who Jack Murdock & Rosie Kincaid when April 22 where His classroom whatAfter this Rosie went in search of Jack! She found him and confronts him, offering a few different ways to share Phil... PG-13.
Jack was feeling pretty damn good about himself right now. He'd told May. He'd feared telling her, like if he actually said anything out loud about Phil he'd get struck by lightning or something. But he'd told her, someone else knew, and the world hadn't come crashing down yet, so maybe things were going to be okay. He wasn't sure yet, but... he was in a good mood, humming to himself while he corrected papers in the classroom he shared with Pete Wisdom.
Red pen scribbled across paper and his reading glasses were set low on his nose-----hell, he was in such a good mood that he wasn't even thinking about Phil. Good or bad or otherwise. He was focused on his task, wasn't worrying about either good things or bad things. He still had his mother to deal with, but she was actually doing rather well in the last week. At least, that was what he thought. Jill had told him that but he hadn't actually been to see her. He needed to actually do that, but he knew it was just going to kill his good mood. Ugh. But he'd do that this weekend. Taking his red pen, he scrawled "VISIT MOM SATURDAY" on his hand.
You know, this place was starting to be a little freaky. Rosie didn't realise swinging was back in fashion so after learning that Phil swung between her and Jack? ... Yeah. It was time for some answers. So she trolloped down the halls, asking a few students where one Jack the Other Man was. She had no real good name for him yet, but Rosie would come up with one soon.
Finally, she found him and instead of announcing herself and politely asking if she could come in, Rosie just went in, stepping heavier so he could hear her heels click. "Hi Jack, seen Phil lately?" she asked, a wide grin on her face and hands behind her back. It looked like he had been going through papers- well, those students will have to take a backseat to getting their grades back.
Jack had heard footsteps, had heard a heartbeat, and it wasn't a set of sensory information that he actually recognized by memory----but when he looked up to see her, all of the color drained out of his cheeks. He knew who she was, there was no question about that. "Um." He cleared his throat and looked back down at his papers, needlessly organizing them and making sure they were in a neat stack. "Not today, no..."
Grinning, and not a happy grin but one of her 'I know something that'll make you squirm' ones, Rosie took a few steps into the room and then shut the door, locking it. Jack was stuck in a room with her and she was doing her best to make him feel uncomfortable. What? She's allowed. "Oh good, because I saw him last night, and you know..." she waved her hand in the air, suggesting that something happened but Jack should figure it out himself. "Things. Things. So how've you been?"
If Rosie wanted to make Jack squirm, this was just the way to do it. He didn't like being locked into spaces like this, with people who wanted to torture him. He didn't like the way she was looking at him. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, pressing his lips together tightly. "I've been all right," he said after a moment, though her mention of "things" was still hanging in the air between them. She knew. She knew and Jack... well, Jack had a lot of apologies right at the tip of his tongue right now.
"Rosie----" He didn't feel so good anymore. She didn't even have to say anything about it. "He... told you...?" And she was grinning. He didn't like that. Crazy people grinned like that.
Rosie wasn't out to torture Jack... physically. She made her way slowly between the desks until she was in front of his and took the first seat directly across. "Good." All right is better than anything,and judging by his expression and the vibe she was getting, he wasn't feeling so hot. This was perfect. Mildly evil, but nonetheless, perfect.
"Who, Phil? Tell me?" The idea was hilarious! Rosie shook her head very slowly, "No, Phil told me nothing. A little fairy told me. You know about fairies, right Jack?"
Jack slowly raised an eyebrow----cute. He wasn't all that amused. Then again, he wasn't all that insulted, either. He looked like he thought Rosie was going to tear him to shreds. There was guilt all over his face. "Hn." A noncommittal grunt and he went back to his papers. He needed something to look at, something to do with his hands. "Listen, Rosie, it..."
What was he supposed to say? Phil started it? Jack had been perfectly fine keeping his distance after he found out about Phil and Rosie----and then Phil had to up and kiss him again, had to stop by his room. But blaming Philip implied he had no self-control. That wasn't fair----and not true! He had self-control. He had lots of self-control. Really. Phil had said Rosie wasn't his girlfriend, and Jack had assumed that was something Rosie knew, too. "I..."
