You were an absolute idiot.

Roxy was right all along, as usual, but this time you really wished she wasn't.

Now, here you were, struggling to breathe as you thought it was a bright idea to fight against a class 8 demon all by yourself while you were still in a rough shape from Dirk's spell. 

Maybe if this spell issue wasn't causing you so much issues, then this would be much easier for you. However, the odds were not in your favor.

You gasped for air as the still healing wound on your neck throbbed, shooting pain throughout your neck and your chest wasn't helping the situation at all. You were doing your best to crawl towards one of your pistols that was quickly thrown across the room in a matter of seconds into the battle. It didn't help that this demon seemed to know magic, which also meant they could sense it. She instantly noticed the weak spot on your chest and aimed there with her first blast and never before have you felt such pain. It made you scream-quite an embarrassing scream too. Your voice even cracked, but you were just happy Roxy wasn't there to hear it. Or at least you could hope you were out of earshot at that time.

This mission was proven to be harder than the four of you intended. It was a rare chance for the four of you to go on a group mission, given the only chances you got were during the day when Jade was off at the base. At least you knew she was safe there. That place was covered in enchantments that were strong enough to keep class 10 demons out. You were always proud to admit that your grandmother was one of the hunters to help with that enchantment. 

You should really work on not zoning out while you were fighting for your life because now that pistol was even more out of reach as your eyes helplessly watched it get kicked away right before your hand got stomped on, letting out a cry as you felt her heel dig into your hand. 

Right, you were a demon hunter. You actually had to fight demons and win. Your grandmother's legacy was in danger!

You quickly reached with your free hand for your dagger at your hip before quickly jutting it into her calf. She did not seem to enjoy that as she stumbled back, letting out a frustrated scream of pain, doing her best to quickly yank the dagger out of her calf. 

This was finally your window as you shut down all of your bodies complaints of pain as you quickly darted for your pistol in a sad excuse of a crawl. You've never been so happy to feel the handle of the pistol in your hand as you quickly snatched it up, spinning it around your middle finger until it got into proper position, quickly getting ready to shoot.

The demon's dark purple eyes pierced into your soul as she bared her fangs at you, clearly unhappy that you had your trusty firearm equipped once again. Your other hand that got recently smashed by a heel was out of commission, so one pistol would have to do.

You knew that one shot wouldn't do the job, so you were just hoping that your signal shot pattern would attract one of the other three in this building. You set up a certain firing pattern for emergencies like this if something were to happen to your Morse code pad or if you didn't have time to send out a signal. You really were appreciative of Roxy.

You took your aim at the now charging demon as you fired in a waltz pattern of sorts, taking a small break between the first shot before making the other two in sync with one another. You did the same pattern once again just in case if they didn't hear it or understand it the first time.

Luckily, for now it stunned the demon. You knew it wouldn't last for long, especially since she seemed very familiar with magic. Even if she was immobile for the moment, her mouth could still move which meant she could still talk.

"So..." You heard her cough out in a rough tone, her eyes staying glued to you as a wicked smile was spread upon her lips, "How did a hunter like you end up with such a strong spell on your heart? Let me guess, a succubus caught your eye and now they own your heart?" She was testing her waters as you didn't have much of a choice to listen, taking in heavy breaths as you kept your pistol aimed at her just in case she tried anything. 

"No, that look on your face tells me it was from some demon that was more...special." She hummed, her eyes narrowing as you couldn't help that you tensed a bit with those words. Damn, she was good-or you were just super easy to read. Maybe it was both. Whatever it was, you weren't thankful for it.

"I can tell you're quite the amazing hunter and you should be able to kill off one like me without help," Shit, she knew about the signal too, she was clever, "But whoever has you wrapped around their finger is more of a threat and I wouldn't advise facing them alone." 

Wait, did she just give you...advice? 

That was weird, but you certainly didn't mind the idea.

"Thanks...I guess?" You didn't really know how to respond, or you didn't know if you really should respond at all. Something inside of you told you to though and you honestly felt kind of bad for having to kill her off soon.

She simple scoffed before rolling her eyes, seeming amused at your remark-and not in a good way.

"I'm not helping you, I'm pitying you. Honestly, even if you got help at this point, that probably won't even save you, even from one of the most powerful of mages. So basically, you're fucked." She grinned, starting to move once again which made you realize that you were still talking to a demon who was just trying to rip your face off not too long ago.

