Feat. Jack - Blog Posts

jackforeman​:

It pained Jack to see Cole seem so on edge when he’d sat down beside the bed. Not that he could blame him, though, for what he’d apparently done at the carnival that he couldn’t even remember. He knew that Adam had been acting the same way, or so Jo had told him, and if he had explained to Cole that he had no idea what had happened, then maybe he would believe Jack, too. “I’m so sorry, seriously, if I–had anything to do with you feeling like shit.” He gave a pained smile; even if he hadn’t directly hurt Cole, he was somehow a part of setting up the fireworks that had led to this disaster. That much was made clear to him.

Jack gave a shrug, since it was really the only response he had. “I don’t know, I mean, I’m not injured or anything, which is kind of weird.” He thought about hearing that he’d fought Steve, who wasn’t by any means a weak person; he must have defended himself to some capacity. “I don’t remember any of it, either, which is … did Adam say that, too? I haven’t seen him since then.” Not when all Jack could think was that Adam might have been the one who killed him. 

xx.

At Jack’s second apology, Cole started to feel guilty, too. For what exactly, he wasn’t sure. But he wasn’t mad at Jack. Clearly what happened wasn’t in his control as much as it wasn’t in Adam’s control. So Cole motioned at the chair next to his bed that Adam had been occupying earlier in an invitation for Jack to sit. “It’s not your fault, man. Nothing I didn’t get in middle school, either,” he attempted a joke, then cringed as it came out more pathetic-sounding than he anticipated. “Seriously. I’m fine.”

That was weird-- Cole remembered Jack shoving him and Steve around, and Steve had definitely fought back. “I guess Harrington lost his touch,” he murmured, still mulling over how Jack had escaped unscathed. He bit his bottom lip, glancing up to the door as if Adam would walk in at any second. Then, refocusing on Jack, he sighed. “Yeah. Yeah, he doesn’t remember anything, except--” Cole frowned, stopped short. “Except, we got in this big fight before he... left. He was acting like he did at the carnival. And he didn’t remember it until now.”  He shook his head; none of this made any sense. “You didn’t suddenly recover any memories, right?” he asked, another feeble attempt at a joke.

Cole had never been a tough guy, despite his grandfather’s targeted encouragement towards more masculine pastimes. He’d always been different than the guys on the football team-- he very obviously preferred gossiping with Chrissy and the cheerleaders over ‘locker room talk’ with the guys. That and his covert relationship with Adam meant Cole kept his distance. He’d gotten to know very few of his teammates, save for Jack and Chance who were always hanging around Adam. Jack had always been nice enough to Cole, following Adam’s lead maybe, but Adam disappearing and coming back and then acting like that put Cole on edge.

When he woke up to the sounds of shuffling-- which was not uncommon at this point in his hospital stay-- Cole’s heart jumped into his throat. He hoped against hope that in the same way... whatever had happened had worn off of Adam, it had worn off of Jack. Cole breathed a little easier at Jack’s apology, and a lump formed in his throat as Jack produced the stuffed dog Adam had won, before things got weird. He took the dog and studied its matted fur, eyed the multiple spots where stuffing was poking out. “Thanks,” he smiled weakly, tucking it under his arm. “I feel like shit,” he said, coughing over the dryness of his throat. “But I’ll live.” He studied Jack, trying to detect the other’s thoughts. What the fuck had happened to Jack at the carnival? Did he even remember shoving Cole around? “Are you... feeling okay?” 

WHO: jack foreman & @loverboymontgomery​ WHERE: the hospital </33

If he was being honest, Jack probably didn’t have the time or capacity to visit Cole in the hospital after hearing from his sisters that he had been dead for three years. If it wasn’t for the knowledge that he was dating Adam, and that if he’d hurt Steve, there was a possibility that he’d hurt Cole, too, Jack would still be in his room, making what resembled Jo’s murder board for himself. It was also Cole who had given Adam some news that he’d felt necessary to share with Jack, that he probably should have heard, even if he didn’t want to. All of that, and he was fairly certain the stuffed animal he’d found in the ashes of the carnival rightfully belonged to Cole after Adam had flexed his quarterback skills to beat him in Down-a-Clown. After making a stop by Steve’s room, who was still sleeping, Jack made his way to Cole’s, the plush that he’d tried to clean as best as he could in hand. 

