A/N:
So… little of a cliffhanger last time. Let's see where it goes!
Jeff kept his hood up high over his head, avoiding bumping into anyone if he could help it. But it was difficult being in a crowded environment like this. Why did he even come here? This was a waste of time. Seriously, what was the point? This was bullshit. But there was enough bullshit going on and when push comes to shove, this bullshit was the fastest to clean up. Or at least he hoped.
Unfortunately that meant following Alice into that god damn club again. But where the hell was she? It couldn't be that hard to find her, she was pretty hard to miss all things considered. As long as he was missed by everyone around him, then he should be fine. Alright, Jeff, think, she's singing tonight apparently, where do the singers go? On stage. Brilliant, genius. He growled to himself, his head just wasn't in the game today. It was killing him. He hated it. He stormed through the people, not caring if someone spat some abuse at him when they collided. What did he care? Knowing recent luck he'd be killing most of them at some point anyway.
So he was guessing going backstage wasn't the best thing to do right now, since he could see people moving on the actual stage in the darkness. The speakers played music, but the actual stage was in darkness, ready to be set up. He was about to throw caution to the wind and just go backstage anyway, when suddenly the speakers stopped playing their music. As soon as they did, someone started singing, loud and powerful. And familiar.
(Brave – Sumo Cyco)
"I'm losing all control again, a paradox that never ends, I'm bound to what they've made of me, I'm tied to their authority!" The lights burst onto the stage, flooding the area to show the band and the lead singer. Alice stood centre stage, holding the microphone attached to a stand, dressed in back jean-shorts, black buckled boots that came up to her knees, a red cami decorated with a diamante skull with a black leather jacket. Her unusually dark auburn hair hung in waves around her face and down her back, wild and styled. She wore a red lipped smirk, relishing the stage light and crowds noises. The song suddenly stopped with the heavy guitars, donning a steady beat instead for her to sing again, "Empty shell… Empty room full of nothing, substance please, like some disease. I can't feel anything… Void is a man who has time on his hands and he's got a plan, to swallow the world…"
Jeff rolled his eyes at her smug look. She hadn't seen him yet, but he was kind of counting on that. It sure made a difference seeing her with a smile on her face, looking like she was enjoying herself. Sure he'd seen her perform before, but this was the first time it was alone. Well he assumed so… He still couldn't remember much from the last time he was here with her. Which is probably why he hadn't stolen a drink yet.
"So trudge through the mire, I'm weakened! When everything seems so impossible!" Alice grinned, pulling the mic from its stand and turning on the spot quickly on that last word before facing the audience with an arm in the air, the music picking up for the chorus,"Losing all control again! A paradox that never ends! I'm bound to what they've made of me! And tied to their authority! I'm fighting off the demons but they just keep on winning only I know… how to brave what's inside of me! How to brave what's inside of me!" She help the mic out to the audience, and that's when she noticed him standing there. Jeff. Front row. Right there. Shit. She hesitated for a moment. Almost missing the next line, cutting it so close that she had to yank the mic back towards her and turn away,"Brave what's inside of me!"
This had honestly shaken her. Why was he following her when she told him not to? Hadn't a death threat been enough? Why here and now? This was her place! He wasn't welcome here anymore. Great now she'd missed a cue in the choreography. Oh well, no one seemed no notice. She was here to sing, not to prance around like an idiot. Her grip on the mic tightened as she forced it back into its stand. She looked directly at him, face darkening pointedly. Not quite as if she was singing at him, more like she was warning him with her eyes to get lost. She just happened to be singing at the same time. Hey just because she was pissed off didn't mean the band would stop playing.
Her finger went to her temple as she sang the next line, glaring at him, "Hollow head, hollow point pointing at me, do ya dare? As if I care! I can't feel anything!" She straightened up, sweeping her free arm out like she was making a point,"Future's a place in a dead mental case with no memory trace, to prove it's anything!"
Jeff rolled his eyes, what was she trying to prove? That she was better than him because she could show her face openly in public? Or just that she didn't give a shit? Either way, he didn't care. Why would he? He just wanted to have one talk with her to get this shit cleared up. Of course that meant waiting for the song to finish.
