The water stopped in the shower stall and Jet had just placed down the last box in Ed's room coming from Alex's new room. The bed had been cleared and the drawers were mostly cleared out and off. There was a mirror that was being stored in the room but Jet decided that it would be a good idea to leave it in there for Alex to use. He heard the door squeak open and footsteps in the living area. As he stood and wiped the sweat from his brow, Alex peeked in and smiled.
"Hey there! How's it going?" she asked as her tangled damp hair hung disheveled around her face. Even though it was red, now that it was wet it looked almost brown.
"Good! Your room's cleared out and ready for you whenever you are and I was just about to go and fix some food up, interested?"
"Most definitely! What are you gonna make?" she asked happily. Jet had just bought food at the market before coming home and he was wondering where it was.
"I don't know, whenever I find the food I just bought I'll let you know." He said scratching his head and looking around and then venturing out to the kitchen. He heard footsteps outside in the corridor and then the door open. It shut and then the sound of more footsteps in the same corridor coming in his direction again. There was a knock on the doorway and when Jet turned around to look, he saw Alex standing there with the bag full of food that he had just bought.
" It was outside the door. You're lucky no one else took it before I got to it!" she smiled as she placed it down on the nearby table.
"Yea, yea…I'll have it ready in about half an hour. Go get settled into your room." He said dismissing her from the kitchen. She went off to her room and within an few minutes, he heard her strumming on her guitar. After he had prepared the food and placed it into the oven to cook, he walked into the living area and peeked around the side of her doorway and watched her play some more.
"I have very good hearing, Jet, it's very hard to sneak up on me." she said as she finished playing.
"Is that so? Well I guess I'll have to know that for next time." he said as he sat on the bed beside her and watched her play some more.
"I love the smell of this sweatshirt. It's like cologne and cigarettes." She said as she placed her guitar down and wrapped her own arms around herself and inhaled the scent that had been somehow burned into the shirt.
"That's how Spike always smelled. He constantly had cigarettes on him and wore cheap cologne when the occasion called for it." Jet said. "God I'll miss that idiot."
"How did he die, if you don't mind me asking?" Alex asked cautiously. Jet sighed.
"He used to work with this man called Vicious and recently the tides turned in this group they both belonged to and Spike left. To sum it all up, Vicious got pissed off and killed Spike. In turn, Spike also killed Vicious."
"Wow, talk about irony." Alex said as the listened to what Jet had to say. She didn't really show emotion, just the simple sympathetic gaze. Her blue eyes were like deep sapphire pools that reflected the light.
"Well, if you're going to be around here, let alone around me, you should be able to protect yourself." Jet said with a sigh as he walked away from the room. He walked into Spike's workshop and picked up a gun. It was one of Spike's favorites but he decided that it would be a good starter gun for Alex. He wiped it off with a rag that had been laying nearby and walked into Alex's room polishing it with the rag.
"What's that for? I don't need a gun!" she said protesting her need of a firearm. Jet sat on the bed beside her where he sat only a few moments before.
"I'm a bounty hunter Alex, trust me, you'll need it." he said making sure it was emptied and totally cleaned out before handing the handgun to her. She looked it over, seemingly studying its features and pieces. She looked up to Jet.
"I have no idea how to use a gun, let alone aim it or fire it." she said just holding it in her hands having no idea what to do with it.
"I'll teach you if you teach me how to play an instrument." He said. She seemed to be thinking about it until she looked him in the eye slyly.
"What instrument do you plan on playing? I don't know how to play everything you know." She said. Jet scratched his head.
"I don't know. I'm planning on going after a bounty head tomorrow and was thinking that the money we have left over from buying you clothes and stuff, we can go to a music store or something and get some things." He said as if he had thought it out.
"Well, I don't know…there are a few things that could be nice. Like I had this crazy idea that won't work cause we're short on space but…" she trailed off.
"No, go ahead and tell me!" Jet insisted.
"Well, when I saw the inside of Ed's room, I figured that if I took this room, we could turn Ed's room into a studio or media room." She said cautiously.
"Which would include what?" Jet asked. He wasn't familiar with the idea of a media room.
"A media room is basically a room where we have all our electronics and whatnot but in this case, all our instruments. I can play several different instruments and if we get the right hardware and software, we can record music and sell it for money." She said telling him and explaining. At first it didn't look like he was too enthused about it but after a few moments, a smile took over the thoughtful grimace.
