Charlie sat on the couch, playing idly with her fingers. When Jason stormed to his room after she, as she would say, called him out on his shit, the sun was beaming in the sky. Now, the moon took it's place and Jason was still in his room. Charlie wouldn't mind letting him gloat upstairs alone, actually preferring to not see his face at the moment, but there was one thing bothering her- her bladder. When Jason left to sulk in his room, he left behind a pissed off girl with a fridge full of beer. She drowned about two more bottles of beer, proud about her high tolerance to alcohol. But even if it doesn't take much for her to get drunk, she had to admit that her bladder was her weakness. She tried to search for a bathroom downstairs, but all the mysterious doors only led to closets, weapon storage, and what a surprise, more booze. The only bathroom in this apartment was the one that she changed in earlier- the one in Jason's room. The room that he was currently secluding himself in.
She let out a frustrated sigh as she tried to go over her options. Either her intolerable urge to take a piss would miraculously vanish, or she would have to suck it up and go to Jason's bathroom. To her it was a lose lose situation. She can possibly have her bladder explode, or have an awkward confrontation with the grump that is the cause of her irritation.
Charlie sat for a while, weighing her priorities. On one hand, I can piss on his couch. So have fun with having a pissed on couch Jaybird. On another hand, I can show that I can not easily be broken. I am not going to give him the satisfaction, no way in fucking hell. But then again, the piss couch..
She shook her head and got up from her seat, making up her mind on what she should do. "Why is the only bathroom in his room?" she mumbled to herself as she quietly made her way up the stairs. She tried to step as softly as she could, wanting to avoid the annoying creaking sounds. Once she reached his bedroom door, she debated whether or not she should knock or just barge in. Knocking would have been the most polite thing to do, but then again Charlie wasn't exactly a polite person to begin with. She slowly opened the door and peeked her head in, only to find Jason lying in bed, supposedly asleep. She tiptoed to the corner of his bed and saw that his eyes were closed, and his face was relaxed. She noticed that he finally put on a shirt, something that she was kind of disappointed about. Realizing that she looked like a creep just standing at the foot of his bed, Charlie made her way to the bathroom.
Once Charlie finished doing what she came to do, she took a hard look at the mirror. Just like the rest of his apartment, the bathroom was far from luxurious. The toilet had plumbing, thank god, and the sink had running water. But the lighting was dim, and the mirror had noticeable cracks. Charlie stared at her reflection in the cracks, mentally making jokes of how cliched it looked. Her life was never perfect, not even her childhood. She had to grow up fairly fast in order to live, to survive. She looked down and noticed that she was still wearing Jason's shirt. It hung loosely on her, and provided little to no warmth. Still, it wasn't like she had any other clothes here. And although she would never admit it to him, it was one of the sweetest things anyone had ever done for her. Plus, it smelled like him a little bit. It smelled like pine woods, gun ammo, leather, and a pinch of beer. She inhaled the shirt, finding herself actually liking the scent. Though to be fair, it was the first scent that didn't make her want to gag. She was usually surrounded by people who were drenched in throw up, weed, and hard liquor. Even if he was an ass, at least he was a bit tolerable. And she needed to tolerate him if she wanted Felix gone.
She took a deep sigh, hating that she had to depend on people. She turned around and walked out the bathroom, going straight for the door of the bedroom. With her hand on the knob, she was just about to turn before something startled her. Or someone.
"So Miss. Big Mouth actually has a small bladder, huh?"
She turned around and saw Jason lying on his bed, with his eyes still closed. She wanted so badly to flip him off right now. "How'd you know it was me? I can be some crazy ax murderer for all you know," she snorted. "Or I can be Dick, coming to tell you to be nice to the poor, innocent girl you left downstairs."
Jason opened her eyes and gave her a lazy glare of annoyance. He sat up, with his back against the board and grunted from the pain still in his chest. He could have sworn to see a glimpse of worry in Charlie's eyes at that moment. "That does sound like something that idiot would do," he mumbled.
"Ha! So you admit that you were being an ass then!" she proclaimed. She leaned against the door, ready for an apology from the grumpy man in front of her.