You fired another round of shots, this time aiming for her head. You didn't really notice, but you were actually angry that she told you that. You weren't fucked. You could fix this issue-and by yourself! Okay, maybe not entirely by yourself, but you could fix this. No, you will fix this issue. You could not die by this stupid spell that you've been dealing with for years now. You refused to go down like that. 

Her laughter didn't help the situation either. These demons required enchantments and for enchantments required energy which is a luxury you didn't have right now.

"Getting mad will only make matters worse. Maybe I was wrong earlier- perhaps you are just a super weak hunter that's stupid enough to hunt down stronger demons than they can handle. You really plan on doing your grandmother proud that way?" You glared down at her figure as it shook while she laughed. 

An instant switch was flipped as you forgot about your lack of energy as you lunged towards the figure laying down on the ground. Your first punch from your injured hand landed straight on the side of her cheek, but you could feel her bones cracking from impact. After that was a blur as you just attacked in a pure fit of rage. You didn't even notice that you were sobbing and acting like a complete madman. Your chest ached even more as your heart painfully throbbed. You knew Rose gave you a warning about acting impulsively from now on because it could expose even more weaknesses to Dirk, but you didn't care about that right now. All that you cared about was making her regret anything that she ever said about your grandmother. Maybe you weren't that great for a hunter, but you refused to allow her to even think that way about your grandmother. She was a kind, gentle, caring, compassionate, sweet, badass, and stunning woman who knew better to only care about her pride.

The only thing that pulled you back to reality was the literal harsh yanking from the back of your shirt as Roxy did her best to knock some sense into you as she repeatedly shouted your name. Before you knew it, you were hiccuping between sobs while you tried to catch your breath like a child who just threw a tantrum would do. It was childish after all, but you were just so mad. You didn't even watch as Dave and John both got rid of the demon while your body ached from your core.

You knew you just gave Dirk another piece of your heart from how much worse it already felt, the pain doubling in size as you couldn't stop trembling.

"Is it the spell?" You could hear Dave ask as now Dave and John were kneeling down beside you now as Roxy laid your head on her lap, gently tucking parts of your hair behind your ears. This was very embarrassing and that demon did have a point about you being shameful.

"I think that's part of it." She replied simply as she helped you sit up, wiping away your tears with her thumbs before kissing your forehead. It's like she could read your mind, but you really did hate looking like this, especially in front of Dave and John. 

You simply took your time inhaling deeply as you tried to cool your systems down so you could at least talk without sounding like a blubbering child. 

"S-Sorry...she just mentioned my grandmother in such a way that I just got so pissed...I'm sorry," You managed a small smile as you chuckled weakly, "She was probably right about somethings, but I just refuse for my grandmother to be talked like that and compared to someone like me because she isn't me." It was true. You were Jake and she was your grandmother. She shouldn't be compared to someone like you.

Roxy returned your smile with a weak one before sighing, gently patting your head and getting up. She helped you up as your legs wobbled, feeling that spurt of energy die off quickly now. You did forget about the chest thing because you almost instantly fell back over as you clutched your shirt. God, this thing made you already feel 80 years old with how weak it made you. It didn't help that it was targeted most of the time during your battle with the demon lady.

John and Dave were already at your side as you almost fell back down on your face, making you heave out a weak breath. This really was pathetic. 

"Take it easy old man." You heard Dave tease as he gently, very gently nudged your side. He was great with cheering you up and lightening up the mood of scenarios, so you were grateful. 

"That means you're calling Roxy and old lady, Dave." You heard John pipe in as he gave Dave a devilish grin to make the Strider realize his mistake. He instantly looked towards Roxy with an apologetic look that begged for mercy. She simply laughed with a small shrug.

"Don't worry, no matter how old Jake and I get, we'll always be able to beat your asses." She winked at you and you couldn't help but grin in response, sending a wink right back.

"Bet." Dave stated calmly as he raised an eyebrow to question Roxy's statement. Oh, his poor soul.

"Best two out of three on Mario Kart when we get home." Roxy stated plainly as she gave Dave a look that questioned to see if he was committed. He simple nodded back in response.

You would have to remember to pop some popcorn when you got home.

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As you guessed, Roxy ended up winning the bet. What happened afterwards, you will never know because you had to leave to go pick up Jade. Roxy was at first against it because your hand was of course still messed up and your body was in rough condition, but you promised Jade that you would go out in the town with her this evening. It's been so long since you've actually gone out with her, especially in the city. However, you did have to make a deal with Roxy that you wouldn't go on a mission tonight if you went out with Jade. In your eyes, it was a fair deal.

