Chapter 237
We filed out of the office. I could guess what he wanted to talk to her about. The same thing he had said to me when we were trying to get Rude out. Was she ready to do whatever it took? Was she willing to sleep with Corneo? Was she that dedicated to her job? If she were so easy, then why did she ask so bluntly? Had that been a note of concern in her voice?
I took off down the hall in thought, hearing Reno going on to Rude about mission details behind me. As much as I hated her, I still didn't wish anything like that on her, to have to strip for Corneo, to be forced to have sex with him. I was disgusted at the very thought. Yet, I had infiltrated his mansion three years ago, with the same prospect. Could she? Would she be strong enough? Maybe I should set aside this grudge I had against her and help her out now that I still had the chance.
"Go on, I'm right behind ya," I heard Reno chime at Rude, before he suddenly pulled me along into the same empty office he had before the debriefing.
"What're you doing?" I demanded, my heart immediately skipping a beat.
He closed the door after checking the hallway for curious eyes. Then he just walked into me, and I stepped back on instinct.
"Can't nobody get you down, can they?" he said, eyes locked on mine.
He didn't touch me, didn't push me, just forced me back with his presence. My backside hit the wall, stopping me dead. He was just the perfect height. Not too tall, not too short. Yes, he was perfect, and it ought to be illegal.
He looked down at me, my breath choking in my throat at his closeness. I swallowed when I looked up into his eyes. I still couldn't wrap my mind around the fact how handsome he was, his turquoise eyes bright and joyful. Long lashes that fanned his cheeks when he blinked. His very scent tickled my nostrils and I loved it. He still smelled the same to me, a scent that made my blood boil in my veins. I remembered being in this position not long ago, and how that had ended. My blood heated at the memory.
"I said, what are you doing?" I demanded again, trying to look unaffected.
If only he knew.
A sly smile appeared on his lips. I guess he knew. "I think we never finished our conversation this mornin'."
"What else was there to talk about?" Oh no... that was the last thing I wanted to talk about.
He pushed into me further, leaning an arm against the wall above my head. "How 'bout... you callin' me your man?" His teasing was almost unbearable. "And how much I liked the sound of that." My face flushed in embarrassment, but he just grinned down at me shrewdly. He had known damn well what the argument had been about. "Or," he continued, ignoring the effect he was having on me. "When ya said that what I did to you that night was good."
An involuntary moan almost escaped my throat, and I had to clench my fists at my sides to keep from grabbing onto him.
He grinned silently at my reaction. "Or how everything you said to her was just freakin' hot. I'm so flattered, really am."
I melted inside, but I needed him to understand, needed to explain myself. "Jack –"
At the mention of her name, his brow furrowed into an annoyed frown. "I don't want her. She's a kid," he said resolutely, taking away all my worries with a few words.
I closed my eyes for a second and let out a breath, unable to hide my relief over those words. He didn't want her.
"Happy to hear me say that?" he asked softly, a gentle laugh escaping his lips.
My eyes snapped open to meet his at the seriousness in his tone. "Well," I replied honestly, seeing that his frown was gone. "She's intimidating to me. She's just..." I looked away, feeling slightly embarrassed. "...so perfect."
"Are ya kidding? I kinda think she's terrified of you. And she should be. I mean, you slapped Sephiroth across the face, who the hell does that? I don't think she's perfect. But I don't wanna talk about her. We were talking about our night, and how we got to second base." He leaned his face in closer, his voice dropping, becoming a husky whisper. "Too bad we never got to finish it."
"Yes..." I breathed, completely hypnotized by his proximity. "Too bad..." I'd lost track of my thoughts by now.
A devious smirk appeared on his features. I felt his fingers caress my side, a palm running along my waist, almost completely encasing me with his body. "Ain't it?" He was now a mere inch away from my lips as he whispered. "It was so good for me too, babe..."
