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Separation - Part Eight
By: Marie Allen
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Author's Notes: Thank you to a couple of friends of mine for helping me write this chapter. I was going through a writer's block &_&.
Also, this chapter deals with adult situations. Remember that this is part of the Johto League, so it's about three or so years since Ash began his training and "The Ultimate Test." This is also a different world/dimension than the one we live in, so I don't know their laws. They could have the same age requirements as the US, being twenty-one to drink, or that of Europe; where there isn't a drinking age, or only around fifteen. I don't remember. ^_^;; Furthermore, there is a bit of swearing. College kids...can't live with 'em, and can't live without 'em. ^_~ Also, when I was writing this, my brothers were watching different movies in two different rooms...soooo, you might recognize some of the quotes. ^_^ OK, so those are the warnings.
Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply.
Key:
"..." Dialogue
'...' Inner thoughts / stressed words
*...* Inner voices
... Hiccup
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"Please, have a seat, Jessie." Jack motioned to a chair across the suite next to the bed where he sat. She shook her head.
"I'll stand."
"So, I take it you came here because you want some questions answered?" She nodded.
"And have questions too." He nodded as well.
Truth be told, she hadn't the foggiest on what to ask him. How had his life been before they had met? What were his dreams and goals? What were his hobbies? "What are you doing here?" she finally blurted out.
He looked at her awkwardly. She hadn't seen him in years, and the only thing she asked was, 'what are you doing here?' "Business. Our family business, you see, is designing clothes. You know Madison and Madison?" She nodded faintly. "That's us! Or rather, Father and Uncle Charles."
She was stunned. One of the largest clothing manufactures was her family's business? She didn't even know where to begin with questions. He helped her out by continuing.
"There's a big conference meeting here this week. I just got out of one of them myself, not even an hour ago. You see, if these people agree to us, than our clothes will be sold all over the world! But, that's not what's important now, is it?" He cleared his throat. "The thing that is important is you, and what your life was before Mother took you away from us."
She said nothing as she looked at him, and that was his cue to start. "You were five when you left. It was a very sudden, and Mother didn't even leave a note. She left without a trace, and with no clue as to where she was going. She only took you and hardly a dent of money, and very unexpected." He stood up and went to the small bar that stood next to the wall length mirror, his back to her. "We were all stunned, except for father. I don't think that he ever loved her, that it was only because of her inheritance that drew him to her." He shrugged. "I'm not sure. He never did try to look for her, using the excuse that the divorce had set things, and had ordered her away from Jessiebelle and I. I don't think that that was the reason." He turned around with two drinks in his hand and handed one to her. She took it, but did not drink from it.
"You also had a playmate." He chuckled at the memory. "When you two got together, no one could break you apart. It was as if you had created and entered another world, blocking reality away. Mother and Father were always amazed at that, being that you two got along so well, and at such a young age. But, of course, it wasn't meant to be. He went through withdrawals when you disappeared and tried to become friends with Jessiebelle." He chuckled again at the memory. "That was, until she tried to own him. He was an independent kid, and was sickeningly easy to tease. Jessiebelle and I would gang up on him when he was alone, and constantly tease him about something. Then I went off to boarding school." He paused to take a sip from his drink professionally. Her mind had been numb through his story, and she desperately wanted him to continue. It seemed like hours before he started again. "I was fourteen and on one of my rare visits home when their engagement was announced. I can still remember the look of horror on his face, and I couldn't help but feel sorry for the kid. A week later, he ran away, and he, too, disappeared."
For the second time that day, Jessie felt faint. The information that Jack had bestowed on her swarmed through her mind like a pack of bees. More questions raced through her as answers flooded in, but one stuck out the most. One that would answer all her questions; "D...did he still know of me...before he ran away?"
He swallowed another sip of his drink and nodded. "Of course. Jessiebelle reminded him twenty-four/seven of you, taunting him that he had to grow up and become a man." He snickered at Jessiebelle and her over-bearing attitude.
Jessie dropped the glass in her hand. It landed on the floor with a sharp crash. Jack instantly had a towel in his hand, afraid that there might be damage to the carpet, and thus spending money.
"Are you..." he looked up, only to discover that an open door was all that was left of Jessie.
She had walked calmly walked out of the room and out of the hotel after taking in the news. She walked slowly through the dark, yet still noisy, city with her hands at her sides. She didn't know where she was going, but she did know that she wouldn't be returning to any hotels anytime soon, and that meant to the one where James continued to sleep. A lonely tear fell down her cheek as she thought of him, and how he had kept such a secret from her. She didn't know what to think, or how to act. She had trusted James as her best friend of ten years to be there when she needed him most, but he had broken that trust. She snickered, 'I guess it wouldn't be ten years, now would it. It would be...what...sixteen, seventeen years?' She didn't notice the tear that slid down her white face, and it was only when she felt the coldness of the brick wall behind her did she realize that she had stopped.
She looked behind her and saw smoke and laughter coming out of an open door. Deciding that the only thing she could do was loose herself in a crowd of strangers, Jessie walked in.