You were just happy that you finally got to spend time with Jade by yourself. With her school and you being busy at night, it was hard to have time with her. You felt bad about it, but you were warned by the base that it was important to try and not get too attached because it could distract your work. It was too late for you though because you were already severally attached to her, but it wasn't like you had a choice. She was basically like your own grandchild at this point, so you could say you've gotten a little attached to an unhealthy obsession.

You grabbed the car keys from the kitchen counter top and whistled for Bec to come follow. You recently got Bec to be a certified service dog too. It was more so for other people to help them if they were in trouble since Bec just got so bored back at home doing nothing. Some days he went to the base with Jade to help relieve some of the stress of the kids when they did more stressful training days. He was mainly meant for stress relief for other people since he wasn't trained for a specific type of medical condition, however, he still did help people having attacks and such. He really was amazing.

You opened up the passenger side door for the Jeep as Bec instantly hopped in, taking his seat in the front before you closed that door and headed towards the driver's side. You started the car, plugged your phone into the aux, clicked on your oldie's playlist and let the familiar tunes fill in the car. Usually you would let Bec hang out his head of the window, but it was too cold for that right now, so you stuck with turning on the heat to let him warm up as he enjoyed the gentle breeze move his fur around. You smiled to yourself before gently patting his head. He really was such a good boy.

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The base was a solid 30 minute drive away which gave you plenty of time to get annoyed glares from Bec as you sang along to a majority of the songs. Currently playing was one of your favorites that fell inside the classic rock genre. You couldn't help but jam out to "Call Me" by Blondie. You would've kept singing if it wasn't for Bec taking his paw and slapping you across the face with it. Okay, guess he had enough of that. You were at the base now anyways. You really didn't want to be seen by your coworkers like that anyways, so maybe Bec was doing you a favor. He was most likely just done with you though.

You turned off the car as you hopped out of it, walking back over to the passenger side and opening the door. You grabbed the leash from behind Bec and hooked it onto his collar before he hopped out to stand beside you. He stretched out his legs and rolled his head in a small circle to stretch out his neck. He took his spot beside you as you closed the passenger door, locking the car and then heading inside. You waved at some familiar faces as you headed up to the front desk. 

Of course a hunter base wouldn't be so easy to get into, so you had to say the password before being allowed to go get Jade.

"Golden eye." Is all you said as the lady at the front nodded and handed you an elevator pass. It had a special code on the card that would allow you to go into the basement of this place that could only be accessed by these cards. You were obsessed with James Bond when you were younger when you first came up with the password and you still were, so it was easy to remember. Plus, you felt pretty cool saying a code name like that. 

Bec followed you as you entered the elevator and allowed the scanner by the elevator buttons to scan your card. The automated voice said your name as you said hello back for the voice recognition. It blinked a green light at you before the elevator began to move. It scanned your face once it got to the basement floor before opening the doors and letting you in.

With a deep inhale, you stepped inside and walked towards the classroom areas. The basement was actually huge as it was underneath this block of the city. It had three floors too. The bottom floor was where the demons were held for testing, but only few were brought down there for it. Honestly you thought the ones who were killed were more lucky than the ones who got caught. There was only one time when a demon escaped and it happened to be a class 10 demon. That was the class 10 demon your grandmother killed off on her own. It was a brutal day as about 24 hunters died and they were all the kids in training too. For you, it was one of the very few days that you were sick from training and you've never been more thankful for the stomach flu. 

The second floor was were the shooting range and other basic training platforms were held, especially a wrestling ring. You had fond memories of fighting Roxy quite a few times in that very ring. She usually won, but you did win once or twice. You were sure that you would lose in an instant currently with the shape your body was in. Just one strike to the center of your chest and you were doubled over, gasping for air and already in extreme pain. Yeah, you would have to pass on wrestling for a while.

"Jake!" You heard a familiar voice call over to you. Ah, hunter Tavros. He might be stuck in a wheelchair but he could still beat the crap out of some demons. He was more so a trainer now though for the children since it was something he loved to do. He was a sweet fellow, but you knew better than to get on his bad side.

You smiled at him as you walked over to him as Bec wagged his tail, happy to see someone who took good care of his Jade. 