I bit my lip and shuddered at his words. I think he knew exactly what he was capable of doing to me, so he turned it up a notch and ran his thumb over my bottom lip. I involuntarily parted my lips and I saw his eyes darken suddenly, saw his own lips part in anticipation. I wanted him to kiss me. I was sure that if he didn't do it soon, I was going to beg him again, all pride forgotten. I couldn't control my own movements anymore, everything about him was tempting to me. My hands ended up on his sides, feeling the curve of his ribs under my fingertips, through his shirt.
A sigh escaped him. "Foxy... Remind me where we went wrong?"
"Rufus, is the latest thing, I think –"
There was that frown again. "I don't give a damn what Rufus wants anymore." His next words came out raw and raspy. "What I really want is to do that night all over again." Another soft gasp escaped my lips. I was drowning in his closeness, my knees going weak. Half of my mind wondered if he'd really meant that; that he didn't care about Rufus anymore, but he was doing a good job of distracting me. His hand ran along the top of my jeans, tickling the sensitive skin. He stilled at the front, fingers curling around the button, playing with it like a silent promise. "I wanna –"
"Reno!" Jack's sharp voice echoed down the halls. "Where are you?!"
Reno's eyes rolled up at the ceiling in annoyance, accompanied by a deep sigh. His reaction amused me to the core.
"I'm startin' to see what you mean," he mumbled. "How annoying is she?"
"Reno?!"
Almost growling at her intrusion, I got pulled out of my hypnotic state. Why did something always happen when we were having a moment? It was like fate just didn't want us together. Still, it brought me to my senses.
"Reno, we need to talk," I said, reminding him.
He leaned his forehead against mine and closed his eyes. "Yeah, I know..." He sighed again, softer this time, and stepped away from me. "Later, all right? I'd better go check on her before she breaks down the building tryin' to find me." He put his hand on the door handle, but hesitated. Then his smirk returned. "By the way, you ain't fat, I think ya got an amazing bod'."
I laughed and smacked him on the arm before he opened the door and left me there, my knees still rattling.
There was a new spring in my step when I left the office. Things were going to be all right between us. I almost squealed from happiness, before telling myself to get it together. I wasn't a school-girl, for crying out loud. I had no idea what I was so happy about, he hadn't said anything about getting together, he'd just wanted to say he wanted to do that night over again. Butterflies exploded in my stomach at the thought. Then again, maybe that was all that he wanted? It didn't matter, it was a huge step in the right direction, and, on top of that, he didn't want little miss blow-up doll. He didn't even think she was attractive! Ha!
I dug my phone out of my pocket to give Ollie a call. "Guess what, ya idiot?" I grinned as I stalked down the hallway, people looking at me in wonder.
"What? You finally realized that we need to move to the Costa?"
"Better!" I sang. "I have a job for you. It concerns sniping, and Don Corneo's head."
"Weren't you supposed to be in some kind of Turk drama right now? But hey... awesome! Where do you need me, and when?"
Drama or no drama, I had a job to do. They could probably handle it without me, and I appreciated Tseng's decision to give me a chance. My part in getting Rude back had earned me some credit and I intended to use it. His request for Ollie's participation had me feeling even better. My friend definitely had some value in his eyes.
"Tonight," I replied. "I'm sorry, I know it's late notice, but we want to move in fast. I need you to come over to HQ in Edge if you can. If Eva's on board with this, of course."
"I'll be right there, gimme an hour."
I grinned again, feeling this was going to work out perfectly. "I'll be here."
I bounced down the stairs to go get some fresh air, when I saw her. Her eyes were downcast, arms wrapped around herself as she pushed her way past colleagues who didn't even give her a second glance. She didn't look so impressive anymore, or very seductive, for that matter. She looked exactly like what she was. A child. A child in heels and a too tight suit. Had Reno managed to blow her off? Had he said something bad to her? I knew he could be harsh, I remembered too well the hurtful things he had said to me in the past. Maybe little miss blow-up doll would finally know that he wasn't as perfect as she thought him to be. She pushed her way into the ladies room, and quickly closed the door behind her.
