Chapter 1
pomni pov
It had been a month since she returned to the real world. A full month since their escape from the circus and all the chaos that came with it. The memories still clung to her like static, flickering in and out when she least expected it.
She hadn’t heard anything from Jax. Not a word. Not a sign. Just silence.
But she wasn’t completely alone.
She had managed to find Ragatha, Zooble, and Gangle. Somehow, against all odds, they had made it out too. And today, they were coming over. Not just to catch up, but to search.
To find Kinger.
If he had escaped… if Queenie had made it out with him… then maybe there was hope. Not just for them, but for all the others. Even the ones who had abstracted.
Hope, fragile as glass, but still there.
And for the first time in weeks, it felt like it might be enough.
As she stepped out to grab some food before the others arrived, she pulled out her phone, glancing down to check she was heading in the right direction.
That was her first mistake.
She walked straight into someone.
“—oh!”
Her phone slipped from her hands, clattering against the pavement.
“Hey, watch it,” a voice said, casual but edged with irritation. “Are you planning on taking people out, or is that just a bonus?”
She crouched quickly, reaching for her phone. “Sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going—”
“Yeah, I noticed.”
Something about his tone made her pause.
She picked up her phone and looked up—
—and her breath caught.
That voice.
It was Jax.
Her chest tightened, thoughts tangling as she turned toward him. It had to be him… but what if it wasn’t? What if she said the wrong thing?
No. She couldn’t just let him walk away.
“Wait,” she called, a little too quickly.
He paused, glancing back at her with mild impatience.
“What do you think of rabbits?” she called, her voice steadier than she felt. She held her breath.
He paused, then glanced back over his shoulder, a sly smile creeping in. “Rabbits?” he said. “I think they’re great.”
He turned a little more, studying her now, like he was trying to place something just out of reach.
Then his smile sharpened.
“What do you think of short jesters?”
She took a step closer, holding his gaze. “I think you’re looking at one.”
For a moment, he just stared at her.
Then that familiar grin slowly curled back into place.
“Huh,” Jax said, tilting his head. “That so?”
His eyes moved over her a little more carefully now, like he was trying to solve a puzzle he didn’t remember starting.
“Could’ve fooled me,” he added lightly. “Short jesters I’ve met usually make more noise than this.”
He took a step closer, just enough to narrow the space between them.
“But…” his voice dipped, still playful but softer around the edges, “…you do sound kind of familiar.”
That was enough.
Her heartbeat kicked up, but she didn’t back away.
Instead, she gestured slightly behind her, like reality was suddenly pressing in again.
“I don’t have time for this,” she said quickly. “The others are coming round soon. Ragatha, Zooble, Gangle… we’re trying to find Kinger.”
A beat.
She hesitated, then added, quieter:
“Come with me… unless you need to be somewhere?”
Jax gave a small shrug, like the question barely mattered.
“Nah, I’ll come,” he said easily. “It’s either that or head back to the shitty abandoned building I’ve been crashing in.”
He said it like it was nothing. Like it was just another boring option on a list.
Like it didn’t mean much at all.
“But I am glad to see you, Pom-Pom,” he said after a beat, his voice quieter now, like the words annoyed him just for existing. “Missed you… I guess.”
He looked away as he said it, like it was easier that way.
Her expression softened instantly.
“Me too, Jax,” she replied gently. “Me too.”
For a moment, neither of them moved.
“Come on,” she said. “We need to get back anyway… I still need to grab food before the others arrive”
Jax gave a small shrug and fell into step beside her like it was the most normal thing in the world.
Like they hadn’t just found something they thought they’d lost.
For a while neither of them said anything.
Just the steady pace of their footsteps and the pavement.
Then…
“Hey i know this is a bit random i should of asked earlier” she said glancing over at him looking a bit unsure
“But what’s your name, not the one from the circus?”
He hesitated like the question caught him off guard,like it wasn’t something he was used to, like no one had ever really tried to know him.
“Feilix” he said quietly
She nodded slightly. It suited him, in a strange, almost unfamiliar way.
“What’s yours pom-pom?”
“Christina” she said
“ Christina huh” he said glancing at her and smirking “doesn’t really suit you”
She rolled her eyes and him “well i didn't exactly choose it”
He turned his head towards her and smiled a wide toothy grin like in the circus. It was then for the first time she really got a look at him. He had faded blonde hair, the kind that made it obvious he’d bleached it himself, with darker brown roots starting to grow back in And two snakebite piercings on his lips. Freckles scattered across his face like someone had dropped paint without caring where it landed. Warm comforting hazel eyes. Very unlike the purple rabbit from the circus.
