She was doing it again, and she couldn't understand why. There they were, alone again in a dark, empty room, and regardless of what decisions had been made Jenna found herself standing awfully close to him again, and staring down at his upper arm while she traced a finger down the length of it. This wasn't enough –again– and she thinned her lips in nervous concentration as she flattened her hand to run her palm back up his arm, feeling the muscles packed onto it. She closed her eyes and let out a breath upon feeling Bane place his hand on her exposed hip –his hand hot, her's cold– and when she opened her eyes she watched for a second as condensation escaped out of her mouth. When had it gotten so cold?
Bane's hand seemed to be growing hotter by the second, and she sighed again at the feel of his muscles and his hand sliding up her hip, his fingers just barely under the bottom of her shirt. With a racing heart she glanced up, this time wanting to see the look in his eyes and try to decipher for herself whether or not he was angry at their actions, but she froze the second her eyes found his face.
His mask was not there. The large object that obstructed his entire face was missing, and suddenly she couldn't breathe as she stared at him. His face held the usually hidden features of a strong jawline, thicker-set, smooth lips, and a uniquely-shaped, round nose. His head was still bare of any hair while light stubble covered his chin and jaw, and Jenna could not tear her eyes away from him. They wandered all over his features, taking them in, studying them, and in the back of her mind she confirmed the suspicion she had always carried: Bane could take off his mask.
She gently moved her hand up his arm as she stared into his eyes, but within a matter of a seconds everything seemed to change. The look in his eye was no longer calm and curious, but rather furious and fed-up, and the objects in the room around them began to fade until nothing but black surrounded them. He tightened his grip on her waist, squeezing the area as hard as he could with his fingers, and Jenna's face distorted into a look of pain as she tried to back away, but Bane would not let her move. His hand was hot –burning, suddenly– and with wide eyes Jenna forced herself to glance down at the source of the pain. She froze again, however, as her heart started to pound and race, when she realized her skin was melting around his hand, her molten flesh running over his own fiery skin and dripping onto the concrete floor. She opened her mouth to scream, but no sounds came, no one was around to save her anyway, and she tried to pull away again, only to find her movements to be slow and weak. Bane was glaring directly into her eyes, his own glare burning, and suddenly his mask was back on his face. He was saying something to her, speaking quickly and firmly, but his respirator mumbled and combined the words together into unintelligible sounds that Jenna could not make out, but yet she understood what he was saying. She had crossed the line, she failed in proving herself, and now she would pay the price...
As soon as this thought entered her mind, Bane loosened his grip on her ever so slightly before he violently pushed her away from himself...
The feeling of falling woke Jenna up from a dead sleep suddenly, and with a racing heart she struggled to catch her breath as she stared at the wall in front of her. She furrowed her eyebrows as she closed her eyes again, and suddenly she was faced with the horrid task of remembering her dream.
It was not the intensified heat of his skin, or even the way he had melted the skin from her body, but what she could not get out of her mind was his face. The longer she stayed awake, the more the features she had imagined him to have began to slip away, but she found herself trying to hold onto them. How accurate had that been? It was a dream, she told herself. A nightmare. There was nothing accurate about it, how could there be?
She continued to breathe deeply, feeling hot suddenly, and she quickly kicked out one of her legs from the blanket. Her heart continued to race as she lie there with her eyes closed, trying to allow herself to calm down as she struggled to focus on something else, but the moment she heard her door open, she jumped, and made the terrible mistake of turning to look over her shoulder rather than pulling her leg back under the blanket.
Bane froze where he stood, his hand still holding the handle of the door, and his eyes had instantly dropped down to stare at her exposed leg. Before he could realize what he was doing, his eyes wandered up the length of her slender leg and focused for a split second on the portion of her ass that the blanket didn't cover, and just as he shifted his eyes away to stare at the corner of the room, Jenna retracted her leg back under the blanket and clutched the blanket tighter around her hips, a movement which was unnecessary since now she was completely covered. Her heart was racing and powerful shocks were running up and down her spine vigorously, and she felt her face reddening as she, too, stared at a corner of the room.
Finally, a short moment later, Bane cleared his throat, realizing how ridiculous this situation was turning out to be. Although Bane had left the issue of what he and Jenna had done the night before in his room behind him, and though he had figured he had left those feelings behind as well, he felt like slamming his fists down onto the wall as he forced himself to deal with the strong shock that had ran up his spine, and continued to linger on the back of his neck. Nothing is going on here, he reminded himself. So Jenna had fallen asleep with no pants on, and so what if he had seen? He closed his eyes tightly before he opened them, and he turned his head to look at the profile of her face as she made a strong effort to keep her gaze focused on the corner of the floor. It was up to him, he reminded himself, to put an end to these feelings between the two.
"Get up," Bane said to her now. "You and Barsad have... an errand... to run."
His words left much to be desired, and only after he turned and closed the door behind him did Jenna finally turn her head to look in the direction he had been standing in. Her heart had not yet calmed down, and she sighed as she leaned over in the cot to slide out her bag from underneath it. She grew frustrated as she shuffled around in her bag for a pair of pants, remembering a simpler time when she could lock her bedroom door and walk around naked if she wanted, but with that thought came the remembrance of everything else about her 'previous' life.
