Jed Bailey (jokerandthief) wrote in the_colony, @ 2010-05-08 00:08:00 |
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Entry tags: | ^ week 07, alice munroe, jared bivens, jed bailey, | alice and jared, | alice and jed |
Week Seven - Saturday
Character: Alice and Jared, then Alice and Jed
Location: Alice's suite, then Jed's suite
Summary: After getting hit by Jack, Jared goes to Alice's for ice, hoping to lead her to some very incorrect conclusions. He succeeds.
Rating: PG-13 for totally uncalled for violence ;)
Taking a deep breath stretched the bruised skin on his cheek, making it give a dull throb of protest. Which wasn't necessarily a bad thing; it reminded Jared it was there, that it hurt, and that would probably make this easier. Still, his heart was doing double time and his hand shook slightly as he knocked on Alice's door. If he could pull this off right, it would be fantastic. Holly would be impressed.
Screwing it up badly enough, though, might be desert-worthy.
When Alice opened the door, he didn't give her a chance to speak first. "You got any ice? I didn't get a chance to fill up my trays yet," he said, careful to avoid her eyes.
Alice stared. How could she do anything but stare? He'd barely been gone for 24 hours and here he was, a deep welt on his cheek that would very quickly start to turn if ice wasn't put on it immediately.
"Oh god," she said after that brief pause, nearly stumbling in her haste to pull him through the door and toward the kitchen for the ice in her rush. "What the hell happened? Who did this to you?"
The reaction was more than he'd expected, and Jared felt his face growing red. "Alice--jeez--" he said, stumbling after her. "I'm fine. It's nothing. I just need ice."
"You're fine? What, did you run into a damn door?" She let go of his arm, finding a dish cloth from a drawer and immediately going to the freezer. "What happened? Tell me."
"No, jeez, it's fine," he said, testiness creeping into his voice as he sat down. "I'm an adult, I can handle hi--it. I can handle it."
Alice turned around on him sharply, her eyes narrowing. That stumble was too clear to be ignored. "Him? You can handle him?" she felt a very strong surge of anger running through her. "Who hit you, Jared?"
"Just leave it alone, alright?!" he snapped, feeling hot tears spring to his eyes. He hadn't meant for that to happen; maybe he was getting too lost in the lie. Taking a breath, he said more calmly, "I've had worse, it's no big deal."
Alice scowled, handing him the towel-wrapped ice, her arms crossing over her chest. She had a very good idea just who hit him, and once he was gone, Alice was going to deal with it in a common language.
Jared wasn't sure if the silence was a good thing. But Alice was smart; she'd know which conclusions to jump to. Still, he was sure to visibly wince when he put the ice on the bruise. "Thanks," he said, getting up. "Is it alright if I bring the rag back later?"
"Yeah, fine," she said in a dark tone.
He nodded, the anger around Alice almost thick enough to hold. He wasn't sure where she'd go from here, but at least he'd gotten her thoroughly pissed at Jed. "Alright. I'll see you later."
Alice waited until the door shut before reacting to the violent amount of energy bundled up inside her. She balled up her hands tightly at her sides and paced, her breathing rapid and her face contorted in anger.
"How could he do it!?" she shouted into the empty suite. "How could he!? Not even a full day, and he-- he just--" she growled angrily in frustration. "You think treatin' someone like everyone else means you can just punch him? I'll show you..."
She marched through the door, slamming it behind her and turning sharply into the stairwell. Ascending the steps two by two, she got up to the third floor in record time and crossed over to Jed's door, all but beating on it and startling the hell out of the man. He'd been in the midst of cleaning up from breakfast and nearly dropped his bowl. Setting it aside, he hurried to the door, wondering if more traders had come.
"What? What's going on?" he said, barely glancing at Alice before looking over her to the parking lot. She didn't say a single word before she aimed a punch with all her strength right into his shoulder. A punch to the face would have left a mark -- not that he didn't deserve it -- and a punch to the gut would have brought him down. In both cases, neither would have resulted in him hearing what she was saying.
"What gives you the right!?" she snarled at him.
Jed stumbled back, more from shock than pain. Although, Jesus, she had a right hook. "What the hell are you--" And then he realized. Alice must have found out about Evie. Though he had no idea how. "Jesus, don't you think you're overreacting? And it ain't like it's your business."
"Overreacting!?" she shouted back, her voice doubling in volume as she aimed another punch into the same spot, just as hard. "Overreacting!? You punched him in the face!!"
"Ah!" he groaned, grabbing his shoulder and backing away quickly. Alright, not Evie then. "Stop hitting me and tell me what the hell you're talking about!"
The fact that he was playing off like he had no idea only seemed to piss her off further. Alice chased him right into his suite, kicking the door closed behind her and readying another punch. "Don't act like you didn't do it! I know you did! Who else has any damn incentive to punch him in the face aside from you!? What the hell did he even do to deserve it!? Is it just because he's not in my care anymore!?"
"Wait, the kid?" Jed stammered, faltering when the back of his knees hit the couch but quickly dodging out of Alice's way. "I ain't even seen him! And what d'you mean he ain't in your care?"
Alice seethed, shaking with the adrenaline, momentarily stalled in her pursuit to punish him for his bad choice. In the time she knew him, Alice always knew when Jed was being defensive or when he was feeling guilty. For a moment at the very beginning he did look guilty, but the utter confusion on his face now looked genuine. He's lying! came the sound of her inner rage. He's scared and he's lying to make you stop!
"Don't you change the subject!" she countered, the snarl back in her voice again. Her fists remained balled up at her sides as she glared daggers at him. "I just can't believe you could do it. Not even out for a whole day and you feel the impulse to go fuckin' hittin' him. If you're gonna do somethin' like that and lie to my face, I don't want you goin' to meetups with me anymore."
"Jesus Christ, it's like you're not even speaking English, woman!" Jed roared right back, his stance still wary. His brain was going a mile a minute trying to piece together the facts. "So you're sayin' you ain't watchin' Jared no more? You let him out on his own? No wonder he got hit; sure he deserved it, too."
Alice immediately crossed over to him, arms raised to shove him. Jed scurried backward, right into a wall; the room wasn't that big.
"I'm done with you," she sneered. "You're nothin' but a grudge-holding child. Don't talk to me."
"And you're--you're stupid!" he shot back. He pounded a fist back against the wall, gritting his teeth. "C'mon, Alice, he's settin' me up!"
It took all her effort not to punch him in the face at the insult she didn't deserve, and even more to turn around and storm off toward the door. There wasn't a single person in their community who was that vengeful and angry to have hurt Jared so openly, and it was only due to the fact that Jed had been the spark to bring them all together that she wasn't hurting him worse or taking it a step further. He'd been nasty to Cody, and he'd taken his rage out physically before; he had the ability, and she knew it.
Jed pushed himself off the wall, glaring at her back and wanting nothing more than to grab her and make her stay until she saw sense. Of course, god knew how she'd react. He rubbed his shoulder. "Yeah, alright, go then, be stupid! But I ain't stupid, and I sure as hell wouldn't go hittin' that brat where you could see."
He hadn't even finished his sentence before she slammed the door behind her. It'd been months since she'd been so furious. She was almost tempted to go tell Bridget they were skipping meetup today, but didn't want to give him the benefit of the doubt that he'd riled her that bad. Still shaking a little, she stormed off back toward the stairwell again and to her suite so she could get ready.