Jack's morning started with a banging on his door. Looking over at the clock, he noted that it was just past eight in the morning and was far too early for him to be woken up, so he ignored it. Two seconds later, Crow burst into his room.
"JACK!" he shouted.
So far, this was a very unpleasant morning. Jack lifted his head from the pillow and looked over his shoulder at the orange haired delinquent.
"What?" he asked, voice dripping with annoyance.
"What do you mean 'what?'" seethed Crow. "You know what 'what' I'm talking about!"
Jack rolled his eyes and put his head back down on the pillow. He knew what Crow was talking about- the 5'9" blond musician passed out on their couch. He just didn't feel like dealing with it right now.
"Buzz off," he grumbled into the pillow.
"Jack."
Yusei was standing there now and he was using his stern "mommy" voice. Reluctantly, Jack pushed himself into a sitting position and yawned. Yusei even had his "mommy" expression on. Great. Jack grumbled under his breath as he heaved himself out of bed and followed the two downstairs. Crow pointed at Jane, still passed out on the couch.
"What is that?"
Jack smirked.
"Don't you know what a girl looks like, Crow?" he quipped smugly.
Crow scowled up at the blond duelist.
"WHY is there a girl on our couch?"
Jack yawned, bored, and walked from the bottom of the steps over to where Jane was sleeping. He gave her a violent shake which resulted in an annoyed groan from the hungover fiddler.
"Jane, care to tell my friends why you're on our couch?"
"Bloody... fucking... LOUD!" she groaned before picking up one of her boots and smacking Jack with it.
She grumbled before rolling over onto her back and covering her eyes. She groaned again and muttered something about "never touching a drop of whiskey again." Jack rubbed his arm where she'd hit him with her boot and looked over his shoulder at Yusei and Crow, who had furrowed his brow.
"You brought home a drunk?" he shouted.
Jane picked up her other boot and threw it in Crow's direction. Fortunately, it missed him completely and smacked into the wall next to the stairs almost harmlessly. Crow stared at the boot for a second, startled, and Jack's smirk turned into a grin.
"A drunk with a good arm, yeah," he chuckled. "Besides, she had nowhere to go."
Yusei looked around Jack at the semi-conscious Jane on the couch.
"Isn't she the one who you brought over last time?"
"I didn't 'bring' her over," snapped Jack, "She followed me."
Jack felt something bump into his chest and he looked down to see that Jane had gotten up off of the couch and was leaning into his chest, half-awake.
"Bag," she mumbled.
Jack assumed she meant the bag she'd been dragging around in addition to her fiddle. He turned her around.
"It's next to the door."
She ambled over, half staggering, and lifted the army green backpack up off of the floor. She then turned around, still slouched over.
"Bathroom."
"Upstairs."
She nodded slowly and meandered over to the stairs before ascending them quietly without another word. Crow watched her with a dumbstruck expression on his face and nobody spoke until they heard the bathroom door close. Crow glared at Jack.
"What the hell, Jack?"
Jack shrugged and sat down on the now vacant couch before turning on the TV. Crow grumbled under his breath before heading over to the fridge where he proceeded to look for something edible. Yusei wandered over behind the couch and leaned on the back.
"So, nowhere to go, eh?"
Jack glared up at his friend who had a smirk on his face.
"It wasn't like that," he answered, peeved.
"Really, Jack? You don't usually just bring girls home because they have nowhere to go. It isn't like you."
"There is no way that that," he hissed through his teeth, "Could be a girl."
Honestly, that was what Jack thought. Jane didn't seem to act like a girl or dress like a girl. Hell, she didn't even drink like a girl! It was as if she was gender confused.
That was when they heard the sound coming from upstairs. It sounded like mumbling at first, but it gradually was made out to be singing. Jane was singing. They heard the bathroom door open and close and Jane walked down the stairs with her bag slung over her shoulder and her long honey blond hair soaked and hanging down her back. She had changed her shirt to a black, v-neck t-shirt with "I 3 Paris" printed in white letters with a red heart. It fit her figure just right and Jack found himself staring at her again, before looking down to stare at her legs. Crow sat down on the couch next to Jack, having given up his search for food.
"Wasn't like that, huh?" he asked quietly, smirking.
Jack glared at Crow with a scowl on his face.
"Shut up."
Jane had started humming when she dropped her bag on the floor and dug through the fridge, pulling out eggs, a carton of milk, and a pack of bacon. She dug around in the other cabinets pulling out two frying pans, a bowl and a fork. She set both pans on the stove, and cracked eggs into the bowl before adding milk and beating the mixture with a fork. She threw a couple slices of bacon into one of the pans and her humming turned into singing when she poured the eggs into the other pan to cook.
