Letters To You // Eyeless Jack x Reader

Cigarettes//39

Cigarette: a thin cylinder of finely cut tobacco rolled in paper for smoking.
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(Y/N) dreaded Wednesdays, those were the days she'd be outside the longest. Work would be too exhausting and the lessons she had on that day were the worst ones as well.

Sitting in the classroom, the girl paid no attention to what the professor was saying. Her thoughts were bouncing around from different scenarios, all bringing her back to Jack. She wondered if he would even see the letter, if he would bother to respond to it.

Glancing at her phone, she looked at her clock for God knows what time today. (Y/N) didn't do it for any specific reason, it's not like she had any places to be, truthfully she had no idea why she kept doing it. Everything seemed too boring for her - almost irritating.

"Lord, will you stop checking the time already? This is the tenth time in the past five minutes you did it."

She turned to the side, noticing the disturbed look both of her friends gave her. For someone with such a big secret to keep, she surely didn't so the job very well. It almost impressed her how no one tried to force her to say what really has been going on, everyone seemed to buy the stupid excuses she was giving.

"I'm sorry, I'm just bored here." She whispered to Andrew, who only rolled his eyes in return.

"If you're so bored, come with me and Lauren after the lesson to that café we talked about a couple of days ago."

She thought about it for a while, a distraction would be perfect now – that is if she could let herself get distracted. No matter how hard she tried, Jack would pop up in her head every time she tried to think about anything else. It became annoying after not even a day, seeing as she couldn't study or get work done because of it.

"You know what, sure. I'd like to."

It didn't take long for the lesson to end and for the three of them to head to the café. The sun was setting slowly while they walked, giving a nice glow to the busy streets.

The café was fairly hidden from the main street, but the exterior design of it looked like it belonged in a city filled with rich people. It looked overly vintage, with flowers resting all around.

The three of them settled in the corner of the café, observing the interior. (Y/N) took notice of the earthly aesthetic it had even inside, leaving a grounding feeling for the visitors. Rather than playing some sort of music, all of the TV's were displaying informative channels which was an odd but a refreshing thing to see.

Looking at the people around her, the girl noticed the various expressions they all held - from a happy couple to a rather depressed looking guy who was apparently on his second pack of cigarettes already.  The man was surrounded by the smoke, staring at the TV in front of him.

That's rough.

Sipping her drink, she looked at the table, trying to ignore the burning gaze both of her friends were giving her yet again. The girl knew they were going to ask her about the sudden change of behavior, there was no avoiding it.

"Spit it out already, what is going on?"

(Y/N)'s only excuse right now could be that she was just tired, or maybe that she read some kind of a book that left her feeling like this – but something about the aura surrounding the three made her believe they weren't going to believe her this time.

"I don't know."

"We're only worried (Y/N). Look, we understand that maybe it's something you aren't willing to share but at least say so. Don't make excuses. You've been all over the place  since mid October and every time we ask what's wrong you always say that you are tired."

Lauren had a point. The lies were repetitive, and it was only a matter of time until someone caught up. She had periods of time where she'd really be tired because of work and college, but that wouldn't last for months.

"I'm sorry, really. You are right, I shouldn't lie to you two – it's just something that I can't really talk about now. I know it may sound selfish, but this is something I've got to deal with by myself."

Their expressions were both the ones of sadness and confusion. (Y/N) wasn't going to cave in, they knew that, but it hurt her to see them looking like this either way. She felt a hand on her shoulder, making her flinch slightly. The weight of Lauren's hand made her feel sort of comforted. Sighing, she put her own hand over hers and smiled weakly at the two.

"(Y/N), you know we are here for you. Don't wait for us to ask you how you are feeling, you can always say anything that bothers you. We won't pressure you into telling us, but please take care of yourself."

Every time she'd hear Andrew sound serious, she would know that whatever was happening, was just that bad. It couldn't have been only the expressions that exposed her, there definitely was a change in how she looked like too.

God knows how they see me right now.

They were right however, (Y/N) really wasn't the way she used to be before. It was a shame to see just how much light left her eyes, how much less had she smiled and how her whole personality took a turn suddenly with no explanation.

"I know, and I am very glad to have you two here with me. I feel like I just might need a break, to get myself together."

"Whatever you decide to do, we'll support you – as long as it isn't something that could harm you in any way."

The three of them dropped the subject soon after, diving in new ones to talk about. (Y/N) was grateful for how understanding her friends were and how they didn't pressure her as much. She tried her best to push out all the thoughts about the letter and Jack, just focusing on Andrew and Lauren's bickering.

At one point she began sparing glances to the man who smoked. Behold, he still held a cigarette. He didn't look like someone who'd like to be disturbed - not like she planned to disturb him anyway.  The view of him that (Y/N) had reminded her of Oliver's paintings from years ago.

Maybe he would be down to do another one if I gave him the description.

The mysterious man left soon after, which made (Y/N) avert her attention to her two friends again. They didn't stay long after either - knowing that it was only Thursday tomorrow and they'd all need the energy to get through the day.

Finishing their drinks, the trio was now standing in front of the café, their conversation coming to an end.

"You two text me when you get home, and (Y/N)? We're here if you ever need anything."

"Thank you, you two – I promise I'll take care of myself, so don't worry okay?"

They bid their goodbyes, leaving (Y/N) alone. The girl smiled as she watched them leave, slowly turning towards her road as well. There are only two more days until she's able to see if her letter has been taken – two more days until she finally knows if she's going to see Jack ever again. 

God, the things I do.

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Hi everyone! Here's a new chapter for you all, the next one will be published on Sunday and I might do a double chapter again - but there are no promises! Also the man who was smoking was just a filler character bc I needed that word count lol. I am too lazy to add new characters I promise <3
Anyways, that's all for now, have a good day/night and remember to take care of yourselves!