You Don't Know Me

[Primrosette]

((Jonathan Meyers continued from Know Your Enemy))

Jonathan was really leaving the others behind. He had been thinking about going alone all day after they had left their last shelter and they had taken up shelter in the woods. It wasn't the best place for them to camp in; but they had more shade away from the rain (although, Declyn seemed sad about that for some reason and Jonathan wasn't going to ever question him about his odd taste in the weather) and they had stayed there longer without doing anything once again. That was the final push that he needed. He was going to venture out on his own and he wanted to get something done for once.

So he decided to sneak away while the other three were asleep and he knew that he should be staying as he was the one who was supposed to be watching out for anyone that was dangerous to the group. Jonathan knew that he was being selfish by abandoning them in the middle of the night and he should have changed his mind about what he was doing. But he had already made his choice and he wasn't going to back out of it now.

He had walked off quite a bit away from the others and he was trying to focused on where he was going to go next. Maybe he should go to one of the buildings as that was a place that people were more likely to be at and-

He felt a sudden grip onto his arm that was free and he stopped walking, listening to the loud noises of the rain for a few seconds. Then he turned to look at the person that was stopping him from leaving and he felt himself frowning a little.

"What are you doing?" He asked with a look of disinterest present on his wet face.

[Kotorikun]

“Did you take your umbrella with you?” Declyn asked when he let go of Jonathan’s arm. “It looks like the rain won’t stop for a while.” He pushed his wet hair back. They obviously didn’t have an umbrella around.

[Declyn continued from Know Your Enemy]

After what had felt like at least 24 hours worth of sleep the other day, his mind was more than alert to his surroundings. So when Jonathan had wandered off further than he needed to, Declyn couldn’t help but follow him to see what was up with that. After Lori had betrayed them, it might have been a better option than lying on the ground and hoping everything was going to be alright in these circumstances.

It was dark, very late, so his body wasn't put off by the idea of rest, but looking out for people was the priority.

“I wanted to ask you the same.”

His tone was gentle.

[Primrosette]

Jonathan had wanted to avoid something like this. He didn't want one of them to follow after him to stop him from leaving and especially if it was someone like Declyn who seemed like a ray of light in the sunshine wherever he used to go back at home. Home... That was something that he didn't want to think about and he didn't want to look at Declyn who reminded him of it too much. But now Declyn was right there with him and now Jonathan had to deal with him.

Wasn't it obvious what he was going right now? He even had his bags on him and he was sneaking away at such a late hour. He should have realized that the boy who had been sleeping for such a long time; could have been unable to sleep after that and he was feeling a bit frustrated at himself for not keeping a closer eye on Declyn. Now he was going to have to make an excuse to the innocent-looking guy by his side. This was not what he wanted to deal with.

"I wanted to leave."

Or he could just tell Declyn the truth. No problem there....

He let out a soft sigh. "You guys don't need me to stick around. I have to go on my own to...." He paused to think of what to say next. "...I have some things that I need to do alone and I don't think you or the others will approve of what I want to do."

[Kotorikun]

Declyn sniffed when a single drop of rain tickled the tip of his nose and he wiped it away with one finger while he focused on Jonathan’s face.

“Okay, but, you don’t know that, do you? How do you know we won’t approve?”

In all fairness, the two of them had never been close friends, so Declyn understood if Jonathan didn’t trust him (or the others in that sense). You either did or didn’t. The island didn’t leave them with many options.

“I get it, you know. There are times where you want to be alone, but I don’t think it’s the right approach in this place.” A frown. It softened slowly when he thought about his next words. “I want to thank you again for helping me... I appreciate every small gesture. While I don’t uh, heh, like leather jackets I always thought you looked cool in it so it wasn’t so bad to find it on me when I woke up.” His next breath sounded shaky. “I didn’t want anyone to see me in this state, because seeing the look on Amelia’s face when she’s worried hurts. Seeing the panic in Theo’s eyes hurts. But that’s all just part of it.”

The rain was hard. It sounded like white noise everywhere, which made the silence between the sentences not feel empty.

“Don’t leave.”

[Primrosette]

Jonathan didn't really want to answer any of Declyn's questions even if he knew that it was rude as hell and he knew that he did owe Declyn an explanation for why he was taking this step away from possibly good allies to have his back. He still thought that one of these days that he would have to do the unthinkable of taking someone else's life and he didn't think that the other three would be able to stomach that. Would he really be able to do something like that? After what Tyrell had done to Christine....

"....It's not that I don't trust you or Theo or Amelia. It just that I don't trust myself around you guys. I've been having thoughts for a while, not good thoughts. I don't want to see you freak out again because of my darker words. Even if it's the reality that we have to face now and well, hmm..."

Jonathan listened to Declyn as he talked more and Jonathan felt an uncomfortable feeling building up in himself slowly, making him kick at the mud in front of him impatiently. He didn't like how Declyn was trying to bond with him and he knew that that was how Declyn was. Also it sounded like Declyn was trying to flatter him with his kind words and Jonathan wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel about that. Jonathan kind of envied the other boy in a way and he didn't want to stay there any longer. He still felt a bit bad but he knew that he couldn't stay.

"Declyn... You're better off without me. I'll only be in the way for you and the others. ...I can't stay."

He shook his head and then he turned away from Declyn, starting to walk away from him.

[Kotorikun]

Declyn always respected people’s wishes and boundaries. You wanted to be left alone? Okay, no problem. Just say if you need anything. But sometimes, or often times really, situations were more complicated than that. Like this one. He didn’t like it and he knew that if he’d actually let Jonathan go without saying or trying anything further, there would come a point where he’d regret it.

“Jonathan...”

There was the frown again. Declyn followed his steps.

“Sure, thinking about what you said pushed me over the edge, but it wasn’t just that.”

He reached out to grab Jon’s arm again.

“Wait until the sun’s up at least—”

And that was the moment when they were reminded that walking around the old, dark woods in this weather was a straight-up bad idea. The night revealed one of its secrets. A dangerous one in the form of a steep overgrown slope.

In a matter of seconds, Declyn was pulled forward while his grip was still on Jonathan who slipped and fell when he yanked his arm forward, the ground disappearing beneath him for a moment. Mud splashed around them.

The next thing Declyn knew, they were falling down the slope.

[Primrosette]

Jonathan could hear Declyn still following him and saying more words to him, making him want to walk away faster. He didn't want to get too close to Declyn and he didn't understand why Declyn couldn't understand why he had to go. Why did Declyn want him to stay? Jonathan was not good with a lot of people and he wished that he could just tell him to go away like a jerk. Jonathan wanted to hide behind his many masks and he didn't want Declyn to be the person to take them all away. Declyn was too much life for Jonathan and he wanted to hide in a deep, dark hole. Jonathan didn't want to feel anything for Declyn.

Jonathan then felt Declyn grab his arm again and Jonathan yanked his arm forward. But as he did so, the ground under him was suddenly too slippery and his eyes widened for a few seconds.

"Shit...!"

A slope.

Jonathan felt himself turning his body towards Declyn as they were falling down a muddy, slippery slope of doom.

((Jonathan Meyers and Declyn Grayson-Anthis sliding into Everlasting))