"Hey Tavros! How was Jade today?" You asked calmly even if you we were super excited just to see her again. It was always so cute to see her tiny little self run out and come squealing as she would hug your waist. You missed it when she could only hug your legs. 

"Wonderful as usual, but she did cause a little bit of issues today." He sighed, rubbing one of his temples as he glanced up at you. Ah, yeah, that was probably your fault since you were rowdy and everyone else in your house was too-so uh, yeah, she was lively.

"Oh dear, what did she do this time?" You huffed as you really hoped the base wouldn't fuss at you again for not training her with proper "hunter behavior". It wasn't like she was a bad kid, she just had so much energy which wasn't a bad quality for a hunter.

"She just wouldn't sit down during one of the lessons today, so nothing major." He shrugged as you sighed in relief knowing it was nothing crazy.

"Oh wonderful-I mean, I'm just glad it was nothing major this time around." You replied a bit nervously, getting only a chuckle from the other. He didn't seem to mind your slip up so you tried your best not to overthink the situation-which you knew you would do anyways.

"Grandpa!" 

You turned to hear a familiar voice as she came up running to you with a huge smile on her face. Like instinct, you crouched down so she could hug you properly as she wrapped her arms around your neck as you did around her back. Usually you would pick her up, but with your one hand in rough shape and your chest bothering you even more now, you decided against it. 

"No pick up like usual?" You heard Tavros tease as he watched the scene, amused but he also had a soft look in his eyes. He was a huge softie and a very sweet guy, although he did try to act super tough and heartless. He was in charge of the children so of course he had a soft spot.

"Not for a little while," You sighed as Jade let go of your neck, breaking the hug as she looked at your hand with a concerned look, "I got my hand messed up while on a mission by a demon lady stepping on my hand with her heel." You were just happy it wasn't as messed up as it could've been if it wasn't for the other three being there.

"Ouch dude." Tavros winced and even looked disturbed as he rubbed his own hand from your response. You didn't blame him, it was for sure not a wonderful experience. 

"Here," Jade took your hand and kissed on top of the bandages, "All better!" She looked up at you with a huge smile and you could feel your heart melt as a smile forced itself upon your lips.

"Much better." You hummed before kissing the top of her head and standing up. You did need to get going before it got too late and it would be too dangerous to walk around as a hunter with your little one like that. It would put her in danger along with both of your profiles. You didn't need any more demons beyond Dirk and Jane knowing that you had Jade in your custody. 

You said your goodbyes to Tavros as he waved back in response before you headed out with Jade's hand holding onto your good one with Bec's leash in the other (since he never tugged, unlike Jade). She was too young to have her own ID card yet, so she would basically have to be glued to your hip at all times unless during hunter school or when she was with another staff member. They didn't joke around here about security. Holding her hand was just to keep her close to make sure she didn't run off and just because it made you feel more secure having her there for some reason. It was hard to explain, but even the tiniest little touches from her made you feel almost 100% better. You didn't mind it though and she didn't seem to mind either. Sometimes she would even cling to you just because. 

She waved goodbye to the people you two passed by on the way out as she had a small skip in her step. She seemed very excited about this evening and so were you. You would be lying if you weren't. She opened the door for Bec as he climbed in and allowed her to sit with him in the front seat. She was actually tall for her age so they said it was fine now for her to ride in the front seat without a booster of any kind. The Harley side of your family did tend to grow on the tall side. You might cry if she ends up being taller than you one day. No, you would cry.

You closed the passenger side door before hopping in the Driver's side, plugging in your phone and handing it to Jade so she could chose a song while you made sure she was buckled properly and buckle yourself up. Everything was in check, so you nodded in satisfaction before starting up the Jeep. 

Your ears instantly perked up from the familiar notes of the trumpet in the beginning of the song she chose. You grinned her way as she grinned back just as much. You taught her well. The song was "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" by Frankie Valli and oh man, did you have so many fond memories from singing this song out from the top of your lungs with Jade, Roxy, John, and even Dave (you were both very intoxicated that night).

You began to drive off towards the downtown area of the city as you could feel the tension build up in the music as it slowly added on more and more instruments to the bunch. You shared a glance with Jade before you both took a deep intake of air before screaming the lyrics you both knew so well. You even took liberty of the empty lane by swerving in it, of course never going outside of the lane lines. You only did it for a moment as you heard Jade laugh between the lyrics, making you laugh as well.

God, you really did love this girl.