He sent his servant unto her
To the place where she was dwelling
Saying "You must come to his bedside now,
If your name be Barbara Allen."
So slowly slowly she got up
And slowly she drew nigh him
And the only words to him she said,
"Young man I think you're dying."
As she walked slowly o'er the fields
She heard the death bell knelling
And with every stroke, it seemed to say
"Hardhearted Barbara Allen."
She placed three plates loaded with eggs and bacon on the table, never missing a beat. Her voice was a smooth alto, neither too loud or too soft, and pleasant to listen to. She went back to humming as she made up a fourth plate for herself before turning around and seeing Crow and Jack watching her, jaws hanging. She stopped humming and raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
Crow coughed awkwardly, and turned around to face the TV, blushing furiously. Yusei looked over his shoulder at Jane and nodded at the plates of food.
"Is that for us?"
"I should bloody well hope so!" she answered before bringing a hand to her forehead in pain. "Ouch, too loud," she muttered.
Jane swaggered over and plopped down on the couch between Jack and Crow before tucking her legs underneath her body and shoving a forkful of eggs into her mouth. Crow hastily got up and briskly walked over to where she'd left the food, too embarrassed to sit next to her on the couch. Jane rolled her eyes at such a childish action. It would be so much easier if they could just admit that, yes, they had been staring at her ass. Not like they needed to, anyway.
"Hey, this is really good!"
Jane smiled with self satisfaction at Crow's exclamation; then she realized how loud it was. Ow. Yusei had also bothered to grab a plate and was picking at his food.
"You don't really eat much, do you?" she asked, a small smile forming on her lips before turning back around to face the TV. "Eat what you want, my brother Charles doesn't eat much, either."
"So where are you from?" asked Crow, still unbearably loud.
"London."
"You're an awfully long way from home," said Yusei, who had abandoned his effort to eat breakfast and joined her and Jack on the couch. "What are you doing all the way out here?"
Jane was quiet for a moment, which surprised Jack. Usually, there was a cheeky comeback or a smart remark. Instead she gave a wistful, nostalgic smile.
"Well... let's just say I can't go home right now and leave it at that."
She lifted herself up off of the couch and placed her empty plate in the sink. She picked up her boots and the case for her fiddle.
"Thank you for letting me stay the night, but I should be going."
I've actually got to earn enough so I can afford a room tonight, she thought to herself quietly as she reached for her bag. Jack snatched her bag away as she reached for it, having gotten up off of the couch (originally, he was going to get some food, then he noticed her gathering her stuff). Jane smirked.
"You must really enjoy looking at my ass if you want me to stay that badly."
"I never-"
Jane made a grab for the bag, only for Jack to hold it up higher out of her reach. She was tall, but still not as tall as Jack. Yusei looked over at her from the couch.
"Listen, you're more than welcome to stay until you're ready to go home. We don't mind the company. Right, Jack?"
Jack crossed his arms and scowled while Crow gave Yusei a thumbs up and Jane felt herself turn slightly pink. She hadn't been treated this kindly for a very long time. Snatching her bag from the off-guard Jack, she gently placed it on the floor next to the couch.
"It'd be rude of me to say no. Thank you," she admitted before giving a little sigh. "Nonetheless, I have to go and make money anyways."
She pulled on her boots and slung her fiddle over her shoulder, making her way back towards the door with that odd little swagger she walked with before leaving. Jack was still standing there with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. Crow looked up from Yusei's plate (he'd already finished his).
"I like her," he pronounced after swallowing a mouthful of bacon. "She's alright."
"She's a pain in the arse, that's what she is," grumbled Jack.
"You brought her home."
Jack glared at Yusei who turned off the TV and pulled on his gloves.
"Well, I'm gonna get back to work on your runner, considering that I have to be back at the lab tomorrow."
He walked back down to the garage and shut the door behind him, leaving Crow and Jack alone upstairs. Crow got up from the table.
"I guess I should get going too. I promised Martha I'd give her a hand with the kids today. See you later buddy."
Jack sighed and headed down to the garage to join Yusei. It was his runner they'd been working on, so it followed he could at least just hang around until Yusei was done. Yusei was sitting at his computer, checking the calibrations for Jack's runner. He didn't say anything when Jack walked in and neither did Jack, who proceeded to pace back and forth. Yusei had seen this before: just before Jack had brought Jane home the first time.
"I don't understand it, Yusei."
Yep. There it was. Yusei didn't look up from his computer as he responded.
"Don't understand what?"
"Her!" shouted Jack as he continued to pace. "She rubs me the wrong way and she enjoys it. I have never been treated with such disrespect!"
So this time it was about Jane. Why wasn't Yusei surprised, even though Jack hadn't even known her a week. Yusei sighed.
