***

It was odd for Jackie, realizing that Stark Terri once again paid for them and without a second thought.

But to be fair, the strange girl would have to be very odd to let her and the rest of the girls stay in drenched hospital gowns.

After meeting with Stark, running a few more blocks just to be safe, she was purposefully scooping out for a clothing store for the girls. Once they found one, Beyond Style, Aiko of course wanted to burst through the windows before Tracy pointed out that she can just flip the walls and let them in. A sigh of recognition followed.

What else followed was much needed downtime. Drying up, putting on outfits, and ultimately lazing around for what felt like the first time in years. Decades even.

But it was still short lived. They were still tense, despite having a Trend that likes them close by. Jackie elected to lay against the shop window, getting her much needed rest while staring directly out of it for threats. The rest, however, were in the basement of the store—just for the sake of caution.

The only person that was on the same floor as Jackie, of course, was Stark herself.

Jackie took a couple of glances towards her. Not out of wariness nor distance.

But because she, of all people, looked miserable.

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The short girl was at one of the lanes, more or less writing a check for the amount of clothes the girls bought. Signing a digital screen before sticking her Credit Stick into the holes, waiting, then taking it out. All while having no energy to her.

She wore a baggy, grey hoodie that sagged past her hips. Black and equally droopy jeans but with the cuffs stuffed into her white boots with orange soles. Leaning on her umbrella that was black, Stark’s entire body language read as someone that was completely done with life. Truly on the precipice.

Jackie didn’t know how to talk to her. To gauge where she is, to help. All of this so-called-growth from these back-to-back bad experiences and she’s still too self-righteous to actually talk to people who were ultimately less fortunate as her. But she’s super aware of it now, that was working wonders for her.

“Hey.”

Jackie stiffened, both out of fear and out of the fact that she can’t untense anymore. But she turned to Stark once she realized.

The girl had her back turned to her. Grabbing the counter for support, it seemed.

“I’m so sorry. I should’ve been with you. I’m so sorry about what you had to go through.”

Jackie smiled, in pity but was moved by the girl’s first words to her.

“Stark. While I’m touched, it was ultimately our choice in the end… And despite it basically blowing up in our faces in the meanest way possible—actually succeeding in that moment was one of the best moments of my life.”

Jackie looked down, then outside of the window again. “It’s the only proof that we have that we actually mean something.”

There was a palpable silence. Jackie was hoping that Stark would say something, to ease her heart.

She heard a mournful sigh, causing Jackie to crane her head back towards her.

Jackie wasn’t prepared for what she saw.

Stark, without her glasses or hair to obscure her eyes. Showing how tired they were, how sad they were. And ultimately, showing that she was gaining rings, outside of the pupils.

Like Nathan before her.