InsaneJournal

Who: Annie and Peeta
What: Tiny ball of suspicious anger!Annie confronts Peeta about potential lies
When: 21 June
Where: Peeta and Caroline’s apartment
Warnings: Angry Annie? Should be low
Status: Log | Complete

As much as Annie wanted to believe that the compulsion was a one off, deep down she knew it wasn’t. Not in the way Caroline had been so nonchalant about it. Not in the way she had acted like clearly the jerk needed to be taught a lesson and that was that. Which brought back the concerns she’d had when Peeta said he was breaking his lease. Yes. It was still the same building. Yes it meant the landlord would get more money. But it had always rubbed her wrong and now all those doubts and suspicions were back.

Timing and life had been weird. She’d been sick, and then buried in work. Everyone had their own lives and beyond sometimes seeing one another in the halls and some general check ins. She had believed Peeta before because he had never lied to her. But now….

Which was why she was at the apartment he shared with Caroline. She knew the blonde was out, as they had needed to coordinate for when they could see the movie in the first place. She needed to know though. The doubt and whispers of suspicion wouldn’t let her rest and she refused to drown in it. So with determination, the brunette knocked. Whatever happened would happen. She just needed answers instead of doubts and questions.

It Annie expected answers of Peeta than she was barking up the wrong tree. He truly didn’t pay attention to Caroline’s abilities unless they were out in the forefront and needed to be addressed. She had saved him and a few of his friends on multiple occasions, but that was basically all he really thought about when he remembered that his girlfriend was a vampire. It wasn’t something he thought about very often because he just considered her a normal person and loved her for being herself. So, when he heard the knock on the door he rose with a confused expression on his face as he crossed the apartment to open the door and found Annie standing in front of him. “Oh! Annie. Hi. Do you wanna come in?” he held the door open for her in case she accepted his offer.

It wasn’t like Annie wanted this. It wasn’t like she was just so excited by the fact she’d seen the very disturbing image of Caroline compelling a person and the lifelessness of said person while they had no say in handing the tickets over because they had cut in line. But it had happened and she had been complicit in it by not saying something. And now…

“Hi…”

She generally liked Caroline. But it was one of the two things that she could not overlook. The fact she liked Caroline made it worse, really. At least for Annie. She did take the offer to go inside though, just because what she had to say really wasn’t meant for the hallway. Valar related issues and the like.

The next question though was… how to ask. Once in the apartment, she paced for a moment, tugging on her hair in agitation before just turning and facing Peeta.

“Did Caroline use compulsion to get you out of your lease.” Yes. She had asked how he got out before, but that had been over text and she had decided to believe Peeta because he had never lied to her and because she had wanted to believe it. But now…?

Well this wasn’t going to go well. Annie seemed a bit off and he was watching her quietly while she paced and tugged on her hair. Definitely not a good sign. And then she asked that question and he had to quirk an eyebrow in response. Seriously? That came out of left field and Peeta wondered what had brought that up.

And he honestly didn’t have the answer she was looking for. So, he gave her a shrug and held his hands up, “I honestly have no idea, Annie. I spoke to the landlord and then Caroline said she would speak to them. I don’t ask for details on things like that.” Peeta didn’t ask her about her compulsion and Caroline didn’t tell him about it. It was probably better that way because Peeta was not here to police his girlfriend nor would he ever want to.

Annie pressed her lips together in thought as her eyes scanned Peeta’s features. Because really? She wanted to believe him. She really really wanted to believe him. But that wasn’t what he had said in the text message when she asked how he had managed the change. It had been that it was the same building, more money.

No one should feel policed.

But no one should use their abilities to take a person’s choice away and in a moment turn into a slumped zoned out puppet.

She could also understand not asking.. It meant he didn’t have to feel complicit but if that was how he’d been able to get this apartment through compulsion? Because it was clear that Caroline just did it by nature for whatever reason.

“So you lied when you told me that it was because you were still in the building and it would be more money….”

That was still another issue. Because there were two things that were extremely important to her. Truth and people having their freedom of choice.

“I didn’t lie to you. I spoke to the landlord and explained that aspect of it to him. If Caroline managed to get the go ahead by using other means then she didn’t tell me. I can’t lie about something I didn’t know about,” Peeta wasn’t sure why Annie was getting so up in arms about this. He didn’t really understand compulsion in the same terms that she did, but he would listen to it if she wanted to explain that, “I was hoping he would just understand that it is the same building and just more money for him.”