Jason took a long look at her. It wasn't like her outburst offended him, or even scared him. If it had any affect on him at all, it impressed him. It wasn't everyday that he met someone that would openly express their anger, and tell him straight up that he was a jerk. She might be annoying, but she had guts. The only reason why he left without saying a word was because of he knew too well of releasing so much frustrations. At that moment, there was nothing that he could have said that would had calmed her down, or comfort her. The best thing was for her to cool off by herself, and just be alone for some time. Hell, that's what he always did when he felt like he was on a verge of a breakdown. He was alone, and it helped. To Jason, being alone was the solution to everything.
"I'm not apologizing for who I am," she scoffed after no response from Jason. "If you are uncomfortable with the fact that I am a prostitute, then here's a tip: don't have sex with me, and don't pay me for it. Problem solved Jaybird. Just because you, and practically everyone else, think that I'm some whore, doesn't mean that-"
"Whoa, when did I ever call you a whore?" Jason questioned. His face was painted with confusion as he watched Charlie start another rant. He didn't say one word, and suddenly she was getting pissed off at him. "Why do you always think that someone is judging you, or underestimating you?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," she whispered, crossing her arms. His last question shocked her, as well as offended her.
"You always think that someone is out to get you, or someone is disrespecting you in a way," he started. His voice was deep and slow. "The time in the alley, the roof, downstairs, here. I don't need, or even want you to apologize for your past, present, or future. And I am not uncomfortable with you being a prostitute. You did what you had to do. You're surviving. Why would I ever have a problem with that?" This girl was a piece of work.
Her eyes widened with shock as she watched him getting worked up. He didn't sound defensive, and he didn't sound like he was lying. He almost sounded pleading. Like he genuinely wanted her to know that he was not out to get her. But still..
"Then why did you just storm off?" she scoffed.
Jason gave out a frustrated grunt. It's as if she didn't want to let herself believe that he meant no harm- or that anyone meant no harm. She wouldn't let her guard down one second. Then again, neither would he.
"I didn't storm off, I walked away. I walked away to give you some space. You were obviously pissed off, and it looked like you needed some time to yourself."
Charlie's face filled with realization that maybe, just maybe, Jason wasn't a huge ass. Maybe he was just trying to let her have some alone time, and maybe he didn't really think that she was a whore. "Oh.."
"Yeah," he said plainly. Silence erupted into the room, as both of them just looked around the room- and not at each other. Charlie felt a tad embarrassed, and didn't want Jason to see it. Jason, on the other hand, just felt awkward. He didn't deal quite well with emotional moments, if this even qualified as one. But something about Charlie intrigued him. "Look, if you want me to say that I'm sorry.. then I'm sorry."
Charlie finally made eye contact with him, and to his surprise, gave a small smile. It looked sweeter than her regular smirk. "Don't.. apologize. You don't have to, okay? If anyone should apologize it should be me. I kind of devoured all of your beer."
Jason gave her a quizzical look, before mustering up a grin. "You think you can handle some more?" He got up from his bed, and slowly made his way to the collection of liquor settled on top of his dresser. He looked through the bottles, before deciding on two. "Whisky, or scotch?"
Charlie transformed her sweet smile, into a devious smirk. Now this was going to be a fun night. "Both." She plopped herself on his bed, as he filled two glasses with whisky. He handed her a glass and sat next to her, taking a long sip and feeling the whisky travel down his throat.
Charlie laid down on her side, resting her head on one of her hands, while the other one playfully whirled her glass around. The two enjoyed their drinks in silence, something that they didn't have a problem with. Jason was surprised to find himself not annoyed with her automatic comfortableness on her bed. After a few minutes passed by, Charlie decided to propose something. "In the mood for a drinking game, Jaybird?"
Jason poured himself another glass full, and muttered "Jason" under his breath, before giving Charlie a curious look. "Got something in mind?"
Charlie grinned, excitement in her eyes. She got up from her position on her side, and sat next to Jason. Although she was in the center of the bed, and he was by the foot, they were still pretty close. "Never have I ever. I'll say something that I had never done, and if it turns out that you did, you have to take a sip. Then it's your turn, and we keep playing until one of us gets shitfaced."
Jason thought about it for a few seconds. He wasn't exactly a party game type of person. But then again, they were stuck with each other and would either get into another fight, or die from boredom. "Fuck it, let's go."
Charlie bounced on the bed a bit, excited to have some fun. The past three days were filled with intense complications, and God knows that she needed some fun right about now. Even if the only person to keep her company was Jason.
