Chapter Text
Jinx was having an off day like always. Shiloh and his older sister Lizzie ran off and left him behind again. He hated that he wondered why no one wanted to be around him… First his birth parents and now his own sister. The 8-year-old boy sighed as he ran a hand through his hair ignoring all the greetings he got from his neighbors. He just wanted to go home and listen to music or something to distract him from the feeling of loneliness.
He was close to home when he glanced up and saw a strange man sitting in front of his house. He raised a brow and looked the guy over. He seemed alright but he really didn’t want to be messed with right now while he was dealing with his emotions. He watched as the guy glanced up and mentally sighed when he saw the man focus on him though he was trying his hardest to seem invisible.
“Hey!”The man said as he quickly walked over to the boy. “You live around here right? Could I ask you a favor?”He asked.
Jinx was slightly taken aback by how many questions this guy was saying but said nothing as he put his hands in his tank top hoodie pocket and gave the guy a blank look. He raised a brow when he watched the man pull out a 20 dollar bill and offer it to him.
“I and my son Cove just moved here… and I was wondering if you could be his friend?”He asked hopefully.
Jinx blinked a bit at the name. He had to admit that name was really pretty and he wondered if the person it belonged to was pretty. He glanced at the money the man was offering him before shaking his head and turning and walking away. He didn’t want the money though he would love to be Cove’s friend if he ever met him.
Somehow he managed to make his way to the poppy hills behind his house. He smiled a bit at the sight and glanced around a bit taking in the peacefulness of it before he paused when he saw a figure with a pink cast and glasses sitting alone. He frowned a bit when he saw how sad the boy looked. He debated with himself for a few seconds before deciding to go confront the boy.
The closer Jinx got the more he seemed to see him. The boy was crying and had tears running down his face and for some reason that made Jinx’s heart hurt. He frowned a bit wondering how to go about this without freaking him out too badly before deciding that he should just be simply about it… not like he wanted to talk much anyway.
“Um… Hey?”Jinx said as he got closer to the boy. “Are...you okay?”He asked, trying not to let his awkwardness lead out. He didn’t want this boy to feel worse than he probably did.
The boy jumped, startled the sudden person next to him, and glanced over seeing the pale, purple-eyed boy standing there watching him with both worry and curiosity. He didn’t know how to feel about the look. He stood up quickly and tried to wipe away the tears that were still going down his face.
He didn't say a greeting like Jinx assumed he would instead he stayed silent. “I-Is this your hill?”He asked after a moment of silence “C-Cause if it is I can leave…''He said sniffling quietly.
Jinx shook his head.”No…”He said simply as he looked around before humming softly. “I’m Jinx… are you that new kid that moved in across from me?”He asked with a blank look on his face, making the boy freeze up a bit.
The kid froze for a second thinking about how to answer that question before nodding a bit. “I’m Cove…”He said as he wiped away his tears a bit before sitting back down on the grass.
Jinx hummed as he looked at the kid. He nodded and hesitantly sat down next to him. “Can I ask why you are crying?” He asked as gently as he could not wanting to make Cove more upset.
Cove took a shaky breath before letting out a small sob. “My Mom and Dad don’t want to live with me anymore!” He cried softly as he curled up into a ball. “Mom kicked dad out and dad took me with him… I want to go home!” He cried, hugging his knees close to him.
Jinx frowned when he heard what was wrong. He knew what that felt like to be abandoned by a parent or someone you cared about. “I get it… but at least you still have your dad right?”He said trying to make Cove happier which was odd for him. “He's still there to love you right?”He asked again.
Cove stayed silent and glanced at the boy that had sat next to him taking him in. There was a look in those purple eyes that really meant what he said about the situation. He took a shaky breath before he looked back at Jinx. “Y-Yeah… you’re right.” he hummed, sniffling softly.
Jinx gave him a small smile before hearing his moms and Cove’s dad yelling for them. He glanced over at cove seeing him tense after hearing the calls. He made the decision to stay quiet knowing that cove probably didn’t want to go home yet.
It took a few minutes but soon their parents showed up. His moms started fussing over him and he hated it. He hated being treated like a baby when they knew very well he could take care of himself. He sighed and glared abit at the ground before he sneaked a glance at Cove who seemed to be in the same boat as you.
“How do you like your new friend Jinx?”His Mom asked, looking down at him seeing him still looking at Cove but once he was called out he just looked to the ground and shrugged going back to not talking.
