Breaking The Habit

[jared]

Tag; Dodge
[W] [M] Just Being Safe

A grin played across his lips as he hit the 'Sign-Out' button on the IM program on his laptop, watching it sign-out properly and then closing the program altogether before putting the password-protected screensaver on the desktop. He shook his head in amusement slightly, glancing at the handcuffs lying on the surface of his desk, looking rather innocent, yet Jared knew that it was in appearance only. Slapping his hands down lightly on his thighs in a way to say 'let's get moving', Jared pushed his chair away from the desk and stood up slowly, pausing to stretch his arms above his head pleasantly. He went and picked up the dark blue long-sleeved shirt that lay draped across his bed, somewhat neatly but not really, pulling it over his head and down over his bare shoulders and chest, making sure it hung comfortably on his upper body. Grabbing his motorbike keys, he shoved them into the back pocket of his black jeans, before putting on his boots and lacing them up securely. Looking for his leather jacket and helmet, they weren't anywhere in his immediate line of sight, but he figured that he'd left them in the kitchen or entrance way, like usual. He was going to permanently lose one or the other or both if he kept leaving them lying around, he just knew it.

Heading into the spacious kitchen, his first stop was the cupboard for a can of soda; alright, it wasn't ice cold soda but like he really cared, it was still a can of soda. Opening it, he took a long drink as he opened the fridge; leaning down a little, he looked over the things in the fridge, mentally making a list of the things that they'd run out or needed soon-ish. Checking the freezer briefly as well, it showed to him what he actually already knew; they were out of ice-cream, specifically mint-choc-chip. He laughed and shut the freezer quietly. He went through the cupboards briefly, checking to make sure that there wasn't anything aside from cookies that he needed to get for the house. Finding a scrap of paper on the breakfast bar, Jared quickly wrote down what he needed to get for the apartment, with mint-choc-chip ice cream and cookies at the top of the list. Grinning, he slipped the piece of paper into his jeans pocket, along with his cell phone once he picked it up off the livingroom coffee table. He pulled on his black leather jacket quickly and picked up his helmet, then headed out the front door, shutting it behind him with a loud thud.

Getting to the store was relatively easy, as well as quick. He wasn't exactly a slow driver, especially on his motorbike. Parking in front of the store, Jared didn't bother with removing his helmet as he wouldn't be there long; walking into the store, he fished out the list and read over it. He picked up a basket, cringing a little, and picked up the stuff that he needed to get urgently, a thought that made him grin and shake his head again. Walking to the checkout, he paid for the items silently, giving the female cashier a small smile as thanks when she popped all the items in a plastic bag for him. He put it in the back compartment of his motorbike, before heading back home; he spent barely more then a few minutes back at the apartment, putting the stuff in the freezer and cupboards and grabbing a second helmet, before he was back outside. Placing the second helmet inside the back compartment, he straddled the motorbike and revved up the engine a few times, before heading out to Dodge's school. The trip wasn't too long, maybe about 15-20 minutes, and he soon was slowing down as he drove into the parking lot in front of the school. He kicked the stand down and got off the motorbike, standing on the tarmac but leaning back against the side of his motorbike seat. He unclipped the helmet and pulled it off his head, holding it in his hand, and waited for Dodge to appear.

[Nona Constantine]

All too often Dodge had sat through an exam she didn’t want to take, wishing for something to lighten her day, but every time the day just got worse from there. Today she had an exam on the written works of William Wordsworth for English Literature, and she’d rather be pulling out her own teeth. It was so tedious and all too simple for her own liking. But on the other hand, the evening after this particular exam was looking brighter than usual. So she was bunking off school, but she heard one of the teachers she had for her last classes was off sick, and some of the others were talking about skipping anyway, so it really wasn’t a big deal.

