Seeing the Sun
Chapter 15
A/N: Okay, don't have this chapter planned out whatsoever. Well, I'll just wing it.
"So how exactly do you know the girl anyways?"
Meg sighs, picking at her food. She looks around the cafeteria, bored. It was one of those few times when Jo was absent, and in the silver-haired girl's absence Yoko decided to interrogate her. She groans. "Who?"
"The criminal girl!"
"She has a name, you know," Meg says flatly, raising an eyebrow.
"Jo. How do you know Jo?"
Again, Meg sighs. Yoko is always gossiping, so she'd have to be careful with what she said. Though in this case, the truth seemed good enough. "We talked that one time I got detention. Simple as that."
"But she's scary! How she's always glaring at people, and those tattoos! Why does she have those, anyways? Some people say she got drunk and..."
She rambles, and Meg tolerates it. She ignores it for the majority of her rant, though she does so with gritted teeth.
Jo's not like that! And I used to wonder why she didn't trust anyone...
That makes the red-head snap.
"Will you shut up?" Meg glares at her. Yoko's eyes widen. Meg was rarely one to snap at people. "Jo's not mean, and she definitely wouldn't get drunk enough to do that! Though I know for a fact that you would, Yoko."
Yoko looks down, embarrassment coloring her cheeks. She's silent, and she's silent because she knows Meg's telling the truth.
"... Say that again?"
Sei groans. She knew Jo wouldn't be happy about this. "Katsumi, our boss, is coming to the city this weekend and you have been chosen to be his bodyguard."
"So I have to be the man's puppet for two whole days?" Jo puts out the cigarette in the palm of her hand, glaring at her sister with crimson eyes. Her expression softens after a while, becoming calm. "Well, don't kill the messenger, I guess. I still have four more days."
Sei seems surprised. Jo's never one to calm down so quickly. "So, why did you talk to Meg in the first place?" she asks, changing the subject. "You were never the most social person, and that's more true now than ever."
Jo lights up another cigarette, smirking and chuckling to herself a bit. "I don't know."
"Funny. You're usually more careful than that."
"She seemed like... Now, don't think I'm going soft or anything, but she seemed like a good person." She meets Sei's eyes, letting that sink in. Jo was always a good judge of character, but for her "good person" and "saint" barely had a difference. She'd also thought that Sei and Amy were pretty good people too, but she rarely called a person that. "It had been a while since I met a good person, and I'd be dammed if I were to pass up a chance to meet a decent human being in this place."
That much is true enough. With Jo's line of work, there's hardly anyone she meets who she thinks is worth getting to know. Jo even said once that if she met herself, she would probably end up killing herself. Or, you know... end up getting killed by herself.
There's a timid knock at the door, and Jo immediately knows who it is. She gets up from the couch, opening the door for Meg and squinting in the sunlight that flows in. Once her friend is inside, she closes the door.
"Hey, Meg," the gunslinger greets her, lazily waving a hand in the air.
"Hi, Jo!" As always, Meg was as enthusiastic as ever in the presence of the dangerous angel of death. "What's the monthly injury?"
Jo gets that rare, playful smirk and leans over until her nose is almost touching Meg's. "Was someone worried?"
Meg finds herself blushing and frozen, looking into Jo's crimson eyes. Jo does stuff like this, from time to time. Like that incident in the library... she can still remember feeling of Jo pressing against her. Jo is wild an unpredictable, and Meg loves it.
"Jo had an appointment with the syndicate's doctors."
Sei chooses that moment to cut in, making Jo pout slightly as she straightens up. She winks at Meg, still grinning as she sprawls out on the couch in a way that seems like it wouldn't be all that comfortable. Sei rolls her eyes, leaving the two friends. Jo seems to consider getting up before giving in as the two go into the basement.
"Hey Meg?"
"Yeah?"
Meg doesn't know how, but somehow she had ended up sitting with Jo's head in her lap. She assumes it was the older girl's doing, but that playful glint to her eyes is gone. Jo looks up at her, and smiles.
Meg gasps. Jo seems almost... angelic when she smiles, as cliched as it is. It's not all that big a smile, not even showing her teeth, but it changes her whole demeanor. At that moment, everything is clear to the blue-eyed girl.
Jo isn't just her best friend. Jo will do anything to protect her, for whatever reason. Jo cares about her. Jo won't hurt her. That's the silent promise she's making, right now, with that smile. Jo would never hurt her. Not on purpose. Not if she's herself.
"You proved me wrong."
A/N: Short, but hopefully sweet! Please review! More action next chapter, I swear! After all, Jo has a mission!