In the darkness, Jess straightened her hair and put a large brown clip in it, to hold it in place. Smiling, she turned to Tom who was watching her idly.
"How do I look?"
"Beautiful." He grinned and Jess felt a small blush creep across her face as she turned and looked across the bright stage, into the wing on the opposite side. Three figures waited impatiently, their forms no more than shadows until an unknown signal passed between them and they stepped out into the lights. Instantly camera flashes seemed to overpower the spotlights as the Mayor, followed by the Chief of Police and Harry Osborn, walked onto the stage. The two men flanked the mayor as he took the podium, looking out over the crowd. Jess brought her attention back to Tom, who was listening to the speech and translating it for her.
"I'd like to extend my thanks to our stellar police department and their chief who made possible Miss Roarn's safe return. Through their brave actions, we are able to have her with us today." Jessica looked back out at the stage, seeing the mayor beckon her to come out. She took a breath and walked into the bright lights followed closely by Tom. She felt blinded by the nearly continuous flashing of cameras as she shook the chief's hand and then was grabbed up by both Osborn and the Mayor in large hugs. She cracked a half-hearted smile at the staged affection, as they continued to ham it up for the next few minutes, until at last they let Tom up to the podium and Jessica moved next to him. She stood still for a moment, looking out over the crowd of reporters with poised pens and flashing cameras. She glanced back at Tom, who nodded at her, letting her know he was ready whenever she was.
"Thank you everyone that made my return possible. It's nice to finally go home and hopefully, return to Oscorp to continue working for Mr. Osborn." She looked over her shoulder, smiling at Harry, who simply stared ahead into the crowd, giving her only a brief side glance. She looked back at Tom and signed her thanks to everyone in the room. Suddenly, hands shot up and Tom was shoved from the podium as the Mayor took the microphone and spoke briefly before Tom led Jessica off stage.
"What was that about?" She quizzed him once he stopped escorting her offstage.
"Reporters being nosey. The Mayor just thanked them and said you probably wanted to go home now."
"Okay…" She shrugged and let him lead her out of the backstage to a hallway where a few police officers stood like statues in the dim light. One of them moved from his place and approached her. His lips moved and he turned, motioning down the hallway to a door at the end with a bright EXIT sign over it.
"Please come this way, we have an escort waiting to bring you home." Tom finished translating and Jessica followed at Tom's heels as he led her out of the door and into an alleyway. There, a dark green car and a few men dressed in business suits stood, waiting for her and Tom with the door open. She nodded and scooted inside behind Tom. The door closed and the driver pulled out into the thick traffic, heading towards Jess's apartment. Tom waved his hand at her for a second before she snapped out of a light daze.
"Are you glad to be going home?" She smiled at him, and his idle chat.
"Yes. First thing, I'm taking a shower. And I'm starving…" She suddenly remembered Octavius had taken all of her food and she let out a frustrated breath.
"What?" Tom shot her a confused look.
"I don't have any food at my apartment. I was shopping when he kidnapped me, remember?" Tom nodded, recalling her account of her kidnapping. Though Jessica had been truthful for nearly the whole account, she had omitted the fact that Octavius had been to her apartment. Even Tom didn't know. She stared out the window, thinking again about how she was still worried, however glad that she wouldn't need to have any overbearing officers watching her. She could take care of herself; she'd just make sure her windows were locked from now on. It would also draw less attention to her, something she knew would get in the way of her routine, and her job. Jess felt Tom tap her shoulder and she set her head in her hand and looked over at him.
"We can stop for something, and then you can go shopping tomorrow. Does that work for you?" Jessica nodded her fist and watched Tom sign as he talked to the driver. He had to fight a little, but eventually the driver nodded into his rear view mirror and pulled up to the curb at the first Burger King he saw. Tom quickly jumped out and ten minutes later returned holding enough food for two people. He smiled, putting it into Jessica's lap and closing the door as the driver hastily pulled from the curb and battled into traffic again.
"I didn't need that much…"
"Just in case you don't get out until later tomorrow if you can't eat it all right now. I know hospital food is terrible, so I wanted to make sure you would have enough." Blushing slightly, Jessica readjusted her hair clip and then unwrapped one of the sandwiches, eating it greedily. She finished it just as the driver parked the car at a different curb, in front of her apartment building. Cleaning off her hands, Tom held her bag as she got out after him. Once she stood outside, he handed it back to her.
"Thank you Tom. I appreciate your help, and the food."
"Any time, J." She grabbed him in a warm hug and hung on tightly, for a little longer than she normally would.
"Thank you." She voice to him, and he raised his eyebrows briefly before grinning broadly at her. They gave each other another, brief, hug and then Tom waved goodbye as he climbed into the car and it drove off, leaving her at the curb. Taking a breath, Jessica turned around, facing the building and walking in. She waved at the doorman, who only glanced up at her in his usual fashion, and she walked over to the stairs and worked her way up to her apartment. At her door, she fumbled with the keys for a minute before opening it up and smiling at the vacant room that greeted her. She locked the door behind her and set her food on a counter as she walked around the apartment, making sure every one of her windows were closed and locked. Satisfied, she stuck her food in the microwave, leaving it off, before going into her bathroom and turning on the shower.
