Chapter 1: Wrapping up

Inside a mobile home surrounded by a forest sits a 5'9" decently rounded man, He is sitting on a makeshift table while playing some video games, looking at him he has a long beard well grown out and can be seen wearing some gray morning robes, next to him, sits a black pug, compared to a standard pug this one looks a bit skinner

"You know coco this is nice, having a home to ourselves and having the luxury to live in peace you know, it's a nice feeling"

In response to his words the dog just continued to lick itself in its crotch and smile, The man sighed and just continued to play Luii Mission on his MegaCube, It was peaceful, to say the least. The calming atmosphere the crackling of birds and other forest animals ruffling about, without civilization around this was peaceful, then a knock was heard at the door

"Oye Jacob you still alive in there ain't you"

Jacob upon hearing the female voice slumps down in an attempt to hide himself, but the female at the door is not deterred by the lack of response

"When is your lazy ass gonna go out and enjoy the town festival, It's in 3 hours"

Even though the man knew that his cover was blown he still hoped by not saying anything she would leave, but Coco wasn't, Coco's ears perk up and just like any other dog she does what she was trained to do all her life, she barks in excitement as she runs at the door scratching at it. While dogs, in general, are happy creatures it seemed she was exceptionally excited to see the guest, Jacob sighed, he was caught

"I told you I'm not going-"

Before he could finish his sentence there is a klack and a creak as the door swung open revealing a 5'6" female individual coming through, she has blue ocean eyes and blond short hair, and her physique is slim yet well built. To be quite frank she has the appearance of a quite attractive individual of a tomboy girl

"You know If I had a dollar for every time I had to drag your ass outside I think I would be pretty rich, Isn't that right coco"

Coco was going crazy with the visit of this girl, she ran right at her barking in excitement as the girl petted her,

"Do you really have to come every day"

Jacob's voice sounded slightly annoyed, but more than anything it carried a tired tone to it, while the girl in contrast sounded full of life

"Dude Are you really complaining that a beautiful girl such as myself is checking up on you every day, don't you know people will fall head over heels for someone like me"

The woman had an expression of pride but also a mix of smugness to it, The man couldn't help but chuckle a bit despite his previous expressions

"You know, I know that you just like it whenever I cook right"

Her smirk demeanor quickly faded as she was caught dead in her tracks, her sneaky goal was exposed, Jacob stared at the women while the women chuckled nervously

"Did you bring the materials to cook at least"

The woman throws up a thumbs-up sign and smiles a proud victory as though she won the Olympics. As Jacob got up he noticed while not apparent the clothes she was wearing, she had on short jeans and a black shirt that says 'Potato lord', a typical tomboy outfit

"Put the ingredients on the burner"

She smiled and compiled,

"Thank you"

Despite her tomboyish style of interaction, she does have a cute side to her as well, but the thing that occupied jacobs mind the most was what to cook, but it didn't take long for him to realize she had brought him some rice, chicken, and curry mix

"Katsu curry it is"

As he put on his cooking gown he pulled from a closet he prepared the chicken and rice on the side, once that got going he used some curry mix to add it to the potatoes and carrots for that unique added flavor, carefully he steamed the carrots on high heat while cooking the potatoes on low to allow the heat to properly cook thoroughly, he focused up as he switched his attention towards the rice and chicken, all the while the girl was playing with coco in the background

"Who's my good girl, who's my little coco puffs"

he prepared the chicken on the stove, next, he cut into the meat to allow it to cook properly, and started preparing the rice, the girl and the dog couldn't help but notice the smell as they stood behind him, her and the dog's mouth drolling which distracted him a bit, while on some level he did find this annoying he couldn't help but also find happiness in her presence, speaking from experience they knew each other for many years and this was their daily routine, but today was a bit special, today was

"Happy birthday Marry"

In an instant the atmosphere fell silent and a bit awkward, there was no preparation or build up just randomly blurted out words, as his words registered with her she found it difficult to speak back, and it would have stayed like that for a while if it wasn't for coco, her barking brought back everyone's attention that the food was burning

"Oh shit"

He rushed to flip the already burnt chicken and rice, and it seemed with that realization the awkwardness in the room faded as she laughed, it wasn't an awkward laugh or a fake sort of laugh but rather a laugh of relief

"Jacob, thank you"

Jacob looked at her and for a moment realized how long it was since she thanked someone for wishing her a happy birthday. The thought of what happened to marry a long time ago when he was a kid crossed his mind, How he related to something similar that happened to him quite a long time ago, Jacob for a moment got lost in thought

"Hey Jacob the food is still burning"

"I know I know hold up"

At her words he hurriedly turns off the gas and tries to salvage what food he can, He slices off the burnt parts and somehow manages to make the dish come out as good as new, He prepares 5 plates and wraps 2 of them with plastic, 2 of them with curry and 1 of them with rice and kibble for coco, he serves his guest as Coco and Marry proceeds to chow down on their meal while Jacob brings his meal outside to eat on a stump

"Thank you for the meal"

Marry and Coco help themselves to seconds while Jacob slowly eats his first serving, everyone chowed down on their freshly made food until Marry spoke up

"So as for the festival are you coming?"

"Nope"

Marry attitude changes at his response this time sound she sounds annoyed and a bit frustrated

"You know, I know you don't like to socialize with others and you enjoy your "peace" by yourself, but come on everyone wants you to go"

Jacob doesn't even look back at her, he just continues to eat his food as he replies back

"Normally you would be right but what can I say I enjoy my peace"

"That makes no sense"

"Indeed it doesn't"

Jacob is actively smiling while Marry looks visibly annoyed at his response, for them this is their everyday morning, sometimes they would go out to do errands or help around the nearby town, but for the most part, Jacob would stay here in his convertible home, this was his "peace", his frozen paradise where everything and nothing could go wrong, except for one individual who could break that peace

"Marry"

Jacob called out to her, and Marry looked at his back in anticipation of his next words

"Coco is peeing on your clothes"

"Wait! What!?!"

Marry looked at Coco who was currently chilling on her lap and examined her dress all over but found no stain of pee, and when she looked up she found Jacob laughing

"Dude what the hell, you scared me"

Jacob continued to laugh

"You might be onto something teasing someone is fun"

Marry just pouted while Jacob finished washing the last of the plates

"Now then let's go get ready"

Marry looked at Jacob in confusement, and that's when it hit her

"Wait are you serious"

Jacob gave a reassuring smile

"It's your 20th birthday, why not"

Marry was shocked at this guy's words, Jacob was a man of the box, the type of guy that doesn't like to go to events or parties, it was a miracle, he was like that one friend that never goes out and now he finally agreed to

"Thank you so much, I'm gonna go tell everyone your coming, I got to go get ready"

With that said she bolted out of the room and left Coco and Jacob by themselves, Jacob looked at Coco

"You think it's too late to say I changed my mind"

Coco just barked at him and went back to laying on her bed

"Let's get going then"

Jacob prepared to leave his home but then took a good look at himself in his mirror, his face was worn and he had bags under his eyes, not to mention it had been a while since he cut his hair as well as his beard, He is barely in his early 20's yet he looked like a 30-year-old man, and frankly for him, he couldn't care less, but, Marry's smile popped into his brain, and he sighed

"Rose would scold me…just like her"

He looked through his mirror for some materials and he pulled out some shaving cream and scissors,

"Let's do thi-"

And just as Jacob gets ready to cut his hair coco starts barking at him,

"What, what's up"

Coco just continues to stare at him, obviously, Jacob doesn't speak dog, so he just waits a bit, then he grows tired as he gets ready to cut his hair again, this once again causes Coco resume's her barking

"Do you just not want me to cut my hair or what"

In response to Jacob's statement cookie barks in response,

"Ok, so you don't want me to get ready?"