She hardly noticed the people who bumped into her as she made her way towards the bar. Many stools were taken by the time she had reached it, but there were still several free. She sat on one in the shadows, where the lights dimmed to give an eerie glow. Not realizing what she was doing, she ordered a drink, which came quickly. She wrapped her fingers around the glass, but did not take a drink. Instead, she gazed at the liquid with empty eyes and a head full of confusion, hurt, and anger.
She had just sat down when a couple walked in, a couple that had everyone's attention, save for a certain redhead. They were drenched in wealth, showing off their fur coats and diamond rings. His name was Rico, and he wore a diamond; a large diamond. If anyone asked anyone, they would know who he was within moments. 'He's Rico, the man who owns Evelyn's Exquisite Espeon Studios!' or 'The richest man in the world!!' which, of course, was an exaggeration. The truth was, he did indeed own Evelyn's Exquisite Espeon Studios, which was a modeling agency and magazine corporation merged into one. His mother had been the owner before him, and her father before her. Espeon was the first Pokémon his grandfather had received as a child, courteously of his own father. Evelyn was the woman who he adored when he was a lad, and the woman who he had married at the ripe age of sixteen. He started in the modeling business twenty years later, and had been the owner until his only child and daughter took over when she was twenty-two. Rico inherited it when she had died forty years later.
And it was that certain redhead that was the lucky one to receive his attention.
He grinned slyly to himself as he eyed his new model. After all, he always got what he wanted.
The woman he was with noticed the woman immediately as well, for it was she who did not look upon her person. And how dare she! She was Kelsey, the most beautiful, loved, and wanted woman in the modeling world! She glared daggers into Jessie's back and held tighter onto Rico's arm.
They were seated a few tables away from the bar, a perfect spot so that Rico may keep an eye on his newest dame. Kelsey, too busy to notice at the time, did not see the way he looked upon Jessie, with a type of newly lit fire blazing in his dark eyes. That was, until she looked up from her menu.
She knew that look. And she hated it. But most of all, she feared it. It was no secret that her modeling days were growing old. It would soon be time for her Rico to find another, and now she began to panic that he had already chosen. Slowly, she turned around to find this new woman, and then her anger doubled. It was that ignorant bitch who didn't look up to acknowledge her! Furious, she confronted her lover.
"Rico! You wouldn't dare! Everyone looked up at us when we entered but 'her'!"
Rico grinned at Kelsey, "Exactly. She sparks a certain...interest in me."
"And I know exactly what that 'spark' is, Rico!" He grinned at her once again before standing up and taking a seat next to an unaware Jessie.
Nevertheless, it didn't take a genius to know that someone had just sat next to you. Especially when your spine takes a sudden chill. She whipped her head around to face a continuing grinning Rico.
"What do you want?" she demanded, annoyed.
He clucked his tongue. "Don't we have manners?" Her eyes narrowed as she silently demanded. "I'm Rico."
"And I'm Charlotte Johnson," she replied sarcastically.
"Charlotte," he said, liking how it rolled off of his tongue. "Mmm. I like it."
Tired of this game play, she prepared to get up, but was ceased when he put a hand on her arm. "Wait. I have a...proposition for you. A business proposition."
She didn't know why she did it, but before she could stop herself, she was yet again sitting on her stool. "For only a minute. I have a lot on my mind."
He grinned a grin that reminded Jessie of an Arbok. "I work for a business of both great wealth and power. I visit numerous people daily and see millions of people annually. I..."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I get the point. What does this have to do with me?"
He smiled again. "Straight to the point. I like that in a woman." He ordered a bottle of wine and poured himself a glass, all the while Jessie glared at him. She didn't know who this bozo was, or who he thought he was, but she knew that she didn't like his attitude. He seemed too slick to be normal. He handed her a drink, but she put it down immediately.
"As I have said, I'm part of a respected and powerful business. A modeling business. What would you say if I wanted you to be part of this powerful business as one of our models?" He grinned cunningly at her.
She was silent for a minute, before calmly saying, "I'd say that you're crazy, and that you're wasting my time." She made to get up again, but his hand seemed to find its way to her arm for the second time.
"Look, let me put it this way." He began to slowly pull her towards the stool. "How about we have a Russian Roulette? You look like a woman of action, and one that doesn't like to go without a fight." Light flickered in his eyes. "If you win, you can go on with your life without worry. And if I win, you work for me. Deal?" (AN: A Russian Roulette is where two people drink from shot glasses, or whatever, until the other passes out because they are too drunk to go on. A dirty game, if you ask me. %_%)
What kind of a wacko was this man? Who did he think he was, deciding her future like some kind of possession? She shrugged him off, "I don't think so." She turned her back to him, but stopped to a dead halt after hearing what he had just said. "What did you say?"
"I said, 'Why? Are you afraid?'"
She glared at him before sitting down yet again. "I am afraid of nothing. Pour the drink." A triumphant grin pasted on his face when he pulled out two shot glasses. Thus, the game of Russian Roulette began.