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Bec was more then happy to get out of the Jeep first as you and Jade couldn't contain your giggle fits. You both sang to many songs on the 15 minute drive to the downtown area including; "My Way" by Frank Sinatra, "Put Your Head On My Shoulder" by Paul Anka, and of course, "Jailhouse Rock" by Elvis because as Jade says, the list is never complete without the king of rock himself. You couldn't agree more. 

You took a hold of Bec's leash with your bad hand then Jade's hand with the other. She told you the other night that she wanted to wear a dress, so to the dress shop you would go! 

Of course it wasn't going to be anything too fancy, you were just going to go get her a casual one so she could wear it whenever just like she said. It's not that you were against dresses, she just never seemed interested so you never forced her to wear one. 

She wanted to try one again, so here you were, waiting outside of the dressing room as she was trying on the very first one she fell in love with at first sight. The worker's compliments on the dress only made her even more eager to try it on, so she snatched her size and tugged you towards the back to the dressing rooms. This is why you were holding Bec with your bad hand.

"I bet she'll look nice with that dress on." You heard a male voice say from behind you as you nodded in agreement.

"Yes of course! She is quite the cute one, isn't she?" You hummed as you turned to look at the person from the voice, only to feel your whole body go cold. Your instinct was to grab the nearest item and throw it to make the hallucinations go away, so you grabbed a hanger and tossed it at the figure. Luckily the item went straight threw the vision and you felt your tight chest ease up some. You weren't ready for Dirk to meet Jade, you actually never wanted them to meet in person. That would be the worst day of your life. You eyed as the hallucination of Dirk vanished into the air.

"Grandpa," You heard a familiar voice call out from behind you, making you turn back around to face her, "How does it look?" She grinned as she twirled in it. It did look lovely on her, but she didn't look satisfied. You knew she hated inconveniencing you, so she was probably trying to be happy with the first dress so you didn't have to wait too long. However, this wasn't anything close to an inconvenience, it was a joy to see her like this.

"It looks glorious sweetheart," You hummed as you eyed her, seeing her smile falter for only a split second from your response, "But, do you like it?" She seemed taken back from you seeing through her mask, making her stutter a bit before getting out a proper response. You couldn't help but smile slightly from the look on her face.

"I...I do like it," She mumbled as she twiddled her thumbs out of nerves, "But I don't love it." With a sigh of defeat, she went back into the dressing room before shutting the door. You smiled in approval before quickly heading out into the store to pick out a couple of dresses that you knew she would love.

The first one that caught your eye was a napoleon blue dress, having an a-line style. The sleeves were short, but frilled out at the edges into small ruffles. Something about this color just seemed like something Jade would like, so you quickly skimmed for her size before taking it off of the rack.

The next dress to catch your eye was a casual empire styled dress which was more of a pale baby blue. The reason you snatched it was because of the outline of a dog's face on the chest area of the dress. It was white there and for some reason, it ended up looking very close to Bec's face, and he also thought so as he sniffed the dress in approval. You couldn't help but smile down at him before gently patting his head.

The last dress you grabbed nearly made you drop the other two dresses. It instantly made you stop in your tracks before rushing over to it, almost running into a little girl. You, of course, apologized deeply to her and her mother quickly before running back towards the dress, almost as if you were afraid to lose it the moment you look away of it.

It was a deep black color, but it shimmered in the light, making it look like a night sky filled with stars. It also had green trimming around it. It was a lovely dress and you couldn't help but become so memorized by its beauty.

"That one is called "Three In The Morning", sir. What size do you need?" You heard a calm voice state from behind you as one of the workers smiled at you sweetly. You gave him Jade's size and he somehow didn't even have to look before pulling out the size you needed. You thanked him before rushing back to the dressing room.

"Try these on," You huffed as you passed them to her over the top of the door, "I think you'll love them."

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In the end, you ended up buying the second one and the last one since the last one wasn't really a casual dress for playing in. She said she would save it for a "special occasion", so you were guessing her graduation from her class or something. You weren't quite sure, but the look on her face made your wondering mind ease.

The rest of the night went almost too smoothly as you both tried to eat at some tea-party themed restaurant, but you both booked it out of there in less than five minutes. You loved tea and so did Jade, but something about tonight told you it wasn't a tea type of night. So instead, you drove down to a local diner and getting a couple burgers there. They even had special food made for dogs, which Bec was very thankful there. His tail didn't stop wagging the whole time he ate his food.

