Work Text:
August 19th, 2024, 6:36 AM:
Jacob sat outside, watching the sky turn a warm pink as the early morning sun approached, wondering why he was even here to begin with. Laura, with permission from Sheriff Hackett, had invited everyone to a 2-week vacation at Hackett's Quarry before everyone had to return to their everyday lives of work and college as a way to make better memories at Hackett's Quarry but also hopefully finally let go of the past and move forward with their lives. Jacob knew he didn't want to go anywhere and was really wanted by anyone, but of course he was dragged here by Kaitlyn, who told him he couldn't spend his summer mopping around all depressed in his room. While the other former counsellors hadn't really said anything bad to him, the real issue was that they hadn't really said anything at all, instead leaving him out of almost all conversations. With each conversation, he felt himself fading more and more into the background, almost feeling like he was invisible at times. While Max and Laura didn't really know Jacob all that well, he figured they had been told enough by others for them to keep their distance from him, hence him feeling less welcomed by them than how they welcomed everyone else. As for everyone else, Jacob knew they hated him; after all, it was his fault they suffered that night. He blamed himself. He told himself that if he hadn't messed with the van, Emma wouldn't hate his guts, Nick wouldn't have turned into a werewolf, Ryan wouldn't have shot Mr. H, and Dylan would still have both of his hands. Jacob closed his eyes, feeling the tears begin to form when he heard a soft voice say,
"Oh, I didn't know anyone else was up." Jacob looked to see Abigail standing at the front door, wearing only gym shorts and a tank top, having clearly just gotten up.
"Abi? Hey, um... what are you doing up so early?" Jacob asked, noticing the notebook and pencil in her hand.
"I...couldn't sleep... nightmares" Abigail had suffered from nightmares ever since that horrifying night. She had been on medication as well as in and out of therapy, as had most of the group, but they never really talked about it much.
"What about you? Why are you up so early?" She asked him curiously, noticing he was already dressed and ready for the day.
"Oh, uh, dam couch... not exactly the conformist sleep I've had." He half-joked with her. It wasn't a complete lie, since it was a mixture of depression and the couch itself that kept him up. While it had been nice for Travis to let them stay at the Hackett property, there were not enough bed rooms for all of them, so they felt it was fitting punishment that Jacob took the couch, which he did not argue against. There was a moment of silence between the two of them before Abigail spoke.
"Is it okay if I join you?" She asked, hinting at the chair across the little table from him.
"What? Oh yeah, sure, but, like, I can go inside if you want? Give you space and time alone." Jacob's rambling was cut off by Abigail.
"No, it's...it's ok. After all, you were here before me, so it would be rude if I told you to leave," she said as she took a seat across from him.
"Oh, right," was the only thing Jacob could say in response. The two of them quickly fell into silence, with nothing but the sound of birds chirping and trees rustling in the breeze of the wind. Jacob sat there, worrying if he should say something given that he was on thin ice to begin with. Apart from Kaitlyn, Abigail seemed to be the only person who didn't mind being in the presence of Jacob. He looked over at Abigail to see her doodling in her notebook.
"What are you drawing?" He asked her curiously, which caused her to look up at him.
"Oh, just taking in the scenery." She said this before going back to her drawing.
"I know you did art at camp... Are you doing an art degree?" He asked as he was trying to start a conversation with her, but all he got was a hum and a nod in return.
"So you want to be a famous painter like Vincent Gogo or something?" That comment caused a little giggle from Abigail.
"I think you mean Vincent Van Gogh, and yeah, I wouldn't mind being as good as him or Leonardo." Jacob looked at her with confusion.
"Leonardo? Like the ninja turtle?" That comment caused Abigail to laugh. While Jacob wasn't as dumb as some would believe, it was safe to say he wasn't that knowledgeable about art. Jacob wasn't sure what he said wrong, but he felt warmth in himself, knowing that he had made someone laugh when he felt like the world was against him. Abigail closed her notebook and placed it on the table between them.
"So what about you? What are you going to do next in life?" She asked him as she turned to face him.