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Outside, snow fell heavily, creating a thick layer of white over the streets of Violet City. Few were out-and-about, yet those few had encountered a lone figure. Those who had not yet met up with this figure, would eventually. Every time he came to a person, he asked if they had seen a woman with long red hair, this height or so, and had a fowl temper. Every answer was the same; "No," or "Sorry." He had started about a half-hour ago, had asked just about every person up at this late of an hour, and was about to give up. She was obviously in a place where she didn't want to be found. He supposed she would come back when she wanted to. Still, he had this feeling...
"Oh, yeah. We've seen her, haven't we, Steve?" Josh laughed, slapping his friend on the back.
Steve laughed, "Sure have, Josh! She's the one in there," he pointed to a large building with a small door, "with...uh...what was his name, Josh?" he questioned quizzically.
"I don't remember, Steve. They seemed to be having a great time, though!" The two laughed knowingly. "Wonder what her prize was...?"
Steve laughed as the two moved on, seemingly forgetting their questioner. "Her prize? You mean his prize, Josh." He elbowed his friend in the ribs, grinning.
"Don't tell me you thought that 'he' was going to win, Steve?"
"Yes! I think that he's going to win, Joshua!"
"Oh please, Steven, you've got your marks mixed up! She will definitely..."
He watched the two odd men waltz away down the street, confused. What did they mean by all of their nonsense? He shrugged, 'That's all it is, nonsense.' Nevertheless, to keep his nerves sound, he opened the door to the rickety-old building.
Smoke was his first greeting; thick, suffocating, blinding smoke. He coughed heavily and covered his mouth with a clutched fist, and desperately tried to clear a clean path. People and eyes surrounded his senses next. People crowded around ever crook and corner in the now seemingly large building. Outside, it looked tall and thin, but inside, it seemed to grow in length.
A peculiar larger group surrounded a table near the center of the room. Their cheers entwined into numerous voices and sounds, sounding more like a wrestling match instead of conversation.
As he cautiously approached the crowd, his heartbeat seemed to block out those noises, leaving a bump-bump, bump-bump sound to echo in his ears. He pushed away the people who blocked his way from seeing the center their attention. His heart stopped in this throat and the words of the two odd men rang through his head. Then, the situation he was watching hit him. Jessie was lifting a shot glass hesitantly to her mouth, ready to drown it, looking ahead towards the man in front of her. Without thinking, he reached out a hand and grabbed the glass from her, just as the other man swallowed drink. Numerous 'ahs' and 'come ons!' protested against him as he slammed the glass down on the small table.
Jessie blinked at her empty hand, wondering where the glass went. Realizing that it was now on the table, she looked there. Not only had it mysteriously transported itself from her hand to the table, but there was also a hand attached to it! She looked up the arm and saw a familiar face, but couldn't determine exactly 'who' it was.
"What are you doing?" he hissed at her, gripping her arm and forcing her up.
She grinned lazily when she remembered. "Tee hee, hee, hee, hee!" she giggled, and picked up the glass he had just put on the table. "I'm having a," she hiccuped, "contest! See! If," she hiccuped again and pointed to her bulging in her jacket, "I win, I...I...hmm...I don't remember what I get." She turned to Rico next to her and grinned, "What do I get?"
He took the glass from her once again and put it on the table. "I think that that's enough for you, and we should go home now."
She pouted, "But I dun't...dun't wanna go back. There's nutin' to do there."
"Of course there is, like..." he was cut off when he noticed the man she had just spoken to glaring at him. "Who are you?"
He seemed much more sober than Jessie, but he was obviously the one who she had been dueling with. "I am Rico. Last names are not important, because people only fear 'Rico.' I am the owner of Evelyn's Exquisite Espeon Studios. And the question is, who are you?"
James snuffed him. This 'Rico' was also obviously in love with himself, which only reminded him of Giovanni. She shuddered at the mention of the Boss's name. "Am I supposed to impressed?" He helped Jessie out of her chair who stood on two wobbly legs.
Rico was furious! How dare this loner ruin his well half-hour thought out plan! He certainly wasn't about to lose his model now! He had lost twenty minutes just trying to convince her to have the drugged drink, and this imbecile was costing him even more much-needed time!
Jessie, who at that time had fallen in her chair, barely missed the blow that connected with James's jaw. The hit was so unexpected, he lost his footing and fell onto the crowd behind him. Outraged, James jumped back to his feet. "What the hell was that for?"
Rico smirked at James. He wasn't anything but a pansy! "Protecting my investment."
James twitched. "Investment?" Investment? Jessie was an 'investment?' His eyes grew red with anger. Without thinking, James snickered. "Oh, investment. I see." He turned to the closest person to him. "He's protecting his investment." Before the woman could react to James, he flew a punch of his own to Rico. Rico, who would never have seen it coming, gasped along with all spectators that were now silent. He fell back onto the crowd while blood began to pour from his nose and the corner of his mouth.
Jessie pointed and laughed. Never in her life had she seen something so funny! Her giggles erupted into fits of bellows and hoots. She wondered what it would be like if someone else fell...
