Chapter Text
Jax stared at the wall in silence, letting the darkness of his room envelope him as he laid in bed. He wasn't sure how long it had been since the award ceremony, figuring it must have been a day or two at least, but he still felt physically and emotionally drained. He had gone straight to his room when they all got back to the circus, ignoring any attempts from Pomni to talk to him about the fight from that day, and hadn't so much as peeked outside since. He knew he was pushing his luck staying in his room so long, with Caine not taking kindly to anyone skipping out on the circus' "amazingly beautiful handcrafted scenery and activities" as the AI would put it. Even with that knowledge, though, he opted to risk it anyway, finding it better than having to deal with whatever may come next with the jester. He knew it was about time he did get up, though. He had been laying in bed so long that his legs had actually gone numb from lack of use. With a sigh, he sat up and stretched his limbs, his joints popping as he finally moved for the first time in quite awhile.
Hopping to his feet, he slowly trudged his way to the door, rubbing his face in his hands to wipe away any signs of his depressed state. Taking a deep breath and pulling a mischievous smile onto his face, he pushed his door open with his usual flair and stepped out into the hallway, the florescent lights from above only making the forced expression harder to keep as his eyes adjusted. He rested his hands on his hips as he began to head down the hall, pushing down any lingering negative emotions and focusing his mind on how he should spend the day. As much as he wanted to jump back into pranks and harassing the others, the lack of energy in his system left him wanting to avoid them more than anything. A feeling in his gut, however, told him this wasn't going to be as easy as he hoped. He had only made it a couple of steps when a cheerful chess piece popped his head into view, seeming to have just appeared behind the rabbit out of nowhere and confirmed his worries in mere seconds. "Hello, Jax!" Kinger said excitedly, making him jump at the sudden appearance.
"Where did you even come from?" He asked as he clutched his chest, shooting a glare at the older man.
"Oh, I was just around." Kinger dismissed as he and Jax continued walking down the hall, "Say, would you like to help me catalogue the new additions to my insect collection? I believe I found a new type of millipede and-"
"Let me just save you the trouble and say no, I don't want to do that." He interrupted, a clear annoyance on his face.
"O-oh, are you sure?" The chess piece asked, his face falling slightly, "We haven't spent much time together lately, and I thought-"
"I like to keep it that way, Gramps." Jax interrupted once more, "I'm sure we'll get paired off on an adventure at some point, so save the rambling for then." He continued walking as Kinger stopped following, a sad look on his face as he watched the rabbit walk away.
"Well... I'll see you later, then!" Kinger called after him, though he got no response in return.
Jax made his way into the main circus area, quietly ruminating on his thoughts as he tried to keep his grin from falling. He was on the fence about what he wanted to do before, but just a brief interaction with Kinger had solidified his desire to just keep to himself for the day while he waited for his energy to return. He headed towards the small lounge area, hopping over the back of the couch and fishing a magazine out from between the cushions. He began to flip through the pages, letting his brain turn off as he mindlessly stared at the articles on the page. "Hey, Jax." Pomni said, snapping his mind back to reality as he glanced up from the magazine. He was met with the sight of the jester fidgeting nervously in front of him, with Ragatha standing nearby with a strained, yet friendly smile.
"...Hi?" He replied suspiciously, raising an eyebrow at the pair.
"Me and Ragatha were gonna take a walk around the grounds and, uh, we wanted to know if you wanted to join us." The jester said, an awkward smile on her face.
"Do I want to third wheel your dumb little walk?" Jax posited with a curt laugh, "Surprisingly, no." He attempted to turn his attention back to his magazine, though the feeling of the pairs eyes boring into him made it impossible to ignore them.
"W-we don't have to take a walk." Ragatha suggested quickly, "We could... check out the lake! Or, uh, just hang out and chat."
"We just want to make sure you're, y'know, feeling included and stuff." Pomni added with an awkward smile.
"Alright, guess reading isn't an option." He mumbled as he rolled his eyes and stood up, tossing the magazine to the side as he started to walk away, "I need a drink." He heard a pair of footsteps begin to follow him, pausing and glancing back, only to find both Pomni and Ragatha were matching stride with him, with small, hopeful smiles on their faces. "Oh, I thought I made myself clear." He began as his smile finally fell into an annoyed grimace, "Let me try again... leave me alone." He glared at them as he continued moving, thankful that they didn't follow. Instead their faces fell and they soon turned and began to talk about something he couldn't make out, though he'd be lying if he said he cared at all.
