A NOTE: if youve been keeping up with this story since before i posted this chapter you probably havent read chapter 5 because it somehow got mixed up and i posted chapter 6 so the storyline should make more sense now sorry
Be some weird stalker farther back in the line.
You can hardly stand for someone to be calling it stalking when this is your paid job. The Batterwitch herself is one of your more popular customers. Currently, you're watching her company's heiress, she's with some guy, some guy that she's been with all weekend. And you know the woman isn't going to be very pleased.
As you watch the girl, you can barely imagine that she's somehow related to the Batterwitch. You've never seen her in person, but there's no way. This kid seems to be so sickeningly sweet and innocent and the Batterwitch is … just not.
It seems that these two love birds are going to be here for a while, so you decide you should make that report to the witch that she has been demanding every half hour since she hired you. Which was just last night.
You punch in the number and hold the phone to your ear.
"You found her, right."
"Yeah, I found her. We're at some thing in Atlanta. She met up with some guy here."
"Ugh, that little fucking bitch, I am so sick of her shit." The Batterwitch yells into the receiver, "What can you tell me about the boy toy."
"From what I can see, they're pretty close, probably dating. I haven't been able to catch a name yet, but I'll get Droog on his case as soon as I do."
"Good. Call me when you get anything else. Don't do anything drastic either, Slick, or there will be consequences." And with that, the line is cut. You put away the cell phone scowling at your client. Good thing she can't hear you.
Be Jane
"Look at that." You hold the poster at an arm's length as you walk next to Dirk, you hear him chuckle, "Look at that masterpiece, created on top of another masterpiece. It is by far the most glorious thing I have ever seen in my life."
"It better be, with the amount of time we waited to get it."
"Oh, you were having fun, you baby."
"It would have been better if you had agreed to make out with me."
"I have to have some kind of leverage to make you do what I want. I can't just give it out whenever you want." You grin at Dirk.
"Much more of an evil mastermind than I thought. What did I get myself into."
"Only the best thing that has ever happened to you."
"Yeah, probably."
You're walking back to your room with Dirk, since neither of you could find anything else to do at the con.
"I have a question."
"Of course you do."
"Why did you think I had a crush on Jake?" You come out with it, you've been wondering since he said it, "I mean, don't get me wrong, he's quite a catch."
"Anyone would be mad to disagree with you," Dirk says, "I don't know, that's just what made sense, and the way you talked about him sometimes..."
"Well, I admit I had a crush on him for a while, but it helped me realize who I really wanted. What do you mean it made sense?" You attempt to fathom how you and Jake being seen as a couple would be sensible.
"Come on, who would think that a girl like you would end up with a Strider? I'm never going to be able to make a steady life for myself, let alone someone else entirely. Jake understands how a family really works, he could give you that. I can't."
"Please, Dirk. You're probably one of the most advanced mechanics in the country right now. The only route you're on is one that will take you straight to the top. You could even be the real, live Iron Man someday, if you wanted," He scoffs good-naturedly, "And honestly, the only way I could ever agree that you don't have a solid understanding of family was if you didn't get along so well with Dave. But there's no way around the fact that you two are as close as brothers can be. And as for your bro, he might be out a lot, but I know you care about him and such. And you look up to him. That's family."
He seems to take your words to heart, Dirk lets out a calming breath, "You really think I could be Iron Man." He lifts an eyebrow inquisitively.
"Of course, you'd do Tony Stark proud."
"I kind of like the thought of having my own building like his to work in, that would be great," His eyes glaze over as he processes the fantasy, "Of course with a small bakery on the main floor for me to purchase some sweets from during my breaks."
"Wouldn't be complete without it."
You move about the small kitchen briskly, you're trying to take as little time as possible making this meal. While it was part of your agreement with Dirk, you don't want to leave him alone for too long.
He hadn't been joking about bringing his katana along. As soon as the two of you were hidden safely in the room, he pulled it out to show it off. It was quite an impressive sword as far as you knew, though your knowledge of swords is not as extensive as Dirk's. He also took it upon himself to show you his smuppet and Cal. Which are now proudly laid out on the empty bed Dirk hasn't touched since you got here.
"Do you even have any interest in going to the con tomorrow?"
"I don't suppose so. I mean, we've barely been doing anything."
"Okay, good. I guess it's time for us to be heading back to Texas."
You turn to stare at him through his shades, he puts on a sarcastic smile for you, "I never signed up for that."
"What else are we going to do? It's not like we can go hang out at your house."
"If I didn't know any better, I would think you're trying to kidnap me."
"Kidnap is not my preferred term. I like to think of it as a surprise vacation."
"But what are we going to do there?"
"I don't know. Whatever you want! You can see the Striders in their natural habitat and where I grew up."
"I have to say, that would make quite an interesting field trip."