She started for some random shocked person, but was stopped by James who began to pull her out from the crowd and force her out of the door.
Rico pushed aside the men who helped him up and watched 'Charlotte' and James leave the building. Whoever that was, he was going to pay for hitting him. Nobody insulted Rico in front of his people and lives. He smiled evilly and turned his back to the front door and swiftly made his way towards the back. Nobody!
After helping her into her jacket, he put an arm around her back and urged her through the snow. After they had passed a couple of corners he calmed himself and started to talk and ease her protests by answering her comment on boredom. "Of course there's plenty to do at the hotel. There's television and the hotel supplied a deck of cards," he suggested.
"I don't know any games and you'll take the remote."
He laughed at the remark. "I..."
"Eeeeeee!" she exclaimed suddenly and jumping back. From her outburst, James jumped as well, just not in the same direction as her. Thus, she fell onto the snow. He looked down in shock when she burst into fits of giggles and hiccups. "How...fun!" she grinned up at him.
Sighing, he helped her to her feet. She continued to giggle as she cuddled up next to him. With wide eyes, she stuck out her bottom lip, giving him a look-at-me-I'm-pitiful-look. "I'm cold."
He rolled his eyes towards the dark sky, wondering what she had been thinking. "We'll be there shortly, Jessie. You're just going to have to wait."
"But...that's not fair!" she wailed, suddenly sounding like a spoiled child.
"You go sneaking out in the middle of the night, forcing me to get out of bed to look for you, only to find you drunk and whinny. When you get into a worse situation than that, than you can come back to me and complain to me about fairness."
She was silent for a minute, than sniffed. "You're mean."
He began to grumble under his breath.
'Finally,' he thought as he ushered her through their door. For the whole way, she had either complained about the snow and that it was cold, or laughed to hysteria when she stumbled.
She collapsed on the bed and planted her hands behind her while leaning back against them. She gave a little bounce and giggled. "It's bouncy!" James looked at her wearily. He was exhausted! How could she not, especially after drinking?
His spine straightened and he stood straight as he looked down at Jessie in anger. "Tell me what you were doing back there?" he demanded silently.
She continued to grin but stopped bouncing and looked innocently up at him. "Back where? Doing what?"
"Oh, come off it Jessie! You know exactly what I'm talking about!"
She continued to look up at him in confusion. Then it hit her. "Oh! The bar!" she laughed. "Well...hmm..." she shrugged. "I don't remember," she replied as if it were some common thing.
"You don't remember?" She shook her head negatively with a smile. "You're telling me that you don't remember why you just wasted an hour of your life away?"
Again, she shrugged. "I guess so." She bounced again and laughed childishly.
He rolled his eyes to the ceiling and turned his back on her to dump the occupants in his pockets. Loose change and thick bills now loitered the tabletop. He was just about to take off his socks when he heard a high pitched squeal. He flipped around and saw Jessie sitting in front of a now dying fire.
She had somehow gotten off the bed without falling, found her Team Rocket jacket and matches, and started it aflame on the hotel floor. *The floor!* it yelled at him. Hurriedly, he grabbed the small bucket of old and semi-melted ice and dumped it on top of the flames. Panting from the excitement, James looked wearily over at Jessie who was wearing a look of horror and sadness. "Just what do you think you were doing?"
With a wobbly bottom lip, she said, "I was c...cold."
"Then you put 'on' the jacket, not burn it." He looked down at the burnt spot. Perhaps if they did a little re-arranging, they could cover it? He looked back at Jessie and sighed. It was too late, 'Or too early?', to do anything about her actions now. Tomorrow was another day, and she would, hopefully, be back to her senses. "Jessie, I think that you should get some rest." He helped her back onto the bed.
"But I'm not tired."
"Of course you are. See? Your eyes are heavy." She crossed her eyes as if that would help her look at them.
"Hmm. They seem pretty light to me."
James sighed. He lifted the covers over her and up to her chin. He sat on the edge of the bed and took off his socks and shirt after reaching over and turning the lights off. Quickly, before anything else disastrous happened, he laid next to her.
Nevertheless, once his back touched the bed, Jessie began to stir. He groaned. "What's wrong now?"
"I'm not comfortable. And the pillow is too hard."
"Of course." He started to pull the pillow from behind him, but the feeling of Jessie's weight on him stopped him.
"There. I'm comfortable now," she said with a contended sigh. James, too shocked and unsure of what to do, could only put his arm around her. She giggled and cuddled closer to him, only to have James hold her closer. As he laid there, with Jessie at his side, he smiled in the dark. 'I can get used to this.' He smiled at Jessie and leaned his head against hers and slept peacefully through the night.
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To be continued...
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Author's Notes: I don't know if you guys caught this or not, but in Part Five, it was said that Jack was only two years older than James. I don't know what I was thinking, but since I can't change it now, I'm just saying it here; he's not two years older, but five. It also makes a lot more sense. I don't see too many five-year-olds teasing a three-year-old, but you would see an eight-year-old doing that. ^_^ Phew... ~_~
Separation - Part Eight
By: Marie Allen
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Author's Notes: Thank you to a couple of friends of mine for helping me write this chapter. I was going through a writer's block &_&.
