Title: Half Jack

Rating: M

Summary: Here I was- half deaf, tied up & bleeding out all over the damn carpet- If someone had told me six months ago that Adrian Veidt would be the one to personally end my life, I'd have called 'em a liar. Too bad I'm usually wrong.

Thanks so much to my reviewers! I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter!

Tonight I'll dream while I'm in bed
when silly thoughts go through my head
about the bugs and alphabet
and when I wake tomorrow I'll bet
that you and I will walk together again
cause I can tell that we're going to be friends

~We're Going To Be Friends by The White Stripes

"You're not gonna wear that are you?" Claudia commented dryly. "You look homeless with that backpack." Ever so subtle, children are.

I rolled my eyes. "What do you suggest then? It's not like a friggin' formal event."

"Wear that pretty flowery blouse with the strings. And a skirt."

"Uh, no skirts. It's too cold and I don't feel like shaving right now." I said firmly. I took Claudia's advice and changed into a different top- kind of a hippie flower-child blouse over a pair of dark gray slacks. "Whaddya think now?"

"Ohh… nevermindyoulookfat." Claudia said quickly, turning away.

"Holy crap, Claudia, don't friggin' help!"

I arrived ten minutes before that appointment but was sent up immediately anyway. On my way up, via elevator, I had a sudden attack of pathological shyness, or what my family often referred to as "the crazies."

Stay calm, try not to smile too much, and try to use slightly above average intelligence vocab. Deep breath and- "Excuse me, I'm here to see Mr. Veidt." I said, trying to sound confident.

The young bottled-blonde secretary at the desk looked up at me and we both gasped simultaneously. "Jack!" she exclaimed, and she leaped up from the desk to hug me.

"Oh my gosh, Chelsea Webb! I haven't seen you since senior year!" I said, but not nearly as excited as she. Chelsea and I had gone to school together for a couple years since my family moved up to New York., but I couldn't recall if we'd ever actually been friends.

"Are you feeling alright? I heard what happened!"

"I have some hearing loss I this ear," I pointed to my left "and I'm a little achy, but that will pass I think, so I shouldn't complain."

Chelsea tsked and shook her head, blond hair bouncing perfectly in place.. "Doll, you can bitch all you want, you've earned that right."

I thought about this for a second. "Your point seems legitimate. I suppose I can bitch after all."

Chelsea smirked. "You've always talked like that, huh? Even in high school. Real intelligent but secretly sarcastic."

"I'm pretty sneaky." I agreed.

A brief silence followed before Chelsea remembered to do her job and let Veidt know I'd arrived via intercom. "Please send her in." was the reply.

I raised my eyebrows, not expecting him to be so polite. "He's right through there." Chelsea pointed to a grand door, not eight feet from me.

The door was heavier than it looked, and I was sure I made a weird face as I pulled it open when I saw Veidt give me an amused smile. He was standing directly across from me from behind a handsome desk, and behind him, an enormous window in pristine condition- not a streak or smudge to be seen. "Come in, Miss LaBelle." He said graciously, beckoning me to take a seat.

I smiled warmly as I sat down. "How ya'll doin'?" Being born and raised in the south, I usually greeted people this way, though in New York I'd gotten some strange looks for it. C'est la vie. However, this southernism didn't faze the smartest man on earth, thank Christ.

"Quite well, thank you." The sun from the window hit him in such a way, that his hair gleamed gold, just like the day before.

"There's that halo again." I said dreamily, not realizing how odd that must have sounded.

He cocked his head. "Halo?"

I could have kicked myself. "Oh, that comment was supposed to stay inside my head."

Dismissing the remark, he got straight down to business. I guess he wanted this over with as quickly as I did. "Your hospital bill is around $20,000,"

Outrageous, I thought.

"-and can by paid for immediately- any medicines and physical therapy included. Your car, I'm afraid, is beyond repair."

I blinked, wondering how he knew about my medical bill before I did. "Yeah, I figured about the car."

Veidt nodded. "And you still refuse compensation to the damages to it?"

"Right." We'd already talked about this on the phone. If he was so damn smart, how come he didn't understand that no meant no? How much time and money did I just waste to come down here for him to tell me shit I already knew?

"And actually," I shifted in my seat, suddenly eager to leave "the car can be fixed. I know a guy. Angel Allende, the greatest mechanic this side of the Mason-Dixon line, owes me a thousand free car repairs since I've saved his backside on a regular basis as a kid."

"I find it unusual that you would decline such an offer, or in this case, only half."

"I'm unusual." I said, completely deadpan. "But I've accepted that. Can you?"

"I don't see why not." Veidt said amusedly.

I grinned. "Oh good, that means we can be friends." I didn't mean for it to have a sarcastic edge, but that was just my voice.

Whether or not he took it to heart, I got a smile out of him. "I'd like that. Do you have any questions for me?"

"Not a one. You?"

"I do, actually; May I see you again on the fifth?"

I blinked, mentally checking my work schedule. "Well, yeah I reckon." I wanted very much to ask why, but decided against it.

"I have another question for you: Do you like tea, Miss LaBelle?" Veidt asked, seemingly off topic.

"I do." I said, trying not to sound confused.

"Good, then that's what we'll do."

My eyebrows shot up. "On the fifth you mean?" Tea time with Adrian Veidt? Good gravy that was unexpected, even for me. Usually I'm the one who's always surprising people. "Sounds like a plan." I agreed.

A cordial smile followed. "Around four then? I'll have someone pick you up."

I looked at him warily. "Not the chauffeur from yesterday, I hope. I don't trust him, just like I don't trust amphibians.

His silent stare prompted an explanation. "Land or water, choose a side!" I said, hoping that would suffice. "Also, I'm aware of how weird that was."

He leaned forward a bit in his chair and clasped his hands together. "I believe, Miss LaBelle that I agreed to accept you as you are, including your idiosyncrasies. Do you not recall that part of our conversation?"

I was awestruck that he'd been serious. "That might be the most amazing thing anyone has ever said to me." I said, genuinely impressed by what a gentleman he was.

Another brilliant smile. "Thank you for coming in, Miss LaBelle."

"Oh, hell, you can call me Jack. You-you've earned it, really." I was suddenly feeling better about this tea thing after all.

"And you may call me Adrian if you wish."

"Goodbye Adrian. I'll see you on the fifth."

"Goodbye Jack."

I walked out into the hall where Chelsea was waiting for me on the edge of her seat. "How'd it go?"

"My mind has been blown. Does that usually happen with him?"

"Oh, yeah." Chelsea nodded. "Yeah it does."

A/N Yeah, this one is shorter than the last, but I'm trying a new method to make shorter chapters so I can update more.