05-26-2025, 09:20 PM
Jay nearly jumped when the voice cut through the hallway. He turned sharply, heart kicking once in his chest, and found himself face to face with... what the hell? A teenager.
Lanky, shaggy-haired, maybe seventeen or eighteen at most. Standing casually near the end of the hall, controller still in hand, face lit faintly by the glow of a paused game. Jay blinked. For a second, he thought he’d imagined it.
But no. There he was. Real. Unbothered. Like this wasn’t the first time he’d caught some half-dressed stranger sneaking in or out of Nox’s room. The kid pointed toward the drying rack like it was routine. Offered a dryer. Offered cover.
Jay just stared at him for a second, stunned into silence.
“Jesus,” he muttered, more to himself than anyone else. “There’s really kids here.”
He crouched by the shoe rack and began pulling his boots on, but the fingers were stiff. His hand didn't want to tie the laces, cold and wet, biting into his knuckles with every tug. Good. He deserved it.
“That's, uh… helpful,” he said, without looking up, voice raw but not unkind. “Figured someone would throw a shoe at me not dry them off.”
The second boot stuck halfway and he yanked it roughly, jaw tight. “But, uh. Nah. I’m good,” he added, finishing the knot. He stood, slowly. The wet coat hanging like a weight across his shoulders.
“Tell him…” Jay hesitated, then shook his head with a faint huff of breath. “Tell him Jay said.. Actually, don’t. Doesn’t matter.”
He looked at the kid again, and something in his expression shifted, just slightly. The absurdity of it all. "Tell him I'll text him."
Lanky, shaggy-haired, maybe seventeen or eighteen at most. Standing casually near the end of the hall, controller still in hand, face lit faintly by the glow of a paused game. Jay blinked. For a second, he thought he’d imagined it.
But no. There he was. Real. Unbothered. Like this wasn’t the first time he’d caught some half-dressed stranger sneaking in or out of Nox’s room. The kid pointed toward the drying rack like it was routine. Offered a dryer. Offered cover.
Jay just stared at him for a second, stunned into silence.
“Jesus,” he muttered, more to himself than anyone else. “There’s really kids here.”
He crouched by the shoe rack and began pulling his boots on, but the fingers were stiff. His hand didn't want to tie the laces, cold and wet, biting into his knuckles with every tug. Good. He deserved it.
“That's, uh… helpful,” he said, without looking up, voice raw but not unkind. “Figured someone would throw a shoe at me not dry them off.”
The second boot stuck halfway and he yanked it roughly, jaw tight. “But, uh. Nah. I’m good,” he added, finishing the knot. He stood, slowly. The wet coat hanging like a weight across his shoulders.
“Tell him…” Jay hesitated, then shook his head with a faint huff of breath. “Tell him Jay said.. Actually, don’t. Doesn’t matter.”
He looked at the kid again, and something in his expression shifted, just slightly. The absurdity of it all. "Tell him I'll text him."
Only darkness shows you the light.