"A New Enemy"
Comments: Ok a part of this might seem familiar to Buffy fans but i woulda come up w/ it by myself, its kinda predictable. and it may get a little uneventful, or maybe thats just me, but it picks up near the end.
Jack walked Alexis in and sat her on the couch.
"Hey, Jer, get me some ice or something, will ya?"
"Damn, I'm fine, I'll be fine. You should see the other guy. Thanks to you." Alex said, sounding worn out.
"He hurt you. I wasn't gonna let him get away with that."
Alexis smiles, then winces. "Damn, ow."
"You OK?" Bobby came in.
"I'm FINE, kiddies. Just a little surface bruising. I'll live. My face will heal and I'll be all pretty and shit again."
Bobby scoffs a laugh and smiles.
Angel then walks in nervously, and after looking back, almost spastically, and finally closes the door.
"What's your problem? Jeremiah asked.
"DAMN! Y'all leave me outside with some unconscious dude! What the hell I am supposed to do with that!"
"Leave it. It's a piece of shit." Jack said, unhesitatingly, not even glancing over at Angel.
"Yeah, you demonstrated that outside. Can you say 'overkill'?" Alex teased. "Not that I didn't find it amusing. I coulda took him. If I had had the chance, with Jack goin' all Rambo and whatnot."
"Yeah. Where the hell you been storin' all that?" Angel said, seeming to forget about the dude.
"Dunno. But maybe I should let it out a little more often, eh?"
"Hell yes. My hero. Besides you, Bobby. And I'm sure you guys would have done the same." That last part she directed at Angel and Jeremiah.
Jack smiled at this. He was never someone anybody admired. Or thought to be someone who could protect them. Or who someone looked up to. Not including the fact that he towered over his brothers. He liked this feeling. He liked being wanted. He never felt like this. Well, he knew his brother really did love him and want him around, and there was Evelyn. But before that...before that, there was no one. And when there WAS someone, they weren't anyone who really CARED. But Alexis was different, beautiful, but she truly didn't know the extent of it. Pure.
'Damn, I must be crazy. I like her, I guess. But she's too good for me. I know that. If anything, I know THAT. Bobby will kick my ass, though. Shit, look at me, already thinkin' she's gonna like ME, she's gonna wanna be with ME. I hardly even know this girl.' Jack thought to himself. He obviously zoned out for an inconvenient moment, because he came back to reality and Angel and Jerry were looking at him.
"What?" He blinked.
"You like her, don't you?" Angel smiled at him, raising his eyebrows.
"Don't tell Bobby, he'll have your ass mounted on the wall." Jeremiah warned.
"I know, I know."
"So you DO like her?" Angel eyes widen.
"What?--Shut up!"
"What the hell's this?" Bobby entered the hall with his brothers.
"N-Nothin'. Why?" Jack got nervous all of a sudden.
"What's fuckin' you up?"
"Nothing! God! I didn't do anything!" Jack looked kinda shaky now, but ran upstairs.
"Uhh..yeah..sure.." Bobby shook his head and turned to his brothers. "Must be his time of the month."
Alex came upstairs to Jack's room, to see him strumming on his guitar.
"Hey, man."
"Hey." He said, sitting up, putting his guitar away, leaning it against his desk. "How you doin'?"
"Oh, I'm good. Thanks."
"Yeah. So you play guitar too?"
"Kinda. I'm learning. I can play a few songs. It's a work in progress. I can play bass, though."
"Cool."
"Yeah."
After that there was kind of an awkward silence. Until Alex finally broke it.
"Umm...smalltalk...yeah, not too good at that."
"Me neither."
"So, how old are you?"
"Twenty-one."
"Wow, cool.
"Uhh...yeah..."
"Dammit." Alex, partly to get things going, partly cuz he was just so damn cute, went straight over and kissed Jack on the cheek.
His expression: surprised, joyous, excited, and a little feeling of wanting to kiss her, right then and there. OK, maybe not SO small a feeling.
"Thank you, for helping me. I couldn't ask for more. You protected me. Not so many people are willing to do that. Thank you. That meant a lot."
She then walked out, not saying anything, until Jack called out into the hall, before she went downstairs (she had insisted she take the couch).