Besides, the idea of sitting through another hour of “study” hall compared to going to hang out with Jared for a few hours was hardly competition. Jared wasn’t one of her closest friends and to be honest she hadn’t really seen him in a few months, but a friend he was, and one that she knew she could have fun with. They shared several common interests, and when those ran out they turned to poking, teasing and mild-mannered bickering, which was just as fun. So the idea of spending the afternoon with him while they both had the chance and nothing better to do sounded perfect.

Dodge scribbled her closing argument about how Wordsworth was barely average, in her opinion, and dropped her pen onto her desk with a sigh. A look over her shoulder told her that everyone else was still writing, and a glance at the huge, plastic clock on the wall above the teacher’s desk read twenty five minutes past one. She’d finished with twenty minutes to spare of the class, and nothing but her anticipation of getting out of the hole that was San school to keep her sane. But that really wasn’t going to last long. So she did what and self-righteous teenager in her position would do; she started coughing. Hard. By the time she was gasping for air and people around her were whispering, the teacher was by her side, frowning down his crooked nose at her.

“I need…” cough “some air! I’ve finished…”

She handed the six page essay to the teacher, who regarded her with some thought as she coughed even more violently for emphasis, and he eventually he just nodded at her. He had barely turned his back when she was out of her seat and walking swiftly towards the door at the back of the classroom, her coughing ‘problem’ forgotten. The corridors were empty, every student and teacher in classes or exams and out of her way. She couldn’t ask for more.

She went to her locker and dumped most of her books from her messenger bag, only keeping the ones she would need when she finally got home. She grabbed her deep red suede jacket which, she noticed when coupled with the simple white button-up shirt and faded jeans she was currently wearing made her look a lot older than she really was. Completely unintentional, but hardly ill luck. She met no one in the hallways at all and didn’t even turn heads as she passed the glass panels of the doors of silent classrooms. This was what true freedom felt like.

She pushed open the vast front door to the school some minutes later and crossed the lawn (that they weren’t meant to walk on) for a short cut to the car park. She wasn’t sure when the grin on her face had appeared, but it was there when she spotted her ‘kidnapper’, looking extremely bored and extremely patient as he waited by his bike.

“Hey stranger,” she greeted him with a soft chirrup in her tones when she came close enough.

---

^{OOC | Permission to mod, granted. ^.^}

[jared]

A day off. Truly, it was considered rather a luxury for him. He'd lived in Marseille for about 3 years, and worked as the bartender in Nuit Noir for about 2 and a half years. Getting the job had been easy, now that he looked back on it, although he never would have thought that at the beginning. Of course, Blaize had been tough on him in the beginning, and actually still was, but Jared knew that it had helped him in the end. Because, truthfully, coming from the type of living that he had, doing some serious and hard work was a really good idea. And Blaize had given him that. And Jared had never failed to be at work on time, and had never failed to work hard and give 150% every single day. And he was still working there, 3 years since he'd moved from his home country to a place he'd only ever seen in textbooks or photographs or on the TV. Working at Nuit Noir was enjoyable, even with the long hours and many days; being a bartender was something that Jared would never have seen himself doing as a young teenager, but now, he could easily see himself in that type of work for many years to come.

His dark eyes briefly looked over the tall buildings of the school not too far away from him. Dodge's high-school. He'd never been to high-school as a teenager, as his parents both didn't believe in public school and they have the funds available to have him and his sisters all taught at home by private tutors. He'd never minded staying at home and being taught, as his education had been more then adequate and he had no complaints whatsoever. Still, he did often wonder what it would have been like to attend a public school, and have a group of friends that he would still know even now. Of course, he did have friends at that moment; he'd met them shortly after he moved to Marseille, and he was still friends with all of them. A small part of him still was intrigued to know what a public school was like, however. But since he'd discovered his powers at the age of 16, most of him knew that perhaps being in a public school was a bad idea; he'd had enough trouble with his powers alone at home, or just around his family and the servants. He didn't even want to begin to imagine what dealing with them in public school would have been like.