Coco stays silent once again, it continues like this for a bit until Coco barks and opens a drawer with her mouth, after a bit of making a mess she bites down on something and pulls out a photo album, she flips to a page where it shows a younger Jacob with a terrible haircut, not to mention the small cuts all over his beard

"that's right I can't groom myself properly…"

Cookie barks in agreement at this response, although dogs have limited expressions Jacob is sure that Coco definitely smirking a bit

"If you are so smart why do I got to pick up your poop every time"

Cookie just ignores his response and went back to sleeping on her bed

"I guess that means you need my help"

This voice, Jacob turned to see her here

"Rose"

Jacob's face visibly turned a bit serious, while the lady at the door was giving off a smile

"Jacob why the serious face, aren't you happy to see me"

No response from him

"You were smiling just a moment ago with my younger sister why the long face with m-"

"If your here to tell me things then I recommend you just leave"

The atmosphere turned tense, Rose was similarly built to her sister and she usually had a long loose red dress with thorn pigments beautifully originated onto it, she wore a smile that at first brought reassurance but with Jacob seemed to bring negativity, she had blond long hair and blue eyes just like her sister. As she entered the RV she walked up to him, she looked no younger than her early 30s but had the appearance of a beautiful woman no older than her 20s, she looked kind,

"I know that me being here is…difficult for you but today I'm here to just give you a trim like the old times"

Jacob just looked at her

"No"

Rose sighed

"I just want to make you look good"

"No, I'm good I can handle myself and my needs"

"You say that but whose land are you renting from, who's water, gas, and food supply are you connected to"

"Hey I pay for it"

"A drop in the ocean is what you pay in terms of what I give you"

This conversation lasted like this for a couple of minutes until Coco woke up and started barking at them, it seemed as though she was scolding them for being too loud, after feeling satisfied that they wouldn't argue anymore she went back to sleep

"She really is a smart dog"

Both of them said that at the same time, they looked at one another, then after some thinking, Jacob sighed as he agreed to get his haircut, Rose smiled with this, and with that said the pedicure commenced, Rose first started with his hair as she pulled out some scissors from the purse she carried,

"When was the last time you cut all your hair, you look like a homeless man"

"Well to be fair I don't really care what people have to say about it, especially you"

Rose pulled on his hair at that response

"Take better care of yourself!!"

"Ouch Ouch I will then"

Jacob felt his serious attitude soften up a bit, Rose was good at making people feel relaxed, she had vast experience dealing with others, and while she was crafty with her words, but one thing that always stood the same was that she was always honest when it came to him, something he noticed with all there time together. As she cut his beard Jacob listened to the delightful snap of the scissors, it was soft and firm, she took her time as she slowly hummed to herself, for some reason in this situation for Jacob it felt therapeutic in a sense, the delightful snap of the scissors and the calm atmosphere that rose brought with her humming, It reminded him of when his mother would cut his hair, that feeling of being safe and free, It was a nice feeling for him

"There you go, the beard is gone"

Rose had left him a pretty good cut, it was shortened for the most part as it faded in properly

"All that is left is your long hair as well as get you a new set of clothes and I'm pretty sure you will look as hot as you did in your prime"

Jacob couldn't help but laugh a bit

"My prime huh"

"Yes your prime, remember when you first came to us asking for a job"

A memory plays in jacobs mind, it's a younger version of him begging Rose and her family for a job, he was covered in mud as he stood at their doorsteps, he looked weak and tired, and her father was hesitant towards him as a stranger, but Rose's mother gave him a chance, she had kindness in her heart no matter the individual, something Jacob would never forgot

"You had tears in your eyes and your clothes were a mess, you were a damsel in distress"

Jacob said nothing

"Honestly I thought you were a crybaby at that time, just another delinquent teenager who ran away from home but…"

Rose leaned in closer, her eyes locked with his, both of them staring at each other for a solid minute until Rose spoke again

"You changed my point of view, as time went on you were honest, hardworking, charismatic but most importantly, for me at least, you were real, you allowed me to be vulnerable around you"

"So I was the subject of your admiration"

Rose put her hand on his cheek, and Jacob could swear that there was a hint of purple in her eyes

"Yes, Even after all this time you still haven't changed, and that's why I want you, 12 years passed by, and not another man made my heart yearn for them like you do"

"Quite the sudden confession don't you think"

"I don't believe 12 years of dropping hints is a sudden confession"

"Yea I guess it isn't"

To say that they were childhood friends wasn't exactly correct, but for the past 12 years since he met Rose she has always been dropping hints of affection towards Jacob, he wasn't entirely dense, he understood how she felt given the time they spent together, yet he always wondered to himself why, why such a beautiful woman like her was attracted to someone like him, that was the one thing couldn't understand why, but the fact that she did was there

"I don't want to get close to you"

Rose stuttered a bit, and her expression turned from flirtatious to sadness, but still she persisted,

"I knew you were gonna say that…At this point you say that every time I try, but…it really does sting every time I hear it you know"

Jacob stuttered, he wanted to respond properly but the words weren't coming out of his mouth, yet he still tried

" Rose, your perfect, I could sit here and say a thousand things that make you the best woman out there, but it wouldn't be enough to describe you, you are the perfect woman of every guy's dream in every aspect, All the time we spent together, our memories of the past there beautiful ones and I don't want to forget about them…but I-"

Jacob felt a snap in his mind like a gear that wasn't supposed to be moved has began to

"You know what happened to me, you know better than anybody else that something is broken when it comes to my feelings, I don't want to talk about the past, I just want to live in peace"

A drop of water fell upon jacobs face

"But you rather live with the current memories of Marry"

Rose began to tear up, no it was more accurate to say she was frustrated or maybe even jealous of her sister, Despite being more understanding and caring to Jacob she could never get him to treat her the same way as he does with marry

"You claim to be broken, but the truth of the matter is that you don't want anybody to get too close to you, you rather stay in your safe zone than make bonds with people"

The tearing up has progressed to sobbing, Rose on the outside with other individuals was dignified and strong, while the rose in front of him was the real one that Jacob knew, she allowed herself to be weak in front of him, and he knew that of course, but still, he didn't let his guard down

"Even my sister who you are just using as a substitute, When are you gonna break the news to Marry that she is just a substitute for your dead sister"

"That's enough Rose!!"

A mix of anger and despair flooded Jacob's mind as he yelled at Rose, While the majority of Jacob's life is shrouded in mystery at this point in time, there clearly is some sort of trauma or an event that he tried/wished to get rid of in his mind entirely

"I don't want to remember that, I just want a clean slate, why don't you just let me forget about it!"

