Chapter Text
10:55 A.M.
He tapped his foot impatiently, glancing at his phone every couple of minutes before returning his gaze to the tracks. Jaiden’s train is set to arrive in five minutes, and they can’t wait to whack her over the head for not answering any of his calls and texts past the ‘halfway there! :}’ message he’d gotten two weeks ago. If she was ignoring his check-ins on purpose, he’d be so pissed.
They agreed before she left that they’d pick her up, drop her stuff off at home and grab some lunch; but as he waited, something nagged at him, which was never a good sign.
He continues to glance up, biting at the inside of his cheek. Just a couple more minutes.
11:00 A.M.
The train isn't on time. That’s totally fine, trains are constantly late, (at least, according to Google, after he looked up ‘are trains usually on time?’) they just need to wait a bit longer.
11:20 A.M.
The train still hasn't arrived.
11:34 A.M.
The train comes to a steady stop next to the station platform, and call him crazy, but he’s certain this isn’t the same kind of train that Jaiden got on before. The one she’d gotten on was more old-timey, with grey and brown sides, bronze window frames and a white top. This one was cleaner- more modern, with a lighter brown exterior that had an off-white stripe in the middle and held rows of black window frames.
That isn’t to say that it’s impossible that the trains going to and from this place aren’t different , but.. he’s pretty damn sure an island getaway would only have one type of train, maybe having multiple of that type. Even the type of train wheel seems different.
He sees each car’s door slide open and staircases be lowered down, a steady stream of people exiting their respective cabin. He waits to spot a shock of blue and purple feathers, or maybe a puff of fluffy tied up brown hair, but sees nothing. Soon enough, the next batch of people are hustling up into the train, leaving him looking around for his friend.
“Jaiden?” he yells, hoping to catch her attention from wherever she must be in the crowd. She’s usually not like this; he’s kind of hard to miss, being a solid 6’0 and with a halo over his head, but as the crowd fades, she’s nowhere to be seen.
“ Jaiden!? ”
He starts to panic.
Grabbing their phone from their pocket, they go to her contacts and call her. It barely rings once before it clicks.
“Hey-”
“ Sorry, the number you are trying to reach has been disconnected or is no longer in service. If you feel this is in error, please check the number dialed and try again.”
His face pales, and he tries again.
“Sorry, the number you are-”
“Sorry, the number you are trying t-”
“Sorry, the-”
“Sorr-”
11:54 A.M.
“Jo, dude, I’m freaking the fuck out here.”
Jo takes a sip from his water bottle before putting it down, frowning. “Look man, I get it, but at this point I genuinely think you need to see someone about this.”
Jacob stares at them in disbelief. “What the fuck do you mean I need to see someone about this!? Jaiden is missing! She doesn’t respond to any calls or texts since she gets to that stupid island, she doesn't arrive on the train back, and now her fucking phone is disconnected!? ” He slams a hand down, frustration spiking. “How are you not also panicking!? What if she's in trouble!?”
Jo’s frown deepens. “First, can you not slam my counter? Second, I’m talking about your obsession with Jaiden. Like, you’ve been mentioning her for the past week and none of us knows who you’re even talking about.”
He loses his breath for a moment, mouth parted in shock. “What?”
“Yeah man, like, nobody actually knows who Jaiden is. We were all just kinda convinced that you were trying to gaslight us.”
“..You can’t be serious,” Jacob almost shouts, eyes wide. “Jo, stop fucking with me. You’re not serious.”
Jo stands, nervous. “Jacob-”
“No! Stop fucking with me, Jo! You know her! Literally everyone in our friend group knows her! How am I the only one who’s scared that she’s missing!?”
Jo reaches a hand forward in an awkward attempt to grab Jacob’s arm, but they jerk their arm back with a snarl. “You’re an asshole, man. I need to file a missing persons report.”
Before Jo can respond, Jacob is tugging on their jacket and rushing out the door.
12:27 P.M.
“Hi, I’m calling to file a missing persons case—”
12:29 P.M.
“What do you mean you don't have a record of her? We literally just- no, I get that, but a record doesn't just—”
12:34 P.M.
“Are you serious? No- no, I’m not getting- please, listen, I’m not getting hostile or anything, I’m just trying to—”
12:36 P.M.
“No, ma’am, please just listen-”
They pause mid sentence at the sound of the call ending. He puts his phone down and rubs a hand down his face, lips thinning in a tight frown. There’s.. he’s not going crazy, right?
He gets up from his couch and walks down his house’s hallway to Jaiden’s room. It looks exactly as it always has: her bed, which was more of a nest at this point, her plushie corner, her recording setup, art tablet, drawers.. It was all there, but she wasn’t .
Their thought process is interrupted by a knock at their front door and they groaned, guessing it was Jo. Figures, after their shitty conversation, that he’d come to try and make up sooner rather than later.
What does surprise them, though, is the second person at the entrance with him.
He looks at her. “Uh. Hi, Deanna.”
Deanna looks back, seeming concerned. “Hi. Can we come in?”
“Oh, uh, yeah. Come in.”
The short walk to their living room was somehow even more awkward than their doorway interaction, with Jo and Deanna sneaking nervous glances as they all head over to the couches and sit down. Jacob pushes his hands together, refusing to say the first word.
“Jacob,” Deanna starts after a moment, trying to meet his gaze with her own, “What’s going on? It’s not like you guys to seriously fight like this.”
