||FINISHED|| Pink Roses (JSAB Fresh x Reader)

The Quartet

Home.

The word itself was sort of unfamiliar to me.

Every morning when I woke up, I would be in a cold dark room. My blankets would be thick, but the atmosphere was solemn. I would get up, wash my face, brush my teeth and get ready for the day. Every day would be the same, there would occasionally be recreational programs, but overall, it was pretty dull. And my room wasn't the only part about my life that was cold, everyone else was cold to me. They didn't really talk to me, and I was more of a social outcast. I had bullies, but I also had a few close friends. Mordecai and Trist were just two of them. Trist doesn't like to speak, he mainly uses his closest friend as a representative since they're so close they can read his mind. And he's painfully shy, not even I've ever heard him speak. We're close, but he usually prefers to hang out around his other group of friends. He's close to them, but he's the only one who knows I self harm. Compared to Fresh's version of "Home", mine was like comparing a dull pebble to a bright shining star. He had close friends, a lovely Fiancée, a beautiful home and not a single care in the world. Compared to his, my home was a desolate wasteland.

I wondered how I would talk about this to him. And how he would react when he heard my definition of "Home."

Oh well. He already knows something about me that nobody else but Trist knows.

'I grew up in an Orphanage.' I began.

His expression darkened.

'They tell me that my mum had me while she was extremely young, so that's why she left me at the Orphanage. It's probably better that she left me there, however.'

"Have you ever met her?"

'No.'

"Okay..."

"My room was dark and cold and the heaters would almost never work. My Blankets were thick, however, so that was nice, especially during the winter. I shared a room with two other girls, both in the same situation as I did. On particularly cold nights we'll all sleep in the same bed for warmth, but that's about it. The Orphanage was pretty big and roomy, but it was run down and old. The food there was not too bad, I guess, but I still preferred working part-time jobs, saving up money to buy food from restaurants and other places."

'Do you like your life now, Butterfly?'

"I love it. So much better than I would've ever hoped, to be honest."

Fresh smiled. 'Carry on' he suggested. 'What about School?'

"School was alright, I guess. I hated Math and Social Studies but English and Art were my favourites. I could barely move during PE, I hated it, and I would often skip class."

'Isn't that true.'

I smiled.

Then, I saw a few silhouettes poking through the stairwell that led to the roof. I wondered to myself who it was, but as it approached I realised that it was Barracuda and two other Corrupted. I pointed them out to Fresh, and the two of us watched them. Barracuda had a snake around her shoulders, which was typical of her, though it wasn't Equil, it was smaller, more like a necklace than a scarf. Then, they stopped at the base, and leapt up just like a jaguar. They landed in front of us. Silence.

To my surprise, the one who broke the silence was one of the Corrupted.

"We have found Suspicious activity happening in the western islands."

'Corrupt them for me, will ya?' Fresh said.

"No, this is more than just a few uncorrupted refugees," Barracuda said. "They can enter Voids and we think they're the same four that you fought."