Hey people! So here is the next chapter. Not much to say so I'll just let you read.
Thanks to The HongKonger; Jbon; emmaxjane (les figues…arf l'une de mes pâtisseries préférées –pas pu m'en empêcher :P); 13 Jo; leelou09; Jisbon4ever; P. Schoeller; vanilla339; Lauri-mentalist; Fallon the Coyote Pirate; STVVGHPDWMfan for their reviews ! thanks for the favourite and alerts too :3
And thanks to Navar for beta-ing this :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Mentalist, I do not earn money with those fics and I don't deny having a thing for AUs. Hope you will enjoy this (won't blame you if you don't ;D)
Guardian Angel
10.
A few weeks later
It was not really a surprise when Grace Van Pelt sat next to Teresa Lisbon on her first day. There weren't many seats free in the classroom, and she obviously didn't know the girl's reputation. But when not only the redhead went on taking the same seat, started chatting with her in class and the brunette replied, but both of them started hanging around together, that shocked the whole teaching staff. Except Cho. Even though he thought her move was extremely bold, he was more annoyed by the fact the redhead had also infiltrated Frye's house without telling him.
The woman was on his list of potential suspects, but not his top priority. Judging from Van Pelt's behaviour though, he may need to focus more on her from now on…
"Lost deep in thought Mr Cho?" the now familiar voice of Patrick Jane pulled him out of his reverie. The blond man sat at the other's table, and the agent glanced around to make sure no-one would listen to their conversation. When he was certain the surroundings were secured, he turned back to Jane and growled between his teeth:
"What's the matter with you? You're out of your mind to let that girl do… what she's doing."
"You mean keeping the kids of one of her teachers to earn a bit of money and befriending an unfortunate girl?"
Cho hit the table with his fist in an angry gesture.
"Stop making it sounds like this is all innocent. We both know she is doing something extremely dangerous! Red John will target her next if Frye really works for him."
"Well then let's keep making people think all of this is coincidence and innocent. As much as I trust Grace taking care of herself, I do not wish my niece to be brought in shady business; hence the reason why I came to bring you the list of people working as dealers inside the high-school under Red John's command to make your investigation easier." The blond man pulled a white sheet of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Cho. The agent took it, glanced at the names and frowned back at Jane.
"Mrs Miller? Seriously?"
The blond man shrugged.
"She is the school nurse and has easy access to any kind of drugs. She was also arrested two years ago for drug dealing in San Diego, but managed to erase that little fact from her file by flirting with the right people. And don't tell me you didn't think of her because despite your charming fiancée, you had a tiny crush on her."
Cho sighed annoyingly.
"That's not relevant. How did you have access to this information?"
"I have my own ways."
"And do you have proof about those people involvement?"
Jane grinned:
"Hey, I found you the names, Mr Cho. I won't do your job for you."
"How can I trust you then?"
"You can't. And you need to work fast from now on. Don't they say that killers tend to be meaner when we're close to catching them?"
Despite the smiling face, Jane was worried. He knew, as well as Cho did, that Red John would soon make a move. His cell suddenly buzzed, signalling he had received a new text. Grace. He frowned at the content and sighed. Cho didn't need to be a CBI Agent to realise something wasn't going according to the blond man's plans. Or rather something happened that he wasn't expecting.
"What's wrong?" he asked immediately. Jane sighed again in annoyance and rubbed his face.
"While I just brush him, Grace is really toying with the devil. She wants to go to a nightclub tomorrow and somehow managed to convince Lisbon to go with her. Guess that means I'm on stakeout."
-GA-
When she entered the room, Teresa felt she in fact had gone through a portal to another dimension. She was sure she could easily lose Grace in the mass and wouldn't hear her over the deafening boom boom boom so didn't loosen her grip on her hand when they headed straight for a compact crowd of people moving their bodies to the rhythm of the music. Some were dancing alone in their corner, oblivious to their fellow dancers; some were in groups, like the five girls shifting from one foot to the other on the dance floor, laughing like they were having the time of their lives; some were dancing in duets –like that couple over there, and…Teresa narrowed her eyes in attempt to get a clearer view. Were the two young people rubbing so close against each other? She winced at the view, thinking that was certainly what they called 'dirty dancing' or something similar.
"Remind me why I agreed to come with you?" she shouted to her accomplice, leaning forwards, as close as possible to her ear.
"You want to loosen up sweetie" the redhead replied as loudly without looking at her. "And so do I."
Grace didn't comment further, and Teresa gladly accepted that fact. She knew perfectly well why she was acting so stupidly and recklessly. If Red John ever heard about this, God knew what he would do about that new detail. But if she was honest with herself, she was doing it because she wanted to know what he would do about it. She was getting tired of always watching behind her back, paying attention to who she talked to and in what tone. Having someone to talk to, even if it was about unimportant and superficial things, was …refreshing. It wasn't much – but in her mind, it was still an attempt at rebellion against the solitary life Red John had forced her into.