A quiet, relaxed sigh escaped his lips, and his hands re-took their firm grip on his helmet, slightly fidgeting as he leant back slightly against his motorbike. The slight chilly breeze that had appeared out of nowhere wasn't really bothering him, and it wasn't cold enough to make the hairs on his neck stand up at all. Soft footsteps drifting into his range of hearing made his attention divert, but it was the soft and light voice talking to him that made him turn his head. He gave Dodge a small grin and stood up properly, walking the few steps to meet her as she walked towards him an his motorbike; reaching her, Jared wrapped his arms around her in a friendly hug, pulling away after to look at her. "Hey yourself," he replied, a small smile playing across his lips. "Ready to get out of here?" He handed her the second helmet, once he got it out of the back of the motorbike; putting his helmet back on, Jared swung his leg over and straddled the bike, waiting for her to get on behind him. "Hold tight," he said loudly, with a grin even though he knew she couldn't see it. Revving up the engine, he zoomed off towards the apartment.

As before, the school and the building where his penthouse apartment was located weren't that far apart from each other, but it was still a good 15-20 minutes before he was slowing the motorbike down into its usual parking spot in front of the apartment building. Turning off the bike without really giving it too much thought, Jared waited for Dodge to dismount before he got off; he shoved the keys into his back pocket, before carefully taking off his helmet. He shook his head slightly, making it so that any strands of his hair that were sticking up fell back down again. He waited for her to take off the helmet, then took it back from her and put it back into the back of the bike; allowing her to go ahead of him, he opened the door to the apartment building and then locked it behind him, just being cautious like always. The walk up the flights of stairs to the top floor was quick, and soon, they were standing in front of the apartment door. He pulled out his keys and unlocking the door, pushed it open and did a little playful bow to Dodge. "Welcome to my abode, ma'am," he said, smiling.

[Nona Constantine]

Dodge positively beamed as Jared’s dark eyes swept to meet her. He was one of the people who were well used to Dodge’s standard greeting of a hug to say hello, so when he approached her and wrapped his arms around her without her even hinting at it she wasn’t surprised. She hugged him back, wrapping her arms close around his neck as she pulled herself onto the tips of her toes to reach. The smile never left her face. It was innocent, genuinely, and she knew that if anyone looked out a window and spotted them she at least had the innocence of it. She grinned when he pulled back, and nodded in answer.

“I was ready to leave here two hours ago,” she answered truthfully, taking ht helmet he handed her and tossing her bag into the compartment he had just emptied. With somewhat practised ease she twisted her ridiculously long hair into a neat knot on her head and pulled the helmet on. It was warm against her ears and deadened the majority of the sound she hadn’t even noticed before. It was a snug fit, as it always had been, and she wiggled her head inside it just to make sure, and by the time she was done Jared was already settled on the bike and looking at her. She grinned again, all that was visible of the expression was in her glittering eyes, and she slid onto the back of the bike. She had the grip hold of Jared’s arm to get her leg across, but once she was there she was good. Not that she had any choice to be anything but ‘good’ sitting this close to Jared Gonzales. Mild laughter broke her breath as she slipped her arms around him and gripped hold of his pockets. It was the easiest thing to do, for her at least.

As they sped down the rural roads she watched as field after field flickered past. It was almost hypnotic; the colours, the noise of the engine, and the impossibility of talking or making much noise at all. It allowed her to think. She was ditching school. It wasn’t the first time she did it, but it was the first time she wasn’t fleeing the constraints of San School without one of her friends. A tiny part of her wondered if she should have invited one of those friends to ditch with her today, but several factors told her that she was safer running alone. The first was the knowledge that Jared could only carry one person; that was logic. Secondly, she didn’t want or need people knowing where she was going, because if she did word would get back to Simone, and Dodge doubted Simone would appreciate her skipping school with her older brother. Thirdly, she was sure that what they were going to end up doing that afternoon wasn’t an activity that welcomed company.