"Oh, I, uh, don't exactly know yet. I thought I'd go off to college to try and be a football player, but after my injury, that dream was quickly ruined." He let out a slight laugh, pretending that it was okay, but he knew deep down it wasn't. It has been a dream of his since he was a kid, but one bear trap quickly shattered that dream as well as his ankle.
"I'm sorry." Abigail said, quietly feeling guilty for bringing it up. She knew that Jacob was a football fan and had seen him at camp wearing a number 13 football crop top. Jacob was quick to reassure her.
"Oh, it's fine. It's not your fault. It was my fault. It was all my fault." He got quieter as he spoke. The two once again fell into silence, with nothing but the sound of nature in the background. It wasn't until 20 minutes later that Jacob heard a faint snoring come from next to him. He looked over to see that Abigail had fallen asleep in the chair. Jacob stood up, thinking he should wake her up, but as he looked down at her, he noticed how peaceful she looked curled up on the chair. Not wanting to ruin her peace, he instead took off his jacket and placed it gently on her to keep her warm before returning to his chair. He may still regret coming on this reunion break, but he could find peace knowing at least one person didn't mind his company.
August 20th, 2024, 12:27 AM:
It was late at night, and all the other counsellors except Abigail, who once again found herself sitting outside under the porch light, protecting her from the darkness, She sat alone, drawing in her notebook, when a voice interrupted her.
"Uh, hi, I didn't know anyone else was still up." She looked to see Jacob standing at the door, holding what appeared to be a cup of coffee. She gave him a small smile.
"Nobody else but me—well, me and you now. Did you want to join me?" She asked shyly. Jacob gratefully accepted the offer and once again found himself sitting across from her. He expected them to have a moment of silence like they did that morning, so he was happily surprised when Abigail spoke.
"Thank you... For the jacket, I mean, you didn't have to do that." When Abigail woke up again that morning on the chair, she found that Jacob was gone but had placed his jacket on her like a blanket. She left the jacket on the couch for him but hadn't had a chance to thank him, not with the others' company, who seemingly made it their duty to make Jacob feel left out. It made Abigail feel bad for him.
"Yeah, no problem. I mean, wasn't it like I was going to let you freeze to death out here?"Jacob joked, but the mention of death made Abigail wince, which made Jacob regret opening his mouth.
"Shit..sorry." He apologised, feeling guilty about the comment.
"It's fine." Abigail replied that she knew that he didn't mean to hurt her. They sat there for a few moments before Jacob spoke again.
"Did you sleep well? This morning, I mean. You looked peaceful." Abigail looked to him and said,
"Oh, yeah, it was nice to have some sleep without any nightmares." She spoke softly, returning to her drawing. Jacob felt a pain in his heart, and while Abigail hadn't said what the nightmares were about, Jacob knew it was about what happened last year. It hurt Jacob to know that his reckless actions caused her and everyone else to suffer. As Jacob watched her drawing, he worked up the courage to ask her what he had wanted to know from any of them.
"Do you hate me?" That caused Abigail to suddenly stop and look at him.
"what?" Was all she could ask, being confused.
"Do you hate me? Do you blame me for what happened? After all, it was my fault we suffered that night." He chocked out, and Abigail could see the tears forming in his eyes.
"I... no, I don't hate you, Jacob." Even though Abigail meant it, Jacob didn't want to believe it. He didn't want to believe that someone could forgive him or that he deserved to suffer alone.
"But... it was all my fault. If I hadn't messed with the van, then things would have been different." The tears began to roll down Jacob's cheeks, and it pained Abigail to see the jock so distraught and hurt. She placed her notebook down and turned fully to face him.
"Jacob, I know what you did was wrong, but you didn't know what was going to happen; none of us knew what was going to happen that night.
"How could any of them possibly know what was going to happen to them on that fateful night when it was just meant to be one last night of fun.
"We all made mistakes that night and... and wish we could have done things differently." Now Abigail finds herself tearing up a bit.
"But we can't change what we did. We just have to try and move forward with our lives." Abigail had held her own self-blame for events that night, telling herself that if she hadn't gotten upset over a stupid game of truth or dared to wonder into the woods, maybe Nick wouldn't have been attacked by a werewolf. Despite all that went down between herself and Nick, they were able to forgive each other, though any romantic feelings seemed to have faded away by the time the sunrise came. She knew that if she could forgive Nick, then she could forgive Jacob.
