A/N: Okay, so I'm a day late on arrival. I wanted to get this in on Milo's birthday but, whatever, so I'm fashionably late. This is my first GG fic. I've written a few in the past but deleted them 'cause they sucked so bad. Hopefully you guys like this one. I'm a bit iffy on the style I chose to write it in. GG dialogue is hard to pull off…
To Polly, who's a brilliant girl with wonderful taste.
Disclaimer:The characters and story used herein belong to Amy Palladino, who, if she knew I was using them, would probably tear it up and use it for kitty litter. Tee hee.
XxxxXXXxxxX
"I'm going to miss this place," Jess announced, stepping backwards towards the front door to admire the empty apartment. Light flooded through the slats through the window above the kitchen sink, giving the room the classic peaceful feel the 17-year-old had come to appreciate.
"Yeah, get over it and out of my way. These boxes need to be filled, pronto." Luke said, shoving Jess aside as he stepped through, hands grasping stacks of folded cardboard. The scruffy and tired diner owner set the soon-to-be containers on the kitchen table and began the struggle of assembling them into their rightful cube shapes. After tugging at the cardboard for several minutes, Jess watching amused from afar, Luke threw it down with an irritated huff. "When they say boxes and you pay for boxes, you should get boxes. This 'assembly-not-included' crap is false advertisement."
"You should sue." Jess suggested, nodding at the cardboard.
"Don't think I won't." Luke pointed a finger.
Jess rolled his eyes, walked over, and began expertly folded the cardboard together until it stood erect in its proper box shape. "Wouldn't dream of it."
Luke pursed his lips and gave Jess an incredulous look. "You couldn't do that, oh I don't know, five minutes ago… When I was literally strangling the thing?"
"And miss the show?" Jess tilted his head. "I'm a lot of things, Uncle Luke, but a party pooper will never be one of them."
"Didn't I already tell you to stop with the Uncle Luke thing? How would you like it if I called you Nephew Jess?"
"Hm… Pithy."
"Forget I asked." He wiped a hand across his face in a vain attempt to sober him from the stress of moving. Jess wasn't helping; then again, when was empathy ever listed in Jess' dictionary? "You. Finish up with the rest of these boxes. I have more cardboard you can work your magic on in the truck."
"Aye-aye." Luke stalked out of the room as Jess set to work of converting the flat materials into useable storage space. When Luke returned later with more boxes, he also brought news that he'd be going to the market for adequate packing supplies. Jess made little sign that he had heard his uncle but did grunt at the notion. Luke grabbed his gloves to better brave the brisk autumn weather outside before going into the cold once more. That was Stars Hallow for you; it's season's were as common as the story books.
Soon, Jess had eight completed boxes, ranging in size from big to huge, scattered across the apartment. Once idle (at least in Jess' opinion; Luke was always handing out to-do lists.), Jess studied what he had come to call "home" in the past two years.
In all honesty, Jess had never thought the apartment too small while Luke was insistent that two people living there was far exceeding its maximum occupancy. The boy wasn't certain if it was because he was used to such cramped quarters (he lived in New York, for crying out loud, the most overpopulated stretch of land in the country.) or because Luke was used to being alone. Either reasons were of no consequence to Jess; he was just trying to find excuses to stay.
Jess would never tell Luke this of course. The new house had already been stressfully picked and paid for; the moving part was the final bump Luke had to drag himself over. The thought of telling Luke he wanted to stay after his uncle had tried so hard to include him in the home-assessing decision made Jess' usually healthy stomach churn with guilt.
Two years ago, Jess wanted to escape from the lousy hole-in-the-wall Luke had labeled his new room. Now, it felt weird being out of his tranquil space-The quiet space, free from yelling, sirens, and worry. Jess couldn't imagine being happier anywhere else. His books played roles to carry him away from the reality of his problems and to bring him to someplace pleasant, but the calm of the apartment made him have to use them for sanction less and less. No place else would ever have the same look, feel, scent, or sound…
The thought of "sound" knocked Jess out of his internal struggle and caused him to cast deep brown eyes upon the wooden clock above the fireplace. The device had annoyed him on several occasions in the dead of the night with its incessant ticking. Every time Jess begged Luke to relieve them from its booming tick, his uncle refused, citing that it had been there since he was a kid. Jess' mouth didn't help the situation (as its customary), stating that the Old Folk's Home called and they wanted their depressing childhood stories back.