Also, this chapter deals with adult situations. Remember that this is part of the Johto League, so it's about three or so years since Ash began his training and "The Ultimate Test." This is also a different world/dimension than the one we live in, so I don't know their laws. They could have the same age requirements as the US, being twenty-one to drink, or that of Europe; where there isn't a drinking age, or only around fifteen. I don't remember. ^_^;; Furthermore, there is a bit of swearing. College kids...can't live with 'em, and can't live without 'em. ^_~ Also, when I was writing this, my brothers were watching different movies in two different rooms...soooo, you might recognize some of the quotes. ^_^ OK, so those are the warnings.
Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply.
Key:
"..." Dialogue
'...' Inner thoughts / stressed words
*...* Inner voices
... Hiccup
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"Please, have a seat, Jessie." Jack motioned to a chair across the suite next to the bed where he sat. She shook her head.
"I'll stand."
"So, I take it you came here because you want some questions answered?" She nodded.
"And have questions too." He nodded as well.
Truth be told, she hadn't the foggiest on what to ask him. How had his life been before they had met? What were his dreams and goals? What were his hobbies? "What are you doing here?" she finally blurted out.
He looked at her awkwardly. She hadn't seen him in years, and the only thing she asked was, 'what are you doing here?' "Business. Our family business, you see, is designing clothes. You know Madison and Madison?" She nodded faintly. "That's us! Or rather, Father and Uncle Charles."
She was stunned. One of the largest clothing manufactures was her family's business? She didn't even know where to begin with questions. He helped her out by continuing.
"There's a big conference meeting here this week. I just got out of one of them myself, not even an hour ago. You see, if these people agree to us, than our clothes will be sold all over the world! But, that's not what's important now, is it?" He cleared his throat. "The thing that is important is you, and what your life was before Mother took you away from us."
She said nothing as she looked at him, and that was his cue to start. "You were five when you left. It was a very sudden, and Mother didn't even leave a note. She left without a trace, and with no clue as to where she was going. She only took you and hardly a dent of money, and very unexpected." He stood up and went to the small bar that stood next to the wall length mirror, his back to her. "We were all stunned, except for father. I don't think that he ever loved her, that it was only because of her inheritance that drew him to her." He shrugged. "I'm not sure. He never did try to look for her, using the excuse that the divorce had set things, and had ordered her away from Jessiebelle and I. I don't think that that was the reason." He turned around with two drinks in his hand and handed one to her. She took it, but did not drink from it.
"You also had a playmate." He chuckled at the memory. "When you two got together, no one could break you apart. It was as if you had created and entered another world, blocking reality away. Mother and Father were always amazed at that, being that you two got along so well, and at such a young age. But, of course, it wasn't meant to be. He went through withdrawals when you disappeared and tried to become friends with Jessiebelle." He chuckled again at the memory. "That was, until she tried to own him. He was an independent kid, and was sickeningly easy to tease. Jessiebelle and I would gang up on him when he was alone, and constantly tease him about something. Then I went off to boarding school." He paused to take a sip from his drink professionally. Her mind had been numb through his story, and she desperately wanted him to continue. It seemed like hours before he started again. "I was fourteen and on one of my rare visits home when their engagement was announced. I can still remember the look of horror on his face, and I couldn't help but feel sorry for the kid. A week later, he ran away, and he, too, disappeared."
For the second time that day, Jessie felt faint. The information that Jack had bestowed on her swarmed through her mind like a pack of bees. More questions raced through her as answers flooded in, but one stuck out the most. One that would answer all her questions; "D...did he still know of me...before he ran away?"
He swallowed another sip of his drink and nodded. "Of course. Jessiebelle reminded him twenty-four/seven of you, taunting him that he had to grow up and become a man." He snickered at Jessiebelle and her over-bearing attitude.
Jessie dropped the glass in her hand. It landed on the floor with a sharp crash. Jack instantly had a towel in his hand, afraid that there might be damage to the carpet, and thus spending money.
"Are you..." he looked up, only to discover that an open door was all that was left of Jessie.
She had walked calmly walked out of the room and out of the hotel after taking in the news. She walked slowly through the dark, yet still noisy, city with her hands at her sides. She didn't know where she was going, but she did know that she wouldn't be returning to any hotels anytime soon, and that meant to the one where James continued to sleep. A lonely tear fell down her cheek as she thought of him, and how he had kept such a secret from her. She didn't know what to think, or how to act. She had trusted James as her best friend of ten years to be there when she needed him most, but he had broken that trust. She snickered, 'I guess it wouldn't be ten years, now would it. It would be...what...sixteen, seventeen years?' She didn't notice the tear that slid down her white face, and it was only when she felt the coldness of the brick wall behind her did she realize that she had stopped.
She looked behind her and saw smoke and laughter coming out of an open door. Deciding that the only thing she could do was loose herself in a crowd of strangers, Jessie walked in.