Alice had starting walking from one end of the stage to the other, confidence and lack of concern radiating from her as she had a little bounce in each step, "So trudge through the mire, I'm weakened! When everything seems so impossible! Losing all control again! A paradox that never ends! I'm bound to what they've made of me! And tied to their authority! I'm fighting off the demons but they just keep on winning only I know… how to brave what's inside of me!
She stamped her foot down as she returned to centre stage, staring straight ahead and pumping her fist in the air, "Anchor, my ship down to the depths of the deep blue sea! Redefine in your mind! Triumph and try to find something pure for me…!" She dropped down to one knee as the music became quiet again, smirking wryly for dramatic flair as she pushed her hair back, "I'm losing all control again, a paradox that never ends, I'm bound to what they've made of me, I'm tied to their authority!"
She jumped to her feet, the music picking up again, spinning on the heel of her boot before stamping down to face the crowd again, "I'm fighting off the demons but they just keep on winning only I know… how to brave what's inside of me! How to brave what's inside of me! Losing all control again! A paradox that never ends! I'm bound to what they've made of me! And tied to their authority! I'm fighting off the demons but they just keep on winning only I know… how to brave what's inside of me! How to brave what's inside of me! Brave what's inside of me! Brave what's inside of me!"
The music came to a sudden stop, the lights blaring down on her as she s tuck her final pose. She breathed deeply, her throat dry and forehead starting to bead with sweat. The crowd cheered, applauded and there was even the occasional whistle sent her way. The rush of adrenaline pulsed through her as the music stopped. This is the rush she loved. This was the highlight of her life, despite what people thought about her. Sure the rush of a stealthy mission for Slendy was… thrilling. But this right here, that's what she loved. Her eyes scanned the crowd, and was surprised to see that Jeff had vanished. Maybe that was a good thing. She wasn't sure what she would say to him anyway.
She bowed, sashaying off stage while the band got ready for their next performance. Not that she was going to sing again. That was the deal she had with the owner of this place. She sang one or two songs, got cash in hand, and she was out. He got the customers and she got the money. Simple, no middle man. She sighed, waving at a few more people as she passed, keeping up the nicey nice impression for a little while longer until she reached the dressing room. She locked the door behind her and turned around, almost getting a heart attack when she did. Sitting there in front of the dressing table, was Jeff.
"Jesus, boy, can't you knock or wait outside like a normal person?"
He looked smug at being able to scare her, "Normal isn't really our thing remember?"
"You could still take a hint when someone says to leave them alone," She spat, standing aside so he could see the door, "Get out."
"No."
"Get out!"
"Whoa, jesus calm down! Look I want to know what the hell happened the other night cuz I have no idea."
"Oh there's a shock…" She rolled her eyes, "You were more of an ass than usual and I said I'd kill you if you ever spoke to me like that again. It's simple really. Now I'd like you to leave."
"Well tough, I'm not. Why did you get so pissed about how I spoke? I mean we yell at each other all the time, you never went all psycho on me like that before."
"Jeff, for the record," She sighed with a flat look, "You're only digging a deeper grave talking to me like that."
"Christ… Just tell me what you want from me, alright?" He huffed, looking between anger and just plain giving up.
She pushed her hair back, looking close to giving up herself. Who was she kidding? He was an idiot, he wasn't leaving anytime soon. Trying to act as passive as possible about the situation, she walked past him and hid herself behind the curtain in the corner to change clothes without an audience.
"What I want, Jeff, is an apology."
"Apology? What for?"
"The age old question… If you don't know, I'm not going to tell you. I've already said it twice now."
He picked up a hairbrush from the table and debated throwing it full force at the curtain, but then thought better of it, setting the object back down again and taking one hell of a deep breath, "You're talking about the argument the other day right?"
"Want a gold star?"
"I just- Ugh… Fine. I'm sorry. Happy now?"
"Ecstatic." She rolled her eyes, stepping out from behind the curtain, wearing her usual black skinny jeans and red top.
