Part 1
The bass throbbed violently in her ears. The music beeped and bleeped from the speakers, setting the steady beat to which she moved back and forth. Lights gyrated around the dance floor as if they were dancers themselves. The air smelled of sweat and alcohol, feeling thick with moisture against her skin….but she didn't care.
Her mind was free. It flowed as her body did, graceful yet jolting, smooth yet rough. It was hard to describe where the excitable techno beat had taken her, somewhere far away, somewhere calming, stress free, no worried, no troubles, no responsibilities.
Only one more thing would make it more perfect…
A warm hand landed on her hip. In an instant, her guard was back up. She grabbed it, panic gripping her brain as hard as she gripped the strange appendage.
Turning, she went through the familiar process of preparing, mentally, physically, emotionally. It could be anything, anyone…
In a half an instant, her guard and hand fell, but only one shattered to the ground. He always did that to her.
"You scared me!" She shouted over the harsh melody of sounds.
"Sorry! I think I'm gonna go!"
She looked at her watch. It was still early, only around ten. But she knew he was a busy man, saving lives and all that. But then again…so was she.
"You're calling it a night?!" She asked clarifying what she had just heard.
"Yeah!" He replied, sensing the hint of a mockful tone her voice.
He smiled with the reply. His face had an innocence about it, a strange intangible naivety, like a choir boy with a twinkle of youthfulness in his pale blue eyes. But when he smiled, his charm broke through any walls or emotional barriers you may have erected. He had the smile of a thief, one that could take everything from you willingly, but wouldn't. And yet through the sly and the adolescent, he was different still. He had been to hell and back on a strange nightmarish roller coaster, and that gave him a unconventional wisdom that commanded respect. It was like he had a natural disguise to keep you guessing. Or at least that's what he did to her.
"Do you mind?!" He asked loudly putting his mouth close to her ear. He was standing almost completely still, she noticed, an odd contrast to the group of eccentric dancers around them.
"Let me pay the tab and I'll go with you!"
Without a moment of hesitation, she began to push through the crowd surrounding them. He followed. She wondered what was on his mind. This eyes had seemed distant, void of the familiar glimmer, like only half of him was there, the other trapped in the world of his mind.
They approached the bar. The bartender looked up at them expectantly. She held out a rolled up twenty dollar bill. The leather clad, blue haired woman took the money with a scowl and walked away as if she had insulted her beyond words.
"She's had a rough day." She remark to her companion.
He had walked to the other side of her, causally leaning on the bar, clearly gone astray in thought.
She watched him for a moment as he stared absently into the metal counter laced with neon lights. The orange, red, and green danced off his eyes as if they were trying to replace some lost magic.
"Is something wrong?"
"Hm?" His face snapped up to meet her eyes.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah, just a little tired."
"Do you want me to drive home?" Her voice sounded more concerned that she'd wanted it to sound. Maybe he wouldn't notice…
He smiled again. God…that smile…
"No, I'll be fine." He replied as the woman walked back and handed her the change. She held out the coins to him.
"I don't have any pockets."
He nodded and reached toward her hand. The brief contact of his fingers on the palm of her hand made her skin tingle and her stomach jump. Biting her lip, she forced it back down and followed as he began their walk for the exit.
Fishing the keys out of his pocket, he began to hum along the song that played loudly behind them.
"Don't know the words?" She heard herself say.
He laughed. "I do. I just thought I'd spare you of the sound of my singing voice."
She smiled. "…which is code for you don't know the words."
He was quiet for a moment and look at her with a smile. "Fine, you're right."
"I knew it." She giggled as he pushed open the thick metal doors and held it while she exited first.
They were quiet the rest of the way to the car. It was moments like that she wished she had the nerve to tell him about her feelings. It sounded so cliché, and she knew it, but there's a reason things get used over and over to become a truism like that…it was usual the most blatant way of expressing the experience. He made her feel so alive and good about herself. Even before she even knew who he was, he had given her encouragement and tried to help her. He was a great friend and a wonderful teammate.
But that's all Jesse would ever be to her…
…And Emma would have to accept that.