v (vesta) wrote in disorderic, @ 2018-02-02 15:30:00 |
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Entry tags: | hestia jones, joseph bell |
WHO: Joe Bell and Hestia Jones.
WHAT: Just some friendz chatting.
WHEN: February 1st, evening.
WHERE: Hestia's home in Tinworth.
Joe traced his fingers around the now nearly-empty beer mug, as he stared at it. He'd been silent for a few minutes, having filled in Hestia on all the random happenings at work lately (though none had been particularly interesting). He was drifting a bit, and he checked his watch. 9:45. Of course he was bloody tired, he'd be getting ready for bed right now usually. But now, he wanted to spend some time with his friend. "Hestia…," he started, glancing at her, only slightly anxious about what he wanted to ask her. He nervously chewed on his lips, but took the last bit of alcohol and drowned it in one go. The question didn't come just yet. Distracted by her cat winding between their feet, it took a moment for Hestia to pick up on the hesitation in Joe’s voice. When she did she sat up straighter, concern written in the slight creasing of her forehead. She picked up her own mug, bringing it closer but not drinking quite yet. “That’s me,” she responded, quirking a brow in curiosity. “What’s up?” He cleared his throat a few times, as though there was some particularly stubborn phlegm that refused to budge, but he was fine. Joe merely needed some excuse to fill in the gap so he didn't really have to ask the question, despite wanting to so, so bad. He finally drew in a breath, before he gained his confidence. There was no going back from here, but he needed to know. "How long have you been a member of the Order of the Phoenix?" Her stomach lurched and she briefly felt as if she was falling, shocked by the question. She really wasn’t prepared for this conversation. Hestia knew she wasn’t the most surprising member of the Order, but she didn’t think Joe would blindside her like that. “Since never,” she responded, not entirely faking the confusion in her voice, putting an end to her navel-gazing and trying to will color back into her usually pink cheeks. Joe rolled his eyes, unable to contain that even for a moment. "Don't do that. I've guessed it for awhile now," he remarked, wrinkling his nose. "And I just —" He just what? What did he expect from this, an invitation to join in with the group? "I want to help. I don't know with what exactly, but with you staying safe and anything you need from the shithole I work at." He grimaced, if only for the briefest of seconds, as their respective places of employment was why he and Betty kept griping at each other for, but that didn't matter right now. "I thought you trusted me." “Joseph Thomas Bell, that is manipulative,” Hestia muttered, standing up from her chair at the table. She couldn’t do this. The more people who knew about her… extracurricular activities, the more danger she and they were in. She couldn’t put Joe in that position. She looked away from him, briefly wondering if he’d asked his sister the same question. She put her hands on her hips, pressing her lips tightly together. “Look, I don’t know where this is coming from but I’m really tired.” Okay, yeah, it was a bit manipulative but… "I'm not against the Order, you know," Joe tried, exhaling loudly. "I think they're — yo — you're — they're doing everything right." He glanced at her, with a hopeful expression. “If I were in the Order, I probably wouldn’t tell you because I wouldn’t want you getting hurt,” Hestia all but snarled. This time, in a softer tone: “It has nothing to do with whether or not I trust you.” She sat back down after a moment, rubbing her forehead. “I know some people in the Order.” It wasn’t a lie. “That’s about it.” That was the lie. Joe didn't look nearly as satisfied with that answer as Hestia might have hoped, and he wanted to keep pressing, but her non-answer kind of helped him understand all the same. "Alright," he replied, tapping his fingers against the glass. "Alright, alright, alright. No, wait, not doing Matthew McConaughey, I'm just saying words and —" He laughed at his own ineptitude, and settled down after a moment. "Do I know some people in the Order?" he asked, a brow raised. He'd had his suspicions about a few choice people in his life, but Joe had only ever asked Hestia this question. She'd been the most obvious, anyway. Hestia snorted, a smile sliding back onto her face. She grabbed her glass and took a drink, giving Joe an are-you-serious look over the brim of it. “Really, Joe. I won’t divulge my own vigilante status but you expect me to do the same to others?” She kept a straight face for a moment before breaking into a wide grin. “I’m just messing with you. I think you know at least one other person…” She shrugged, looking at her glass. Just your sister and her friends. "One other person, huh?" He'd read somewhere on Angelina's post about Alicia being a member, from Layla, but he didn't know how much he trusted that source, so Joe had merely saved that bit to analyse on another day. But he suspected that there were plenty of others in his life that could fit the description, anyway. He set the glass down on the table finally, as he reached below to pick up the cat. "Do you think I should get another dog? I wonder if Drogon gets lonely when I'm not there all day." An abrupt topic change, but he didn't want to push the subject any longer, either. Perhaps it just wasn't the time. She wished he could know, but it really wasn’t the time. It killed her to keep secrets from him. Hestia was relieved at the change of subject, abrupt as