Whatever Caroline did was her own business and Peeta wasn’t here to police his girlfriend. Sometimes it wasn’t appropriate to use a power that had that ability, but he had nothing to do with it. He was just a normal guy who happened to be dating a supernatural girl.

And back to pacing. Because he had said one thing, now it was some backtracking while sticking to what he had said, but just in a different order and everything was racing around in her head. Anger, frustration, guilt. The fact that someone she did like seemed to act like using compulsion in such a way wasn’t a big deal.

“Text sounded like that was exactly what had happened, not the hoping he understood and Caroline going after and you never lied so I let it go but now....” The comment was muttered in frustration. But it was also clear that it wasn’t something that had been bugging her for months. She had wanted to believe Peeta, so she let it go. But then the movie happened and not only did she see what happened to a person who used compulsion, but she saw how second nature and nonchalant it was for Caroline.

Even though she was agitated and frustrated, there was that part of her that still wanted to believe Peeta. Because it was in her nature. But there were just things she couldn’t let go of. But it also meant that she wasn’t as biting of her tongue as she might otherwise be because there was too much and she wasn’t as freaked out and all over the place as she’d been when Caroline broke the vampire news. Where it was the mention of compulsion that had changed it from a ‘what is happening this is too much right now’ to suddenly just not able to take it anymore. That had been timing and easily explained away. But she was actually doing okay right now, no major things having just happened.

“Truth and being able to make your own choice, those are my limits. And it makes it even more confusing and frustrating when it’s people I like who lie or take that choice away and for what? Some jerk cutting in line? It was so second nature and I can’t get the image out of my head with him or the landlord because he’s a stickler for t’s and i’s.”

Well. She was getting there at least.

“It’s text, Annie. I wasn’t expecting to give the third degree and I wasn’t going to write you a novel about every little moment that happened in the office of the landlord,” Peeta explained to her with a confused expression on his face. What in the world was going on to cause this? He still hadn’t figured that out and he really wasn’t appreciating that Annie was coming in here and bringing up a subject that had died months ago. Who gave a shit how they ended up with the apartment? They had moved, the landlord filled their old place, and it honestly didn’t matter in the end.

“What are you even talking about? What jerk cutting in line? You really haven’t explained why you’re in my apartment scolding me for something. Are you talking about Caroline using compulsion for something? If you have an issue with that then you need to talk to her about it and not me. I don’t police Caroline nor am I ever going to do. What she does is her own thing and if you want me to give you another vial of vervain and you can try to poison the OC water supply then go for it. But there’s a lot more vampires out there with that ability and you’re never going to make them all stop,” he honestly didn’t know what she was hoping to accomplish with this conversation, “I’m sorry I mixed my words and didn’t tell you exactly everything that I knew about the landlord. That’s all I can do for you.”

It had died for Annie months ago as well. It wasn’t like this was what she had been expecting. But it was also Orange County and things coming up and now she was just a jumble of agitation, frustration, doubt, and a pit of anger at herself for being stunned into silence and not knowing until it was over. But right. She needed to order her thoughts because Peeta wasn’t a mind reader and so while it made sense to her, she was still speaking in broken thoughts and jumping all over the place.

“I’m not scolding you about what happened at the movie theatre. What happened there just brought up my initial concerns I had let go of before because I trust you. But given how she responded like it was no big deal, it brought up my concerns and that led to me freaking out that you lied which is something that I just… so I came here to see if you were telling the truth. Which is easier to see in person because two images and reactions at war and I just...”

That was why she was here. Yes. She asked point blank about Caroline using compulsion. But her reasoning for going to Peeta was to see if he had actually told the truth. Because she had already said it. Honesty and people having their own say in their choices, those were hard lines for her because of her past, because of her dreams, both of which Peeta knew. Because it was clear to her that Caroline didn’t see the big deal about it even in her (admittedly half hearted) attempt to say it shouldn’t have happened because she’d been so stunned at what she had seen.

“And I told her after it was too late because I had no idea what was happening until the jerk went slack and monotone from the compulsion that it wasn’t necessary and we could have waited for the next movie. She saw nothing wrong with it because ‘someone needed to be teach him a lesson’. Someone I do actually like acting like it’s not a big deal! And then I kept wondering if that was what happened with the landlord and seeing him lifeless like that, a puppet and if you knew or didn’t because you said one thing but she didn’t see it as a big deal, like it was a perfectly normal reaction.”

