“University of Oxford huh? Sounds fancy. What are you guys studying there?”
She couldn’t help but chuckle at the sentiment. “You know me - I love to bloody ruin stuffy institutions that have been around for eons,” Jess explained, “And Oxford is just waiting for me to make it a little less fancy,” she continued, moving her head to the side as he asked her what they would be studying. “Guess. If you get it right - I might give you a present,” Jess smiled, “Dan however is majoring in criminology and physics or something. I think he’s doing like three majors and two minors, I don’t even know,” Jess explained as she leaned against her seat - intrigued in what he’d guess it was. Though, as of right now, no one knew what she was studying - not even Dan. That information was stored up in her brain. She honestly enjoyed the guesses of what people thought she was going to do - at the very least, the question told her a lot about what they thought about her, even without directly asking the question. Laughter escaped her lips once again when Brandon joked that she and Dan looked alike, “Oh god please don’t compare me to that idiot,” Jess added.
Her smile didn’t falter when he said it was cheating for her to wear heels and be taller than him. “Well get used to it Brandon, now that I’m back I like to keep everyone on their toes… or for you on your tippy-toes because that’s where you’ll have to be to be taller than me,” Jess stated, nudging him playfully before he moved the discussion over to Candice. As good as it felt to talk to Brandon again, the context of their meeting was… less than ideal. So instead of saying anything, she simply put his hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. Death wasn’t necessarily a new concept for Jessica, her grandfather had, after all, died when she was 8… though she was never close to the man so she couldn’t really imagine exactly what Brandon was going through. Before she could say anything, however, Jess heard the chatter going down as the minster made his place on the podium discussing Candice’s death and how the holy stars aligned. Though Jessica wasn’t a devout Christian, most of her relatives were so she did listen to what the minster was saying - suppressing the voice in the back of her mind asking - ‘really?’ After all - the whole aspect of Christianity and the bible really didn’t sit well with Jessica - it was so full of contradictions, how could anyone truly believe it. Though this wasn’t a time for her own beliefs, it was one to send good thoughts towards Candice.
Well… that was until Jessica saw her battered up cousin approaching the podium. The gut feeling she was having that morning returned and she just knew something bad was going to happen. She wanted to go up, to pull him off the stage and pull him out - but she couldn’t. Before Jessica could even make a move, Daniel Parker did the one thing he was never good at - he talked.
With every word that came out of his mouth, Jess couldn’t help but want to take her shoe off ad throw it at his already blackened eye. Silence had completely befallen the room and Jess shook her head, watching the security hold his tiny ass and drag him outside. “I’m… I’m sorry Brandon,” Jess mumbled, as she stood up, and walked behind the security towards the exterior - already knowing that everyone was watching them leave.
As she exited the doors, almost instantly after Daniel was thrown out she just looked at him - disappointment present in her features as she watched him - unaffected by all the people he had hurt in there. “What the actual hell is wrong with you Daniel? That was a bloody funeral. Not a ‘look at me, I’m Daniel, I know everything about everyone’ moment like it always is with you,” Jess stated, her voice clear as she looked at him. “God… I can’t even look at you right now Dan. I suggest you walk your ass back home because there are about 200 angry people who are about to punch you in the face again, and I’m not going to stop them,” Jess mumbled shaking her head.
After a few moments of watching him, unfaltering. Not a word leaving his lips as he looked towards her. She knew he’d never admit to it but Jessica could see it in his eyes. Daniel was broken… he had been for a long time. She only regretted not coming back sooner to help pick up the pieces. A sigh left her lips, as she walked towards him, touching his eye slightly with a shake of her head. “You’re an idiot Parker. I don’t think I’ve ever been this disappointed,” Jess mumbled, “Look, I’m going to find my own way home Dan, don’t wait up… and I suggest you start getting there before someone gives you matching black eye,”
With that, Jess walked away from the steps of the church, walking towards the curb as she used her phone to call an uber. She needed to destress with… all of that and Jessica knew if she stayed a moment longer, she would be the one slapping Dan herself. So instead, she put in the address that Davina had sent her after their conversation and sat in the car silently - attempting to figure out what in the world she was going to do about that idiot."
It had taken about 15 minutes for Jessica to arrive at the modern home, within which time she had basically learned everything about her driver Lila who was a graduate student at UCLA doing this on her off time. By the end of the ride, the two girls were laughing - talking about a guy Jess once dated that was an absolute nightmare. Thanking the girl for a ride, and somehow setting up a girls night out with her for tomorrow night, Jessica walked towards the door ringing the doorbell about 15 times waiting for someone to open the door.
After impatiently playing a song with her doorbell ringing skills, Jess signed looking around the house to find a small pink rock that she knew the DeLougrey’s placed in case of emergencies. Grabbing the rock, she turned the fake plastic thing over to open the back and reveal a key - letting herself in as seh did so. “DYLANNNN YOUR GIRLFRIEND IS HERE” Jessica joked - narrating her movements, “She’s takinggg off her shoesss,” the girl continued as she removed the heels and placed them to the side. “She is now walking towards your kitchen and is about to steal one of your fifty three pre-made smoothies. YOU MAYYY WANT TO STOP HER.” Jess yelled once more, doing exactly as she said as she, quite literally, made herself at home.
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