I jumped down the final steps, made my way over to the door and pushed it open. At first glance, the bathroom seemed empty, but then I heard sniffing coming from the furthest cubicle. I stepped inside the room, kicked the door closed behind me and leaned against it, to give us some privacy.
"So," I sighed, causing the sniffing to suddenly freeze. "Guess we should talk, huh?" My eyes landed on the ceiling, wondering why I was being so friendly with her all of a sudden. Why did I even care? She had just seemed so lost, so scared. And now, I caught her crying.
"Leave me alone!"
"Did he say something?" I asked her, getting straight to the point.
"How do you know that?" This time, it was a lot less snappy.
I shrugged to myself. "I know how he can be. Most of the time though, he doesn't mean it. So, what did he say?" Whatever could he have said that got her crying? He usually wasn't that harsh, but maybe she was on edge because of what was expected of her. Still, her behavior now was in such contrast with her behavior earlier that it had me wondering whether her entire attitude was nothing more than an act. Even if it wasn't, no one was immune to emotions. Even I had broken down crying before, only not where anyone could witness it.
"…"
"Come on, spit it out," I pressed at her lack of response.
I heard a couple more sniffs coming from the cubicle, before she replied. "He said that I should stop following him around or he would be done mentoring me."
"That's it?" I frowned. That wasn't so bad. Was she really this sensitive?
"That's not what this is about!" Her snappy self emerged again, making me scoff and move over to the cubicle.
"Open the door," I said to her. "Open the damn door, Jack," I added when she didn't. Slowly, I heard her move and she unlocked the cubicle. I pushed the door open to find her seated on the closed lid of the toilet, arms wrapped around her tiny shoulders. Her make-up was smeared all over her face, black mascara and eye-liner making her look like a gremlin, running down her cheeks like black rivers. "Well, you look a royal mess." My sympathy for her only reached so far for now.
"Shut up! As if you never cry!"
"Sometimes," I replied, before adding an afterthought. "But definitely not at work. Are you going to tell me what's up?" I ripped off a paper towel and handed it to her. "Is this about Reno or is this about the operation?"
"It's about everything!" she cried, making me cringe. She ripped the towel from my hand with a lot more venom than was called for, but I understood her defiance. "Everyone's against me, and now, I have to do my first mission and it's – it's – Oh Gods, I have to have sex with that man!"
It was an awful thing to have to do, I realized that more than others. After all, I'd been there. Only a few weeks ago, I'd found myself in the same position in the back of a car, and the memories still made me want to hurl. She was inexperienced in the field, this was all new to her, but she also gave off the impression that she was more than experienced in using her body to get what she wanted. Unless that too was an act.
I cocked my head as a thought started forming in my head. Surely not...? "Look at me," I demanded of her. "Look me in the eyes, Jack."
She raised her head, her giant blue eyes innocent underneath that look of disdain. Then I knew it. I just knew it.
"You haven't actually ever done it before, have you?" She opened her mouth to protest, but I could see it in her eyes plain as day. "You stupid girl!" I exclaimed, feeling outraged in her stead. "Are you crazy? You don't want to do this. Even if you hate me, trust me on that."
"I know I don't! But what else am I going to do? If I say no, they'll think me a failure. Reno will think me a failure, he'll never look at me again! I'll never make it as a Turk!"
"That's what you're so worried about?" I ran a hand through my hair and refrained from telling her Reno didn't look at her anyway. "All right, this is not going to happen. Wipe your face, pull yourself together and get back to work. I'm going to have word with Tseng." I moved to leave, but her shriek stopped me.
"No! If you do that, I will make your life a living hell! I will go down on Reno so hard he won't even remember your name!"