He silently made his way through the circus, his smile refusing to return as his day was sufficiently ruined in a matter of minutes. Kinger was one thing, but both Pomni and Ragatha trying to include him in their stupid activities was just plain weird. A mixture of annoyance and uncomfortableness settled in his stomach from the interactions, hoping he could avoid anyone else for the rest of the day, or at the very least run into someone who would at least treat him like normal. He quickly made his way to the small kitchen nestled in the circus, relaxing slightly as he saw the one person he could be sure wouldn't be weird to him.
"Well, if it isn't everyone's favorite jigsaw puzzle." He said, earning a small glare from Zooble in response as they leaned against the counter, a can of soda in their hand.
"What do you want, Jax?" They asked, though he was almost positive the question was rhetorical.
That wasn't going to stop him from answering, though.
"What, I'm not allowed to use community spaces?" He asked, smiling wide as he slipped past them and began to look through the cupboards, "If you must know, I'm thirsty. Figured I'd get a drink before I ruin everyone's day again." He searched the cupboard thoroughly, figuring he could annoy Zooble if he took an unnecessary amount of time deciding on which cup to use, even though they all looked the same. In his peripheral vision, he saw Zooble moving about, only for their hand to shoot towards him and make him flinch and brace himself in response. He was waiting for their fist to collide with him, only for no pain to come, much to his confusion.
"The @^#% was that about?" Zooble asked, raising an eyebrow at him. He looked towards them and found a can of soda in the hand extended towards him, seemingly offering the beverage to him.
"I... thought you were going to hit me." He admitted as he hesitantly took the drink from them, cracking it open and taking a quick sip.
"Do I have a reason to?" They asked, making the rabbit pause and eye them suspiciously.
"Don't you hate me?" He asked as he set the drink down, "I half expected you to leave as soon as I showed up."
They shrugged as they took another drink from their own can of soda, only adding to the rabbit's confusion. "As of now, you haven't given me anything to be mad about." They glanced towards him, an amused look crossing their face at his incredulous expression, "Knowing you, though, that can change at any moment."
"Did you just... joke with me?" He asked in confusion.
"What, just because you're a jerk means I can't be civil?" They asked, earning a glare from him in response. His confusion was quickly being replaced by anger the longer... whatever this was went on. Zooble was supposed to be all grumpy and hate him. This almost sibling like banter wasn't just weird, it was plain wrong.
"Whatever this is, I hate it." He sneered, "Stop doing this."
"Doing what?" They asked, only making him grit his teeth harder.
"This... nice person routine!" He accused, "Since when did you say anything to me that wasn't half censored?"
"Whatever, man." They dismissed as they rolled their eyes, "If you're done being weird, me and Gangle were gonna hang out and draw later, and you're free to join if you want to be not terrible for once." They left the kitchen soon after, leaving Jax alone once more.
Annoyance and confusion clouded his mind, finding the continued odd behavior from everyone almost patronizing, like they were mocking him. No one was acting like they were supposed to, and it was really starting to get on his nerves. He had wanted to spend the day alone, maybe annoy someone if he had the opportunity, but now they were tiptoeing around him like he was about to have a breakdown and-
"Oh, she wouldn't dare." He growled as realization dawned on him, clenching his fists as he left the kitchen. He marched through the circus, ready to snap at the first sight of Pomni. He was almost positive she had said something to everyone, but he couldn't be certain without a confession. Not that a lack of one was going to stop him. As he made his way back to the lounge area, he found that Pomni and Ragatha had left to do whatever it was they decided on, and Gangle had made her way there and was currently sat on the couch doodling.
Well, she'd definitely be easier to talk than anyone else would.
He quickly approached her, pulling her attention out of her sketchbook and looking at him in fear, before quickly pulling on a nervous smile. "O-oh, hey Jax." She stuttered out with a small wave, "D-did you want to draw with me? I didn't bring any extra pencils, but we can share and-" She was cut off as Jax reached over and snatched the comedy mask from her face, throwing it over his shoulder and letting it shatter on the ground behind him. He loomed over the ribbon character, looking down at her angrily as tears fell from her eyes.
"Save the act, Ribbons." He snapped, "You're gonna tell me what's going on, and I won't burn that little book of doodles."
She clutched the book tight against her chest as she looked up at him with teary eyes. "I-I don't know what you're talking about." She mumbled as she averted her gaze.
"First Kinger tries to rope me into his dumb bug stuff," He began, "Then Pomni and Ragatha ask me to join in on their crap, even though I've made it clear on multiple occasions just how much I would rather die than be around them, and then Zooble of all people doesn't cuss me out and is actually nice to me, even though they've never willing stayed in the same room as me before. So either everyone has suddenly forgotten everything I've ever done, or you all have some scheme going on."