"I know this sounds cliche, but I promise Jacob... things will get better, I promise." Abigail noticed the small smile on Jacob's lips, and she admits it warmed her heart. Jacob quickly wiped his tears.
"I, uh, thank you for not hating me. I mean, fuck. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, but... it helps." Jacob tearfully smiled at her, which made her smile in return.
"Your welcome, Jacob." All Abigail wanted was to find peace, but she didn't expect to have found that peace with Jacob.
August 25th, 2024, 12:14 AM:
Jacob and Abigail had fallen into a routine of spending time together while the others were all asleep. It was unexpected, but the two of them didn't mind; in fact, they enjoyed each other's company. While they had been friends at camp, they can't say they really spent any time together; the only time they really were together was whenever Emma was involved. Despite all this, the two quickly formed a good friendship. Now, with these moments alone, just the two of them, even during the day when everyone else was around, still found themselves gravitating towards each other; nobody seemed to notice, and if they did, they never said anything. It was during these nights that they would talk about normal stuff rather than remembering the horror of last year. Abigail would talk about her art studies and living with her parents, while Jacob would talk about his younger sister as well as his time in high school and all the dumb shit he did.
"So why did you come to Hackett's quarry last year?" Abigail asked as she took a sip of her coffee. While Jacob had been great with the kids at camp, it still didn't seem like the sort of thing the jock would volunteer to do.
"huh? Oh, no reason. Kaitlyn made me, I guess." There was something in the way he spoke that didn't quite sit right with Abigail; he sounded hurt before she could ask him anything. He quickly spoke up,
"So why did you come to camp?" Jacob asked, now flipping the question around to her, and she shrugged.
"I guess I wanted to overcome my anxiety, and I guess hopefully make some new friends." Abigail had always been a shy girl, not really having many friends and keeping to herself most of her life, so when she heard about a role for doing arts and crafts at summer camp, she jumped on the opportunity. Abigail noticed that Jacob wasn't looking at her, instead looking down at his coffee mug. He was fiddling with something that was clearly bothering him.
"Jacob... is everything okay?" She asked him worryingly. The past few days, the two of them had been laughing and smiling, so she was worried about seeing the jock back in a depressive state.
"You know, my therapist tells me it's good to talk about things that bother you, no matter how small they may be." She spoke softly, trying to reach out to him.
"If you don't want to talk, that's fine, but just know that you are not alone... I'm here if you want to talk." For a moment, it seemed like Jacob wasn't going to say anything and Abigail wasn't going to push him on it, but eventually the boy found his words:
"I came to camp to... get away from my mom's boyfriend." Abigail didn't quite understand what he meant, but the look on the boy's face said it wasn't anything good.
"When I was 10, my mom started dating this guy, and while he was nice to my mom and sister to me, he was cold and sometimes rough, would shut me out, not care about anything I did, and if I got upset, would just tell my men not to cry. After years of that, I needed a break, so when Kaitlyn told me she signed up for summer camp, I tagged along. Kaitlyn doesn't know. I always told her it would just be a fun thing for friends to do, but nobody knows the real reason. Expect you." Suddenly the whole Jacob character made sense to Abigail, explaining why he acted the way he did, why he acted so loudly, getting everyone's attention, or why he seemingly wanted the love and approval of everyone around him; he wanted all the things he didn't have at home.
"Have you told your mom about this?" She asked, feeling worried for him.
"No, it doesn't matter anyway. They broke up during the trials. I guess having a potential stepson be on trial for murder is a deal breaker." He laughed the comment off, but Abigail could tell that he was dealing with a whole mixture of emotions. She slowly reached across the table and placed her hand on top of his to comfort him.
"Jacob... I know this is hard to accept. It took me a while to accept it, but we're safe. You're safe, no monsters." Abigail wasn't sure if she herself was referring to the Werewolves or the boyfriend, but she needed Jacob to know that they were gone and he was safe. Nothing was going to hurt him for a moment. Jacob didn't speak, instead focusing on her hand on top of his. He felt his heart beating faster by the second.
"It's late; we should probably get some rest. Goodnight, Abi." Jacob said as he suddenly stood up, letting go of her hand.
