3
"So what happened?"
Before Jessie could think of how to even start explaining to Meowth, a blob of another participant came onto the tiny screen of the communication device next to it. "That's Miss Jessie, isn't it? Yes, tell us what happened! It must be something exciting, with you undercover. I can't wait to find out about your expert exploits!"
"Forget it," Jessie muttered. It was going to be awkward enough trying to explain what had been said to a pokemon, but with Mondo, who was really still just a kid, listening in, she wasn't going to bother. "It's like I said before. The guy isn't into his fiancée. He really, really, despises her."
"That can't be right!" Meowth said.
"Right, who would hate Miss Jessie?" Mondo asked.
"True," Jessie said, folding her legs and sitting up in the chair. It would have been much better if she was supposed to gain the favor of someone as herself. Not that she'd ever done anything like that before, but it would be much better than inheriting someone else's history, especially one like this.
"It's not just that, Mondo. If there was really that much of a problem, they'd just kick Jessie out," Meowth pointed out.
"Well, the parents aren't that concerned. They like 'me' enough," Jessie explained.
"Great! Then what's the issue? They're the ones we care about in the first place. If they really like you, who cares what the guy thinks. They're the ones that control the money, huh?"
"Right," Jessie said. Of course, that was also true. Not that it eliminated every possible problem. Something still felt really off about the situation. It could be how twisted it was in general. "The mom even takes me shopping. I talked about her investments. She seemed a little interested in what I had to say."
"So you're right on target!" Meowth praised.
"I guess so," Jessie said, trying to show confidence for the sake of her teammates.
"Keep it up then. And don't let that guy get you down, not like you're really there to date him," Meowth said. "It's better if no romance is involved, anyway. You'd just get your heart broken if you fall in love. I know from experience."
"Sure..." Jessie muttered. She really didn't want to continue the topic. Things got weird when this pokemon pretended to understand human stuff like this, though maybe pokemon had their own kind of romance. Either way, she wasn't there to hear about it.
"Oh? Have you gotten your heart broken, Master Meowth?" Mondo asked.
Jessie sighed forcefully. Of course Mondo would be the one to continue that conversation. "Meowth, get back on track, who knows when someone's going to come by here. Is there anything else I need to know?" she asked.
"Nothing. Just hang in there, Jess! Check in again soon!"
Jessie had to smile as she saw Meowth wink on screen, emphasizing its large, human-like yet ultimately inhuman features. She turned off the device and put it back in the hiding spot, considering that her own lamentations over romance were the real reason for not wanting to talk about that topic more. There was no point in reflecting on that heartbreak. It was pretty much universal, since all romance was a lie. Pokemon experienced it too, apparently, and even this guy did. It stood to reason that the romance between the heir of this extremely rich family, and the real Jessebelle, who was apparently also very well off, should be as perfect as a fairytale, yet things had apparently gotten quite bad.
Oh well. That was his problem. She was just there to take. What was theirs was now hers, and what was hers was hers, of course. Team Rocket would get what they needed and she would get what she wanted. Not that she didn't feel bad for him at all, but the spoiled heir had some responsibility, as he was an adult that chose to stay in this mess. She had to brush aside taking that responsibility unto herself. She wasn't the real fiancée, and she wasn't him. It was all their problems. Maybe she could even take advantage of his obvious vulnerability toward 'her'.
With the optimism of those convictions in mind, Jessie got dressed, making sure she looked perfectly proper before leaving. "Good morning, Mother!" she said, greeting the other woman in the sitting room.
The lady sat with tea and fancy treats in front of her, glancing out a window before she turned her attention to Jessie. "Good morning, Jessebelle dear. I'm happy to see you this fine day."
"No, it's my pleasure!" Jessie said, then sat down. Before she could decide if she wanted to indulge, she glanced toward the window herself, seeing James outside, apparently arguing with his father. Before long, James started to turn away, only to be roughly pulled back, and have a punch landed on his face. So was there going to be a fight?
No, James just turned his back again. It was his fault for going through this if he was going to be such a pushover. Jessie couldn't help but get angry thinking about the man's reaction. Sure, it was his dad, but was he just going to sit and take what the older man dished out when he was this miserable?
His business. The two men eventually joined them, the apparently passive James sitting quietly next to her without comment. The father however, did speak to her, greeting her before adding another comment. "If there's anything we need to deal with regarding this one, please let us know, Jessebelle. You're our family now."
"Of course, Father," Jessie said. Her 'fiancé' still sat stone-faced, allowing this ridiculous level of control by his parents. Maybe he did really like 'her' after all? There was nothing else to indicate that, but then why would he act like this? It was fairly confusing, and despite being good with the parents, Jessie decided that being this bad with the guy wasn't going to do. "James dear, is there something you'd like to do today?"
"Stay by myself," James said. As his parents glared at him, he added more. "I've got some reading to do. And I've been vomiting. You don't want to catch something and start vomiting, do you, Jessebelle?"
"James, remember the time and place for certain topics. And also remember that Jessebelle dear has traveled such a long way to join us again."
"I-It's fine, Mother," Jessie assured. "I also have to rest." The parents seemed displeased at some of that. Of course, it seemed that they wanted their son to be forced to do things. "And I need to track down my luggage! When I'm all rested and done with that, and James is over his bug I want to spend lots and lots of intimate time with my darling."
She'd expected that to give her minus points with James while getting plus points with the parents, but he didn't seem to care. James just quietly sat there as breakfast and other conversation continued on, his expression unchanging. Jessie left as the mother did and went to her room, wondering if she should try to get hold of Meowth or Mondo to get them to try and make her up some rich girl luggage. As she thought about it, she heard the steps in the hall. Slowly cracking the door open, she saw James opening his own room. So, he'd hide away there.
