time lost at sea [jayden]

Vivienne Awning was alone. It was a very odd feeling. After being trapped in a dome for months without contact with her family or her boyfriend, then being free for the whole summer with some of those people, but without the others was strikingly odd. She was single? After almost two years of being in a relationship, she wasn’t. Everything had been too hard, too complicated to deal with, and Jayden and broken it off. At first, after the year she’d had, it’d been nothing. She’d walked in a fugue, unfeeling of anything. Then when she’d been with her grandfather on his ship, trying to wash away her pain, she’d broken down. Everything had hurt. She’d never felt so bereft, and alone.

But the sun and wind had washed those feelings down to a buzz, and she’d kept herself busy. She’d focused on learning as much as she could from her family. She drowned herself in her family, trying to push every outside force away, And it helped. She’d never felt like so much of herself, and so connected to her brothers and her parents. But whatever happiness she may have felt, was still marred with confusion. Maybe its because Jayden had been the first person that she fathomed she’d been in love with that it hurt the most. She hadn’t had much of an explanation or reasoning, so she found herself wanting, needing answers.

Jayden had sent her a note stating he was back from Spain, and he wanted to see her. He’d wanted to talk. At first she wanted to say no, but her curiosity and anger got the better of her. Vivienne had wanted to know what had made him abandon her when she needed him the most, when she’d felt alone and vulnerable. So she’d give him the chance to explain himself, and decide if she wanted to forgive him. At the moment she wasn’t apt to.

That was why she was in Hogsmeade, dressed casually, but to the nines. Her hair was pulled up into a elegant updo, strands curling around her face. Her makeup was lightly applied, enhancing the depth of her eyecolour. If she was going to be in his presence, he was going to see what he was missing. She sat on the bench she had told him she’d meet him at, and spread her dress to cover her legs. She was ready for battle, as it was. She looked up when there was a shadow over her and arched a brow.

“Jayden.” She began pleasantly, head tilted. “You look tanned.”

@Jay Dunne

He had to lose her, it had been told to him. Vi made him weak because he loved her and where he had to go the love would be ripped from his body. He let her go to keep that portion of himself intact and now he wanted it back. He needed to tell her everything, all that had change while he was in Spain. He walked the familiar streets of Hogsmeade, his black on black ensemble was simply pulled together by bright blue suspenders and shoestrings.

He waited outside for a moment thinking of their last moments together as he tied the Boxer to a pole. He’d come out with Ragon . “Lay.” The dog dropped quickly, wagging it’s black nubbed tail frantically. “Stay, Ragon. You might get cuddles from Vi if she doesn’t kill me first.” With that he turned to walk inside as someone exiting held the door for him. There she was sitting in their spot, hair pulled up and a vision of everything he’d lost. He didn’t move at first, just traced the line of her straight nose and those full lips. He took in her small frame, of what he could see without the table blocking him.

Jay moved to cross the distance in what seemed like three long strides. Jayden. He was Jayden now? Damn, he’d really muked this up. He slide into the chair across from her, lifting a tattooed hand to run over his freshly cut hair. “Ragon is outside.” Maybe it would make her a bit kinder, he’d brought her favorite after all. “Vi…” He started. Jayden, he thought again. “…I’m sorry about the way thing between us ended.” Jayden, echoed in his head. “I could have handled things better…” Jayden, broke his heart. “Spain was going to destroy us and I couldn’t let that happen.” Jayden, had hurt her and he would never forgive himself.

Jayden hadn’t changed. He still loomed tall over her, still looked imposing. She could see the tenseness around his eyes, and while some part of her wanted to rub it away, but the other part of her knew that it wasn’t her place. He began to apologize, and while she appreciated it, she needed to know why. She stood slowly, smoothing her dress out, and walked over to where he was sitting. She stared at him, brow arched, as if she was trying to dissect him from her gaze alone. She wanted to know, she wanted him to tell her everything. “If Ragon is outside, we must go gather him.” She said softly, arching a brow. “Maybe we can take a walk.”

She then walked outside of the venue, and spotted the dog seated by the pole. As if he’d smelled her coming his way, he was yipping and pulling frantically to get towards her. “Ragon. Sit.” She commanded sternly, watching as the dog sat on his bottom, but he kept frantically wiggling in her direction. She’d missed Jayden, but she’d also missed his dogs. Her hand gently petted the excited pup and he pressed against her thigh. “Such a good boy.” She cooed, looking up when her sun was shadowed again.

