John James Searle (inneedofrepair) wrote in the_colony, @ 2009-12-06 01:16:00 |
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Entry tags: | ^ week 01, jacklyn baker, jed bailey, john james searle, |* jed/jack/searle |
Week one; Tuesday morning.
Characters: Jack Baker, John Searle and Jed Bailey.
Location: The hotel they're all living in.
Summary: The morning after the younger two get drunk, Jed decides to sit them down for a talk and it ends badly.
Rating: PG
Jack wanted to get up. Really. She did. It just took longer than she was expecting was all. Someone had left a full glass of water by her bed and she drank the whole thing before she could get up. Food would be nice. Maybe. If there was anything good, maybe she'd eat.
Barefoot, she padded out towards the living room, the sounds of Jed's and Searle's voice drifting towards her. Quickly, she tried to smooth her hair down from the way it always stuck up in the back. "Hey," she announced as Rocky trotted up to greet her.
"Mornin'," Jed said from the couch. He nodded at the kitchen. "There's toast and spam in there for you. Ain't too cold, and you should get somethin' in your stomach."
"Hey," Searle greeted Jack as she emerged from her room. He'd awoken feeling a little off-color, so he wondered how she felt after being sick and all. Otherwise, he'd eaten and felt better after washing up.
Thinking of his actions the day before made him feel a bit embarrassed to be sitting with Jed, but the man turned out to be nice so Searle was enjoying himself.
As Jack grabbed her plate and sat down, Jed sat back in his chair. "Since yer feelin' better now, we need to have a serious talk. Both of you," he said, looking between them with an even gaze, but specifically at Jack. "That was a stupid thing you did. You guys are too small and too young to be drinkin' at all, but specially not alone."
Jack glanced at Searle, sorry he had to get in trouble. Not that Jed had any business getting mad at Searle. It was all her idea and it wasn't like Jed even knew Searle at all. Or even that he could get mad at her. They had never been big on rules since Jack had come to stay with Jed. She didn't need any rules and him telling her she wasn't allowed to be alone with Searle because he didn't know him still annoyed her. "I'm not small," she muttered.
Searle felt similarly to Jack about Jed trying to lay down rules for him. As nice as Jed was (and that he obviously was acting as some sort of semi-guardian for Jack), he wasn't Searle's father, nor did Searle know him very well. He didn't have to listen to him if he didn't want to, and it kind of annoyed him Jed thought he should listen to him.
However, at the same time, it didn't feel so bad to have someone looking out for him. As tough as he wanted to appear, or at least feel inside, he wasn't really in a great state of mind. Searle could appear just fine, like Jed and Jack could, but internally there was still a lot going on inside of him that he wasn't sure of. After all, everyone he had known and loved - and then some - were dead because of a terrible disease, and he'd gone through some hardships on top of being totally alone. So, in a way, he did appreciate what Jed was trying to do, and that's why he remained in his seat and listened.
"If we keep drinking we can build up a tolerance." He didn't say it defiantly, it was more like a suggestion. "And it's not like we'd be doing it all the time."
That shook Jed's cool. "You've gotta be kidding me," he said, staring between them. "Look, I'm all fer havin' fun, but Jack's fuckin' twelve years old. You can have a sip sometimes with dinner, Searle, but you sure ain't doin' it alone again. And Jack, you ain't doin' it period. Yer children, so I get it you juss don't know better, but you could have got real hurt last night."
Jack clenched her teeth. So it was okay for Searle to drink, but not her? No fair! "You can't tell Searle what to do. He doesn't even live here. I mean, okay, he lives in the hotel, but not here. You said I shouldn't even have been hanging out with him so how come you get to boss him around? It's not fair. Searle's not a kid and I'm not either."
Searle did have to admit Jack was twelve years old, and in school he'd learned that people who start drinking on a regular basis when they're very young have a much better chance of being an alcoholic later in life. He didn't wish that on Jack, but part of him still thought they were all strong enough to survive a mass die-off, so they were probably strong enough to survive some drinking.
"Are you related to Jack?" It might have seemed like a very abrupt question, but he'd been wondering about it all morning.
