Notebook.ai

The skeletons in my closet are out to get me, and you keep getting me to let my guard down. // Romance! // OxO // OPEN

@croccin-champagne forum 79 comments schedule
@croccin-champagne

Daniella hesitated for a split second, before forcing her feet to move. She followed him, reminding herself that this was entirely out of necessity. But the truth, what she was refusing to acknowledge, was that she was tired. Literally, sure, but she was also tired of running. Of fighting and losing and barely scraping by, of always looking over her shoulder, and of living on her toes. This would take the edge off at least one of those, hopefully.

She went to shove her hands into her pockets, before remembering her nose, which was likely already re-mending itself at that exact moment. Noses worked quick. Sighing, Daniella reached up, adjusting her hands on her nose to reset it. "A home, huh?" She mused, before snapping her nose into place with a loud and sickening crack. "Haven't-" She paused, searching her pockets for a bandana and using it to block the new flow of blood. "-had one of those. In a while." The 'in a while' seemed tacked on as an after thought, as opposed to part of the sentence itself. She'd never had a home.

pets
@faltering_through pets

Jen's expression softened at what Daniella said, it even softened and warmed his heart a little. "Yeah, i feel you on that one…its hard to find one, so when you can't, you just gotta make one" Jen said, almost with authority, as if that had been exactly what he had done and he was talking from experience. "It gets tiring doesn't it? Running from place to place, hiding for the fear of getting caught" he let out a muffled laugh, as if it had been a joke. "But anyways, i hope you like it there" he said referring to his small 'home'.

(Imma go ahead and skip to when they get to Jen's place if you don't mind)

Jen opened the door which didn't creak much considering that he had just fixed it. He sighed deeply in relief as he put his bookbag down. The shack was located right outside of some woods in a green grassy field near the town, beside it was a small well from which water could be hauled out of, but it hadn't been in use for years. "Sorry if this seems a tad creepy. This is just the place I live in and i can't really afford to live in an actual apartment like the rest of the people" he explained as he threw his keys on an old wooden table that looked just as old as the shack did. The small place used to be a long empty hall like structure, but newer wood indicated that Jen had done some construction on it.

In fact, he had. He had build two small separate rooms, a functioning shower, sink, toilet, electricity, ect. Jen had rebuilt the whole thing from the inside but didn't bother to change anything on the outside, considering that he wanted it to blend in, so that people thought it was the same old abandoned shack, it almost looked like a cabin. It had taken him near a year to finish the 'remodeling'. He was pretty ashamed to live in a place like this, but it was the best he could do. "Make yourself at home" he said eventually. "You can take the room to the right, there's a bed in there that i managed to score at a yard sell and it's pretty new, cheap pice" he smiled to himself.

@croccin-champagne

Daniella didn't comment on the appearance of Jen's home, more just relieved to maybe, maybe have a place to stay for a bit. There was another plus side to having somewhere to stay, and that was that it was usually harder to be cornered. Without a place, she was easy prey, to lure into an alley or to scoop up off whatever bench she was sleeping on, and that was something she was never going to let happen again. The scars around her wrist itched with the memory, and she slid her sleeve up just enough to trace them with her finger as she spoke.

"You live alone." Not a question, not asking for any answers or anything to follow up. Just a statement, observatory at most. Her brown eyes, covering a truth that she didn't want to acknowledge right now, flickered around as she stayed near the door, taking in every exit she could see from right there. Anything that could be used against her, and anything that could be helpful to Daniella. Nothing felt off quite yet, but she wouldn't stop being wary. "I'm not taking your bed, am I?"

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"Yeah, I live alone. Doesn't mean that you can kill me and get rid of the body" he said, a casual tone to his voice, though he was joking. He looked over at her as he went through his book bag for the homework he had to do. "Ummm no, there's another room. It used to be for Brett since he didn't have a place to stay and begged me to make room for him here, but you cab take it since he doesn't come by anymore." He took out his binder and some pencils and got to work. "Oh also, tomorrow's Saturday so I just wanted to give you a heads up that I'll be waking up early to go to work. You can make yourself at home while I'm gone….just don't do anything too crazy like set the place on fire." He said as he looked down at the sheet of paper, frowning at his English assignment.

@croccin-champagne

Good. That meant she wouldn't owe him even more. Daniella slowly made her way further into the room, sticking to the walls almost like a wary animal. She was playing with her matchbook again, brows furrowed slightly. "I wouldn't kill you here. Not if your friend knows where you live. You'd be found too quickly." She, however, wasn't joking. Or at least, not quite. She definitely wouldn't kill him here for that reason, though she had no plans on killing him at all.

"What are the rules." She finally spoke again, about twenty minutes later, appearing once more from exploring the shack. She had entered completely silently, forgetting that doing that and then speaking tended to scare people. "Places I can't go, things I can't do. Things I have to do." That last one sounded innocuous enough, but there was something in her tone and posture that suggested it meant more than just doing the dishes every other night.