Cove was watching Jinx be fussed over by his moms and blinked a bit. The emo-looking boy didn’t like the fussing obviously but he wondered why he wasn’t talking. He was just talking a bit ago but when they showed up he completely went silent. It made the seafoam green-haired boy curious about his new neighbor.
After that everyone went home. Jinx went straight to his room not even bothering to say anything to his moms as he did so. He closed the door quietly and slid down it a bit. He was slightly overwhelmed by what happened and what he talked to Cove about. He sighed a bit and fiddled with his bangs a bit before deciding to get ready for bed knowing that Cove was going to come by tomorrow.
The next day came quickly and Jinx was now sitting at the breakfast table eating with a blank look on his face. He was looking forward to Cove showing up since he wanted to get to know him plus he seemed kinda special since Jinx never talked around anyone else but Cove was an exception to that rule he followed.
He was ignoring everyone as he quietly ate before hearing a knock at the door and his mom going to answer it. He peaked over a bit and smiled slightly when he saw Cove and his dad Cliff there. He was glad to see the other boy but stayed quiet to not freak Cove out too bad as he got up from his seat and made his way over to the other male. he listened to their parents talk for a second before looking at Cove with a small smile on his face.
“Want to go up to my room?”He asked curiously and softly. He never really spoke unless it was really needed so it kinda shocked his moms though he ignored the looks they gave him.
Cove looked at the black-haired, Purple eyes boy and hummed softly before nodding with a small shy smile.”Sure.”He said simply getting a slightly bigger smile from Jinx before it was gone just as quick as it came.
Jinx motioned for Cove to follow and lead him to his room. it was a light purple with plushies scattered around the room. There were a few music things around like a small ukulele and a radio with a few CDs next to it. The thing that caught Cove’s attention though was the pictures that looked to be made by Jinx and the box labeled ‘Beach Stuff’ by the door. The seafoam green-haired male focused on the pictures first.
the picture was a drawing of the beach that was close by and it showed Jinx sitting there playing his ukulele. It was a peaceful scene and it made Cove smile. He glanced back at the other male, Who had moved to sit on a bean bag, and smiled a bit as he pointed at the picture. “I like this,” He said sincerely.
Jinx glanced up from his ukulele and glanced over at the picture Cove was motioning to. He gave a small smile and hummed softly. “Thank you, I drew that a while ago.” he hummed. “I'm not a big fan of art but I am proud of that one.” He hummed, shrugging a bit. “I'm glad you like it.” he hummed, smiling a bit more.
Cove was glad the boy seemed easy to talk to and hoped that it would stay like that for a while. He glanced around the room again and soon his focus went back to the box of beach stuff. “What's in that box?” He asked, pointing to the box by the door. He was a big fan of the beach and wondered what wonders Jinx had found while wandering the beach.
Jinx seemed to perk up when Cove pointed out his box of beach stuff. “That’s a box of stuff I found at the beach… I don’t like people that much so I spend a lot of my time there meaning I find a lot of things.”He hummed as he stood up and carefully set his instrument down before walking over to the box and pulling it to the middle of his room. “Feel free to look through it but be careful.”He hummed as he sat down next to Cove to go through the shells with him.
And that's what they did for a while. Jinx would point out his favorite shells and items he found to Cove who was in awe of all the things he pulled out of the box. They were in their own world just the two of them when Jinx’s Mom called for them.
“Jinx! Cove! Shilou’s going to be here soon!” She called up to them, making Jinx groan a bit. The boy had a bit of a dislike for the other male he would always go with what everyone else wanted and would follow Lizzie around like a lost puppy. He was annoying to the black-haired male.
Cove grew a bit nervous at the mention of someone else coming over. He was shy and didn’t like meeting new people unless he really had to. He glanced over at Jinx and blinked a bit at the look on the other male’s face. He decided to ask who Shilou was.
“U-Umm… Who’s Shiloh?”Cove asked, tilting his head a bit. He was curious and nervous. If Jinx had an annoyed look on his face he was worried about the new person.
Jinx looked over and the seafoam green-haired boy and sighed a bit. “He is my sister Lizzie’s friend… He doesn’t really talk to me and I don't talk to him… The only thing you really need to know about him is that he follows Lizzie around like a lost puppy and he doesn’t make his own decisions and just follows everyone else.” He said, sighing softly. “I have been left behind on more than one occasion by him and my sister so I never really like hanging out with them but I have to.”He said, crossing his arms a bit as his bangs fell in his face a bit.