"Of course it would. Striders have to be the most interesting people you will ever meet in your entire life."
"You're probably right about that." You peer over at him as you reply to him in a sarcastic tone. "Well, I suppose, I'm already out of the house and dad has no idea where I am, we might as well keep him guessing?"
"Is that a smarty-pants yes I just heard."
"Yes."
"Hella fucking yes." He sighs satisfactorily, stretching out his arms and placing his hands behind his neck.
"Now Dirk, it's rude to swear in the presence of a lady."
"My bad, ma'm."
"The judge will let you off this time." You chuckle, turning back to tend to your dinner. You call Dirk over once it's all ready and help him dish it out onto two plates. He takes a couple bites, noticeably melting at the taste in his mouth.
"Oh my God, Jane, it's going to be disastrous without your cooking."
"That'll be too bad for you then." You tease as you take a bite. You're not sure what he's being so dramatic about, it's a pretty average meal.
Be Dirk.
You carry everything except Jane's bag back out to your car. You meet up with Jane in the lobby where you sign out, paying the total fees for your room. You insist that it was entirely your room and she was a guest, but you catch her slipping a few bills into the console of your car while you buckle up. You sigh and ignore her.
It's not long after you're both out of bed that you've got the car on the road, heading back to your home in Texas.
Once you've been driving on the highway for a while, you relax on the leather seat and let your hand wander down to settle in Jane's. You rub the soft flesh of her hand tenderly.
"Jane," You say without turning your eyes from the road ahead of you, "Could you do me a favour?"
"I'm not going to have roadside sex with you, Dirk."
"Damn, there goes all my entertainment, this is going to be one hella boring trip." You chuckle sarcastically.
"What is it?" Jane asks, a smile still lingering along her lips.
"Would you put in one of the CD's from the console. Any one is fine."
"Okay," Jane opens the console and pulls out the selection of CD's. "Hm, I've never heard of any of these. Oh, wait—"
Jane lifts up a Florence and the Machine CD, her favourite album.
"One of these things is not like the rest."
"Well, don't flatter yourself, I didn't buy it just for the trip." You tell her, "But it wouldn't hurt to say I'm pretty sure I bought it the day after you told me it was your favourite." Jane looks to her lap, a small blush framing her face. "So, how about it?"
Jane sighs, but slides the CD into the player. Jane begins singing and it's not long before you've joined in, adding a incomprehensible slur of a musical voice to the song.
== Be Slick again, finally.
You've been on the road with Boxcars for some time, closely following the two idiots the Batterwitch stuck you on. It's been almost twelve hours you think. The sky is dark, but it's not far ahead, a city is coming up on the road ahead.
Your phone rings. Boxcars looks at you expectantly, you scowl and answer it.
"Spades Slick."
"Where the fuck are you at."
You sigh, what a sweet girl the Condesce is, you think sarcastically, "We're on the road, been following those two since this morning."
"And you didn't think it would be important to tell me that?"
"It's us, in a car, on the road, there's not much important stuff goin' on here. Just us, in a car, on the road."
"Are you sassin' me?"
"No, ma'm." You grunt, you're beginning to get tired of the Batterwitch. It would be nice if she would just let you do your job for once.
She replies with a sarcastic sigh then, "Have you found something on the boy toy yet?" She wonders exasperatedly.
"No, not yet." You reply quietly.
"Are you trying to lose your job?"
"No, ma'm."
"Well, then you better be finding something very soon." She says, hanging up before you can let out another word. You press the end button, sliding the phone into your pocket. You see Boxcars smirk at you from the corner of your eye. You almost say something, but your phone goes off once again, sending your hand into your pocket to retrieve it.
"Spades Slick."
"Alright, I think I know who the kid is." Droog says from the other end, you straighten up. "Dirk Strider, blonde, about six feet, age seventeen, often seen with a pair of pointy shades from looks of these pictures."
"Houston, Texas?" You read from the sign as you pass it.
"Yeah, born and raised."
"That's our guy." You grin into the receiver excitedly. "Thanks Droog, keep digging." You hang up, leaving him to continue his work.
"Gonna call her?" Boxcars says in a gruff voice as soon as you hang up. Your mood turns gruesome at the thought of calling her back right after she hung up on you. You decide to return the phone to your pocket instead.
"We'll wait a few minutes."
Be Dirk
You pull the car into a small parking lot behind one of many buildings. It's late at night, but you're finally home. Jane passed out not long ago, you pull the key from the ignition, turning off the car before getting out.
You open Jane's door and shake her shoulder gently, "Jane, wake up, we're here." She jumps awake, her eyes wide.
"Oh, Dirk, right, okay." She slumps out of the car, tiredly rubbing her eyes. You position your arm around her shoulders to keep her steady. "What about our stuff?"
"We'll get it tomorrow. It's pretty late."
