A/N: I really enjoyed writing this chapter. I just hope my readers appreciate my sense of humour! Regardless, it is what it is. I'll write more Jenny, I promise. She's one of the lead characters after all. Bad Faye for trying to steal Jenny's spotlight, bad, bad Faye!
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Julian watched white pedals of snow drifting from the overcast sky and cover the earth in a cold sheet. His mood had turned morose in the last couple of weeks as the festive season blinked to life around him.
Faye managed to get caught up in it, gushing over the irritating Christmas lights wherever they went. In the small complex of modernized villas where Faye managed to settle them into, bright lights in rainbow colours decorated the houses outside and a big pine tree in the middle of the complex was decorated with so many fairy lights it nearly hurt his eyes. There were holly berry wreaths on all the doors and the world seemed to exist in a blur of greens and reds. He'd resolved to choke the next Santa he came across, it was like an apocalypse of bearded fat men in red suits and he was fed up with their constant 'ho ho ho'.
Their neighbours' visits ceased at Julian's inhospitality since they first moved in and Faye blamed his lack of civil social skills. It annoyed him when she would send him next door to borrow a cup of sugar or a bowl of flour even though he knew perfectly well that they had more than enough in the cupboards. He could simply refuse but the silent treatment Faye offered him afterward wasn't pleasant and it would eventually get to him.
He sighed heavily, pulling his feet up onto the window bunk and glaring out the window at the choir singing Christmas carols as they made their way from house to house in slow painful agony. He hated this. He hated the world. The people, the food, the villa, the TV. Hell, at times he even hated Faye.
Every fibre of his being burned with excruciating desire and the longing to catch a mere glimpse of Jenny was driving him insane. He'd never been parted from her before; he'd always been in the shadows watching her, following her, protecting her. She was always in his sight.
Her image of that night in the gym when he was resurrected was etched into his very soul. He played the vision over and over in his mind but to his complete frustration the sweet sound of her voice would be fleeting in his memory, leaving him only with the knowledge of the words she'd spoken.
Julian dropped his forehead against the cool glass with a thud and glared menacingly at the world outside. How much longer was he going to have to wait for her to make up her mind? He could feel the threads of self control begin to unravel inside of him. He could go over to her house and just have a look to see if she was alright. She would never know he was there. She never did.
"I sent a text to the peeps to wish them a merry Christmas from both of us." Faye's voice drifted toward him from the warmth of the living room.
Julian sighed again. He couldn't even use the phone to call Jenny. Not because he didn't know what he would say to her but because Faye was always a step ahead of him. "What are you going to do, breathe down the phone like a pervert?" Faye had teased. "No, I'm going to talk to her." Julian hadn't been impressed. "And say what, Julian? Hey, Jenny, I decided I'm tired of waiting so I'm coming over? Trust me, Julian, she needs the space".
"I swear if you sigh one more time I'm going to strangle you." Faye quipped and Julian turned to give her a look.
"You depress everything you come into contact with, you know." Faye replied to his blazing glare. "It's Christmas Eve. Can't you just pretend to forget about her for one night?"
Julian smirked at her. "You have no idea what she means to me, do you?"
"Obviously not." Faye rolled her eyes at him. "Still. 'Tis the season to be jolly. Christmas is a very special part of the year."
"Religion and I don't mix." Julian said flatly.
Faye burst into laughter despite the seriousness of the situation. "Right. How about you get that shadow butt over here so I can kick it in a round of poker?"
"Are you challenging me?" Julian perked up involuntarily. Damn, he hated that she could bribe him so easily though at the same time he appreciated her gesture. He needed some distraction from his mind before he really did lose it.
"Winner gets all the pudding. Loser has to run down the street naked."
"Are you sure you want to set the stakes that high?" Julian asked incredulously.
Faye smiled confidently. "I'm the Master of poker, Julian. Now get over here."
They settled across from one another on the living room carpet, the flames in the fireplace casting shadows across the room. Julian grinned sadistically as Faye clumsily shuffled the deck of cards.
"I'll give you one more chance to take a rain check on this." Julian offered sincerely.