"Alright, I'll go first! Never had I ever.." she debated on what to say. "pissed on the streets."
She only expected to say it as a joke, but to her surprise, Jason took a sip from his glass. "It was 2 AM, I was drunk, and there was an empty alley," he explained.
Charlie just responded with a look of disgust, before telling him that it's his turn.
"Never had I ever.. dyed my hair." He grinned as he saw the fury lightly light up in Charlie's eyes.
Charlie snorted and took a long sip from her glass. "Cheap shot! Never saw an Asian with light brown hair?"
Jason shook his bed and chuckled, wanting to ask something that he wondered ever since he met her. "I also never saw an Asian with green eyes and freckles before. What are you anyways?"
Charlie smirked as she leaned in closer to Jason. "I'm your guardian angel, Jaybird," she teased.
"More like the devil," he retorted. "Nah, but seriously. What's your ethnicity?"
"I thought we were playing 'Never had I ever', not 21 questions," she said giving a playful pout. "Okay, okay, if it really interests you that much.. my mother is Chinese. And I won't even bother with my father, because I don't even know that bastard's name. But as my mom described him, he was a 'white man who paid a lot of money.' So I guess I'm half Chinese and half White." She shrugged as she grabbed the bottle of Whisky from Jason's hands. It never really bothered her that she never met her father. It wouldn't had changed anything.
"Paid a lot of money..?" Jason gave her a serious look. Was her mom a prostitute too?
Charlie ignored his curiosity and decided to continue on with the game. "I got a good one! Never had I ever.. played superhero at night."
"Now who's taking the cheap shot?" he murmured as he took another sip. He can clearly see that she didn't want to talk about her mother, so he let it slide. Some things were better left unsaid. Or until they were ready to be said. "Never had I ever had my own pet," he said lamely. He didn't know what else to say, because honestly he had done a lot.
Charlie kept the glass in her hands, not moving it towards her lips. "Me neither Jaybird," she sang. Perhaps the alcohol was finally starting to kick in. "Just out of curiosity, if you could have your own pet, what would it be?"
Jason thought about it for a while. It wasn't exactly something that entered his mind a lot. He got so used to being alone, that he didn't even bother think about getting a pet. "A dog, I guess." He shrugged his shoulders.
"A dog? How ordinary," Charlie scoffed.
Jason chuckled, trying to imagine himself having a dog like Ace. "What about you then? Let me guess, a kitten? Bunny? Parrot? Snake?"
"Fox," she answered.
"A fox?" Jason questioned. "I'm pretty sure that those are illegal."
"You're making it sound like we both care about what the law has to say," she teased. "But yeah, I would defiantly want a fox. I mean they're fucking badass, and I probably wouldn't want to keep one in the house. But if I could, I would." Jason could see why she was so fond of foxes. A fox was a symbol of cleverness, mischief, and charm. Qualities that the animal shares with the girl sitting by him.
Charlie gave Jason one of her famous deceitful smirks as she refilled both of their glasses to the top. "Okay, enough with the kiddy games. Let's have some fun." Jason cocked an eyebrow. He was confused, intrigued, and a bit scared of what she had in mind. "Never had I ever," she said, "been part of a threesome."
Jason's face took the form of multiple expressions: shock, confusion, realization, and finally a sly grin of his own. Being proud of what he has done, he took a long sip. Charlie let out a huge laugh that filled the room, and sarcastically clapped her hands.
"Well, well," she mused. "Looks like little Jaybird got some game." There was a spark in her eyes, as she looked at him like a prey. "Tell me about it."
Jason's grin spread further as he remembered the actions of that night. He wasn't exactly one to kiss and tell, but who was he to deny the world of his stories? He might be a grump, but he was also a sex god- a proud one. Maybe it was because he was starting to get a bit tipsy, or maybe it was because he just felt chatty, but Jason suddenly felt himself getting into the game. "Which one?"
Charlie playfully threw a pillow at him and bursted into another fit of laughter. "You dirty bastard! Tell me one. I don't want to hear about what kind of STDs you got."