"Oh, yeah, goodnight, Jacob." she said with a hint of disappointment in her tone before Jacob could go inside. She called out to him,
"Hey Jacob?" It caused him to stop at the door and face her.
"I know that you feel alone sometimes with everything that happened, but I want to know that you're not alone... not anymore." She gave him a small smile to reassure him that everything would be okay.
"Thank you, Abi." he said, returning the smile before heading inside. There were times in their lives when Jacob and Abigail felt alone, but they were not alone, not anymore.
August, 30th, 2024, 9:47 PM:
Abigail sat outside on the steps, wiping the tears from her eyes. She knew it shouldn't matter and that it shouldn't hurt, but she knew it did during tonight's gathering with the group when everyone was a bit drunk and Emma and Nick came out, revealing that they had been secretly seeing each other for the past few months, which caused mixed reactions from the group, to say the least. Most of the group were surprised; Jacob didn't say anything while Abigail put on a smile, pretending everything was okay. When nobody was looking, she stepped outside to get some fresh air, expecting nobody to notice she was gone, but there was one person who definitely noticed.
"Abi? You ok?" Abigail turned to see Jacob standing there with his hands in his jacket pocket. She quickly turned away.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," she sniffled, not being able to hide her tears from him. He came and sat down next to her.
"Last time we wondered off upset late at night, it didn't exactly go well," he joked, letting out an awkward chuckle, but he immediately regretted seeing Abigail hug herself, almost making herself as small as possible.
"Fuck, I'm... I'm sorry that was such a stupid comment." He apologised to her. Abigail didn't mind the comment; she knew Jacob didn't mean to upset anyone; he just didn't always think before speaking. They sat there for a moment before Abigail spoke her mind.
"Does it bother you? You know Emma and Nick, I mean." She couldn't get a reading on Jacob; his facial expression was just blank.
"I mean, yeah, it does, but I figured it was karma or some shit, you know? Nick was my best friend and Emma was my girlfri... my summer fling, so them hooking up was the universe's way of payback plus... I've had other things on mind." Jacob didn't specify what the other things were but did check to see how she felt about them.
"How are you dealing with it?" Abigail shrugged and looked down at her shoes.
"I thought I was okay and moved on from it... but seeing them together, it was like we were back at the campfire playing that game of truth and dare again, then... everything fell apart again." Abigail hid her face, feeling the tears forming in her eyes. She shivered, feeling the coldness in the night air. Jacob took off his jacket and placed it around her shoulders, which she gratefully accepted.
"Abi, remember what you told me the other night? How that you reminded me that I'm safe? No more monsters? Well, I think sometimes you need to remember that aswell... well. There gone now, abi... no more monsters," Jacob said in hopes that it would cheer her up, but it didn't seem to get any reactions. After a few moments, he made a comment that did get a reaction from her:
"You know Nick is an idiot." Abigail looked at him, letting out a little giggle in confusion.
"Wh..what?" She wiped a tear away.
"I mean, he is," he said with a little laughter.
"I mean, he spent all summer dreaming about you being his dream girl, only for him to go hook up with Emma? I mean, you deserve someone better, Abi; you're great! And smart and funny and... just awesome!" Abigail laughed but appreciated the gesture by Jacob.
"Thank you, Jacob; that means a lot." She gave him a little smile, to which he happily returned.
"You're welcome, Abi," she said, leaning her head down on his shoulder as the tiredness slowly began to hit.
"There is somebody out there for you, Abi; you'll meet somebody one day." Jacob said as Abigail closed her eyes. He looked at the peaceful girl with only one thought in his mind: 'And maybe I could be that someone.'
August 31st, 2024, 1:37 AM:
Abigail tossed and turned in her bed, unable to sleep, her mind consumed by only one person, Jacob. When she first met Jacob at camp, she expected him to be the typical jock she came to know from her own high school life, but Jacob was different. Sure, he was loud and slightly dumb like other jocks, but he was also sweet and caring, which was only proven more with their time spent together over the past two weeks, where she really got to see who Jacob truly was underneath the acts he put on around others.
