January 19, 2017, 9:52 AM
"What's a company with a striped logo?" Beth asked, staring intently at the daily crossword puzzle in the Riverport Herald.
"Adidas?" Jack suggested from the other side of the table.
"Three letters," she clarified, furrowing her brow further.
"IBM," Will offered, not looking up from the research journal he was reading.
Beth scribbled the answer on the puzzle. "You must have never missed a clue with him around."
Jack rolled his eyes, taking a sip of his coffee. "It's not as much fun when you have a walking dictionary spoiling it for you."
"You never did crossword puzzles," Will pointed out with a frown.
"Because you always had them finished before I even woke up!" Jack complained.
"The world's fifth largest eco-"
"California."
"Jesus Christ Will," Jack mumbled.
"What?"
"You could at least let her finish the question."
"You two need to relax," Beth chided before turning her attention back to the crossword. "A three letter word for My Chemical Romance genre...?"
"EMO!" Jack shouted, nearly launching himself out of his chair. Beth and Will stared at him. "What?"
Jack could tell Beth was trying her hardest not to bust out laughing, and Will just shook his head and returned to his journal.
"Reminds me of that time Nick played your stuff for us back in the swimming hall," she mentioned with a smirk.
Jack groaned. "I was hoping you'd forget about that."
"Are you kidding?" she asked with a laugh. "I will never forget that gift."
Beth continued working on the crossword, periodically letting Will give her an answer here and there. Jack couldn't tell if she actually needed the help or was just trying to make Will feel included. All he was sure of was that she had absolutely no idea what My Chemical Romance was. No surprise there.
"Hey Jack, you want to see a movie tonight?" Beth asked as she continued working on the crossword puzzle.
"You mean like on Netflix?" Jack asked.
Beth looked up. "No, like a movie at the movie theater."
"At the movie theater," Jack repeated, cocking his head slightly.
"Yes, Jack, at the movie theater."
"Are you... sure about that?" he finally asked.
Beth set her pencil down and crossed her arms. "I thought you were going to trust me."
"I do!" Jack told her quickly. "I just... I mean, yeah we can go if you want."
"We can go late so there won't be as many people," she explained. "I'm pretty sure I can manage this without assaulting anyone."
"Pretty sure?" he asked with a laugh.
"I am ninety-five percent confident," she said.
"I can live with that," Jack chuckled. "So what did you want to see?"
"You wanted to see that Underworld movie, right?" Beth asked.
Jack stared at her for a moment. "How do you know about that?"
"I follow you on Twitter," she told him with a shrug.
Jack felt his heart jump into his throat. "You what?"
"You seem to really love Nick's conspiracy theories," she mused as she filled in another answer on the crossword.
"How did.. how did you...? What's your at?"
"Nice try, Joyce," she laughed. "There's a movie showing at midnight we can go to."
"You're really not going to tell me?" Jack asked with a pout.
"I definitely am not," Beth confirmed with a smirk. "Better watch what you post."
Jack pulled out his phone. "I just need to find whoever's account is obsessed with Toto."
Beth laughed. "You have so little faith in me."
"I'm gonna find you, Wilder," he threatened, scrolling frantically through his follower list.
"Beta...?" Beth read. "Four letters."
"Test," Jack told her. He held his phone out. "This you?"
"Go fish."
"Ugh," Jack grumbled, continuing to scroll.
"Part of the body to slap?" she asked.
"Ass."
"What the hell, Jack?" Beth asked with a laugh. "Four letters."
"Knee?" he corrected. He held his phone out again. "This one?"
"Give it up, Jack." She looked back down at the crossword. "Small and delicate."
"Not Beth." He held the phone out again. "Speaking of..."
"Too many letters," Beth told him with a smirk.
"Finally!" Jack exclaimed victoriously.
"You better not be blocking me."
"Dainty," he told her with a grin.
"You better not be following me, either."
Jack looked up and winked at her.
"Jack Joyce."
"This is your own fault," he told her. "Better watch what you post."
She rolled her eyes and went back to her crossword.
January 20, 2017, 1:58 AM
"It was nice to finally not be the disaster for once," Beth commented as they exited the theater.
"Look, it just took me by surprise," Jack explained with a frown. "It was really similar to one of my chronon powers and it just... reminded me of things I'd rather not be reminded of."
Beth patted his arm comfortingly. "It's alright, I won't tell anyone."
"It wasn't that loud," he pouted.