This time it was Jacob who was starting to allow his emotions to stir up, for them this was there tipping point of there 12 year-long history, all those emotions and feeling that was suspended between the 2 were finally let out, it was on this important day, the day of Marry's birthday and the anniversary of their mother's death

"Because that's not what you told us is right, you tell everyone it's important to confront our own problems and demons, You help everyone else but when it comes to your own situations you rather bottle them up, you put up your fake smiles with others and you think that doesn't hurt to see,"

Rose at this point has already begun sobbing onto Jacob's chest, It's clear enough with all this time and emotions they bonded together that she really cares, no it would be more accurate to say loves Jacob with all her heart, but, Jacob can't accept it at least not the way she wants him to

"I'm sorry, you're the closest one to me, you always try to help me out but I can't accept your feeling, I'm just a big scaredy cat after all"

Jacob rubbed roses head, snot, and tears still running down her face,

"Im Sorry"

Jacob picks up a towel and wipes roses face, and in that very instance when he finishes Rose pulls him in for a kiss, her soft lips met his, Jacob's eyes widen in shock, he intended to pull away but he couldn't, every neuron receptor in his mind stimulated him to continue, or it would be more accurate to say his instincts as a living being demanded more, and so he did while embracing her slender body, he returned her kiss with more of a passionate one

"Jacob"

Rose tried calling out to him but Jacob just embraced her firmly and kissed deeper, he couldn't control his desires as a person, Maybe for him, this was more akin to lust, but that was likely not the case, maybe in some part of his mind he wanted to be with her, some part that outweighed his fear, but nevertheless he made out with her, no thoughts or over thinking just simple animal instincts taking over one's thought. It felt hot, his body was heating up as he felt, he would have continued for longer if it wasn't for the need for air, they parted lips as both of their faces were entranced and flustered

"I…"

"Yea…"

Neither could complete their sentence, they were at a loss for words, and as a result the room just fell silent

"You guys okay or what"

A familiar voice called out to them, and at the door was their good friend Tin, in terms of physical description, he was a 5'11" masculine man with dyed white hair and good-looking, European and the type of person who would be featured in a magazine. Rose instantly fluttered face vanished and she looked busy getting the razor ready, while Jacob just turned away trying not to reveal his flustered face

"Tin good to see ya, I made you some Katsu curry"

After he composed himself Jacob turned around to face Tin, his best friend, seeing the new beard shave tin couldn't help but raise his voice in excitement

"Woahhh, you getting your stuff cut, I never thought you would allow that to happen, so much for your sacred beard, guess you really value Marry over anything, say when are you 2 getting married lol"

With that statement, tin begins to chow down while he teases him, Tin and Jacob have been friends for almost as long as Rose could remember, and in the midst of his reminiscing Rose spoke up

"As soon as you get together with one of your fangirls"

Tin was notoriously popular with both men and women, with men due to his physique and easygoing attitude, as for the women it seemed they were attracted to him a little bit too much as he was like a hunk, eventually jokes arose where he had a fangirl club dedicated just to him

"Thanks but no thanks, I'm already after the most beautiful girl in this town"

Jacob and Marry looked at each other and said the same thing

"Auntie Betty"

"Hey now she is not a auntie, and second of all older women are where it's at, she is the pinnacle of my desires, after all, look at Rose she gets love letters every day from people who are into her"

In response to that Rose snapped the scissors and made a large snap sound that sent shivers down Tins and Jacob's spine

"Are you calling me old tin"

A creepy sinister glare and aura surrounded rose

"Are you Tin"

Tin looks visually scared and ran behind Jacob

"No No, I swear you look young no older than your 20's yea"

"Good, now then Jacob time to get your beard cut"

That tension that was in the room previously had faded and Jacob couldn't help but nervously laugh since Tin had invoked the wrath of Rose, but as he laughed he was reminded of why these 2 individuals were here

'I need to move forward huh'

Jacob thought this to himself, He wanted peace and quietness yet he has individuals who care about him, even if they brought chaos into his peace, they also brought fulfillment into his life, yet a habit of 12 years does not change with one day,

'Desires are confusing'

Just as he got lost in thought his chin was turned to the side,

"Turn this way I need to cut this side"

Rose was still cutting his hair while he was having his inner monologue, perhaps that was his problem, he spent too much time trying to make everything bigger than it needs to be, overcomplicating things perhaps, Maybe it was better to be an ignorant person-

"Keep your chin straight Jacob do you want me to cut you"

Rose was grabbing Jacob by the chin like a child who keeps moving every time you want them to stay still, and after 5-10 minutes of shaving Jacob was set and ready to go

"Now then go wash up while I clean up the hairs"

Just as Rose instructed him so he went into the restroom and proceeded to clean himself up and all that was left was tin and rose

"I'm surprised Marry managed to get him out of here"

Rose couldn't help but chuckle

"How do you know it wasn't me"

"Because he doesn't even listen to me, His best friend, what makes you think he would listen to you about stuff like this"

Rose scoffs at his remark

"You say that like we all haven't been friends for over 12 years

"I like to think that I have a special place in his heart, after all, he was the one who introduced me to the world of Milfs and older women and molded me into the man I am "

Tin's eyes sparkled as he flex his muscles

"Your pretty sick in the head aren't you"

Rose looked at him with a disgusted face, and Tin just continued flexing

"You say that but you just hating on my sexy body"

"You say that like anybody would enjoy looking at you with your weird poses"

Out of the front door of the mobile home popped out another individual, she had red dyed hair as well as brown eyes and was around 5'4" in height, and had a physique of a sturdy individual with a bit of bulk mixed into it

"Alexandra"

Both of them stopped their bickering upon her appearance, Tin immediately rushed towards her side and held her hand

"Alexandra you look as stunning as ever, especially your muscles and sturdy physique, need to lose a bit of weight to realize your true potential and if only you were a milf you would be my dream girl, too bad you-"

With that said Alexandra cracked her fist and punched Tin in the stomach with a considerable amount of force knocking him down, and with that tin was lying on the ground pleading mercy while Alexandra continued to yell slurs and through kicks his way all the while, and rose was cheering of course

"Go Go Go"

This continued for a minute or 2 until the bathroom door opened u

"If you guys are going to kill each other do it outside won't you"

Out of the bathroom appeared Jacob with a cut beard and hair looking like a new man, his hair was slicked back like one of those old greasers from the 1980s, and a fresh shave, everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at him with an open mouth

"Hot"

"Indeed Hot"

"Super Hot"

Everyone nodded at each other while they examined his appearance, and then they looked lower down to his stomach area, Jacob had quite a round stomach, which caused everyone to sigh in disappointment

"Out of shape"

"Fat"

"Gained a few pounds…"

Alexandra looked at Rose

"Rose you did not just tell me that he gained just a few pounds, Man is overweight"

"I'm gonna have to agree with Alexandra on this one, Jacob did gain a stomach ever since he stopped working out"

Alexandra nodded,

"Thanks for the heartfelt comment guys"

Jacob said sarcastically, as a result of that Alexandra and Tin simultaneously spoke

"We're just being honest"

Rose and Jacob looked at each other

"When do you think they're gonna get together"

"Probably in a month or so"

"Yea there a match made in heaven"

Tin and Alexandra protested intensely at their comments, time passed as their fun conversation as friends continued like that for a bit, for Jacob it had been a while since they chatted all together like this, despite the peace that he so desperately craved, in his heart he did enjoy their company, he found throughout the years that being with the people he cared about and having fun was peaceful as well. Just as they were gonna get lost in time Rose's alarm started to beep

"Looks like I got to get going

Rose got her stuff and prepared to leave

"Wait a bit Rose I'll join ya"

"Your not gonna stay here with them"

Alexandra laughed

"While I do love these 2 idiots, Jacob over here still hasn't finished dressing"

Jacob looked at himself and realized he still had a towel on, of course, he had boxers on but he had almost forgotten he was changing, Alexandra was quick to point it out

"Told ya, let's go"

"Yea leave us bros to do bro stuff"

As Tin said those words Jacob just looked at him with the expression of 'what the fuck did you just say man' face, tin looked utterly confused

"What, What did I do"

"Just get out"

"What what did I do"

Jacob just continued to stare at him with that facial expression as he pushed Tin out with the rest of them

"Now then time what to wear"

He closed the door and walks towards his closet with all his clothes, as he opens the cabinet he looks through and finds the same pair of clothes he is currently wearing but with different colors, shorts, and a mediocre shirt that you would buy from a sale going on in a clothes store

"..."

