Chapter Text
Adjusting to a new reality sucks.
Adjusting to a new reality where everything is flipped around sucks even more.
Adjusting to a new reality where everything is flipped around and Jerry of all people is now my Roommate sucks even worse.
These were the thoughts running around Jack's brain as he took stock of his living room. Jerry was splayed out on the ground snoring like a buzz saw long overdue for some oiling. Next to him was half-eaten mayonnaise sandwich, arguably the whitest thing Jack had ever seen around his stoner best friend. And that was taking in the time Calvin Ambrose spent with the two of them. The Insomniac let out an annoyed sigh and shook Jerry's shoulder.
"Jerry," He tried at first. "Jerry, Hey wake up." Jack spoke now with more volume, and shook Jerry a bit more forcefully. He grunted and tried the next best thing. Jack crouched down, putting some extra weight on his good leg and whispered in Jerry's ear. "Jerry, they're handing out free weed."
The Blonde awoke suddenly, muttering something alike to "I want some-!"
Jerry shook his head, and looked up to see Jack standing next to him with an annoyed expression on his face. He sat up and took stock of his surroundings. No weed in sight. Devastating. Jerry pouted as Jack took notice of his roommate's eyes. Slightly watery and red. Oddly enough the living room didn't smell like weed.
"Aw come on man, you said something about weed, didn't you?" Jerry complained, still not getting off the ground. Jack shook his head in disbelief. After the day where reality may or may not have had a reset, He was still struggling to keep up with the changes. Deputy O'Brian being promoted to Sheriff position, and had no memory of their friendship together. Rosa breaking up with Jack (He didn't necessarily mind that fact, but it was still weird that they would date in the first place.) He thought at first that Jerry being his roommate wouldn't be so bad, but soon he came to realize that it may end up being more work than fun. He knew Jerry was a millionaire, but that was back in the Original(?) timeline. Back with the asshole doctor, Rita, The Collector, and Spencer Middleton.
Wait, What happened to Spencer after the Timeline reset?
"Dude?" Asked Jerry.
Jack snapped back to reality. He looked down to see his roommate still sitting on the floor, now giving him a confused look. "Yeah," Jack answered, "What is it?" Jerry cleared his throat and spoke. "You started staring off into space. I was starting to think you smoked all the weed yourself." He finished his sentence with a soft laugh, and Jack's expression softened. Just a bit.
"Look dude, You really made a mess and it's getting annoying. I know your murder-cult didn't want you in their ranks, and for someone like you, that's a heavy blow. But seriously! I'm glad you agreed to share rent but at least clean up after yourself!" Jack scolded his roommate, and Jerry just listened silently. After he finished, he thought it was a bit strange that Jerry sat still with a calm expression on his face. After a few moments, Jerry sighed and stood up.
"You're right." He spoke matter-of-fact. Jack blinked in surprise.
Jerry continued. "I'm sorry about the mess, I just got, uh, weird last night. Where do you keep the broom?"
Oh. Well, Jack wasn't expecting that.
"Alright, uh, cool." Jack answered, awkwardly so. He stood for a few moments, wondering why Jerry was still staring at him. Then his brain caught up to the moment.
"Oh, uh, the broom is in the kitchen closet." Jerry nodded, and went to the kitchen. Jack just stood there in a state of shock. No off-handed remarks, no jokes, nothing. Just an awkward apology, and owning up to mistakes, both of which came from Jerry of all people.
What the hell?
---
It was later on in the day when Jerry plugged in his bootleg ps4 console. The latest part-timer assured Jack that she can handle the gas station on her own, and told him not to worry. It would be about 2 hours before he would clock in for the night shift, so until then, Jack would sit, wait, and hope that the ambulance wouldn't need to visit the gas station for the 3rd time this week. He had nothing better to do, so he decided to join his roommate.
"What game are you playing?" Jack looked to see a poorly translated title of "Very Big Brothers 4", with two pixel figures facing each other on the screen. Jerry answered, "I heard it's a supposed to be another Mario rip-off, but also a very accurate satire of our modern fascination with technology." Jerry offered the 2nd controller, which Jack accepted.
After an hour of playing through the game, laughing at all the horribly translated text, the former cultist decided it would be a good idea to add alcohol into the mix. Jack agreed to indulge a little, at most to the point where he can still legally drive a vehicle. As the beer kept flowing, Jerry's voice got louder and more obnoxious. Soon, the two men laughed at anything and everything.
"Why are you laughing?~" Jack asked Jerry, inebriated and in a sing-song voice.
Jerry giggled, and provided a somewhat coherent answer.
"My parents will NEVER find me now.~" He hiccuped, then downed another beer. Jack gave a confused smile. "What?" He asked wondering what brought on this sudden topic change.
