It's been several weeks since Alice Clayton dug a hole in Jesse Custer's life. Often coming by the church, volunteering and being there, alongside her was Rosa, a woman with no fear. It was difficult; Alice was transitioning—male to female—which was disapproving in Jesse's eyes. He was Judge, Jury and Executioner, often quarreling with Rosa about his attitude towards Alice. She—he—was getting under Jesse skin; it was a matter of time before Jesse starts losing his grip on reality although he's already have.
Cabinets open with an eerie shrill and close lightly as if not to disturb a sleeping beast, silently exploring the empty kitchen; Alice searches for mugs to use for her morning tea. She often came early to chat with Cass over a cup of tea but to her disappointment, he wasn't here. Alice figured it would be okay to still brew some tea and make breakfast for Emily and Jesse. After searching for over a minute, Alice decided to clean one of the mugs lying sideways in the stained sink, giving it a good scrub and polish before using it for her fresh kettle of tea.
The sound of heavy boots drag against the wooden floor, Alice lifts her head up and her face brightens, "Hi Custard," her voice hoarse. Jesse Custer holds a dour expression on his rugged visage, "Good morning, uh, it's Custer. What are you making?" Alice bites her lip, "Tea, would you like some?" Jesse nods his head and walks over to the worn out family table, he pulls the antique chair out and sits down. Alice tackles the cabinets again for another mug to spare and just her luck, she finds one; a chipped one.
"Here we go," she mutters as she sets his mug down and pours a fair amount of steaming liquid into his mug, "Thank you. Now, why are you here so early?" Alice stands there, her face absent for a moment before searching for the right words, "I was here for Cass but he's not here, I think I saw him in one of those Samurai getups leavin'," Jesse figured although he still wanted to ask. He felt angry that Alice often sat down with Cass and had tea, they were always laughing and up to no good. Alice sighs and goes back to the kitchen where her mug was and pours tea into the empty mug, "I wonder why, Oh! Maybe he has one of those skin conditions? " she inquires.
The corners of her mouth curve upward, crooked as she bares a cheeky smile, "Oh maybe, he's a vampire. Like Dracula, I like Dracula, he's so handsome," cackling as she puts the tea kettle back down. Jesse was reaching over for his cup and stopped, processing her words and interpreting them wrongfully, "You think Cassidy is handsome? Do you like him?" there was hostility in his voice. Her eyebrows furrow out of fear, bug-eyed and eyes collecting moisture, "N-no, I was saying Dracula was…I'm sorry," Alice felt her throat choke up.
Jesse narrows his eyes and retracted his gaze from his cup to her despondent expression, "Mr. Custard—Custer, are you jealous?" She would be awfully surprised if Jesse was suddenly jealous although Jesse was extremely adamant about not liking what she was. He grabs the cup and quickly takes a sip, "Huh? No, I was just asking if you liked Cassidy, I mean he's my friend. It's a good thing, you're uh, nice," he nervously laughs. Alice lets out a relieved sigh, "He's just my friend." Awkwardly sipping her tea, Jesse sits there, shamefaced and drinking from his cup.
"Well, I'm gonna go clean. Have a nice day," she takes her cup with her as she hightails it out of the kitchen of mortification. Jesse's thick palm crashes into his face as he sits in silence, not sure why he acted so—so—jealous, "It's happening, you're losing grip on reality." Jesse thought. Out of all the things, he was jealous because of Cassidy and Alice's close knit relationship, she's a man, remember that.