He looked at his closet for a hot minute and then closed it, he waited for a second and then opened it again, he did this 4x like he was expecting a new pair of clothes to magically appear

"...Oh wait I still have that don't I"

He pushes his clothes to the side and pulls out a large box with dust all over it, he brings the box outside and dusts it off, then he opens it up revealing a letter brown jacket and some nice blue jeans

"The pants look like they will still fit but as for the leather jacket"

Jacob gives it a quick try and…He can't get it on, it's too small for him

'Now that I think about it how have I not gotten a disease yet, Im seriously lucky'

Liver disease as well as gallstones and other fatty-type problems arise usually from not taking care of yourself properly so in this case he truly is lucky

"Now then time to go into town and get some clothes, come on Coco lets go"

Coco responded with an excited bark and they both proceeded to head to town, the walk from Jacob's home to the town was a couple of minutes away, and for him walking like this was nice. There is a saying that words alone can't describe how good something feels, and in this case that may be true

'that feels nice'

The fresh air, the leaves blocking the sun, the sound of nature, and so forth, while it may not seem like anything significant at first glance, once you take a moment to realize how beautiful It is, the feeling is almost overwhelming in a calming manner.

"And here we are"

As they got there the town itself was quite frankly a run-of-a-mill town, it had all the necessities in terms of general items but that was just it, a town where everyone knew everyone and all the young people wanted to leave to go to the big city, nothing special. Jacob went inside of clothes store that happened to be owned by Aunt Betty, as he walked in he saw that no one was at the register so Coco started barking, then in response, someone's words could be heard in the back

"Coco is that you? One second loves I'm organizing some stuff I'll be out in a second"

After a minute or 2, she came out with a stack of boxes, a quite attractive milf standing around 6'1" with blond hair and light blue eyes, she had a built physique that one would come to expect from a powerlifter, and she definitely looked European

"Now then what can I get yo-"

When she saw Jacob she looked confused

"Oh, New person huh, well we don't get a lot of people coming here from out of places, so I hope you didn't mind my casual talk

Jacob looked at Aunt Betty with a confused face

"Aunt Betty, It's me, Jacob"

"Jacob?"

"Yes Jacob"

She takes a good look at him, then she pulls out her phone and puts the picture of the old him vs the current him

"I'm gonna have to call some bullshit on that love"

Jacob sighed and pulled out his wallet showing a picture of everyone,

"Woah, well I'll be damned…what happened to the homeless man set up"

"Did I really look like a homeless man"

"Look at it this way if I didn't know you I would differentially have thought you were"

"Anyways can we move past that I'm here for a request"

"Ohh that's rare, usually you never ask for stuff, so what's the occasion this time"

"Well to be honest I'm gonn-"

"Gonna accompany Marry to the festival"

"Wait Wait wait, How do you know about that"

"Marry was talking about it while she came here to check up on her dress, which shocked the hell out of me since you know that girl has always been a tomboy, so for her to go out on a date is a miracle"

"We're just going to hang out that's it"

"Love The RoseMarry sisters have had their eyes set on you since you came here"

"Yea, I guess they do…"

Aunt Betty's sees jacobs expressions and changes the subject

"Let's just forget about it, you came to request an outfit right?"

He plops down the box of his old clothes, Betty takes a look at it examining the clothes, then she looks over to Jacob, and back at the clothes

"Not gonna work"

"Wait what, you can't do it?"

"No no I can do it, but"

"But?"

"The problem is time love, it takes me a bit, plus your not the only me who requested a suit change, but maybe"

She drops the clothes and grabs a tape measurer as she proceeds to seize him up, she starts with his upper body and then works around to the rest

"I might have something similar to your build that can work, just need your dimensions"

Betty proceeds to finish up taking measurements and heads to the backroom, after a couple minutes of shuffling and boxes being dropped she comes back with a set of clothes, a black shirt with black pants and a brown sweater

"Try it on in the dressing room"

Just as instructed, Jacob tries on the clothes and looks at himself in the mirror

"Honestly I like it"

"Oye come out so I can see how it is"

Jacob comes out of the changing room and aunt betty looks a bit shocked

"Pretty dang hot"

Jacob couldn't help but laugh a bit,

"That's what Alexandra, Rose, and Tin said as well

"Well to be fair you do look pretty well off"

"Thanks"

"Now then"

Jacob attempts to pull out some cash

"Don't worry about it"

"Huh, but the outfit"

While this is her first appearance Betty is quite the character and often brash in her tone as well as actions, However, she is also wise and kind

"How many times have you offered yourself in order to help others, or how many times have you put others before yourself Jacob, In this cruel world we call life good karma should be rewarded…at least that's what I feel is right"

"I-I Don't know what to say"

The room stays quiet for a bit until Betty yawned loudly

"Don't need to, Now that you got your clothes get the hell out of here, I got work to do as well as spend time with my precious Coco

She picked Coco up and started rubbing her head

"I'll leave her in your care"

With that said Jacob walked out the door, with his heart feeling warmer than ever, even though he never once asked for help he was reminded that people like Betty go out of their way to make sure that he is not forgotten

"Thank you"

Along his way to tins house to get ready, people were greeting him with awe and warm smiles upon the realization of it being Jacob, While people were kind to him before when he helped them out, this time it was not as payback or thanks for what he had done for them, but rather him being here was making there day, the very act of just existing and interacting with them as an individual filled these peoples hearts, like children visiting their grandparents, Jacob being there and talking with them warmed everyone day up

"Look how much you've grown"

"Come play with us sometime big bro"

"Looking sick man"

"Here take some treats for you and Coco"

While this was not a very huge town, it seemed as though everyone came out as soon as they saw that Jacob had appeared, individuals ranging from the children to the adults came to greet this person who rarely came out of his "peace". All throughout this mini get-together people talked to one another, while Jacob was the center of the attention, others chatted amongst themselves, despite this not being the festival people brought out some drinks and food that they were saving for the festival. As people danced and partied for a bit everyone was having a blast due to the appearance of one individual, and before anyone knew it, it was almost time for the festival, and the final people bid him farewell

"Well see you in a bit Jacob"

first was the twins, They were fairly tall standing around 5'7" and both had black hair and a slim build, they had brown eyes as well, and the only way to tell them apart was there braids on their hair, the one who spoke up was Freya with a moon ornament

"I can't wait until tomorrow, it's our first day of university"

Jacob couldn't help but think how crazy that was, so much time had passed since he first met them when they were young

"You guys really have grown up"

The other one wearing a sun ornament spoke up

"Damn straight just wait Jacob until we ace all our classes and get degrees, only then we both will become filthy rich"

Jacob remembered that they would always talk about money when they were young, now they were Highschool seniors who wanted to be doctors and pursue a career path in helping individuals by gaining profit, kind people in their own right, Then there was Loxy, He was an old grey-bearded man who looked around 70 or so, his body was frail as he used a cane to walk around, but despite this, his smile that he showed to others was so full of life

"When the festival is over my boy do you want to go fishing"

The old man was also cunning, each time he would ask him to go fishing but he would decline, now in this situation where Jacob is the most vulnerable, he would finally pay him back for all the things he has done for him by showing him life skills

"Im…"

Jacob looked at the old man whose eyes were full of life, he couldn't help but sigh

"Sure why not"

Loxy smiled and smacked him in the back softly

"That's my boy, you won't regret it, I'm gonna show you how to fish"