I spun back to face her, my patience with her growing thinner by the minute. "Girl, he doesn't want you, get that through that thick skull of yours. Besides, I doubt you would even know how in the first place. I'm trying to help you out here. Like I said, you do not want this. This will traumatize you for the rest of your life. Stop making things harder for yourself." As I said that, it dawned on me that I had been the same way. Still was sometimes. The only difference was, that I used attitude instead of my body to get where I wanted. And I could take it, while she clearly couldn't. She was too young for this, too stupid, and too determined.
"How was he?" she suddenly asked, her tone of voice very different from before. Low and seductive again, as if her outburst from moments ago had never happened.
I knew what she meant, and I should have reacted accordingly, but still I couldn't bite back a stunned response. "…What?"
"Reno, how was he? I bet he's good. Is he?"
A scoff escaped my throat. "Excuse me?"
"Does he like it slow?"
This talk was getting out of hand. She'd expertly changed the subject back to her own perversions, and I refused to let her get a rise out of me. "I'm not going there with you." I crossed my arms over my chest. "We're nowhere near close enough for that kind of talk. Don't mistake my kindness here for friendship." Was she for real? Here she sat, crying over the fact she felt pressured into sleeping with a guy, and – Oh, hell no.
Jack smiled wickedly when she realized her intentions were clear. "Bet he'd be really sweet and gentle."
It would never happen. I wouldn't let it, even if it were the last thing I did. "Get it out of you head, he's not going to be you first. Or any other number, for that matter."
"If that's what he wants, then that's his choice!"
"It sure is," I replied dryly. "But he doesn't."
"I heard you slept with Sephiroth," she suddenly blurted out.
I sighed and squeezed the bridge of my nose. "Yeah, and?" Her eyes gleamed under the bathroom light, her tears having mostly dried. "Get your hormones under control," I warned her before turning away to leave. "I'm going to go fix this for you."
I hopped back up the stairs, making my way over to Tseng's office. When I passed Reno's and Rude's office, Reno shouted my name, which I chose to ignore with a fair amount of difficulty. This was something Tseng had to know first.
"Foxy, wait up!" He came after me and stepped in beside me. "Where ya goin'?"
"I need to see Tseng," I replied simply.
"Uh...why? Trouble? Hey, you said we needed to talk, how 'bout it? Got time?" He winked at me and shot me a sweet smile, implying he had more in mind than just talking.
I pushed down the sudden feeling of giddiness at the prospect. He was reaching out to me in a way he hadn't before, and he had been ever since he'd presented me with that gift; the green orb of cure materia that I now carried with me wherever I went. It had been what I wanted, for him to open up to me again, but now that he finally did, there were more urgent things to do. I had to help Jack before I thought of myself. She wasn't my friend, and I resented her, but her going through this was something I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy, annoying wench or not. The thought of postponing private time with Reno over her ruined my previously obtained good mood a little, but Reno could wait another hour, we'd been waiting for almost four years.
"Sorry, gotta talk to Tseng, it's really important," I explained before quickly changing the subject. "So, what did you tell Jack? Were you harsh on her?"
"She said that?" he asked innocently, but the look on his face was all but innocent. "I'm only harsh when I get angry and I ain't angry with her. Girl just needs to buzz off and chill out. Told her to keep her distance, that's all. Ain't that what you wanted?"
"Yes, that's exactly what I wanted." Since when did he care what I wanted?
He looked at me suspiciously. "Care telling me what's going on? What you gonna see the Chief for?"
"Can't tell you."
"Ahw, come on, babe. I always tell you everything. Okay, I don't, you're right," he then added before I could correct him. "Guess I'm coming with you then, huh? Had to go over there anyway to discuss mission details. I'm second in command after all."
This wasn't something I wanted him to be present for. It was a private matter. "I'd rather not have you there."
"That hurts, babe."
"Still no."
He grinned but didn't push the subject. He didn't leave my side either though, regardless of my wishes.
When we arrived at Tseng's door, Reno knocked and once again opened the door for me, putting his hand on my lower back to guide me inside. I gave him a small smile at his attentiveness, even though he hadn't listened to a word I'd said.