Jack thanked whatever luck he had out there that Adam wasn’t in the room when he’d arrived, because he didn’t have the head or the heart to deal with the guy who had killed him in front of his battered boyfriend. It was just Cole, his eyes still closed in sleep until Jack closed the door behind him with a click. “Shit, sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,” he apologized, sliding into the seat that was beside Cole’s bed. “I have this, I think it belongs to you?” Jack held out the stuffed animal, placing it on the table next to the cards and flowers he had been gifted. “How are you feeling?”

jackforeman​:

It was a loaded question, but all things considering, Jack supposed that he was as about okay as he could’ve been. No one really knew any answers, which would have probably helped the several lingering questions that would’ve settled his anxiety about why he had been gone for so long. “Yeah, yeah. You know, just trying to get back to the way things were as much as I can. What about you, though? I feel like I need someone to write me a manual of everything everyone’s been up to for the past couple of years,” Jack laughed, “I assume everything’s relatively okay with you, too?” he asked.

Everyone seemed to have a lot of questions, that much was a recurring theme. “Yeah, Jo might as well have put me in an official interrogation with how much she wants to know, but Julie I think is still getting over the shock of it. I guess her questions will come later. My parents are trying to get me legally un-dead, so that’s a bit of a process.”

xx.

Jack’s answer helped Cole breathe a little easier. If Jack could adjust, even just a little, then maybe this thing would wear off-- maybe Adam could have a normal life. And all of them, but mostly Adam. Cole grimaced, “I hadn’t even thought about that. Everyone’s like completely different now. Maybe that would be a better use of that Keith guy’s time-- putting out updates for those of you who were... gone.” He shrugged, gave Jack a halfhearted nod. “Can’t complain. I ended up going to Indiana State. Got two years left and then... who fucking knows,” he shook his head. He’d originally intended to come home this summer, save up some spending money, and figure out what his big plan was. But, for obvious reasons, he hadn’t found the time to think about it much. 

Cole nodded as Jack spoke; from what he knew about the Foreman sisters, that checked out. He wasn’t surprised that Jo was at the heart of trying to figure it out, and he especially wasn’t surprised that Julie was a bit calmer. "Legally un-dead?” Cole questioned, his expression darkening. “What does that... mean?”

jackforeman​:

“Yeah, Adam and I were in the woods together … in the commune. So, I guess they let us go, or we just left together,” he explained with a shrug. Didn’t Cole know that Adam had gone away with him? “I mean, I don’t know, I guess it makes sense. He was one of my friends in high school, so I guess if he’d decided to go into the woods for some shit like this, then the other would’ve followed.” At least, that’s what he was telling himself. Everything made sense.

Jack didn’t recall Adam and Cole being that close in high school. He knew the two were friends, but he didn’t think that they’d be hanging out so much that Adam’s parents would be sick of him, or so he said. “No, I’m sure they’re glad Adam has a friend now that he’s back. You know, someone to hang out with. I went over to Steve’s after I saw my family, you know, just to say hi, but other than that, I’ve kind of just been hanging out with my sisters. Not that they’ve ever missed me before this, but I think they might have this time,” he said with a laugh.

xx.

Cole nodded, going along with Jack’s story. It was certainly easier than telling what had really happened to Adam. Though, it made no sense-- why would Jack have a memory of being with Adam at the commune? None of this made any sense, and Cole was too nervous to figure it out, in case he uncovered something he didn’t want to know. “Right, of course. Well, I’m just glad you’re both back and... relatively okay?” he phrased it as a question, raising an eyebrow at Jack as if to assess his mental wellbeing.

