Paranoia

[Jack Harker]

"She refused to get OUT of your car?  That's...odd," he remarked, only to be plunged into talk of movies.  For a girl who'd nearly died in a house fire and just been attacked in her own home, she was surprisingly normal.  He had to wonder if she was perhaps in a minor state of shock and just functioning on habit, but it didn't seem like that.  Still, she might turn hysterical once she had time to relax, so he'd try to pay attention.  Just in case.

The peck on the cheek was entirely unexpected, but not unwanted.  He smiled in return, actually pleased.  A kiss, even on the cheek, from a hot girl was always wanted.  "I hope it'll be getting better, since I can't really imagine what could be worse at this point," he teased.  A car crash would, but he was going to be careful just in case she WAS some sort of bad luck charm.  "I mean, burning building, attacked, now you have to stay the night with me?  Damn, it's GOT to get better."

Yep, he could rock on the self-deprecating humor if the situation called for it.

[Crystal Deboir]

"Shut up. You're probably the best part of my evening. And I'm sorry again for the freakish phone call. I just pressed send and the phone went sailing through the kitchen." She looked at him and smiled a little, though she did feel guilty for that. She'd directly involved him, now, she was sure of it. What if Griffon came after her at Jack's? Would she have been better off with Alex? She couldn't figure out what decision was right and what was wrong.

She wanted to rip her hair out. Instead, she dug through her purse and found some gum, and stuck it in her mouth before she said anything crazy. She wanted to see a therapist sometimes, but who would believe her? She didn't know, she honestly didn't.

"Can we stop on the way there for food? I hate to be a nag, but I haven't eaten in a while. I'm kind of hungry," she said, a frown on her face. She didn't even know what she wanted, she guessed she'd take the first thing they saw. She just needed some soda and a chicken sandwich so bad she could taste it.

[Jack Harker]

Jack had no idea who Griffon was, or how dangerous, but he could promise that anyone breaking into his place was getting axed.  He had one for decorative purposes over his fireplace, but it was in no way harmless or for decorative purposes only.  It was a real fire ax, one that had been used many times and presented to him by his father, and it was sharp.  He'd use it if he had to.

Of course, a vampire might pose a threat, but he'd try.  He'd promised Crystal a safe, comfortable place to stay.  He'd do everything in his power to give her that.

"Don't worry about the phone call.  I like getting the piss scared out of me routinely.  Keeps me alert," he told her with a grin, not about to complain about it.  She'd needed help, and that call may have saved her life.  "We can stop wherever you want.  I told you, I'm off, so my time is yours."

[Crystal Deboir]

"Okay," she said absently, not really listening to him for the moment. Crystal had a habit of fading in and out. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, the doctors called it. She did a lot of weird things sometimes, and they chalked most of it up to that. Crystal wished she was faking her ADD so she could just be normal, just like everything else. She wished she'd made it all up.

"Ooh, Wendy's!" she exclaimed, pointing up ahead on the right. "Can we stop there? They have floats now!" The idea of chicken nuggets and a float really was a lot nicer than it should have been. It was pathetic that she'd cling to something so trivial to try and ignore the bigger shit going wrong around her. But hey, whatever worked.

[Jack Harker]

He was actually alright with her starting to tune him out, especially considering the day she'd had.  He wasn't about to begrudge her a little quiet time, even if it was only staring out the car window.  Especially if it landed them at Wendy's.

"Of course.  Those floats are awesome," he returned, having already become a fan from his own late night stops at the fast food drive thru for a cheeseburger and a float.  Great stuff, that.  "You can order whatever you want, my treat."

"WELCOME TO WENDY'S, CAN I TAKE YOUR ORDER?"

Ahh, the wonders of fast food.

[Crystal Deboir]

She leaned across Jack to the little squawk box and shouted into it, "TWO FIVE PIECE NUGGETS AND A LARGE COKE!"

"BAKED POTATO?" the voice said back.

"NUGGETS!" she screamed. She was practically in Jack's lap as one hand supported herself on the door sill of his window. There was another break of silence, and the voice came back.

"TWO FIVE PIECE NUGGETS AND A MEDIUM DIET COKE?"


Crystal lowered her head and sighed. "YEAH. THAT'S FINE."

She crawled back across Jack to the seat and stared at him. "You know. I don't think these places have any employment screening whatsoever."

[Jack Harker]

One thing needs to be made clear from the start of this situation.  Jack may have been trying to be the Good Samaritan by offering Crystal a safe place to stay, food and company, but he was still a guy.  Having her leaning so close to him and then practically in his lap didn't escape his attention, and actually made his mind wander just a little.

He couldn't help it.

He behaved himself though, and grinned when she mentioned employment screening.  "It's Wendy's, what did you expect?" he asked, right before the voice on the box started squawking again. 

"WILL THAT BE ALL?"

"NO.  I NEED A BACONATOR, A LARGE FRY AND A ROOT BEER FLOAT."

He'd been meaning to try the Bacon sandwich, and root beer floats were always good.  He was assuming she'd help with the fries, but if not, he'd somehow manage to force them down. 

"BACONATOR, LARGE FRY AND A FLOAT?"

"YEP!"

"DRIVE AROUND TO THE FIRST WINDOW."

He just smiled at Crystal.  "No employment screening, and you know it's always dorks and lowlifes that work at these places.  He was probably so frazzled that a girl was talking to him that he couldn't remember your order," he told her teasingly, winking and taking the car around to the first window, which was where he pulled his wallet out.  He'd said he'd treat.

[Crystal Deboir]

She grumbled. "I thought I got to have it my way at Wendy's. Or is that Burger King? Ah, I knew I made the wrong choice," she hissed. "Those assholes are lucky I like Diet Coke." She sank back into her seat. When she saw him take out his wallet, she made to protest, but he shushed her.

