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

V. Unfortunate Day

Without fail, the burning memories seethed at the forefront of your mind yet again. You didn't require sleep in this digital world, but having the routine kept you sane and made you feel a little bit nicer, as Ragatha would say. You agreed with her, trying to get some rest each and every night for the past eight years.

You'd never get that peace, though, would you?

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗

"Follow me, right this way, please," The faceless employee's voice shot through your head again. You hated this memory the most.

No. Please, not again. I don't want this one again.

You weren't in control of your body. You hated it. You felt helpless as you caught a glimpse of your thirteen-year-old body as you walked with the group down the hallways. The clear yet stuffy scent of what you recognized as Febreze wafted to your nose.

Eight years have passed and it still smells fresh in this memory...

Qualms regarding the events coursed through your entire body as you realized you were about to relive that fateful day. Each time this memory replayed in your mind, you couldn't help but ache for the life robbed of you.

You were barely reaching halfway of October in your eighth grade year, having finally accepted the fact you'd be in different schools from your peers you had known since the age of four. It always hurt you to think about them – even now, all these years later.

You snapped out of your trance and began paying attention to the scene going on in your memory. That boy was still close by as you walked on, both of you following the rest of the teens.

It was strange to you how out of everyone, you could only remember his face. Every other person in the memory was a bit off or completely forgotten, but he remained. You could still see the crease of the singular dimple in his smile, each and every little crack in his lips, the perfectly even tone of his skin...

What is it with him?

Tap.

Your eyes moved down to your side, where your hand hung limply. You felt a poke there, but couldn't see anything to be the cause of it. Eyes flickering up to the boy next, he seemed to be holding back something similar to a playful grin.

Tap, tap.

You looked at your hand again only to catch a glimpse of the boy's slim hand falling from yours to hide. Even in these echoes of your previous life, you could still remember the sheer nervousness pooling in your gut as you tried to convince yourself to speak up.

"Is that you poking me?" You choked out, looking up at the boy with every ounce of courage in your body as you could feel the hairs on your neck rise. Socializing wasn't your strongest skill, you were honestly quite scared of it – most of your life, you preferred to stick with people who you'd already known for a while, and had a strong urge to wait for people to approach first.

The boy glanced down at you and cracked a smile. He nodded and checked to make sure the employee leading your group wouldn't notice the the two of you talking. "Yeah. I wanted to ask.. how old are you?"

"Not even asking for my name first? What kind of society are we living in?" You tried to joke, testing the waters of this boy's personality so you'd know which lines to stay behind and which to cross. "But to answer that, I'm thirteen. Am I right to assume you're fourteen or a bit older?"

This is so stupid. Let me out. Wake up, wake up, wake up...

He chuckled at your cursing and nodded. "Fourteen. Are you in your eighth grade year?" He asked another question, hiding his hands behind his back. You could see him nervously tugging on all his fingers and cracking them relentlessly.