Re: Looking for Jack: Evie/Wren/Luke + Jack
[Everything seemed fine again. Now that everyone was acknowledging each other, everything felt safe, which even the ache like someone driving a wedge into the aperture at the base of his skull couldn't erase. At Wren's suggestion he pressed through their little band to the front, sure, sure, that Helen was just behind. Amongst friends and people he cared for, and that was right.
When Evie suggested they make introductions on the way, he smiled at her, warm and perfectly calm. His eyes were distant, but he knew her.] You'll all like each other. [He was absolutely sure of that. They would get along swimmingly, Evie and Helen. Even better than with Wren or Luke, he thought. Evie struck him as someone she had more in common with. He stepped out onto the church floor and gestured behind him. In their ranks he saw a woman with a slash of red lipstick across her mouth in a way she'd never really worn it, her edges blurred. She was dressed now, and there was blood on her clothes from where the dead man in the aisle outside had spattered them. But she was fine, she didn't seem bothered.] This is Helen. Helen, this is Evie. You two, I think, will have a lot to talk about. [Helen had long black hair and blue eyes, very cold now, warm when he had last seen her, so something had changed, since. To them she was just a space in the air just behind him, clearly clinging close enough that he could keep an eye on her, keep her safe.
The apparition asked a question, and he turned to his other side.] This is Wren and Luke, two of my oldest friends. [Still that warm smile, nothing at all wrong, and the sentiment was obviously sincere.
He stepped over the body in the aisle like a bump in the carpet. Mildly.] She wants to know if you've been taking care of me well.
[That didn't go with the script. Why did she need to ask through him if she was there in the flesh? But he didn't seem bothered in the least. Whatever he thought was happening, he was still quite in it, still level.]