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@faltering_through pets

"Well that's reassuring. I'd also stop going to school so that would be enough to raise suspicion." He said plainly. It was weird to be talking about his own death, but Jen didn't fear it. It was just another friendly topic to talk about. Jen stopped writing all of a sudden as she spoke up. He frowned. "Rules?" He questioned, as if he he'd never heard the word before. He shook his head. "There are no rules Daniella. You do what you want. You don't get in my way and I don't get in yours, simple." Jen found it a little suspicious at her small uncomfortable movements. "So what happened?" He asked suddenly. "I've noticed everytime I tease you or say something off, you tense up. That time when I told you I was on to you, then I called you sweetheart which you didn't like, and now. With the rules thing. It's obvious to see that something has happened to you before, but I can't quite put my finger on it." He looked straight at her eyes, a sharp intense look in them, like he knew. He did that whenever he wanted to get something out of someone, the truth.

@croccin-champagne

Daniella froze, the matchbook in her fingers slipping and hitting the floor. It took her a moment to crouch to pick it up, and she used that time to organize her thoughts. Lying, the way she usually did, wouldn't work. He would see right through it, and it would make things worse. The only thing she could think of was offering calculated bits, in a way that would keep him from gaining too much.

"That's a complicated question with a complicated answer." She said carefully, as she stood back up. She had stopped bleeding, but she still looked like she was carrying the adrenaline of the fight with her. "And I can't just give things away." She was proposing a trade. Secret for secret, scar for scar, story for story.

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@faltering_through pets

Jen's eyes softened as he looked away. "How about this. You tell me what happened and I'll answer whatever you want to ask me- honestly." He said completely serious. He glanced at her to see her reaction. "And hey, if it's that serious that you can't tell me because it's a sensitive topic- don't. I know im an asshole but i won't go that far. Im not such a prick to the point where I'll force something out of you" he said casually.
"And just to lighten to mood a little, I'll tell you something I've kept with me all these years." Jen's eyes settled on his hands, spacing out a little- a pained look on his face. "I was forcing into labor in my home country. I've killed before." Jen didn't exactly know why he was saying this. Maybe it was the heavy guilt that he carried all these years that were finally starting to weight down on him and tear him apart and he just needed to tell someone- anyone- even this stranger just to get it off of his chest.
Jen laughed suddenly, a sharp pained laughed. "Forget it, it's stupid, I'm stupid" tears started forming in his eyes from thr laugh. He got up. "But yeah. I'll be out tomorrow. So you get the whole place to yourself. Imma go finish this in my room so i don't bother you anymore" he side smiled.

(And uhhhh heya my dude, so like, school is coming up for me in a few days and i can't afford to keep up with notebook and an ap class at the same time, so I'll probably be out for a long time. This means that I'll drop by once or twice a month, I'll probably be like this- on and off- for almost a year, since i gotta figure out the whole college and job shabang, so yeah, I've decided to get my junk together and focus on that right now)

@croccin-champagne

((Np my dude! I totally get it, and should be doing the same once school starts for me. I'll look forward to the responses, but focus on your work, and best of luck))

That hadn't been expected at all. Jen's willingness to trade, or the information about his past he'd given up as part of that trade. "I've killed before." Daniella had almost written him off as a fairly normal, if wary, high school student, when they'd first met. He'd thrown that out of wack enough with his ability to see through her and her lies, and this didn't help put things into focus either. She watched him stand, still categorizing the information as she listened to him continue to speak. And then he was heading for the door, and it felt…wrong, not offering up something of her own.

"There's no…simple tragic moment for me." She said, her eyes on the spot he had vacated as she brought her matchbook out, fingers running over the slightly worn book. "Because I can pick out the things that were good, and count them on one hand. You…want to know a lot, but I can't tell you all of that." Daniella grew quiet for just a moment, knowing she had his attention enough to not worry about him leaving just yet. "Sweetheart is what my father used to call me. His…friends-" Business associates, hitmen, body guards, extra manpower, anyone willing. "-picked up on that. It was their favorite name to use when he would lock me in a room with them after I made him mad."

pets
@faltering_through pets

Jen froze in his steps when he heard Daniella start to speak. He turned and shoved his hands into his pockets, something he did when he was especially shy. Hearing Daniella say that she had almost never had a good instance in her life made Jen feel for her, he knew what that must of felt like. "Hey…you don't have to-" He quickly stopped talking as she continued. The last line was like a blow to the stomach for Jen, it caught him off guard. Did she just hint at being sexually abused? Jen kept silent, not sure how to react to that. He shouldn't have stuck his nose into her business, but he just couldn't help it when he saw someone so familiar to himself.

