Doll and Dummy || A Jax x Reader Story (TADC)

III. Introductions and Farewells

I groaned as my hands couldn't hold together Gangle's mask to let the glue dry. I was trembling too much. I set the pieces on the floor and took a deep breath. My head felt like it was throbbing, my chest still felt heavy, my vision clouded painfully every time I opened my eyes.

I rubbed my eyes and let my head rest in my hands. Memories of Kaufmo wouldn't stop replaying in my mind no matter how hard I tried to get them to stop.

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗

"Kaufmo! Hey, could you lend me those juggling balls you have? I wanna try something new for a stunt!" I asked excitedly after his door opened. His smile grew and he nodded, his massive clown shoes squeaking as he ran to rummage through a bin in his room. He found a carton of multicolored balls and held them out to me from the doorway.

No.

"No, come with me! I need feedback and someone to make sure I don't hurt myself, what d'ya say?"

His smile grew bigger, if that was even possible. We went back to my room, which had various props and setups for acrobatic circus acts.

I got up on a high platform connecting to another by tightrope and had Kayfmo throw me the balls. With some trial and error, I had successfully gone across the tightrope while juggling 8 balls in my hands.

I laughed in triumph and did a small bow, to which Kaufmo was clapping and smiling brightly.

Stop.

"What did you think? Good?" I asked as I jumped down from the platform, landing in front of Kaufmo. He nodded and gave me a thumbs-up on both hands, then high-fived me. High-four? He only has four fingers, I don't know what you'd call that.

I started putting the balls away, organizing them by color as he had in the bin. He suddenly seemed to remember something and tapped me on the shoulder to get my attention. I turned to him curiously, and he pulled a paper out from behind his back. He held it to me.

Stop it..

"For me?" I asked. He nodded and waved it in front of me, signaling for me to take it. I grabbed it gently and flipped it over.

It was a watercolor painting of Kaufmo and I. We were posed in a bright circus atmosphere, much like the one we're in. Kaufmo and I looked as if we were bowing to an audience, as if we had done an act together. Instead of my regular blue star-themed leotard, I was in a yellow-based one with red polka dots, and the collar and bottom had blue ruffles on the edges to match Kaufmo's color scheme.

"Kaufey! This is so cute, awe.." I smiled at the art. I scanned my room and found a box of frames and tape I had requested from Caine one time. I put the art in a frame and hung it on the wall with the tape. "There. Now it looks even better on display."

Kaufmo's clown shoes squeaked once again as he walked closer to me and gave me a hug, which I returned happily.

I don't want to remember this.

"I'll keep it up forever."

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗

I hadn't cried since Queenie's abstraction. One more person I cared for was just.. gone. I won't cry. I'm not going to cry. Not this time, I haven't through all these other abstractions.. Not now.. Through slightly blurred vision, I looked up at the framed art of the two of us still hanging on my wall. It still looked as bright as when he gave it to me.

No crying. I won't cry.

I wiped the tears threatening to fall and breathed deeply to calm myself. I felt a bit light-headed, but wanted to repair Gangle's mask before anything else. Picking up the pieces and glueing them together took my mind off of Kaufmo's abstraction for a few minutes.