Abigail didn't want to admit it, but deep down she was crushing on him, and she didn't know how to feel about it. Sure, she thought Jacob was sweet and funny as well as good-looking, but he was Jacob; he was the guy who didn't go for girls like her; instead, they went for the popular pretty girls, girls like Emma. She knew there was nothing wrong with that; it just hurt Abigail. She knew she wasn't going to be picked by guys like that, and that she had fallen for two guys that would pick Emma over her. She put a pillow over her head, wanting to scream in frustration at the whole thing.
Jacob was having his own moment of frustration downstairs, with himself having no idea what to do about his own feelings for Abigail. He wasn't blind; Jacob could see that even on the first day of camp, Abigail was a very attractive person with her standout fashion, stylish tattoo, and luscious red hair, but of course Jacob chose to spend the whole summer with a girl who was nothing more than a summer fling.
As Jacob thinks back about last year, he starts to regret not getting to know Abi better at camp and just how much she's truly been there for him the past year. After the trials were said and done, the group had created a group chat in order to keep in touch with each other. Jacob had been added to the group chat by Kaitlyn, and while nobody seemed to protest his arrival, at least not in the group chat itself, they definitely did everything to ignore his existence. Even Kaitlyn would choose to ignore him sometimes to stay in favour with the group, but he didn't mind; it was the least he deserved. But Abigail didn't let him go unnoticed, often being the only one to reply to his messages, who just actually acknowledged his existence in the group when nobody else would, and even now coming back on this trip, she was the only one who truly welcomed him. spent time with him and didn't mind his company at all.
Jacob would think back to the past two weeks spent every night with her, causing his heart to flutter. He wanted nothing to just tell her how he felt about her, but he had other thoughts, telling him otherwise,'she'doesn't want you; she's just being friendly to you. Why would she want to be with you after you caused her suffering' No matter how hard Jacob tried to move on, he knew deep down that it was his dumb discussion that ended up getting her hurt in the first place. He was still surprised that she even forgave him and talked to him, but would she really want to be with him after all he did? It was bad enough that he ended up hurting one woman he had feelings for. Could he really bring himself to confess his feelings to another woman he had hurt before? He laid down, trying to go back to sleep, knowing that tonight was their last night. Would he tell Abigail how he felt, or would he do what he did for most of his life and keep his emotional feelings bottled up?
August 31st, 2024, 10:03 PM
It was the group's final night. Tomorrow morning, they would hit the road, each heading back to their normal everyday lives. The group was all gathered in the living room, having a few drinks as a last-night celebration. Emma gave a small speech with her influencer tone of voice.
"I want to say thanks to Laura for this whole reunion trip idea. I know most of us went through shit last year, and it's been tough for all of us, but I can say I've really enjoyed these two weeks, and I'm going to miss... most of you, but here's to one last night!" Most of the group did a little cheering and laughing, except for Jacob, who had found himself off to the side away from the others.
As the night went on, Jacob found himself alone in the group. Kaitlyn had said a few words with him, and Abigail had talked to him the most that night, often coming across as a bit shy around him now, so she would find herself talking to the others, which made Jacob worried that he had done something to upset her. When nobody was looking, he slipped outside to get some fresh air alone. Abigail was having an awkward night. She had kind of just wondered around talking from person to person because the one person she really wanted to talk to would cause her to feel giddy inside just being near him, meaning she spent most of the night away from him. Stupid crush,she thought to herself as she took a sip off her drink and looked around the room. She spotted Nick and Emma being all cuddly and making love eyes at each other, so she'd rather stay away from that. She saw Max and Laura, Dylan, Ryan, and Kaitlyn, but she noticed that Jacob was missing from the room.
"Hey, um... where's Jacob?" She asked Kaitlyn, who was seemingly a bit tipsy,
"Hmm? Oh, I'm sure he's off doing something dumb; it's Jacob," she said, taking a sip of her drink.
"Don't you think one of us should check on him?" Abigail asked, feeling worried about Jacob,
"Yeah, better make sure he isn't messing with anyone's cars." Dylan said it sarcastically, which got a little chuckle from both Ryan and Kaitlyn. Abigail had heard enough and moved away from the group. She blamed their attitude on the alcohol, but she knew that Jacob had been the subject of isolation and being the butt of the joke for the past year by the others. She knew that she had been avoiding Jacob tonight due to her unexpected feelings for him, but she wouldn't let him feel alone ever again. She stepped outside in hopes of finding him, and sure enough, he was standing there with his hands in his pockets, looking up at the night sky.