"Reno," Tseng looked up from his desk. "Why didn't you come alone?"
"Foxy needs a word with you, Chief."
"About what?"
I decided to just name it like it is. "We need to change the mission details. We can't send Jack in there."
Beside me, Reno let out an impatient groan. "Foxy, we've been over this. We know the two of you don't get along, but we gotta work together."
"This has nothing to do with my personal opinion of her." I looked at him when he got comfortable on the black leather sofa standing to the side, clearly not intending on leaving anytime soon. "And why are you even here? I told you I don't want you here."
"Reno stays," Tseng said while Reno gave me a hurt look. At Tseng's order, he smugly smiled at me and leaned back, folding his arms behind his head. Tseng kept his attention on me, a small frown on his otherwise smooth face. "I need him to look over the details with me, so, if they are going to change, I'm going to need him all the harder. Why can't we send Jack in there?"
"She's not ready," I explained, tearing my eyes away from the self-conceited look on Reno's face to address Tseng instead. "We had a heart to heart just now. We can't let her do this."
Tseng looked at me for a moment, his hands folded, contemplating in silence before speaking. "I'm aware she's more fragile than you are. But I had a long, good talk with her. She says she is ready."
His indifference was frustrating, this had nothing to do with being fragile or not. "Well, you're a guy, you wouldn't really know when she's lying about something like that. She feels pressured into doing this, she's afraid you'll think her useless otherwise."
"That's bullshit, Foxy," Reno argued, sitting up. "The girl struts her stuff around for all to see. She knows damn well how to flaunt it."
Did I really have to tell them? They weren't just going to take my word for it, apparently. "Yes!" I exclaimed with a groan. "The only problem is, that her stuff is untouched."
Reno couldn't hide his surprise, his jaw dropping as he uttered a "...Say what?"
"What does that mean?" Tseng asked, his brow furrowed once again.
"It means," Reno said, still looking confused and a little shocked. "No one's popped her cherry yet."
"Reno," Tseng said impatiently. "You know I don't speak slang. In common words, please."
I shot Tseng an incredulous look, not understanding how someone so smart could be so naive.
His eyes widened slightly, apparently finally comprehending. "Oh...I see..." That's all he had to say?
"That's it?" I demanded, feeling a little bit of an anti-climax after my reveal. "We can't –"
"She knew what she was getting into when she and I talked about it. Perhaps she doesn't mind? To be a Turk means to make sacrifices," Tseng explained.
A scoff escaped me, astonished by his lack of emphasis. How could anyone not care? What kind of world had these people been born in? They were used to setting their emotions aside, I'd always known that, but this was downright heartless. "I just found her crying in the bathroom, trust me, she cares. And you don't 'just do this' for a job. That's old psychotic Shinra brainwashing all over again. If you have her do this, she'll be marked for life."
"I assume you're talking from personal experience?" Tseng asked boldly.
Were there no secrets in Shinra? I suddenly remembered why I had hated the company so much.
"Chief..." Reno started with a look at his boss. "Maybe that's a little –"
I interrupted him. "No, actually. I've never been one to be pressured into doing things I don't want to do. But, Jack is. You said we need to respect each other and help each other out. I'm not going to let you do this to her."
Tseng actually smiled; a small appreciative gesture. "And apparently there is no way to pressure you into changing your mind"
"Got that right," I replied firmly. "I don't care who I have to shoot."
Right then, the door burst open and Jack came flying inside. Her face was red, but the make-up was wiped off her cheeks. She'd even taken some time to reapply. "Sir!" she shouted. "Whatever lies she's been telling you, it's not true! I have to do this, don't take me off the mission! I swear I'll do whatever is needed."
Reno and I shared a look at her ramblings. Not only was she flat out lying, she was accusing me of being a liar as well. Fortunately for me, the Turks knew me better than that.