At least one good thing is coming from this move… Jess thought, walking resolutely to the clock and staring up at its dusty face. I can finally get rid of this. He reached for it, stretched his arm to its full length, even had the gall to stand on the tip of his toes, but still found he couldn't reach high enough. Huffing, Jess landed on his heels again and looked with clenched jaw upon the taunting old timepiece. It never looked that high before and Jess would never admit to being that short.
Reaching for it a second time, Jess saw a hand extending above his and removing the clock from the wall, leaving a white circle in its place. Rather than survey the filth of the walls, Jess swiveled around to meet the snatcher.
Dean Forrester, 6 foot 4 and highly capable of snatching anything in the vicinity of a cloud. Thing was, what was he doing in the vicinity of Jess? It wasn't news that the two young men didn't get along, and Jess was positive the months of conflict regarding a certain Gilmore ensured no need for a memo on the subject. Although Jess thought Dean an incompetent ogre, surely nobody could be so stupid as to step on a fellow rival's private territory. It should be instinctive!
Dean offered a small smile and held the clock out for Jess. "Uh, it looked like you were trying to get this." Jess made no move to take it, increasing the situation's awkwardness to its boiling point.
"What are you doing here?"Jess pressed, giving Dean his trademark scowl. Since Jess wasn't with Rory, the only thing the two had in common, (and it was unlikely Dean came over for some book recommendations) the shorter young man really was curious but substituted his budding interest with a tight-lipped frown.
"Look, I ran into Luke over by Doose's-" Dean began to explain but was interrupted by Jess.
"You looking for a job then? Something to keep the wife's credit cards satisfied?"
"No, uh," Dean looked down at the old rug, struggling for words. "Chelsea- well, she and I are getting a divorce."
Jess was caught off guard at the words and his furrowed brows rose a few inches at the revelation.
"I'm actually here to see if you need any help. Luke told me you were moving," Dean said. He looked at the apartment full of contents that needed organizing.
Jess remained silent, humbled for the time being. He snapped out of his sheepish thoughts and decided that Dean probably didn't need to hear any of his sarcastic remarks.
"I saw the moving truck downstairs; I can start lifting some of this furniture in it." Dean offered.
Jess nodded. "Just don't break your leg on the way down the stairs," he reminded.
"And what do I do if a resident tries to dash in for some coffee?"
"It's called a blunt object. I'm sure you don't need me to elaborate." Dean chuckled, hoisting up a weighty side-table and making his way out the door. After hearing Dean leave, Jess proceeded to kill the clock he was handed once and for all as he ruminated on the news of his rival's separation.
Luke's heavy footsteps up the stairs found its way to Jess' ears. Jess decided not to look up as the door swung open, knowing right away it was uncle from months of hearing the disgruntled plod. Once Luke entered, he turned his attention to the mousy-haired boy taking the batteries out of his father's clock above the trash can.
"Hey, hey, hey," Luke said, rushing over to snatch the clock away from Jess' hands. Jess looked up from his clock-murdering and glowered up at the man. "What are you doing, Jess? We already discussed that you keep your jam-hands off the clock."
"Jam hands, Luke?"
"It's a phrase."
"Never heard of it."
"People older and wiser than you say it. Speaking of which, what are you doing touching the clock?"
"'Speaking of which'? That doesn't make any sense. You were talking about people older and wiser and then you claim that's related to clocks. I don't see the connection."
"Stop avoiding the subject. You're ripping out the batteries from my grandfather's clock. How'd you even reach that high?" Luke eyed the vacant circle where the clock used to hang with confusion.
"Are you questioning my height?" Jess looked offended.
"I'm merely saying that it doesn't look exactly in your reaching range."
"You're calling me short."
"I'm not calling-" Luke sighed, shaking his head. "Look, I'm just wondering how you managed to get the clock down when it's obvious you didn't use a step stool."