"I think you're blowing it a little out of proportion, Jack."
"I AM NOT BLOWING THIS OUT OF PROPORTION!"
Jack continued to pace, a frustrated sneer on his face. Violin music, in contrast to her jig, floated through the air from outside where Jane was playing on a street corner about a block or two away. Jack scoffed.
"What's so great about her anyway?" he asked rhetorically. "She's cheeky, pushy, not to mention she doesn't even live anywhere..."
"I dunno, Jack. She plays beautiful music, she can cook and she seems pretty laid back."
Yusei didn't even want to point out that she looked like a supermodel and she had the kind of voice that would make men drool. That would just put Jack in a worse mood than he already was. His comments did warrant him a glare from Jack, who growled and continued to pace. Honestly, Yusei was starting to think that Jane pissed Jack off for two other reasons. One- she was the first woman Yusei had seen who didn't throw herself at Jack. Two- Jack actually liked her but didn't understand it yet. And she pushed his buttons. Maybe there were three reasons...
"Jack, you're making a big deal out of nothing. She'll only be here for a little bit and then she'll be gone. So why do you care?"
Jack stopped pacing and looked at his friend. Jack didn't know why he cared. He didn't want to, but he did. Heaving a sigh, Jack sat down on the couch they had in the garage and stared up at the ceiling.
Jane, on the other hand, stood on the street corner and was finishing up "Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears" when her mind began to wander. She really did need to thank the lads properly for letting her stay, and she had to think of how to do that. Under normal circumstances, she would've just bought them dinner or something. But she wasn't going to cave and use her credit cards. She couldn't. Not until she was ready to go home.
What was home, anyways? She started to ponder this as she started "The Ashoken Farewell" before giving up the thought entirely. She knew mother said that "home is where the heart is," but where is that exactly? It was making her head throb worse than her hangover.
At least it wasn't all bad. It was sort of like being back at the family home in London, being surrounded by all those boys, only she wasn't related to them and her brothers weren't nearly as fun to tease as Jack was. He was a weird one with that cocky demeanor and those amethyst eyes-
Jane instantly pushed the thought from her head. As attractive as he was... well, she didn't have an excuse for that. It wasn't as if she was in love with him. Attracted, yes. In love, no. There was no harm in thinking he was attractive and she left it at that.
X X X
Three days. That's how long she'd been staying with them. Three. Whole. Days. Jack was ready to snap. Three days of mockery and disrespect could really get to a man, especially if it came from someone like Jane.
Yusei and Crow, however, didn't seem to mind. In fact, they sort of enjoyed having her around, and this bothered Jack to the point of being slightly grumpier than usual. Yusei had pointed it out to him that morning.
"Still upset?" he'd asked.
Jane had left early that morning, leaving a note apologizing about breakfast, and Yusei was shrugging on his lab coat. It seemed to Jack that whenever Yusei wasn't fixing something, he was working. Jane had actually called him on this and said that Yusei (or "Sparky," as she liked to call him) and her brother Charles would "get along splendidly."
"This isn't like you, Jack," he'd said.
Jack had glared at Yusei.
"Mind your own business," he'd grumbled.
"Is this about Carly?"
Jack hadn't answered, so Yusei had just assumed that that was his problem.
"Jack, you have to keep moving forward. You have to find your next step and take it."
"I don't need you to patronize me."
Yusei had raised an eyebrow, but decided not to question his friend before leaving, almost being late. Jack had just sat in their kitchen, brooding. Again, he was too ticked off at Jane to even think about Carly, but after Yusei had brought it up, it just pissed him off even more. His ego had been popped, stepped on and thrown in the street, and it did not make him happy.
And that was how he wound up at the track, practicing. It allowed him to release some of the pent up stress and frustration from the past few days, having to deal with the girl that he could barely even consider a girl. She was some sort of demon or imp who existed for the sole purpose of pushing his buttons. Almost as if thinking about her had summoned her, Jack noticed Jane lounging in the stands, one leg dangling off of the end of one of the seats. He stopped short and shouted up at her.
"Hey!"
She looked over as if she was slightly bored before lifting herself out of the chair and coming down to lean on the edge of the arena. She was wearing a white Nike t-shirt and she'd left her hair down instead of her usual loose bun. She waved at Jack.
"Are you stalking me?" she called out.
"Why would anyone want to stalk you?" he shouted back.
She shrugged before vaulting over the railing and landing neatly on the track. She approached the duel runner and a smug little smirk appeared on her face.
"Well, Hotshot," she said, obviously teasing him again, "It's good to know you aren't entirely useless."