Issues and memories of her parents seemed minuscule for the time being, however, for she could not get the situation out of her head. Perhaps it wouldn't have been so bad if she and him hadn't done what they had the night before. Because of that, it caused the situation to seem more awkward, and unfortunately, it forced Jenna to think about how Bane had felt under the palm of her hand again, something she had told herself she would no longer allow. It wasn't right, and it wasn't fair.
Finally, after she had found a pair of jeans, she managed to put them on in the cot, and only after they were zipped and buttoned did she finally stand up and head to the door. She opened it cautiously, her eyes wandering around the room. A few henchmen stood around, eating, and she noticed Bane's bedroom door was open. She glanced toward the stairs and around the room, searching for Isaac, for she felt like he was the only person on Earth she could stand not to feel scared or awkward around anymore, especially after their dining and driving experience.
As always, her timing was terrible and her desires to avoid Bane failed again, for just as she stepped out of the room Bane stepped out of his as well, a paper in his hand that he was reading over, and she swallowed.
"Eat something, please, before you go outside to smoke," Bane's voice broke through her thoughts just as she started to pass him, and when she glanced over at him she saw he was still keeping his eyes firmly planted on the paper. But just when she figured he was feeling as awkward as she was, he surprised her when he lifted his eyes up to stare into hers.
"Eat what?" She finally asked, her voice slightly hoarse, and she cleared her throat before Bane answered.
"Whatever you can find up there."
With a frown, Jenna started up the stairs and straight down the hall where a small fridge and microwave sat next to and on a counter. An opened box of doughnuts sat on the counter by the microwave, but upon leaning over and lifting the lid, Jenna made a face when she noticed nothing but jelly-filled doughnuts remained, and she carelessly left the lid open as she opened the fridge, her stomach rumbling suddenly. There was a box of pizza sitting inside the nearly empty fridge, and out of hungry curiosity she took the box out before lifting the lid to smell the three slices that remained. They smelled okay enough, so with a shrug she took out a piece, closed the box, and put it back in the fridge before she started down the stairs.
When Bane heard light footsteps, he glanced up from the paper again and watched as Jenna entered the main area of the basement, a piece of bitten pizza in her hand. He smirked, enjoying the way in which she always seemed to follow his orders.
"You follow orders very well," he encouraged in loud, slightly amused tone as he looked back down to the paper, and Jenna frowned as she glanced over at him, and she unintentionally took a step closer to him and the wall he was leaning against.
"I was hungry," she stated before taking another bite, growing confused and slightly annoyed when Bane chuckled at this.
"Of course you were," he mumbled. Naturally, Jenna would never admit she was following orders. She liked to believe that everything she did was because of her own self will. Bane was positive if he told her to smash her head into the wall, she would comply in one way or another, and then later give him some bullshit reason as to why she had actually wanted to it. With further thought, Bane realized that he wanted to slam his own head against the wall, when suddenly unwanted images of Jenna that morning rushed into his mind.
It bewildered her. Just hours prior she was determined to avoid Bane and not allow herself to think about him, let alone talk to or stare at him. But here she was, carrying out all of the above. But her dream had entered her mind again, and she stared blankly at his mask as she desperately tried to remember what the man in her dream had looked like. Bane felt her intense glare, and eventually he slowly turned his head to look at her. Jenna did not revert eyes away at first however, and he stared at her while she stared at his mask until finally Jenna snapped out of her daze, her eyes instantly finding his.
"Is there something on my face?" Bane asked sarcastically as he glanced away and back down to the paper, and Jenna felt lightheaded at his words. But suddenly, a very undesired smile crept its way onto her plump lips, and Bane's eyebrows rose slightly when he heard a small, natural laugh escape past her. He caught her in just enough time to watch as she forced her mouth shut while she tried to let her desire to laugh at his joke pass, and once she felt like it was over she finally glanced back at him, wanting to kick herself.
"I have a question," she started, and she paused when Bane sighed and rolled his eyes as he looked back down to the paper.
"What ever could it be this time?" He mumbled, his words muffled due to the mask.
"Your... mask," she started, trying not to think about how his muscles had felt under her hand. After all, that action had started when she stated she had a question... She blinked a few times to clear the images from her head. "Can you take it off?"
"It would be terribly painful–" he started, and a shock ran up Jenna's spine, "–for the person who tries."
Jenna's lips parted as her brows furrowed in confusion. "So you can't take it off?"
"Why?" Bane asked as he slowly looked at her again, and she swallowed.
"I was just wondering," she finally said as she glanced away, deciding it to be a good idea not to tell Bane about her dream. It was ridiculous that she had even been considering that...
Bane remained staring at her for a moment longer until a new pair of footsteps started down the stairs, and Bane and Jenna glanced over at the stairs in unison to watch as Isaac descended them, swinging his keyring around on his pointer finger, and Jenna noticed he carried some sort of clothing in his other arm.
