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Jackson's head was spinning from everything he had been through today as he headed back towards the Star Festival grounds.

From just hanging out at the reservoir and enjoying a day where he had little responsibility and a whole lot of time to spend doing whatever he wanted to do, to exploring the caves where the glowing caterpillars were and meeting a new hmmm friend, maybe, to almost dying as he passed one of the newest construction sites that had cropped up in Star City. That had, frankly, been the weirdest and most exhausting part of the day. He hadn't exactly meant to end up in the construction site, but he had ended up in the middle of some kind of super powered fight and he couldn't shake how familiar the girl in red had seemed. It was like someone from your childhood vacation appearing after a long time and you just can't place where you know them from or even their name. Jackson didn't like unsolved questions or uncertainties, so this feeling of familiarity was driving him mad.

After pondering the events of the day and rolling them all over in his head repeatedly, Jackson had gone home and spent a very long time in the shower debating on whether to come to the festival tonight or just flop into bed and go to sleep. Climbing into bed after what had ended up being a very eventful day still sounded like a good idea but, frankly, he had ultimately chosen to go ahead and go out. He found that more often than not, if he just went to things, he didn't regret going. He rarely regretted staying home either, but yeah.

So here he was.

The musician was once again in a black T shirt, though this one had a white graphic of a raven in a tree on it, black jeans, and black converse high top sneakers. Though he had a certain style, Jackson wasn't one to think too much about clothes, especially if he was just going about the city by himself. He would probably put more effort into his clothing choices if he was actually planning on meeting someone, but that wasn't the case here, even if he did half-hope that Roka would be here again.

After a little while of wandering around again as he had done the night before, Jackson had purchased a drink and decided to rest on a bench a little bit away from the lights and the crowds and he was rewarded for his silent moment with a different kind of lights as fireflies began to blink out into the night around him. He had seen the colorful fireflies before and, as almost everyone else had, tried to catch them, but they were as elusive as if they were wil-o-the-wisps instead of real fireflies. So Jackson just leaned back and settled into the bench he was sitting on to enjoy the quieter area and the light show. It was nice, especially after a long, eventful day, to just sit quietly and watch the world around him.

As he sat and watched both the fireflies blink around him and the mildly distant people meander around the festival, he twirled a fuchia star charm that he had gotten from a booth around his finger.

Jackson chuckled as his friend spoke. "You've got them mixed up. I have my teaching degree. I'm going for art and music degrees." he explained. He'd been able to preplan and take a lot of his art classes as electives, and he didn't have to take his general classes again for any of his degrees so he wasn't extremely loaded down with his course schedule. He still had less time than his other classmates who weren't double majoring, but he wasn't dying either.


"It does seem we don't cross paths as much anymore. You're taking psychology, yes?" He had seen the other man heading in the direction of that building sometimes and seemed to recall him mentioning going down that path.


He chuckled again and the other man transitioned from his stream of questions to an apology for his stream of questions. "It's alright. We haven't seen or talked in a while. I'm just here enjoying the festival. It's nice to break out of the study room every once in a while. What are you up to here?"


Leaning back and stretching his arms out over the back of the bench, he watched as Kit continued to yammer about art and the fireflies for a moment. "A video might work better than a picture." he offered after the other man made a few unsuccessful attempts.

"I already know music and art. I just need the piece of paper that tells other people that I know what I'm talking about." Jackson said, smirking and sticking his tongue out a little at Kit. Then he nodded along as Kit explained his reasoning for his psychology pursuits.


"How is Ty? Is that the reason you went home for a bit?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. He knew that Kit had taken a break in his studies but hadn't seen a reason to poke into why.


When Kit shifted to put his head in his lap and continued talking, Jackson didn't move. He had long ago made peace with Kit's touchy nature. Not being a very touchy person himself, it had taken some getting used to, but Jackson didn't really mind it then or now. If he ever did express a comfort zone, Kit never crossed it, and Jackson preferred people to be as much themselves as possible.


"No solid plans. Just looking around and hanging out. What about you?" He asked, looking down at Kit with a curious quirk to his raised eyebrow.

"Then I'd really be just a prop for you talking to yourself." Jackson said with a smirk, nodding along to show he was listening as Kit explained his younger sister's situation. Jackson had met her a couple of times and she was definitely cute and excitable in a very little sister kind of way. Sometimes Jackson wondered what their parents were like to produce these kinds of children.


"I didn't realize she'd published a book." He said with a raised eyebrow. It was equally surprising and not surprising at all. "What's the title? I'll have to hunt it down." He added casually, but seriously before considering Kit's question about his own family.


"My family is alright. My parents are getting older, of course. My mother is doing well, but can't get around the way she used too." He said. "Painting again with you would be fun. Did you have a collaboration in mind?"

Jackson shook his head with an amused smile, despite a small blush creeping across his face. He knew that flirting was almost like breathing with Kit, and he had long ago (mostly) stopped taking it personally and usually just brushed it off, but the other man's forwardness still caught him off guard sometimes.


"You can't embarrass her if she's not here." He said, taping Kit's forehead and putting his elbow back on the back of the bench as Kit ruminated about what they could do together. "I'd be up for that. It seems like you need a reason to invite me over more than I need a reason to come over." He said, sticking his tongue out again. "Does she have her own place now, or is she living with you or your parents?"


”I think I’m ready to walk around some more. Do you want to come with, or do you have somewhere else to slink off to?” He asked after a moment with a smirk and a raised eyebrow, looking down at the man.

Jackson batted Kit's hand away lazily but amused as Kit pinched his cheek. He kept his tongue to himself though, as it was better not to tempt the man. He'd do it just because he said he would.


He chuckled as Kit sat up. "You're the one who won't just tell me a title and told me to ask her. So if you tell me now or if I ask her later, you're doomed." He said with a smirk, standing up as well. "Glad she's finally out though and feeling better. Even the least strict parents can be over beating sometimes, but they generally mean well," generally "Even if they don't really hit the mark."


He slipped his hands into his pockets and smirked again. "You are, in fact, a cat in many ways." he said with another small laughed. "and the festival is more fun with someone to go around it with."