( Jack | 002 ) - Blog Posts
jackforeman:
All Jack could offer Adam was a shrug of his shoulders about the whole thing. Weird was really the only way to describe anything these days. “Yeah, it was. I wasn’t hungover or anything when I got home, so I don’t know. Maybe there was something in what we drank? That couldn’t be right, though–it was all in cans.” None of it made sense, but that seemed to be something the two could agree on, besides that things definitely could have gone worse. Cole and Adam weren’t hurt, and that was all that mattered.
Jack wasn’t really the most socially aware person on the planet, but he knew when something was up, especially when it was with Adam. He’d been so used to his ticks and tells when they played together, so much so that it was almost speechless. Jack knew from the way Adam looked (or even threw a football) how he was really doing. “Yeah, I kind of noticed. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to, like, pry at anything when we were at the rock, it just … I know you, and I could tell there was something up between you guys.” Maybe it was the discussion about how they’d left for the woods that set Adam in a bad mood. He’d said that it was something about when they were gone, after all. Did he want to know, though? The word we meant that Cole did know something when he was at Melvald’s, but hadn’t said anything. Maybe that was the reason for Jo and Julie acting so strange, too. “I don’t know, do I want to know?” he asked, letting out a shaky laugh. “Not that you really had a choice, if Cole had told you, but … do you wish you didn’t? If that makes sense.”
Adam frowned at Jack not being hungover and them all drinking from cans. So maybe they could rule drugs out. “This whole thing is so confusing,” Adam replied, rubbing at his forehead with the heel of his hand. He was just glad they’d all made it safely, though and that nothing worse had happened. Adam didn’t think he could process any more bad shit right now, honestly.
Playing together for years in high school left Adam and Jack very well acquainted. Jack knew Adam, and Adam knew him - he knew that Jack was a good guy, one of the best honestly. And he hadn’t told Jack about Cole before not because he didn’t trust him specifically, just...being open in Indiana wasn’t easy. Adam couldn’t be sure which of his jock friends might turn on him, hurting him or Cole for their relationship. But... Adam and Jack were bonded for life now by whatever had happened to them three years ago. There was no going back from that. “Yeah...there was. There is.” Adam corrected, staring down at his hands in his lap to avoid looking directly at his friend. “We’re...together,” He admitted quietly, having told a grand total of two people that he was gay before now. Cole and Chrissy. It never felt easier to expose that part of himself - but loving Cole was the easiest thing Adam had ever done. He just always had to remember that part when telling someone, to make the confession itself not seem so big. “I wish...” Adam sighed, sitting up straighter and leaning back in his chair. “Honestly, dude, I wish I didn’t know. I wish Cole hadn’t told me,” He admitted finally, not wanting to blame Cole. It wasn’t his fault. The thought itself was just so unthinkable to Adam, and he wished he could have lived in ignorance for longer. “But it’s your choice to make, man. I can’t make it for you.”
jackforeman:
“Wait–what?” Jack asked, shaking his head in confusion. “You’re telling me there’s something in the water now? Fuck, man. I’m glad you guys are okay, though.” Maybe going to the cabin hadn’t been such a baad idea after all. He still didn’t really know what had gone on in there, but at least no one had really gotten injured. At least, not beyond some glass being on the floor, which he thought he could recall from earlier in the evening. “It was pretty weird on a few levels. First, the kids wanted to play spin-the-bottle, which got kind of awkward, and then … I think the bottle must’ve broken, because I remember someone trying to clean up glass. Then, we left the room, and there was–I think there was another room that had more furniture and shit in it, but I can’t really remember. Maybe I drank too much beer, or something,” he said with a shrug. That, or he had an issue with memory loss, between not remembering the commune or the cabin too clearly.
Honestly, Jack wasn’t really sure how he was doing. Everything had felt so strange since he’d been back. Between having to see Steve again and how his sisters had reacted to his homecoming, Jack wasn’t sure what to think, or feel. He didn’t even have much time to process it. “I guess as okay as I can be, you know? I’m just glad to be home. It’s just so weird, I’m trying to piece together what happened to us.” No one would really tell him anything, just that they thought he’d joined a cult-like group and he was gone. “Did you, like, happen to ask anyone for any information, or anything like that? I ran into Cole at Melvald’s and he said you guys had hung out, so I don’t know if he remembered anything. Steve was kind of weird about it, and Jo just won’t shut up asking about what kind of shit happened there.”
Adam nodded solemnly, shooting Jack a grateful smile. “Thanks, dude. I don’t know what it was. Like, one second something had us, the next it was gone.” He didn’t know what sort of stuff lived in Lovers’ Lake, or if it was just some algae or something, like someone else had suggested. “All of this shit is so weird.” None of it made any since to Adam - nothing did since he had gotten back. Everything was just so damn confusing. As he listened to Jack talk about the cabin, his brow furrowed further. “You okay?” He asked him, concerned about the memory loss. Maybe Jack had drunken too much. “The cabin sounds weird, too, dude.”
As okay as I can be. Yeah, Adam did know. He knew that all too well. He didn’t feel like he was doing a great job of processing all of this, but at least he was trying to move forward and keep going. If he let himself focus on all of it for too long, he thought he might just explode. Sitting up straighter at the mention of Cole, Adam avoided Jack’s eyes. He wasn’t really sure if he should tell Jack about what Cole had told him or not - Adam sure didn’t want to know. But maybe....maybe Jack deserved an explanation of some sort. “Yeah, Cole’s been coming by a lot,” Adam admitted, biting his lip. He’d never told Jack about his relationship with Cole, and honestly, he wasn’t sure if he should or not. Jack wasn’t a dick, but being gay in Indiana would make anyone hesitant to come out to a jock. “You know, we’re really close,” He finally settled on, neutrally; if Jack wanted to ask, then Adam was ready for it. “....he said something pretty weird about.... about how we left.” He told Jack, finally looking at him. “If you want to know, I’ll tell you. But it’s fucked up. Once you know, it’s not really something you can un-know. You know?” Adam rambled, probably not making much sense.
jackforeman:
WHO: jack foreman & @goldenboyrichards WHERE: the foreman household
Jack hadn’t seen Adam since the night that everyone had decided to go to Lover’s Lake. The two had split up, mostly because Jo was on the side of going to the cabin, and Jack swore to himself that he would never leave her to deal with shit on her own, not as long as he could help it. It was the right decision, this much he knew, because they’d wound up in some weird ass portal, or something. He wasn’t entirely sure still.
They sat in the Foreman family’s basement, where Jack had seen Jo for the first time since coming back, and the image of the shock on her face still replayed in his head on loop. “Alright, dude, be real with me. Did I miss anything crazy at the lake while Jo insisted on going into the cabin?” he asked, turning to his friend. “I wanted to stay with you guys, I really did, but Jo wanted to go, and I couldn’t really tell her I wouldn’t go with her after, you know … going missing for a few years. I feel like I shouldn’t really leave her when I have the chance to stay with her.” Jack was sure he didn’t have to explain, not to Adam, but felt the need to after doing a lot of explaining in the past week. “Sorry, I’m so used to having to defend every single choice I’ve been making to everyone I know since we’ve been back.”
Adam still had zero clue what had actually happened at Lovers’ Lake, especially with the other group. He’d heard bits and pieces of their adventure in the cabin that night from people as they’d partied afterwards, but nothing concrete really. All Adam knew was that this town was seriously weird, weirder than it had been a few years ago, apparently. He was just glad he’d been with Cole and had been able to make sure he was okay after whatever had happened to them in the water.
It was good to catch up with Jack, though. They’d been teammates and friends for years, and Adam wanted to make sure he was handling everything okay now that they were back here in Hawkins. “Yeah, man,” He nodded, setting his can of Coke down on the coffee table. “Okay, so it was pretty normal at first. We were drinking a bit, we decided to go for a swim, and then the waves picked up. Cole and I were having trouble making it back, and then something grabbed out legs...” Adam said, biting his lip at the memory. It had been a terrifying few minutes - part of him had been worried he wasn’t going to make it back to shore. “Whatever it was didn’t leave any mark on me or anything, though. Cole’s ankle looked kind of fucked for a minute, but then it was gone? I have no clue what that means.” He admitted with a shrug. “Something weird happened to one of the kids too, but I wasn’t really paying attention during that part. What about the cabin?”
As Jack explained his decision, Adam nodded. If his own sisters had been there, he probably would have followed them too. It was hard to come back and face people who you’d left behind, especially family. “I get it, dude,” Adam told Jack, giving him a small smile. “You don’t owe me anything.” Adam understood that feeling all too well, too. Everyone wanted to know why he’d left three years ago, now that he was back. It was a question that he kept doing his best to avoid, when he could. “Are you doing okay? With everything?” Adam asked cautiously, dipping into feelings territory. They weren’t known for being vulnerable around each other, but they’d had one hell of a shared traumatic experience. Talking about everything with the forest commune probably wouldn’t hurt.
