

"Thanks, Jason," you murmured into his chest.

"Of course," he replied, his hands softly rubbing your back. He was holding back. Now—like most of the time—he really wanted to hold you even closer and kiss you with all the love in his heart, but this mess was a one step at a time kind of deal. He kept his sighs on the inside and stepped away. You immediately missed the warmth but didn't move any closer to him.

"Sorry, am I interrupting something?" Quince said loudly as he walked in. "How unfortunate," he thought angrily. "to find them like that." He managed to put a smile on his face for you, and he hoped it wasn't scary. Jason glared.

"Oh!" you jumped away from Jason as if you had been caught doing something wrong. "No, uh, not at all," you laughed nervously. You guessed you technically were doing something wrong, looking for the attic and all, but hugging Jason felt like the real crime. But then you were happy, Quince was here! You didn't want to jump over and hug him since the room seemed tense, but... you wished you could. You smiled instead.

"What's up?" Jason looked to Quince as if to say "hey could you get out?"

"Just checking on my favorite girl," Quince smiled warmly as he patted your head. You couldn't hold back the wide grin and small laugh. You just tended to be really happy when he was around. Was that strange? "Are you still...looking for Jenna?" he spoke more seriously.

His hand finally left your head and you looked to the side, "Uh, yeah. I know you said I didn't need to, it's just comforting, I guess. Better than doing nothing."

Jason said nothing as he stood protectively at your side. He felt something growing in him—a fury that got stronger as he watched how Quince interacted with you. He wanted to pull you away from him and keep you. Quince seemed to contemplate your words and do his best to ignore the blue-haired bastard that stood beside you.

"Well, you don't have to do nothing. You can come spend time with me whenever you want," he smiled.

"I know that," you quirked your head to the side. "I'm just going to be a little twitchy until I know what's going on, I think." You felt like you've had to explain yourself a million times already. You really liked Quince and all, but you definitely couldn't tell him you were looking for the attic, so you wanted him to leave.

Quince sighed. He wasn't sure what to do about this...unintended consequence. It technically wasn't his fault, really. It wasn't his fault she was gone. She's the one who did this, she's the one that wanted to leave! He pressed his lips together before trying to relax his face. He seemed annoyed which made you sad... You didn't want him to be annoyed with you.

"Alright, well, I'll leave you to this for now," he smiled again. "Come find me sometime, I'd like your company."

You nodded quickly, "Of course!"

"Don't get too fresh, Jason," Quince spoke over his shoulder as he left.

"You're not her dad!" Jason called back before instinctively wrapping an arm around your shoulder as he glared at Quince's retreating form.

"I'm sure he was joking," you looked up to Jason.

"Yeah, I guess," he conceded.

.x.x.x.x.x.

At this point, it had happened so long ago that Quince was totally over Jenna's disappearance. It was dramatic when it happened, sure, but that was ages ago. Why couldn't you be over it too? He sighed again.

He knew what you were doing. Maybe if you had wanted to keep it a secret, you shouldn't have loudly exclaimed 'We have to find the attic!' multiple times. Your cluelessness was cute sometimes...well, really always, but he almost wanted to laugh at how ridiculous this was. Surely you could be sneakier than this?

He was sure you had been before. Maybe this version of you was even more trusting than previous versions. In most cases, he wouldn't complain about that, but your attachment to the others was worrying.

"I've finally found it! The one place forbidden to us—the one place you won't explain, and I've found the door!" Jenna had shouted with more emotion than Quince had heard from her yet.

"So you have," Quince agreed. "And?"

"And I'm going in. I'm leaving. That's where this leads, right? This door gets me out of whatever the fuck this all is. That's why It's so hard to find," she spoke erratically. She didn't know what was on the other side, but if she could get out and get help, she could get everyone out of this...weird prison.

"In a matter of speaking, yes, it leads to out of all this. But you don't want to go through that door," Quince spoke seriously in a tone he only seemed to use around her. That tense warning tone as if he wanted to wipe her from existence—as if she was the greatest thorn in his side.

"Why not?" she said with her hand on the doorknob. She was looking at him, but he was staring at her hand that threatened to turn at any moment. He considered it for a moment, what would happen if she went through that door.

Would it be bad? Or would it solve all of his problems all in one go?

It wasn't ideal but, maybe it was the best he could get.

"I can't make your decisions foryou," he straightened his posture and looked at her square in the eye. "But don'tsay I never warned you."

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