Jerry explained, and as he kept talking, Jack's smile began to drop. "It's so funny, right? No one can find me here. No Fugitive Recovery Agents, No nosy businessmen, No collectors, Nothing! Now that everything has been patched up, there aren't any problems!" Jack listened with ever growing confusion. The day that Jerry remarked about how he "Remembered Everything" certainly left Jack with a bit of anxiety, but nothing bad enough to warrant questioning. After all, Jerry was... well, Jerry. However, this was now the second time Jerry talked about the reality being patched up.
Jerry continued to ramble. "You did it, all by yourself. You didn't need me to fix up my mistakes." Jerry's voice began to break, and Jack sobered up a few notches.
"All because of that, fucking, goddamned radio. I got us -hic- into this mess in the first place. I wanted to grieve for Vanessa, and I knew for a fact! I knew that the motherfucking COPY was fake. I just wanted to see her again, man." Jerry's voice turned hoarse, his eyes reddening as tears began to form. Jack sat in shock.
He only saw Jerry cry once in his life. Back in the original timeline, when Jerry found out that all the Mathmatists went and had a mass suicide without him.
"I needed you to come with me, needed to prove that I'm not crazy. After we drowned those clown guys, I got the Collector's Attention. Hippy fucker probably told my parents where I was. You know what the best part of this is though?" Jerry stared right at Jack with a delirious smile on his face. Tears were now freely streaming down his flushed cheeks.
Jerry took a shuddering breath and continued. "She doesn't remember me. Whatever reality patchwork happened, it blurred out my bonding with Vanessa. She thinks I'm a creep." Jerry began to laugh, but then it spiraled into outright sobbing.
"This is all my fault." Jerry managed to croak out, before he became incoherent. Jack's heart broke. He reached out and gently put his palm on Jerry's shoulder. He never knew how to comfort people, and as bad as he felt for Jerry, he didn't know how to help. He did the only thing he could think off, slightly pulling Jerry towards him into an awkward half-hug. The Stoner began to sob even harder, shifting slightly to get more physical comfort from Jack.
Jack lowered his head a bit, only so he could look Jerry in the eyes. He felt awful for the guy. He knew Jerry and Vanessa really had a thing for each other. They were compliments to each other. He couldn't help but find it suspicious that Jerry was turned 27 just two weeks ago, and Vanessa couldn't even legally buy alcohol. He was hoping to bring up the creepy age difference at one point. When he heard that Vanessa thought the same thing about the age gap, he was relieved. These were all things that could be brought up at a later time, but now Jerry just needed some comfort.
"Jerry," Jack spoke softly, lifting up his other hand to gently wipe some of his tears. Jerry opened his eyes and stared back at Jack. He sniffled as those Baby-Blue eyes peered into Jack's amber eyes. Jack smiled and leaned in a bit. He knew the strain of heartache all too well, and in this timeline he wasn't going to make any mistakes. While those days were long gone, the night of the carnival never left his mind.
"I don't think he likes me that much either." The words were still fresh in Jack's mind, but this time he wasn't going to be playing the role of an asshole. No, THIS time, he was going to support his best friend. Jack opened his mouth slightly to speak.
Jerry leaned forward and kissed him on the lips.
It wasn't the most graceful kiss, tears kept flowing down Jerry's face as he worked his lips against Jack's in a desperate sort of way. Jack sat there in shock once again, with no idea on how to properly understand what was going on. Once Jerry finally pulled away with his head held down, Jack sat frozen in the same position he started in. A few moments passed as the two men sat frozen in their respective positions. Neither one knew what to do at this point. Jack blinked, and somehow managed to find the will to speak.
"Did you just kiss me?" The question itself wasn't accusing or in a malicious tone, just incredibly confused. A few seconds passed. Then a minute. Jack began to worry.
"Jerry?" Jack asked in a concerned voice, and jumped in surprise when he felt the other man fall on him. Immediately fearing the worst, he got up and positioned his roommate to a more comfortable position on the couch. Jack leaned in close to listen to his heart.
Normal pulse.
Normal Breathing.
He breathed a sigh of relief as Jerry began to snore. Jack got up to positioning Jerry, laying him on his left side. Once he wrapped him in a blanket, Jack made his way to the bathroom to (hopefully) wash off the smell of booze.
Another hour passed by as Jack got dressed for his shift at the Gas Station. Right before he left, he wrote a note and placed it on the living room table to assure Jerry that he was off at work, and to call him if something serious happened.
It was 20 minutes after Jerry heard the door shut that he dared to open his eyes. He sat up slowly, not wanting to make himself feel more sick than he already was.
Jerry was drunk for sure, but not drunk enough to pass out. He could always hold his alcohol, and he knew that Jack knew that fact about him. The anxiety that had been pooling in his gut ever since the kiss made the hour that passed by feel like it went on for years. He leaned forward and rested his hands on his face. With Jack out of the house, he couldn't help but wonder out loud.
"What am I going to do now?"