After Pomni watches Jax walk off at the beach, leaving everyone behind, she sits with herself for a minute and thinks back to their most recent argument. Legs pressed to her chest and arms wrapped tightly around them, she ponders what could have happened differently. Why would Jax push her so far away? Does he really find peace in being isolated? Nobody deserves to be lonely in the circus.
She thinks about how Jax must be struggling mentally with whatever happened with his โfriendโโsomething nobody really discusses. As tears begin to form at the thought of how much he must be hurting, she decides to find him and try to patch things up. If theyโre going to be stuck in the circus indefinitely, she doesnโt want there to be awkward tension between them.
Pomni canโt explain it, but she feels compassion for Jax in a way that nobody else seems ready to give him. She almost feels frustrated on his behalf, knowing that no one else understands that his funny-guy exterior is just a shield to protect himself from getting hurt even more.
As she walks back toward the circus, she decides she wonโt take no for an answer. Jax deserves better. A better friend. A better environment. A better life.
When she reaches his door, she notices itโs slightly cracked open. She hesitates, wondering if she should knockโor if she should give him time alone to sort through his emotions. Would Jax even be awake right now? Maybe he really was just tired and didnโt want to play at the beach.
After a moment of debate, she slowly peeks through the crack in the door. She feels intrusive, but reasons with herself that if Jax can have a key to her room, this is minimally invasive. She glances toward his bed and nearly turns away when she realizes heโs sleepingโuntil she sees it.
A small ripple distorts his appearance, almost like static. She shakes her head and looks again. Jax couldnโt beโฆ abstractingโฆ could he? He looks almost peaceful. Maybe she imagined it.
Pushing aside the guilt of invading his privacy, she opens the door and steps inside. His room looks nothing like she expected. Light-colored walls and small, almost childlike decorations fill the space. She commits the image to memory and steps closer to the bed.
Her breath catches in her throat when she sees it againโanother glitch rippling through his entire body.
Panicking, she rushes to the bed and shakes him. He starts to stir, and then she sees his eyes. Vibrant, swirling colorsโexactly like Kaufmoโs when he abstracted.
โJax! Donโt do this!โ Pomni cries, gripping him tighter. โYou can fight thisโplease, Jax!โ
His eyes meet hers, but theyโre empty. Just color. No emotion.
What can she do? How can she stop him from completely losing himself?
In her panic, the only thing that comes to mind is to press her lips to his. She pulls him close and kisses him hard, pouring all of her fear and emotion into it. Hot tears streak down her face at the thought of losing himโafter everything sheโs tried to do to help himโwhen suddenly, he kisses her back.
Long purple arms wrap around her waist, pulling her closer as he kisses her fervently. She curls her arms around his neck, fingers brushing through the soft purple fur at his nape. Fast, breathless kisses fill the air until Jax finally pulls back.
The bright colors in his eyes are gone.
He pants softly, staring at Pomni with confused disbelief.
โH-how did you know what to do?โ he asks quietly.
โIโI didnโt,โ Pomni admits sheepishly. โI panicked.โ
She starts to climb off the bed, but he reaches out and grabs her arm. When she faces him again, his gaze drops to the comforter as he mutters a soft thank you.
The air between them feels thick and heavy. The unspoken fear of almost abstracting hangs between them.
โJaxโฆ I care about you. So much. I donโt want bad blood between us. I donโt want you to abstract. Pleaseโฆโ she says softly, taking his gloved hand.
He stares at their joined hands, yellow eyes wide and gentle, before wrapping his fingers around hers.
โIโll really try, Pom. Thank you,โ he says solemnly.
Pomni withdraws her hand and heads toward the door.
โHey, Pom?โ Jax asks quietly.
โNext time you wanna sneak into my room and violate my mouth,โ he quips, his terribly timed humor returning, โyou can just ask to kiss me, yโknow.โ
She chuckles softly and leaves his room, heading back to hers. She really needs time to think about the implications of what just happened.
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