WHO: Annabeth Chatham, Zachary Logan WHAT: Assisting the Assistant WHEN: May 27, 2020, Afternoon WHERE: Driving Around Places (in Baby) RATING: TW: Discussions of Sexual Harassment and the aftermath
She sat on the curb, staring at her phone. It was pretty clear how deep she was in thought, because she didn't even look up until after the bulk of the shiny black '67 Impala had already blocked out the sun entirely, throwing her in shade. She hadn't even really heard its tale-tell growl, and that car was not a quiet one even on its best days. The door came open right as Annabeth was finally getting to her feet, and she climbed in and got buckled before he could actually invite her in. "Hey." She could barely summon a smile at Zack, but she tried. "Thanks for doing this. I hope I'm not pulling you away from anything. If I am, I'll make it up to you."
As far as he could remember, this was the first time that Annabeth had requested a ride in Baby without there being a specific destination in mind. Not that he ever complained about driving, it was just unusual was all and he hoped that his friend was feeling okay. Pulling up outside Annabeth's house, he could see she was lost in her thoughts by the tardiness in her reaction to his arrival. Reaching across the passenger seat, he opened the door and let the engine idle while he waited for his fellow assistant to buckle up. Safety first. The very pale smile had him frowning the tiniest bit, but he returned the greeting with a typical grin. "Hey yourself. Don't you worry, I wasn't up to much when you texted." Peeling away from the kerb, he headed out, allowing a couple of beats before venturing a question. "So what's got you longing for the open road?"
Even the short screech of protesting rubber wasn't enough to fully pull her from her thoughts. The noise settled into the loud purr of an old but well loved engine, and the sound travelled up through the soles of her sandals, like it was trying to lull her into a sense of peace she just couldn't afford to feel right now. She toed off her shoes and pulled her feet up onto the leather seats just to stop the conflict in her head a little. Her phone was still in hand, and she kept glancing at it even while telling herself she needed to be more present. His question startled her a little, and she laughed once before she could settle on anything else to do. "That's what I love about you. You cut right to the chase."
Her place wasn't far from the highway, and so she waited until he'd successfully merged before continuing. "I found something out today, and I need to do something about it. But it's a big thing, and I don't want to do anything, well, rash." Annabeth paused a moment and pushed her fingers through her hair, pulling out a few more strands that weren't tied up in a messy bun on the top of her head. She knew she probably looked like crap, but she also knew that Zack wouldn't care—from an aesthetic standpoint, at least. "Remember when I got really sick at the end of last year? Missed a couple of weeks leading up to the winter break?"
“No bullshit with me, it’s part of my charm.” Zach chuckled in agreement with her statement. He didn’t mind the frank appraisal at all, his family were pretty much all the same, blunt. Though not in a way that would hurt peoples’ feelings, they had tact. Green eyes narrowed the slightest bit at the way she fidgeted in her seat and curled herself up, but he refrained from comment, for now. Best to let her get it out in her own time, he’d asked the question, he had to have the patience to wait for a reply and not push.
Glancing in his mirrors again once they were on the highway, he opened up the throttle, a smile coming to his face as the car rolled along a little faster. Still within the limit of course, he wasn’t an idiot and he didn’t want to get a ticket. “I’m guessing it’s not something easily dealt with either?” Big things never were. He could remember he being off work, it had been very unusual for her not to be around Maverick or out and about. Also worrying that she was so unwell. “Yeah, is it related?”
"Very." There was no hiding the deep bitterness in her voice, even as she smiled darkly at the dashboard. "Inextricably, even." She leaned her head onto the seat back; being so short meant it wasn't all that awkward even without the headrest. The car's upholstered ceiling gave no easy answers. There were only the ones in her head, and all of them were complicated. "I was cursed," she ventured after a long pause, but so quietly she could barely hear herself over the engine. Maybe that was better, because she knew she needed to shift the blame where it actually belonged. Louder, she amended, "Someone cursed me."
It was like breaking a dam. The entire story came out, finish to start in no chronological order. How she'd been harassed by the guest director and then had a curse-related meltdown in Sol's office when Jess was there too. How she'd been seeing a cursebreaker ever since then, but it had taken a while to safely unravel everything. How she'd spent a lot of those sessions sobbing her eyes out all over the cursebreaker's gorgeous French wife, who was definitely a mother—and not just because she had told Annabeth that she reminded her of her oldest. ("You are just as strong and brave and clever as my Victoire. If you were blonde, you could practically be one of my own.") How she'd talked about it to Rowan, but she always left out how hard it had been on her. He had so much going on, and she didn't want to put this on him too.
And then today.
How the curse broke. How she remembered the 2018 studio holiday party. How a man had cornered her alone and put his hands on her even after she asked him to stop. How he'd cursed her so she couldn't say his name and threatened to ruin her if she ever did. She tried to keep some of the details to herself, because she was very mindful of her audience and didn't want to traumatize him anymore than she already probably was. Annabeth continued to stare at the roof of the car, picking out constellations of her own making. She was shaking, and she needed to say his name out loud. She needed that knowledge out in the universe, somewhere that wasn't just her head and a cursebreaker and his supportive wife's ears. "It was Jackson Yang. Jackson Yang felt me up at the holiday party and then cursed me so I couldn't say anything."
As she spoke, Zachary remained silent, letting her get the whole story out before commenting. His mind was going a mile a minute thinking about how she had been alone though all this and maybe he should have noticed something was off sooner. As each moment passed his hands gripped the wheel that little bit tighter until the knuckles were white by the time she had finished. A sound not unlike a snarl rumbled in his throat at the name, “I’ll skin that rat bastard alive.”
