That overwhelming pressure was back.

You turn your face from Shaun's chest, meeting Jack's wide eyes, staring holes into you. He was leaning against the doorway of your bedroom, thankfully now clothed, watching you and Shaun in each other's arms. You were unable to properly make out his expression, but something about it made you tremble just slightly. And Shaun must've noticed.

"Y/N?", He gently pushes you away, holding onto your shoulders as he looks down at you, "What's wrong?", He tilts his head just slightly.

"Ah, nothing!", You take a step back, waving him off. You were so caught up in Shaun's 'surprise' appearance that you forgot about the other man you were living with, "I uh...", You hum, pointing your thumb over your shoulder, to your room, to Jack, "I should probably go get ready for the day. You make yourself comfortable, I'll be right back."

Before he could respond, you stepped out of his grasp and quickly skipped past the kitchen and to your room, dragging a certain frozen clown with you past the doorframe. You shut the door behind you and release a long, slow breath, "Sorry 'bout that...", You mumble, resting your palm over the nape of your neck.

As you step away from the closed door to find some more appropriate clothing, Jack seems to have finally woken from his previous stupor, "Who was that?", He asks again, his voice firmer than before.

"He's a friend from college,", You answer, pulling out your outfit for the day, "I forgot I agreed to have him stay for a while...", You answer, growing bashful, "He said he wouldn't be here long, so you don't have to worry about that."

Jack didn't answer. He stayed strangely quiet as you changed in and out of your outfits. You turn around, catching that strange blank look before it shifts back to something softer, "A... Friend? I haven't heard about him before."

"well...", You rock back and forth on the balls of your feet, looking off to the side, "You didn't know about Ian until a few days ago so...", You grew quiet with each word, "And well... The two of us were busy these last few moths!", Correction- Shaun was busy. Probably... You're pretty sure he was, with all the work movie production likely is, along with taking care of precious little Moon Pie. You didn't want to bother or annoy the guy, so talking with him these last few months was... Rare.

"But he's a cool guy! I promise.", You smile. Jack didn't respond. Was he normally this quiet?

"And-And he said he'll be gone for most of the day so that, and my work, we probably won't spend much time together anyway!", You give a weak chuckle.

"Sunshine, it's okay. I'm just... Worried.", Jack finally replied, taking a step closer to drop a gloved hand on your shoulder.

"...Why?", You furrow your brows.

"Well, are you sure you can handle having another person in the apartment? I mean...", You felt his thumb start to slowly move in circles on your shoulder, "These last few days have been a lot for you, right?"

Ohhh.

Yeah, Ian's surprise call, that surprise confession, and Jack's... Incident happening day to day messed you up a tiny bit... He's probably worried you'd get overwhelmed with the sudden new company.

You smile and reach up for Jack's wrist, giving it a small squeeze, "I'll be fine, Jack. Shaun knows how to handle me if things go... Crazy again. And I always have you, right?"

Jack opened his mouth to say something, but another voice interrupted him, "Hey, Y/N! You okay?", Shaun yelled through the door, "You didn't die on me, did you?"

"Death hasn't taken me yet, sadly!", You chuckle, yelling back at the cat maniac, "I'll be out in a sec!"

You move to your bedroom door, taking hold of the knob before looking back at Jack, "It'll be like nothing's changed, I promise.", You smile, opening the door, being greeted by a little ball of fluff.

"Mew!"

"Little baby!"

You spent the next hour or two helping Shaun move in and adjust. Not that it was very much considering how little he brought with him. You had a bit of trouble hyping yourself up enough to so much as open Ian's door, but Shaun was there with you, so it was a bit more bearable.

It was also strange to see Jack lingering behind you the entire time, yet having to ignore him. You didn't mind sounding crazy as much when around Shaun, but having to explain the entire situation would have been... A lot. And you doubt he would even believe you.

Shaun let out an exaggerated sigh as he plopped down back first on the bed, the mattress bouncing up with him. Moon Pie didn't wait to jump on the bed with him, turning in many little circles before cuddling up on the bed in a little purring ball.

"Man, today was long...", Shaun mumbled, draping his arm over his eyes.

"It's not even past nine in the morning.", You chuckle, stuffing your fists into your pockets. Once you felt the cold metallic rectangle that was your cellphone, you quickly pulled it out to check the exact time. Eight-thirty eight. You sigh, stuffing the electronic back into your pocket, "I gotta head to work.", You hold in a groan.

Shaun quickly sat up, another pout playing on his lips, "Awe! Do you have to? I just got here!"

"Sorry, dude, but...", He started doing his kitty face again, "Oh, no! Not this time! I got money to earn!", You quickly turned your back and marched back into the kitchen.

"But, Y/N!", He whines, following close after you.

"No!", You say, grabbing your jacket and bag on the way to your door.

"Boo. Boo you.", Shaun crosses his arms.

"Boo me all you want.", You respond, throwing your jacket on and slipping your bag over your shoulders, "I'll be back at around six."

"Goodbye hug?", Shaun asks, his dark eyes nice and wide as he opens his arms.

You sigh, opening your arms in turn, "Goodbye hug.", You say, stepping into his arms and you wrap yours around his torso. The hug only lasted for about a second before you pulled away. Or try to.

"Wha- Shaun!", You whine, struggling to slip out of his hold as he only holds onto you tighter, "I gotta gooooo!"