She hardly noticed the people who bumped into her as she made her way towards the bar. Many stools were taken by the time she had reached it, but there were still several free. She sat on one in the shadows, where the lights dimmed to give an eerie glow. Not realizing what she was doing, she ordered a drink, which came quickly. She wrapped her fingers around the glass, but did not take a drink. Instead, she gazed at the liquid with empty eyes and a head full of confusion, hurt, and anger.
She had just sat down when a couple walked in, a couple that had everyone's attention, save for a certain redhead. They were drenched in wealth, showing off their fur coats and diamond rings. His name was Rico, and he wore a diamond; a large diamond. If anyone asked anyone, they would know who he was within moments. 'He's Rico, the man who owns Evelyn's Exquisite Espeon Studios!' or 'The richest man in the world!!' which, of course, was an exaggeration. The truth was, he did indeed own Evelyn's Exquisite Espeon Studios, which was a modeling agency and magazine corporation merged into one. His mother had been the owner before him, and her father before her. Espeon was the first Pokémon his grandfather had received as a child, courteously of his own father. Evelyn was the woman who he adored when he was a lad, and the woman who he had married at the ripe age of sixteen. He started in the modeling business twenty years later, and had been the owner until his only child and daughter took over when she was twenty-two. Rico inherited it when she had died forty years later.
And it was that certain redhead that was the lucky one to receive his attention.
He grinned slyly to himself as he eyed his new model. After all, he always got what he wanted.
The woman he was with noticed the woman immediately as well, for it was she who did not look upon her person. And how dare she! She was Kelsey, the most beautiful, loved, and wanted woman in the modeling world! She glared daggers into Jessie's back and held tighter onto Rico's arm.
They were seated a few tables away from the bar, a perfect spot so that Rico may keep an eye on his newest dame. Kelsey, too busy to notice at the time, did not see the way he looked upon Jessie, with a type of newly lit fire blazing in his dark eyes. That was, until she looked up from her menu.
She knew that look. And she hated it. But most of all, she feared it. It was no secret that her modeling days were growing old. It would soon be time for her Rico to find another, and now she began to panic that he had already chosen. Slowly, she turned around to find this new woman, and then her anger doubled. It was that ignorant bitch who didn't look up to acknowledge her! Furious, she confronted her lover.
"Rico! You wouldn't dare! Everyone looked up at us when we entered but 'her'!"
Rico grinned at Kelsey, "Exactly. She sparks a certain...interest in me."
"And I know exactly what that 'spark' is, Rico!" He grinned at her once again before standing up and taking a seat next to an unaware Jessie.
Nevertheless, it didn't take a genius to know that someone had just sat next to you. Especially when your spine takes a sudden chill. She whipped her head around to face a continuing grinning Rico.
"What do you want?" she demanded, annoyed.
He clucked his tongue. "Don't we have manners?" Her eyes narrowed as she silently demanded. "I'm Rico."
"And I'm Charlotte Johnson," she replied sarcastically.
"Charlotte," he said, liking how it rolled off of his tongue. "Mmm. I like it."
Tired of this game play, she prepared to get up, but was ceased when he put a hand on her arm. "Wait. I have a...proposition for you. A business proposition."
She didn't know why she did it, but before she could stop herself, she was yet again sitting on her stool. "For only a minute. I have a lot on my mind."
He grinned a grin that reminded Jessie of an Arbok. "I work for a business of both great wealth and power. I visit numerous people daily and see millions of people annually. I..."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I get the point. What does this have to do with me?"
He smiled again. "Straight to the point. I like that in a woman." He ordered a bottle of wine and poured himself a glass, all the while Jessie glared at him. She didn't know who this bozo was, or who he thought he was, but she knew that she didn't like his attitude. He seemed too slick to be normal. He handed her a drink, but she put it down immediately.
"As I have said, I'm part of a respected and powerful business. A modeling business. What would you say if I wanted you to be part of this powerful business as one of our models?" He grinned cunningly at her.
She was silent for a minute, before calmly saying, "I'd say that you're crazy, and that you're wasting my time." She made to get up again, but his hand seemed to find its way to her arm for the second time.
"Look, let me put it this way." He began to slowly pull her towards the stool. "How about we have a Russian Roulette? You look like a woman of action, and one that doesn't like to go without a fight." Light flickered in his eyes. "If you win, you can go on with your life without worry. And if I win, you work for me. Deal?" (AN: A Russian Roulette is where two people drink from shot glasses, or whatever, until the other passes out because they are too drunk to go on. A dirty game, if you ask me. %_%)
What kind of a wacko was this man? Who did he think he was, deciding her future like some kind of possession? She shrugged him off, "I don't think so." She turned her back to him, but stopped to a dead halt after hearing what he had just said. "What did you say?"
"I said, 'Why? Are you afraid?'"