Twenty minutes later, she emerged, dressed and with her hair up in her towel that was wrapped on top of her head. She had changed into her pajamas and flopped down onto her bed, drying her hair with the towel. When it was dry enough, she tossed the towel onto the floor and closed her eyes, drifting off into a much needed sleep.
Jessica woke up to her alarm which she had apparently left under her pillow from before Octavius had kidnapped her. She pulled it out and stared at the face that said "Saturday" and turned off the vibrating alarm. She stood up, stretching as the 7:30 AM train rocked past the apartment, late as usual to its next stop. Jess picked up her towel and hung it over a chair, opening her fridge and remembering the food in the microwave. She pulled it out and unwrapped it, dumping it onto a plate. She put it back into the microwave and tuned it on for a little over a minute. When it had finished warming up, she ate it slowly, not thrilled to be having a sandwich so early in the morning, but at least glad for something to eat.
Her hunger curbed, she changed into a clean shirt, a soft hooded sweatshirt and a pair of jeans before searching for her purse. She found it shoved under her bed and checked the contents, glad to see she still had her subway pass and enough money to buy some groceries. She quickly put her hair up into a ponytail and slung her purse over her shoulder, locking her door before running down the stairs and onto the street. She walked to the nearest entrance to the subway and slid her card through the reader as she walked into the turnstile. She ran to the train she usually took to Oscorp, barely squeezing between the doors in time for it to take off. As the train lurched, she reached out and grabbed onto a pole, using it to swing clear of the door on the rather empty train.
She regained her balance and wrapped her arm around the pole, stuffing her hands into the front pocket of her sweatshirt, her body swinging slightly to the rhythm of the moving train. As it sped along, Jess looked around in the dim lights, noticing people darting their eyes around the car, and all coming to land on her at some point, but avoiding her eyes. She faced the people seated near her and saw they had moved as far from her as the crammed seat would allow. Some of them were speaking to their neighbors and suddenly she caught sight of a finger pointed in her direction, the person only half attempting to be discrete. Frowning at the strange behavior, she lowered her eyes and concentrated on the floor until she felt the train slow down for the fourth time, signaling her station to get off. Jessica squeezed through the doors the second they were wide enough to permit her to get off of the train, and walked briskly to street level. Huffing, annoyed, she glanced back down the stairway.
"What was with that?" She mused as she slowed down to a light stroll, heading towards a corner store. She readjusted her purse over her shoulder and walked into the door, picking up a small basket and walking down the isles. Someone tapped her on her shoulder and she looked up. They had a notepad in their hand and were practically shoving it into her face.
"We're not opening for another hour." Was all that it said, and Jessica looked at the man holding it out at her, completely perplexed. She took the pad lightly from his hand and wrote on it.
"You're usually open at 7 until 10 PM. Changed your schedule?" The clerk shook his head yes at the pad and took Jess's basket as she handed it him and walked out the door. Frowning, she strolled down the street a little further. The whole while a nagging feeling tugged at the back of her neck and she rubbed it, feeling the spinal tap there. She couldn't help but feel infuriated at Octavius for what he'd done to her, when she passed a news stand and paused. Staring up, from the Bugle of all papers, was her own face. Quickly she turned her back to the stand and fished out some money, putting it on the counter and grabbing up a copy and walking along until she reached another subway entrance. Swiping her card again, she walked down to a tunnel and found a lonely bench.
"Hostage in League with Octopus!" The front page blazed in its thick black lettering that hurt her eyes. Flipping the paper open, she skipped to the article about her, and there, underneath the repeated title was a picture of her hugging Osborn, and his hand pulling down the back of her neckline, exposing the unit still on her. A rush of air from an approaching subway beckoned her to stand up as she folded the paper inside-out, leaving only a crossword and a miracle weight loss ad visible as she somberly boarded the train and hung onto a pole as she swayed with the car. She made sure to keep her eyes down, and waited until she was back near her own block before getting off. As she walked back to the street, she felt her stomach protest, and realized she had been out for only two hours, but still her stomach turned.
"I just need breakfast, not a sandwich." She thought as she walked into a McDonald's, the paper tucked tightly under her arm. She ordered a pancake breakfast to go, and gladly handed over the cash before turning on her heel and heading out, walking the block to her apartment. The doorman glanced up at her as she walked by him, and she felt his eyes follow her as she trudged up the stairs. She fished her keys from her purse and walked in, dumping her purse and meal on the table and then closing the door behind her. Pulling the paper open again, she looked at the large title and threw it onto the back of her couch, signing a few choice remarks about Jonah Jameson. Sighing at the futility of trying to sign to a paper, Jessica grabbed some silverware and plopped down in front of her food. She pulled off the top and worked at the pancakes slowly when something caught her eye and she turned her head slightly and looked up at her window. There was nothing there, but she could have sworn she'd seen movement. Keeping a wary eye on the pane, she shoveled pancake into her mouth. When she finished, she stood up, walking over to her garbage can and tossed the foam tray into it. As she washed her silverware, she swore she felt eyes on her back and turned around, dropping the knife and fork into the sink. Staring back at her from the window was a pair of white eyes.