The sun was down now, so you knew you had to get home before the road in the woods got too dangerous. Jade already passed out in the front seat only ten minutes into the drive back home, so you turned the music down as you hummed quietly to yourself. Bec seemed to also appreciate that as he curled up against Jade, quickly falling asleep himself.

You really missed nights like these and you were happy Roxy told you to take the night off. You needed to do this more often.

The only thing that really bothered you were the constant appearances of Dirk at random times. Usually you could control them pretty well if you were distracted enough, but now it wasn't working. It probably dealt with how he got even more of your heart earlier today. That was the only logical reason for it, or at least you hoped so. You really didn't hope that you were getting even weaker than you already were. It was pitiful to think how weak you've become due to one spell, but then again, this spell has been cast on you for years now. Usually the spell would get weaker first after this long, especially with a willpower like yours, but it seemed to be the other way around.

Those thoughts made your chest ache painfully as you winced with the first few heart beats that shook pain through your system to the core. You really shouldn't be driving with such a condition, but you really couldn't help it. The base still didn't know about your condition and you would like to keep it there. That included doing your best to stay out of the ER and instead going to Rose if anything ever got super bad.

You took in a few deep breaths to ease the pain some, which worked luckily enough. You were also happy that you were almost home meaning you were driving on the roads in the woods. It was rare to ever see another car out here which meant you could take it as slow as you needed so you could catch your breath. You could even stop if needed, of course you pulled over just in case, you weren't that relaxed out here to stop in the middle of the road.

The sight of the cabin made you sigh in relief as the porch light seemed to beckon you close, telling you that you could make it. You would have to polish that light later as a thank you.

You backed up into the driveway before putting the jeep in park. You needed to get inside to take the medicine that Rose gave you to help you whenever your chest would hurt.

First you needed to wake up the sleeping pair and herd them inside before anything though. Leaving a child out like this was not a smart idea, especially during the night time in the woods. That's why you were still working on a garage for the two cars you guys have. The jeep was for you and Roxy and the truck was for Dave and John. It worked out because you four usually split up in that way anyways.

"Sweetheart," You softly cooed as you gently placed one hand on her shoulder and the other on Bec, "We're home." She stirred slightly with a small groan, barely making any motion that she was about to get up. It was a night you would have to carry her in it seemed like.

You got out of the jeep and walked over to the passenger side before opening the door, making sure to open it slowly so Jade wouldn't topple out of the car. She gently raised her head up, swaying slightly in her seat as drool dribbled out from the corner of her mouth, making some of her hair stick to the side of her face. You couldn't help but chuckle at the sight and it didn't help Jade's case as Bec licked her face, making more of her hair stick to the other side.

You reached over past Bec to unbuckle them, or at least you tried to before pain shot through your system, making you instantly retract your hand to your chest. A small yelp of pain followed from your lips as you winced from it. You really needed to take the medicine, but you needed to get Jade inside. Jade seemed more awake now as she looked at you with concern in her eyes. All you could do was smile weakly back before gently patting her head as a sign that you were okay.

Bec seemed to catch on as that intelligent pup managed to unbuckle Jade and himself, wagging his tail with his newest achievement. You would have to give him a milkbone once you got inside the house.

You carefully picked Jade up, feeling a small struggle, but you still managed. She was growing quickly for her age and you sadly admitted that if this spell continued, you probably wouldn't be able to carry her for much longer. For now though, you could, so you took that opportunity and used it.

She gingerly wrapped her arms around you as Bec hopped out of the car, standing beside you to keep an eye on you and Jade. He was a really special dog in all the right ways.

It took you a few moments to get inside, but you managed somehow even as your chest got worse and worse with every few heart beats. As soon as you got to her room, you quickly but gently sat her down on her bed before tucking her in. You pecked her forehead before turning the lights off and gently closing the door.

Once you were a good few feet away from her room, you sprinted to the best of your capabilities as the hallways began to spin. Your ears rang ear-piercingly loud as you could feel your body start to go numb.

At this time, you really wished someone else was here besides a sleeping Jade and a worried dog that stayed by your side this whole time. You could hardly breathe as the heat kicked up which hasn't happened since you were in Rose's shop. That was a sign that this was about to get ugly if you didn't hurry up and take your medicine quickly.

Luckily, you trained Bec for this kind of thing so all you were focused on was getting a glass of water to swallow it with. You stumbled towards the kitchen, feeling your feet starting to fail you. It only took a few more steps before you tripped, the heat fully taking over your body as your body began to tremble.