Just thinking of the possibility had her stomach tightening. She felt bad for even thinking it, really, and as the bike began to slow down she frowned in silence. No, she couldn’t do that. Not to Brandon. Yes Brandon had been working an awful lot lately, yes he was working a lot with girls, all of them pretty and older than Dodge was, but she was trying really hard not to take it personally. It wasn’t fair to think like that. Even Undine, the friend he had kept quiet about for a long time who, when Dodge finally did meet her, seemed oddly cold and uneasy in her presence. But it really wasn’t a nice feeling.

She slipped off the bike before Jared did and had freed her head and her hair from the confinement of the helmet with a breath of relief. She never realised how stuffy the thing could be until she took it off. Handing him the helmet she shook out her hair, and grabbed her bag from the back compartment just before he put her helmet back into it. Hooking it over her shoulder again she followed him inside the building and up the stairs. The last time she had been there was several months ago when she, Gin and James came round for an evening of pizza and ice-cream. She had seen Jared since then, with James of course, but it was always in San. It felt strangely refreshing climbing the stairs to his apartment now. A change of scenery, so to speak. She laughed lightly as he bowed aside to let her in, and in turn she curtsied, tipping an imaginary skirt.

“Merci, Monsieur Gonzales,” she replied, her voice an octave higher than usual as she walked by him and into his flat. Her stiff posture, purely playful since the curtsy, loosened as her wandering gaze took in the vast interior of the penthouse apartment. “This is bigger than I remembered,” she laughed, heading straight into the area she knew all too well. She dropped her back onto the sofa, which clanked noisily.

“You have no idea how much trouble I’d be in if anyone knew I was here,” she said almost without thinking as her legs carried her towards the nearest window. It looked out over the nearby buildings and showed an angle of Marseille that she rarely got to see.

[jared]

A hug in greeting was something that Dodge always did, and therefore, he went to her first and initiated the hug, knowing that it wouldn't surprise her in any way. Hugs were something that he'd never really did himself, except to really close friends, and mostly the girls; with his guy friends, he usually just shook their hands in the usual, unique handshakes they'd make up out of the blue. He felt the way her arms wrapped close around his neck and how she stood on her tiptoes to reach properly. He smiled when she grinned at him, and he laughed softly at her reply; his dark eyes watched how she pulled her hair back and put on the helmet he'd given her, smiling briefly before straddling the bike and then waiting for her. He didn't mind when she gripped his arm as she got on the bike behind him, and waited for her to get comfortable; when he felt her arms slip around his torso and her hands grip the pockets of his leather jacket, he smiled slightly before he drove away from the school quickly.

Although the trip from the school to his apartment in the center of the city wasn't too long, it still was long enough to allow him to think about what exactly they were doing. Ok, she had skipped school, but according to her, she didn't have any more classes after the exam, so he didn't see anything wrong with that. And it wasn't such a big deal for her to come over and visit. At least he didn't think it was. They were close friends, had been for several years, and it wasn't a big deal for friends to chill together. Why was he a little worried about it then? Perhaps it was because they weren't that far apart in age, and they'd always had this penchant for flirting quite a bit, and Jared wouldn't deny that he probably had a very tiny crush on her. It wasn't anything more then that, though. 5 years was quite a bit age gap, to be honest, and there was another thing; Dodge had a boyfriend, who Jared didn't know all that well, but seemed to be quite a nice guy. Strangely, though, most of him wasn't feeling all that guilty about the possibilities that could arise.