With a smile, Cole agreed with Jack. That much was true, at least with Adam’s sisters. He’d gotten very close with them after Adam-- died, disappeared, whatever-- and he felt as if they were his sisters now, too. “Well, that’s valid. I’m assuming you also didn’t contact anyone while you were gone, right? I’m sure they have a lot fo questions.”  

jackforeman​:

Jack matched Cole’s laugh, and it was almost a relief to be able to just laugh about the whole thing, about going missing for years. It wasn’t funny, no, but there wasn’t much more he could do than laugh about it when there weren’t answers lying around waiting for him to find.·“Yeah, I don’t know. I don’t think I would really know how to react if one of my sisters went missing for that long, either.”

He nodded at Cole’s question.·“I walked out of the woods with Adam, we woke up together, and it was so weird. I figured if we had just woken up after a party or something that someone’s car would be there, or that it would be more than just the two of us, but it wasn’t. So, we walked here, actually,” he said with a chuckle, gesturing around the store,·“and used the phone, because we didn’t want to go to the police, in case it was because we were partying in the woods or something. I need to catch up with him again, though, you know, just make sure he’s adjusting okay. I’m glad you’ve been keeping an eye on him.”

xx.

Cole was taken aback at Jack’s statement. They had walked out of the woods together? Cole wasn’t sure how it worked-- dying and coming back to life-- but how was Jack there? Adam had died, that he was sure of... but everything else made no sense. Less than no sense. “Oh....” he started, brows coming together in confusion. “I didn’t realize you were together. That’s strange.” 

Realizing he was probably acting super weird, Cole pasted on a smile at Jack’s story. It was nice, actually, to know that Adam had a friend in his first few moments back in town. A pang in his chest said that he was sad Adam hadn’t called him from the store phone, but he understood why. “I’m glad he had you,” Cole said, with a genuine smile. He nodded, “Yeah. It would be nice if you did, just because you, like, get it more than I do. Plus, his parents are starting to get sick of me, I’m sure.” 

jackforeman​:

Weird. That was one way to describe it, anyway. Jack didn’t know what to think of any of it besides that it was weird: weird that he woke up and walked out of the Hawkins forest one morning, weird that he even went in the first place. But, Jo had shown him the newspaper articles and everything–it had to be true, even if he didn’t want to believe it. Maybe talking to Adam again, getting some clarity, wasn’t a terrible idea. 

“I’m glad to be back, too,” he agreed, matching Cole’s smile. “Yeah, they’re … you know, shocked, but good. My mom is saying I’m never allowed to leave Hawkins again, so I guess community college it is,” he joked, as if it were the only light he could make out of the situation. “My sister, Jo, she was pretty freaked out, but that’s probably because she didn’t expect to see a man in her basement when she came home from work. So, you’ve … talked to Adam, then? How is he?”

xx.

Cole genuinely chuckled at Jack’s answer. He remembered the first day he and Adam had left the Richards house, the fear in his mom’s eyes when Adam had told her he was going out for a bit. Cole couldn’t blame her, but Cole also would rather spend time with Adam alone than with his whole family. At least for a while, an attempt to make up for lost time. “That sounds like Mrs. Richards,” he admitted with a smile. “I can’t imagine what it feels like for them-- the moms.”

Raising a singular eyebrow, Cole nodded. He wondered if that was why Jo was freaked out, or if she might have the same questions Cole had. “That’s... understandable,” he said. Even he still hadn’t adjusted to Adam’s return, a return he never could have predicted. “Yeah! Yeah, we’ve been hanging out. He’s okay... he feels shitty for leaving his family behind, and all. I keep trying to tell him it isn’t his fault, you know, but...” Cole shrugged. That’s just who Adam was, always the one who wanted to help, who his family relied on. If only it was as easy as saying ‘it’s not your fault.’ “Have you? Talked to him?”

jackforeman​:

Jack knew he should’ve stayed quiet, but it was too late now. He had been answering enough of his family’s questions about his whereabouts the past few years, and he didn’t really need anyone else judging the shit out of him for skipping town to go live in the woods, but Col never seemed one to be judgmental, at a least from what Jack could remember. He dropped a stick of deodorant in his basket, then a razor and shaving cream before turning back to Cole, giving a sheepish smile.