"Bec.." Your desperate call out for the dog's name made him perk up and nuzzle your head, "meds." He instantly went back to your room as soon as you gave him the command. You were so happy that he was a smart dog because you knew even if your door was closed, he knew how to open it.

You took a few deep breaths to bring your mind back to focus as clearly as you could before the spell completely tainted your mind. You needed water, that's all you needed to get.

You managed to somehow get yourself up to at least your hands and knees so you could at least crawl until your got to the island. Your chest screamed at you as each heart beat made the pain worse as it coursed through your whole body making a small whine of pain to escape your throat. You had to bite down on your thumb to keep yourself from screaming out. You didn't want to wake up Jade or make her see you like this. She knew about your issue, but she's never seen how bad it can get and you planned on keeping it that way.

Right, the water. You needed to get the water.

"You look pathetic."

You groaned in annoyance from hearing Dirk's voice from behind you. Yet another hallucination with horrible timing.

"Shut up." You managed to grumble out in response as you finally reached the island, grasping onto the cool granite underneath your finger tips. It made your whole body shudder from the cool touch, making the heat sourcing through you crave that feeling even more.

"I mean I know you're hurting, but just imagine if Dirk was actually here."

The voice sounded closer so you assumed it was moving closer to you. Usually you would throw something at it, but you didn't want to cause a racket and wake up Jade and that wasn't exactly the most important thing right now.

"I would rather not imagine such a thing right now..." You breathed out as you managed to pull yourself off of the ground, given you had to use the island to support most of your weight.

"Plus," You winced out, "He's the bastard who caused this so I'm not really to blame in this predicament." You sighed with relief as moving was much easier now that you had the island. Roxy recommended a cane for you, but you absolutely refused to use one of those until you were seriously injured-like a lost leg-or you were over the age of 60. You were neither of those things, so you also didn't see the grand need for one.

"Yeah, he would just take pride in that though. I mean, I already feel pretty satisfied and I'm just a figment of him." The figure was now beside you, watching you with amused eyes as he kept his arms crossed in front of his chest. For some reason, you desperately wished he would offer a hand to help you, although you knew you would be the object to make him phase away this time and you would once more be stuck on the ground again. The thought was nice though.

"Of course that twisted freak would," You hissed out as you stumbled towards the glasses as you now could hear the footsteps of Bec approaching from the hallway, "But I won't let him get the best of me. Even if I'm physically weak, he will never fully get my heart or my head. I can promise that one." You were confident in that statement because it was true in ways. Sure, you weren't exactly the strongest when it came to emotions, but you could still hold up pretty well in some cases.

"Is that what you tell yourself to make it easier to fall asleep at night?" You heard the figure coo as he followed you, his eyes never leaving your figure. You didn't even have to look at him to know these things, it was just even more hot wherever his eyes would wonder for some reason. You blamed it on the fact that it was a part of your brain in an odd way, so maybe that was why. That also made your face heat up even more when you felt it linger on your rear end, making you shoot a glare back at him over your shoulder for a brief second.

Bec looked at you with a confused look and you just shrugged, being confused as well as you gratefully took the bottle of pills from Bec. You managed to grab a glass and throw yourself against the countertop by the sink. You almost broke the glass, but those were tiny details right now.

You quickly got some water from the sink as you could feel your knees begging for you to just fall as they shook greatly.

"I really wish I could be the one touching you instead of actual Dirk."

This straightforward statement made you let the glass of water slip from your fingers into the kitchen sink. Luckily it didn't shatter or anything from the small fall, but that didn't help your case as your body heat intensified by double. Your knees gave in as you fell onto them, nearly busting your chin open on the countertop on the way down.

You quickly shook the statement off as you grasped the counter top once more and pulled yourself up. Right, you forgot the major thing about this spell. It made you desire touch, especially from Dirk and this hallucination figure thing was exactly like Dirk in most ways, except a little nicer in ways. He was more like the original Dirk that you used to know compared to the sadistic one nowadays. It made you crave him as you thought about that and you had to shove those thoughts in the back of your head as your chest began to ache at more rapid speeds. You really needed that medicine right now.

Your hands desperately grasped at the glass that fell into the sink as you picked it up, struggling at first from how slippery it was from the water that was still pouring onto it from the sink. You had to fill it up a little bit more before shutting the water off and setting the glass down on the countertop.