When he opened the apartment door for her, and gave her a playful bow, he smiled when she curtsied in response; her voice also, he noted, was slightly higher then normal. He walked through the door after her, making sure to shut the door firmly and lock it, like he usually did, just for safety and security. Walking into the livingroom, he smiled at what she said and shrugged a little. "Had a change of furniture, with the new roomies and all," he remarked, walking to the kitchen and placing his helmet on the counter. He walked back into the lounge as she spoke again, and his eyebrows raised at what she said. Watching her stand there, staring out the window, he smiled slightly and crossed his arms, leaning his shoulder against the wall and just watching her. He then got an idea. It was rather pushing it, however. But he was feeling rather bold for some reason, maybe it was because the front door was locked, he didn't know. But he walked up behind her and slowly wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder. "Well, we'd better not let anyone know that you are here," he replied softly, smiling. "You want something to drink?"

[Nona Constantine]

OK, so apparently Dodge’s thinking of ‘boyfriend = one’ wasn’t shared with Jared. She was just about to lean further across the deep windowsill to get a better look at the streets closer to the building when she heard Jared’s footsteps walking close behind her and she thought better of inadvertently thrusting her backside at him. Instead she waited, and a second later she felt his arms come around her, slowly but with confidence, and rested securely around her waist. As if that wasn’t enough she felt his lower slightly and rest his chin on her shoulder, and Dodge just about died. She wondered if he was doing it deliberately, if this was another teasing game that she should have been aware of, but there was the light tension that she had felt earlier in the library with she was blatantly flirting with him and he flirted back. She wasn’t too sure if it was entirely innocent of not. This though, this was looking as innocent as Hannibal Lector.

She let her eyes close as she tried her hardest to regain the composure his sudden contact had demolished, but it was insanely difficult. She leaned back against him slightly, the pressure against her back and with his arms wrapped around her created its own kind of heat on her skin, and she turned her head ever so slightly towards him. Her heart pounded in her chest.

“If you have anything stronger than mineral water, I’ll take it.” She needed it. Her words were as soft as his had been, slightly timid with their delivery, but with more confidence than she thought she actually had. A small smile turned up the corners of her lips. Jared was extremely attractive, and he probably knew it too. Jared Gonzales, one of her close friend’s brother… that wasn’t a good thought. He was five years older than her too… that wasn’t so good either. He lived with Imogen Hathaway too, the sister of another one of her closest friends. And of course, Dodge had Brandon, even though lately he was as frustrating as he was amazing. There was a thousand ways that things could go sour, a thousand ways for everything to go wrong should someone find out that she was even here, in Jared’s apartment, with no one else. Unfortunately, that was part of the excitement. And as he had just said, no one had to know she was there. If no one knew she was there, ever, then no one would know what was or wasn’t going to happen… right?

Her head pounded with the thoughts that thundered through it, and for some reason as Jared’s arms loosened from her waist and his chin vanished from her shoulder her hands went to his sleeves and gripped the material of his shirt. Why she did it she wasn’t sure. She wasn’t even sure she actually did do it until she looked down and saw her fingers turning slightly paler from the tense grip. What was she doing?! She took another deep breath, wishing for one straight answer to fight through all the foggy thoughts and instincts that flooded her mind. She let go, eventually, and whispered a quiet ‘sorry’ before forcing her hands to rest on the window sill instead. Safer there. She hoped.

[jared]

Bold. He was so fucking bold. He'd actually just walked up behind her, and was now hugging her from behind. Was he fucking mental? Probably. No, not probably. Most likely, or even, most definitely. He could pick between the two. Sure, the hug they'd shared at the school was fine, cause it was a simple and friendly hug between close friends. But this? Fucking hell. Was not anywhere near the friendly spectrum. But he'd done it, and now he just had to see if she would push him off and get upset, or if she would just stand there, or if she would respond. He didn't know which, and he would be lying if he said his heart wasn't beating a little faster then normal. And who could blame him? Even though Dodge was his friend, and 5 years younger then her, he'd always had a small crush on her; no harm in that, as she was gorgeous and also had a great personality to match how beautiful she was. So it was kinda hard to not like her, or flirt with her, or even have a tiny crush on her. Admittedly, the crush he had on her was a little bigger then tiny, but that was his business.