His throat felt dry and he reached across the desk for the mug of water he kept there. It was empty. Perfect. "I really don't have any good excuse----"
"--- Because you blew him?" Still grinning, she leaned forward on her desk and chewed a nail. Oh, she knew dear Jack, so much. And it didn't bother her. Not really. "Look, Jack, I don't get why you think you have to hide this. It's totally cool. You like Phil, I like Phil, and Phil likes us. Making him choose would probably... make his brain explode or something." No one wanted brain matter on the walls, it was smelly and a bitch to clean up. Kicking her foot, Rosie tapped a little song with her nails onto the wooden surface, tap-tap, tap-tap-tap, tap-tap. Tap. "So! What're we going to do about this, Jacky?" emphasis on the 'y' with a slightly nasty snarl.
Jack leaned back in his chair, holding his pen so tightly in his hand that it almost looked like he'd snap it in two. He didn't like the way she talked about it----that loudly, too. Or, to his ears, it was incredibly loud, and he looked at the door to see if anyone was lingering out there. Tried to listen for other heartbeats. And what she was saying was perfectly friendly but the way she was saying it was incredibly disturbing. ----At least, that's how he felt it was. Maybe he was just being totally paranoid.
He chewed on the end of his pen, shaking his head. "That's really... no, we don't have to do anything about this. It's something Philip has to handle, isn't it? I'm not about to make any choices for him. He..." He pressed his lips together and forced himself to put the pen down. "He's sexually confused and that's why he----" Yeah. Because Phil was sexually confused, not because he had any interest in Jack as a boyfriend. Don't shoot too high, Jackie. "Rosie, I just want you to know that if you were hurt by this, I am so sorry. I wasn't thinking, and in thinking about it now, I can't... I don't think it's as 'cool' as you're suggesting it is." He felt dirty.
"I'll back off," he mumbled. Even though I think you have nothing in common with Phil and you're completely insane, he was thinking----but that wasn't something he'd actually say. Rosie freaked him out.
What was with Jack and Phil being weary that people could hear her talking? It wasn't unusual for two men to get together. Look at that old guy, Northstar- well, maybe not Northstar. He was a bad example. Uptight French Canadians!
His verbal flailing made her want to pet his head, but that would mean crossing the divide. That divide was keeping her from strangling him. And it was also keeping her from hugging him, because even though Rosie wanted to hate Jack? She kind of couldn't. It wasn't his fault. "Well, I was hurt but now I'm...at peace. Because you weren't responsible." Phil was. Phil was the culprit.
Shaking her head, Rosie held up a hand. "Hold it, no one said you had to back off." And that wicked grin was back, "We can share. I don't mind. You can have him every other day, and on Sunday, no one does. Day of rest, after all." Because seeing as how Rosie is suggesting Phil will get some action every day, he'd need Sunday to recoup. "Yeah?"
Jesus Christ, she really was insane.
Jack was actually pretty old-fashioned, and something about that idea seemed fundamentally wrong, especially considering Phil wasn't actually here to discuss it. "Um." He cleared his throat and shook his head. "Rosie, I appreciate the sentiment on your part, that's very nice of you," sort of, "but..." He chuckled helplessly. "You can't be fucking serious."
Just a bit. Rosie has issues, Jack.
"I'm very serious." Well, 80% serious. Rosie knew the possibility of sharing a person was slim, and besides, a little shady over all. "Consider it this way, we all get what we want," besides Jack's head on her wall. No, wait. Rosie leaned back in her seat, looking out the window for a brief moment. "Truth is, Jack, we could both be considered bad people for this- we've taken an innocent and corrupted him. I'm not saying it's bad, but given the situations he's found himself in... you know, people could hate us." Just because of things.
Jack tapped his fingers idly against the desk. He really didn't like the way she was spinning it. "Phil's an adult----more of an adult than you are, if my assumption of your age is right. He's an adult and he's confused but we all make mistakes. Even good boys like Philip." Jack gathered his papers and tucked them neatly into a folder. "So he needs time to be confused. I don't think he's a bad person. I don't think you're a bad person, and on a good day I don't think I'm a bad person." Said with a mild, wry smile. "And ideally this won't become anyone else's business and no one will have the chance to start debating that."
