Wayne Hopkins is absurd (wayne_relates) wrote in random_rpg, @ 2012-11-21 03:45:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, character: jack sloper, character: trinity lynn, character: wayne hopkins, time: 1998-11 |
WHO: Jack Sloper, Tori Lynn, Wayne Hopkins
WHEN: Tuesday, November 20, 1998, after 4pm
WHERE: Jack’s flat in London
WHAT: Wayne goes to check on Tori
RATING: PGish?
Wayne left training hurriedly and apparated as close to Jack’s house as possible. There was a slight trepidation. It was more at seeing Jack again than what he might see in Tori. It felt ridiculous, but Wayne was trained in seeing battered people, not close friends who snogged you in your kitchen. Pushing those thoughts aside, Wayne knocked on the door. He had a job to do and wanted to make sure he could help Tori to the best of his ability.
Jack answered the door. He’d been briefly worried about seeing Wayne this afternoon as he got up this morning, but as he asked around and found out what had happened at Tori’s his concern over the awkwardness disappeared, replaced only with concern for Tori. He’d been so busy he’d not had time to get himself tended to, he knew he looked a mess, but he could worry about himself later. “Hey.” He smiled grimly as he saw Wayne in the doorway, glad to see him, but still too concerned over Tori’s well being. She hadn’t gotten up. She hadn’t said anything.
“Hey,” he replied, giving Jack an unintentional wide eyed look. His eye was so swollen and purple. It was painful just looking at it. Licking his lips, Wayne glanced away a moment before turning back to Jack, waiting to be let in the doorway. “How is she?”
Jack stepped out of the way letting Wayne in stopping in the living room to talk for a moment before taking him back to see Tori. “She’s still resting. I think it’s the emotional trauma of it all. She hasn’t said a word. I found out some things from my teachers today. They said that her mother had been...” He stopped and shook his head hating to think about it. “Someone killed Emileen and turned her into an inferius.” He said with an intense frown on his brow. “I think that’s what bit her. Her dad is in St. Mungo’s still. They’re doing what they can, but I wasn’t hearing anything positive.” He looked down at the floor.
As Jack told him what happened, Wayne’s face didn’t register any emotion, but his eyes were sorrowful. He frowned at the mention of an inferius, wondering why the hell someone would do something like that. There was the urge to reach out again, but Wayne ignored it. “Where is she?” he asked flipping his mind to a more comfortable mode.
“She’s in my room.” He led the way down the short hallway to his bedroom and walked in. He sat on the bed next to Tori. He took her hand. “Hey Tori, Wayne’s here to see you. He’s going to look at your shoulder okay?” She’d been non-responsive all day but he still kept talking to her. Trying everything to break her out of it.
As soon as Wayne stepped foot in the room, he went to Tori. “Hey, Tori,” he spoke as he checked her vitals. Carefully, he pushed a few of Tori’s burned locks out of the way so he could see her shoulder better. Muttering an incantation, he pointed his wand at the bite on her neck. The bite was deep even with the quick work that had been done on it. Wayne had to change the incantation to accommodate. He got stuck which made his head hurt as he tried to keep the verbal going as well as search for the next line. As he closed the last of the gap, he let out a breath. There was a scar, but at least the wound was healed and wouldn’t reopen. Wayne’s hands shook slightly before he clenched them into fists.
“There you go,” he said to Tori. “That should feel better, at least. Sorry about the scar.” Normally, he would have quipped about how it would have been better for her to go to the hospital, but the dead look in Tori’s eyes triggered something. It was the same sort of look Wayne saw mirrored in himself, but much, much darker. Tori was gone. The person before him was a facsimile. Wayne turned to Jack.
Jack watched Wayne work, and his eyes grew concerned when he saw him struggle. He ran a hand through his hair as he looked on. He didn’t know what to do. He frowned feeling utterly useless. Jack couldn’t help her. Jack couldn’t do anything. He couldn’t even get her to talk. What good was he? He looked at Wayne when he turned to him Jack’s eyes were full of questions. His glance flicked to Tori. He didn’t want to talk about her like she wasn’t there, so he resolved to wait until they were out of earshot to ask Wayne his opinion.