"Now you're saying I need a step stool. Wow, Luke, that is a low blow."
"Jess…" Luke was at that point closing his eyes, looking on the verge of ripping his already thinning hair out.
"Dean got it."
"What?" Luke opened his eyes and halted his hands from tearing out his locks.
"The clock. Dean tapped into his Goliath-heritage and got it off the wall." Jess was busy tearing out the final battery as Luke was distracted processing the answer.
"Dean was here?" He stated.
"He walked down the stairs when you came in," Jess reminded. Luke still held a question mark in his eyes. "You didn't see him."
"No, well- I saw him on my way to the market and we talked-"
"He already told me the story; I got it." Jess said, holding up a hand and walking to place the clock in one of the boxes. The boy contemplated sneaking it into the trash for fear that it would only be situated some place higher where it could wreak havoc with its incessant ticking in the new house.
Jess glanced at Luke to see if he was paying any attention to the clock situation. His uncle wasn't. In fact, the man with the backwards baseball cap had the look on his face that told him the clock was the last thing on his mind. That was to be expected since they were moving, but Jess was getting the feeling Luke wasn't getting worked up about the current packing schedule.
"Luke?" Jess said, fixing his uncle with a steady look. Luke snapped out of his glazed over trip to dreamland.
"Huh?"
"Sorry, you just looked a little too interested in that outlet there." Jess walked around the kitchen counter to stare at the spot Luke's eyes had the misfortune of resting upon. He crossed his arms in similar fashion to his uncle's as he surveyed the spot. "Honestly, gotta say it's that little stain by the doorframe I'm going to miss most."
"Stop being a smart-alec," Luke said, resisting the urge to slap his nephew upside the head. "I was just thinking about Dean being here."
"And the fact that he and I didn't kill each other yet?" Jess said, finishing Luke's sentence. "Yeah, I thought I would cut him some slack since he's going through that divorce. It's gotta be rough. Can't imagine why he would want to help us move while he's going through his own property battle. The guy's addicted to manual labor, I swear-"
Before Jess could continue his demeaning rant, Luke cut him off.
"Whoa, wait a minute." Luke turned to Jess. "Are you telling me he didn't tell you why he's here?"
Jess quirked an eyebrow and answered, "He said you wanted him to help us pack. I'm sensing that wasn't the only prize in the box."
"So… He didn't say anything about him moving in with us for a while?" Jess' eyes widened and his head whipped to the subject of their conversation who was reentering the room in all his tall, shaggy-haired glory.
Him? Moving in with them? For a while? The fact that these words were flashing in his head 200 times a second didn't seem to make it less impacting.
Dean looked between the two men and could already make out by the look on Jess' face that he was better off outside, out of the dark-eyed boy's line of vision.
Jess swallowed and replied, "No, I guess he forgot to mention that little piece of information."
Averting his eyes to the door, Jess marched out, leaving a stunned Dean and worried uncle in his wake.
"Jess," Luke called after the boy. He knew it was useless, for had Jess stopped, he wouldn't have one persuasive thing to say. It was tough going into an argument with someone as stubborn as Jess.
Dean sighed, trying to remove the pressure that had built inside of him. "That's pretty much how I pictured this moment."
XxxxXXXxxxX
Jess was sitting on the counter of the diner. He could think of fifty better places to brood, sulk, and hate Dean, but those spots were too cold and Jess was too pissed to have remembered his jacket. One hand, he didn't want to look like an idiot going back upstairs to retrieve his jacket, on the other, he didn't want to look like an idiot shivering in the cold with no jacket on.
This blew.
Jess was busy pouring over thought of looking like an idiot and how pissed he was that Luke had just swept Dean into their lives without consulting him when a one Candace Evans walked through the diner doors.
An instinctive, "We're closed" Left Jess' lips before he could look up at the athletic, blonde woman hanging her multi-colored scarf on the coat stand. Candace Evans was the attractive real estate agent who had been with Luke and Jess every step of their moving journey, finally helping them to decide upon the house they could agree upon. Luke had a thing for her that Jess had troubles restraining taunts for.