He reached down to tuck the folder into his satchel. "I'm also not going to hatch some kind of twisted plan to share him because to be honest I'm somewhat creeped out by that. I'm glad you're not necessarily angry with me, but I think these are some decisions Phil needs to make on his own. If it makes you feel better I won't encourage him one way or the other." This was a really, really awkward conversation, but Jack was so used to suppressing his own feelings and not actually going for what he wanted for some reason or another that this was no stretch for him. He always prepared for the worst, and... honestly? This wasn't the worst.
Nodding, Rosie listened to what he was saying with intent, and understood it all, too. She frowned when he suggested her age, and wanted to chime in with I may be young, but I've been around the world a few times and instead bit her tongue. His implication that Phil was confused and that mistakes have been made irritated her- was he insinuating that Rosie and Phil had been a mistake? Or he and Phil? It better of not been the former.
"Right, I see." Rosie focused on his satchel, Jack may of noticed it twitched an inch to the left. If she threw it out the window... No, no. Bad. "But you're going to keep on sleeping with him, and I plan to keep on sleeping with him, and then what, Jack? Nothing is resolved." It'll continue to be a headache for them all. "But what do you want, Jack? I know what I want. I don't know what you want."
Jack heard the bag move, and he picked it up and slung it over his shoulder as he stood----protectively, really. He didn't know what her powers were but he had a feeling she'd done something to it, or was thinking about doing something to it. What did he want? He wanted Phil. He wanted Phil to want him. He certainly didn't want to be someone that Phil came to when he was feeling sexually curious. He'd been that person before with someone else, and he didn't like that feeling. The things he wanted were kind of ridiculous, honestly. Not impossible, but Jack didn't want to talk about it with a girl he didn't know. A girl who had the gall to seduce Phil on his birthday just... for what, for kicks? Jack wasn't sure. And she intended to keep sleeping with him but how did she feel otherwise? He didn't know. Maybe she really did like Phil. Or love him. Or something. Jack highly doubted it but he didn't even know her.
"I'm not going to keep on sleeping with him," he finally settled on. He had more class than that. "It's resolved." He offered her a gesture that was a bit like the tip of an invisible hat and then headed for the door.
"Hold it." Rosie looked at a desk and it slid with a painful screech into his path. "Not resolved. Resolved is coming to an agreement, and to be honest, I don't know if I like you ending this without my opinion." No, this was not over. Getting out of her seat, Rosie stood and folded her arms over her chest, eye brow raised. "You can't just give up here. That's not fair." Wait, now Phil was a trophy? Poor Phil, if he only knew. "Well, it's fair to me, but I don't like it when people just lay down and expect me to accept their answer. You're not my teacher and neither of us are Phil's significant other."
"So, here's what I'd like to do: nothing. Let's just forget either of us know and go about our merry way." Except that is easier said than done, though it was worth a shot? Possibly. Maybe. "Yeah?"
Jack cringed when the desk was shoved in his way, and he jumped back with his hands over his ears. That was not a good sound. He listened to her even though his head was throbbing a little from that screech, and at the end of it: "...Please put the desk back, Miss Kincaid."
Rosie huffed but the desk moved back, instead of sliding it floated and landed with a loud 'THUNK'. Probably louder than normal. "And then?"
Jack flinched again, removing his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose. Ugh. Unnecessary noise. Hn. But Rosie wanted to do nothing. Rosie wasn't going to castrate him for what he did with Phil. Jack... hn. Jack didn't want to end up used, and he didn't want to end up hurt, but at the same time he wasn't sure he wanted to encourage Phil falling into the arms of this crazy woman. He didn't want to view Phil as any kind of prize or trophy and all of this really was making him uncomfortable, because he felt like no matter what he said he was buying into that mentality and that made him kind of sick.
"And then I'm going about my merry way," he said with a wry kind of smile, choosing to leave his answer ambiguous. She could believe what she wanted, but he didn't sound so horribly defeated as he had a while back.