"Goodnight..Alex."
She turned back. "Goodnight." She slightly smiled, before heading down the stairs.
Jack woke up in the middle of the night, oddly. He looked at the digital clock on his headboard. 3:57. He was still kinda tired, but he thought he heard something downstairs. Being a Mercer, of course, he impulsively grabbed a gat Bobby had gave him. Hah. Bobby's idea of a practical gift. Not that it didn't come in handy, sometimes. He stuck it in the back of his pants, and went out into the hall, then started to head downstairs. No one. Then he remembered Alex, maybe it was her, maybe it was the scumbag, back for more. From Jack, of course. He would be damned if Chris even got the pleasure of touching Alex, he would hit the ground first. Hard. Jack would be sure of that. But he saw that there was nothing, he had just overreacted, he guessed. But he did hear something, slight, almost a sigh or whimper. Alexis. Jack went over to the couch, and kneeled down by her. She was dreaming. And sweating slightly. And crying. Tears flowed out of the corners of her eyes. She made more of those noises.
"Alex." Jack whispered. He shook her gently. "Wake up."
She woke with a quiet gasp, and breathed heavily. "Jack." She said, and pulled him toward herself in a hug, as if she needed to be held, protected, comforted. She was still sobbing.
"Shh, you're OK, You're fine. Safe. I promise. Bad dream?"
She nodded. At first, she was going to say how that didn't sound half as bad as her hellish dream, but she felt as if she had lost the energy, all her strength she had left, it seemed, was used on her hold on Jack.
"You want me to take you upstairs? You can have my bed."
Again, she nodded. He picked her up, carried her up the stairs into his room, and set her down there, on his bed. He then kissed her forehead. "You're safe, now." Then he turned to go downstairs.
"Jack." She said to Jack, who stopped at the doorway, and turned to her.
"Jack, I'm scared. I had a really bad dream. Do you have to leave?"
"No. No, I'll stick around, I guess. If you want me to."
"Thank you."
"No problem, I'll just sit here with you, I guess." He said, sitting on his chair. "Can I get you anything?"
"No, I...would you..."
"What?"
"...Hold me, please. I don't want you other there, I want you over here. With me."
"...OK." He said, after a second of processing what she asked of him, in disbelief. He then climbed onto the bed, and sat back there, her resting against him, in his arms. He felt scared, and overjoyed, at the same time. He was uncomfortable, yet it felt so right. He was confused. But after a bit, he fell asleep also. He woke up, apparently not too long later. Alexis was awake, sitting up.
"You doing better?"
"Huh? Yes. Thank you." She hugged Jack.
"No problem."
She pulled back from the hug, she as she did, she looked into Jack's blue-green eyes, and was blown away. He was breathtaking, this lovely, lovely boy, who obviously understood she had a problem, and knew not to ask. He never liked people to ask him. Some had before, he told them to fuck off. He stroked her hair, it was incredibly dark brown, he loved that blue streak she had near the front, it set her apart. As did many other things. She was totally different from anyone he'd ever met before. She was just, all-around beautiful. Despite the slight bruise.
He's just so damn cute, she thought. He slid his hands to hold her face, as she did the same, pulling him closer to her, and kissed him. They were there for a moment, just kissing, passionately, pouring all emotion into this one kiss, like this was the way they had chosen to go at the end of the world, contributing all they could into this one glorious moment. Until familiar voices, nearing Jack's room, frightened them and they quickly stopped before Bobby and Angel came into view, and Alexis starting to look at Jack's guitar, as if this was the only reason she had been there.
"Mornin', Ladies."
Alexis was nervous, shaken a bit, but yet satisfied to fit that kiss in. She wouldn't regret that. Certainly not. So she had on a BIG smile as she left Jack's room. "Morning, Angel, Bobby."
"Hey, Kid." Bobby said, then he and Angel looked at Jack.
"She know you a fairy, right?" Angel asked.
"Shut up! And, Man, get out of my room." Jack closed the door, sighed, and then smiled, resting his head against his door.
"Hey, Kiddo, who was that guy? From yesterday?" Bobby yelld through the bathroom door, Alex was changing inside.
