InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "RAW"

Jack Hollis [Captain Hook] (floreat_etona) wrote in bellumlogs,
@ 2010-03-03 20:51:00

Entry tags:

gretel, peter pan

Who: Jack & Evie & Nick
What: Hollis family reunion
Where: Bellum Letale and mental hospital
When: After he writes to Evie and the building
Warnings: Surly, resentful teenagers.

When it became clear there would be no way for him to get into 1202 to wait for Evie, he went back to his apartment to unpack some of his clothes. It didn't take him long: he had only packed a week's worth of clothes, wanting an excuse to have to leave. Despite his feigned enthusiasm for the coming family reunion, Jack was petrified at seeing his siblings again. Evie's angry emails only confirmed his fear.

Once finished with the luggage, he paced his apartment for an hour before trotting back down the stairs to the twelfth floor. It was pathetic, but he couldn't think of anything else to do: he slouched against the wall and waited.

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lostintheforest
2010-03-04 04:15 am UTC (link)

At first, she stared at him, not comprehending. Then, surprise showed on her face, followed up quickly by excitement. "Really?" she repeated, happily this time, a smile flickering on her lips for a moment before he was attacked by a barrage of questions. "When? For the funeral or for good? Why did they finally decide to release him?" Nicky. Despite not having seen him in nearly ten years, Nick Hollis had continued to be Evie's favorite person.

And he, at least, had not left her voluntarily.

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	floreat_etona 2010-03-04 02:58 pm UTC (link)
	Jack nearly melted with relief at Evie's enthusiasm, and he returned her smile with a rakish, pleased grin of his own. "Really," he promised. "For good." He wanted to brag that it was he who decided they needed to be a family again, but he refrained. Instead, he said, a little more humble: "I think he's just ready to come home." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	lostintheforest 2010-03-04 08:08 pm UTC (link)
	Jack looked like he was getting over-pleased with himself, but Evie was too happy to bother setting him straight again. "When? Can he stay here? Have you seen him?" Lots of questions, and she looked expectantly at her oldest brother to answer them. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

floreat_etona
2010-03-04 08:12 pm UTC (link)

His grin grew, and he rocked on his heels once, wanting to tease her; but Evie's warning look stopped him. "Okay, okay," he growled, lifting his hands in surrender. "You and I are getting him tonight. And yeah, he's staying here." He ignored her last question; he didn't want to talk about how shitty he's been to Nicky, too. Hopefully his brother will feel the same joy Evie felt and ignore the last ten years.

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	lostintheforest 2010-03-04 09:57 pm UTC (link)
	Evie shot him a look. "It is night. It's like, 6:15." She pointed to the clock on the microwave. "Can we go now?" And if he said no, she looked like she was ready to leave without him. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	floreat_etona 2010-03-04 10:39 pm UTC (link)
	"Will you stop hating on me?" It wasn't exactly a negotiation; he'd go even if Evie said no, but he hoped that she'd melt a little and cut him a break. Calling up all his charm, he tipped his head and grinned at her. "I like it better when Marissa is the bad guy." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

lostintheforest
2010-03-04 10:49 pm UTC (link)

Evie didn't even bother glaring at him, just rolled her eyes. Jack was so full of it. Everything was about him of course. Poor man, his little sister was mad at him. "Right. A bad guy that I've been living with for the past ten years." Unimpressed with his grin, she crossed her arms and took a step towards the door. "Let's get a move on, old man." This, at least, was said without venom, a sisterly jibe.

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floreat_etona
2010-03-04 11:02 pm UTC (link)

Baby steps, he reminded himself, when he felt the urge to roll his eyes at Evie. Still, he couldn't help himself: "You could have come visit me anytime." While technically true, it was ultimately a lie: he barely bothered to update his family on where he was living at any given time. Had Evie tried to come visit, he would have invented a thousand reasons why he couldn't host her, too. But Jack didn't have the courage to admit any of that, so he ushered Evie out of the apartment.

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	lostintheforest 2010-03-05 12:31 am UTC (link)
	Evie clenched her fists and started down the hall. "Definitely. Since I was underage and had no money or address. Or invitation. Which some people might appreciate before they had someone show up suddenly." She glared pointedly at her brother and motioned away from the elevator. "Stairs." Jack probably didn't know that either. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	floreat_etona 2010-03-05 02:28 am UTC (link)
	"Yeah, what's the deal with the elevator?" He ignored her earlier bitchy response, afraid of provoking a fight. "This is a weird building." He trotted down the stairs after Evie. "Kind of sketchy, actually. What are your neighbors like?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	lostintheforest 2010-03-05 04:39 am UTC (link)
	"It doesn't work," Evie answered shortly. "My neighbors seem nice enough except for the douchebag next door, but I haven't heard from him in a while." Glancing over her shoulder at him, she smirked. "What's the matter, can't handle a little sketchiness?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

floreat_etona
2010-03-05 04:44 am UTC (link)

"Yeah, I noticed it didn't work." Christ, was she going to be bitchy for the whole night?! "Who's the douchebag next door?" He made a face at her in return, an automatic response, and he nearly laughed at himself. Almost 30, and he and Evie were fighting just like they had when he was a kid.

