Chapter Text
The group of peculiar children followed Miss Peregrine to the front desk of a dingy motel. The room was dusty and humid. Rain pounded on the small, abandoned parking lot outside. It had been a long journey here, and many of the children were exhausted. Claire kept herself busy by reading every sign she encountered, but Bronwyn started to slow and drag behind the group. Jake and Enoch sandwiched the children between Emma and Olive. They trailed behind the group to ensure no one strayed or lost their way.
The motel felt eerily silent for only nine o’clock at night. Dozens of clocks ticked on the wall to Enoch’s left, the only sound present in the room. The clocks resonated off the other walls to create an obnoxious hammering in Enoch’s head. He closed his eyes and clenched his fists as he tried to find something else to focus on. The ding of a service bell broke his rumination and his eyes darted up to Miss Peregrine. A frazzled-looking man appeared within seconds. His grey hair was tall and frizzy; it stuck out in all directions and reminded Enoch of a bird’s nest.
Miss Peregrine’s eyebrow twitched and the corner of her mouth downturned into a slight frown at the sudden timing of the man. Jake watched her carefully; it wasn’t often that she was caught off guard. He glanced toward the wall of clocks as Miss Peregrine introduced the group to the clerk. “Hello. My name is Miss Peregrine. My children and I have been traveling for a long while, and we could use a place to stop for the night. What is your largest number of beds per room?” Jake tuned Miss Peregrine out as his attention drifted to the neglected eating area. The room was dimly lit, the large wall of clocks towered above the rickety tables. The furniture tilted in odd directions, and Jake wondered if his tired mind played tricks on him. He spotted two patrons that stared at them, or perhaps they were staff. The tall woman looked as though she may have been wearing a maid’s uniform, her dress ruffly and antique, but in the signature black and white color of a maid. The comically short, bald man could have been the janitor. His worn, blue overalls looked as though it had seen better days.
Jake leaned toward Enoch; his eyes glued to the two spectators. “Why do they look so familiar?” His voice was a low whisper to not draw the attention of the children.
Enoch glanced at Jake for a moment before he followed the teen’s eyeline. He narrowed his eyes as he felt a similar feeling of familiarity. He searched his mind for the answer, and then it hit him. “Saloon, circus, mad scientist.” He stated simply as he nodded toward the maid, then the janitor, and finally the clerk.
Jake’s eyes lit up. “Yes! That’s exactly what I’m thinking of!” He hissed loudly and garnered the attention of Horace, but Enoch silently brushed his brother off with a short shake of his head. “Circus guy’s kinda creeping me out. I mean, they both are, but there’s something really off about him.” Jake couldn’t take his eyes off of the two. He felt trapped, as if something bad would happen if he looked away even for the shortest of moments.
Enoch’s eyebrows knit together as he watched Jake’s unease. His lips tightly pressed together, and he fought the anxiety that tried to sneak into his bones. Enoch subtly shifted between Jake and the janitor to act as a buffer.
Enoch’s motion broke Jake’s line of sight and forced him to stare ahead at the clerk. He felt the ghost of a hand at his back, and he knew that Enoch’s hand hovered behind him; the way Enoch held his arm out behind the children whenever they walked, to make sure he knew when someone stopped, to keep them with the group. Jake tilted his head toward the ground to hide his inward smile. He couldn’t deny the fact that Enoch’s presence and proximity helped to mitigate the feelings of unrest that this place stirred inside of him. The smell of Olive’s ash and isopropyl alcohol filled Jake’s lungs and eased his mind into a calm-adjacent state. He couldn’t help the bubble of giddy happiness that tickled his stomach at the realization that Enoch cared enough about him to protect him. Enoch had accepted him into the family, and that was something special; Jake was unique. There weren’t many people that Enoch would trust with his family, and even fewer people that he would place himself in harm's way to protect, but Jake had somehow stumbled his way into Enoch’s good graces.
“We’ll have to make do with that.” Miss Peregrine’s voice pulled Jake out of his thoughts.
Claire moved from beside Millard to stand in front of Jake. She looked up at him with large eyes and pointed to a sign. “No refunds after 3 am. What’s a refund?”
Enoch utilized Jake’s preoccupation to converse with Miss Peregrine. He gently tugged on her sleeve to gain her attention and spoke in a quiet, low voice. “Jake doesn’t like that guy over there.”