"That's a really good idea! I'll have my living being a bounty hunter and you can be a singer and sell your music! That's a wonderful idea!"
"The only problem is storage. What are we going to do with all the stuff that's in her room already?" Alex asked.
"I'll auction it off. Ebay, newspapers, and flea markets can take the stuff and we'll get money for it. Damn, so much money'll be coming in, we'll have plenty of money for this studio and for you!" Jet said happily.
"Easy there, Jet. We should sleep before we do anything. It's been a wild night and I think it'd be a good idea to sleep on all these ideas." She said as she felt like she was being overwhelmed by his ideas. Jet seemed to agree since it was getting late anyway.
"Yea, I guess that'd be a good idea. But why not eat first? I made my specialty, bell peppers and beef." He said as he remembered that there was still food cooking on the stove.
"Really? I didn't know you could cook Jet!"
"I try, but it's never really good. The only problem about the bell peppers and beef is that there's no beef. I'm lacking in the cash department at the moment so I figured I'd leave tonight and find a bounty head somewhere, but then I came across you and now I'm pushing everything back."
"Oh, I didn't mean for you to screw up your plans!"
"No, no, that's alright. I've actually be looking for some sort of company that would carry their own weight around here and I guess this is your test to see if you stay or not." He said almost gravely. As he explained, Alex felt a chill go down her spine. She knew that out of the goodness of his heart, he took her in and she would do anything to keep a roof over her head and food in her stomach. Jet escorted her into the kitchen and dining area and handed her a plate. She stood by the stove and let him pour the cooked vegetables onto her plate. They smelled so incredible to her but they weren't too appealing to Jet. She took a seat at the table nearby and picked up a fork.
"Jet, this smells delicious!" she said happily as her stomach growled loudly.
"Well, I've had it so many times I don't really crave it. but it's cheap to make and fills you up so I make it anyway." He said as he picked up his fork. She chewed and swallowed her first forkful and acted like she was critiquing it.
"Y'know, this would be pretty mean on top of some buttered pasta with some ground pepper and salt." She said. Jet just looked at her.
"How do you know what would taste good with it? I thought you were homeless and only stole food!"
"Well, I used to work as a food critic at a newspaper, but when the found out it was because I was doing it for food, I was fired." She said as she ate some more of the peppers.
"How long ago was that and for how long did you work?" he asked as he swallowed a forkful himself.
"Well, it was maybe a year or two ago and I got away with it for maybe 3 months. I was eating at fancy restaurants 3 meals a day and I did do the articles. But when the tab grew too large, the editor in chief of the paper got suspicious and had someone follow me around. They reported I was homeless and I was eating at the restaurants almost constantly. The chief called me in one day and questioned me about it, but then fired me. After that, it was back to the streets and scrounging for food. After I went back to being homeless, it was difficult for me to eat anything because it wasn't gourmet or prepared especially for me like it had been." She explained.
"Wow, that must've really been your worst time." Jet said as he ate some more.
"Yea, it was either that or the time I was…never mind. I'll just say that wasn't my worst time." she said as she began to recall something but tried to quickly forget it.
"You sure? You can tell me." he said easily. He saw tear well in her eyes.
"No, that's alright. It's something I don't think would be a good idea to share with other people." She said quietly as she ate more of her peppers. The rest of the dinner was silent until Jet got up.
"Alex, do you want some more peppers?" he asked her.
"Yes, please." She said with a nod. He looked at her and saw she was smiling to herself slightly.
"What are you all smiley about?" he asked as he filled her plate again.
"Do you have a notebook or some paper I could used for a minute? And a pencil or pen would also be nice Jet." She asked as he put the plate down in front of her.
"I do, you want it now?" he asked somewhat confused. She nodded as he walked out of the kitchen. He could hear her humming and singing. She had an amazing voice and it was good that she'd be able to record it and make some money, maybe she'd even gain some recognition. He grabbed a pen and a few sheets of paper from the desk in his room and returned to see Alex drumming her fingers on the table keeping a beat in her head as he hummed. The tune sounded hauntingly beautiful as she opened her eyes to see him standing there.