"People turned around to look at us," Beth reminded him. "And if you had jumped any farther you would've been in my lap."
"Sure, rub it in," Jack said with a sigh. "But yes, on the bright side you did not tackle anyone."
"I was too distracted trying to make sense of the plot to worry about the three other people in the theater."
"At least you got to watch Kate Beckinsale rip someone's spine out," Jack said with a chuckle.
"It is impressive that somehow that movie managed to still surprise me by the end," Beth said with a laugh.
Jack shook his head with a smile. "They're supposed to be ridiculously over the top."
"Mission successful." Beth stopped abruptly. "Hey, isn't that Nick?"
"Yeah, I think so," Jack agreed, looking across the lobby. Nick was standing off to the side, partially hidden between two large movie posters.
"He looks like he's having a good time," she mused, gesturing toward the woman he was with. "If he doesn't come up for air soon we might have to call for help."
"Oh my god," Jack said as he realized who the woman was. "Is that Amy?"
"...Ferrero?"
"Holy shit." Jack stared at the pair, mouth agape. Well, that wasn't a match he would have expected. "Why the hell would she be dating Nick Marsters?"
"Self-loathing?" Beth suggested. Jack rolled his eyes and laughed. "Come on, Joyce, let's get out of here before they notice us."
"They won't remember us," Jack reminded her.
"They will remember us because they were in the theater when you screamed like a baby," Beth countered. Oh, that was them.
"Okay, good point," he agreed, following Beth as she made a beeline for the doors. He shivered as they opened, letting the frigid winter air rush past them. Beth seemed to barely notice, and he found himself starting to wonder if maybe she was secretly some kind of android.
"You okay?" she asked as they walked down the dimly lit streets of Riverport.
"Do you even get cold?" Jack returned. "Are you a Terminator or something?"
She laughed louder than Jack expected. "What kind of question is that?"
"I'm freezing my ass off, here," Jack complained.
"I didn't last all those years in Monarch by complaining about the cold," Beth reminded him.
Jack looked at her. "So you are cold?"
"I'm freezing," she assured him with a laugh. Her smile faded as she turned her head slightly. "Someone's following us."
"Huh?" Jack turned to look.
"Don't look," Beth hissed, grabbing him to keep him facing forward. "Just keep walking."
Jack felt his anxiety start to kick in. How ironic would it be if, after everything they'd been through, they got killed by some criminal college student?
"Hey!" a voice shouted from behind them. Jack glanced at Beth, whose expression was steely and calm. "Wait up!"
Beth turned toward the man first. "Do you need something?" she asked.
"Yeah," the man said, pulling out a switchblade. "Your wallets."
Jack laughed, surprising himself as much as the thief.
"You think this is funny?"
"You don't want to try that, buddy," Jack told him. "Especially with," Jack gestured toward the knife, "whatever that is."
"You gonna stop me?" the man asked.
"Me? Nah," Jack replied. "She will, though."
"You look like a smart kid," Beth added. "Go home before you get hurt."
"Have you lost your mind, lady?" the guy asked with a laugh.
"Go home," Beth repeated.
"Couple of fucking id-"
Jack had seen Beth in action a few times, but the speed with which she disarmed their attacker was astounding. Within moments she had him pinned face down on the sidewalk.
"Fuck, you're gonna break my arm!"
"Only if you keep struggling," Beth told him. "If I see you again, I will absolutely snap your arm in half."
As she released him, the man jumped to his feet and tore off away from them as fast as he could. Beth got to her feet, holding the switchblade up for Jack to see.
"Think he got that at the dollar store?" Jack asked with a smile. She laughed and playfully shoved him before stuffing the blade in her pocket and pulling him after her. "So much for going to see a movie without assaulting anyone."
"Look..."
"I'm just kidding," Jack told her with a laugh, putting his hands up defensively. "You're my hero."
"Hopefully Sparky gives up his life of crime," Beth mused as they walked along the blissfully empty sidewalk. She reached into her pocket as her phone buzzed. "Jack what the fuck. Did you tag me in a tweet about this already?"
"I owe it to my loyal followers," he explained with a grin, putting his phone back in his pocket.
"You know, Jack, I'm not sure why I put up with you."
"I'm a fucking delight, and you know it."
She shook her head with a smile. "Come on, let's get home before anyone else gets any bright ideas."
"Can't wait to tell Will about how you Batman-ed that guy."
"Oh my god, Jack."