"I just don't get it, we fight all the time. You actually find it fucking funny! What… What the hell happened?"
"You crossed a line," She said honestly. Hey if she wanted him to leave, it seemed straight answers were going to go a long way with that, "Calling me a bitch or whatever like you usually do is one thing, but the way you acted back then, that was vile. No one speaks to me like that. Understand?"
"Yeah I uh… Heard." He folded his arms, leaning against the wall and averting his eyes grudgingly, "You and the newbie talking earlier."
"Eavesdropping as well, this isn't looking good for you."
"You said I sounded like someone else. First kill…" He looked uncomfortable, like he really just wanted to forget all this crap and go home. But what good would that do? Fuck all, "Your… ex, I guess."
"Does that bother you?" She asked, eyes narrowing.
"Kinda."
"It should," She said harshly, facing him straight on and her fists clenched. All of her anger fizzing hotly under her skin that had been building since the argument, "You insult me. He degraded me! So I was serious when I said I'd kill you if you spoke to me like that again."
He pushed his hair back, still not looking at her, voice gravelly like he didn't want to keep talking, "I just… Look I was mad alright?"
"When aren't you? That's no excuse!"
"You were talking about that club over and over and there's enough shit going on without throwing that in! Why is it relevant?"
"It's… Not."
"Then why bring it up all the god damn time?"
"Because it's the closest thing to normal around here!" She yelled suddenly, a cold look in her eye that she only gave when she was well and truly pissed, "Drunken mistakes, dealing with it, it's normal! It's what normal people do! I want… I just wanted to feel that for a little while." She clenched her fists and glared at him, "I want normal."
Jeff swallowed hard, face tight in frustration, "We're not fucking normal. We're killers who work for a demon so we don't get killed ourselves. That is the furthest fucking thing from normal there is!"
"I know that! I… I like killing, alright? We kill Sickness to stop people getting infected and that's great but I miss normal sometimes. That's why I invited you out after we thought Jane was gone. That's why I got pissed when you couldn't remember anything that happened. Because even though all this other shit is going on… that was at least something normal."
"So… it wasn't that you were mad at me, you were just pissed that I wasn't playing along pretending to be normal with you?"
"That's still being mad at you, jackass… And no it's not just that."
"Then… what else is it?" He asked, a numb irritation burning the back of his mind. Like he really wanted to be pissed off but just couldn't manage it. In a way, he could kind of relate. Hell he couldn't even walk down the street without someone seeing his scars or lack of eyelids. But he wouldn't admit that ever.
She folded her arms tightly. Turning her back on him and busying herself with putting her things back in her bag as if getting ready to leave, "I'm late for a Slender job."
Obvious topic avoidance was obvious. He rolled his eyes, "Look, in all honesty or whatever, I didn't mean to sound like your… ex. Back there. It was a line and I… jumped it."
"By a fucking mile."
"Yeah alright," He snapped, "I get it."
"Good. Never do it again."
"If it'll avoid you bitching out again. Sure."
"Don't count on it," She arched an eyebrow at him. It wasn't a sign that she'd forgiven him. Not by a long shot. She took pride in how long she could hold a grudge. What he did, was not an apology, but it was the closest she was ever going to get. Beggars couldn't be choosers. At the end of the day, she was tired. So damn tired.
"What did he do to you?" Jeff asked suddenly, "To make you kill him."
"None of your business,"
"You know why I killed my family," He shrugged a shoulder, "You know the line not to cross. Figured it was a two way street."
"Since when are you attempting to be logical?"
"Since you threatened to kill me."
She sighed, Please let this night be over soon. She narrowed her eyes, avoiding eye contact with him. She was ashamed of why she killed that man. At herself. Because in her eyes, it was all so stupid and so avoidable. It took her a while, but she finally spoke. Stiffly, like she really didn't want to, "In short, he convinced me to run off with him when I was fourteen, he was over twelve years older than me, and he made me feel special. Then he used me for gambling, sex, and a punch bag when he got pissed. Way too late, I figured what a scum bag he was, and I killed him before he killed me. There. Done. That's it."