it was, and reached out to scratch Riceball under his chin. “You should definitely get another dog. Or a cat,” she said, before making embarrassing kissing noises at her cat, who definitely was not impressed. She leaned back after a moment. “Wait, if Drogon gets lonely without you then Riceball gets lonely without me. I guess I have to get him a baby sister, because baby sisters are the best.” She made a show of examining her nails before glancing back over at Joe. “As a baby sister, I know this.” "Ugh, baby sisters are the worst," Joe groaned, though he was merely joking. "They mock you for bloody everything. I refuse. Drogon can be an only child and you can babysit him being the cool aunt that you are." He grinned stupidly, scratching the cat behind his ears. And a moment later, he finally added: "Kidding, obviously. Katie's the best baby sister I've ever had in my life." “That’s because you haven’t had me as a baby sister,” Hestia replied very seriously. “I mean, Katie’s awesome but nobody measures up to me,” she gloated, grinning. “But in seriousness, get another dog. Because I’m definitely getting another cat,” she said, mostly to Riceball. “Though I still think you should get a cat. I never thought I was a cat person until I met this little guy.” "Aren't you already my adopted little sister?" he asked, his head tilting to one side. "You're basically my mum's favourite child already." Joe grinned stupidly, moving one hand to ruffle her hair affectionately. Joe considered the very serious possibility of getting a cat vs. a dog, as his focus shifted to Riceball. "Betty said she wanted to go see some puppies but she can't actually get one right now so now I'm entertaining the thought of a second one. But a cat could be nice…," he trailed off. Oh, no. The cat was too cute and it would be nice to have one around. “I’m older than you,” Hestia exclaimed, boasting a faux look of ire as he messed up her hair. “Your mum does love me, though. That’s no joke.” She quirked an eyebrow at the mention of Betty, but kept quiet about Joe’s ex. “Get a cat, get a cat, get a cat,” she chanted quietly, leaning forward as she did so. “Riceball thinks you should, too. But you can’t have him, even though he’s the best cat on the planet.” "FINE!" Joe replied, with some enthusiasm. Apparently he was convinced now! Maybe! He didn't really know yet, though now he really was entertaining the thought of another pet. He couldn't help it, not with the look the precious cat just gave him, as though silently willing him to get Riceball a playmate. "He or she can be named Lady Sansa." He smirked momentarily, before leaning back. "You can't call me a nerd right now, you just can't," Joe stated, giving her a warning look. "Okay?" “Oh, I can’t? That’s funny, because… I think I’m about to call you a nerd. Nerd.” Hestia gave him a cheeky smile and finger guns, extremely pleased with herself. She reached over and plucked Riceball from Joe’s arms, kissing the purring cat before letting him settle on her lap. “Why not Lord Sansa for a boy?” She paused, furrowing her brow a bit. “Not to be gender normative. Just spitballing.” "Can be, but Lady Sansa as a boy cat's name could be completely anti-gender norms," Joe mused out loud, having never really thought about this very much in the past. His brows came together and he considered it for a moment, before he nodded firmly. "Right, so if I do get a cat, it'll be a boy and his name will be Lady Sansa." And as though he had just then realised that this wasn't exactly the topic he had in mind, he finally snapped out of it and glanced at Hestia with an amused smile. "I think Umbridge is watching me, did I mention?" The mention of Umbridge drained all the humour out of Hestia. “God damn it, Joe,” she groaned, shaking her head. “No, I don’t think you did mention that but I’m glad to know.” She finished off the last of her beer, grimacing. “Not to be all ‘I told you so,’ but I definitely told you not to start something with her.” Joe sighed loudly, poking at Hestia's leg with his toe. "Listen, it's probably only because I cat emoji-ed her. There's nothing to worry about!" he exclaimed, though he himself didn't look nearly as convinced at the thought, despite trying to reason with himself that there really wasn't anything to be concerned with. He shot Hestia a half-unsure glance and cleared his throat. "But if I disappear one day, ask Umbridge first, okay?" “That’s not funny, Joe,” she responded somewhat sharply. “That’s something that could literally happen now.” Joe instantly looked sorry for wording it like that, and he hung his head, feeling idiotic. Hestia sighed, deciding that she needed to lighten up. “If I ever disappear, ask the Mulcibers. Victoria hates me and her mum hates my mum.” She thought for a moment, then cracked a smile. “In a different world, we’d probably actually be friends.” Joe looked up and the corners of his lips curled upward, as he looked momentarily amused. "She's really pretty," he admitted, shrugging his shoulder just a bit. "But duly noted, keep the Mulcibers as suspects should anything happen. But it won't happen." He sighed again loudly, before getting to his feet. "I'd better get home. I'll be cranky if I don't get my eight hours of rest." She stood when he did, giving Joe a withering look. “Joe, she’s not pretty. She’s categorically the worst.” She paused for a beat, pursing her lips briefly. “Okay, she’s kind of pretty. But you can’t fall for her,” she decided, jabbing her finger at him. “Yeah, go get your beauty sleep.” She stepped forward and gave her friend a quick hug. “Think about the cat, though.” |