“There’s no infection, which would be your second biggest concern,” Wayne said after they’d stepped into the hallway. He fiddled with his wand. “Uh, I’m worried about the amount of blood she might have lost though. She’s in shock, I mean, I guess that’s obvious. There’s a certain type for excessive blood loss. I don’t remember the name. I’m worried about how pale she is and her heartbeat is fast, but weak. As for being catatonic, I have no clue what to do about that or if there is anything. I wish I knew more.” He gave Jack an apologetic look.
Jack led them out to the living room away from the thin door. He collapsed onto the couch and pulled his knees up to his chest. “I don’t know what to do.” He said quietly as the weight of the last few days settled heavily on his shoulders. He rubbed his temples.
Without having Tori to focus on anymore, Wayne had to put his attention on Jack. It amazed him that the other boy was holding up so well, physically anyway. Sitting next to his friend, Wayne gently tugged the arm with the broken hand and examined it. Knuckles weren’t bad. It was the wrist bones that were frustrating to mend. Pointing his wand, Wayne spoke the incantation to repair the cracked bones. He gently touched around the knuckles making sure he’d done it correctly. He had and then it dawned on him he was basically holding Jack’s hand. Dropping the hand, Wayne scooted back.
“You’re doing everything you can,” he reassured. “Being with someone she loves and trusts in a familiar environment is one of the best things for her right now.”
Jack watched Wayne examine and heal his hand. Jack blushed slightly when Wayne moved back and didn’t say anything about it, but he kept thinking about the contact and then mentally berated himself yet again. What made him think for a second that Wayne would be interested in him? He was just a friend and he was doing Wayne a disservice by thinking about how gentle a touch he had. He flexed his hand. “Thanks” He muttered. “I’m trying but it just doesn’t seem like enough. It’s like no matter what it’s never enough.” I’m never enough. He thought and bit his tongue to keep from saying it. He slid his feet down to the floor wincing when the motion aggravated his ribs.
“In the midst of things, it may seem that way. You can’t change what happened to her, but Tori came to you. That says a lot,” he frowned when Jack winced. Unlike the hand, Wayne couldn’t determine what damage was done to Jack’s ribs by looking. “Which rib, do you know?”
Jack nodded and pointed vaguely at his side through his shirt. “I know it’s just- I want to be able to do more. To make everything better for her. I want to be able to tell her that everything will be okay, but that’s a lie and I can’t lie to her.” He sighed. “I can’t fix anything. I’m useless and all I do is break things.”
Wayne looked up from where Jack pointed, eyes full of concern. “But things will be okay. She’s alive. She’s in there, somewhere. Everyone has different coping methods. Tori’s strong. She’ll find a way to pull through. She’s got you and Cordelia by her side,” he bit his lip. It didn’t seem Jack was talking about Tori anymore. His last statement was confusing. “You’re far from useless, Jack. I don’t know anything about you breaking things.” He leaned toward where Jack indicated the cracked rib. “I need you to lift your shirt a bit so I can see what sort of damage there is.”
Jack followed orders and lifted the hem of his shirt revealing a large dark bruise high on his side. It snaked forward on his ribs, partially still hidden by his shirt. He looked down at the floor, “I break my hand, I break Vicky’s heart. I just can’t seem to get anything right these days.” He said softly.
Wayne reached forward and gingerly touched the bruise, attempting to assess the exact location of the cracked rib. “You need to have more faith in the human spirit.” Wayne found the rib and spoke the incantation. He sat up. There was nothing he could do for the bruises. “You aren’t malicious enough to truly break anyone. To do something like that would require you to be heartless and I know for a fact you aren’t heartless,” he gave Jack a small smile. “Right now, it feels as though you’re standing in the bottom of a well. You can see light coming through the opening and it’s as if it’s mocking you. You want to jump for the light and get out of the darkness, but you can’t. Instead, you have to use a ladder. It’s hard to climb, but if you take it rung by rung, you’ll make it out.”
Jack inhaled sharply at Wayne’s touch. Though he was unsure whether it was from the pain or the contact itself. He shoved that particular issue aside dropping his shirt when Wayne finished the spell. It did feel better. “Thanks.” He said.
He listened to Wayne, hanging on every word like it was a life line. Jack wanted to tell Wayne that he was trying, that he would be okay. That he’d do whatever it took to make everything okay again. But he couldn’t find the words. All he could do was nod. He’d run himself ragged for days, not really sleeping like he should, not really eating like he should. He gave Wayne a sad sort of smile. It was all he had the emotional energy to muster.
