Garg! (stomps around) Forgive me for this chapter. Its... kinda pointless... and yet... not... and... its... The next one will get better, I swear. (pouts and looks at shoes) Forgive me... Anyways! Thanx for the reviews again and er... umm... yep! Yay!
Disclaimer: i don't own the characters used in this story. Don't sue, just a big hassle, not worth it. All characters belong to Naughty Dog etc etc blah blah blah.
o.O.o.O
Jak stumbled backwards and fell onto a large pillow. Ornate beading pressed into his skin and left small indents where he laid against it. His large blue eyes intently watched Krew pace and mutter in front of him. Jak thrust his chin up into the air as the older, larger man glowered at him.
"Who is accusing you of these... mm, things, eh?" Krew tottered over and sat down next to Jak. The large, sweaty hands came close to the other man, but never touched the silken flesh.
Jak shivered and looked over at Krew. "The king." He stated bluntly.
Krew's small beady eyes narrowed into glaring slits as he stared at the man sitting next to him. "And you came to me why?"
"Well... I was wondering if you could... maybe... help me." Jak suddenly felt small. Small and useless. He'd never before been so cornered and helpless. The large man sitting next to him scowled and stood up.
"Help you what, eh? Mmm, I have no say in the kings court."
Jak paled and looked down at his hands clasped in his hands. "I see." Standing he began to leave the large, shadowy bedroom. As he reached the door way, Krew called out to him.
"Eh... I think that since you have bothered me now, mmm, I believe that you can stay here for the night. After all, eh, I am not one to do charity work."
Jak shivered and nodded. Turning around he fell back against the door as the obese man advanced on him. When the slimy, hot lips descended on his own, Jak made a mental note on the way the way that Krew touched him. It wasn't heated and rough like usual. The older man seemed to be cautious and reserved now. When the insistent kiss broke, Jak raised an eyebrow towards Krew. When the other man did nothing for a minute, Jak narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
Krew grabbed the lithe man around the waist and threw him across the room onto the pillows. "Stop looking at me like that, eh." Krew descended onto the small body and ravished the man.
Jak stumbled through the streets. The morning sun rose from behind the distant horizon and the dew sticking to the scant plant life glimmered. The smells of the day slowly became stronger as time edged on and the sun slunk its way across the sky. Jak sighed heavily and stopped to sit on the edge of a fountain in the middle of the market square. The water tumbled from a horses mouth and the mist floated on the cool air to rest on Jak's pale skin and cling to his hair. The rider sat on the great steeds back, his scimitar raised high in the sky, posed forever to strike down his mighty foe.
Women and men at first slowly trickled, then flooded into the square to set up their small stalls. Pottery and fruit, wares of all makes were laid out on blankets and in small rickety looking wooden booths. Jak continued to sit on the edge of the fountain as people scuttled to and fro, all eager to make and spend as much money as they could. Small children pranced in front of him, playing silly games that he had played when he was their age.
When the bell in the clock tower struck ten, Jak stood and wandered around the little bazaar. After he bought a piece of yellow fruit, he walked over to a small stand of jewelry. The woman behind the stand smiled kindly at him and led him down the row of gold and silver pieces of art. Picking out a intricately designed neck-cuff, Jak paid the woman money and turned to leave the large open area.
As he walked through the large arch way towards the residential area of the city, Jak smiled as he saw Erol walking with the crowd into the bazaar. The man looked like he'd been dragged through Hell and back again. His hair was tousled and his face was pale and drawn. Jak frowned and followed the man for a bit, the red head's gait was stiff and he continually glanced left and right, then left again. Pushing through the crowd, Jak reached out a hand and tapped Erol on the shoulder lightly. The other man turned quickly, his eyes wide and his lips pressed together tightly.
"Jak!" Erol breathed out. His tense body relaxed a little and the pale face regained a bit of color as he stared at the dancer.
"Erol... Are you feeling alright?" Jak reached out a hand and set it onto the other mans shoulder.
"Y-yeah, just heading to work is all." Erol chuckled nervously. "Are you, perhaps, going to be working yourself tonight?"
Jak nodded and narrowed his eyes at Erol. "Something's the matter. You look pale." He frowned and crossed his arms over his chest tightly. When the other man just shifted on his feet and stared down at the ground Jak huffed and threw his hands into the air. "Fine then! Don't talk to me. Its your problem anyways." Jak turned on his heel and stalked away from Erol, ignoring the protesting cries for him to come back.
Jak pushed open the door to his small apartment, the cool room greeting him with a gust of cold air as he walked in from the hot outside. Goose bumps raised on his flesh and he flopped down onto his pillows, burying his face into the musky material. Taking a deep breath, he snuggled into the soft pillows and drifted off to sleep.
