Shadows: A Six of Crows Fan fic

Chapter seven: Jesper pt. 1

A/N Hi y'all! Sorry this update was a bit late but I have been very busy lately and this chapter is very long. So, to make sure I got something  out instead of making you wait another day or two, I'm just splitting this one in half. So here's the first part of the chapter and the second will be out later this week. Hope y'all enjoy and if you have any ideas or thoughts let me know. I'd love to see your comments!

If Jesper hadn't known any better, he would have thought that Nina had made her way back from Ravka to use her new crazy dead people powers on Kaz. That was the best way he could think of to explain the way the man looked and how he was still functioning. It had been three days since they had received the note, meaning that they only had approximately 2 more bells before they were to meet whoever sent it. It also meant that Kaz was officially losing his mind and was driving everyone crazy with preparations. Well, everyone meaning Jesper and Wylan. Somehow Kaz was keeping a decent lid on his crazy in the public eye but when it was just the three of them Jesper and Wylan could easily tell that Kaz was unfurling at the edges.

Jesper was pretty certain that Kaz hadn't gotten more than six hours of sleep spread out over the last three days, and that was only being added to the exact zero amount of minutes that he had gotten the three days prior to that. The bags under Kaz's eyes were basically bruises now, his already bad haircut was only made worse by how unkempt it was, and Jesper was about 70 percent positive that the crease between his brows was permanent now. Other than that, his openly physical signs of madness were minimal, which was beneficial to his public image as a hardened barrel boss. But to those that knew Kaz well enough, they could see the shaking in his hands, the extra weight he put on his good leg, the way he didn't respond quite as fast as normal when questioned, and at the present moment, they could see the way he was frantically pacing the length of his attic room in the Slat. Both Wylan and Jesper were watching as Kaz crossed the room again, his cane pounding heavily on the floor, their heads going back and forth between the ends of the attic as if watching a sporting match. Jesper was really only half listening as Kaz went over the details of his plan for what felt like the thousandth time. The other half of him was betting on how much longer it would take for Kaz to pass out from exertion. He couldn't quite comprehend how Kaz was still moving, let alone thinking semi-straight given how little self-care he'd been taking. Jesper himself quite loved his bed and could hardly picture going 48 hours without sleep, much less any longer than that. He supposed the adrenaline of rage mixed with worry and love could take you decently far though. But how far was the question.

Eventually, Jesper couldn't take it anymore. "Would you please stop pacing and reciting the plan over and over again," He snapped. Kaz stopped abruptly, midway through a sentence, and a dark shadow settled over his eyes. Crap, was all he could think.

"I'm sorry," He said, his voice barely above a whisper and dripping with a deadly kind of venom. "Mister Cant-sit-still-for-half-a-minute-even-if-it's-for-the-lives-of-himself-and-those-around-him, that my walking is bothering you. My deepest regrets for the fact that I'm trying to execute a plan that could end horribly or possibly help out a dear friend of yours from getting hurt. Again. And last time I checked, that previous hurt had been the direct fault of you."

It was a cheap, low blow, but it was sharp enough to draw blood. Jesper winced at the words and couldn't bring himself to look in Kaz's eyes. Wylan took a step between them and held up his hands cautiously towards Kaz. Like a person trying to calm a crazed and frightened animal. "Let's all take a deep breath here," He started. "Kaz, Jesper didn't mean anything by it. We're all just a bit antsy for what the next few hours will bring us."

Kaz turned his furious gaze on Wylan then, looking like he was about seven seconds from throwing him out the window. "Well, I'm not worried about what will happen to us. I'm worried about what will happen to Inej if we don't get this right."