Not really thinking about what he was doing, Wayne turned and wrapped both arms around Jack’s shoulders, pulling him into a hug. He couldn’t stand it anymore and was reacting on instinct.
Jack was surprised by the hug, but embraced it. He wrapped his arms around Wayne and clung to him like he was the last solid thing in the world. He rested his forehead on Wayne’s shoulder. It made him feel a little better to be held, if just for a moment.
Surprised that the creaking of the door opening hadn’t bothered them, Tori paused mid step and watched her two friends embrace. Something tightened in her throat, but she swallowed it and did what she could to appear like she always had. She crossed her arms, a movement that caused her pain, and leaned against the wall, cocked an eyebrow, and cleared her throat, “Sorry,” she started, “Didn’t mean to interrupt anything.”
Wayne turned when he heard Tori’s voice. Jack jerked his head up. When he saw Tori he smiled. She was up, she was talking. “Tori!” He practically ran across the room and scooped Tori up into a huge bear hug.
Wayne stood from the couch and approached Tori, now embraced by Jack. He looked closely at her pupils and the coloration in her face. Satisfied that Tori wasn’t in danger of passing out, Wayne placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled before patting it and dropping his hand. He took a step back.
“Ow, Jack, Ow.” Tori said calmly, her arms pinned to her sides as she was encased in the hug. After being released, she nodded slightly to Wayne, acknowledging the brief show of affection he had given her. “I was just getting some tea, no need to get all bloody worked up.” she said in Jack’s direction. Her expressions were muted and barely there and her eyes were still very dead looking, and she felt like her head was pounding but she supposed she must look better, if that was the reaction she’d received.
Jack let go of Tori. “I will get you tea. I will get you anything you want.” He moved toward the kitchen. He was so happy that she was moving nothing else mattered.
Tori rolled her eyes and grabbed Jack’s arm, “I can get it myself, Jack. I’m not crippled, and I’m far from a guest. I practically...” she paused, her shields suddenly falling and her eyes coming to life with pain. It was only for a moment, a brief second, before her walls were back in place as she continued, her voice a little less strong now, “I do live here, Jack.”
Jack saw, he’d known her for years and he knew her better than she knew herself. He saw the walls fall and be rebuilt. He kissed her forehead and gave her another less crushing hug and let her make her way to the kitchen. Tori had always made her own way in the world. It seemed grieving and healing were like everything else, on her terms. He could only just be there for her when she needed him. And for the moment it did feel like enough.
Tori took a step toward the kitchen but stopped and looked back to Wayne. She took a breath, then looked at the floor beside his feet, “Thanks.” she muttered, “You know... for the... scar.” she said, her tone honest and sincere. She looked back at Jack, lifting an eyebrow at him that would appear challenging to anyone else watching, but in her own way, it was a thanks as well. For letting her on her way, for understanding. “I’ll leave you two alone.” she said with a brief nod to Jack before turning and disappearing into the kitchen.
Wayne smiled in response to Tori as she left. “Good to see her up and talking,” he turned to Jack, not knowing what else to say. He felt awkward. Looking at the other boy made him realize why. It was always Jack. For how long, Wayne wasn't sure, but the last week had only brought what he'd repressed to the forefront. Wayne let out a breath. Suddenly it felt like he was being selfish and invasive. Tori needed Jack. "I should probably go."
Jack just smiled. “Thank-you.” He said to Wayne. “For everything.” He didn’t know what his emotions were doing, but seeing Tori up had put a spring back in his step, knowing that she wasn’t broken forever. And maybe Wayne was right. Maybe everything would be okay after all. It would be a long hard road but he could do it, because he had help. He stepped forward and hugged Wayne.
It took a moment before Wayne put his arms around Jack and returned the embrace, hugging him warmly. "You're welcome," he replied. It washed over him unexpectedly. Jack's scent. His closeness. His gratitude. Wayne kissed the side of Jack's head near his temple. It was innocent enough, but Wayne stepped back, not sure how Jack would respond. "I'll see you around."
Jack blinked briefly. Was that? Did he just? He grinned. He didn’t care. It was nice and for once he was not going to freak out about it. “Yeah, I’ll see you around.” Jack walked Wayne to the door and opened the door for him. Waving goodbye as he left.