"Please, I am so going to win this." Faye said, biting her tongue as she neatened up the deck of cards and grinned back at him. "I have something you don't."
"What's that? A soul?" Julian smirked.
"You'll see." Faye smiled secretively.
Two hours of folding, losing, winning, losing some more, winning the blinds and folding repeatedly, Julian thought he had the game in the bag. He glanced from the cards in his hands to the cards spread on the floor between them to Faye's small stack of poker chips. Sending another satisfied look at the high flush in his possession, Julian reeled Faye in by betting small.
Faye raised the bet. Julian called. The last card was placed onto the floor with a queer certainty. Julian grinned maliciously at the thought of Faye stripping down and running down the freezing snow littered street. Faye watched in dismay as his hand pushed a stack of poker chips to the mounting piles in the middle.
"All in." Julian said and his smile deepened at the startled look on Faye's face.
"Bastard." Faye mumbled as she pushed her remaining stack of chips to the middle. "Call."
Julian spread out his cards with a flourish and Faye sucked on her lip as she stared wearily at the hand he'd been playing.
"It's all about skill, baby." Julian stretched his body taught tiredly, glancing at the clock on the wall surprised to find it was past midnight already. "So, Master of poker. What is it that you have and I don't?"
Faye puckered her lips, gaze darting from the cards in front of her to Julian's and then to meet his gaze evenly. She broke out in a sweet smile and laid her cards out before him neatly. Julian did a double take at the four Aces staring back at him.
"It's called pure luck, baby." Faye imitated his tone of voice and nodded her head in the direction of the door. "Go on then. We had a deal."
Julian blinked back at her and glanced from the cards to her quietly triumphant expression before letting out a groan. "Damn it. How was I to know you were this good?" Julian grinned in amusement as he pulled off his black long sleeved shirt.
"What game do you think I won hands-down to create you in the first place?" Faye arched her eyebrows as she leaned back against the couch behind her, observing his movements as he pulled off his socks and unbuckled his belt. Julian laughed at her response and wiggled himself out of his jeans. He paused, catching the appreciate look in her gaze.
"Wouldn't you rather have me stay?" He grinned.
Faye blinked, startled, then erupted into a fit of laughter. "I'm allowed to dwell in the glory of my own work, you know. What point is there in painting a masterpiece if you're not going to sit back and appreciate its splendour?"
Julian got to his feet and smiled mockingly. "You're telling me you don't want a piece of this?"
Faye held his gaze steadily, cheeks flushed pink in the firelight. "Stop stalling and get out there."
This time it was Julian's laughter that filled the villa as he headed outside, Faye mumbling some inaudible insults mingled with compliments under her breath as she followed him to the doorstep.
Julian walked leisurely down the street, ignoring the chill stinging his bare skin and the freezing road turning his feet numb. No one was out and about at this hour, especially not in this cold weather, though he spotted a couple of people peek at him curiously from the warmth of their homes.
An unwavering grin was on his face when he finally reached the end of the street and walked back toward their villa. He felt his grin broaden when he spotted Faye standing in the doorway aiming at him a video camera she'd mysteriously 'found' unattended in a park a week ago.
Julian heard a loud thudding nearby and looked in the direction of the noise only when he heard his name squealed. Their neighbours were standing at their lounge window, waving to get his attention, both pretty girls blushing excitedly. He smiled confidently and gave an arrogant little wave toward them. Faye giggled as he stepped past her into the villa.
"What spurred this random act of insanity on?" Faye asked lightly, watching him through the camera lens as she kicked the door shut behind them.
"I lost a bet." Julian responded with a sly grin.
Faye burst out in laughter and turned the camera off, shaking her head. "Damn it, Julian. You're so perfect it's almost scary."
"Suffer no illusion, Faye. I don't like to lose and I rarely do. If you weren't who you are, you'd be dead right now." Julian said quietly, eyes sparking like blue coals at her.
"Oh. That just killed it. Thanks, Julian." Faye's smile disappeared and disappointment dripped like venom from her voice. Julian watched her promptly storm from the room leaving him alone with the haunting reminder that the only other person to ever beat him at any game was Jenny.