Soaked Secrets PV Jack Burnett Finished

@Jack Burnett

Ruka pulled the inside of his left cheek between his teeth for a moment, biting down on it just enough to keep it there for a moment as he listened to Jack talking.

It was a fair deal, he had to admit as he watched a small smile light the other boy's face a tiny bit. If he could show Jack that he was able to take care of himself, to not just survive but to actually live, he'd also prove that he wasn't using the Slytherin as any form of foundation like Selim had accused him of. He'd prove that he could make good decisions for himself and thus didn't need Jack to guide him toward what he thought would be a better life for him.

Nodding, he decided to agree. "That's fair," he agreed, determination tensing his body. "Deal."

As he put his hand on the door handle, jealousy crawling its way up and down his spine, he stopped himself from leaving just yet as Jack continued to talk about Selim, and that was all it took for his shoulders to slacken, his body to relax a bit.

He hadn't seen it as clearly before, had been too caught up in his own distrust for Selim, too warped in his disgust for what the Slytherin had done to Jack to even really consider the most obvious fact, staring him straight in his face. 

I did as he requested.

No matter the physical torture he had endured, the scars that were scattering his body like a macabre painting, Jack blamed himself for having made Selim inflict all that damage on him in the first place.
It was so painfully wrong, this whole scenario, that Ruka wanted to cry out in frustration, but instead he just felt himself going limp and empty. There was nothing he could do to fix any of what had happened between Jack and Selim.

He needed to let Jack deal with it himself.

"I'm not going anywhere," he said calmly, quietly, as he turned to face Jack one more time after the other boy had stopped talking. "You're not gonna lose me so you don't have to get rid of me first." His voice was firm and determined, but his features were soft, bottom lip caught between his teeth as he slowly shook his head. "One month," he said, shrugging his shoulders slowly. "I'll prove to you that you don't need to worry about me."

He nodded slowly at Jack's last words, and something in his chest felt like it was breaking at the mere thought of the Slytherin building himself back up towards the kind of mental strength he seemed to be striving for. The laugh that accompanied his words made Ruka want to cry all over again.

"Take your time," he said softly, hand pushing down the door handle to finally open up a way to let all this negative energy out of the room. "I'll be here when you do."

With one last sad little smile at Jack he left.

It was time to get himself into some dry clothes again.

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