John James Searle (inneedofrepair) wrote in the_colony, @ 2010-02-16 18:54:00 |
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Entry tags: | ^ week 05, alice munroe, jared bivens, john james searle, | jared and searle |
Week five - Sunday
Characters: Alice, Jared and Searle.
Location: Siena Suites, Alice's suite.
Summary: Searle has heard all about Jared from Jack (not good things), but since Alice is allowing the boy into the group Searle is reserving judgments. Things start off a little awkward, but end well.
Rating: PG.
Saturday, Jack had alerted him that an unwelcome, dangerous guest was joining their group. The intruder had fake black hair, was a little older than him, and apparently endorsed by Alice. Searle also knew that the kid had been part of the group who hit Jack, and he could honestly say he was none too pleased to hear about someone like that in their midst. Still, the boy's saving grace was Alice. Even though Jack was understandably upset, Searle was sure that Alice had her reasons, and that her reasons weren't frivolous. Anything could happen to anyone in the kind of world they lived in now, and Searle wanted to keep an open mind. He wanted to talk to the new guy himself, and since Jack told him he was living with Alice, that's where Searle went.
He arrived at the door to her suite and wasted no time knocking. Part of him was nervous because of how Jack had built the kid up, leaving Searle to wonder if he really could crush him in one blow, but if the boy misbehaved in front of Alice surely he'd be booted out. Searle had nothing to worry about.
There was a voice on the other side of a door that was distinctly male, before it opened. Alice stood on the other side of it, looking somewhat surprised. She hadn't exactly been expecting visitors. "Didn't expect to see you so soon," she said after a moment, her head tilting slightly. "Did you already figure out what you wanted to do with the greenhouse?"
"Not exactly," Searle admitted. "Jack told me about the kid who's living with you now. I thought I could meet him."
"Ah," she responded, then pulled back a little to allow him in. Her face was carefully arranged to be neutral, but there was a tension in her shoulders, like a cat ready to pounce should there be a need to. "C'min then."
Tensing up a little himself, just for different reasons, Searle entered Alice's suite and glanced around. From the look of things, Jared was the only one in the room who wasn't tense. He was sprawled on the sofa, his feet up on the coffee table and his eyes on the screen. He and Alice had been watching "The Office" and he didn't bother pausing it when the knock came. Jared wasn't sure who this person was, but if the girl sent him, he probably wasn't worth bothering with.
"You hear to threaten me or just stare like I'm a freak show?" he asked in his most bored voice, not even looking up.
"Don't be rude," Alice said immediately, frowning a little.
Scowling slightly, Jared pushed himself to his feet before looking and their visitor. And then he almost laughed. Yeah, not nearly as threatening as Jed. "Alright, you wanted to meet me, so here I am. Name's Jared."
"I'm Searle." He felt embarrassed suddenly, because he didn't exactly have a plan. "I, uh...." Either he could come right out and say Jack had told him all about how they knew each other, or he could try to get to know Jared without potentially inviting an argument. Jack's description of Jared was pretty good, and the bruising on his face and arms probably helped Searle to feel Jared wasn't a true threat to him if it came down to it, so he chose the latter. "What are you watching?"
"That's what--" A glance at Alice had him biting back the response. Alright, nothing rude. "The Office," he answered instead, giving a shrug. "Alice had it on DVD."
Alice watched the interaction between the two carefully, still a little tense. Nothing had gone down yet, but she could hear the animosity starting to creep into Jared's voice and see the very obvious awkwardness in Searle's posture. It was a bit like watching what had gone down between Cody and Jed, what felt like ages ago now. She needed to diffuse it quickly, before it got worse. Knowing that an invitation to watch with them would easily be brushed off, Alice found herself walking back toward the refrigerator instead to get Searle something to drink. It was an old habit, something comfortable and familiar, and while there she grabbed an extra bottle for Jared as well, along with two single-serving drink mix packets.
"Did you wanna speak to me alone, Searle?" she asked once she'd passed Jared his drink and came back to him.
Searle looked up from the TV when Alice addressed him, then took the drink. "Thanks, and no, not right now. I - I came here to talk to Jared. Jared," Searle took a breath, not to appear dramatic, but because he hoped he was doing the right thing, "Jack's a good friend of mine and I know stuff happened between you guys. I just want you to know I'm glad you're here." Searle looked at his feet. "People make mistakes, so ... but I know if Alice thinks you belong here, so do I. So, welcome, I guess." Only after finishing speaking did Searle look at Jared. There was a knot in his chest that made him feel guilty, like he was betraying Jack, but blame the Christian in him; he thought Jared deserved a chance and some forgiveness.
It was the last thing Jared expected to hear, and it made him feel absolutely rotten. Threats he knew how to react to, but this was out of his league. He shoved his hands in his pockets. Unable to meet Searle's gaze, he looked to Alice, then the wall. "I didn't want to hurt her," he said, trying to defend himself against the onslaught of understanding. "I didn't even know she was a girl. I had a little sister. If I'd known, maybe..." He shrugged.
Alice watched them, feeling something like pride that ground was breaking, especially with Jared. She hadn't gotten a whole lot of information out of him, but then she hadn't really been trying that hard. Alice was of the mind that information would be told when it was appropriate; now was such a time.
"It's in the past," Alice said. "Let's leave it there and work more on the present, agreed?"
"Yeah," Searle was quick to answer. He felt infinitely better by Jared's reaction. Jack might tell him he was being naive, but the way Jared spoke seemed really sincere. "Can I watch with you?" Now that that was out of the way, Searle took a sip of his drink and motioned to the TV. It would be nice to have someone around his age, and a guy he might get along with, around.
"Yeah, sure," Jared said, untwisting his bottle top before looking up. "I mean, it's Alice's place. Not my say."
"G'head," Alice replied nonchalantly, heading toward her bedroom to get some paperwork to bring out to the kitchen table. "I need to go over some stuff anyway."