Nathan stood still as Jax loomed over him. He couldn't take his eyes off the velvet cushion that stayed clutched in Jax's hand.
“You’re a little later than usual,” Nathan says bluntly, watching him cradle his hand. Instead of the olive skin, it was gleaming white. He also noticed that his hand now revealed a few splotches of red, located at the palm. Bandages?
"Hello to you too..." was all he said as his famous grin surfaces with an eye roll. Yet that didn't stop Nathan from getting answers, he decided to find out in the calmest way possible. "Where the hell have you been?!" Nathan didn't realize how loud his voice was until he saw his friend's luminous red hues squint slightly in response. So much for being calm, he sighs mentally. Unconsciously, he covers his pursed lips with his right hand, his skin now as warm as his cheeks. Nathan looks toward Jax for a response to his question, only to receive his ear to ear grin that somehow got wider. That's when he finally became conscious of the fact that his friend was attempting, or rather...succeeding in containing his laughter.
Getting even more irritated, he removes his hand and begins to open his mouth to talk before Jax beats him to the punch.
"Shh, shh," he hushes at Nathan, now a few steps across from him, "don't want to attract some unwanted company now do we?".
Nathan only huffs at this, suddenly losing the motivation to talk. Instead, he resumes analyzing his friends wound, the bandage slightly bloodier than before. He looks back up only to find his friend glaring at him with a little frown, eyebrows slightly scrunched up. If looks could kill, I would've been dead long ago.
“So how did it go?” Nathan asks, combing a hand through his dirty blonde hair.
“It went fine.” was all he had to say.
“Are you sure?” Nathan interjects, surprising himself with the sudden sharpness of his tone. “Because if it went like the usual, you wouldn’t be hurt.”
Jax lowered his head and released a low sigh, yet it didn't deter Nathan in the slightest; who now has his arms crossed. At last, after a few moments of silence, the ebony haired teen glanced back up at him.
"Before you say anything...yes, I did make it to the place," he says to him slowly, articulating every single word. Nathan nods in approval, waiting for more to be revealed. However, what was said next left him truly speechless.
"but I may or may not have been followed..."
"Look, man, ever since we commenced this I just thought something's not right."
"I think we've been watched this whole time."
As if on a camera reel, all of the thoughts flooded into Nathan's mind like a speeding train. "Huh?" was all that he could manage to utter. The abrupt feeling forced him to lean against the velvet couch.
"I didn't realize until I was literally a friggin' foot away ok?" Jax hurriedly resumed, as if he sensed his confusion and loss for words. Now it was his turn to rake a hand through his hair. Nathan's heart began to lurch as he processed the situation, his own words drowning out all of the sounds around him, repeating over and over again. He was being followed...yet even I didn't predict that, was all he could think of. At the time it was only a fleeting thought, a simple sign of worry towards his friend. He should've known. He didn't feel the couch sagging to his left until he spoke.
"It's not your fault Nate," his ears perked up at Jax's softened tone, "I should've taken your words into account and have been more careful." Jax, now leaning against the velvet couch next to him - still protecting his hand - looks solemnly at the ground. The gentleness made Nathan feel lighter, yet he remained silent. Once his thoughts gradually cleared away, he peers up to find lowered red hues brimming with disappointment.
"It was more me who didn't see him coming." Jax continued, focusing towards one of the paintings near the stairs. The unexpected remark caught Nathan's full attention.
"Hold on, how do you know the stalker is a 'he'?". He doesn't fail to spot Jax's eyes widening, not to mention his uninjured hand clutching his other more tightly.
"Jax..." he reluctantly glances up to Nathan emotionlessly, as if nothing ever happened.
"Well...just when I got there, he got the best of me." A stifle of laughter erupted from Nathan's mouth just as he turns away.
"Hey! It's not funny!" Jax blurts out as he turns to face him again, clearly both embarrassed and annoyed.
"It totally is." he grins widely, only to receive silence and a long scowl in return. He decides to finish off this topic before he gets hit with something that isn't a cushion.
"Let me guess, put to sleep?"
"Yup." Jax emphasizes the 'p'. No further questions were asked.
"What happened afterward?" Nathan requested next, propping himself up on the couch. Now Jax looks away, bringing a frown upon his face. His head hung low, as his ebony hair swept across his eyes. An admission of defeat.
