Jake's POV
After our meeting with Lucy, we got back in the car and headed back up to the home to get ready for our meetup with Alex. When we got home, we saw Derek and Jade waiting for us out front, with stupid grins on their face and we could tell they just got lucky. They had their glow about them, and something told me there was something else to it.
"Hey Jake, how's it hanging?"
"Not bad, Derick, not bad at all. How yall doing? How's JJ and Nicki?" I asked and got an even wider grin out of both of them, they did get lucky, and their partners were asleep so they could talk without a filter.
"We heard from Jack that yall had a meeting with Alex tonight, thought you might need some help getting ready for her," Jade said as Jack went inside to get a drink, he knew it would probably take me an hour or so to get ready, so, might as well kick back and chill.
"Why not? Y'all know how hard it is for me to get ready anyways."
"Oh yeah, we know, we know better than you realize," Derick said as we got inside and headed towards my room, and what a surprise it was to see everything tidied up, clothes in drawers and my trash all picked up.
"Why?! How?! Who!?"
"Because it was messy, easily, and it was I," We heard from behind as Nicki joined us, leading Jade to frown as she was hoping Nicki was still asleep, "Derick, go cuddle Johnny, Jade, wait for me in the bedroom."
"Yes ma'am!" They said in unison, knowing not to question Nicki if she wants something done: it gets done, one way or another. After they went their separate ways, she closed the door and took a seat on my bed.
"Alright, what's the occasion?"
"That's a long story, and Jack would be able to fill you in easier, but tonight we're meeting up with Alex for something."
"You don't know why you're going, yet you're going anyways?"
"Should I not be? I thought the whole point of soulmates was to put your faith in them because if you have no one they're your last line of defense."
"And that's true, but this is radically different from the you I knew not even two weeks ago, something changed and if I help you get ready I want to know what that something is."
"Alright, alright, but don't be surprised if you want to kill me afterward," I said before taking a seat opposite her and started explaining our time at the 'On The Border' and our meetup with Gloria. I explained, to the best of my abilities, who Gloria was and why she's now on our radar as well as why she COULD be considered a threat to us and our entire livelihood. Furthermore, I explained how Jack had said she would most likely not interfere in our affairs because of her paths crossing with a friend of his. After finishing up the explanation, Nicki looked as if I had just dropped an atom bomb's worth of information on her, and she wouldn't be wrong in that reaction.
"So, let me get this straight, there's a Demon of Love out there who could make or break your entire future with Alex, and your trump card is keeping her distracted with Jack's friend. Thereby hoping that she will be infatuated enough with him long enough for Alex to seal the deal with you and Jack?"
"Yep."
"That's...a lot less complicated than you made it out to be."
"Yep."
"You're just saying yep to piss me off, aren't you?"
"Nope, just checking to see if you comprehend my stupid ass," I said, laughing at her knowing full well she would smack the shit out of me under normal circumstances, but these were anything but normal circumstances for us.
"Alright then, let's get you dressed up then," She said as she stood up and opened up the drawers, and after 30 minutes of back and forth, we were able to come to an answer of what to wear. My black boots with navy blue jeans and grey leggings, with a long-sleeve black shirt. To tie the whole thing together we decided on my grey 'Dia de Los Muertos' hoodie that I bought during a trip to Mexico with Jack after a job. I hadn't worn it in a long time out of respect for the mountain of people we lost that day, but I felt like today was a good day to honor the men and women we lost, by wearing a hoodie in honor of the fallen on the day that I would arise from my own ashes.
Jack's POV
Jake walked out of his room in a fresh getup, and I've got to admit, he looked snazzy and I was only a little jealous. He was wearing a hoodie I never thought would see the light of day again, he refused to wear it out of respect for the soldier we had lost during one of our most bloody conflicts, and yet here he was wearing it with pride.
"You really never cease to amaze, don't you?"
"You know I always dress to impress, don't I?" He asked with a smirk, sure enough, our Jakey boy was back, confidence shining through and proving to us all that he was ready to meet Alex, together they could conquer anything. I would make sure of it.