There was so much more to that story and they both knew it. But it seemed that was as good as he was going to get. He swallowed hard. Being used for all that shit well, it was pretty grim. And at fourteen? Hell, he wasn't much older when things started to fall to shit for him. He shifted uncomfortably, shrugging a shoulder, "That uh… sucks."
"Yeah. It did. But he's dead. And I'll kill anything that reminds me of it. Which is probably why I jumped at the chance to work for Slender. Then… well the rest is history."
"Guess so."
"Can you stop acting like I'm about to stab you?" She asked harshly, "You already said you would watch yourself so can we just stop now? Go back to… normal?"
"Our normal or normal normal?"
"Ours, idiot," She sighed.
"Oh. Yeah. Sure."
The corner of her mouth twitched, a little weight off her shoulders. She still wasn't happy, and there was still a lot going on in her head. But this was something. But with everything going on right now, this was something. This was good.
He gave her a look, "So you weren't lying when you talked about me being drunk and trying to get with you?"
And now we're back to bad… "No I wasn't."
"When you were, you know, threatening to kill me and shit, you talked about the club. That you were waiting for me to sober up? What did you mean by that?"
"You were drunk and trying to stick your tongue in my mouth," She arched an eyebrow, "Sorry if I cock blocked but I'm not into drunken man slut-ups."
"Yeah. So… I'm sober." He shrugged.
She narrowed her eyes quizzically. Oh no he was not doing this, "Jeff I… Just, don't even go there. Not right now."
"Wasn't going to," He said quickly.
"Good."
"Good."
The two fell into a silence. This was just getting uncomfortable now. What was he trying to imply there. Honestly, she had no idea and neither did he. It was just a comment that slipped out. Maybe they were just at the point where they knew nothing big was going to change and they were just looking for things to say. Jeff did have a point, there was a lot to focus on around them right now. Things like this… It was tricky to think about. Jane had too much of a grip on everything for this to be played out. Whatever it was. Alice wanted a bit of something normal, Jeff wanted to be free of a threat. These were things that couldn't happen at this point in time. It was infuriating. But it was true.
After what seemed like forever, they felt that the silence had gone on long enough. Alice had packed and repacked her bag twice already. There was nothing more to do here. She shrugged a shoulder and gave him an open look, "Like I said, I'm late for a kill. Want to tag along if you have steam to blow off?"
He looked a little surprised at the offer. But given the circumstances, he wasn't going to turn it down, "Yeah why not? You clearly need my help anyway."
"Yeah sure, asshole," She smirked, "I'm just making sure you don't do something stupid and I have to save your ass again."
"Like that ever happens, bitch."
At last, normality. For at least three seconds. Then all hell broke loose from outside the dressing room door.
"Holy shit she's got a gun!"
The sound outside turned from unsettled murmurs to full on panic and struggles. Jeff gave Alice a look. She rolled her eyes and lifted her palms, "I'm in here with you, genius."
"Well I don't use guns." He returned.
They both turned to look at the door again
"Kate…" They clarified in unison, sounding tired.
The door burst open, revealing a tall woman wielding a pistol. She looked pale, even for her. She marched into the room, staring down a the two with a wild look in her eye, "There you are!"
"Kate what the hell are you doing here?" Alice snapped.
"Things just went to a whole barrel of shit back with Slendy and y'all need to get back right now!"
"What the fucks that supposed to mean?" Jeff demanded.
"It's Smile… There was an overrun of Sickness somehow and… Little'un it ain't looking good."
The two stopped silent. Smile? Sickness overrun? Not looking good? What the fuck was going on around here?
"Was it Jane?" Alice asked carefully.
"It looks like it but she's locked up so it's a little-"
"That bitch killed my dog?" Jeff spat, refusing to listen to another word, "I'll fucking kill her."
A/N:
Sorry that this was a pretty Jeff and Alice based chapter, especially with things hanging in the balance as they were. But I promise that the next chapter will have a few answers, a few little turns and a lot of drama. Until next time! XD