Chapter Text
The feelings, new and built up from helping each other through the events in Jumanji, followed them back. But it is more complicated now. They weren't the same age as they were in the game, he had a family (kids too) and she was underage. That didn't stop them from staring deeply into each other's eyes like they couldn't stand to let each other go. The others; Spencer, Martha, and Fridge watched awkwardly as they stared.
As she stood there, Bethany realized the cruelty of their situation. The bond they shared was real, but the world outside the game made it impossible. She was still a teenager, but Alex had moved on, living a life that she couldn't join. The age gap was a barrier that couldn't be ignored, no matter how profound their connection.
It was hard to reconcile the adventurous person she had become in Jumanji with the life she returned to. In the game, she was strong, capable, and understood albeit a short, fat middle-aged man. Outside, she was back to being a high school student, struggling to find her place. The difference was stark, and that left her feeling lost.
Alex caught her gaze, his eyes filled with a mix of gratitude and sadness. He understood, perhaps better than anyone, the complexity of their emotions. He gave her a small, reassuring smile, a silent promise that their connection, though changed, was not forgotten.
At that moment, Bethany knew she had to let go. Not of the memories or the bond, but of the hope for something more with Alex. It was a bittersweet realization, but necessary. She would cherish what they had and carry it with her, a reminder of strength and friendship in the most unlikely of places. He needed to live his life. That’s what she saved him for, so he could live. Which means she cannot hinder him because of the feelings she has.
Bethany found solace in the knowledge that their time in Jumanji had forever changed her. She was stronger, more self-assured, and grateful for the experience, even though it meant letting go of the possibility of a future with Alex. She thought of what it would be like if they had stayed in the game for just a split moment but felt guilty. He was stuck there for 20 years and she had no right to think of dragging him back for a relationship that would come with watching for mosquitoes that would immediately kill him, goons that could kill him, and thousands of dangerous animals.
The group left the now not freaky Freak (Vreeke) House. Bethany headed home and went straight to her room. She broke down and cried for the loss of something that could never be. She decided then and there that she was going to change, she was going to see the beauty of nature, go on adventures like that of Jumanji, and help people.
Over the weekend, she texted her new group. They were the only ones that understood her trauma from Jumanji and they didn't seem to care about her popularity or her looks, or anything but HER. It gave her a sense of validation she had never had before. She got really close with Martha over that weekend. Then she felt lighter. She went to school that monday feeling light and told her friend that she wanted to do something adventurous, backpacking maybe. That friend treated her like she was crazy. Then Fridge walked over. Then Spencer, full of anxiety about Martha. Finally they kiss and everything feels right. But theres still an itching pull towards someone she know is off limits so she avoids it.
She avoids it as she goes through her senior year. She avoids it as the others go off to college. She avoids sending him the pictures of where all she’d been. She wants him to know who she’s become, what she done with her life, and how helping him triggered helping others. But he isnt hers. She avoids him when she comes back to Branfort and meets up withthe others. But that changes when they find that Spencer has been trying to fix Jumanji and got sucked in on his own. Then she has to go to him when Martha, Fridge, Spencer’s grandpa and Mr. Walker get sucked in too without choosing their characters.
So she goes. She rings his doorbell feeling small again like she was before she went into the game and his daughter, a reminder of his new life, answers the door.
-”Bethany?” she says, wincing slightly at how anxious she sounds talking to a little kid.
-”Yep.” the younger Bethany says shifting from one foot to the other.
-”My name’s Bethany too.” she says hoping her dad, alex will come to the door soon. Having the same nam intrigues the little girl
-”Really?” younger Bethany says. She gets excited and tells her dad.“Daddy, her name’s Bethany too.”
“Sure is, sweetie.” Alex says, his voice sending shivers down her back . Then he smiles at her and she smiles a hesitant smile right back.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” Bethany asks, this isn't about them. This about the others and they’re stuck. They don't have the time to wait for Bethany to deal with her issues with her feelings for Alex that have not faded in the slightest.
“Sure, yeah. Come in.” he says, slightly confused and worried. He opens the door wider letting her in. He then sends his daughter upstairs and sits the older Bethany into his office to talk.
“I’m sorry, I just– I didn’t know where else to go.” she says hoping he knows that she’d never come here for trivial things like her feelings. Hoping he knows she wanted to avoid this forever.
“No, no, no, it’s okay. I’m glad you came.” he says in reassurance. He sees her and sees his entire life on her shoulders. Everything he’s become is from her. She’s always been welcome here even though she makes him feel so much he can't deny her solace or help.
She tells him of the situation everyone is stuck in and her failure to start the game again. Then she asks him ”Do you think you can help me get the machine to start?” dragging him back into Jumanji like she never wanted to even in her head. She knows what he;d been through but she has to help her friends.
“That is so dangerous.” he says, panic inching into his voice and fear in his eyes. His stunning green eyes that she keeps looking into when she tools up to talk.
“I know.” she says, guilt in her every pore
“But I have to try.” she says, determined to help her people
“They’re my team.” she finishes
And he agrees. They return to Spencer's house, almost happy his mom isn't home so they don't have to explain. He is Seaplane McDonough again but it's not the same. It's like he has so much more courage being him again. And Bethany, she's a horse. Which is good because she doesn't want to talk about all this.
They find the team, saving them and they switch into more convenient characters landing her into the character that she was in originally when she fell in love with alex. Thankfully, they don't have much time to talk between infiltrating the castle, defeating Yurgen the Brutal, and finishing the game.
But then they are back in the real world and he’s there. There’s no more danger and he looks like he has a lot to say.