She glared at him before sitting down yet again. "I am afraid of nothing. Pour the drink." A triumphant grin pasted on his face when he pulled out two shot glasses. Thus, the game of Russian Roulette began.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Outside, snow fell heavily, creating a thick layer of white over the streets of Violet City. Few were out-and-about, yet those few had encountered a lone figure. Those who had not yet met up with this figure, would eventually. Every time he came to a person, he asked if they had seen a woman with long red hair, this height or so, and had a fowl temper. Every answer was the same; "No," or "Sorry." He had started about a half-hour ago, had asked just about every person up at this late of an hour, and was about to give up. She was obviously in a place where she didn't want to be found. He supposed she would come back when she wanted to. Still, he had this feeling...
"Oh, yeah. We've seen her, haven't we, Steve?" Josh laughed, slapping his friend on the back.
Steve laughed, "Sure have, Josh! She's the one in there," he pointed to a large building with a small door, "with...uh...what was his name, Josh?" he questioned quizzically.
"I don't remember, Steve. They seemed to be having a great time, though!" The two laughed knowingly. "Wonder what her prize was...?"
Steve laughed as the two moved on, seemingly forgetting their questioner. "Her prize? You mean his prize, Josh." He elbowed his friend in the ribs, grinning.
"Don't tell me you thought that 'he' was going to win, Steve?"
"Yes! I think that he's going to win, Joshua!"
"Oh please, Steven, you've got your marks mixed up! She will definitely..."
He watched the two odd men waltz away down the street, confused. What did they mean by all of their nonsense? He shrugged, 'That's all it is, nonsense.' Nevertheless, to keep his nerves sound, he opened the door to the rickety-old building.
Smoke was his first greeting; thick, suffocating, blinding smoke. He coughed heavily and covered his mouth with a clutched fist, and desperately tried to clear a clean path. People and eyes surrounded his senses next. People crowded around ever crook and corner in the now seemingly large building. Outside, it looked tall and thin, but inside, it seemed to grow in length.
A peculiar larger group surrounded a table near the center of the room. Their cheers entwined into numerous voices and sounds, sounding more like a wrestling match instead of conversation.
As he cautiously approached the crowd, his heartbeat seemed to block out those noises, leaving a bump-bump, bump-bump sound to echo in his ears. He pushed away the people who blocked his way from seeing the center their attention. His heart stopped in this throat and the words of the two odd men rang through his head. Then, the situation he was watching hit him. Jessie was lifting a shot glass hesitantly to her mouth, ready to drown it, looking ahead towards the man in front of her. Without thinking, he reached out a hand and grabbed the glass from her, just as the other man swallowed drink. Numerous 'ahs' and 'come ons!' protested against him as he slammed the glass down on the small table.
Jessie blinked at her empty hand, wondering where the glass went. Realizing that it was now on the table, she looked there. Not only had it mysteriously transported itself from her hand to the table, but there was also a hand attached to it! She looked up the arm and saw a familiar face, but couldn't determine exactly 'who' it was.
"What are you doing?" he hissed at her, gripping her arm and forcing her up.
She grinned lazily when she remembered. "Tee hee, hee, hee, hee!" she giggled, and picked up the glass he had just put on the table. "I'm having a," she hiccuped, "contest! See! If," she hiccuped again and pointed to her bulging in her jacket, "I win, I...I...hmm...I don't remember what I get." She turned to Rico next to her and grinned, "What do I get?"
He took the glass from her once again and put it on the table. "I think that that's enough for you, and we should go home now."
She pouted, "But I dun't...dun't wanna go back. There's nutin' to do there."
"Of course there is, like..." he was cut off when he noticed the man she had just spoken to glaring at him. "Who are you?"
He seemed much more sober than Jessie, but he was obviously the one who she had been dueling with. "I am Rico. Last names are not important, because people only fear 'Rico.' I am the owner of Evelyn's Exquisite Espeon Studios. And the question is, who are you?"
James snuffed him. This 'Rico' was also obviously in love with himself, which only reminded him of Giovanni. She shuddered at the mention of the Boss's name. "Am I supposed to impressed?" He helped Jessie out of her chair who stood on two wobbly legs.
Rico was furious! How dare this loner ruin his well half-hour thought out plan! He certainly wasn't about to lose his model now! He had lost twenty minutes just trying to convince her to have the drugged drink, and this imbecile was costing him even more much-needed time!
Jessie, who at that time had fallen in her chair, barely missed the blow that connected with James's jaw. The hit was so unexpected, he lost his footing and fell onto the crowd behind him. Outraged, James jumped back to his feet. "What the hell was that for?"
Rico smirked at James. He wasn't anything but a pansy! "Protecting my investment."
James twitched. "Investment?" Investment? Jessie was an 'investment?' His eyes grew red with anger. Without thinking, James snickered. "Oh, investment. I see." He turned to the closest person to him. "He's protecting his investment." Before the woman could react to James, he flew a punch of his own to Rico. Rico, who would never have seen it coming, gasped along with all spectators that were now silent. He fell back onto the crowd while blood began to pour from his nose and the corner of his mouth.
Jessie pointed and laughed. Never in her life had she seen something so funny! Her giggles erupted into fits of bellows and hoots. She wondered what it would be like if someone else fell...