But Alex opened the door. Apparently, privacy wasn't a problem for her. She didn't even have her jeans on all the way yet, and pulled them on over her black shorty-shorts underwear. Bobby smacked Angel's chest, not even bothering to look at his brother behind him, he knew Angel well enough to know that he was smirking.
"Ow! What the fuck!"
Alex just smiled, as if that was an experiment. Then she remembered the question. "My friend's ex. He abused her, she depended on him. Even stuck with him after he had 'cheated' on her with her best friend. Fucker tried to assault me."
"The fuck?I'm gonna kill him!"
"Whoa homie, I got my revenge."
"How's that?"
"You don't wanna know."
"Good enough for me." Angel trusted that.
"Yeah, he missing a finger, too."
"Damn." Bobby said.
"Thanks. I try. Well, he did do all that shit to my friend, got her addicted, beat her, tried to do the same to me, accomplished the addiction part, thankfully not too long. I ain't no one's bitch."
"Yeah, where the hell'd you find underwear like that? You don't wanna go 'round lookin' like a ho, do you?"
"Bobby," she said, walking downstairs, Bobby following, Angel, too. "You don't really expect me to be a virgin, do you?"
"Oh my God, what, you just been givin' it away?"
"Nah, Bobby, no. I don't gotta do that. I'm not that desperate. Besides, Bobby, dammit, I'm NINETEEN. You lost it at 14. I KNOW that."
"So, you did it outta spite!"
"Bobby, CALM DOWN. I'm not a whore, but I'm just not a virgin. I've had sex, you know. No biggie. I'm still me. Damn. Just taller."
"Yeah, I can see that." She wasn't freakishly tall, but Alexis was about 5' 8", tall-ish for a girl.
Then Jeremiah came in. "Hey, everybody."
Bobby walked out of the living room into the hall to greet his brother. Angel went over to Alex.
"Jack likes you, you know."
She smiled at him coyly and nodded. "I know."
Angel was shocked. "You goin' with the fairy!"
"What! No."
"Oh."
"I kissed him, though."
"What!"
"Shh...not so loud, Bobby will hear!" she said softly, yet powerfully to him after he followed her into the kitchen.
"OK. But STILL, you kissed Jack! My little brother?--Bobby's little brother?"
"Yes! And it was amazing. And I wanna do it again."
"OK, c-calm down there. So, you're kinda, sorta, um...yeah...?"
"Uhh...that'd work...yeah...that...I like that...i hope so..."
Jeremiah came into the kitchen then. "What's goin' on? Uhh, Alex, why do you have Angel up against the wall by his collar?"
Alex shrugged. "Felt like it. Why? You wanna turn?" She smiled.
Jeremiah backed off, put is hands up a little, laughing. "Hey, no problem here. But...why?"
Angel giggled a little. "She kissed Jack."
Alex pushed him a little more. "That's a pretty little giggle you got."
"You WHAT!"
"Hey, what the hell's goin' on in here?" Bobby entered the kitchen with th rest of them. "Why is Angel up against the wall?"
Alex looked jumpy. She released Angel. "Nothin'. Man, nothin'. So what was that, Jeremiah? Any news?"
"Uh..Homie out there is gone. Did y'all move him?"
"No. Thought maybe Angel and Bobby did." Jack came into the kitchen, too. He gives Alex a look. Grateful, mellow. "Hey."
Alex returns his content, soft smile. "Hi."
"Uhh..yeah. Morning, Cracker Jack." Bobby greeted.
Jack gave him a quick nod, not annoyed, just kinda mellow.
"Nah. We forgot, I guess." Angel answered. "He's gone?"
"Yeah. Wasn't outside."
"Screw it." Alex said. "Fuck him. He's not the threat here."
"What do you mean?" Bobby was thinkin, 'Damn, this girl can make enemies.'
"I mean, I think there are more. People, they don't like me too much. I piss too many people off. Powerful people."
"You sayin' you got people following you, hunting you down! Here!"
Before she could answer, there were gunshots. Two bullets hit the wall, across the room.
"What do YOU think!."
"Yo, I think we gotta grab a piece and fight!" Angel yelled, pulling out two guns from behind him, ready to start firing back.