With that said he walked up the stairs while the final person who was waiting patiently waited for him, it was a man standing around 5'11", he wore black hair and brown eyes, he was a bit overweight but nothing too bad, as he looked at Jacob he was a bit confused as he never met this man

"Hello"

He slowly approached Jacob which at first put him on guard, he had never met this man and was sure he didn't see him interact with anybody

"Um hi, who are you"

The man stopped and looked at Jacob almost confused, after a moment he realized something

"Ahh my apologies, it seems we haven't met yet, my name is ———"

As he spoke his words they blurred out as though someone bleeped them on purpose, the man continued to speak as though nothing happened

"Anyways, I hope you don't mind me asking, but I'm a bit lost, do you know where RoseCorp is located, I have a meeting with the head of the company"

Jacob looked at the stranger, he did wear a suit and carried a briefcase with him as though he was actually going to the meeting, in that regard, Jacob didn't have any reason to not tell him the directions, so he did

"Its that way above the mountains, through the gravel trail"

The man smiled kindly

"Thank you for your time, and good luck you'll need it"

With that said the man walked as directed, not before leaving Jacob those words that didn't sit well with him, although he didn't seem like a bad individual, something felt off about him, but now was not a time for that. now Jacob was left alone with tins house just in sight, he looked towards it

"I've kept him waiting"

He proceeded to start walking towards it, and as he got closer he couldn't help but notice that not much had changed

"Wow, it's just as I remembered it, How long has it been since I've been here"

"Too long that's for sure"

Just as Jacob is about to open the door, it's opened by none other than Aunt Betty??

"What the fudge balls?!, Aunt betty what are you doing here"

Aunt Betty in her white outfit resembling that of an office worker while also looking stylish speaks,

"Tin asked me out to the festival"

Jacob's mouth opened, and Betty just laughed

"Yea I didn't think the kid had the balls to ask, but, The look in his eyes was serious and determined and…well it's been a while since someone made my heart move a bit "

Aunt Betty was blushing a bit, and Jacob had no comment due to astonishment

"Jacob come in to get ready"

That voice was coming from behind Aunt Betty, it was a familiar voice, he looked behind her to see it was Tin's mother; she had the clothes that Aunt Betty prepared for him. looking at her she had the same characteristics as Tin except her hair was black and she was standing at around 5'9"

"Thank you for having me in your home"

His voice sounded nervous, in response to this Tin's mother just smiled and shook his hand

"It's a pleasure as always to have you here. You look nice, but enough with the flattery the festival is starting soon get ready"

She tosses the clothes to Jacob and ushers him into a room, while that happened Tin's mother pointed her attention to Betty

"You know this is a weird thing to say but if you are gonna do anything with my son, please wear protection"

Betty just stares at tins mother dumbfounded

"You heard me Betty, I barely accepted the fact that my peer from my old school days is going on a date with my son"

Betty and Tin's mom have a history going back to their college days, Betty was known as the hardcore I'll kill you if you look at me the wrong way type of person, while Tin's mom was known as the maiden of the campus due to her kind and gentle nature, but nonetheless they were friends and have a history with one another

"Were just going out to the festival plus I never even had a guy confess to me back in college let alone a boyfriend, what kind of act of lewd women do you take me for

Aunt Betty is visibly flustered and red as she strikes back at tins mother's comments

"An innocent maiden who would go along with my horny milf hunting son's desires"

The 2 of them continue to converse for a bit until Tin's mother sighs and changes the subject, her tone gets a bit soft but remains the same

"Thank you for helping him"

"Helping him?

Tin's mother moves toward the living room and beckons Betty over to sit

"It's been 12 years since he came here, I hope this year is the year he changes"

Upon realizing what she is talking about Aunt Betty looks at the photos hanging on the wall, all of them are of Tin and her family, as well as Jacob included

"Everyone else knows it as well, that's why were all trying our best since Marry gave us an opportunity for change"

Tin's mother lets out a deep sigh and pulls out a pack of cigarettes from a locked drawer, Aunt Betty looks shocked

"Woah, I never thought you would smoke"

Tin's mother lets out a soft chuckle

"Just one in a blue moon isn't bad, Plus both of my sons are growing up way too fast, Tin has always been on the weird side but as long as Jacob was there to support him as an older brother I figured everything would be fine"

Tin's mother takes a puff and continues

"Jacob has always been the more mature one, while it's true that the RoseMarry family has been taking care of him, we've been raising him like he was our own son since he is like a brother to Tin, but it's weird"

Aunt Betty tilts her head

"I've known him since he came here and I don't notice anything weird about him, so how is it weird?"

Tin's mom continues puffing for a bit

"A child in a man's body is how I would describe it, Jacob is pretty intelligent and wise even since he was a kid, when he came here he was calm and composed more like that of an adult, But that's not natural now is it, children shouldn't be like that, It's like he was forced to mature rather than mature naturally with time"

Tin's mother's cigarette is already half-smoked, she collects her thoughts and speaks once more

"Maybe that's why he chooses to stay isolated for the most part, to stay where he is most comfortable rather than go out and experience new and scary things, at least that's what my mother instincts tell me"

"Maybe, I'm not sure what goes on in his head, but one thing I understand for sure is that you shouldn't be smoking these even if once in a blue moon"

Aunt Betty grabs the half-smoked cigarette that tins mother put down and throws it in the thrash, in response to this tins mother just lets out a chuckle and closes her eyes

"You owe me 2 dollars"

"For a half-smoked cigarette?!, your crazy"

"Says the college dropout delinquent"

"I still made a life here didn't I"

"Indeed you did"

Tin's mother and aunt betty couldn't help but laugh a bit together,

"Just like college huh Betty"

"Can't believe we're already adults"

"Time passes by, what else can we say, we did our time"

"Yea our time passed a while ago, hard to believe"

Tin's mother looks at the photo of Jacob, her husband, and Tin hanging on the wall, in this specific photo he can be seen smiling

"But nonetheless he still is like a son to me, I just want him to be happy, just like tin, and my dearest, I wish him the best of luck in the future"

"I guess that would make him my brother-in-law if me and Tin would tie the knot wouldn't it Linda"

Linda looked toward Betty, and just stared at her for a solid minute, aunt betty looked at her nervous and confused, it wasn't until Jacob came out that they both turned their attention to him

"Did something happen?"

Aunt Betty just laughed and tried to change the subject as fast as possible

"We were just getting ready to go isn't that right Linda"

Linda just looked at Betty with her face visually expressing the words are you seriously training to change the topic, but before she can say more aunt betty proceeds to bolt out of the room

"I'll meet you guys at the festival, see ya"

Linda sighs

"Jacob"

"Yea what up"

"They say that actions speak louder than words so I will just say this"

Before Jacob has a chance to reply back in confusion, Linda wraps her arms around Jacob, Jacob was taken back as he instinctively tries to pull away, but after realizing that It's a hug, he slowly allows himself to be hugged

"I love you as my son, even if you aren't my own biological son, even if I don't know anything about your past or any of the hardships you went through, I just want you and your heart to know that we as a family, I love you, my son"

This sudden confession stuns Jacob for a second, for 12 years Tin and Jacob grew up together with the RoseMarry's, and although they provided everything for him tins family treated him like he was one of their sons

"I'm sorry…I don't know what to say"

Jacob is choking on his words, he wants to say something but words aren't coming out properly, but nonetheless, Linda strokes his head and comforts him

"It's alright you don't have to say anything, I know there is a lot going on today, but I just wanted to let you know how your family here cares about you"