Cove frowned a bit as he listened to Jinx talk about Shiloh. He figured that was the reason Jinx didn’t talk much and why he seemed so closed off. He glanced at the door and hummed softly. He understood that enough. “Then, why don’t we stay up here?” he asked before looking back at Jinx.
Jinx shrugged. “I don’t want my parents to be upset… “Come on, we can leave as soon as I see an opening.”He hummed softly before going quiet again.
Cove blinked a bit but nodded as he looked at the shells and decided to bring them with him downstairs to hopefully cheer them both up. He grabbed the box and followed Jinx downstairs. they sat in the living room looking over the shells until Cove’s eye landed on an orange shell.
Jinx was fidgeting with a few pretty stones he had found on the beach when he noticed Cove’s eyes on the orange shell and smiled a bit. “That shell is a good one.”He said quietly enough so only Cove could hear.
Cove nodded as he gently picked it up. “this one is my favorite of them all.” he said as he looked at Jinx a bit and felt his face go slightly warm at the sight of his smile before shaking it off.
Jinx hummed and nodded. “It's very pretty, so I can see why it's your favorite,” he said quietly before hearing the door and tensing a bit and he kept his mouth shut.
Cove smiled a bit at him and tensed a bit when he heard the door and soon a freckled, brown-haired boy wearing blue rushed into the room. he could only assume that this was Shiloh
“Hi, Jinx!” Shiloh said happily, making Jinx give a silent small wave back before the brown-haired boy's attention was on Cove. “you’re new right? I’m Shiloh!” He said smiling.
Cove shifted shyly and nervously. “I-I’m Cove.''He said shyly. He wasn’t the best at meeting new people besides Jinx apparently.
After the introductions were done the group went up to Jinx’s room no matter how badly Jinx didn’t want Shiloh in his room. They were going through the shells and Jinx was kinda uncomfortable at how awkward it was with the silence. Soon small talk started happening with Cove and Shiloh but it was gone as quick as it came until Shilou brought up the park making both Jinx and Cove perk up a bit.
‘Park?” Cove asked, glancing at Jinx a bit. It was obvious that he wanted to go and get out of the house a bit.
Jinx nodded a bit and gave Cove a small smile before leaning over and whispering to him. “It’s a small park on the beach… Only Lizzie, Shiloh, and I use it since we are the only kids in this neighborhood.” He whispered to him making sure that Shilou wouldn’t hear him.
Cove made a sound of intrigued and sent Jinx a look and the black-haired male smiled a bit before standing up and motioning for the others to follow him. The other two follow after him with no complaint as He somehow tells his moms that they were going to the park without speaking a single word.
They left the house and Jinx walked next to Cove leading the way to the park. He was quiet and sighed a bit in content as the sea breeze blew by ruffling his hair a bit before looking around. After a bit, he reached a small park and hummed softly as he reached his arms out to show it off simply.
Cove was in awe of the park before he spotted a darker-skinned girl with light brown-orange hair. He tensed a bit as he watched the girl walk over to them.
“There you are, Jinx!” The girl said, crossing her arms and huffing. “You took forever.''She huffed giving Jinx an annoyed look that the black-haired male just returned with a blank look and didn’t bother responding as he shuffled a bit closer to Cove.
The girl looked over at Cove and raised a brow before huffing a bit. “And who is he?” She asked knowing she wasn’t going to get an answer.
“That's Cove he’s new,” Shiloh said as he rushed over to Lizzie with a bright smile on his face that Jinx just rolled his eyes at.
The conversation went on from that with Lizzie explaining everything about the neighborhood to Cove. She started to bring up the old people that always yelled at kids that messed around near their house. Jinx growled a bit at that and glanced over at cove seeing him tear up and felt something in him twist at the sight.
“can you stop, you're upsetting him,” Jinx said bluntly as he walked over to Cove to try and cheer him up.
Lizzie blinked a bit in shock. she rarely heard her little brother speak so she was kinda shocked that he spoke just to tell her off for upsetting cove. She looked between the two of them watching as Jinx quietly spoke to Cove before holding up a shell he had found on the way there. She wondered what was so special about the new boy that got her normally mute brother to talk.
After that, the group just kinda hung out for a while until it was time to go home. Jinx was walking next to come enjoying just walking with him in peaceful silence.
Picture of step 1 Jinx made with a Picrew