"Hey, Jess, how's your day treating you?" The boy found it odd that the amiable woman would phrase it in such a way, seeing as his day was literally punching him in the gut right about then.
"Good if you discount the fact that Luke invited one of my least favorite people to live with us for awhile without bothering to see how I felt about the conditions." Jess said, deciding he didn't want to be his regular cryptic self. Candace had a way with people that perfectly qualified her for her job. "I'm beginning to see why this is such a small town. With citizens like this, what's not to love, you know?"
Candace reacted with her crooked smile, walking over to Jess to lay a hand on his back.
"Jess, depending on how you look at it, this can be a blessing or a curse," consoled Candace.
"The likelihood of this being a blessing is looking pretty slim."
"This could be chance for you to become friends with this person." Candace proposed.
"Based on our history, Dean and I are as close to becoming friends as a magnet's positive and negative sides are to touching."
"Maybe those sides just need a little nudge."
"Maybe I should just use a different analogy," Jess responded. "One with a stronger sense of the word 'repulsion.'"
Candace laughed, "Jess, is he really that bad? Now answer seriously, has he ever tried to kill your uncle?"
"Not to my knowledge."
"Ever tried to kill you?"
"We got into it a couple times, yeah."
Candace gave him a pressing look.
"But I guess murder wasn't really his intention, so no."
"Well if that's the case, then I'm not seeing much reason for you to want to estrange yourself from him completely."
"Wow, Candace, your definition of the word 'enemy' must leave you with a lot of friends."
"I'm a humanitarian. What can I say?" Candace shrugged, taking her warming hand off the square of Jess' back. "I think you should give this Dean guy the benefit of the doubt."
Jess sighed, sifting it over. If Dean really didn't give him much reason to hate him, what was the problem with that? All Dean had proven to him recently was that he was a poor guy with a lousy marriage that needed some help in his time of need.
"I guess you're right," Jess nodded, looking off into the distance. "But Luke is still on probation for pulling a stunt like this."
Candace held up her hands in defeat. "I wasn't going to push my luck on that one."
Jess gave the closest thing to a smile he could muster at that moment. He had compromised a lot just then despite being notorious for his usually obstinate nature. The fact that the negotiation was accepting Dean, his long-term rival, as a new roommate made the choice all the more difficult.
The arrival of footsteps making their way down the stairs caused both diner occupants to look up with surprise. Luke stopped at the final landing and stared at the two.
"Jess?" He said, looking puzzled. "Candace? What-What are you doing here?"
"Damage control, I guess," Candace said, walking over to the coffee machine and pouring herself a mug. "Jess told me about your new tenant."
Luke stared at said boy who was acting like nothing was going on. Typical Jess to show no sign of actually confirming the conversation had even taken place.
"He did?" Luke asked, befuddled.
"He said he was fine with it." Candace announced, stirring in some cream and sugar.
"He is?" Luke asked, with a far more bewildered expression than with the last question.
"I am," Jess supported. Surprising Luke with statements that made his jaw drop was something Jess prided himself in; this time was no different as Jess glanced with pleasure at the wide-eyed, gaping face of his uncle.
"But the storming out and the death glare- that was just your way of saying 'I'm fine with this." Luke held out his hands, looking incredulous. "What are you? The king of mixed signals?"
"All hail." Jess stated.
Candace laughed. It was obvious Jess was enjoying giving Luke a hard time while Luke stayed mystified as to what just took place.
For the second time that hour, someone plodded down the stairs and paused to see just why Jess wasn't halfway to his "thinking bridge" by then.
"Jess," Dean addressed, flicking his eyes from the unfamiliar lady to the introverted boy on the counter. "What are you still doing here?"
"Apparently," Luke answered, breaking out of his shell-shocked state. "Jess says it's all right if you board with us."
Dean's eyebrows disappeared from underneath his shaggy bangs at the revelation.
"Really?" Dean asked, turning to Jess.
"Really," Jess replied, nodding.