Now it was Jason's turn to throw his head back and laugh. Laugh. Not a chuckle, but a full energetic laugh. "Alright, alright. Uh, I guess the most memorable one happened two years ago in Russia. I just finished putting some jerk in jail, and decided to celebrate by getting drunk. I was in the bar, when this girl comes to me. She's fucking hot, and asked me to dance. Now let me tell you this right now, I do not dance. So instead I bought her to my hotel room and we had some fun. Next thing I know, she's telling me about her friend who just got her heart broken by her ex boyfriend. She asked if she could invite her over, and of course I said yes. And let's just say that the next morning, the girl couldn't remember her ex boyfriend's name anymore."
"Damn, Jaybird. I was right back in the club, you do know how to have fun."
"What about you? No perv paid you to have a threesome, before?"
Charlie automatically rolled her eyes. "Believe it or not, but threesomes are actually not on the prostitute menu. Felix is scared that he lets guys have two girls alone with a customer, they might gang up on him and try to escape. Remember, not all of them are volunteers."
Jason looked at Charlie hard. Her voice had a hint of bitterness, and anger. When she mentioned escaping, her eyes dimmed a bit. He questioned how many times she tried to escape from Felix. It couldn't had been easy for her, because of her connections to him. "Are you a volunteer?"
She looked at him straight in the eyes, and without hesitating she gave him an unexpected answer."No." She took a deep sigh and held the glass in her hands a bit harder. "My mother was big on drugs. She loved them all: ecstasy, coke, mushrooms, you name it. She loved her drugs, even more than she loved me.."
Her voice was starting to crack, and she took her eyes off of Jason. She didn't want him to see vulnerability in her eyes. "When my mom died five years ago, she left behind a huge debt. To buy her drugs, she gambled. A lot. So I guess you can say that on top of being a crackhead, she was also a gambling addict.. She never got in trouble with any of her dealers or gambling buddies, mainly because Felix was always providing her with money. But when she died, she left me alone with him.." Tears started to slowly form in her eyes, but she tried to blink them away. It had been a while since she talked about her mom. Her voice got quiet, almost like a whisper. "I was fourteen.. and Felix told me that I was now responsible for paying him back the money that my mom spent. Felix, being the sweet man that he is, offered me two choices. Either I find a way to pay him back, or I find a way to live on the streets. So, I became a prostitute. This is what I chose, but it's not what I want. I'm proud of myself for stepping up and taking care of the shit that my mom left behind. But no, I am not a volunteer. Because even if Felix gave me two choices, there really wasn't one. I was fourteen. I didn't have any place to go. I still don't have any place to go.."
Jason stared at Charlie, who was looking out the window. The sky was filled with darkness, except for the stars that brightened it. He wondered what she was thinking about, as her gaze was intense and almost remote. To be in that position at the age of only fourteen.. So this is why she wanted Felix gone so badly. He was practically forcing her to be a prostitute. He understood way too much of how it feels to have a mother with an addiction. When she spoke about how her mother loved her drugs more than she loved her own child.. He knew how that felt too. Earlier, when she said that she even had to nurse her mother, Jason could only imagine what she had to nurse her from. Did she have to nurse her wounds? Or hangovers? She was more than a survivor now, she was a warrior. Charlie Sage, the girl that he had just met by fate, knew what it was like to battle their own demons. His thoughts were interrupted by an almost inaudible question that flushed the color from his face.
"Never have I ever.. killed someone."
Jason sat still, not moving an inch. Charlie still wasn't looking at him, her gaze fixed on the stars outside. But she knew. Somehow, she knew. He was a vigilante, he took crime into his own hands. She heard the stories of the infamous Red Hood, and his conflicts with the Dark Knight of Gotham. She knew about the stuff he did. Jason broke his stare on Charlie and looked at the drink in his hand. He brought the glass to his lips and chugged it, emptying the glass from all the Whisky in it. He got up from his seat and walked over to his dresser. He grabbed the bottle of Scotch and poured it into his glass.
"How many?" Charlie whispered.
Jason leaned against his dresser, and stared into his drink. He stirred it a bit and looked off to the side, avoiding her face. "I lost count."
She finally turned her head to face him. "Oh.." Why did she sound so surprised? It wasn't like she expected him to not kill anyone. She expects him to kill Felix, so why is she so surprised? She remembered the bruises, and scars that littered his bare chest. How many scars and bruises did he leave on others? "Did they deserve it?"