“Jax, what happened?” Nathan says again, never taking his eyes off him. As if on queue, he finally looks up at him, causing Nathan to freeze. His hues are now darkened, losing the glint that Nathan has always known. It made him reconsider what he was about to say because, without that accompanying glow, he was terrifying.
“Would you believe me?” Jax says, much lower than before. It sent a chill down Nathan’s spine. Yet he wasn’t finished. “And would you never tell anyone? Not even her?”
Nathan softly gulps, registering all of his words. It was the first time that he has ever said something like this, after all, he wasn't usually one to tell secrets or personal information about himself.
"Of course." as much as he would love to confide Grace about their scavenges, he had agreed with Jax that they will not get her involved...in order to keep her safe.
Yet, she's the one who's the best at mediating in times like this, not me,
Nathan mentally scoffs.
As if on cue, a sudden roaring of footsteps came cascading down the stairs, causing both him and Jax to look.
"Oh god damn-" was all Nathan could hear from him before he was tackled onto the couch. He shuffles himself to look behind only to find a blob of auburn hair.
Jax mutters as Nathan rests in the right armchair close to the kitchen, watching the scene before him. Grace - now lacking her coat and goggles - pokes and prods at his wound gently, entirely ignoring him as he lies on the couch.
"How'd you get this?" she demands, finally releasing his hand to stand up swiftly.
"I broke a window," he replies nonchalantly, cradling his soaked hand once more. She slowly places her hands on her hips, making Nathan quietly chuckle. He can imagine her pouting at Jax like she usually does whenever he does something either bad or stupid...or both.
"Why'd you break a window?"
"Cause I had to..."
"Why'd you have to?"
Here we go again, Nathan sighs as he continues observing his two friends, Jax already irritated and Grace already impatient.
"Because I was under pressure."
"Why were you under pressure?"
"I felt like I was being watched."
"Was there any other way you could've escaped?"
"No."
Grace now takes a step back and whips around to face Nathan, who looks up to her. Just as he thought, her pout was still visible on her face, her hazel hues now glimmering with amusement.
"Is he telling the truth?" she asks, disregarding Jax glaring daggers at her. His eyes travel towards Nathan.
"I'm sure he is." He says, returning his focus back to her. She sighs heavily as she eventually looks back towards Jax, who is now crossing his arms and his legs. As if satisfied, Grace claps her hands together.
"I'll go grab the med-kit." Is all she says before she heads down the hall, leaving only a trail of clicks behind her. Jax watches her leave impassively, sighing once she's fully out of sight.
"Why is she here?" he asks Nathan, kicking his legs off the couch and placing himself into a seating position. The sudden question leaves him baffled for a few beats before he was able to snap out of it.
"She came because she thought I called her only to find that you," Nathan answers, fully emphasizing the 'you' and pointing towards his dark-haired friend. "called her." He finishes.
Jax's intense stare unexpectedly softened and averted his eyes from him, causing Nathan to raise a single brow.
"...oh right, I forgot I did that..." he murmurs, rubbing his eyes before returning his hand to his wounded one.
"Why did you?" Nathan instantly asks, ignoring the fact that Grace wasn't present. Jax slowly looks towards him with his mouth slightly open, as if he's processing what he was about to say.
"I-"
"I'm back!" her voice booms across the room, interrupting whatever he was about to say. Nathan slightly frowns as he watches her skip happily towards the lounge, med-kit in tow. The med-kit was heavily decorated with a range of colored stickers - that Grace personally bought - that covers the entire emerald case. Jax commented on how childish it looked when she showed it to us for the first time but got used to it in the end.
"Yay, my hero..." Jax sarcastically says, feigning a relieved expression. To even make it more sarcastic he presses his uninjured hand against his heart. It doesn't seem to faze her, as she places the kit onto the small coffee table and opens it up.
"What were you guys talking about earlier?" She inquires, collecting a new set of bandages from the box. The sudden question made Nathan uneasy.
"...oh right, I forgot I did that..."
What did Jax mean by that? He thought, what was he about to say?
He looks towards Jax who was observing Grace unwrap his bandaged hand, muttering something to her. She flicks his forehead in response, making him wince. Nathan was glad she didn't do that to him much, as he found out too soon that her nicely manicured nails are surprisingly sharp.
"Can you not do that? That hurts!" Jax complains, prompting Grace to giggle.
Nathan pushes his thoughts away as he continues watching his friends with a newly-found smile.
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