"Thanks Jet!" she said as he put it down in front of her and she began to scribble words down on it as she hummed slowly. All he could see was what was written across the top of the page and underlined 'Don't Bother None'. He walked away but before he left the kitchen and her, he turned to see her stuffing more peppers into her mouth while humming her song and writing it down.
"Hey there! How's it going?" she asked as her tangled damp hair hung disheveled around her face. Even though it was red, now that it was wet it looked almost brown.
"Good! Your room's cleared out and ready for you whenever you are and I was just about to go and fix some food up, interested?"
"Most definitely! What are you gonna make?" she asked happily. Jet had just bought food at the market before coming home and he was wondering where it was.
"I don't know, whenever I find the food I just bought I'll let you know." He said scratching his head and looking around and then venturing out to the kitchen. He heard footsteps outside in the corridor and then the door open. It shut and then the sound of more footsteps in the same corridor coming in his direction again. There was a knock on the doorway and when Jet turned around to look, he saw Alex standing there with the bag full of food that he had just bought.
" It was outside the door. You're lucky no one else took it before I got to it!" she smiled as she placed it down on the nearby table.
"Yea, yea…I'll have it ready in about half an hour. Go get settled into your room." He said dismissing her from the kitchen. She went off to her room and within an few minutes, he heard her strumming on her guitar. After he had prepared the food and placed it into the oven to cook, he walked into the living area and peeked around the side of her doorway and watched her play some more.
"I have very good hearing, Jet, it's very hard to sneak up on me." she said as she finished playing.
"Is that so? Well I guess I'll have to know that for next time." he said as he sat on the bed beside her and watched her play some more.
"I love the smell of this sweatshirt. It's like cologne and cigarettes." She said as she placed her guitar down and wrapped her own arms around herself and inhaled the scent that had been somehow burned into the shirt.
"That's how Spike always smelled. He constantly had cigarettes on him and wore cheap cologne when the occasion called for it." Jet said. "God I'll miss that idiot."
"How did he die, if you don't mind me asking?" Alex asked cautiously. Jet sighed.
"He used to work with this man called Vicious and recently the tides turned in this group they both belonged to and Spike left. To sum it all up, Vicious got pissed off and killed Spike. In turn, Spike also killed Vicious."
"Wow, talk about irony." Alex said as the listened to what Jet had to say. She didn't really show emotion, just the simple sympathetic gaze. Her blue eyes were like deep sapphire pools that reflected the light.
"Well, if you're going to be around here, let alone around me, you should be able to protect yourself." Jet said with a sigh as he walked away from the room. He walked into Spike's workshop and picked up a gun. It was one of Spike's favorites but he decided that it would be a good starter gun for Alex. He wiped it off with a rag that had been laying nearby and walked into Alex's room polishing it with the rag.
"What's that for? I don't need a gun!" she said protesting her need of a firearm. Jet sat on the bed beside her where he sat only a few moments before.
"I'm a bounty hunter Alex, trust me, you'll need it." he said making sure it was emptied and totally cleaned out before handing the handgun to her. She looked it over, seemingly studying its features and pieces. She looked up to Jet.
"I have no idea how to use a gun, let alone aim it or fire it." she said just holding it in her hands having no idea what to do with it.
"I'll teach you if you teach me how to play an instrument." He said. She seemed to be thinking about it until she looked him in the eye slyly.
"What instrument do you plan on playing? I don't know how to play everything you know." She said. Jet scratched his head.
"I don't know. I'm planning on going after a bounty head tomorrow and was thinking that the money we have left over from buying you clothes and stuff, we can go to a music store or something and get some things." He said as if he had thought it out.
"Well, I don't know…there are a few things that could be nice. Like I had this crazy idea that won't work cause we're short on space but…" she trailed off.
"No, go ahead and tell me!" Jet insisted.
"Well, when I saw the inside of Ed's room, I figured that if I took this room, we could turn Ed's room into a studio or media room." She said cautiously.
"Which would include what?" Jet asked. He wasn't familiar with the idea of a media room.
"A media room is basically a room where we have all our electronics and whatnot but in this case, all our instruments. I can play several different instruments and if we get the right hardware and software, we can record music and sell it for money." She said telling him and explaining. At first it didn't look like he was too enthused about it but after a few moments, a smile took over the thoughtful grimace.
"That's a really good idea! I'll have my living being a bounty hunter and you can be a singer and sell your music! That's a wonderful idea!"