She gives a genuine and warm smile that seems to even cure the soul of all its worries, tears start rolling down Jacob's face, how could he not cry when such kindness and warmth was directed at him. Time passes as she continues to rub his head in order to comfort him

"You've done enough you know, its okay for others to help you out, I know I'm rambling a lot but if you ever feel like falling back just remember there are always people right behind you to help you back up"

After what seems like a couple of minutes Jacob manages to clear his tears,

"Thanks…mom"

Although a little surprised Linda can't help but smile a bit,

"It feels a bit weird, but anytime my son, now go have some fun at the festival, oh and here take this"

Linda handed Jacob a present

"It's for Marry"

With all that said and done, Jacob hugged his mother one more time and then proceeded to head to the event that would change his life forever

"Let's do this"

Walking up the stairs, Jacob sees everyone from the town dressed well-mannered and fancy, all the kids in their outfits running up the stairs while their parents call out for them not to run too fast, and then the elderly who Jacob offered to help but they said they were gonna be helped by some of the adults who they are waiting for

"Go on, enjoy yourself, you've earned it"

With each step that Jacob took he could feel his heart beating faster and faster, Everyone for the past 12 years has tried to get him to move forward, and this event would be the tipping stone of what the future would become, just before he reached the summit he stopped

"This is really happening isn't it haha…"

Jacob had almost made it to the top but he was hesitating, his heart was beating abnormally fast and sweat began to run down his face, he was starting to breath heavy, his body felt wobbly, and was about to fall back when he felt someone hold him up

"Don't stop here not while this is our only chance"

In an unfamiliar voice he didn't recognize something spoke to him, but when he looked back there was no one behind him

"Did I just?...I-No deep breaths"

Jacob wipes the sweat off his head, after taking deep breaths he composes himself, he takes another step as he walks up and sees everyone living, some individuals buying stuff from the booths, some having competition with one another, some kids roughhousing, everything doing different things, but the clear constant is that everyone is genuinely at peace with one another in this moment, they're happy

"There he is, Come on Jacob over here"

As Jacob gets closer he realizes It was Marry, tin, aunt betty, and Alexandra, Tin was wearing a silver leather jacket with a black shirt as well as jeans to match it, as for marry she was wearing a white almost long dress with blue shoes, and so was Alexandra except it was all red

"What do you think about my outfit"

Jacob looked at Marry, admiring her dress and all the beauty that came with

"Tin who is this, this couldn't possibly be Marry, she looks too feminine compared to Marry who is more like a masculine guerrill-"

In that moment Marry prepares her fist and twists her body inward to hit Jacob in the stomach,

"Ughhh, What the hell marry you trying to murder me"

Marry proceeded to prepare multiple other strikes trying to hit jacobs body while he desperately tried to block them

"Not feminine enough my ass, you sure are lively guy, let me hit you some more maybe a couple of times yea, just like a masculine guerrilla would"

Marry proceeded to get a couple more hits in before aunt betty managed to wrangle her back

"Hits like one too"

He couldn't help but laugh a bit, Just a while ago Jacob was having a panic attack and here he is now laughing and teasing like nothing happened, that was the sense of comfort that Marry brought to him as an individual, it didn't matter the situation whether good or bad, just having her by his side made things all the more calmer

"He must have a death wish with how much he is enjoying teasing me, let me at him aunt betty"

After getting up suddenly Jacob grabs tins hand and places it on aunt Bettys, then without saying anything else he grabs Marry's hand and proceeds to head to some of the other booths

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

Aunt Betty and Tin look at one another in confusion until tins phone dings, he checks his phone to see a message from Jacob

[Have fun be back later]

Jacob continues to hold onto Marry while he navigates around the booths, Marry is confused but a bit flustered as well, it takes her a moment to muster some courage to speak up

"Hey Jacob, what are we doing?"

Her voice compared to her loud and usually energetic tone sounds weak, and after a moment Jacob realizes the situation he put himself in and lets go

"Oh sorry about that, I got caught up in the moment and Tin suggested we split up to enjoy ourselves more"

That was a bit of a lie, Tin never did mention that, but at this moment this is the best explanation that Jacob could come up with for what he did

"Your acting a bit weird Jacob you okay"

This was true, Jacob was usually a supportive person who didn't take the initiative in situations, but for some reason, he felt like he should, he felt excited to move forward

"Let's try this gun booth"

Ignoring Marry's comment Jacob ushers her to the gun booth, the game is simple you have to shoot some items knocking them over to win

"Pretty simple, I'm gonna try to win a prize"

The idea of shooting some prizes to win was more than enough to drop the current conversation for Marry, it was shooting time

"Just like how you won when we were little"

Her chuckle turns into a laugh as she continued her tease on him

"You say that like we weren't kids"

"I was a kid, while you were what 13 at the time, a teenager who couldn't handle a toy gun"

"Your talking a lot of smack over there, Is this a challenge a hear"

"I don't know can you handle the heat"

"Your on"

Jacob with a smug and confident face raises his fist

"Boss 2 tries for the gun"

The middle-aged bald man takes the money from Jacob and proceeds to load up the gun with 2 pallets

"Alright here I go"

Jacob aims the plastic rifle at the ninmendo mint, he lines up his shoot and misses, Jacob looks dumbfounded

"So much for a challenge"

Marry just stares at him with a smug face

"That was a fluke, just one more try"

Jacob proceeds to repeat the process, he lines up his shoot, feels the wind with his hand, and then shoots, but he misses again, this time marry smug face turns into excitement at the fact that if she wins this nimendo mint she can rub it in his face

"Boss 1 try please"

The booth guy proceeds to load in 1 pallet, Marry takes aim and after just one swift movement she shoots down the nimendo mint, Jacob as well as the booth man fill with awe as they were both definitely not expecting Marry to succeed

"Hey boss bring down the game I won"

The booth guy proceeds to look over his equipment with a shocked face

"Boss my prize now"

Marry raised her voice a bit when the guy continued to just make excuses while examining his setup, as he looked at her again to make another excuse he saw that her happy demeanor turned into a cold one, it felt as though she stared straight into soul saying

'If you don't give it to me now I will get it'

The guy rushes to bring it down

"Here just get out of here no more tries"

With the booth man urging them away Marry examines her new Nimendo Mint, but most importantly she smiles when she sees Jacob half salty face, the face of a person who just lost the chance for this new gaming system

"Don't worry salty man, I'll let you game with me later if you compliment me on how good I was playing that booth"

"I don't know what your talking about"

Marry shoves the nimendo mint in jacobs face

"You don't know what I'm talking about huhhhhh"

Jacob couldn't help but smile as he took the Mintendo from marry

"Thanks for the gift, I'll make sure to never return it haha"

Marry couldn't help but smirk

"Wow look at you, finally going out for once and you turn into an evil ass villain"

"What can I say my true nature always wants more, and that includes your new gaming system"

The both of them continue to laugh and joke around as they go to different booths, they played a variety of different games and got many different foods, sadly for him Jacob was having to help carry them all

"Oh Jacob I almost forgot to mention, wheres my birthday present"

"Birthday present?...oh that's right, I almost forgot it's your birthday today, you greedy dragon"

"Hehe, I literally just told you in the morning how do you always forget this stuff"

"I didn't forget"

"You just told me you did"

"Did I"

Jacob couldn't help but smirk, for him teasing Marry like this was fun especially when she did it to him all the time, a guilty little pleasure so to speak, then he pulled out her wrapped gift

"Here your present, Happy birthday Marry BloodMarry"

Jacob pulled out a small rectangle-shaped present that Linda had given him, and Marry's eyes were entranced by it, she opened it up only to see a golden necklace with a portrait of Jacob, Marry, Rose, Tin, Alexandra and everyone else that marry held dear

"Wow, I um-yea just wow, Honestly wasn't expecting this, just wanted to mess with you but…um thank you for real"

As she took a closer look at it she realized something about it

"Jacob this is my mothers, how did you get my mother's necklace, and this photo I thought you didn't collect photos"

Jacob didn't respond, he was astonished as well, after all, it was Linda that helped prepare it for him

"Jacob?"