She started for some random shocked person, but was stopped by James who began to pull her out from the crowd and force her out of the door.
Rico pushed aside the men who helped him up and watched 'Charlotte' and James leave the building. Whoever that was, he was going to pay for hitting him. Nobody insulted Rico in front of his people and lives. He smiled evilly and turned his back to the front door and swiftly made his way towards the back. Nobody!
After helping her into her jacket, he put an arm around her back and urged her through the snow. After they had passed a couple of corners he calmed himself and started to talk and ease her protests by answering her comment on boredom. "Of course there's plenty to do at the hotel. There's television and the hotel supplied a deck of cards," he suggested.
"I don't know any games and you'll take the remote."
He laughed at the remark. "I..."
"Eeeeeee!" she exclaimed suddenly and jumping back. From her outburst, James jumped as well, just not in the same direction as her. Thus, she fell onto the snow. He looked down in shock when she burst into fits of giggles and hiccups. "How...fun!" she grinned up at him.
Sighing, he helped her to her feet. She continued to giggle as she cuddled up next to him. With wide eyes, she stuck out her bottom lip, giving him a look-at-me-I'm-pitiful-look. "I'm cold."
He rolled his eyes towards the dark sky, wondering what she had been thinking. "We'll be there shortly, Jessie. You're just going to have to wait."
"But...that's not fair!" she wailed, suddenly sounding like a spoiled child.
"You go sneaking out in the middle of the night, forcing me to get out of bed to look for you, only to find you drunk and whinny. When you get into a worse situation than that, than you can come back to me and complain to me about fairness."
She was silent for a minute, than sniffed. "You're mean."
He began to grumble under his breath.
'Finally,' he thought as he ushered her through their door. For the whole way, she had either complained about the snow and that it was cold, or laughed to hysteria when she stumbled.
She collapsed on the bed and planted her hands behind her while leaning back against them. She gave a little bounce and giggled. "It's bouncy!" James looked at her wearily. He was exhausted! How could she not, especially after drinking?
His spine straightened and he stood straight as he looked down at Jessie in anger. "Tell me what you were doing back there?" he demanded silently.
She continued to grin but stopped bouncing and looked innocently up at him. "Back where? Doing what?"
"Oh, come off it Jessie! You know exactly what I'm talking about!"
She continued to look up at him in confusion. Then it hit her. "Oh! The bar!" she laughed. "Well...hmm..." she shrugged. "I don't remember," she replied as if it were some common thing.
"You don't remember?" She shook her head negatively with a smile. "You're telling me that you don't remember why you just wasted an hour of your life away?"
Again, she shrugged. "I guess so." She bounced again and laughed childishly.
He rolled his eyes to the ceiling and turned his back on her to dump the occupants in his pockets. Loose change and thick bills now loitered the tabletop. He was just about to take off his socks when he heard a high pitched squeal. He flipped around and saw Jessie sitting in front of a now dying fire.
She had somehow gotten off the bed without falling, found her Team Rocket jacket and matches, and started it aflame on the hotel floor. *The floor!* it yelled at him. Hurriedly, he grabbed the small bucket of old and semi-melted ice and dumped it on top of the flames. Panting from the excitement, James looked wearily over at Jessie who was wearing a look of horror and sadness. "Just what do you think you were doing?"
With a wobbly bottom lip, she said, "I was c...cold."
"Then you put 'on' the jacket, not burn it." He looked down at the burnt spot. Perhaps if they did a little re-arranging, they could cover it? He looked back at Jessie and sighed. It was too late, 'Or too early?', to do anything about her actions now. Tomorrow was another day, and she would, hopefully, be back to her senses. "Jessie, I think that you should get some rest." He helped her back onto the bed.
"But I'm not tired."
"Of course you are. See? Your eyes are heavy." She crossed her eyes as if that would help her look at them.
"Hmm. They seem pretty light to me."
James sighed. He lifted the covers over her and up to her chin. He sat on the edge of the bed and took off his socks and shirt after reaching over and turning the lights off. Quickly, before anything else disastrous happened, he laid next to her.
Nevertheless, once his back touched the bed, Jessie began to stir. He groaned. "What's wrong now?"
"I'm not comfortable. And the pillow is too hard."
"Of course." He started to pull the pillow from behind him, but the feeling of Jessie's weight on him stopped him.
"There. I'm comfortable now," she said with a contended sigh. James, too shocked and unsure of what to do, could only put his arm around her. She giggled and cuddled closer to him, only to have James hold her closer. As he laid there, with Jessie at his side, he smiled in the dark. 'I can get used to this.' He smiled at Jessie and leaned his head against hers and slept peacefully through the night.
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To be continued...
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Author's Notes: I don't know if you guys caught this or not, but in Part Five, it was said that Jack was only two years older than James. I don't know what I was thinking, but since I can't change it now, I'm just saying it here; he's not two years older, but five. It also makes a lot more sense. I don't see too many five-year-olds teasing a three-year-old, but you would see an eight-year-old doing that. ^_^ Phew... ~_~