Who: Regulus Black and Jessica Moore What: arguing over absolutely nothing Where: Jessica's apartment When: August 20th Rating: PG for bitchiness? Status: Complete
Regulus was on edge, and he really wasn’t sure just why. Every little thing just made him feel super irritated, every little thing made him want to snap and lash out. And this wasn’t him. He hoped that hanging out with Jess would help. They watched Lip Synch Battle together every week, it was their show, and normally laughing at how far these celebrities would go to win a belt would be enough to cheer him up no matter what was wrong. But he still felt wrong. Like everything was off just a bit and itchy in a way he couldn’t pinpoint. And worse, it seemed to be mostly directed at his best friend.
***
Jess had been snapping at everyone she talked to all week, the worst directed at her family and friends. Thursday night was Lip Synch night with Regulus, the one night a week that was a guaranteed opportunity for the two of them to get to hang out and catch up and relax. To talk about what was going on in their lives and try to figure out how to deal with whatever problems they were facing at work. She’d been looking forward to it all week but now that they were sitting on her couch, pizza and beer on the coffee table in front of them and Leo stretched out between them purring happily, she was finding herself getting irritated at everything he did and said. This wasn’t like her at all.
She sighed as she leaned forward to grab her bottle, glancing over in his direction as she sat back up. “Do you have to sprawl like that? You’re forcing Leo to lay almost all the way on my end of the couch,” she snapped. She felt a little guilty for what she said but not enough to apologize when she was so irritated at him.
***
“I always sprawl like this, and Leo’s fine. He wouldn’t be purring f he wasn’t comfortable.” Regulus said irritably back. He kicked his shoes off anyway and scooted further up onto his own side of the couch and tucked his feet under him. He leaned forward to grab another slice of pizza. “Can you turn the volume up? It’s too low and I can only barely hear it.”
***
“Leo’s purring because he doesn’t know how to do anything else when there’s people around,” Jess snapped at him. Why was she so aggravated over Leo’s purring? He’d been super social and loving ever since her neighbor had brought him home, it was why she’d never really minded finding him on her porch before adopting him. Or being adopted by him. However you wanted to look at it. “It’s a lip synching show Regulus. Why do you need to be able to hear it better?” she asked, rolling her eyes as she took another sip of her drink and grabbed the remote to turn it up one.
***
“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize that when I’m not here, you and Leo are holding full conversations and playing board games.” Regulus mumbled before taking another bite of his pizza. At any other time that… actually would be something that sounded like something they’d joke about, especially with how social Leo was. So why was he being so sarcastic about it now? “They talk before and after the songs, Jess. And I’d also like to hear the songs they’re lipsynching to.”
***
“Oh is that what the host is doing with that microphone in his hand? I thought he was just mouthing words to a track they recorded earlier. Doing his own version of lip syncing,” Jess snapped at him. She’d never snapped at Regulus like that before. Not even when they had fought in the past. She turned the tv up a little more and then tossed the remote at him. “In case it’s not loud enough for you,” she said, rolling her eyes again and ignoring the way Leo had meowed as the remote landed on the couch between him and Regulus. Not hitting him but landing closer than he’d have probably liked.
***
Regulus jumped when Jess threw the remote at him, eyes widened when he saw how close it nearly came to hitting her cat. “Hey! You nearly got Leo!’ he exclaimed, sitting up fully. He took the remote and placed it on the center of the coffee table before turning back to her. “What is your problem tonight, Jess?”
***
Jess felt worse for almost hitting Leo with the remote than she did anything else that she’d done that night and she reached out with one hand to pet him comfortingly. “Sorry Leo,” she said softly before turning her attention back to Regulus and any softness that might have been there before was gone. “As for what my problem is? People treating me like I’m a dumb blonde.”
***
Regulus watched Jess pet Leo, glad the poor cat wasn’t getting the brunt, at least, of whatever awful mood Jess had gotten in. “And when the hell have I ever treated you like that? I thought friends were supposed to come to each other with their problems, not take each other’s problems out on each other.”
***
“When have you ever - Just now! ‘They talk before and after the songs Jess’” Jess told him, echoing his own words back to him sarcastically. A little voice in the back of her mind chimed in that she knew Regulus hadn’t meant it that way but she ignored it. “What do you call that if not treating me like a dumb blonde?”
***
“And you’re the one who treated me like I’m dumb first. ‘It’s a lipsynching show, why do you need to hear it Reg?’</i> Or is it okay when you do things and not anybody else? I lived with hypocrites eighteen years of my life, and I don’t need it from my best friend, too!” He was going too far, Regulus knew that he was going way too far. This wasn’t the same thing, this wasn’t even on the same level or the same building as his parents. But he still said it, and he didn’t know why.
***
Jess slammed her beer down on the table as she got to her feet. “How dare you? How dare you compare me to your parents? I didn’t realize that asking a question was being a hypocrite,” she said, her voice getting louder with every word. This wasn’t right, the way they both seemed to be just pushing each other’s buttons, and she knew it but she couldn’t seem to stop the words that were spilling out of her mouth. “When have I ever treated you the way your parents did? I can’t even stand to be in the same room as them because of it!” She stared at him for another minute in silence. He was her best friend and they’d had fights before but never ones that came out of...nowhere like this one had. “I want you to get out of my house. Now.” She’d never thrown him out before but tonight for some reason that was the only thing she wanted to do right then - throw him out.
***
Regulus knew that he had went way too far and that the things he had said weren’t right in the least. He wasn’t even sure why he said them, or why he was so angry. Jessica had never been anything but his best friend, someone he could always count on. She was his buffer when he went home. How could he even compare her to them? And yet all he could do was bristle as she told him to leave. “Fine.” he hissed as he moved to put his shoes on. “I don’t know what I did to set you off like this, but I think we’ve both had all we could take for one night.” But didn’t she set him off for no reason as well? It wasn’t all her fault, and he had hit the lowest blows.
***
“I think you’re right. I wouldn’t want you to have to spend time around a hypocrite,” Jess said, her tone coming out bitter. That one accusation had hurt more than anything else he could have said. She knew she should apologize for how she’d been acting but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Not right then. Maybe after they’d both had an opportunity to calm down and get over whatever...this was.
*** “And you shouldn’t have to spend any more time around someone who treats you like a dumb blonde.” He doesn’t know why he was taking out his frustrations on her, or visa versa. Frustrations that normally would never have anything to do with the other. This was all wrong. This wasn’t them. He stood up and gathered his keys, pausing only to pet the very confused cat on the sofa before heading towards the door.
***
Jess knew that comment had been out of line. Reg was someone she could always count on not to treat her that way. Even playing around. She crossed her arms over her chest as she watched him walk towards the door. Normally she’d walk with him, laughing and joking and making plans for next Thursday but tonight she just stood there watching him. She heard Leo meowing on the couch, probably confused about what had just happened but she’d have to wait to calm him down until later. Maybe after she quit being so confused herself.
***
((OOC note: we are sorry this being posted a little late.))