"Oh sorry, well to be honest Mom gave me the present"

"Mom?"

"Oh I mean Linda, she helped me with that"

Marry just looked at Jacob, while it wasn't clear to Jacob what she was thinking about she looked happy, and in Marry's mind she was happy, happy to receive such a gift from him, but most importantly she was happy that he was moving forward with his life, happy that he had individuals who also loved him, no matter how many times she thought about it, she was happy for him. Jacob looked at her with a confused expression but remembered something about the necklace

"It's a good luck charm I've been told, and the necklace says some writing in the back but I can't understand it, any ideas?"

Jacob flips the photo locket over with the inscription saying 'lycka till tiger jag vill ha barnbarn', and Marry just stares blankly at it

"So what does it say?"

"Wow, Mom had future plans"

"What does that mean"

"So anyway Put it on me won't you"

"But what does it-"

"Put…It…On…Won't you Jacob"

When he looks at her Marry has that face of drop the subject and help

"Weird but alright"

Jacob complies and puts the necklace on her, and her already beautiful appearance seems to shine more with the golden photo lock

"How does it look"

Marry in this moment looked beautiful, Jacob for the most part saw Marry more like a junior he was in charge of, but in this moment Marry looked like a proper woman rather than her normal tomboyish self

"You look good…yea beautiful to be honest"

Marry was a bit flustered, but her eyes did not divert from Jacob,

"Hey Jacob"

"What's up?

Marry got closer to Jacob, although everyone was running about and the festival was loud, in this moment they felt that time was frozen

"You know already don't you"

"Know what?"

Marry softly punched Jacob, she spoke in a soft manner

"Don't be a ass, You know I…I like you"

Her face turned a bit red as she borrowed into his chest

"Yea I know, but I-"

"Still have feelings for sis I know…"

Her voice faltered as she said those words, then her voice got even softer with the next ones

"...And you See me as your little sister…"

Jacob upon hearing this was shocked, sure he never advanced on any of their invitations but still, Jacob never told anyone about his past relationship with Rose and how he viewed marry

"How did you-"

Jacob could feel Marry grip him tighter

"I saw your journals when I was cleaning with you"

"I see"

"Mhm"

Jacob looked at Marry, she was 20 years old and at this point, a full-grown woman, she was no longer that little girl he had known all those years ago, he knew this, this was an undeniable fact, yet he kept telling himself that she was like a little sister to him,

"Do you hate me for that"

"I…I don't think so"

"Mk"

"..."

Neither one knew what to say in a situation like this, Jacob himself couldn't sort out his own feelings, in his mind she was wasting her time on a dead man

"Hey Jacob"

"Y-yes marry what's up"

"Would you dance with me"

"I don't know how to dance"

"Ptff, Liar"

Marry grabbed Jacob by the hand and brought him to the center of the festival plaza where the giant cherry blossom tree resigns, a change of pace to help brighten the mood would be best she thought, as they stood in the center everyone else notices the both of them, all eyes laid on them as they watched in curiosity as to what was going on

"Marry really I don't know"

"Then follow my lead smarty pants"

Marry puts jacobs hand on her back and then places hers over his neck, they follow a simple rhythm dance of 1,2,3, from right to left and from left to right, slowly at first they dance side to side as everyone can see them develop into a Walt Disney style type dance

"Didn't know how to dance huh"

"I still don't"

"I guess that just proves how good of a teacher I really am"

Marry face is full of pride, but it's also a bit flustered from the looks of it, despite that she continues leading Jacob in this simple dance rhythm, as that happens everyone starts cheering them on, some people even start to join in, it starts turning into a dance session with people following Marry's lead, and before you know it Marry and Jacob are in the center of a decent amount of individuals dancing. Step after step, movement after movement they got closer as well as better

"I should be a dance teacher"

"Yea you should"

"Don't agree with me"

"What?"

"You heard me, I don't like how sudden you agree with me, it feels creepy"

"I'm complimenting you women"

"Haha"

Marry just laughed, she was enjoying herself and that's all that mattered, they danced for a bit more until they both got tired and had to sit on some nearby tables

"Man I'm beat"

"Your out of shape that's what's up"

"At least I-"

Jacob's phone rings interrupting them, he looks at it with the name saying "Don't answer"

"It's rose"

"Sis?, Huh I wonder what she wants"

Jacob instead of answering it just slides the decline options,

"Huh?"

"What?"

"I mean my sis was calling you"

"Yea I know, I didn't want to answer it"

The 2 of them stood staring at each other for a hot minute until Marry started strangling Jacob for being so insensitive, (in a non-life-threatening way), after that she called her on her own phone, it rang, after a moment she picked up

"Sis what's up…nothing much…mhm…yea he is right here with me…yea…we're located in the center plaza…why?...Even Alexandra and Tin?...Weird but okay I'll go get them…Yea…yea…but what about the festival?...Ohh okay…yea I'll tell him…weird for you to say that but…Love you too sis"

Marry hangs up and sighs

"Sis got some stuff she needs help moving"

"Moving stuff?, doesn't she have a whole corporation of employees who can help?"

"Yea but, she gave them the day off because of the festival, helps show appreciation for all their hard work"

"They don't even go to the festival"

"Don't shoot the messenger, and um oh she told me to tell you to meet her up the hill"

"What for"

"Said we were gonna watch the stars, had a picnic supply ready to be set up and she needed you to set it up"

"That's pretty weird but okay"

"Don't look at me man I'm not my sis"

"No you're more of a monke-"

Marry just before Jacob could finish his sentence hits him in the stomach causing Jacob to bend over in pain

"Like a monkey huh"

"Ughhh and hits like one too"

Jacob after a moment managed to get back up, but instead of getting another fistful he looks up to see Marry looking lost in thought while staring at the sky, all the stars and beautiful vast expansion of space in clear view"

"wha-"

"Hey Jacob"

"Give me a sec you really knocked the wi-"

Marry doesn't even allow Jacob to finish his sentence and just continues talking

"do you hate us for bringing you with us"

This question completely caught Jacob by surprise, Marry usually isn't the type to think this sort of way, she is the type to just go with the flow, he looked at her her serious demeanor, and he knew that there was no getting out of this one, but still Jacob habits of trying to dodge the question kicks in

"Dude I told you it's for your birthday, I don't mind go-"

"But do you?, you know I don't want to ruin the moment. Honestly, I'm even a bit scared to bring up the topic cause I feel like this happy day will fall apart if I do…but, I want to ask, are you forcing yourself to be like this or are you choosing to move forward with us?

