Splash!
Jerry flung up harshly as a sticky feeling drenched him, followed by a biting cold that left his body shivering uncontrollably.
'What the fuck…?'
A flash of green came into view, and he squinted lightly before adjusting to the dazzling lights.
Dina wasn't exactly the type to obsess over the lights being turned off or on before sleep— as a heavy sleeper, she didn't mind either.
However, the lights had been turned off last night, this, she was sure of, but now they were on.
And in full view of Jerry were two good-looking kids.
One whom he had already met—with angel-like features but a devilish mind—stood near the light switch, and the other, whom he presumed had drenched him in water, was a surprisingly much older teen. Even older than Jennifer!
Blue-green hair and pretty blue eyes sparkled with a mischievous light that matched his menacing grin.
Jerry was still in a daze when a bucket hit him right in the face, sending him tumbling down the bed loudly.
"My my, what a rude servant! You didn't think it right to greet your masters?"
Jerry looked up fuzzily at the grinning teen who stood on the wet bed—had the sheets been white, he could imagine how horrid the mess would have been.
"Young master," he croaked painfully. More than half of the bucket's weight had slammed right onto the left side of his forehead, bringing with it a maddening migraine.
Fuck! It hurt like hell!
".... And young mistress, good morning."
Jason stared silently, and then a wide grin graced his face. A feeling of dread welled up within Jerry, and before he could do a thing, a tight grip clenched his hair and he was pulled across the floor with his roots screaming in agony.
"I didn't quite believe you, sis, until I saw it myself." Jerry was tossed across the room heavily and fell face down before Jessica.
Before he could raise his face, a slight weight was placed on his head and, with a forceful stamp, it was planted right back down.
"Yes, it's quite repulsive. A Normal looking this pretty? What a cosmic-level joke!" Jessica gloated.
Jerry grunted painfully as the weight on his head increased— he could almost feel his face and the floor merging into one!
Jason approached the grunting male with an apathetic gait and, grabbing his leg, pulled him backward. The floor grated against Jerry's face and, even though he sustained no injury, the heat it brought burned right into his heart.
His face was pulled up, and he was forced to meet Jason, whose face appeared terrifyingly close.
He hummed sadly, "So my type, and yet a fucking Normal. No pheromones and probably would take hours prepping."
He pushed the male back down and shrugged, "It probably also stinks down there, with no omega—"
A shoe came flying at him, which he dodged fluently.
"Nasty fuck!"
Jason raised his hands in a state of surrender, "Fine. Fine. I keep forgetting you omegas are sooo sensitive. Acting all pure and stuff…"
Jessica's eyes turned to slits and she blushed in anger.
"You—"
"Sorry. Sorry, okay? I won't do it again! Besides, should we be fighting before… him?"
He pointed at Jerry, who lay on the floor, painfully supporting his upper body with his forearms.
"Ugh, whatever! I came here to release stress—don't pile it up with your nastiness!"
Jessica kicked open the door and stomped out, leaving only the two males.
Jason looked at Jerry with a smile.
"Something as weak as you resisted Jennifer? This should be fun~."
Everything else went with a blur. Quite literally, at least for Jerry.
Almost like they wanted to tick every cringeworthy bullying cliché they could find, the two drowned him in the toilet, taking turns to shove his face inside again and again until he passed out, before being reawakened with a dizzying hit.
By the time they got bored of that, he was completely drenched with toilet water and had swallowed a couple of mouthfuls.
All he could do to console himself was that the bathroom had been washed just yesterday night and hadn't been used till then… Also, he was the only user.
After that, they had him stand across the yard and tossed food at him—his hard-sourced food. That was the only time Jerry actually wanted to cry. They hurled many things at him, ranging from eggs, tomatoes, milk, and the rest.
Mostly eggs, and now their supply had gone down by more than half!
After that, they drenched him with all sorts of detergents—both those meant for bathing and those meant for washing things—and scrubbed him everywhere with the bathroom brush.
Fortunately, they didn't go as far as stripping him... Jerry was ready to go rabid if that did happen. Another fortunate thing was Jessica convincing Jason not to use the brush on his teeth, though he shoved detergents in his mouth to "cleanse it."
He was then shoved inside and threatened to dry up and change, which he did and ended up as Jessica's horse, crawling through the yard on all fours while being hit by Jason with a cane he got from god knows where.
By the time they were done, the morning sun had risen, and after throwing him a few mocking words and snides, the two demons finally went off… but not after Jason praised him for his "tenacity," spewing out more nasty things that had Jessica kicking and shouting as they departed.
Jerry, who was forced to kneel "in appreciation" till they left, slumped to the grassy yard as soon as they were gone.
He stared up at the rising sun with a blank face and remained unblinking even until it strained his eyes. Tears fell down unwittingly from the blinding light— then he closed them.
"Zero?" Dina murmured, "Am I smiling?"
".... Yes."
Indeed. The tattered-looking male with a pitiful gait grinned brightly at the colorful sky, though his eyes spoke of a different tale.
"I'm sorry," Dina apologized quietly, "Please don't look at me."
There was no reply, and perhaps that was his way of respecting her wish.
Jerry's eyes softened, even though his grin did not dissipate.
"Haha, the morning sun is so beautiful," he smiled.
But never prettier than a smile!
***
When Jack woke up, the sun had long risen, and his time showed it was noon.
That was odd, he had thought. Usually, wouldn't that nosy caretaker of his be here around morning time to wake him up?
He really let him sleep in!
He wondered if something had happened. But then confirmed that something had indeed happened. Not only did school holidays start around this time, but someone like Jason, with a terminal syndrome of itchy legs, would simply be unable to stop himself from paying the new servant a "visit."
Should he wait for a while or…?
"No," he muttered, "What am I even doing?"
A distant memory surfaced in his mind. Even if he did help, it'd only worsen things, and they could end up pitting them against each other… It had gotten so bad then, that person committed.
He'd rather if such were to happen again, he wouldn't be remotely involved in any way.
He had just grabbed his headphones when the door parted open.
Jerry walked in with a tray of food and multiple band-aids across his face. Jack stared blankly, and on closing the door, Jerry looked up to meet his gaze.
He smiled cheerfully, "Good morning."
"..."
Jack's lips parted slightly and then they closed, clenched tightly as a wave of emotions hit him. It's… None of his business.
The food was placed before him, and without missing a beat, Jerry went about his usual routine, ranting about things he couldn't care less about.
"... Shut up," Jack mumbled.
"What?" Jerry asked. Jack had spoken with a full mouth and he couldn't quite catch it.
Jack swallowed, and then he restated, "Shut up, I'll eat everything and take out my plates. You, go rest."
Jerry stared at the stern teen whose cheeks puffed up as he ate and smiled.
"... Okay."
His face was lowered, the tears hanging loosely faltered and his cheeks pulled up higher.
"Thanks. Young master… Jack."
After that day, Jerry began addressing the teen by his name.