"Well... maybe they just wanted to make you feel included." She suggested, only to let out a panicked squeak as Jax grabbed her shoulders, leaning down until his face was mere inches from her's.
"I know something is going on, so why don't you make it easier on yourself and answer me." He stated, "What did Pomni tell you?" Gangle stared up at him in a panic, trying in vain to escape his grasp as his grip on her shoulders tightened..
"...She said you weren't doing ok." She muttered, her fear winning over against the secret she wanted to keep, "She asked us to all try and make you feel included and to be nice to you so you'd feel less... alone."
"I knew it!" He yelled as he let go of the ribbon character, much to her relief. He stood up and began to pace around the room, stopping and looking back at Gangle furiously. "Next time you see that pipsqueak, give her a message, will ya? Tell her I don't want anything to do with you all. I don't need you all to tiptoe around me like I'm some miserable little kid that you need to comfort. All of you need to do me a favor and stay the @%$# away from me. Stick to your roles and stop trying to act like we're friends."
Before she could even respond, he turned and walked away in a huff, quickly heading back to his room and slamming the door closed behind him. He paced around his room in anger, kicking a few discarded items across the floor as he muttered censored curses to himself. Of course she would go and blab to everyone. Now he was going to have to deal with everyone pretending to act nice and trying to get close to him, all because he couldn't keep his mouth shut during that stupid adventure. Why couldn't she have just shot him at the end like he had hoped. At least then she wouldn't have kept trying to be his friend. He groaned as he leaned against the wall, sliding down to the ground as and staring at the floor in silence. A cacophony of thoughts raced through his mind, ranging from ways he could get back at Pomni for saying something, to angry comments directed at himself for saying too much, to even wishing he had just joined in on the activities for reasons he couldn't, and didn't want to, figure out.
He felt his chest tighten as his breathing grew heavy, tears welling in his eyes as a staticky feeling began to permeate his body. Quickly recognizing what was happening, he grabbed his legs and began to dig his fingers into his flesh. Wincing from the pain, he felt the panic slowly fade as he got his breathing under control, slowly relaxing and resting his head back on the wall as he closed his eyes. Today was already enough of a mess, he didn't need to abstract to top it all off.
His eyes snapped open as the thought crossed his mind, reminding him of a prank he had come up with a long time ago. A smile slowly spread across his face as a plan formed in his mind,making his way towards his bed and reaching under it. He began to grope around blindly for something he had stashed there, pulling out various pranking items and stolen valuables that he tossed aside as he continued his search. Eventually, his fingers felt something smooth and metallic, his smile only growing as he pulled out the large bucket of red paint. He stared down at the container, silently chuckling as the plan began to fall into place. If Pomni was going to blab to everyone and tell them all about his outburst, then it was only fair he get a little bit of revenge.
Setting the bucket aside, he stood up and looked around his already messy room. If he was going to really sell this, he'd have to put in some work. "Time for some redecorating." He said aloud, grabbing his bed side table and throwing it against the wall. He watching it fall to the ground, one of the wooden legs snapping off as he began to trash his living space. He grabbed anything and everything he could, tossing items haphazardly around and hearing the sound of a number of things breaking. He tore the clock from the wall, he pushed over his wardrobe, he even managed to snap one of the posts off his bed. He had a manic smile on his face as he went, an uncontrollable giggling escaping him as he wreaked havoc on his room. By the time he finally stopped, he was sweaty, out of breath, and more than happy with state of the room. It was like a tornado had ran through, leaving nothing untouched on it's path of destruction.
Picking up the paint can once more, he pulled off the paint brush that he had taped to it's side and headed to his door, cracking it open and peaking out into the hall way to make sure the coast was clear. Once he was sure, he stepped out and turned to look at the cartoony depiction of himself that adorned the wooden door. After wrestling with the can, he managed to pop the lid to reveal the crimson liquid inside, quickly dipping the paintbrush in before slapping a bright red X across his emblem. It was a little sloppy, sure, but not enough to raise any suspicion unless they were looking closely. Satisfied with his work, he turned and walked further down the hall, making it to the end hardly anyone used and ducking behind a stack of colorful blocks. He peaked over and looked towards his room, more than far enough away that no one would see him if he was careful.
He ducked back down and let out a satisfied sigh, leaning back and patiently waiting for his victims to stumble across what he considered the best prank he had ever come up with. If all of those freaks were going to treat him like he was one bad day away from abstracting, then he might as well give them exactly what they were hoping for.
After all, everyone goes through it eventually.