As stated before numerous times, Jacob is the type of individual who doesn't want to get hurt, who doesn't like the idea of leaving his comfort zone, someone who is scared of being hurt in some way shape, or form, that is the type of guy he is, so the question that Marry is asking is a direct challenge to the current Jacob that stands before her, will he move forward or stay back

"I…"

This was the moment that would change jacobs life forever, a simple yes or no answer will decide the next chapter in his life, his heart started to speed up, and the thoughts of everything that could go bad rushed into his mind, it would have overwhelmed him if not for the girl in front of him who pressed her hand onto his, the moment her hand touched his the static of worry vanished, all that was left was her

"I'm here for you Jacob don't worry"

With her words of reassurance his answer stood firm, he spoke

"I'll try to move forward, I'll accept it all"

Those were the words that Marry wanted to hear the most, sure she wished for a yes or no from him, but in his current position, this answer was more than what she could have asked for,

"Jacob, thank you"

Marry with a heartfelt smile and a bit of tears that started to roll down her face continued to thank Jacob for allowing her to help him, Jacob as a individual was the helper of the town, he would assist everyone with their needs, he would go out of there way to help those who truly needed the assistance, he was a kind soul in that regard, that is what made Marry want to support him, the warmth in jacobs heart is what Marry came to love about him, and it is what made marry want to kiss him

"I like you Jacob Gonzales Thomsan, I just wanted you to know that"

"..."

Before he had a chance to respond back Marry tippee tode up to Jacob kissing him, it felt like an innocent kiss, her lips were soft as well as warm, and this feeling of warmth permeated Jacob's very soul, it felt kind.

"Mhh?"

Jacob didn't know how to react, but he slowly but surely returned the soft kiss, just as quickly as the feeling appeared it left when she parted her lips from his, her face was completely red

"rough"

she stood there looking down as Jacob himself found it hard to even respond to the situation that just happened, it stood like that for a bit until Marry broke the silence

"I got to go help everyone, Don't forget what you said you would do"

Without missing a beat Marry hurried in the direction of where rose needed help moving some stuff, leaving Jacob to stand there

"I just…"

Jacob still didn't move, he just put his fingers on his lips,

"Cherry lipstick, I um-yea I need to go as well"

Jacob although still focused on the feeling of her lips, slowly starts walking towards the path to the hill, once again he can't help but remember the faces of all those individuals when he first came here, all the memories he had of them filled him with even more warmth as Jacob walked

"Is this what happiness feels like, to be loved…"

This warm feeling that he was scared of getting involved with, why was he scared he thought to himself. This love as well as connection he had with everyone here made him feel whole, as he walked up the hill toward where Rose was he couldn't help but feel happy that he was moving forward

"haha"

Each step Jacob took felt like old burdens falling out and before he realized it he was halfway up the hill, he stared at the stars as well as the night sky with all the planets in orbit, taking a moment to look at the beauty the universe had to offer, but the most beautiful thing that took his mind was how clear everything felt, the world looked so much more beautiful to the point where he wondered whether or not he was dreaming

"woahh"

Jacob danced as he walked up the hill, he allowed his body to be lose as he felt this warm feeling enter his soul, it was truly freedom from one's own heart, however when one allows happiness inside of one's heart, it also allows the feelings of regret as well as devastation inside, when that love is hurt or taken away pain is all there is to offer. Jacob with each step up the hill thought back to all there encounters with his friends/loved ones, all the good as well as bad times they had he thought about them all, they were his memories that taught him the value of life, and it is because of those same memories that Jacob will suffer because of what he saw in the distance

"What the hell"

Jacob saw something in the distance, a purple color of light falling through the sky, it was far away so Jacob thought maybe he was hallucinating, but after whipping his eyes he definitely saw it, it slowly but surely fell down from the sky until the moment it touched the earth, a massive crater explosion took place, the impact from the purple light onto the earth sent a shockwave rippling throughout the wind even causing Jacob to roll down the hill despite blast being very very far away

"ahh?!"

Jacob was sent flying backward down the hill, as he tried to get up he thought about whatever that was, perhaps a meteorite? but no it wouldn't be purple, maybe a satellite or something that fell?!, but that couldn't be possible the area would have been evacuated, his thoughts were interrupted when he saw something that horrified him, something that sent shivers down his spine, there was more of them falling, more of those lights and some of them were falling closer, he froze up, he wasn't sure what he to think, but his thought was interrupted once again as more lights fell, each one causing a ripple of shock waves knocking Jacob back down even more with cuts and burns all throughout his body, Jacob at this point wanted to run for cover, but one thing popped into his mind and that was rose was still up this hill

"Rose!"

Despite his body telling him to run, or his flight or fight response urging him to flee, he thought about Rose and couldn't abound her, he finally was gonna move forward, he was done living in the past, if he could just get to rose he felt that everything would be alright somehow

"Rose! Rose!!"

He forced himself up the hill as he kept calling out her name each time louder and louder, more shockwaves were felt getting stronger, and when he looked up he could see as many as 24 or so purple lights falling from orbit onto the earth, Jacob almost felt his mind revert to the flight or fight sensation as the realization hit him, he might die. but he still wanted to get to Rose, he was almost up the hill, he was almost to her, and then he was, When he got up the hill he saw her Standing on it, she was looking out towards the craters not even moving one centimeter despite the horrifying event in front of her

"Rose!!!, Rose I don't know what the hell is going on but we need to find everyone and get to shelter"

There were explosions as far the eye could see from the impact of many debris falling from outer space into the earth, it looked like the world was ending, but despite all that chaos Rose did not move

"Rose What are you doing?! We got to move now!"

"It's too late we can't escape anymore"

"What are you saying, shits falling down from the sky, It's still far away we have time we can move"

Jacob tries to pull Rose by the hand but she doesn't budge, Jacob's body is feeling weak due to his wounds

"Everyone else is safe I made sure of that, there being evacuated as we speak"

"Evacuated?!, the world literally is falling apart, even if you are the CEO of a company, how is that gonna help us get out of this situation!?!"

Rose turned away from Jacob facing what could only be described as the apocalypse as meteorite-like objects fell from the sky, giant craters of explosions taking place outside of the planet

"How indeed"

"Rose! Let's move come on!!"

Once again instead of running she just looks at Jacob, then she looks at the many wounds he suffered from coming up here, then she puts her arms around him, her expression not one of fear or worriment but rather sadness

"I won't be able to go with you"

"What what do you mean?"

"I…maybe it's better for me just to say this"

Although the world was quite literally ending, In this moment jacobs undivided attention is on this one girl

"I know that I'm not the best person, my personality is pretty bad and I'm not the easiest to get along with when it comes to opening up my true feelings"

As she spoke tears begin to roll down Rose's face

"That my affection towards you has been entirely one-sided, that every time I was at my lowest you had to take care of me, I could name a bunch of other things but we don't have the time for that sadly, time has always been our problem now that I think about it"

Rose chuckled as even more tears slid down her face

"But most importantly, even If I did not manage to help soothe the pain in your heart from your past, just knowing the fact that you and I were at each other's side was enough for me"

"Rose please stop we ca-"

Rose put her finger on jacobs mouth, and Jacob saw that purple color in Rose's eyes

"Thank you, and I love you Jacob Gonzales Thomsan, I love your goofiness, I love your weird habits especially when you take a double take to make sure everyone is doing well, I love your terrible dad jokes, and I could name a million other things why I think your the best guy I've ever known"

Looking at roses face she was smiling while tears ran down her face, and her voice was cracking

"I know things are gonna be tough, but I know you can get through it all, after all, it's your perfect imperfections that are your strong points…It's what I love most about you, your humanity"

"Rose-"

Just before Jacob could respond to Rose's feeling she kissed him, and with that kiss Jacob could see a huge ship that looked like of battleship falling from the sky, any other person's instinct would be to run but with Rose's kiss he felt oddly at peace, at least he got to be with her before the world ended in that regard, but before Jacob could witness the end his consciousness slowly fell into a slumber, rose held onto his body saying only one thing

"Goodbye"