"He did some reevaluating," Candace supplied, beginning to get tired of Jess' all-too-curt answers that left Dean and Luke in total darkness. She knew Jess thought being mysterious was part of what made him interesting but, to most, it was what made him infuriating. "Just leave it at that."
Luke and Dean offered the same slow nods, willing to accept the offer if it meant Dean could stay with them for awhile. Luke just hoped Jess was as confident in his decision as he seemed.
XxxxXXXxxxX
Once every last item in the apartment had been loaded into the moving truck, it was time to take the 15-minute drive to the new house. Jess watched with shaded eyes as Dean and Luke loaded the final bookshelf into the U-Haul. Would he ever get used to the idea of having this guy he barely knew around? Once Dean pulled down the sliding door and jumped off the truck's bumper, Luke stalked over to Jess.
"All right, ready to go? We need to unpack the necessities at the house before it gets dark," Luke was looking in his nephew's uncharacteristically guarded eyes. Sure, the kid was always Johnny Rain-Cloud, but his eyes lacked their usual sharpness.
Jess looked down, shoving his hand in his coat's pockets.
"I think I'll ride with Candace; she said she's going to the house so I'll just meet you there." Luke couldn't help the sting of disappointment at the answer. Luke had thought Jess was over the Dean situation but apparently the acceptance would take longer than just an exhausting packing session.
Weary and frustrated, Luke sighed, "Jess…" The dark-haired teen flicked his eyes to his uncle's. "If this is about Dean-"
"It's not," Jess cut him off. "I just don't think there's much room left in the front seat with both of you guys. Plus, you gotta stop off at Dean's to pick up some stuff and handling the tension of a feuding husband and wife isn't my idea of a good time. But, good luck to you."
Luke nodded, not completely satisfied with the answer but willing to let it pass… For now.
"All right, Jess, but we are going to talk about this- this Dean thing." Luke said.
"Dean thing. Is that what we're calling it now because it's got a nice ring to it."
"I'm serious," Luke said, laying a hand on Jess' shoulder, frowning as Jess flinched at the touch. Jess looked at Dean who was climbing into the passenger side of the truck.
"You better go. You don't want to leave Dean waiting." Jess hadn't meant to, but venom slipped into his tone, causing Luke's frown to deepen with unease. Jess stuffed his hands deeper into his pockets, stepping off the sidewalk to walk over to Candace's parked car.
Luke stared after his nephew, who settled himself in the Altima's front seat, feeling the slowly-closing gap between them widen a few feet. Just when he thought he could touch the kid somehow, someway something screwed it up. Luke felt like he was in a maze and every opening was just leading to another dead end. Could Luke ever go right?
Candace walked up behind Luke and tugged on his coat. Luke snapped his head to her furrowed eyebrows from his troubling reverie. "Hey, you okay?" she asked, concern etched in her angled features.
"I've had better days," Luke admitted. Next to Lorelei, Candace was one of the only people Luke felt he could safely confide in. She had helped them find the perfect house that somehow fit both Jess and Luke's needs. Not to mention she got along with Jess, making her almost an anomaly in Luke's eyes. He mustered the courage to look in her auburn eyes. "I hope it's all right… He wants to ride with you to the house."
"Yeah, it's fine. My meeting's at four so I'll just drop him off." Candace nodded and looked at the boy in her passenger seat, who was, big surprise, reading a dog-eared copy of Hemingway. Jess looked distracted despite having his head buried in the novel. Candace gave the worry-stricken Luke a sideways glance. "He's going to be all right, you know. The fact that he's so worked up about this is only because he loves you. He just has," she paused, searching for words. "A funny way of communicating it."
Luke offered the floor a smile that largely resembled a grimace. "The only thing I know for sure Jess loves is his books and himself. If I fall under anything, it's probably the 'Enemies' side of the list."
"Hey now, don't be so hard on yourself, Luke. Jess just has difficulty adjusting with new things." Candace tried. "Give him time, okay? You better go; I think Dean is getting restless."
Luke sighed and nodded. "I guess you're right, about Jess."
"And Dean. He looks kind of fidgety." Luke gave her a look at the immature reminder. She gave him a sheepish smile. "Sorry, I just like being told I'm right. You can't overlook any win, no matter how small."