For a small minute, he thought that she was going to move away from him, and then start yelling at him. Instead, though, she leant back against him lightly, and her head turned a little towards his face. He resisted the urge to bite his lip, and instead, just tightened his arms around her a little, though it was hardly noticable, more like retaking his grip. When she spoke to him, he got confused for a moment, before he then remembered that he'd asked her if she wanted something to drink before and mentally slapped himself hard. Idiot. He nodded a little against her shoulder, and started to re-order his thoughts so that he could go and get her a drink, as well as one for himself too. He felt like he needed one. As he started to loosen his arms from around her waist and stand up straight, moving his chin from her shoulder, he felt her hands go to his arms and grip his shirt very tightly. He was rather surprised at that, but he stayed where he was, pressed against her back and kept his arms firmly around her waist. After a few moments, she let go of his arms, and he heard her whisper a small apology before she moved her hands to rest lightly atop the window sill. He moved his head over her shoulder again, holding his lips right next to her ear.

"Don't me... I'm not..." he said softly; his arms then left her waist, and he walked away, heading back towards the kitchen. He headed to the fridge, and opened it, pulling out some soda. He'd forgotten where he'd put the alcohol, but it didn't matter. He wasn't in the mood for something that strong right now. Grabbing the soda bottle, and then getting two glasses, Jared started to leave the kitchen but then remembered that he'd specifically gone to the store cause she had wanted cookies and ice-cream. He smiled, but decided that it could wait, and headed out of the kitchen and back into the lounge. He set the bottle of soda down on the coffee table, along with the two glasses, and then knelt down beside the table. Opening the soda, he poured it into the two glasses, then closed it again. He stood back up, picking up the two glasses, and walked back over to where Dodge was still standing. Holding out one glass to her, Jared smiled when she took it and then reached out and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Don't want it to get in the soda," he remarked, smiling before taking a drink.

[Nona Constantine]

Dodge’s mind raged when Jared finally let go of her and she could breathe again. He wasn’t sorry? She wasn’t sure, really, how to take that. She was sorry for grabbing his arms, for holding him to her when he shouldn’t have been there in the first place. She was sorry she was thinking of Brandon, and that she was doing something that she felt guilty about. But Jared wasn’t sorry. He showed no remorse or regret or guilt about her being there, or what had led her there in the first place; the flirting, the teasing…

But, wasn’t that exactly what had driven her to it in the first place? Flirting and teasing, not her own, but Brandon’s, to the girls (or, one girl in particular, really) on his computer and his phone. Dodge knew she shouldn’t have gone browsing around on his old instant messages, but the past few days Brandon had been… well… different, and almost everything she did she thought it through thoroughly, just to make sure that she wasn’t doing anything to offend him. It was no wonder really that she took advantage when he went for a shower one morning and left his (or rather, his housemate’s) computer on.

On it she had found a conversation between her boyfriend, and a girl called Charlie. At first she thought it was a boy, but the outrageous flirting and teasing, and suggestions of something Dodge didn’t understand immediately, could only have been a girl. She found out too that this girl was one of Brandon’s models, and from there (and as an excuse not to read the rest of the IM conversation that was turning her stomach) she went for his portfolio. The book - of which there were two, and she knew the other contained a wealth of photographs of her which really didn’t hold her interest – was nestled beside his bed. So she flipped it open and on one of the first places she found her. ‘Charlie’. With tacky pink hair and her eyes too close together. There wasn’t many pictures of her at all, and they were all a hell of a lot more innocent than the ones she knew he had of her, but there was no killing the hollowness in her stomach. She felt sick. And later that morning when Brandon came out of the shower she excused herself and went home.

After that and right up to this morning she had checked his phone when she had the chance and had found yet more flirting and yet more numbers of girls she had never even heard of before. Such was the joy of dating a photographer, she supposed, but the wave of memories made being here, in Marseille with Jared, a whole lot easier.

