[Forest] Another Jac[k] Feast

[Jac Shaw]

Jac! What are you doing?

Jac could hardly believe herself. She was crying, actually crying, while standing in the middle of the Forbidden Forest and talking to one of her best mates. She hung her head, to hide her shame more then anything else, and still she continued to cry. It had to be a first for the seventh year, in fact a number of firsts. Crying in the forest, crying in front of a male, crying in front of her best friend, and the list went on.

Jackson said her name and more due to force of habit then anything else she lifted her head slightly to expose her tear-covered face. And as soon as her red, water stained eyes met Jackson’s her cheeks flushed with even more colour, if that was possible. The embarrassment! The degradation! How could she be …

Jack pulled Jac close to him and she cried harder for it. Feeling his warmth reminded her of Leon and that was just too much. She wiggled her arms between them slightly but not to push him away, simply to bury her face in. She didn’t want to cry all over Jackson’s nice … nice smelling shirt. It comforted her much to be in such close proximity with someone she cared for and who cared for her so much.

After a moment, Jax spoke and Jac’s crying had turned to light, half-hearted sobbing. She was beginning to calm down. After another moment, or two, Jac had no idea how long as being in the forest always made her lose track of time, he asked what was wrong. Jac wasn’t sure what she was going to say but she knew that she didn’t want to lie about it. So she missed someone, big deal, Jax would certainly understand.

Jac sniffed loudly, her eyes open now, though they were red and itchy. She rested her cheek against Jackson’s chest, dropping her arms slightly. Before she spoke, Jac sniffed again. “I … my boyfriend left to play Quidditch about a week again,” she said slowly, her voice horse and croaky. “I … I didn’t realise how much I miss him …” She wanted to add that she missed the sitting together in the common room, his arms around her.

She sniffed again and looked up at Jack, her green eyes looking into his dark ones. “I’m sorry, Jax,” Jac said, “I didn’t mean to go all crazy woman on you- ” she dropped her face again and wrapped her arms around Jackson’s waist “- I … I …” but no more words came. The only sound that came from the young Gryffindor then was another sniff.

[Professor Jackson Shaw]

As Jac continued to cry and Jack felt more helpless about the situation, he just continued to hug her close to him. If it was anyone else, he'd have done something that stupid the tears would have just stopped and you would be beside yourself laughing, but this was Jac, and Jack knew she never cried so he had to be sensitive about this one. Still, everyone cried, it made us human, and though Jackson wouldnt admit it, he had spent a few nights crying too, due to pressure sure but still, water came from his eyes.

Jack didnt really mind that she was crying, it was nothing to be embarrassed of, not in his eyes anyway, and come on, if you couldnt cry infront of your best mate, who could you cry infront of? Jack wouldnt say he knew what she was going through, well he couldnt since he didnt even know what she was crying for, but right now, she needed a friend and he was here so he would offer his shoulder for her.

His arms slackened slightly when he felt her wriggle, though once she was comfy again, he tightened his grip a little bit. Letting off a deep breath, he tilted his head back and looked up through the trees, seeing the moon shining down as the rain was easing off now. Bringing his hand up, he stroked the girls hair softly in the most comforting way he could muster. Jack didnt know if what he was doing was working, but it seemed to make her feel better.

He looked at her when she stopped crying and just began to sob into his chest, still, like any good friend he kept her in his arms until she decided she felt good enough to be let go. Many guys wouldnt really have given a girl who was crying the time of day, he knew that, but Jack couldnt just walk past someone who was upset and not try and cheer them up, it wouldnt be who he was.

Jack looked down at her, eyes red and puffy and he gave her a warm smile. He listened to what she said and didnt interrupt her, if Jack was good at anything it was listening to people. Her voice was hoarse, but after crying it would be. "Its alright to miss someone you know." He smiled down at her, "Dont you two keep in touch now?"

"Dont apologize," Jack told her, "Its what I'm here for, if you cant count on me to be here when you need me, then what kind of friend would that make me?" He said when she wrapped her arms around his waist. The two now just stood there, Jacks arms still around her and hers around him. It was definatly a strange place to stand hugging, but it didnt matter. You couldnt choose where your feelings came out, and if they came out in the forest, then that was where you dealt with them.