Luke replied with a very non-grimace-like smirk. Few people could make the gruff and tough Luke show genuine happiness, but Candace wasn't a regular person. Jess would owe it in part to that she was pretty and Luke had the hots for her, but Luke liked her for reasons even he didn't quite understand. She was a mystery, holding a secret in her brown eyes that Luke couldn't quite place his finger on. Whatever it was, Luke, truthfully, found it rather attractive. He wasn't about to tell anybody, particularly Jess, this little tidbit though.
"Thanks for taking Jess. Make sure he gets in all right." Luke reminded, his parental senses surfacing.
"Aye-aye," Candace said, giving a familiar fake salute.
"You've been hanging out with Jess too much," Luke commented at the sarcastic gesture.
"What can I say? He's a good kid." Candace smiled, waving as Luke got into the front seat of the cumbersome vehicle and drove off into the evening sunlight. Candace turned and climbed into her own car, spying Jess sending wary glances at the retreating moving truck, before starting the engine. "Don't worry; your CD collection probably won't sustain too much damage."
Jess turned his black-haired head to her in indiscernible surprise. It unnerved Jess how even the smallest of glances didn't escape Candace's sharp gaze. The teen simply shook his head and withdrew into his novel. When life gave him lemons, Jess pulled out his book and let the lemons lie.
Minutes passed in relative silence as Jess was transfixed on Hemingway's story and Candace was talking on her cellphone. Jess knew he was probably acting petty, but the actual sight of seeing Dean in his new house would probably be less grating to bear if he didn't help move in Dean's boxes. For the rest of the slow, dull ride, Jess continued to depart deeper into his paperback, trying to fend off any thought of real life far away from his mind.
XxxxXXXxxxX
The car halted, his door flung open, and Jess was struggling against a strong hold on his shirt that was pulling him from his unbuckled seat. As Jess was sent flying onto the cold asphalt, he finally got a better look the surroundings he had so blissfully ignored. This definitely wasn't the neighborhood offered in the brochure.
Trash littered the street and the majority of the shambled homes had a heavy infestation of weeds in their front yards. The area was deserted and filthy, the collecting rainclouds not helping in adding any glitz to the murky and cold streets. Unfortunately, admiring the sordid view was cut short as Jess found himself being forcibly hauled to his feet and pushed in the direction of a rundown two-story house, not any less paint-chipped and derelict as the others in the region.
Jess' fight instincts finally kicked past the initial surprise of being thrown to the floor and shepherded to the shady abode, and, without warning, he brutally punched the sturdy man dragging him in by the forearm in the face. "Mfm!" The man gasped, clutching the fountain of blood squirting from his nose, allowing the freed Jess to make a dash for escape.
"Hold it!" A steely voice ordered. Jess would probably have kept running under different circumstances but the well-known "click" of the handgun halted his steps almost immediately. "Turn around slowly."
Candace. Jess couldn't believe his eyes. The "These countertops are real granite" real estate agent never looked more out of place with the pistol in her hand but her set jaw and stern eyes told Jess she meant business.
The man stumbled over, looking at the blood that was dripping down his meaty fingers. He was a well-built man in his early forties with surprisingly handsome features. For some reason he looked familiar to Jess and then it hit the boy: Dirk Brimley. The guy on all the buses who was running for Senator.
Words couldn't express how baffled Jess was to have a gun pointed at him held by Luke's real estate agent who was in cahoots with the Senator nominee who had only recently touted his belief in peace for the townspeople. If this was some one's idea for a joke, it was unquestionably sick and twisted in nature.
"Thought you said he wasn't going to fight," The man grunted, noticeably angry at the punch that had tarnished his prized face.
"Oh he won't, Sweetie, not when he hears what I've done to his precious uncle." Jess' eyes suddenly regarded her with undivided attention. Luke was in danger. How? Why? Although the kid's head was spinning, he kept his face as hard as he could muster.
"What have you done with Luke?" Jess asked, voice hostile.
"Oh nothing yet," Candace's tone conveyed innocence with a chance of danger. "And we'll keep it that way, if you just get your butt inside that house."