With a settling breath she turned to watch Jared get them drinks. He was at the coffee table in the middle of the room, screwing the cap back on a bottle that with just a hint of disappointment Dodge realised wasn’t alcoholic. Still, she smiled warmly as she watched him get to his feet and make her way back over to her. She took the glass gratefully and was about to take a drink when she felt his fingers touch her face ever so slightly as he tucked an escaped piece of her ponytail behind her ear. Get in the soda indeed… she wondered if she was meant to believe that, or if she just didn’t want to. She smiled at the action anyway, her dark eyes alight with a brewing mischief and thoughts of justice (or was it revenge?) flitted through her mind.

“Here’s to all the crap of the past week coming to an end… hopefully…” she offered as a toast before taking a drink, finally. She held the liquid on her tongue as it crackles and snapped on her taste buds. It was no nerve-killing vodka, but it would do. She swallowed it down, the coolness awakening her insides with welcome vigour, before turning her gaze on the man that stood before her again. “What was it you promised me here?” she teased, narrowing her eyes playfully as her mind fought a battle with her nerves and her conscience, “ice cream? …chocolate sauce? I cant recall…”

[jared]

Why the fuck had he said that? Oh, the reason was completely fucking obvious, but he was trying to feign innocence even to himself. He was so stupid. Hugging her like that was over-stepping so many boundaries, especially since she was not single, but actually dating someone who he knew through friends. But being his rather impulsive self, of course he wasn't going to be thinking about that bit, neither was he really using his head at that moment but rather acting on each emotion as it rushed through his system. He knew that he should be feeling a heckload of emotions right now, especially since he'd basically snatched Dodge from school, even though it wasn't against her will, and they were now alone in his apartment with the front door locked, which Jared didn't usually do because of the people that he lived with constantly coming and going rather freely. He knew very well that he should find the way he was acting ever so slightly strange, perhaps even more then slightly. The fact that he'd been flirting with her over IM wasn't even at the forefront of his mind, but rather, he was thinking of the remorse and guilt that he should be feeling about her being there, in his apartment.

He was also thinking about the teasing and close contact that was happening between them right now. The ride on his bike, with her close behind him; alright, now that really couldn't be helped, because it was dangerous if she didn't hold onto him. Such a great attempt at an excuse when there was none. He hadn't needed to pick her up in his bike, he could have just as easily gone and borrowed his neighbour's car, but that wouldn't have been at all fun, of course not. He had to use his motorbike and drive fast enough so that she would have to hold onto him for safety. Fuck, he really wasn't fooling himself at all, so why was he trying? And then everything else, the flirty comments and teasing gestures, all of that leading up to now where he had walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her from behind. That was seriously pushing it. He had been freaking out for a long moment, worried that she'd push him off and, heaven forbid, slap him really hard before leaving, but amazingly, she hadn't. She had just stiffened a little before relaxing again, and had gripped his arms for a second when he'd started to head off for drinks, at which point she had apologized, and he had been a total idiot by saying those four words. Don't be. I'm not.

The whole way to the kitchen, he mentally swore at himself, but like it was going to do much good. He got two glasses and went for drinks, but strangely, he couldn't find any alcohol. Perhaps one of his room-mates had gotten hold of it. No matter. In all truth, as much as he knew alcohol would settle his nerves, he wanted to be in full control of every part of himself, especially right now. So instead, he found a bottle of soda inside the fridge and carried it and the glasses to the coffee table in the livingroom, setting it down upon the table. He poured the soda into the glasses and then stood up, walking back over to her and handing her the glass. He watched her take it from him and just as she was about to take a drink, he felt overly bold again and reached out, tucking some hair behind her ear that had fallen down the side of her face. When she smiled at him, and then offered up something for a toast, Jared grinned and nodded. "Sounds good to me," he replied lightly, and then took a long drink of his soda, feeling the fizzy sensation tickle his tongue lightly. The teasing tone that she used as she started to speak again caught his interest, and he moved his glass away from his mouth and a grin tugged at the edges of his lips. "I promised you mint-choc-chip ice cream and cookies, and that is what's in the freezer and the cupboard," he replied back playfully, seeing the way her eyes were narrowed in a playful way.

