chapter word count: 513

noir heart: fifty-one

"Hey, kid?" Jack addresses him, "If you're thinking about running; seriously, bad idea."

Sid's terrified gaze shoots up from the badge to meet Jack's, and his mouth parts to reveal gloriously shiny silver braces hugging his teeth. He's about to do it, and Jack knows it. Tensing the arm that holds the backpack strap over his right shoulder, Sid takes a single step back.

"Kid, don't. Just don't." Jack sigh-warns. He's really not looking forward to what's about to happen.

Sid ignores him; with a sharp intake of breath, he darts in the opposite direction and sprints the way he came, which if Jack's memory serves correctly, is the towards the main building's rear door that opens onto the sports field outside, where there used to be a small hole in the far corner of the fence. He and Hans used to use that all the time when skipping school, so if Sid is running in that direction, it's probably still there.

Eleven years on and they still haven't fixed the damn hole.

"Seriously?" he groans as he covers his face in his left palm, "I can't believe you're actually running. I hate running."

Turning back, and regarding Principal Callaghan with a superbly exasperated expression, whose own face frowns with surprise and confusion, he jerks his thumb to the right and asks, "Is the fire door still there, the one that leads to near the sports equipment building where Hans and I used to smoke?"

Callaghan nods. "Yes, Jack, it is. But...go easy on him, would you? His home life isn't great." he calls out, as Jack's already walking in the opposite direction to where Sid went.

Walking; because Sid has a long way to run; through the rest of the school as it leads to the football field's northwest corner, then under the football stands to avoid Calhoun's hawk-like eyes, round the Smoking Shack as Jack once affectionately called it, and then the last stretch to the hole.

"Oh, it's a cop! I'd better run! Yeah, makes total sense. Not." he grumbles as he takes the corridor the first left after the classroom Marinette disappeared into, and strides towards the fire doors at the far end.

Of course, many years spent in this school means that Jack knows the best place to ambush Sid is the Shack, which he'll reach at a brisk walk before Sid even gets outside.

"I mean - seriously - why run? I know your name, I can find out where you live, so why run? Honestly," he rants angrily to himself, briefly pausing to chastise for not being in class a passing sixteen year old, whose obscenely long black hair drapes down one eye, "sprinting faster than a social justice warrior can jump on…" he pauses ranting to air-quote, "...'cultural appropriation' as soon as you see a cop? One that hates running? Great idea. Hope you get F's on your finals, you idiot."

true, Sid has nothing to do with any of the investigations in this. he's just a kid with something big to hide, and Jack's having a bad day. The next set of drabbles is pretty much to set up the illumination of a darker aspect to Jack's character in this - we know he's a maverick with a propensity to bend the rules, but we haven't seen it happen...yet.

just a reader: hah, it's fine. I'm still happy you liked the reference.

special thanks to: whimsical acumen, stefalove, jpbake, just a reader, scottydog, lunasnoir, hornedgoddess, oninoko, heartonfire, edgarallansnow, and ghost angel14 for the reviews!