Vivi looked into Jayden’s intensely coloured eyes, she gently unwrapped the leash, and began to walk, expecting Jayden to follow her. “We will walk, and we we talk. And you will explain this Spain nonsense, and why you left me in the dark.” She ordered calmly, peering at him. “Begin please.”

When she stood his blue gaze followed her, tracing along the curves of her dress before he met her eyes. Eyes that tore apart his soul it would see for the answers he was afraid to give. “A walk would be really nice.”  He watched her leave out and he sat there for a moment. She didn’t seem too mad at him but the day was still young. Inked hands rested on the table to push his body up, standing slowly. He glanced around before he strolled to walk out the door.

He smiled as he watched Ragon. He’d always loved Vi the most. He sat on command but he was too excited to sit still. He look up as a man shuffled along the street, tripping and dropping his food out on the concrete in front of him. The tuberware popped open and the contents spilled out onto the ground. Jay shook his head, shame that chicken actually looked like it might have been good. His blue eyes drifted back to Vi before he stepped over to her. His gaze drifted to Ragon as he was untied from the pole.

It took him a moment but he followed after, unclipping his hate from his short to put atop his head, snapping it in place, before pulling the rim all the way down over his eyes. He gave a nod as she told him to begin and he did just that. “I got into trouble right after I got out of school and my mom got upset. Like mad enough to kick me out upset.” He looked at her. “Do you remember how my mom and dad got together?” He’d told her once of how her mother had been meant to kill his father. Of her former profession and how she started her protection agency. He’d told Vi about his father’s really identity.

He told her everything and so he continued on. “She said I would have to go to Spain, where she’d learned her training because I needed discipline. She said I needed structure…” And he did, Spain had done him good. It had done excellent things for him

"I do recall how your parents got together, yes." She pursed her lips, thinking about it. At first, the outlandish story that Jayden had told her had sounded like a lie. Like something that he'd made up to make him seem like he was bigger and badder than he already was. But it had been explained, and she'd been shown that everything that Jay had said to her was the truth. And while she felt bad for thinking it at the time, now she was irritated that his parents past was affecting his future. "What did you do to get in trouble? Your mother doesn't react in the extremes, so it must have been something horrible for her to want to kick you out. Especially after last year and Kerrigan being hurt."

Vivienne wrinkled her nose. "Discipline? You are a Regan. If you are unable to learn from your family here, what made her think that sending you away made sense? I don't understand." And Vivi hated not understanding. Especially this. Right now, Vivienne was angry. She wasn't sure what Jay could have done to get himself in this situation, but she was angry about how everyone reacted. His mother by taking him away from her when she'd needed him the most. Him by allowing himself to be taken away from her, and not even communicating to her? Dumbass.

Ragon continued to walk ahead of him, butt wiggling as he kept looking back over his shoulder at them, excited to be walking with them together. At least someone had some common sense. They continued to walk along the cobbled streets, as Vivi tried to gather her thoughts. She was at a loss, and nothing Jayden was saying made sense to her. He had to come with something better.

He took a deep breath as he prepared himself for the story of how he had truly failed at life. IT was hard to gather the points in which he had made the wrong choices that had finally sent his mother over the edge, but he knew the one day that everything had changed. Relle had come to him in tears and all logic had gone out of the window and Jay simply reacted. “I let my temper get the best of me.” After hearing of her assault some years ago to know that a man was foolish enough to lay a hand on his sister was beyond him. Not because Amarelle, much like her mother, had several bodies attached to her name but because he had been clear about the consequences of hurting someone he cared about.

“I know Relle can handle herself but as her brother…” He began but paused, “No man should ever put their hands on her.” He said finally, and his temper showed itself for the first time since that day with the balling of his fists, the ink on his knuckles appearing faded as the skin stretched tight. “Let’s just say that my reaction was extreme.” His gaze dropped to his hands as his long fingers stretched flat and he sighed, “My mother didn’t like that I had been so careless in my actions…so she sent word to have me trained in Spain.” He didn't know how to farther explain and his mind wasn't gathering the thoughts like he hoped it would.

Was it a drastic change, yes, but he could understand. His work had been sloppy and if his mother had to weigh in it had been rushed as well. He had no training and only his anger had fueled him as he stained his hands with the blood of someone else. The images still haunted him, but they affected him less. “I know I should have handled things with us differently. I get why you're mad and if I could go back there would have been way more grace in my actions.” Or at least he hoped so, “I’m here now so we can work on things.” They had to rebuild and he knew some if not most of that was because he had been reckless. He was always reckless, it was simply who he was.

“I mean if you want to.” No pressure because before anything he was her best friend and she was his.