"Jack," Tseng addressed her. "I asked you if you were aware of the consequences of your role in this. Are you sure that you are?"
"Yes, Sir! I know what it means. I will give Corneo a night to remember."
"Stop the facade, Jack!" I snapped, losing patience. "They'll understand if you can't do this."
"Sir!" Jack's voice got more shrill by the second. She pointed a finger at me, jabbing me in the arm. "Do you know these two are sleeping together?"
I froze, unable to understand how someone could be so low. She actually had me at a loss for words.
Reno shot up from the couch and scoffed at her. "Jack!"
Tseng was no idiot, but she treated him like one. Apparently, he agreed. "And?" he asked her politely. "What my employees do in their spare time is none of my concern."
Her face fell a little. It seemed she hadn't expected Tseng to be indifferent about Reno's relationship with me. Was Jack not aware Tseng and Elena were together? Besides, I didn't even work for Shinra! And on top of that, Reno and I hadn't slept together, no matter how close we'd gotten to realizing her lie. She was just doing this to get to me. What she didn't realize, was that she was losing Reno in the process too. He didn't take kindly to liars, it was one of the things he despised, even if it was his job to lie and cheat. He believed in loyalty and respect among friends, and she was far from being loyal or respectful right now.
Jack crossed her arms stubbornly, enhancing her already fairly abundant cleavage and scowled at me. "Not just in their spare time, Sir. It's simply unacceptable."
My blood pressure was definitely rising by the second, and it was only due to years of experience that I managed to restrain myself from knocking her out on the spot. "Now who's the lying little bitch," I growled at her, daring her to say another word. My muscles were already tensing up, ready to fly at her, especially when she offered me nothing but a smug look.
"Eden," Tseng tried to get my attention to no avail. Things were about to get out of hand, and he knew it. My temper was well known, and Jack was pushing me to my limits. Had already surpassed them, in fact.
Reno was quick to anticipate, knowing me better than most. There wasn't much that could calm me down once I started seeing red, but thesoft warning he whispered in my ear when he appeared by my side was enough to do the trick. He gently took me by the arm and turned me away from Jack, breaking our eye contact effectively. He did feel the need to shoot her a glare of his own, however.
"Eden –" Tseng said again, this time more firmly, finally grabbing my attention. "Reno – Wait outside, if you please."
"Sure, whatever," Reno replied with feigned indifference, before snatching me by the shoulders and steering my fuming form out of the office.
"Do new Turk employees go through psych evaluation before they're hired?" I asked Reno while waiting in the hallway outside the door. He was casually leaning against the wall, watching me pace back and forth.
"Yeah, they do. Slow down, babe, you're making tracks in the floor."
"She's crazy!" I muttered more to myself than to him. "She's doing this to get to me, she's a total psycho. I'm surprised she hasn't accused you of sexual harassment yet."
"Take it easy, nothing's gonna happen, okay?"
"I'm gonna rip her a new one," I continued to fume, barely hearing him. "I just know she's going to pull something off, mark my words. And when she does, my boot is going to drill so far up her –"
"Hey." He reached out and took my arm when I passed, tugging me over to him. "Hey, take it easy." His voice was softer this time, ringing with amusement at my ranting. I calmed down a little when he pulled me into him, and I took notice of how he was holding my hand with both of his, looking down at me. "She ain't worth this, alright?" Then he chuckled. "Guess some things never change, huh? This is how you used to be to me, and I gotta tell ya, it's kinda amusing when it's directed at someone else. You're so cute when you go on a rampage."
"I'm not cute!" I challenged him, but I didn't move, enjoying the feeling of his fingers wrapped around mine.
Silence fell, we just stood looking at each other, our eyes less than a foot apart. There seemed to be no need for words for the moment. He placed my hand against his chest, my palm feeling the steady beating of his heart. It felt so strong and alive, and yet, I thought, slightly elevated. Was I doing this to him? The thought made my own heart beat faster, especially when he smiled at me like that.