“Yeah, I, uh—“ he started, letting out a sigh as he ran a hand through his hair. “Hard to explain. I guess we both decided it was a good idea to run off to the woods for a few years?” It certainly didn’t get any less embarrassing the more times he said it. “I don’t know, honestly, I think I was high the whole time, because it’s a bit of a blur, but yeah. All I know is that Adam was with me when I left the woods.” It was one of the only things keeping him sane, knowing that at a lets he must’ve joined because his friend had, too.

xx.

Cole’s expression froze at Jack’s comment, and he quickly turned to pluck something, anything, off the shelf to hide his concern. Of course, he knew that Adam thought he had been off in a commune, and he’d heard that there were others who’d returned, too. Jack’s story checked out, at least with what Adam had said. But he knew Adam had died-- there had been a funeral and everything. 

Composing himself, Cole turned around with shampoo in his hand. He gave Jack a thin-lipped smile. “Yeah... that’s essentially what Adam is saying, too.” He shrugged, “It does seem... weird.” Cole desperately didn’t want to ask questions-- he didn’t even want an explanation, really, for fear that Adam would be ripped away from him again. “But, I guess, I’m glad you guys are all back. And relatively okay,” he said, with a sympathetic smile. “How’s your family holding up?”

Keeping his head low so strangers (or worse, friends) wouldn’t see the dopey grin on his face, Cole ducked into Melvald’s. Since Adam had gotten back, he and Cole had been spending every waking minute together, switching from Cole’s room to Adam’s room every other day. It was bliss, and Cole truly believed he could stay there, in Adam’s arms, for the rest of his life. But, nature calls, and so do the Richards. They parted ways for a few hours, so Cole could stock up on snacks and beer and Adam could go to family dinner. 

Cole was a mix between stupidly happy and incredibly on edge. Happy for obvious reasons and on edge because he was afraid that if he wasn’t with Adam, something would happen or he would disappear again. As he fast-walked through the aisles, indiscriminately picking up cereal boxes and chip bags and beer, Cole stopped short when a vaguely familiar voice called out to him. Turning, Cole struggled to not spill the contents of his arms onto the floor. He really should’ve gotten a cart. “Foreman, yeah. Hey,” he smiled easily, remembering Jack as the football team captain. Cole quirked an eyebrow when he mentioned he’d been away with Adam. Had he been? Cole didn’t remember Jack leaving, but why would he make that up? “You were... uh, out of town? Or...?” his voice trailed off, the question hanging in the air. 

WHO: jack foreman & @colemontgomeryx​ WHERE: melvald’s 

After getting his greetings and affairs in order, Jack decided to head to Melvald’s to get some basic life things now that he had no toothbrush, deodorant, or anything essential, really, since his parents had rightfully thrown everything out upon his disappearance. His mother had offered to go do it for him, but Jack declined, thinking that it might be good to get out of the house. His parents had sworn to never let him leave Hawkins again, and he was certain that that was at least half true, but he’d promised to go straight to the store and back home. No going near the woods any longer, that was for sure.

He kept his head low as he entered the store, careful to not make eye contact with anyone who might recognize who he was. Jack was sure that his face had been in the newspapers back when everyone had apparently gone to this commune in the woods, and he wasn’t ready to start answering questions about any of that yet. He wasn’t sure he even knew why he would’ve gone in the first place. As he walked through the aisles, though, Jack recognized an unmistakable head of hair, and he brought down his hood from his head. “Cole?” he asked, dropping a tube of toothpaste from his hand into his basket. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to bother you, it’s just … I’m Jack. Foreman? You were on the football team, the manager, right? I don’t know if you remember, but I’m, um, back in town, I guess, with Adam Richards, he … you guys were friends, I think. Anyway, it’s, uh … nice to see you.”