"I mean, he's really lucky. I know he doesn't act like that, but he is. I can't touch anything and I really don't have any desire to-but if I could, it would be you."

This time it was even worse as his voice was now right behind you as it was whispered into your ear, making your whole body shake even worse than it already was. You tried to ignore his other statements that kept pouring into your ear as you struggled helplessly with opening the medicine bottle.

Once it was opened, you didn't hesitate to pop one instantly into your mouth before quickly bringing the water to your lips and taking a sip to swallow the pill.

Of course it wouldn't kick in right away, but it was a sign of relief to finally have the pill in your system. What didn't help was this goddamn hallucination Dirk that you so badly wish you could shut up but also kiss at the same time. This spell was annoying.

Why not do both?

That thought from the back of your head made your whole body move without you having time to think it through. You ended up turning around quickly and attempting to cup his cheeks in your hands as you felt a wave of desperation sweep over you as you leaned forward to plant a kiss on his lips in the middle of his sentence.

However, doing so, his figure disappeared and it made your heart ache painfully from the lack of contact, making a loud pathetic whine rip from the back of your throat before you fell right down onto the floor once more. You just let it happen once more as Bec began licking your cheek. All you could do was sigh before kissing his cheek and allowing your body to relax into the ground.

It was cool on the ground and that's all you needed right now to help your burning body.

You were too tired to care, but apparently your emotions and your heart wasn't as you felt tears pool in your eyes and drip onto the floor. Were you really that messed up from such a stupid situation? Maybe you were just mad, which you were, but you also just felt so...empty. Like something was missing from this whole thing. You felt empty in your core and phasing through the hallucination Dirk just reminded you of that greatly. Did you seriously desire Dirk's touch that much? You really hoped not. It was probably just the spell having a bad affect on you right now. Yeah, that had to be it. Or, at least you kept telling yourself.

All you could tell was that once you did meet Dirk in person finally, you were either going to put a bullet in him or make out with him right on the spot. Maybe it was both. Whatever it was, you really hoped it wasn't option 2 or 3. You just wanted to kill him and get this over with. Maybe if you told yourself that enough then you could.

Maybe.

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You don't remember when you passed out last night, but you did it and Roxy was the one who woke you up around 2 in the morning with a look of worry but also a mix of a disappointment in her gaze too.

"Is this really going to become a regular thing?" She whispered to you as you tiredly sat up, wincing from the sharp pain in your chest to remind you-once again like every other single time you get up-that the stupid spell was still there.

"I wish it wasn't." You grumbled as you took off your glasses to briefly try and rub the sleep out of your eyes.

"Me too." She sighed before standing up and offering you a hand to help you up. You took it gratefully as she helped you stand up. You did the usual routine of looping your arm on her shoulders as she put her arm underneath your arms and across your back. Her other free hand was pressed against your stomach to keep you upright as you two walked towards your room. On nights like these, she would end up sleeping in your bed with you just to make sure that you didn't have a random attack in the night. You two were super close so you never found it weird to sleep in only underwear with each other in the same bed. It was no big deal, although you knew plenty of people thought it was super weird and even some people at the base mistook you two for being married or something. You two would both make the same disgusted face from such a comment and that would quickly give away your answers to such comments.

She gently sat you down onto your bed before she went back to close the door. You took the chance to take off your shirt, kick off your boots and then take off your jeans. You let out a loud yawn as you stretched before flopping back into the bed, a small smile appearing on your lips from the comforting hug from the mattress. She also did the same before crawling underneath the bed sheets as you followed too. She leaned over and pecked you on the forehead before relaxing into the mattress as you pecked her on the cheek before relaxing into your position that you were forced to sleep in due to your condition. You couldn't even cuddle anymore due to this stupid spell that made even a simple touch to your chest make you hurt like crazy. You would have to settle with the closeness of Roxy before you two ended up drifting off into a peaceful sleep.

You were hoping your dreams would be just as peaceful for once.

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((Hey guys! I'm hoping you enjoyed this chapter once again and I'm sorry for the lack of any true development lately, but I promise there will be plenty in the next chapter or two which is why I'm trying to show Jake's "average" life right now before it all gets even worse ;)

Anyways, thank you all for the lovely votes on my chapters and the comments too! I love reading them and receiving the notifications. Honestly without those I probably wouldn't have any motivation to type up this story, so I just wanted to properly say thank you!

Thank you for reading!))