"Is it doing something funny?" he asked me with a crooked grin.
My face must have shown the effect he was having on me. It was getting harder and harder for me to hide it. I tried to reply casually, not willing to show him how giddy he made me. "Not really, just beating a little fast."
He scratched the back of his head, making me smile at the gesture he often made when getting uneasy. "Yeah, you have that effect on me, I guess… So, you wanted to talk?"
"Is now the time? We're about to leave on a major mission." His claim about not caring about Rufus anymore had me even more anxious to talk to him, because if he'd meant it, there was nothing standing in our way. Anticipating our impending conversation made me feel like I was about to have a very important exam, one I might fail at with no hopes of trying again. It made me more than a little nervous. His behavior towards me had me carefully hoping that he was finally ready, but I also knew that if I got my hopes up I'd be crushed all the more if he rejected me. He'd already admitted that he couldn't resist, but not that he wanted to stop resisting either.
One of his hands moved down from his chest to rest on the flare of my waist, but he kept my hand pressed firmly to his chest with the other. "Depends on what you wanted to talk about, babe."
I took a deep breath and held his gaze. "Well…us." I might have flinched a little, but I'd said it, feeling more foolish than ever. Fortunately, he didn't laugh at me, or give me some sassy remark.
"Yeah, thought so..," he quietly said. It was difficult to assess his emotions exactly, but at least he didn't seem reluctant or freaked out by the idea. "Maybe that should wait, huh?"
The door opened and Jack stepped out. In a reflex, I tried to step away from Reno. Not out of respect for her, which she really didn't deserve at this point in my opinion, but out of common curtsy, and the need to keep this from getting any worse than it already was. Reno, however, had a different idea. He pulled me into his side even further, wrapping an arm around my waist to keep me in place. I tried to push him away, but only half-heartedly, enjoying myself far too much in the current position. Part of me didn't care if she saw, even found pleasure in the idea of making her jealous. She had it coming, that much was for sure. Still, I looked up at Reno in silent question, sensing he was about to get offensive. He may have seemed nonchalant, but she'd clearly rubbed him the wrong way. Not that I wanted her rubbing him at all.
"Since she seems to know anyway," Reno said. "We might as well show it."
I blinked up at him a few times, noticing his gaze was locked on Jack. Now I saw there was no humor in his eyes, no joy. He was angry with her, and he wanted to hurt her feelings. Something I knew him to be fairly good at. He could be really harsh and mean when he got offended.
"One thing I don't get is this," Jack started, her mean eyes on me. "For three years you don't so much as glance at him and now I come along, and suddenly you're all over him. He's not even your type. You're just doing this to get to me. You don't even want him. You never did."
"I'm not doing anything to get to you, you dumb wench," I started. "I'm –"
"Yeah right!" she suddenly snapped. It came out so violently that Reno pushed off from the wall to stand up straight. I felt him tense up, getting ready for a fight. Jack simply kept throwing words at me. "He can't compare to Sephiroth, right? Not even close. I've seen his pictures. He was physically perfect, superior in every way. Tall, strong, muscular, impossibly handsome. That's what you used to have, and now you're telling me you're settling for Reno? Why don't you just admit it and give up this pretense."
Reno's arm fell away from my waist, his expression was blank, like the professional mask he wore out in the field.
"Why are you doing this?" I asked her sincerely, feeling completely appalled that she would deliberately try to hurt him like that. And just when we were getting somewhere. "I only wanted to help you."
Panic rose up inside me, knowing that Sephiroth had always been a sore spot for him, especially after the things he'd said to Reno during their last interaction. Sephiroth had a way to poison people's minds with lies, a trait that Jack seemed to possess as well. But now Reno'sexpression was no longer blank, his jaw tightened and his fists clenched at his sides. His anger wasn't directed at me, but at her. It seemed he'dsimply been taken aback at her sudden assault on us.