[Nona Constantine]

Twenty minutes earlier Dodge’s intentions were clear, set in her mind and positive that that was what she wanted. Now as she stood there though, she couldn’t remember what had been running through her mind when she accepted - even encouraged - this meeting. Though, she realised as her dark eyes followed Jared as he moved, memory or not; it wasn’t too difficult to piece together a new reasoning. The logic that said ‘no’ lay with her current relationship. She had been with Brandon for a very long time - over two years by her reckoning - and he was by all intents and purposes a fantastic boyfriend. That was, until a few weeks ago then something changed. Dodge could see it happening right before her eyes. It started when she first slept with him. For most couples that meant that things were going to get better, especially since that was the First Time for them both.

But therein lay the problem. Dodge wasn’t so sure that it really was the first time for dear Brandon. After that night everything seemed fine, but rapidly over the days that followed a chill fell on their usually fiery relationship. The sex was there and it was good and plentiful, but beyond that she couldn’t find their spark. It was like Brandon had lost something else that night too. He spent more time working and less time with her. And the time they did spend together was delicately strained and somewhat tense. Outwardly nothing had changed, but inwardly… well, Dodge could just feel it. She buried it though, said nothing at all, and it was working… right up until she had a very heated conversation with a stranger that had approached her on the internet.

The girl claimed to be one of Brandon’s models, and Dodge would admit that the name rang a bell, but she couldn’t believe the words she spoke. She told her that she and Brandon had been ‘intimate’, to paraphrase, and from that moment Dodge denied it. This girl, Charlie, had to be a sick, poor tortured girl to come up with lies like that. To go out of her way to stir up trouble in an already iffy relationship. Dodge refused to accept it, she couldn’t. But that was yesterday, and without talking to Brandon she had little to do but wallow and think. And for Dodge Jacobs thinking was generally a bad thing. She hadn’t slept, staring at the ceiling for the entire night trying to figure out for herself what the truth was. But no matter how often she ran it over in her head, the creases on her forehead becoming more pronounced every time, it just started to make sense. The hostility, the cold edge between them, and she was sure she hadn’t done anything to offend him. Still, she couldn’t just accept it. She refused it. It just wasn’t possible.

And yet, here she was, fuelled by a herd of emotions and instincts. There was the sense of betrayal despite the denial set solidly in her mind. Then there was justice, revenge if you will, that if he was going to behave as he had been, she would give him a reason to. And then, much deeper and much more prominent was the hollow, unease that had her scared. Why would he have changed? Was she different? Was she just not enough any more? That would explain it. If she wasn’t as pretty to him, or as attractive or interesting. Years of being teased about her height and her blandness in her childhood had a harsh fear that she was never good enough for anything, and this was just reinforcing that fear. So it was natural that when Jared teased and flirted she flirted right back. It felt good; the attention, the fire, the hint that maybe - maybe in his eyes - she was good enough again.

That was how she ended up here, why she was letting the man stand so close to her despite ring on her finger that branded her as another’s. The flirts flew and Dodge’s narrowed eyes turned slightly more serious. She was good enough, right? She had to be…

“Well,” she began, her insecurities blindly leading her confidence now as she lowered the glass to the windowsill behind her and blinked, quite sweetly, up at the dark brown eyes that peered across the inches down at her. “If no one is going to know I’m here… they’re never going to know what I do here either, right?” Her tones were soft, lulling, and a little more breathy than they needed to be. She leaned forward, the distance between then too small to be closed by a step, until she could feel the heat radiating from his body. Cockily sure, Dodge lifted a hand and found his before entwining her fingers between his much larger ones. Hers was like a child’s hand in comparison, but that was a fact she was more than willing to disprove right then.