Jason took a sigh and a sip of scotch. Why did he have to defend his actions to this girl? He only knew this girl for three days, and he didn't owe her anything. He didn't owe her an explanation, an apology, anything. Still, a part of him didn't want her to think that he was a monster- even if he really was. "All of them," he said in a low voice. "They were murderers, serial rapists, drug lords, all kinds of fucked ups."
"I see," Charlie said. Her voice sounded monotone and remote. She was looking straight at Jason, but her voice sounded as if it was somewhere else. Jason wondered if she was disgusted by him, or feared him. He quickly emptied his thoughts, when he realized that he shouldn't care one bit about what she thought of him. After all, he was just babysitting her. She meant nothing him, and he meant nothing to her. So why did he care so much?
"What now, princess?" he sneered. "You think I'm some kind of monster now?"
Charlie got up and stood by the foot of the bed. A monster? Charlie knows monsters- lives with monsters. Jason was no monster.
"My mother was a prostitute too, you know? Before she married Felix, she was a prostitute," Charlie said. Her voice was still dry and detached. "They kind of met because he was one of her girls. I don't think she loved Felix, just his money. So she married him for financial reasons. I was only twelve when that happened. We weren't exactly a family though. Felix never really cared for me, he only saw me as an extension of my mother. My mother tried to love me, at least I think she did. She tried to be involve in my life, and even gave me a new home to live in with a new father. But she never even loved herself, so how could she love me? She always fell back to her drugs, and gambling."
"Why are you telling me this?" Jason asked slowly. Jason put down the bottle of Scotch. What did her mother have to do with this? Was she avoiding his question? Does this mean that she really does think of him as a monster now?
"One day I came home from school," Charlie continued. "I think that I was excited because I had just made honor roll or something. I don't know, some stupid academic shit. But I was happy.. until Felix came up to me and told me that my mother had died. He said that it was a drug overdose, and that I was under his care." Charlie hesitated before finishing. Her voice dropped down to a hushed whisper. "I wasn't allowed to see the body, but I did. I saw my mother in her bedroom, lying on the floor, covered in blood with a knife in her stomach. She didn't die from a drug overdose, Jason. That was not a fucking drug overdose.."
Tears started falling from her eyes now, and her voice was cracking. Without even being aware of what he was doing, Jason started to take a few steps towards Charlie. "Charlie.."
"Felix killed my mother. He fucking killed her and then lied to me about it. I know monsters, Jason. Felix is a monster. He killed my mother, forces girls into prostitution, and sells drugs that are killing people. That is a monster. Not you, okay? You are not a monster."
Her tears now turned into uncontrollable sobs. Jason was now standing right in front of her. She never told anyone about this. She never told anyone about how she snuck into her mom's room and saw the body. Or how she knows that Felix murdered her mother. She never trusted anyone to tell them before. She couldn't stop the tears that were falling from her eyes, and she couldn't control the pain in her heart. She held all of this in for so long, she didn't know how to handle it. She suffered so much, witnessed so much, and experienced so much. There was no escaping her vulnerability.
Jason watched as the same girl that would give him shit for thinking that she was incapable of fighting, was slowly breaking down in front of him. He wasn't one for dealing with emotions, and usually didn't know what to do or say. But somehow, his body and mind moved on their own. His hands reached up and cupped Charlie's face, which was wet from her tears. He tilted her head up, so that she was gazing into his eyes.
"We are going to get Felix. Alright? We. We are going to put that fucking bastard behind bars, because death will be a mercy for him. He will get what he deserves. I promise you."
Charlie looked into his eyes, and saw that they were filled with seriousness, and determination. She nodded her head and whispered a weak "thank you".
She was right. Jason was not a monster.
A/N: Okay, I know that I said I hate Author's Notes. But I'm going to do another one.
First thing's first! We finally get some background information on Charlie! And that her last name is Sage.
I just want to point out a moment that I want you guys to notice- when Jason offers Charlie either whisky or scotch, it's the same drinks that Charlie complained is never offered to girls in the first chapter. And yeah, I'm just happy about that part. :)
And to those who thought that Jason and Charlie were going to kiss at the end of the chapter, I'm sorry to disappoint you! But I think that at this point, Jason and Charlie are just getting to know each other. They are obviously physically attracted to each other, but that's about it. I don't want to rush them getting together, so bear with me.
Again, thank you for the reviews!