For some reasons, befriending Grace had come naturally. Teresa appreciated her open mind and straightforwardness. Whether it was something she wanted to hear or not, the redhead never minced her words. She was right when she said, sitting on that bench, that she didn't know her. The brunette found it difficult to have a decent profile of her. Each time she thought she had pinned the perfect sketch, Grace would say or do something that surprised her. The redhead always seemed to have that hidden side in her, ready to strike and shock everyone. A dark side very few people had seen until now.
"C'mon, let's dance!"
Teresa followed, truthfully a little bit excited. She had never been to a nightclub – age and lack of opportunity had always stopped her - and she was glad her first time was with Van Pelt. Being with Grace made her forget her worries and made her feel…free. John hadn't contact her since she had started hanging out with Grace, and despite Teresa knowing it was just a matter of time before he wanted to bed her again –or force her to give up the only semblance of friendship she had in years; she still wanted to make the most of it.
The DJ switched songs. A melody she did not recognise pierced the room and when Grace let go of her hand and gave her a gentle slap on the hip before swinging her own, she rolled her eyes in disbelief. On the dance floor she could barely see and hear anything clearly, only sense the heat of people around her. Lights were flashing violently in her eyes and the music was so loud she could barely concentrate on anything else. So she closed her eyes and swung her hips to the beat in turn. Forgetting Van Pelt, forgetting her environment, she lost herself in the dancing, feeling a nice, pleasant sensation of freedom as she did. No-one would tell her how to move, no-one would recognize her (she had insisted on that point when Grace first blurted the idea, forcing them to drive to a location far enough), and most of all, not one would harm her.
This was just supposed to be…cathartic; to allow her to free the anger she locked inside so deeply and couldn't voice in fear of retaliation from a certain someone. But he wasn't there tonight. And she was determined to take advantage of that fact.
A guy stood in front of her and attempted to enter her personal space with a few moves. Teresa stared at him in the eyes with a naughty smirk and shook her head before looking away. He didn't try further and for a few minutes, she was left alone. She didn't pay attention to her surroundings, or even cared if strangers were watching her. All that mattered now was the music and not to lose the beat.
Some other guy, barely taller than she was and obviously much more experienced on the dance floor showed up from her side and immediately entered her personal space. His moves were sponging hers, and she soon felt him sliding behind her, like the couple she had spotted earlier. Surprisingly it didn't freak her out. The teenager knew he was trying to get the upper hand by brushing teasingly her body, to make her follow his lead.
Teresa challenged him, swinging faster, still following the rhythm, but being unpredictable. He adapted to every gesture, every move she made, as if he could predict them from the start. In the end, she allowed him to slip his arms around her waist and nuzzle her neck. She smirked in spite of herself, knowing that a few weeks before she would have never allowed herself to make such a bold move with a complete stranger.
The music halted a few seconds and he released her from his hold. When she turned to thank him for the dance, he merely smiled at her and walked away quickly, not letting her enough time to catch the features of his face. Teresa frowned then shrugged, thinking that this was probably a general occurrence in places like this. In the background, she spotted Grace waving at her from the bar. Realising she was a little bit tired –if not exhausted from this first effort, the brunette left the dance floor with no regrets. She could always come back later.
Grace tapped an empty seat next to her.
"I got us some drinks" she announced .
"I thought you have no money?"
They had indeed sneaked in by the window of the employees' bathroom – and at the thought Teresa wondered once again why she followed her friend blind-eyed so stupidly. The redhead shrugged and leant closer, inches to her ear to make sure no-one could hear what she was about to whisper –or shout carefully:
"If you want to thanks anyone, thanks the big guy over there." She nodded towards a middle-height, plump blond young man waddling around, shaking his arms in the air. "His whole attention was set on you; it was easy to pick-pockets."
Teresa blinked in disbelief and stared at her friend with wide eyes.
"Are you serious?"
The smirk she gave her in return spoke volumes.
"Here are your drinks."
The bartender slid two large glasses in their direction. Grace caught them with ease and handed one to Teresa. The liquid inside was a weird mixture of orange and yellow, decorated with a slice of orange on the border of the glass and a small parasol.
"What's that?"
"Just drink sweetie. And there's no alcohol, promise."
Teresa obeyed reluctantly, biting the straw and sucked up. To her agreeable surprise, a subtle taste of pineapple, passion fruit and cinnamon spread in her mouth. She narrowed her eyes at the redhead, yet couldn't help the upward twist of her lips. Grace merely shrugged and smirked back as she took a gulp of her own drink –some weird green thing.