It seemed to happen quickly, as Jack just reacted on impulse. Letting his arms fall down to his side, he gently pushed her off him, and with his hand, he tilted her head up to look at him, smiling down at her, he didnt really know what possessed him to do this but, before he knew what happened, his head had bent forward and his lips were on hers, his free hand tangled in her hair and he stayed that way for a few seconds before realising what he had done. Pushing back, he looked down at Jac in a way that said, 'I cant believe I just did that.' Looking down, a faint blush creeping up his face, he gave a soft laugh.

"I... Uh..." Jack shook his head, "I'm sorry, probably not the best time to do that."

[Jac Shaw]

The warmth of Jackson around the young Gryffindor was unmistakably comforting and just what she needed. Jac doubted that the man, who she had known for almost half her life, knew the immense help he was being by simply being there, having his arms around her, putting his hand consolingly on her head, but most of all just being there. That was what she needed most of all, what Leon couldn't give to her any more and she had to accept it.

It was hard though. She knew what she had to do but it was always just getting to a point where she could do it that she hesitated. One one hand she didn't want to get over him. Leon had been one of her closest friends since she had come to Hogwarts, just like Jackson, and towards the end there he had always been the one to sit with her in the common room, arms around her, as they both sat and read books, or simply stared into oblivion or talked and laughed. She didn't want to loose that.

But she had. That was the harsh reality that came to her as she sniffed loudly into Jackson's chest. There was no way to get that back, not now that he had gone and left her behind. Jac was stronger then that, so why was it coming out like this? Well, one thing was for certain, Jac was certainly glad that it was Jackson here with her to comfort and console her. She wasn't sure that she could have survived it without him there.

Jackson had always been so important to her, such a good influence in her life that life without him seemed unresponsive, DNR, deathly boring and not worth it. It was better to fight with your friends then loose them completely and Jac was so lucky that she had not - not that she could remember - had a fight with Jackson that didn't end five minutes later in laughter at how silly they had been. She loved those moments and would treasure them always.

"He's written me," Jac said eventually, after hearing Jack's question about keeping contact, "but I just couldn't bring myself to write back to him. He told me about all the cool things that he's been doing and about all the fun he's been having." Jac looked up desperately at Jackson. "He left me, Jax, he left me and then told me he wished I was there. I just couldn't do it, I just couldn't write back." Jac buried her face in Jackson's chest again, finding the smell of him and the warmth of him helped to drive such worries from her mind. Jackson wouldn't leave her.

It was an instinct that Jac simply couldn't repress and that was to appologise. It is a widely known fact that in Britain people appologise, even when whatever happened wasn't their fault. Like people who you bump on the train will appologise. It was just who things happened. So when Jack told Jac not to it made her smile. She gave him a small hug for it and smiled up at him, even though she knew she looked ghastly, her cheeks wet with tears, her hair wet from the inconstant rain that fell (that seemed to be clearing in fact). How could he continue to look at her when she looked the way she did? So she hid her face again.

Jack dropped his arms and slowly pulled Jac of him, Jac allowing him to move her. For a moment she thought he might have been uncomfortable with the proximity but when his hand went to her hair Jac could feel the butterflies in her stomach start to flutter wildly, her heart pounding in her chest. Jackson lowered his head to her and Jac pushed herself up onto her toes to meet him. Their lips locked and a thousand tiny fireworks exploded within the Gryffindor. Jackson pushed her away and it took a moment for Jac's eyes to open and to focus on Jax's face.

Jac frowned up at Jack. It never seemed to get old, how their names were so close. It would have named both of them smile to be reminded of it but there was no leeway here, no room to elbow in a joke. Jackson appologised, he actually appologised! Jac frowned harder, staring at nothing in particular directly ahead of her, but when she looked up at Jackson again her face was serene and calm.

"Why are you appologising, Jack?" the young girl asked that it almost sounded like a trick question. "That was ..." Jac's long fingers moved to her mouth and a smile tugged at the one corner "... I don't know what that was but it certainly wasn't something to appologise for." Jac took a small step closer to Jackson, and put her hand on his chest, feeling his heart beat. "I ... I rather enjoyed it my-er-myself." Jac had indeed enjoyed it and she wasn't afraid to tell him so, ok, so perhaps she was a little nervous.

She looked up at Jack again, blinking, wanting to have more of what she had sampled but unsure of how he would take it. There was only one way finding out. Slowly, Jac pushed herself up onto her toes, running her hand up Jackson's chest and around his neck. She pulled him down into her and kissed him. Her hand combed into his hair and the other joined it there, in his soft soft hair. The thought that she was kissing who she was kissing seemed crazy but it felt so good, how could it be wring?