The shouting clamor of a street brawl awoke Jak to the quickly darkening evening. Sitting up, he cursed himself as he flew around his room and put on a new pair of clean, light green pants. The gauzy material clung hopelessly to his thin hips as he raced through the streets towards the bar. Stumbling past a group of giggling young teenage boys, he wobbled into the bar and into the back room. As he struggled to get the cottony drape off his head, a woman stood in front of him, hands on her curvy hips and a small frown on her painted lips.
"Jak! You're late. You already missed your first dance with Valora. Go get your makeup on, you're out in ten minutes." With that and a haughty sniff, the woman walked off to summon up the next dancers.
Jak heaved a sigh and plopped down in front of his mirror. While applying his coal liner, another woman came and sat next to him. Her blonde hair was cropped short and hugged her cherubic face. Two bright blue eyes, full of naivety and glimmering with happiness, blinked out through thick eyelashes towards him. Jak raised an eyebrow towards her and then turned back to the mirror and returned to his makeup.
"Hey Jak. I was just wondering if you could answer a few questions that the other girls and I have." The woman giggled stupidly and rested her chin in her palm, her elbow resting on Jak's mirror's table.
Jak turned to the woman and blinked a couple times. For some reason, his gut twisted and churned when she had spoken and he couldn't seem to sit still. Jak twiddled his thumbs and shifted uncomfortably on the pillow he sat upon. Staring up at the girl who had addressed him, he slowly nodded. "Alright... ask your questions then."
"Now, rumors have been going around that you are connected with that murder that happened just the other day. Ya know, the one with that scholar guy. I never really understood scholars, locking themselves up in those dark rooms for all hours of the day and playing with that stuff. What's it called again? Ya know... that goo. Oh well, anyways, I just wouldn't be able to do something like that myself. Personally it just seems a bore to me,"
Jak felt his stomach lurch into his throat as the woman spoke. As she rambled on and on, Jak tried to place a name to the young face. Trisha? No. Tilly? No. Jess? Wait, Tess! Yes that was her name. Tess. Scowling as she continued to ramble on about how she would hate to have to work indoors, or do manual labor for that matter, Jak huffed and turned back to his mirror. Blocking off Tess' voice, Jak began to apply his lip makeup.
"So, we were all wondering if that one little guy that you were seen fooling around with was the Vin guy they were after, ya know?"
Jak froze, his eyes wide as he stared into the image-reflecting glass. Slowly he turned to look at the woman. "Why do you care?"
"Well, ya know, we were just curious. I mean after all, you don't meet a bonafide murderer everyday." A stupid giggle wafted through the tense atmosphere.
The mirror fell back with a loud crash, shattering the glass, as Jak stood up in a flurry of pent up anger and fear. "I didn't kill him! I wasn't even in the same room with him that night! Stop accusing me of things I didn't do!" His voice was shrill and high as he pushed Tess back from him. Her blue eyes grew ten times their size and a small blush crept its way across her cheeks as everyone in the room stopped and stared. Time seemed to freeze as no one moved for the space a heart beat. Then Jak screamed, so loud and shrill that even the music player in the front room stopped playing the harp. Jak bared his teeth at Tess, who was sprawled out on the ground by his feet, and left the small back room. Running from the small bar, he took off down the street, heedless of the eyes that followed him or the voices that whispered behind him.
As he barreled around the corner, Jak gasped as someone grabbed his arm and threw him against a hard stone wall. Grimacing, he opened his eyes slowly, expecting to see the guards glaring at him, a warrant waving in his face. Instead, Erol's face, full of worry, stared back at him. When a warm hand came and brushed his hair from his face, Jak felt his knees get weak and he fell against the other man. "I didn't do it, you know that. You believe me right? I didn't, I didn't, I didn't."
Erol's hands ran up and down Jak's tense back and a soft soothing 'shh' seeped through Jak's defenses. Leaning against the other man, he rested his head on his shoulder.
"I believe you Jak. Of course I believe you. I'll protect you. They'll know it wasn't you. Shh." The calm soothing words settled in Jak's heart and he smiled as Erol embraced him. It was nice to be accepted and soothed like this. Erol led Jak down the dark street and towards his small apartment. As they entered the not so nice area that Jak lived in, the man shuddered and clung desperately to Erol.
"No, don't take me here. I don't want to be alone tonight. Please Erol." His blue eyes gazed up at the mans face. The stars created a halo around Erol's head, but the moon's light created a dark shadow that made the familiar features disappear in a veil of darkness. Jak swallowed hard and lowered his head slowly, staring at his feet.
"Alright." With that Erol led Jak to his apartment.
