The scene that leads up to Jinx moving in with Kid Flash as depicted in my other fics. I don't own K.F. or Jinx, so no suing please. I like reviews, they make me smile…:D
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It was simple really. The whole concept of good and evil had always been pretty clear. Any child can tell you that black is entirely different from white, night and day do not keep the same company and summer has never had the pleasure of chatting up winter. Opposites. That line; so clear and so defined that there was no one way either one of us could've ever crossed it. It would've been like changing dimensions or climbing out of our own skin into someone else's. It just couldn't be done and I wasn't about to try it.
You see, I was born into this. As dramatic and self-pitying as it might sound, it's true. I was the girl who really could break a mother's back if my shoe landed on split concrete. I was girl who even the black cats avoided and mirrors shattered when I looked into them. Every superstition faltered around me because I was it. I was the epitome of bad luck. As a result, being good was never an option.
I made it this far on my own. I learned a few things along the way of course. Two of my more valued lessons are clichéd, but accurate. You can't trust anyone but yourself and the only way to assure getting something is to go ahead and take it. Life lessons; rules to live by. I survived sixteen years on those two statements and I wasn't about to give it all up because a boy in a neon mask tried to feed me a line.
He was charming, of course, but I think they're all charming. It comes with their territory, just like cold and bitter cynicism comes with mine. He had that smile that made people trust him, even though he was the one in the mask. Why people trusted a face they couldn't see, I could never tell you. He was the one hiding something, every single day and yet I get pinned with deceit and secrecy as my icons.
But he isn't perfect. If he were perfect, I wouldn't have gotten away the first time he caught me during a heist. If he were perfect, he never would've let me go. And if he were perfect, he wouldn't have given me that second chance. That's the problem with these super hero types. They're too trusting, which is exactly why I want nothing to do with them. See, I know I can't be trusted.
Even though I know that I'm a lying, cheating dirt bag that skirts through the shadows of society pretending that I'm actually worth the air I breathe, I was still standing there in the pool of light under the streetlamp. And even though he knew that I'm very nearly scum and he was the cities personal golden boy, he was still standing across from me, like something he was going to tell me might change the way things are.
"I've been looking for you." He said and his eyes turned that dark blue that always indicated him being serious. I was slightly ashamed that I knew him well enough to note that particular characteristic. It was never my place to notice things like that. So I hid it with a shrug and I glanced down at my ratty sneakers, digging the left one into the grimy sand that built up on the curb.
"You found me." I muttered back, and then looked up with a trademark scowl, "Want a medal?"
He seemed to consider it too, arrogant bastard. He had never recognized my sarcasm; he chose to take everything I ever said literally. It infuriated me more than anything ever had. I felt my jaw tighten a bit as I stared at him, smirking like that.
"Nah. You'll do fine for a prize." He replied and winked at me. I couldn't say I had ever actually witnessed someone wink before. I rolled my eyes at him; in the most annoyed manner I possibly could and crossed both arms tightly over my chest.
"Listen Sparky, I have places to go and people to see, live up to your name and make it quick."
His eyes turned that dark blue again and, again, I realized I shouldn't have noticed. He looked me over in a careful and calculating sort of way. I watched as he scrunched his brow in concentration while he stared holes into the tops of my shoes. I contemplated another eyes roll, for good measure, but decided against it.
"Look, you I both know you don't have anywhere to go." He said after a moment. I narrowed my eyes and tightened my arms a little more.
"What are you saying? Of course I have somewhere to go." I defended. He didn't need to know that I was living under an awning in the back alleys of down town Star City. He shouldn't have been bothering with me in the first place. I hadn't stolen even a candy bar in months and there were other criminals that needed to be found.
"Have you seen what you look like Jinx?" he asked me; his eyes lighten again to what I recognized as concern. I skipped over mentally cursing and ignored the irritated voice in the back of my mind. "You're a mess."
I took a step away from him. It wouldn't make much difference if he had to chase me, but it felt like it would. If I needed to run, which was starting to be the case, it was a small victory that I was that one step away from him.
"I'm fine." I insisted, "I'm not a charity case, Flashy. Go look after the poor people who need roofs over their heads. I'm fine."
Dark eyes again. He took a step forward to fill the space I had made. I couldn't stand to look at him, but I forced it anyway.
"You are not. Come with me." He held out his hand, "Let me take care of you."
He wanted to take care of me? I had never had anyone take care of me. I had always looked after myself, survived on my own. I had never needed him and wasn't about to start needing him now. I took a half step towards him so I was right in front of him. There was a half-inch of cool night air dividing good and evil. That half-inch of air was so easy to pass through. It was just one more inch and I would be over that line. I didn't move forward another millimeter.
"Take care of me?" I repeated, "I don't need you to take care of me. I'm not a child Flash. What do you think I did before I met you? I don't need to be taken care of."
It didn't surprise me that he didn't back up when I invaded his personal space. He obviously like me in his face, right there in front of him. There was no way I could back up either, because it risked showing weakness.
"I'm offering you a different life Jinx." He seemed almost pleading now, "Another chance so you can change your lifestyle."
"What do you think I've been doing my whole life? Do you think I've been sitting around, waiting for someone to tell me to 'find the light' so that I can just up and change?" I could feel my blood raging now, "I was born bad Flash. No amount of hero pep talk or good path lecturing is going to change it."
He ran his long fingers through his ginger hair and closed his eyes. He sucked in the longest breath in history and then opened his eyes. He stared at me for a moment.
"Stay the night at my place, just one night." He asked. I opened my mouth to protest; tell him no, never, but he cut me off. "Please Jinx. I just need to know you're safe for one night."
I faltered, for the first time in a while. His expression was so weary and desperate that I actually considered his offer. We stood there in silence, isolated by our little pool of light.
"One night." I said quietly and he nodded, "And if I rob you blind while you're asleep?"
"Then I'll know you'll have the money to pay for a roof and some new shoes." He responded immediately. I hesitated, thinking over the pros and cons of what he was trying to give me.
"One night, that's it." I told him, "You try anything and I'll castrate you, got it?"
He chuckled and gave me a relieved smile as he did so. Then he picked me up without warning and before I realized what had happened, we were outside the door of a very normal looking apartment. He vibrated his hand through and turned the lock. The door opened, revealing an average looking living room.
He let me sleep in his room, which was painted a deep red and smelled purely masculine. He took the sofa, claiming chivalry, but I knew he thought I was going to try and sneak out. I fell asleep that night, knowing that I would wake up alive and whole. It was such a nice feeling that one night turned into two. That second night turned into three, which led to four and five. Then somewhere around the twenties, I stopped counting. I didn't need the constant reminder of how many times he had saved me, so I simply left it at one. The only night that really counted was that first one, where I swallowed some pride and he gave me the chance no one else had bothered with. Sometimes, the good guys are all right. And sometimes, the bad guy can change. I guess I'm just one of the lucky ones.