Jack ignored me and looked at Reno, apparently unaware that he was reaching the limits of his patience. "Reno, you know I'm right. Think about it, since I'm here, she's suddenly your best friend. I'm your pupil, and I need your help."
"Reno," I started, placing a hand on his arm to reassure him. Sephiroth was nothing to me. He wasn't better than him, and I'd never thought so. "That's not true."
He shifted his gaze to look at me, but what I saw in his eyes wasn't what I had feared to see. "I know, babe," he said to me, offering me a small smile.
Relief washed over me that he at least knew that much, regardless of how he felt about my relationship to Sephiroth. "Reno –"
"Stop telling him lies," Jack interrupted me with a venomous snap. "He knows you screwed Sephiroth, and he knows he can't compare. Reno, Tseng wants to talk to you."
My mouth almost fell open at her harsh words. How could she do this to him? I couldn't care less what she did to me, but now that she had failed at winning Reno with sweet words and seductive glances, she tried to get her way by manipulation.
Before I got the chance to reply, Reno did it for me. "I'm gonna go see what the Chief wants." As he passed Jack, he gave her a look that bordered contempt, but she didn't notice, her gleaming eyes were fixed on me.
Jack's eyes never left mine as he disappeared inside and shut the door, a victorious grin on her perfect mouth. "I will have him yet," she smiled, completely oblivious to the fact that he'd just pronounced her dead to him. "Tseng's going to ask him to make it easier for me. To show me how it works before we go and I'm sent in. Perks of having a mentor. We've got some time left before we leave. He's going to fuck me, Eden. And I will be the last to laugh."
"Did you get a lot of fight-training yet, Jack?" I asked her, my voice steady. My own voice felt foreign to me, as if heard from very far away.
"Just the basics, not much, why?" She cocked her head in curiosity.
"Because you're about to meet the true Eden Fox."
I jumped at her, the force of the collision bringing her down to the floor. Her head smacking into the tiles. I climbed on top of her, straddling her. The door beside us swung open, voices were yelling something, but I comprehended nothing. I had never been so out of control, I only saw everything in taints of red. My fist moved back on its own accord, and was brought down with great force. My knuckles impacted against her cheekbone, snapping her head to the side. She let out a scream, but I was already striking the second time and the third. I added a fourth for good measure. Her skin and bone broke, but I didn't care. Jack raised her arms to try and defend herself, but to no avail. I reached down, snatching Jack by the skanky shirt, dragged her back up and threw her into the wall, crumbling the plaster where she hit it. Someone tried to grab onto me from behind, two strong arms wrapping around my waist, but I shrugged them off as if they were spaghetti. I landed another two more blows, this time to her ribs, dug my fingers into her hair and smashed her nose on my knee. She went down with a loud groan, blood dripping down onto the tiles beneath her.
"By the time I'm done with you, you won't even be pretty enough for Corneo." I took her by the wrist, dragging her along the hallway. She was kicking and screaming behind me, hitting my arm, yelling for me to let go.
"Let it go, Foxy." Reno was suddenly in my line of vision, his stance a little less casual than usual.
Tseng stood beside him as they blocked the hallway together. I narrowed my eyes in anger before throwing Jack over my shoulder by the arm. She yelped when she landed hard on the tiles before me. But the yelp was nothing compared to the scream that echoed around the building when I planted a boot on her back and twisted her arm, breaking it the same way I had once done to a young boy outside TC. She deserved it.
"Eden!" Tseng's response was uncharacteristically loud. "That's enough!"
I stood looking at them, panting. "I warned her this was going to happen," I said to Tseng, before dropping Jack's arm to the floor with a smack, making her yell out in pain again. "I don't hear you laughing," I hissed down at her before I pushed in between Tseng and Reno and made my way to the stairs.
"Reno," I heard Tseng say behind me.
"…Chief?"
"Go get some cure materia."
"...Sure."
I didn't care what happened to her, I had had my say.