"Alright, so, this is where you grew up?"
"Houston, Texas, born and raised."
"Looks nice."
"Right, so luxurious."
"Hey, I never said there was anything wrong with it, mister sass."
"Neither did I."
You lead her up to the front door, unlock it, then continue with Jane to the third floor. Dave's been remembering to lock the door, thankfully. You unlock that door, too.
You step in after Jane, and flick on the light to reveal the messiest living room she has probably ever laid eyes on. There's clothing all over the place, unwanted fast food wrappers left out to fend for themselves. Those strong wrappers, having to live in Strider territory.
"Don't even bother blaming this on Dave, this is how I pictured it all." Jane tells you quietly, you smirk without a response to give. You lead her towards the hallway, towards your bedroom, but are interrupted by a katana slashed at your head through the darkness of the hall.
"Dave! Chill! It's me and Jane." You grab Dave's hand before he can make another move.
"Couldn't even call me to tell me." Dave lowered his katana.
"Not a surprise if I tell you."
"So, what you want to strife now? It's like midnight."
"I never said anything about a strife."
"Well, I did."
"It's midnight. No fucking way, goodnight." You pull Jane, by the hand, past your crazy little brother. You lead her to your own bedroom, shutting out any Dave related annoyances behind you.
Jane gets into your bed without a pause. You slide in after her, wrapping your arms around her. You're both soon out for the night.
It's not until late in the morning that you wake up. You both had been up for almost sixteen hours straight the day before. You're surprised you didn't sleep in longer. Jane stirs almost as soon as you've regained consciousness.
She turns over so she's facing you. She looks much better rested.
She gives you a quick peck on the lips. "Good morning, mister Strider."
"Sleep well?" You return with a lazy smile.
"Very well, though now I feel really gross."
"I'm sorry, I have that effect on people." She grins at you, "Go have a shower, I'll bring our stuff up." She sighs lazily, but complies and rolls out of bed to find the bathroom.
You change out of your greasy clothes you had on since the day before, then step out to retrieve your bags from the car.
The trunk pops open as you approach. You easily heave the bags out. You set them on the cement to close the trunk. Before you can even reach to grab them again, the blade of a katana meets the side of your arm, forcing you to pause.
"I haven't had any strife practice for a few days." Dave says.
"Neither have I, but you don't see me running around with my sword out."
"But you totally want to. Come on, Jane's busy, you've got nothing to do."
"Fine." You growl at last, you tear you own katana from your bag in a flash, poised ready for battle.
Dave takes the first swing, as usual. You easily dodge that, and a few more attempts. You swing at his legs, knowing he'll jump out of the way just in time, which he does. He flips backwards, landing a few feet from where he was before. You flash step to his left side and take a swing at him.
Be Jane
After drying yourself off and stepping back into your clothes for a short while, you tiptoe back to Dirk's room to find he's no longer there. You check his closet, to be sure it isn't the home base of some prank. You quietly comb the rest of the apartment before returning to Dirk's room, puzzled. You remember him saying he would get your things, so you go to the window.
Three floors down, you can see a fight going down in the parking lot. Two blades flashing through the air, and Dirk is at the end of one.
You rush downstairs as quickly as you can, running for the parking lot. You realize it's a strife between brothers, from what you've heard, a common thing in the Strider household. You stop at the edge of the parking lot to let the fight continue it's course. The two seem extremely invested in the fight. You're so intrigued by Dirk's skill that you don't realize how dangerously close they slowly get to you. Dirk somehow ended up with his back to you, only a few feet away, when Dave slashes at him, cutting far to close to you.
A man jumps out from a car, a knife in one hand, pistol in the other. He raises the gun to point at Dave, Dirk flash steps to you, shielding you with his own body.
"I'd suggest that you keep your blade away from miss Crocker here, boy." He threatens Dave.
"Hey, she's the one that came out here. Mind your own damn business." Dave shouts.
"I'm serious, kid, if you're not careful, you're going to be getting yourself into a real pain in the neck," He growls, "And I don't mean that metaphorically."
When the threat of the stranger left them, Dirk spun around, grabbing Jane in a tight hug as Dave slowly stepped towards them.
"Jane? Are you okay?" Dirk's words shivered as they left his mouth.
"I'm fine, Dirk. Don't worry." Jane replied, muffled by Dirk's shirt. Dirk reached over and pulled Dave into their hug.
"Bro, I'm fine." Dave said, but wrapped his arms around Dirk and Jane anyway.
After their little moment, they quickly headed back upstairs, agreeing that it would be best to keep the strifes on the roof while that guy was still roaming.
"Jane, I don't want you going any where by yourself. Okay?" Dirk said to Jane once they were back in his room.
"Honestly, where am I going to go?" Jane replied, a tease sounding in her voice.