Page 48 of Hollow

“Just help me ignore my own paranoia.” Dimitri gave Jack a soft, sad smile. “I wish to busy myself. Busy myself with happiness.”

“I can do that.”

Dimitri pressed his head against Jack’s pumpkin and rested there for a moment, collecting himself and calming his nerves. Jack stood close, running his knuckles back and forth, enjoying the silence together.

CHAPTER TWELVE

“Are you sure about this?” Jack asked, mixing chemicals together.

Dimitri crinkled his nose at the sharp aroma. He must’ve looked like he was second-guessing the decision, given the questioning expression Jack gave him.

“I am excited to try this.”

“You don’t look excited.”

“Looks can be deceiving.”

“Looks can also be quite transparent.”

“I am certain. Let us proceed.”

Dimitri had spent the week trying to ignore the paranoia gnawing at his thoughts. It was challenging to ignore the fear that came with anticipating the worst possibilities lying in wait. Dimitri always expected everything to fall apart; it kept his hopes low and made basic survival easier. But everything had been fine since he found Jack, since Jack found him. Dimitri didn’t know if he’d ever truly work through the panic rooted in his mind, but he hoped to make a little more progress every day. It helped that he had Jack, who provided the perfect and most ridiculous distractions.

It wasn’t easy, but Dimitri tried to go with the flow, to be carefree, and to delve deeper into impulsive decisions simply for the fun of it. And Jack’s most recent idea sounded fun for the most part. Even if it smelled awful.

“Okay, but you’re absolutely one hundred and twenty percent on board?”

“I am no math genius, but your numbers are off.”

“I won’t proceed unless you’re one-hundred and twenty percent certain.” Jack folded his arms as his shadowy expression twisted into a pouty face.

“Oh, for goodness sake, yes, I am absolutely certain,” Dimitri huffed. “In fact, I am one-hundred and thirty percent certain.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Jack held up his arms in protest. “That’s way too certain. There is a proper ratio to certainty, and you’ve exceeded it.”

“You are impossible.” Dimitri swore under his breath in Russian, which only made Jack’s sly smile grow wider.

“Alrighty, fine. Let’s get this show on the road.” Jack pulled out his phone and hit record. “Howdy ho, my creepy crawlies. It’s your boy, Jack Whoa Lantern, and y’all won’t believe what Deer Daddy and I are up to today.”

Jack panned the camera over to Dimitri.

“Drumroll, please.” Jack grinned.

Dimitri merely stared at the camera, uncertain what to do. Jack never prepared him for any of their recordings, merely going with the flow. Doing his best, Dimitri took each of his index fingers and tapped them on the countertop. There was a certain lack of rhythm in his beat that nearly made Jack burst into laughter.

“As you can tell, he’s rapt with anticipation.” Jack paused for a moment, eyes flitting upward. “Am I using that right? I have a whole word of the day set on my phone. Rapt with anticipation? Sounds right. And wrong. What do you think?”

Jack turned the phone back to Dimitri, who simply shrugged in response. All words in English sounded right and wrong to him, no matter the arrangement.

With that, Jack stepped over to the kitchen countertop close to the sink, and revealed his bottled concoctions, rubber gloves, and the box the supplies came inside.

“Deer Daddy has agreed to a little makeover,” Jack explained. “Some of y’all suggested he’d make a killer platinum blond, which he immediately shot down.”

Jack frowned, putting his pouty face back on display, then once again turned the camera to Dimitri, who gave a blank stare.

“But don’t worry, we’re going with a cool look.” Jack ran his fingers through Dimitri’s curly black hair. “Just you wait.”

As Jack continued his rambles to the audience, Dimitri took a bit of joy in his role for the video. Jack seemed so content when speaking to his viewers. He didn’t struggle for topics, running his mouth on even the most mundane things with utter glee. It excited Dimitri, seeing that spark of joy every time he filmed his content.