It was a knee jerk reaction, one he wasn’t sure would be fully appreciated, and risked a glance across at her to check. “When you said you didn’t want to do anything rash, what are you considering doing? I mean, he has to pay for what he’s done, just because he's famous doesn’t mean he should get away with being a sleazeball.” He paused, trying to contain the anger that was just below the surface and not directed at her in the slightest. “But-- I understand the hesitancy, not that I think he has as much pull as he believes with regards to ruining you.”
His vehemence startled her, but a quick reflection on their friendship changed the flash of irrational fear to wry amusement. She gave a watery kind of laugh and grinned in his direction. "I like your brand of vengeance, even if the last thing I want to do is physically be around that skrewt's behind. Let's keep it in our back pockets, just in case plans A through maybe F fall through."
Her smile faded as she turned her attention back to the phone still cradled in her hands. It felt good to get this out there to a friend, but it didn't really make her decisions any easier. "I think you get it. Why this is harder than just putting him on public blast. I've spent the last couple of hours trying to craft the best emails and texts I can, given the circumstances. The first ones were just rage fueled nonsense, just to get it out of my head. But I love my job and the studio way too much to put that kind of toxicity out into the world." Annabeth broke off with a sudden harsh laugh. "I've been violated, and all I'm worried about is how my co-workers are going to be impacted. God, priorities, right?"
She looked over, studying his profile for a moment. "What would you do?"
“Got it, flaying alive is plan G.” Zach gave her a tight smile, eyes focussed on the road again. “And you needn’t be anywhere near when it’s done.” He was sure that if he’d been violated in a similar way he wouldn’t want to see the other party either. But he was certain that he’d want them to pay.
Tapping his fingers on the wheel as he thought over her dilemma. He could definitely see where she was coming from, not wanting to rock the boat, especially in such a close knit community as Maverick studios was. "You're just conscientious, I admire that. But you need to put yourself first in this case." He wasn't trying to chide her, and he hoped she realised that.
"Me? I'd go straight to the Aurors. Report him, the Cursebreaker can verify that you were cursed, as can Sol and Jess. I'd even offer to use a pensieve to show them the fractured memory as evidence. I'd want the charges to stick and see him taken down."
"Plausible deniability." She tapped her nose with a tiny smirk. It wasn't funny, but indulging in any other reaction felt like having a meltdown she could ill afford now or ever. His gentle admonishment chipped at that particular resolve pretty neatly, however, and she curled her knees in tighter against her chest. The seatbelt made it an uncomfortable position, but she needed that little edge of something to keep her grounded. Her smile turned wry again. "I've spent my entire adult life doing just the opposite. It's not an easy habit to up and break. I can't help but think of all the people he's worked with or going to work with, and how it might effect them if things go public. I don't want to be the reason my co-workers and fellow industry types are suddenly out of a job."
Annabeth looked over slowly. Her cursebreaker had been fairly adamant on this point, but she hadn't given it much credence at the time. And now Zack was saying the same thing. Why was she struggling so much with the idea? She wanted the bastard to face justice, yes, but… "I don't know about all that. I mean, he did some really dark magic, but that doesn't mean he's a... dark… wiz—" She trailed off as it finally sank in, eyes wide on the road through the windshield but not actually seeing it. "oh."
Her world narrowed down to that night and the unrepentant look in Jackson Yang's eyes when he'd squeezed her neck and told her he'd destroy her if she ever told anyone about this. It was a struggle to pull herself back, but she managed it bit by bit. The warmed leather. Cool air from the vents. The rumbling hum of Baby through her back and against her feet. Old rock music playing from the speakers. Her best friend sitting there, being there for her like he'd always been since they met years ago. "When I go to the Aurors, will you come with me? I can do it, I just don't want to do it on my own."
The tiny smirk was met with a brief smile before his mind was focussed on turning the problem over and over again. He’d known Annabeth for years, and there was no way he wouldn’t help out now he knew about what had happened. “I can see why you’re worried, but honestly, I doubt anyone’s job is really on the line. Maybe a production or two will be stalled if he’s not part of them. But there are plenty of talented actors out there who could step into his roles.”
As Annabeth trailed off, Zach shot her a look, wondering if the realisation had set in yet, or not. Judging by the wide eyed look on her face, he figured the penny had dropped. “That’s exactly what he is, Annabeth.” Pulling over into the turn lane, he exited the highway and took the familiar road up to an old haunt of theirs. One which had sadly been neglected for a few months, thanks to their busy schedules. “Of course I will. Whatever you need, I’m here for you.”
It was a testament to her frame of mind that she didn't even realize where they were going until they rolled up to the kind of diner that looked like it was frozen in a snapshot of time. Locally owned and mostly frequented by people who didn't bother searching for a place to eat by using an app and/or by regulars who were probably going to haunt the place regardless of where or how they breathed their last breath, Annabeth unironically loved it. The recognition was indifferent and a single slice of pie easily contained two or three days worth of caloric intake, but none of that mattered. She smiled, really and truly, and all but vaulted out of the car. When they were inside, she was going to insist on buying him pie and maybe get up the courage to let him read her drafts while she sat next to as opposed to across from him. But for now, she smiled across the top of Baby at him and did her best not to cry. "Thanks, Zack. For all of this."
As soon as they stopped and his best friend jumped out of the car, he knew he'd made the right choice of destination. The Diner, or more importantly, the food always brought him comfort and evidently Annabeth felt the same way. Smiling back at her across the roof, he gave a tiny nod. "That's what I'm here for."