"Jacob? Are you okay?" Abigail asked, walking up to him,
"Abi, hey, yeah, I'm good. Yeah, I just needed some fresh air. You know, I'm sure nobody in there is missing me anyway." He let out a huffed laugh as he looked down, shaking his head.
"I miss you, Jacob. This is meant to be one last night celebration for everyone, and that means you." She reassured him,
"Really? Because you seemed to be avoiding me all night. Did I do something to upset you? If I did, then... I'm sorry." Abigail could tell from his tone of voice that Jacob was hurt by this. She was so worried about her own feelings being hurt that she accidentally ended up getting him hurt.
"No, Jacob, you didn't do anything. I promise, it's just...it's" Abigail closed her eyes for a moment, thinking of what she could say. 'It's because I've developed feelings for you, and I'm scared to tell you because I know you won't feel anything back.' It was what she wanted to tell him, but she just shook her head.
"It's nothing, I promise... so what are you doing now? You coming back inside?" She asked him and watched him shrug in return.
"I don't know, go for a walk, I guess... want to come?" He asked her, but she almost froze at the idea of walking out late at night through these woods again. Jacob could see the fear in her eyes.
"Ok, I know your scared and yeah, understanding the shit you went through, so obviously I won't make you come along if you don't want to, but there's nothing out there; you're safe, I promise." Jacob didn't know what came over him, but he held his hand out as if he expected her to take it. He was surprised that a moment later she reached out and took his hand, stepping forward to him.
"So I take that as a yes?" He said it with a small smile on his face, to which she gave a small nod in return. The two walked in silence, the full moon being their only light source. At some point, the two had interlocked their fingers, though neither of them seemed to mind. Jacob eventually broke the silence.
"So are you looking forward to this trip being over and heading back tomorrow?" He asked, looking at her as they walked,
"I mean, yeah, I guess, so I really enjoyed this trip, spending time with everyone... with you." She was grateful that it was dark, so Jacob couldn't see her blushing.
"But I can finally get home and start packing for college... so what about you?" She asked, looking up at the slightly taller boy,
"Not really, but I expected it." Abigail suddenly stopped letting go of his hand, which, as a result, caused him to stop and turn to face her.
"What do you mean?" She asked, being confused by what he meant,
"Look aside from the time I've spent with you, this trip has been a shitshow for me, and tomorrow I'm going to go back home and back to where I was before I came on this trip... alone... It's what I deserve anyway." Jacob lowered his head, looking down to the ground.
"You don't deserve that all, Jacob... and you're not alone." Abigail stepped forward towards him.
"Maybe we can keep texting once we return home. You have my number, right? and we could see each other as well. I mean, we're only a thirty-minute drive from each other... You know, only if you want to, that is." She awkwardly shook her head after a long ramble, feeling like she sounded like a crazy, needy person, but even if she did, Jacob didn't mind; in fact, it sounded like something he needed to hear.
"No, Abi, I'd like that... I'd like that a lot." The two of them stood close to each other, their hearts beating faster and faster. With every second passing, they found themselves leaning in close to each other.
"Abi...I..." was all Jacob could say before their lips touched and their eyes closed. The kiss only lasted for a few seconds, but for them, it felt like a lifetime. They slowly pulled away from each other.
"Well, that was... unexpected," Jacob said, breaking the silence.
"Ye... yeah." Abigail said, feeling giddy,
"But a good surprise, you know, like... I liked that, Abi... I like... you." Jacob still really couldn't process what had just happened, but he felt like the luckiest guy in the world at that time.
"I like you too, Jacob." Abigail smiled, her cheeks turning pink as she blushed.
"You know... maybe this reunion trip wasn't so bad after all." He laughed a little before the two locked lips again.
A year ago, Abigail and Jacob would never have expected them to be where they are today, but after the previous year's events, they knew that when you visit Hackett's Quarry, you should probably expect the unexpected.