Jess knew he couldn't do that. If he did, he'd be trapped with two obviously deranged and armed persons. But if Luke was in jeopardy and if Jess was the only one who could do anything about that, the boy was more than willing to slowly and carefully walk through the creaky front door.
Once inside the shabby living room with the peeling wallpaper and dusty furniture, Jess was roughly shoved into the grimy couch that let up a cloud of smoke as his body made contact with it.
"Can't believe you just did this to my face." Dirk spat, glaring at Jess with annoyance. "I'll be in the makeup chair for hours because of you."
"Honey," Candace said sickly sweet to the man who she was obviously dating, resting a hand on his broad shoulder. "You can worry about your face later. Right now we need to explain to Jess the rules of this new arrangement."
"What do you want with me?" Jess said, making an effort to sound intimidating instead of scared. His heart was beating a tattoo on his chest and his breathing was becoming a force to be reckoned with, but somehow, probably from his years of practice, he found the ability to fix his captors with a steady, obstinate scowl.
"You," Dirk said, pointing a threatening finger at Jess. "Don't talk. You're going to listen to what we have to say and you're not going to say a word about it. You're going to do it, no questions asked, and you know why? Because as we speak, your uncle is stepping into a house with thirty pounds of explosives hidden safely inside of it. And I think you can take a guess at who holds the detonator."
Candace held up a black device that looked similar to the keypads that unlocked a car. Jess looked at the gadget with suspicion but kept his mouth shut. He couldn't tell if they were bluffing because they looked so darn serious. Jess swallowed.
"What do you want?" Jess asked again, this time with the voice of one about to lay down his life. That was, Jess sensed, what he had to do.
"Nothing terrible," Dirk shrugged, putting his hands in his pleated pockets. He wore a basic coucilman's outfit with blue slacks, white dress shirt, and bright red tie. The American hero was keeping Jess hostage along with his smarmy realtor girlfriend. Jess felt trapped in a secret agent film that he had no part in. "We just need you to unearth some dirt for us -Something that takes my running opponent out of the ballot permanently and assures my standing as Connecticut's senator."
"How do you expect me to do that?" Jess blurted out after hearing the details of the bargain. "I'm not a reporter."
"Ah, but you are smart," Candace cut in. "And we know for a fact that Senator-hopeful Sean Hallowell has a daughter about your age."
"You want me to seduce her?" Jess asked incredulously. They had all their bets riding on him being able to astound some girl. This was ridiculous.
His face must have said "You people are completely insane" because Dirk's face screwed up in anger and he pulled his hand out of his pocket to backhand Jess across the face, hard.
"Now, listen, tough guy," Dirk said, looming over Jess with a menacing glare on his handsome features. "The deal is you get the dirt and then you can keep your uncle, got it? Or am I going to have to make this clearer?" He cracked his knuckles in classic bully style, prompting a thought of how he had made his way so far up the political ladder: Brute force.
Jess nodded as he ducked his head to smear the blood off his mouth.
"Good." Dirk said with a sneer. "I didn't want to mess up your face too bad. We're going to need it." He and Candace guffawed at his poor excuse of a joke.
"I just have one question," Jess piped up if only to stop the couple's irksome laughing. Had Luke been there, he would've slapped his nephew upside his head for being his usual pain in the butt self. "If you're going to be a senator, what's up with the ghetto housing? Getting elected taking that much out of you."
"Oh, this place? This is only temporary." Dirk answered snidely. "We're only here so nobody calls the police when we do this."
The 6'4 beast heaved a struggling Jess off the grimy sofa and dragged him over to a door. After Dirk yanked it open, only one thing was on Jess' mind as he was hurled into the darkness of the cramped coat closet:
He wanted Luke.
XxxxXXXxxxX
A/N: -sighs- There all finished. This had a long way coming but hopefully I can get the next chapters up in a more speedy fashion. Reviews usually help the process! Thanks for reading, guys.
Special thank you to 123Kennedy who helped get the ideas flowing. Ready for Round 2, Ken?
Have nice days,
-Sarah