Jacklyn Baker (called_jack) wrote in the_colony, @ 2010-12-07 21:54:00 |
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Entry tags: | ^ week 23, jacklyn baker, john james searle, | jack and searle |
Week 23 - Monday
Characters: Jack Baker and John Searle
Location: The bathroom
Summary: Searle distracts Jack from worry about Jed by suggesting she play with his hair. It doesn't take long before they talk about what happened on Searle's birthday.
Rating: PG
A couple of things resulted in Searle heading into the parlor with a good sized pot of hair wax in hand and an intent to find Jack. The first thing was, well, he was bored and when he’d gone into one of the bathrooms he’d found the hair wax sitting on the sink ledge, open but untouched. The second thing was that he’d noticed Jack’s slight depression ever since Jed had left with Alice for their short vacation. If there was anything that could cheer her up, something silly and probably not so smart would do it.
“Hey,” Searle said, smiling as he found her with Bosie and Rocky in a literal dog pile. “Guess what I found?”
Jack wished there was someplace she could be alone. Somewhere she could be upset without people looking at her and asking if she was okay. Instead, all she had was a warm corner with the dogs and a glare for anyone who tried to talk to her.
Except for Searle. Him she didn’t glare at. But she didn’t really smile, either. “A million dollars?”
“No,” Searle admitted, and held the pot of wax out to Jack. “It’s hair wax. I bet I could give you a mohawk with this stuff.”
That did get a smile out of her. “Bet we could give you one. That would be way better.”
“I’ll race you to the bathroom,” Searle replied.
Jack didn’t answer but her smile widened. Challenging her was a pretty good way to get her mind off worrying if Jed was okay out there. If there was a race, she wanted to win. Jack jumped to her feet, running towards the bathroom with the dogs barking at her feet. Other than give her a fair start, Searle didn’t go easy on her and, once they arrived, even tried to pull Jack away from the bathroom door so he could squeeze in first.
Jack squealed as Searle pulled her back to sneak in first. “Cheater! No fair! You’re already taller than me!” She pulled on his arm, trying to wrestle away the wax. She got it fairly easily, as the container slipped right out of Searle’s hand while he tried to hold her back.
Once she had it, Searle backed off and laughed, filing into the bathroom in a much more orderly manner. “Are you really gonna give me a mohawk, or are you going to be mean now because I cheated?”
“It’s not any fun if I tell you,” she smirked. The container was just small enough for her to hold in her right hand around her cast and she twisted it open with her left. Jack scooped a half dollar sized amount onto her fingers and reached up to smear it through his hair. As much as she enjoyed messing around with him, part of Jack couldn’t help but focus on the fact that she had her hands in Searle’s hair. She always thought it was pretty.
Searle wrinkled his nose as the first glob went into his hair, and moved so he could sit on the closed lid of the toilet so Jack could reach his head better. “Too bad we can’t take anymore pictures.”
With Searle sitting they were just about at eye level and Jack looked at him for a second before turning her attention back to the wax. She set the container on the counter to load up both her hands and pull his hair into spikes. “Yeah. I really kind of miss that, you know?” She’d loved taking pictures.
“Me too,” Searle admitted. “I bet there are cameras that still work out there somewhere, but they won’t help up remember what I’ll look like when you’re done with my hair.” He looked up, trying to see what Jack was doing, but he couldn’t. “It feels good.”
Jack suddenly felt bad for Bridget who would never have a picture of her babies. That thought she pushed from her mind -- sadness for Bridget reminded her of other bad things and made her wonder if Jed was still all right.
“You’re just like the dogs, trying to get a head scratch,” she told Searle, letting her nails scrape along his scalp before she reached for more of the hair product.
“You’ll like it, too, when it’s my turn to do it to you,” Searle said, while reaching up to ruffle Jack’s hair.
She smiled, enjoying the sign of affection as usual. “I always do,,” she said, scratching his head again.
Searle smiled in return, and lowered his hands so he could wind his arms around Jack’s waist to pull her closer. “I’m gonna make you look really dumb,” he told her, voice soft.
Her shins banged against the toilet but Jack ignored it, bending down a little. Her hands fell from his hair to behind his neck. Her face was hot. “N-no way. You have like, twice as much hair as I do. I look way better.”
“A little wax and I’ll make you look like a porcupine,” Searle retorted, but even the smart remark couldn’t keep him from blushing right along with Jack. A moment of silence passed between them before Searle tilted his chin upward and closed the distance between he and Jack.
The kiss definitely wasn’t unwanted though it was unexpected. She and Searle hadn’t kissed since his birthday. Jack was more comfortable this time and this time the kiss lasted longer than the ones before. With enough practice, she could get the hang of this.
When the pulled away, she glanced nervously over at the open bathroom door. Even with Jed gone, she didn’t want anyone finding them like that if it meant Jed would get told. “Hang on,” she said, trying to calm down from the way her heart was beating. She pulled away from Searle to close the door with a click.
“I thought maybe you didn’t want to do that anymore,” Jack said once she didn’t have to worry about anyone looking at them.
“I kept chickening out,” Searle admitted, placing his hands on his knees now that Jack wasn’t near him anymore. “I didn’t know if you wanted to.”
“I want to,” Jack answered quickly and then turned red again. Not quite sure what to do with herself, she went and sat down on the edge of the tub. “I mean, as long as you do. I miss...I don’t know, I miss having people touch me.” It had been an adjustment, not having her parents to hug and cuddle with everyday. “I think I kind of like it.”
“I miss it, too,” he said, thinking of Nevaeh not for the first time that day, “and like it,” he added. Ever since he and Jack had shared a kiss on his birthday, he’d been thinking of the redhead a lot more than usual. “We’re still friends.... Best friends. It’s not such a big deal.” It almost sounded as if he wanted to ask a question with his last statement, but his tone dipped down at the very end.
Jack had been thinking about asking if this made him her boyfriend but she changed her mind. “I don’t ever want you to stop being my best friend.” It had been terrifying, thinking that he might not like her anymore after she kissed him last week. “But why not? It’s fun and we’re grown up, right?”
“Right,” Searle said, beyond glad that Jack was seeing it the way he was. The last thing they needed was to alienate each other, especially in the winter when everything was boring. Jack wondered if it even made a difference to have a boyfriend or if it really was as easy as kissing your best friend. Besides, Searle had to like her as much as she liked him or he wouldn’t want to kiss her, anyways.
“Are you done with my hair?” Searle asked, filling the silence that had settled between them before long. If the topic was settled, he was more than willing to leave it behind.
Jack studied, glad to get back on less confusing topics. “I think so. Go and look. You look like a Dragonball guy.”