Or so she thought. Soon enough she heard the loud creek of his bedroom door and his shadow briefly covered the light emanating from her cracked open door. Jessie quietly opened it, and saw him headed out in some casual clothing and hiking boots, carrying a bag. That was an interesting choice for someone who claimed to be sick. The best use of her time seemed to be following him. Jessie quickly changed her shoes into the heeled boots she'd come with, the best she currently had for walking around, before going toward his direction.
It wasn't that hard to find him. He meandered outside of the obscenely large doghouse with the growlithe she'd seen before, then took out a box. Jessie tried her best to remain hidden. James and the pokemon didn't notice her, both distracted by the box. "Down, down, Growlie. You know these are only for a special occasion," James said, sounding the happiest Jessie had heard him as he directed the pokemon. He handed it some kind of treat. "Well, it wouldn't hurt to have more." The spoiled pokemon was given another. "There's not that many more... Just take them all." James lay out the remaining food as he kneeled down.
As the growlithe finished, he hugged it. He wasn't in that great a mood after all, as some tears dripped from his face. "Look out for them, okay Growlie? If I'm not here, they'll need someone," James choked out.
This didn't sound good. Jessie bit her lip as she heard James putting the pokemon back in its house. She peeked out the window, seeing him heading off the mansion grounds and toward the forest. Of course, she had to follow. And with no time to go back and change out of the dress that was way too much for the setting, damn.
Who knew the pampered rich boy would even dirty his hands by stepping into such a place. Jessie had a difficult time remaining stealthy, so tried to keep plenty of distance in order to escape his notice. It was hard to still see him, but luckily, it looked like he hadn't noticed her yet. Unfortunately, some pokemon did, several caterpie getting angry as she infringed on their space. "Don't get in my way," Jessie ordered. "Go, Ekans!"
Her pokemon's bite attack was enough to scare them away without her having to get too into battling. Jessie returned the pokemon to its pokeball then ran forward frantically as she noted she'd lost track of the target with the battle. As she met up with a road, she looked from side to side, and was relieved to see he was on the bridge ahead.
But what was he doing? It looked like he'd dropped the bag he'd brought, and was contemplating the view from the side of the bridge. That wasn't all. Jessie walked as fast as she could, trying to figure out what was going on as she got closer. Eventually, she saw James push, dropping a tool he'd been using on the guard fence on the ground as a portion fell over the edge with a delayed harsh clang. He then climbed up and stepped directly on the edge, staring out into the large drop below.
No. No, no, no. He couldn't be going there. But it seemed he really was. Jessie ran forward as fast as she could in the outfit that was meant for a ballroom, and not this kind of job, especially when a turn like this was being taken. "Stop right there!" Jessie shouted once she realized she might not arrive on time, though she still kept running.
"You're here," James said, a defeatist sort of tone in his voice. "I guess this is a problem for you."
"You're damn right it is," Jessie spat, catching her breath as she got closer to him. She decided not to go closer in case he'd slip or just jump out of spite. "And it should be a bigger problem for you! This is your life you're messing with here!"
"It doesn't matter," James said, glancing out again at the large drop.
"Are you really that stupid?" Jessie shouted.
"Am I-" James paused, staring up at her before looking down again. "Well, you know I am, don't you? You'll finally have the ultimate proof of it. I wonder if the sympathy you get from this will be more than you got for being engaged to such a stupid, incompetent man."
"Just shut up!" Jessie shouted. "Stop thinking about 'me'. Start thinking about you. Your pretty face will be a pretty big mess."
"I'm expecting to die, so it'll be fine," James said.
Even in this situation, Jessie had to chuckle at the directness. "You really think your own life is so worthless?"
"Well, you're the one who owns my life, aren't you? What do you think it's worth?" James asked.
"A lot of things are mine," Jessie began, considering everything she'd wanted to take from this family as property of Team Rocket. "But not your life. Even if you say you belong to me, I've had my heart broken enough to not believe it. This here proves that, doesn't it?"
"That's right. This is all I can do," James said.
He glanced toward the center of the bridge, apparently hesitating, but Jessie didn't think for a moment that she'd talked him out of it. Why did someone as fortunate as him have to be this down? "It's not all you can do!" she shouted. "If you want something, claim it for your own. If you think someone's stolen it, then steal it back! Stand up and take what's yours, make people respect your ownership! No one will respect a pushover!"
"You..." James paused, appearing to consider her words. His grip relaxed slightly, and as it did, his foot started to shift, and then slip. James shouted in surprise, grasping out to hold himself up.
Jessie ran forward again. "Go, Ekans! Help him!" she shouted at her pokemon whose lead from being deployed from the pokeball might make a difference. Sure enough, as soon as she got there, she found James hanging on with one hand, Ekans wrapping itself around his other arm while bracing itself against the side. It was good that pokemon were so much stronger than other creatures.
"Help me!" James shouted, his expression terrified as he peered below.
Jessie let out a grunt of exasperation. He was the idiot who had been just so ready to jump a minute ago, but who wouldn't have second thoughts when they were just hanging there? She wasn't going to let him fall. Grabbing his arm, Jessie forcefully pulled him up with the help of her pokemon before he was more steady, and eventually let go completely as he tumbled completely on the bridge, catching his breath on the solid surface. "Thank you," James said, looking up and meeting her eyes.
Jessie said nothing to that, not used to expressions of gratitude. She eventually turned her back, trusting that he wasn't going to try and jump again. "Let's go home," she said, starting to walk on her own first.