Still toying with her straw and taking a few sips, Teresa rested an elbow on the bar and scanned the other tables and couches. They were all filled with young people having a good laugh, talking, arguing or totally wasted. Her attention was caught by a tall young man sitting on a nearby chair, glancing in their direction. Or rather at…
"I think there's a guy ogling at you" she said as discreetly as she could. The redhead glanced in the direction the brunette indicated with a nod, and when she caught who Teresa was talking about, smirked amusingly.
"I know him" Grace said. "He works at…the Parisian you called it? Wayne was the seller when I went to buy the pastries."
"And he remembers you? That was like…three weeks ago right? Not that you are easily forgotten!" Teresa added quickly when the redhead glanced at her puzzled. "But they are quite popular and have lots of clients…"
Grace chuckled at her rambling.
"I kinda –sorta flirted with him" she admitted. "He is easy to teas- oh turn back to the bar sweetie he's coming over to us."
Both giggling, they reported their attention on their drinks and waited until the tall young man eventually leant close to them. Another young man, with more blondish hair but as fit, stood behind him.
"Good evening ladies" the brown-haired one greeted with a shy smile. "My friend's name here is Craig O' Laughlin and I am…"
"Wayne, we know" the redhead cut with a grin. He blushed to the two girls' amusement and cleared his throat.
"Uh…anyway, Craig and I were wondering if we could buy you two a drink."
Grace glanced immediately at Teresa. The brunette shrugged, knowing why her friend silently asked her permission first. As much as she didn't seem to care for herself, she wasn't taking the threat of Red John lightly. But tonight, Teresa was already deep into it; why not dig a little more?
"Deal. You can pay the next round" the redhead replied, flashing a wide beam to the two others. The guys made themselves comfortable and started a dull conversation. At first, when they tried to get to know them better, Grace immediately changed subject, leading them on a safer territory and made them understand there were not going to deep in their personal lives. It was mostly the redhead and Craig doing the talk at first, both apparently more at ease with this kind of useless introductive chitchat.
Teresa didn't mind speaking much and was perfectly content with sipping in her drink. While she was used to stay awake at unusual hours for some jobs, the extra-exercise she made tonight was already getting to her. She hoped she would soon have that so-called adrenaline rush around one a.m. Craig paid his round and focused entirely on the redhead. Seeing Teresa wasn't much into talking, Wayne tried to fit into the conversation as well. What amused the petite teen was, as soon as he started speaking, Van Pelt's interest shifted immediately. It was obvious to her that the redhead preferred the tall man.
"I'm going back on the dance floor" Grace suddenly blurted, jumping off her seat. Wayne followed immediately –faster than his disappointed friend. "'Resa, you going up too?"
The brunette shook her head.
"I'll go back later."
Now that he was left behind, Craig turned towards Teresa. The petite teen still spotted the redhead waving at her in apology and she grinned in amusement. Wasn't being annoyed by some guy part of the fun? The young man started talking about himself, and Teresa took back the 'fun' comment. He hadn't stopped talking for ten good minutes about his school and his life and his brothers and previous girlfriends (seriously, do you really talk about previous girlfriends with a girl you are hitting on?) and his troubles with the football team which wouldn't recognise his real worth and she was about to snap and shot something very mean at him when…
"Mind if I cut in?"
Craig glared at the newcomer and Teresa immediately felt a wave of relief. Despite only hearing him a few hours a week, she would recognize this voice anywhere. She when she turned her back to the young man to face a blond-haired man wearing plain jeans and white shirt; she couldn't help the wide grin spreading over her face.
"Good evening Mr Jane" she greeted a little too enthusiastically, even to her own ears. That seemed to amuse the man, who sat next chair and ordered a coke. Teresa couldn't believe it. Either all of this was a huge coincidence plotted by someone up there, or he was extremely good at stalking.
"What are you doing here Mr Jane? Following me again?"
The blond man grinned and shrugged.
"What can I say? It seems we both have the same attraction for the same places."
"I came on the insistence of a friend. What's your excuse?" she teased amusingly.
"I came for a bit of fun" he replied, grinning back at her with that so-special smile and she felt her cheeks burning. She couldn't blame her alcohol-deprived drink. Perhaps it was the atmosphere; perhaps it was the closeness of their seats. But she was sure that if he went on looking at her that way, she could not be held responsible for her actions; handsome –and single- people like him should be forbidden on the market. Especially since she was not supposed to…
Some little voice in her head screamed 'oh screw John will you' and she asked with her most flashing and -she hoped- flirting smile:
"Then are you up for a dance?"
The drink Lisbon is drinking is called 'Cinderella' and seriously, it doesn't taste too bad ;)
You will get some Jisbon next chapter btw
Thanks for reading so far! :D