"I-" He started but couldn't continue right away. "I'm sorry." He said stiffly, not really knowing how to comfort someone who had that kind of past. "I'm sorry for what happened to you and I'm sorry for being inconsiderate of your feelings." He bowed a little, blushing because he wasn't used to apologizing for his actions, but he felt like he needed to in this situation. "But hey, try to get some sleep now. It's getting late." Jen stood there awkwardly for a few seconds, not knowing what to do with himself. "umm goodnight. I'll see you tomorrow. Hopefully." He said quietly at the end.

@croccin-champagne

"You don't need to apologize." Daniella said, waving off his apologies figuratively, with a shake of her head. She flicked open the matchbook, counting the matches left, then the spaces where ones had been. Then she did it again. "Curiosity is natural. Even if it's dangerous." She looked up, her eyes looking as haunted as they should for a moment. "I've got nowhere else to go, so I'll likely still be here. Better than sleeping on a bench."

She turned, brushing her hair back from her face as she lit a single match, letting it burn down to her fingers as she walked to the room he had offered her. She hadn't mentioned his apology about what had happened to her, as though trying to avoid that thought. Pretending the memories didn't exist. "I wouldn't hope though. It never gets anywhere, and when it comes to me…I'm not a person you want around."

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@faltering_through pets

Jen was left speechless as he headed off to his own room. The girl was definitely an intense one.
As soon as he got to his bed he began to do his homework, which would usually take hours for him to do since he took advanced math classes, sometimes he regretted it.

Jen ended up going to sleep at two am, not being able to keep his eyes open, but a phone call startled him out of his sleep. He groaned and picked up his small flip phone, taking the call. "Yes?…" Jen said in a tired voice. "J-Jen." It was Brett. "What do you want at this ungodly hour? It's about to be three am for fuck's sake Brett." Jen said, annoyed to have been woken up. "So you know that other friend of yours?" The way Brett was talking seemed really odd and off to Jen. "What's going on dude? You seem really out of it." Jen said getting up, starting to put his finished homework in a folder, he had passed out while doing his homework. "Can you meet me tomorrow at our usual place?.." He asked, his voice shaky. Jen frowned. "Our usual place?" He said quietly. "You mean that really obscure apartment like thing behind that coffee shop?" He asked, confused. "Yeah! That's the one." He said. "Okay…" Jen said, not really thinking much of it, then the phone call dropped.

(Heya wanna skip to next morning?)

@croccin-champagne

((Sure thing! You got something planned?))

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@faltering_through pets

(uuuh!! sorta ahaha, not sure if it's good enough but i can try to stirr some drama up! Tho, I'll have to answer in the morning cause it's getting late over here)

@croccin-champagne

((Gotcha! I'll jump to morning then, waking up time or whatever))

pets
@faltering_through pets

(cool cool! I'll read it tomorrow then!)

@croccin-champagne

Daniella hadn't slept. Of course she hadn't, not in a strange place with a boy she knew barely anything about just down the hall. And that wasn't even getting to what awaited her when she slept. So instead, she had spent the night sat in the corner of the room with a direct view of the door, watching it and listening to the noises of the house.

Now, it was morning. Early-ish in the morning, and she had carefully and silently changed into a clean change of clothes she had with her, matchbook tucked neatly into the pocket of her jeans. She looked homeless, as the jeans she had been wearing were her good ones, now covered in blood, leaving her to have to use a backup pair shredded to hell and back and dirtied at the cuffs. That, and the bags under her eyes didn't help the appearance.

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@faltering_through pets

Jen was already in the kitchen, he got up early in the mornings to go to his old rundown auto repair shop, it was behind a building, the owners had been nice enough to let him work there as long as he paid for the space he was using. Since he had spent the whole night worrying and working on his homework, he had fell back asleep on his desk, his face mushed to the papers. He hadn't looked in the mirror to realize that he had the following writen on his face, mainly his cheek:
(3)(2x+3)=(4)(x+7)
6x+9=4x+28
(6x-4x)=(28-9)
x(6-4)=19
It was mostly faded pencil but it was there, visible, and he hadn't taken account that Daniella would get up so early, so he hadn't bothered to fix his unruly hair or change out of his old clothes from yesterday. He was too busy humming and making coffee for himself when Daniella came out of her room. It was strange to watch a male stare at coffee fall into a mug, but it was a habit Jen had, he called it 'mesmerizing' and 'calming'.

@croccin-champagne

"Is coffee really that entrancing?" Daniella's voice came suddenly from behind him, having not meant to sneak up on him but doing it out of habit anyway. The bags under her eyes looked even heavier than they had last night, but she seemed to be functioning just the same. Leaning against the counter, she watched him, and then the coffee. A small part of her almost expected him to suddenly turn on her, and her shoulders tensed with the thought.