He hums, leaning his chin on the palm of his hand before glaring at Jo. “He can tell you.”
“I did,” Jo interjects, annoyed. “I literally did. Why do you think we’re checking on you?”
“And you believe this guy?” Jacob turns back to Deanna, gesturing a hand at Jo. “He’s saying Jaiden doesn’t exist. While she’s missing . We’ve known her for years- wouldn't this piss you off, too?”
Deanna makes a guilty face, and it dawns on him. “Oh my god. You’re in on it.”
“Jacob-”
“No! You don’t- Come with me.” He rushes forward and takes hold of Deanna’s hand. “Just come with me for a second, I swear whatever stupid bit you guys are pulling-”
Deanna yanks her hand away, startled, and glares at Jacob. “What the hell, dude!? We’re not pulling a bit! We’re worried about you, you idiot!”
“Then trust me and come take a look at this.”
Without another word, he marches over to Jaiden’s room. Deanna and Jo glance at each other nervously, Jo shrugging at her as she sighs. They both get up to follow him and gasp at the room Jacob presents them with.
“She exists,” Jacob says, absolute.
“Oh, dude,” Jo responds, rattled.
He huffs, smug but still miffed. “Yeah, so can you cut the bit out now?”
At that, Jo glances at Deanna again, who shares the same look. She coughs for a second, clearing her throat and turning to Jacob. Stepping past Jo, she takes hold of one of his hands gently, and the smugness leaves his face in less than a second. “..You can’t be serious,” he says, almost a whisper.
She nods, and his face falls. Jo looks at them both and excuses themself, mumbling about getting some water, and Deanna carefully brings Jacob back into the living room. When he sits on the couch, it hits him.
“..She’s gone.”
Deanna frowns. “She’s gone?”
He nods. “She’s gone, and nobody remembers her except me. I called 911 to file a report, and her record didn't even exist.”
“Oh.”
They sit there silently, the weight of it all pressing down on his shoulders like boulders. He grit his teeth, eyes feeling wet, and looks at Deanna. “Look, I- I know this seems crazy, I get it, but you- you trust me, right?” He turns to face her fully, trying his best to seem like he’s not about to have a panic attack. “We’ve known each other for years. I trust you, so please trust me. You don’t even- I can’t even ask you to help me find her, you don’t remember she exists- but trust that she exists. Please.”
She looks unsure, and he holds his breath.
Just as she’s about to answer, Jo comes back into the living room from the kitchen holding three bottles of water. He hands one to Jacob and one to Deanna, sitting down on the floor in front of the couch. As he sits, he looks at Jacob’s halo, eyes trailing down to the wings on his back. Deanna follows his gaze, before looking to Jacob again and sighing, her own smaller wings ruffling on her back.
“Jacob,” she says simply, and his attention is fully on her. “This isn’t a joke?” she asks, and he shakes his head no. “It’s not some elaborate prank for a video?” she asks again, and once again he shakes a no. She takes his answers and processes them, huffing. “Honestly, this wouldn’t be the craziest thing to happen to us, would it?”’
She takes a sip of her water and continues. “Look, you gotta understand how this appears. I mean, come on, you’ve been ranting about some mystery person for a while, only to show us a room dedicated to her and tell us that she was our friend? And that we all just don’t remember her ?”
Jacob looks down, disheartened, before she takes one of his hands in hers. “But, you’re the luckiest person I know. And that’s probably the shittiest reason I can give, but.. I’d rather you be right about this than you be going crazy. So I’m going to trust you on this one, alright?”
Jo huffs to their side, and they both turn to him. “So, we believe him? We’re going along with this?” he asks, looking for confirmation.
“When has Jacob ever been wrong?” she shoots.
“A lot of times, to be fair!” he shoots back.
Jacob steers himself and straightens up. “I’m not about this, though. Just- I just need to investigate this, alright? I’ll get through all my scheduled videos and sponsorships and whatever, but I need to put my time into this.” He feels Deanna’s hand squeeze his, and he’s grateful for it, the emotions he’d swallowed down just a minute before beginning to rise back up. “Jaiden is really important to me. I-“ He swallows, moving his arm to press across his face- he’d rather two of his closest friends not see him like this, but he feels Deanna move to hug him anyway. “Don’t worry, Jacob,” she tries to soothe, rubbing circles into his back between his wings. “We’ll support you.”
He hears shuffling, and suddenly Jo is hugging them, too. “I mean, I wasn’t sure whether to believe you or not,” he adds on, “but I trust you a lot. There’s been times when you’d be right about shit that everyone thought you were insane for. So, just.. let us know when you need us, alright?”
They hiccuped, melting into the hug and holding Deanna’s arms for support. They can’t find the right words to say, so they nod.
10:45 P.M.
Deanna and Jo are already asleep in their impromptu nest thrown together on the floor in front of the couch, but Jacob can’t shake off the feeling that something’s missing. He gingerly picks up Jo’s hand from where it lay limp on his chest and hobbles up, slowly making his way towards Jaiden’s room. He’s sleepy, but he doesn’t let that stop him from grabbing one of Jaiden’s shirts from atop her dresser.
They make their way back to the nest and lay down in between Deanna and Jo, hugging the shirt to his chest. He stares up at the ceiling, and thinks.
They swear to Lady Luck by the thread that ties them together, he’s going to find his friend- no matter what it takes.
He grips her shirt tighter.
No matter what it takes.