"Nope. I got you now! And now you'll stay here... Forever! Mwahaha!", Shaun laughed again, much tamer than his previous evil laugh, as he swung you in his arms side to side.

"Noooo! My precious paycheck! Down the drain!", The two of you shared a small fit of laughter and Shaun finally set you down, ruffling your (H/L), (H/C) hair.

"Fine, fine. Be careful out there, okay?"

"I'm still alive, ain't I?"

"So is there anyone else who'll possibly pop up in your life I should know about?" Jack's voice rang through your ears. You nearly jumped when you realized he was still here with you, lingering behind you as you stood like a frozen zombie behind the work counter.

You released a low breath, relieved the clown was still with you, "Nope." At least you hope so.

The blue-nette hummed. You saw him cross his large arms over his chest, a thoughtful expression decorating his features.

"Do... You not like Shaun?" You ask, hesitant to even say those words. You don't know how to feel if he didn't.

"Well..." Oh god, "Like I said... I'm just worried. I don't exactly know what he did, but it has really affected you. How can I be sure this Shaun guy won't be like him?"

A part of you was glad the redhead's name wasn't directly mentioned. But also...

"He's not like that." You were firm on that. Shaun isn't like Ian. At all. You can get what Jack was getting by. After all, he had no idea who Ian and Shaun were, and one day, outta the blue, one of them just called and you went on a sudden emotional spiral. Anyone would be concerned.

Jack raised his gloved hands in the air in a surrendering position, a sudden smile gracing his lips, "Okay, okay I'll take your word for it." He chuckled, moving his hands to his hips.

You hummed affirmatively, leaning onto the counter, and looking out into the large glass windows and door of the yogurt shop. The day was a bit brighter than usual this week. Not a cloud in the sky. At least you wouldn't have to worry about running home in the rain... Hopefully anyway...

It was quiet again. Safe for the never-ending jingle mixed with your soft humming and your tapping fingers. You look over your shoulder to see Jack almost silently whistling, rocking back and forth with his hands behind his back.

"Sooo..." Jack hummed, bending down just barely as he looked at you.

"So?" You quirk a brow up.

"You went to college?"

"Yeah? Well... Kinda? Why?" You ask, straightening your posture as you turn to look at him. Did you mention going to college to him?

"You said that Shaun fellow was a college friend of yours, so I got a bit curious is all." Jack shrugged, "And what do you mean by kinda?" He tilted his head to the side.

You really gotta learn to just say yes or no when asked if you went to college if you don't wanna keep explaining the same thing over and over again... You sigh, a little habit you see has been growing recently, and fully turn to face the curious clown, "I dropped out. I just...", You huff, bringing your (D/H) up to rub your neck, "I couldn't really figure out what I wanted to major in. And I had a hard time juggling both work and school, then the whole Ian thing happened, and... I dunno." You began to fidget slightly and leaned back against the counter, avoiding eye contact with Jack, who just stared back at you, thankfully with no judgment in his gaze, "I guess I got scared and ran off. It was stupid, I know but..." You sigh again, "Oh well."

That's just what you do. You run away the moment you doubt yourself. It's a trait you desperately wish to fix, but... You just can't. When your mom found out you dropped out, to say she was furious would've been an awful understatement. She always valued education over anything, placing high expectations on you. She was even more livid when she found out you didn't even tell her you did. For the longest time, she would passive-aggressively hold it over your head, but thankfully, she dropped it. It's still a topic you didn't like to delve into. Thankfully, Jack seemed to notice that.

"Oh, sunspot..." Jack stepped closer, leaving you stuck between him and the counter. He gently pushed your bangs back, leaning down to press his lips against your forehead, leaving a wave of warmth run through you, "You did what you thought was best at the time. I can't blame you for that." He then wrapped his arms around you, surrounding you completely with his warmth, "Besides," You could feel his chin move atop your head as he talked, "You have me now! So there's nothing to be scared of. Nothing to run away from."

"Yeah..." You felt your shoulders relax as you leaned against him, your head resting against his chest, "That sounds nice..."

The yogurt place was as slow as usual today. You honestly don't know how Popov's Big Top Yogurtopia hasn't been shut down yet with how little business it gets, but hey, you get paid. Not well but it's better than nothing.

Thankfully, you managed to close up the shop earlier than usual, so now you're on your way home, blasting some music in an old pair of earbuds. The walk as per usual was quiet. Nothing new. You were basically on autopilot every time you walked to and from work, due to your daily routine rarely changing. You're just glad you live close to work. Not having to deal with public transport or driving in general is a blessing.

You turn around the corner that leads to the apartment complex, not thinking much as you see the building you live in. You kept on walking, not paying much mind when a car began to slowly stop at the entrance, the back door opening and a foot stepping out. A pair of red Converse shoes.

Why did they look so familiar?

Your steps slowed to a stop, much like your heartbeat as you caught a glimpse of a familiar head of long ginger hair, tied in a low ponytail.

'You gotta be fucking kidding me.'

You take a step back when you hear the car door shut. Why was he here!? You take another step back, nearly tripping over your own feet. Maybe if you run back around the corner he won't see you...

Please, please, please, please, please-

"Y/N?"

"God fuckin' damnit..."

Author's Note

And from here on out, I am on my own story-wise!

Not a whole lot of lore on SWWSDJ is really known? It's a whole lotta theories, so I'll be running on those. But I'll try my best to keep this story going as best I can!