"The only problem is storage. What are we going to do with all the stuff that's in her room already?" Alex asked.
"I'll auction it off. Ebay, newspapers, and flea markets can take the stuff and we'll get money for it. Damn, so much money'll be coming in, we'll have plenty of money for this studio and for you!" Jet said happily.
"Easy there, Jet. We should sleep before we do anything. It's been a wild night and I think it'd be a good idea to sleep on all these ideas." She said as she felt like she was being overwhelmed by his ideas. Jet seemed to agree since it was getting late anyway.
"Yea, I guess that'd be a good idea. But why not eat first? I made my specialty, bell peppers and beef." He said as he remembered that there was still food cooking on the stove.
"Really? I didn't know you could cook Jet!"
"I try, but it's never really good. The only problem about the bell peppers and beef is that there's no beef. I'm lacking in the cash department at the moment so I figured I'd leave tonight and find a bounty head somewhere, but then I came across you and now I'm pushing everything back."
"Oh, I didn't mean for you to screw up your plans!"
"No, no, that's alright. I've actually be looking for some sort of company that would carry their own weight around here and I guess this is your test to see if you stay or not." He said almost gravely. As he explained, Alex felt a chill go down her spine. She knew that out of the goodness of his heart, he took her in and she would do anything to keep a roof over her head and food in her stomach. Jet escorted her into the kitchen and dining area and handed her a plate. She stood by the stove and let him pour the cooked vegetables onto her plate. They smelled so incredible to her but they weren't too appealing to Jet. She took a seat at the table nearby and picked up a fork.
"Jet, this smells delicious!" she said happily as her stomach growled loudly.
"Well, I've had it so many times I don't really crave it. but it's cheap to make and fills you up so I make it anyway." He said as he picked up his fork. She chewed and swallowed her first forkful and acted like she was critiquing it.
"Y'know, this would be pretty mean on top of some buttered pasta with some ground pepper and salt." She said. Jet just looked at her.
"How do you know what would taste good with it? I thought you were homeless and only stole food!"
"Well, I used to work as a food critic at a newspaper, but when the found out it was because I was doing it for food, I was fired." She said as she ate some more of the peppers.
"How long ago was that and for how long did you work?" he asked as he swallowed a forkful himself.
"Well, it was maybe a year or two ago and I got away with it for maybe 3 months. I was eating at fancy restaurants 3 meals a day and I did do the articles. But when the tab grew too large, the editor in chief of the paper got suspicious and had someone follow me around. They reported I was homeless and I was eating at the restaurants almost constantly. The chief called me in one day and questioned me about it, but then fired me. After that, it was back to the streets and scrounging for food. After I went back to being homeless, it was difficult for me to eat anything because it wasn't gourmet or prepared especially for me like it had been." She explained.
"Wow, that must've really been your worst time." Jet said as he ate some more.
"Yea, it was either that or the time I was…never mind. I'll just say that wasn't my worst time." she said as she began to recall something but tried to quickly forget it.
"You sure? You can tell me." he said easily. He saw tear well in her eyes.
"No, that's alright. It's something I don't think would be a good idea to share with other people." She said quietly as she ate more of her peppers. The rest of the dinner was silent until Jet got up.
"Alex, do you want some more peppers?" he asked her.
"Yes, please." She said with a nod. He looked at her and saw she was smiling to herself slightly.
"What are you all smiley about?" he asked as he filled her plate again.
"Do you have a notebook or some paper I could used for a minute? And a pencil or pen would also be nice Jet." She asked as he put the plate down in front of her.
"I do, you want it now?" he asked somewhat confused. She nodded as he walked out of the kitchen. He could hear her humming and singing. She had an amazing voice and it was good that she'd be able to record it and make some money, maybe she'd even gain some recognition. He grabbed a pen and a few sheets of paper from the desk in his room and returned to see Alex drumming her fingers on the table keeping a beat in her head as he hummed. The tune sounded hauntingly beautiful as she opened her eyes to see him standing there.
"Thanks Jet!" she said as he put it down in front of her and she began to scribble words down on it as she hummed slowly. All he could see was what was written across the top of the page and underlined 'Don't Bother None'. He walked away but before he left the kitchen and her, he turned to see her stuffing more peppers into her mouth while humming her song and writing it down.