#:what’d y’all think im pretty proud of myself for masterminding these details:

[jordan-the-pious]

“Jordan?”

Jordan looked up from their phone as their name was called. The last several days had been beyond stressful, with the last hour and a half alone surpassing anything they had ever experienced. It was no wonder they had a crushing migraine. All this stuff with Briar… it was bringing up old memories and bad feelings, things Jordan thought they had long since forgotten about. They supposed Briar just has a way of sticking around, even when they aren’t wanted.

Snapping back to reality, they stood and walked towards the young nurse who had called their name, offering him a smile. Silently, they were led back to an appointment room.

“So, what brings you in today?” The nurse asked politely.

“Ah I’ve um, I’ve had this headache for the last bit. Nothing I’ve done has helped get rid of it, I believe it’s stress related though. I was hoping you could help me out.”

“A headache…” the nurse took some notes. Jordan swallowed, suddenly feeling nervous for no reason. They knew Briar said they were on their way to the hospital, but surely that was a bluff, right? And if it wasn’t they’d be stopped by the staff, Jordan really didn’t want to see them right now. They didn’t know what they might say in a fit of emotion right now.

The nurse stood up, jolting Jordan out of their thoughts. He approached, and began taking Jordan’s blood pressure. Jordan looked at the floor in front of their feet, unsure where else to rest their gaze.

“Alright, everything sounds normal, I’ll let Doctor Harper know that you’re here! They’ll be in shortly!” Jordan exchanges another small smile with the nurse before being left alone in silence with just themselves and their thoughts.

How awful. This was the very last thing they needed right now. To have to sit and think. They could get their device back out, but that was what led to this mess in the first place. If they had never made that account, never started posting, they wouldn’t have seen Briar again. Wouldn’t have spoken to them again. Wouldn’t have caught their attention again.

They should have known from the last time they caught their attention how it was. They had been a good, pure child, and Briar had approached them with impure intentions. They wanted to corrupt Jordan’s soul, saw it as a challenge they were desperate to undertake. They got close to Jordan, infiltrated every aspect of the young initiates life. They because everything to Jordan, and Jordan foolishly assumed they were everything to Briar.

At one point Briar had come clean. Told to truth about why they approached Jordan in the first place, but swore that it was different now, that their feelings were real and true, and that they wanted to spend the future together. And Jordan believed them. They were so earnest, so desperate in the way they said it, that it had to be true.

But it wasn’t.

They had passed the test to be sworn to one another, and were just waiting for the ritual to start. Back then there was more of delay between events, it was faster now because of this incident. They had both been pure when they left the temple after passing their test, but upon inspection the next day before the ceremony, Briar was no longer pure. They had broken the oath, broken the promise, betrayed Jordan, all at the very last minute.

They didn’t even have the dignity to tell Jordan themselves, they had to find out from the Head Priestess at the time. She was a kindly old woman, and had always been like a Grandmother to Jordan. So when she walked in with a horrible look on her face, Jordan knew something was wrong.

“What is it?” They asked. “Is Briar okay? Are they injured?”

“Far worse my child. They betrayed you.”

That was the last time Jordan spoke of Briar for many years. After this incident they devoted themselves fully to the temple, and were soon selected to be the successor to the High Priestess. They had hoped these memories would stay buried. But nothing ever works out the way we want it to.

Jordan was pulled from their contemplation by a knock at the door, and it opening to reveal Dr. Harper. They exchanged hellos and smiles, and a few pleasantries before the doctor got down to business.

“So I understand you’ve had a headache for the last couple of days?” Doctor Harper’s methodical voice asked, every syllable measured.

“Yes Doctor. I think I’ve just been stressed recently.”

“I understand. Well, since you don’t have any history of headaches, I think just a pain killer and a good nights sleep should fix you right up.”

“That’s wonderful news! Thank you so much Doctor. Oh, but um, while we’re on the subject, I know it isn’t really allowed, but could I maybe be permitted to spend the night here, at the hospital? I love the temple but I fear returning to my place of work so quickly might make the stress worse.”

Harper raked their eyes up and down Jordan’s form, a sick smile appearing on their face. “Oh of course you can! Here, go ahead and take this pain killer for me, and I’ll go get the necessary paperwork. I am looking forward to you spending the night with me.” Harper said, pulling a small pink pill from their coat pocket.

Jordan smiled in return, and took the pill without a second thought.

#jordan briar arc #long post #:ooc: #:woaggggg: #:it’s gettin Dicey up in here: #:n e way Jordan and briar lore drop: #:what’d y’all think im pretty proud of myself for masterminding these details: #:I’m gonna add some tws to this just in case anyone needs them: #tw drugging #tw bad intentions #tw Harper #:they need their own tw I think: