GOWLAND'S POV
I remember EVERYTHING.
My cheeks deeply flush as I roll over, knockin' into the doorframe with my head. At one point a worker must have unlocked the door for us, having mercy on Jackie and I from being locked in for so long. Or did the little gal pick the lock? My eyes crack open, immediately regretting the decision as the light from outside blinds my sensitive eyes. Ugh, it's too bright out but that explains why the darlin' is out. Jackie, the only sober one of us all, must have gotten up for work this mornin' and left the rest of us to sleep off the previous Night's fun.
My cheeks flush harder as I rub my eyes, tryin' to ease into the light as I look around the room and find a few other employees draped over one another and sleepin' off their hangovers. That was a ... very interestin' and fun Night. I shift to my knee and lean against the door frame, glancin' down at my pants and seeing the main problem for my stiff movements.
... Mercy, I hope Jackie up and left before the mornin' woodpecker settled in. With a heavy groan I rub my eyes and waver to my feet, checkin' the time. 12:56 ... how long were we all out for? The outrageously loud outside noise only worsen the headache as I slump into the room and glance around, noticin' a few employees trying to shake off the late Night fun as well.
"Mornin'," I greet, makin' sure not to let them see the morning lumberjack. I don't need no one scarin' the lass off. She ... needs to be eased into returning my affections and hearing that I ... er ... have the ... uh ... d**m it I can't think.
"Oh, morning Mr. Gowland." One of the nice gals say, looking up with a tired expression. I grunt slightly in acknowledgement and stalk over towards the door. If I go to the bathroom here someone can more than easily walk in on me ... taking care, er, head hurts too much to think.
" ... oh my, Jackie's so blessed~," one of the women quietly whispers, tackin' on a giddy glee.
"Whoever knew the boss was so hung?!" One of the flamboyant employees breathe in shock. I slap a hand over my eyes, slippin' out the door and quickly shuttin' it behind myself. Well this is just awful, now they might tell Jackie in a rather not so careful fashion and then ... oh what am I thinkin', I'm hung over as anything and need to get to my room.
JACKIE'S POV
"Where is that deadbeat drunk?" I ask without hesitation, seeing that he isn't where I left him this morning. I was lucky that sometime in the Night he rolled over onto his back. After a few tries in the dark I managed to pick the lock with two straightened ends of the cheap wired hangers and get to my apartment to sleep the rest of the few hours before work. The only employees remaining were the three sitting around the table, all blushing and looking like they were day dreaming with coffee in front of them.
I'll bet Gowland crawled off to his room to sleep it off. I weigh the small stack of papers in my hand, trying to decide if waking him up is worth it. Without Mary's signature the man at the store won't give up the uncommon and expensive spare parts so I can't continue my work for the day.
"Ohhh~ Jaaa~ckie~," one of the women cheerfully smile, laying on the table and cheekily smiling in my direction. The little baby wallaby jerks in the homemade sling, flailing its arms and reaching up to me.
"What?" I say to both Joey and the slightly sobering up woman as I pull out Joey's bottle and pop it into her hungry mouth. She eagerly but awkwardly gripped the bottle, sucking down the nourishing milk as I turn my attention to the three employees that are now staring at me with rather broad grins. Oh no what happened? Gowland didn't go blabbing his mouth, did he?
"Nothing~ we just want to wish you luck~," the flamboyant man says with a cheerfully scary grin. I'm not going to ask, I won't ever ask when it comes to a tone like that.
"Where's Gowland?" I ask, pretending not to pay the happy employee any attention.
"He's in his room taking care of his 'problem'." The woman says as she gets up, swaying slightly as she holds her head. Problem? Well, he's got to be hung over more than anything after last Night. I saw him guzzling down an amount of alcohol only Ace could beat him at. "Oh! Jackie dear, why not go and help?" The woman asks with a blushing face, wobbling over to the counter and starting up the coffee maker.
"Yeah, I'll probably have to. He needs to sign some documents for me." I say, waving the papers around a little bit to remind myself of the task at hand.
"Oh dear, I'm sure his hands are a little busy for that but if you go and help him it's sure to free up his fingers," the third employee that's remained silent up until now pitched in with a small hiccup.
"Yeah, I'm sure," I'll bet his fingers are curled around the rims of a toilet bowl while he's upchucking his guts into it. It really wouldn't surprise me finding him like that at all.
"Here you are, sweetie. Take this to Gowland and help him out," she smiles, "and don't be too intimidated, I assure you he will take the right precautions with someone so unfamiliar in that field of help."
"It's nothing new to me," I say, heading out the door. My brother but mostly my mother used to come home drunk as a skunk more regularly than they came home sober. I rub my eyes before walking down the road to Gowland's office, knocking on the door before going in.
"Yo, Gowland, there are some papers you need to sign," I call, seeing the man not there before hearing the shower going. Well at least he's up and about. I walk into Gowland's room, seeing his clothes strewn across the room heading to his bathroom. I hold in a snicker before walking over to the bathroom door and giving a few fast, rapid knocks. "Hey Gowland, when you're done getting ready there are some documents on your desk I need you to sign for me."
"Are there? What are they for?" He calls back, seeming to pause in the middle of his daily grooming needs.
"They're for the new parts for the ride you designed that you need. The manager is being stingy and won't let go of them without your signature." I explain. I was half tempted to forge Gowland's signature since I knew he would be fine with it but I figured I might as well get the actual signature and check on the man.
"Ah, alright. Get some coffee for me goin', won't ya darlin'?" Gowland asks with a slight groan at the end, clearly still feeling the effects of the alcoholic party the Night before.
"Sure." I answer, walking out of his room and into the adjacent kitchen that was rather small but pretty decorative.
That stupid idiot definitely doesn't remember anything. My eyes narrow as I get a mug out for the man labeled 'Wonderland's Best Boss' and set it aside a little harder than necessary as I begin to get his coffee ready. After all that and he's acting like nothing's wrong. Fine, then. I refuse to stress out about it since he clearly isn't going to. I pop in some bread into the toaster and pull the handle down, listening to the ticking of the machine working as I pull aside some butter in a ceramic violin-looking case cover. Well, it's fitting for him to have that. While everything is brewing and toasting I walk into his bedroom and picked up his clothes, folding them and setting them on his dresser for him. If he bends over and tries to pick them up I have a feeling he'll topple over again.
The little wallaby flails her arms some more, hooking its claw into my shirt as it wriggled in the little sling.
"Are you hungry again?" I ask, poking its nose and feeling it's dulled claws combing over my skin and trying to grab my finger as if it would be able to drink milk from it. "So greedy. No," I say, instead petting it and watching it sit nice and snug in the sling, slumping a little deeper into the rut until it's head was firmly tucked against it's chest with its tail hanging out of the sling. Cute~ I smile and lightly tug on it's tail, watching its claws reach out and grip its tail before pulling it back and hugging its tail so it laid over her head. Cute! So cute! After a moment of composing myself I return to the kitchen to fish out the toast.
The blow dryer turned on for a little while in the bathroom as I finish making Gowland's cup of joe. The door opens in the other room and out of morbid curiosity I peek out from behind the wall in the kitchen, seeing his form fitting back muscles strain and move before his shirt covered them up and he gets dressed. Gowland's head glances back, locking eyes with me and making my heart flinch. Whoops, caught.
"Your coffee is ready." I say, slipping back into the kitchen and setting his bread onto a plate before setting it at the table for him. Gowland slumps over to the table as I pull the chair out for him, watching him waver for a second before sitting down rather heavily. "There you go, big guy. Go ahead and drink up. I'm going to go get the papers," I say as I slip out of the kitchen and out the door to his adjacent office, swiping the papers off the table before walking back to the kitchen with a big blue pen in my hand. I set the large packet down, marking the lines he needed to sign before sliding them over to him.
"What's the rush, darlin'? Go ahead and sit," Gowland murmurs, rubbing his eyes before opening them wide and concentrating on the small text.
"I already read the text, you just got to sign them," I say, eager to get on my way and get the parts before sitting down and trying to take my time. While Gowland flipped through the paperwork and signed all the marked lines after a brief skimming of the page, Joey rolls around in the sling and reaches up to my hand. I lower my hand, watching it try to grasp at my outstretched pinkie before happily sucking on it, expecting to get fed. I let out a sigh and smile, watching it suck harder on my pinkie in an attempt to feed.
"Hm … you're missing some papers," Gowland almost burps, holding it in while flipping through the titles and darting his eyes back and forth trying to find the one.
"Am I? These are straight from the manager," I huff, getting up and walking over to look at him. My hand rests on his shoulder as I lean in, looking through the pages myself, "what's missing?"
"The actual important document. He must want me to come in person, he's done this before," Gowland explains with a deep breath before munching on his bread and getting up, "wait for me by the front entrance. I'll be there soon," he says, rolling the papers up and stuffing them into his inside jacket pocket.
"Alright, I'll be there," I agree without argument. Why would the manager give me the roundabout?
… uh oh.
"Gowland," I state in a hard voice, seeing him twitch, "what did you do?"
" … not me, per say, but the previous Dutchess left a debt to a lot of people," Gowland starts with a sheepish expression, "but, it shouldn't be anything serious."
"And what makes you say that?" I ask uneasily, now understanding the situation better. The manager is using her as a lure to reel Gowland in and have a 'talk' with him. Clever.
"Well, for one the manager likes me," Gowland says with almost amazing confidence, "we're drinking buddies, after all," he tacks on.
"Yeah, because you're a lovely person when you get smashed," I tease, glancing away in slight embarrassment, "I'll be by the gates."
"Thanks, darlin'." Gowland said as he walked back into the bathroom to finish getting ready.
"And that's how many people Gowland owes?" I ask, gawking at the woman smiling behind the ticket counter.
"Yup! The previous Dutchess loved to spend money and, while the park flourished, an awful lot went down the drain from his rather extraordinary inventions," in other words his failed attempts, "and he constantly was able to evade debt collectors coming into the park searching for him. So that left an awful big mess for Gowland to pick up," she smiles before leaning forward with a finger over her mouth, "but, don't tell him I told you. It's hush hush and he doesn't like us talking about it," she says with a cheeky smile as if she did something naughty.
"Wow … that sucks. I knew he had one hell of a debt to Hatters and a few others but even the companies we buy from? The last guy sure was a piece of work," I huff, honestly startled to hear just how big of a money waster the last manager was. From what I heard the state the park used to be in and how much Gowland did for the park it's amazing he got through it without his hair turning gray.
"You ready to go, darlin'?" Gowland's voice asks as I turn around, seeing him marching towards the gate with a big happy grin on his face. That coffee must have done wonders for him.
"Yeah, I'm ready." I say, watching him walk by before following behind him, jerking back slightly by a pull on the arm, looking back to see the woman at the ticket booth lean in and slide something into my side pocket.
"Don't look at it unless it's for a special moment, alright?" The woman says with a happy blush, clearly in a daydreaming land before letting my arm go.
"What for?" I ask, wanting to reach in and look at it but figured now but not be the best time.
"Jackie?" Gowland calls, looking back at me as the woman waved goodbye to me. Well, that was strange.
"I'm coming," I say, trotting after him, "what do you think the manager wants to talk to you about? Be honest," I snap, wondering if he would lie to keep me in a happy bubble of bliss and rainbows.
"Ah~ well, I do owe him a pretty penny. But I'm going to go pay it all off now at this meeting. We'll get the parts you need and you'll be heading back to the Amusement Park in no time while I make arrangements with him," Gowland explains as I raise a suspicious eyebrow. It almost sounds like he's going over a game plan with me.
"Well, that sounds good to me," I say with a slight shrug. Whatever happens I'm sure Mary can handle it.
The silence that ensues feels almost suffocating. I keep quiet, unsure about what to say. Does he remember what he did last Night? I'm dying to know but on the other hand I hope he doesn't. Joey's presence is a thankful distraction as I reach into the pouch and gently thumb her head, watching her tuck its head against its furry chest and smugly sit in silence while I spoil her. Cute~
"A new sushi restaurant opened in town, did you hear?" Gowland notes, cutting through the silence like a freaking sledgehammer. The word sushi rings in my ears and captures all of my attention.
"Yeah? I didn't know that," I say, feeling hopeful that this sushi might be a good place since Gowland mentioned it, "is it any good?"
"I hear it's excellent from what the workers say," he says with a cheerful grin.
"The workers told you? They've been holding out on me," I tease with a grin, too caught up in the word sushi to care about much else.
"Yes and supposedly they're having a discount off all their sushi rolls tomorrow Night along with their saki. Care to join me?" Gowland smoothly offers with a wide grin.
"Absolutely I will. It's sushi, how could I say now?" I say with a light laugh before stopping short, quickly rewinding and playing through that scene in my head just now.
… did he just ask me out on a date?
My movements become a little stiff as I struggle to match his smiling grin full of enthusiasm, mentally having a meltdown of what just occurred. Does he … does he remember last Night? He has to. Does he? Or only bits and parts of it? Good hell, wait, a date? What the hell am I supposed to do or wear? I'm like 18 now and have been through very pathetically like no dates. What am I supposed to do now?
A sudden grab and jerk back rips me out of my thoughts as the shattered glass from a storefront right in front of us blow to pieces. I jump back, ready to run before I spy the spare part sign on the front. The exact store we need to go in.
I watch as a heavy boot steps out of the door, casting his cool violet eyes over to Gowand before widening as he spied me.
"Jackie?" Elliot says, seeming startled to see me here, "What are you doing here? Ah, are you hurt?" He asks, looking guilty as he looked at the shattered glass on the ground and leaning to the side to get a better look at me.
"Uh, no, I'm not," I say, carefully assessing the situation. It looks like the mafia are here at the store for some reason but for what? "Uh … should I leave?" I ask, turning to Gowland with an uneasy gaze. If they're going to go in for negotiations right here and now then it would be best if I left. Neither Gowland nor Elliot seemed to like to talk about business while I was present. After a brief pause Gowland shook his head, surprising me.
"No. You're the one getting the machine parts the most often so you should have the right to know what's going on too," Gowland explains before shooting Elliot a glare, "I want an explanation. You know this store deals almost exclusively with the Amusement Park,"
"Almost," Elliot says, picking out that key word, "and unfortunately, the manager has been fired from this establishment." Elliot coldly states, still getting down to business despite me listening to all this. Good hell, did Elliot kill the man?
"I wasn't aware management changed hands." Gowland shoots back, "what does Dupre want with a small parts shop?" He asks with a raised eyebrow. My head flinches towards the door as glass crunched from a heavy footstep, seeing Blood coolly leaving the building with a confident smile on his face.
"Yes well, now that you're aware of the changing of hands, you should understand that the Hatters are now in control of machine parts." Blood said, holding up an important looking document with what I assume to be the manager's signature. "Be happy, Mary. Perhaps now you can repay your debt faster towards us Hatters; although the company's debt is now the Hatter's debt too." Blood playfully says, tapping his chin in a cunning and victorious manner before looking at Gowland from the corners of his eyes. The sun's reflection hid Gowland's eyes in his glasses but from his stiff posture alone I was shaking in my boots. Scary~ there's about to be a shoot out. I look off to the side, seeing a Hatter's maid catch me attention before cutely smiling and waving, probably offering me a place of refuge if and when the fire fight breaks out. Even if I'm relatively safe, Gowland would be out in the open.
"Why the angry face, Mary?" Blood asks with a raised eyebrow and smirk, knowing he's in complete control out here near the shop and a good distance from the Amusement Park. Blood's got Gowland trapped. My eyes flicker to Gowland's hands, seeing his fingers slightly twitch. Oh that's a bad sign.
"Hey, Gowland, let's head back to the Amusement Park. We can get the parts from someone else," I suggest, very nervous about what is about to happen. Knowing Gowland's temper it's only a matter of time before-
"Pffft," Gowland snickers, making me pause as I spy a broad and happy grin cross his face.
OH hell there's about to be a massacre.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA! You got me, Blood hound!" Gowland laughs, seeming almost genuine in his mad laughter. Blood raised his eyebrow slightly, seeming amused that he finally broke my boss's brain.
"And I do believe it's checkmate here," Blood says as Gowland reaches into his inner pocket. I instinctively jump away as Elliot pulls his gun out in a flash, taking dead aim at Gowland's head as he pulled out the thickest roll of cash I've ever seen. I gawk at all the hundreds, just imagining how much was in that massive wad of cash. And he was carrying that thing around so nonchalantly?!
"Hardly. Here is the company's money. Seeing as you're the new manager, it belongs to you." Gowland said, tossing the money up into the air. Blood held his hand out rather casually, sinuously catching the batch before unraveling it and thumbing through the crisp bills.
"I must admit this is rather surprising that you decided to pay off someone all in one go. You were holding out on the Hatters, Mary," Blood said, shuffling the cash into his jacket pocket with a cooly smile.
"You aren't the only group I owe money to, you know that," Gowland laughs, "I'll begin sending your money soon enough. I've got other work to worry about for the time being," Gowland says with a carefree smile, waving his hand nonchalantly into the air before curling his arm around my shoulder and guiding me away. My posture remains stiff and rugged as I walk along with him, feeling his fingers tighten against my shoulder with almost a bruising amount of force. In a last ditch effort to prevent a massacre I reach up, entwining my fingers with his in hopes to remind him not to go off shooting because I am here and will probably get stuck in the middle. Gowland hardly seemed to pay attention to the small gesture except for the lightest squeeze back, his face becoming a little more stiff and upset the further we walk away from the scene.
Ooh~ this is going to turn out bad, I just know it.
Sorry for the lack of symbols for the Time Skips but I'm working on my new Mac computer and don't know it very well =3= SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT! College has really been ramping up on me and it's kept me away from Fanfiction but I will do my best to start getting chapters out a little faster! Thanks so much for the continued support and the reminders to get my butt in gear working on the other stories :D
Any ideas for what could happen next? Hm~ I wonder if a certain faction will come up and stir up some trouble~
10 REVIEWS for the next chapter~! LOVE YOU GIRLS AND GUYS! :D