"Okay, fine. Thanks. I appreciate it," she said. She really meant it, anyways. It was nice for someone else to pay. Crystal had money, she came from money, but she was always suckered into paying for shit somehow.

[Jack Harker]

"Seems that at Wendy's, you get it whatever way the acne'd teenager behind the counter wants it," he said, and then hesitated, looking kind of grossed out.  "That's actually kind of disturbing, forget I said anything."

He paid for the meal, drove to the next window, and found himself waiting while some girl laughed at something one of the nerds had said.  Classic stereotypical drive-thru.  It amazed him.  "I said I'd treat.  It's really not a big deal, so don't worry about it.  Tonight's your night to just chillax, got it?" he asked, grinning at her for an instant before he had to grab their food and ended up handing it to her. 

"Half of those fries are yours, by the way."

[Crystal Deboir]

"Yeeeahh..." she said slowly, staring at him as he said something about the creepy guy 'giving it to her'. "I'll pass."

When he shook the fries at her, her eyes widened. "Oh, damn, I forgot to order fries. I guess it's a good thing you're so generous, or we'd have to go back around for another game of 'what'd she say' on the intercom."

She took some of the fries after she'd piled her nuggets into one of the little holders, and put them in the other holder. "Sweet," she said to herself. "Do you mind if I eat in the car or do I need to wait til we get to the house? I would say I don't spill, but that's a lie."

[Jack Harker]

"I don't blame you.  I'd pass, too, and probably run screaming in the opposite direction," he informed her lightly, grinning and faking a shudder.  He was glad he'd done the right thing and ordered the large fry, too.  He could be a bit of a people pleaser.  "As fun as that game is, I'd rather limit your interactions with the loser on the other end of that thing, unless he makes me look more appealing."

He was, of course, teasing her.  He assumed that guy made him look more appealing, but he didn't want her thinking he was inviting her over for any reason other than to be nice.  He didn't want her to feel pressured or anything because of a few lame jokes.  "Go ahead and eat in the car, I don't mind.  I do it often enough, so a spill won't be anything new."

Really, he was lying a little.  He was a clean guy, even if his car smelled of smoke because of himself and his stuff smelling of smoke when it was all in the car, but he wasn't messy.  His friends were, so he didn't care if she spilled, but he didn't usually.  That was splitting hairs on his statement, though.

[Crystal Deboir]

She ate, and didn't spill, except on the napkin she'd set out, which was good. She even made a noise and pointed at it. "See?" she asked, gulping down Diet Coke. "I came prepared!" she said proudly. Little victories like this she needed desperately right now, and so she was happy when Jack laughed a real laugh. She knew he was genuine then, laughing at her stupid jokes.

When they got to the house, she grabbed her bag and tossed it over her shoulder. "Last chance, Jack. You can drop me off at a hotel any time before I get to your doorstep, but once that door is open and I'm inside, I'm yours for the night." She paused. "I mean, your responsibility. Er...yeah. Are you sure I can stay?"

She didn't think she could be alone, and she crossed her fingers silently. It was such a childish thing to do, but she did it anyways.

[Jack Harker]

Of course he laughed.  She was cute, and funny, and pretty.  She had horrible luck, but he thought she was just in a rut, and he'd help her out of it by letting her take it easy at his place for the night.  With some sleep and relaxation, he was certain she'd be okay. 

He'd been wrong before.

"I'm proud of you.  Honest, I am.  That touches me right here," he told her as he pulled up to his place, patting right over where his heart was.  He continued right after she'd asked him if he was sure about her staying.  "And that.  That hurt me right there.  Come on, I said you could stay, and I'm not going to just drop you off at a hotel now.  Maybe if you'd spilled something in my car..."

He let the sentence hang for a moment, then grinned again.  "Relax.  As long as you're okay with staying, you can."  It had taken an effort not to gutter her being 'all his' out loud, but he'd managed it.  He was proud of himself for that.

[Crystal Deboir]

"Okay," Crystal said. Her heart did a somersault. She followed him to the door, shrugging her bag off of her shoulder the minute she got a chance. She still felt that tug in her stomach, the one that felt bad for lying. She needed to find out how old he was. She walked over to the fridge and glanced at some stuff on it, listening halfway as he gave her a quick tour. She dropped her things on the floor of his bedroom by the door, and smiled a little.

"Do you mind if I get into my jammies? I'm worn out. I just want to lay down and watch a movie," she said. She hadn't seen the cat yet. She wondered if it was hiding from her. Crystal smelled like Griffon, and she'd found that animals didn't like him so much.

Griffon. She felt so strange without him. She would lay down and sleep, and he could not find her - not tonight. Would she still wake up, feeling like he'd been there? Like he'd... She closed her eyes for a moment, and exhaled slowly. No. He's not here.. She needed a distraction. Needed to forget.

[Jack Harker]

Jack actually found him wondering where Arson was from the moment he walked in the door, but he assumed she was making herself scarce because of a new person entering the apartment.  It was odd because she'd never been shy before, yelling her displeasure at guests that might steal his attention away from her, but he supposed there was a first time for everything, even if it was strange.

He gave here a quick tour, which really wasn't much because his apartment wasn't huge.  He was just a single guy with a cat, so he didn't need a big place, and he didn't come from money.  He worked hard for his pay.  Worrying about the state of his apartment (which was clean) was shoved out of his brain when she mentioned 'jammies'.  How cute, jammies.  He was intrigued already.

"Sure!  Do you want a shower first?  You've had a rough day, so I wouldn't blame you if you did," he told her, already reaching into the linen closet that was opposite his room and grabbing her a set of towels.  Most people couldn't stand the smell of smoke, which he assumed included her, and she'd had it rough even after that.  A shower would probably make her feel better.