She was just saying that to get on his nerves, he knew it. All she ever did when she talked to him was tease him, even this new "Hotshot" thing she'd started doing was a way for her to bother him. In truth, it was Jane's way of showing how much she liked people. She was still trying to come up with a good name for Crow.
Jack's scowl deepened and he opened his mouth to yell at Jane when something else caught his eye over Jane's shoulder. Jane looked at him, her smug expression changing to confusion.
"Jack?"
Standing behind Jane, talking eagerly to another duelist getting ready to practice, was Carly. Ignoring Jane, Jack got off of his runner and called out to Carly, who flinched at the sound of his voice before turning to look over her shoulder. Jane looked over her shoulder, too. Carly coughed awkwardly, having been surprised.
"H-hey Jack," she stammered, chuckling nervously as she regained her composure. "Long time no see."
Jack nodded and an awkward silence ensued. Jane, feeling a little left out and bothered by the silence pivoted on her heel and held her hand out to Carly who hesitantly took the fiddler's hand.
"How d'you do?" said Jane, smiling warmly. "Name's Jane."
"C-Carly."
Jane's smile started to melt away the reporter's apprehension and the duelist she'd been interviewing started to stare. Carly found herself smiling back.
"So, um...are you here together with Jack?" she asked.
Jack's jaw dropped and Jane shook her head.
"No, I'm not. In fact, I'm fairly convinced he's stalking me."
Jane started to laugh. Jack had never heard her laugh before, and he found he actually liked it. Listening to the Englishwoman laugh was like listening to her sing. Someone called out to Carly from the stands and she flushed a pale pink, having been startled.
"I'm sorry," she said hastily, tripping over her words. "I have to go."
"That's too bad. Maybe we can get together some time?"
"Oh. Well, I can't," Carly admitted sheepishly, as if she felt she was disappointing the fiddler. "I'm leaving for a job overseas on Friday, so..."
Jane nodded.
"No worries. I'd be more than happy to meet up when you get back."
"I'd... I'd like that, too."
Carly said a hurried good-bye and ran off to go join her colleague, leaving Jane and Jack standing on the track. Jane looked up at Jack and was almost surprised by the lonely and wistful expression on his face. She smiled gently at him, but didn't say a word.
After that, Jane started coming by the track everyday to watch Jack practice. She admitted she didn't really understand the point of what he did and he got a bit upset after she'd said that.
"Well I don't understand why you play that," he'd said, pointing at the fiddle.
Jane had smiled at that.
"Touché, my good sir."
Slowly, their exchanges became a little more friendly, though she still got a huge kick out of pushing his buttons and teasing him, but Jack started to notice it was just something she did naturally with people she liked. She'd even started teasing Yusei about his relationship with Akiza, which was purely friendly, but it made him squirm. The "Sparky" thing bugged him, too.
Jack had just finished training and Jane was down on the track, talking to him like she usually did. She was wearing a gray t-shirt and had swapped her worn jeans for a pair of paler, newer jeans. She'd caught Jack staring at her and smirked.
"I thought you said there was no way I could be a girl."
"I...I never said you weren't a girl," he replied awkwardly, "Just that you didn't act like one."
"Well, when you have as many brothers as I do, their behavior sort of rubs off on you."
Jack had actually asked about her brothers once, and all Jane said was that "they're hard to describe." She had told him she had six- Charles, James, Patrick, Anthony, George and Tobias- but never anymore than that. Jane watched Jack quietly and assumed something completely different from his silence. She sort of drooped a little before chuckling half to herself at her own stupidity of actually caring about this egocentric young man. Jack heard her chuckle.
"What is it?"
"You've really got it bad for her, haven't you?"
Jack looked at Jane, startled by her observation. She noted his slight confusion.
"Carly," she said, "She's a sweetheart. I can see why you're in love with her."
"I was," he admitted under his breath.
Somehow, Jane heard him. Her expression turned into one of pity and she patted him on the shoulder. Neither one said anything for a moment, though Jack noticed Jane's expression of pity. It ticked him off.
"I don't need your pity," he snapped, shaking her hand off of his shoulder.
Jane raised an eyebrow.
"Ev'ryone needs a bit of pity now and then, Hotshot. Even you."
Jack didn't answer her. Jane smiled knowingly and placed her hands behind her back and rocked back and forth on her heels.
"Y'know," she said, almost wistful, "When my first love left me, my mother told me something. She said that you never stop loving a person. You may not be in love anymore, but they'll always be special, that part of you will always love them."
Jack glared at her.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
Jane stopped rocking on her heels and shrugged.
"I don't know," she answered simply. "I guess it all depends."
She smiled up at him. A warm, gentle smile that tugged a little on Jack's heartstrings. Maybe Yusei was right, but maybe Jane was his next step.