"What? No," Jed snapped. "I ain't tryin' to act like no one's father, alright? That's not what this is about. You are kids, Jack, don't matter what you say, and I'm the boss of anyone livin' in my hotel. I let you do yer own thing plenty, but I draw the line at pukin' and gettin' yerself hurt. Then yer juss more trouble than yer worth."
Jack's eyes widened and for a second she looked hurt. Then her eyes narrowed and she raised her chin. Only for a moment and then Jack was on her feet, racing down the hall towards her room. She didn't bother to slam the door, only stopping to jam her feet into shoes and grab her skateboard so she could run out of the suite, not thinking about Jed, not even about Searle.
Even if Jed had been hard on them, Searle had been prepared to keep on talking if the conversation was allowed to go on. When Jack got so upset she jumped up and ran off to her room, Searle suddenly felt uncomfortable sitting with Jed. Still, he was prepared to do that until Jack came right back out of her room and went toward the door. If she was leaving then he would as well.
Searle pushed himself out of his seat. "Thanks for everything," he said, and headed toward the door. He didn't try to catch up to Jack; he figured she'd be waiting for him if she wanted to hang out with him, and admittedly that's what he was hoping for.
Jed sat, dumbfounded, but not for long. He caught up with Jack and Searle waiting at the elevator. "Where do you think yer goin'? Get back in the room," he ordered, looking right at Jack.
"No!" Jack yelled at Jed, glaring over her shoulder at him as the elevator door opened. She didn't want to talk to anybody. Not Jed, not Searle, not Rocky. Nobody. She just wanted to go away someplace else by herself.
Jed grabbed her arm as she stepped forward. "Jack, I mean it. Searle can go if he wants, but you and me gotta set some things straight."
"Hey!" Searle said, feeling much less brave than he hoped he sounded. "You're not the boss of her, let her do what she wants."
"Let me go!" Jack shouted, her voice layering on top of Searle's. She yanked her arm, trying to get Jed to release her.
The sharp reaction from both of them was more than enough to make him let go in surprise. He even took a step back. "Jack-- I wasn't-- It's not safe."
"It's not your problem. I can take care of myself." This was perfect. Jed thought she was nothing but trouble and didn't want her anymore, so now he could get rid of her. Jack didn't need anybody and she definitely didn't need to be making trouble for Searle too. She stepped into the elevator, pushing the close doors button. "Stay here, Searle."
Even though Searle was telling Jed to back off now, his intentions weren't to break up what Jed and Jack had - whatever that was. Searle did see how Jed was trying to do his best to protect Jack, even if Searle didn't exactly understand why Jed would want to. Maybe he was just nice like that. But Searle didn't like to see Jack forced to do anything, especially by someone who wasn't related to her. He did already feel protective over her, and because he didn't know Jed he wasn't on Jed's side. Jed and Searle were alike in that regard.
That Jack told him to stay there, though, was an unpleasant surprise. Frowning, he didn't follow Jack into the elevator, but rather let it close without him climbing in with her. He would wait for the next one, or find another way downstairs.
Glancing at Jed, Searle stepped backward in preparation to leave to leave, honestly a little wary Jed would be angry with him again.
Jed stared at the closed doors in disbelief. What had just happened? All he wanted to do was set down some real rules, since Jack clearly needed them. He was the adult, it made sense, but apparently that didn't fly with an adolescent girl. And then she'd gone and left Searle behind!
What was worse was he felt rotten. He shouldn't. He was right, and she was just being childish. But that didn't change the fact that she'd run off. Maybe she'd be back that night. Maybe he'd never see her again. The thought made him feel sick. And the last thing he wanted right now was some other punk teenage kid hanging around.
"This ain't a fuckin' daycare," he said, scowling at Searle. "Find yer own place."
With that, he skulked back down the hall, slamming the suite door shut behind him.
That reaction was just as well, but it made Searle feel guilty. Jed, Jack and Alice (whoever she was) had their own thing going, and he'd come in and ... yeah, the past night and that morning had been a bit of a disaster.
Searle was already walking down the hall as Jed went back to his suite, his own jaw clenched tightly. Whatever, living in the mall hadn't been so bad. Maybe he'd even continue to California, but he wanted to speak to Jack first. For now, though, he would give her some space.