“I get it, I do. Do you think I like the fact that she has this skill? It reminds me a lot of the hijacking that was done to me, but I don’t judge her for it. I ask her not to use it around me and I make sure I take my vervain so that she can never use it on me, not like she would, but you know. It also protects against the other vampires from her dreams. She and I have basically come to an agreement that I know she does this type of thing, but I don’t want details about it. I’ve come to be able to ignore it for the most part,” Peeta explained to Annie. It wasn’t a good way of dealing with things, but that was just how things were going for them. There wasn’t much Peeta could really do about it and he had spent enough of his time worrying about everything else that he couldn’t give it his full attention.

“You’re going to have to sit her down and voice all this with her, Annie. I can’t do anything about it. I’m not going to follow her around every single day and police her actions. I completely understand your worries though, I do. You can’t police her every action either though, but you can most certainly let her know that you don’t want it happening around her and maybe she’ll begin to be more mindful of when she’s using that particular skillset of hers.”

Oh, Annie was definitely a fan of vervain. Even though she had trusted Caroline, she had mentioned that there were other vampires from her world, so she had been determined to take it then. Because who knew about them. Trust was hard enough without having to worry about someone having some sort of ability to take away her choices all over again. “I know about them.”

Her agitation wasn’t abated. She could understand where Peeta was coming from. Of course he wouldn’t be okay with it. It was obviously some very twisted version of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Only instead of being about sexuality in the military it was…. The use of mind control. But if that was what he needed to do, then so be it. This wasn’t her relationship. And it wasn’t like she was saying police Caroline, it was strictly that she wanted to know if Peeta had told her the truth instead of lying in some sort of way to keep her from worrying because he did know her history and the dreams and had his own issues about losing that choice.

But if he was still thinking she was there about policing behaviour after she told him what it was that brought her there, about honesty, well… Though she had to quirk a brow. Sit Caroline down and voice it all with her. That undoubtedly would mean going into her past, which really wasn’t something she talked about. But how was she supposed to explain why it was such an issue for her without doing just that. And even before this, there were levels of trust it took to get her to that point. She also doubted it would make Caroline more mindful based on how she responded at the movies.

Instead she just pinched the bridge of her nose. Right. Calm. Stay focused. She had gotten the answer she had come for in regards to honesty and Peeta. The reason why she was worried about it, well, that was neither of their places and she didn’t expect it to be even if it still felt like Peeta was seeming to conflate it into the issue.

“Yeah, I can let her know I’m not comfortable with it around me.” It wasn’t like she had really thought there would be any resolution on it because it was all complicated and she knew that, but she had already known that the compulsion issue was going to be something she had to see if she could work pass on her own anyway.

Peeta had thought he had shown that he hadn’t meant any harm if he got his facts mixed up and was doing his best to be honest to her. He just wasn’t quite picking up on what exactly was the major underlying issue in all this. The fact that willpower and thought were taken away from people wasn’t a fun one and she had the background to her that made sense for her anger. But Caroline wasn’t going to know to not do something if it was never voiced to her. Annie needed to speak to her and not to him.

“Please do. I’m sure she’ll be more receptive than you think she will. It’s probably just second nature to her to do things like that, but if she knows it makes someone uncomfortable then she may be more mindful. You also can’t get upset about it happening if you haven’t tried all possible ways to make it stop,” Peeta pointed out. She needed to exhaust all options and the major one was actually speaking to Caroline about it, “Did you need anything else? I’ve got some food if you want something.”

He had shown that, and she was willing to let it drop that it was a word mix up and nothing more. Maybe in her own need to protect the lines of trust and not letting the doubt get to a point where she felt she couldn’t trust anyone. She’d been there before. She’d been lost in the haze of her mind and panic and she refused to do so again which was why she had actually gone to Peeta to know instead of letting the questions keep up.

Though given this was the first time it actually had come up since she learned about Caroline being a vampire? It wasn’t like she was trying to let it cloud her before. Now that it had, she’d made her discomfort known in the moment though she’d still been more stunned and lost in thought than anything.

“I hope you’re right about that. I’ll be sure to mention it now that I see it wasn’t a one off thing when she first turned.” Because that was how she had managed to finally get used to the idea with the way Caroline had phrased the comment on her abilities. That it had been a thing that happened before she realised but then… because she had trusted her. Now she was just going to have to make sense of it all. Again. For the sake of peace and harmony within the group though, she was going to have to.

“No. I got the answer I was looking for about you telling the truth. I’ll leave you alone now. See you around.” Because they did live in the same building so the laundry room tended to be a place of randomly meeting up. With a strained smile to show that she wasn’t going to let this affect their friendship because it went deeper than this, she turned to head to the beach. Time for some more swimming.