"I just thought Dad would have had you guys in a nicer place," he murmured, and he doesn't add: And I thought Marissa would have screamed bloody murder about not having an elevator.

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lostintheforest
2010-03-05 04:57 am UTC (link)

"Well, what do I look like, an elevator mechanic? How should I know why it doesn't work." Seriously, hadn't Jack been to college? She almost laughed at his childish face but stopped herself just in time.

"Just because the elevator doesn't work doesn't mean it isn't nice." Evie didn't know if she was defending the building or her father. "It's this thing called exercise. And you'd think that you would be used to it. Did they even have elevators when you were growing up?" The eight or so years since she'd last seen him seemed to be an enormous amount of time, now that he was back and old.

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floreat_etona
2010-03-05 01:10 pm UTC (link)

"No, back when I was a kid we only used pulleys." His voice was amused though and by the time they reached the lobby, he skirted around Evie to hold the door open for her with a dramatic flourish. "Good thing you're around to catch me up with technology." Another face, then he straightened and lifted an arm, flagging down a cab.

"Listen," he said, suddenly serious. "I'm going to need your help with Marissa. She doesn't know Nicky's coming back and he's...uh..." It dawned on him how badly he planned this. "...Well, I think he's going to live with you so...she might be pissed."

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lostintheforest
2010-03-05 09:41 pm UTC (link)

"Don't stress it." Evie sounded almost bored as she opened the door to the cab and got in. "A, she probably doesn't remember he exists; B, she won't notice he's living with us for three weeks at least so you have time; and C, she'll probably think he's a boyfriend or something anyway." The cab wasn't moving, so she looked back over at Jack. "Where exactly are we going?"

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floreat_etona
2010-03-06 03:20 pm UTC (link)

"Milstein Hospital," he told the driver, then he gave Evie a look. "Well, you're going to have to help me with her if she does notice." Nick is 18, so he can't be automatically committed again, but Jack worried that their stepmother might try. God knows how awful she was going to be.

Once the cab pulled into traffic, Jack awkwardly stared at his hands and out the window, occasionally glancing at Evie. He didn't know what to say to her, and he knew she'd jump all over any stupid thing should he be so dumb. Finally: "Do you have a boyfriend?" That seemed like the kind of thing a big brother should know about.

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	lostintheforest 2010-03-06 03:50 pm UTC (link)
	"Whatever, I'll deal with her." Marissa was a bitch but she was a really stupid one, so Evie wasn't so worried. She watched Jack out of the corner of her eye, enjoying how awkward he looked. It was totally his fault, after all. "Do you have a girlfriend?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	floreat_etona 2010-03-06 03:56 pm UTC (link)
	"No way, I asked you first!" He pretended to frown. "Come on, give me the details. I'll tell you about my life," and he grinned, as if his offer had some serious appeal. He sobered a moment. "You're not really going to be pissed at me all night, are you?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	lostintheforest 2010-03-06 04:26 pm UTC (link)
	Evie just looked at him, almost pityingly. "You wish it was all night." He really thought she was going to simply forgive him, didn't he? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	floreat_etona 2010-03-06 04:45 pm UTC (link)
	He groaned then and threw up his hands, exasperated. "I'm sorry, okay? What more do you want?" He frowned, frustrated. "Look, you were little, I don't think you understand what was going on--" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	lostintheforest 2010-03-06 05:10 pm UTC (link)
	"Some groveling might be nice," Evie was glaring at him again, eyes accusing. "Maybe, like, ten years worth." The dim light that filtered through the cab seemed to highlight the tense set of her jaw and her folded arms. "Right, because I was little and my mom had just died, that really made it okay, Jack." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	floreat_etona 2010-03-06 05:24 pm UTC (link)
	"Dude, she was my mom, too!" He felt the urge to shake Evie and he stared at her, as aggravated with her now as he had been when he was 18. He didn't like the feeling. Automatically, he crossed his arms as well. "Look, I did what people do: graduate high school, leave home, start life." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	lostintheforest 2010-03-06 05:30 pm UTC (link)
	"No one expected you to stay home. But you could have visited, or at least, you know, tried to stay in touch. Normal people do that too." Evie suddenly wanted to hit him, but she checked herself because he was bigger now, and he probably wouldn't be as easy on her as when she was eight. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

floreat_etona
2010-03-06 05:54 pm UTC (link)

Jack made a growling noise of frustration and he cracked his knuckles. It was a bad habit he picked up years ago and even the nagging of his ex-wife and various girlfriends hadn't broken him of it. "I stayed in touch--" he protested weakly, aware that it was a blatant lie. Still, he couldn't admit that and he frowned at Evie. "Anyway, I said I was sorry. What more do you want? I'm here now." Cut me a fucking break.

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	lostintheforest 2010-03-06 06:04 pm UTC (link)
	Evie didn't even bother contradicting him, since they both knew it was a lie. Clenching her hands once, she turned her head away. "Whatever." She leaned against the side of the taxi and stared out the window and refused to talk anymore until finally they pulled up to the front of the mental institution. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)