“You trust his instincts on this?” Miss Peregrine questioned. Enoch gave her a short nod in response. “Well then, so do I.” She pursed her lips and glanced at the ceiling as she reorganized her plans. Once she had figured everything out, she glanced up at the clerk and spoke in her regular, sharp voice. “Alright, we’ll take two rooms with two beds and a couch, and one room with two beds.” She turned her attention back to Enoch. “I want as many adults with children as possible, which means smaller groups. I hope you understand.”
Enoch shrugged and nodded at his leader. He had shared a house with these children for over seventy years, he could handle one night in the same room as a few of them.
Jake’s eyes drifted back toward the two suspicious individuals as Claire waltzed over to Bronwyn to grab her friend’s hand, satisfied with Jake’s answer. The woman’s strawberry blonde hair was pinned into a messy hairdo above her head. The man had a steaming mug in his hands that he occasionally sipped from, but never broke eye contact with the group. A hand on Jake’s back pulled his mind back to his companions. He noticed everyone moving around him, and Enoch placed a slight amount of pressure on his back to encourage him forward. Jake glanced up at Enoch’s face as he complied with the request. Enoch kept his eyes forward, determined to stare ahead, and Jake wondered if he fought the urge to stare back at the two people. Jake saw Enoch’s eyes dart to meet his gaze for a split second before he trained them back on Miss Peregrine. Enoch’s eyebrow twitched and disappointment slammed Jake in the stomach, he knew better, he really did.
“What?” Enoch’s voice was quiet but harsh. He didn’t like when Jake stared at him, he had made that clear many times before, but Jake couldn’t help it, he just got trapped in his own head and forgot to look away.
“Nothing, sorry.” Jake stared at the hallway walls as he moved with the group. Even more clocks adorned the walls, but there was something different about them. Jake closed his eyes and thought about the other clocks, how were these ones different? The room was stuffy and dry, but just as dusty as the front room. The polka-dotted wallpaper just as odd and out of place as in the dining area. The tired footsteps of his party broke through his thoughts and created a messy beat. That was it! The clocks didn’t tick! They were all broken. Jake opened his eyes and examined the army of timepieces. They were all frozen sometime within the 3rd hour.
Jake’s stomach twisted with unease. Something wasn’t right about this place. The hallway was short, but as the crew walked deeper and deeper, the hall seemed to only get longer. Jake wanted to brush this off as being tired as well, but the longer they stayed, the worse he felt. He leaned into Enoch slightly and felt the kid inch away from the contact.
Enoch hovered his hand behind Jake with a tense arm. He was tired, but Jake’s anxiety concerned him. Jake had rarely been wrong about danger, and Enoch had learned to trust his judgment, but they had traveled far that day, and they needed to rest. Miss Peregrine couldn’t drive any longer, and the kids needed to stretch their legs and sleep in a real bed. There was no other option, they had to stay here. The warmth from Jake’s back seeped into Enoch’s hand and Enoch wanted to close the distance between them. He wanted to rest his hand on Jake’s back, not only to relieve his arm of its own weight, but for the comfort of Jake’s heat as well. The thought of Jake as a comforting presence in Enoch's life made him slightly ill. He hated to rely on others, but he had found it impossible to distance himself from his family, and his family just kept growing. Enoch felt Jake’s sweater against his hand and pressure from Jake’s body against his side. Panic shot down Enoch’s spine like lightning and his immediate, visceral reaction was to pull away. He nearly fell over his own feet, not sure how to react. It wasn’t that he minded Jake against him, he just wasn’t sure what Jake wanted. Did he know he was that close to Enoch? Would he be mad or uncomfortable if he noticed?
Jake’s shoulders slumped slightly as he looked at the ground and Enoch finally understood. Jake had adopted the expression Fiona and Hugh did whenever they were disappointed. Jake had known, it had been intentional. He was searching for comfort. Enoch took a deep breath to prepare himself and leaned back into Jake. Jake’s shoulder brushed against his side slightly as he kept his hand on Jake’s back. He felt Jake relax under his touch and an obnoxious swell of pride found its way to his chest. He didn’t like the control Jake had over his feelings, over his actions. Enoch wanted to be able to ditch the kid at any moment if necessary, but he knew he never could.
The group made it to their respective rooms and settled in. Hugh, Horace, and Millard roomed with Jake and Enoch, Fiona, Claire, and Bronwyn roomed with Olive and Emma, and the twins roomed with Miss Peregrine. It didn’t take long for the kids to fall asleep. Horace had insisted on having the couch to himself, after all, Millard snored, Hugh’s bees tended to escape at nights, Enoch occasionally kicked in his sleep, and he didn’t know Jake’s habits too well; but Jake had been known to mumble and Horace suspected him to be a covers stealer.