"Alex and the boys are over there waiting already," Isaac said as he approached them. "We'll head out as soon as she changes." Without warning he suddenly tossed the clothes at Jenna, and without thinking she reached out to catch them, letting out an annoyed sigh when she dropped her pizza in the process. Isaac and Bane were staring at her when she finally glanced away from the pizza and up to them, and her lips parted as she glanced down to the black t-shirt and large looking cargo pants she now carried.
"I have to wear these?" She asked now, a defeated tone in her voice as she frowned.
"That's the idea," Isaac said. "Hurry up, we gotta go."
She let out an exasperated sigh as she turned around just as Bane handed Isaac the paper he had been looking over.
"This is their schedule," Bane was saying as Jenna headed to her room. "Don't let them you know have it. This way we can find out who will prove themselves loyal, and which ones will not."
"Yes sir," Isaac said with a wide grin as he folded the paper to place in his pocket, and he glanced up just as Jenna closed her door.
Jenna was still frowning as she unfolded the clothes and laid them out on the cot after she fixed the blanket on top. She stood straight and stared at them, knowing already that the clothes were going to be huge and uncomfortable. She sighed as she shook her head, and she bent down to find a new pair of underwear before she shed off her shirt to start putting on the black t-shirt. As she predicted, it was huge, the bottom hanging down an inch or two above the middle of her thigh, and the wide sleeves hung down lamely on her arms. She bit her bottom lip as as she started to put on the cargo pants, and she grew even more frustrated after she buttoned and zipped them when she realized they were still too big on her. They fell down her waist and barely hung onto her wide hips, and although she hated the shirt, she was at least thankful that the long material hid how low the pants were.
After she tied her shoes, she found herself wishing she had a mirror as she sulked back the door, and she pushed her bangs out of her face as she slowly opened the door. Bane and Isaac had been chatting about something while they waited, but once Jenna started to approach them their conversation stopped short, and they both turned their heads to look over her. Isaac laughed while Bane grinned, and Jenna was glaring at Isaac.
"I can't wear this," Jenna complained. "I look like a dyke."
Issac couldn't help but to laugh harder, and he lifted his fist to his mouth as he turned around, hoping his actions would not upset Bane. But Bane was ignoring him as he shook his head at Jenna's choice of words.
"You standby your claims over your hatred for you life of luxury, yet the world comes crumbling down if you're forced to wear something that did not cost over five hundred dollars and doesn't expose what society has claimed to be the most admirable parts of your body."
His words stung, and Jenna's mouth fell open as she glared into his eyes. "That's not true, I-"
"Don't defend yourself, you two are already late enough as it is," Bane interrupted as he started to turn around. "I figured this was something that would have been obvious, but clearly it's something you'll have to learn the hard way. Around here, apparel isn't meant to be cute, or something worth looking it. It's meant to be flexible and functional." He couldn't help but to feel stupid with having to explain this to Jenna, and he shook his head as he entered his room. He felt vastly annoyed, suddenly, and he had to wonder if his annoyance with her was due to her actions the night before. Perhaps, if that had never happened, and he hadn't touched her back, then maybe he would have seen this issue to be more trivial, and worth something to laugh at along with Isaac. "Now go," he commanded finally.
Jenna was still glaring at him, and she didn't look away until after Isaac grabbed her wrist and tugged her along behind him toward the stairs. She gritted her teeth as she struggled to free her arm, and finally, with one good swing of her arm, she broke through Isaac's grasp, and he paused on the steps to turn and stare at her.
"Fuckin' really?" He started. "You get a little offended and now you're gonna start acting like a baby?"
Jenna shook her head as she stormed past him, hating the noise the pants made every time she took a step. "I'm not offended," she lied. "And I don't like when people grab my wrist."
"C'mon now, you're a better liar than that," Isaac started as he started to follow, and he quickened his pace to catch up with her.
"Just, don't talk to me," Jenna said finally said as she glanced over her shoulder once she reached the top of the stairs.
"Fine," Isaac said simply now as he followed her out of the exit door into the bright sunlight. The bright rays from the sun were deceiving, however, for as soon as Jenna stepped onto the concrete platform, she immediately clenched her teeth together as she started to shiver. "Maybe you should invest in a coat," Isaac said as he stepped in front of her, and in an effort to get under her skin more, he took a firm hold of her wrist before he lifted it up and forced her palm up, and set down the keys to the Challenger in her hand. Jenna let out an annoyed breath through her nose as she glared at him, and Isaac's wide, amused grin only annoyed her further.
"I'm not driving," Jenna said as she immediately turned her hand around to try and place the keys back in Isaac's hand, but he quickly held both of his hands up and listened as the keys fell lamely to the ground.
"Get in the car," was all he said more sternly, and Jenna was left standing on the platform as he jumped down the four stairs to start over to the opened garage doors where the car sat inside. Frustration grew inside her, and once Isaac opened the passenger side door, Jenna bent down to pick up the keys, and with a feeling of anger and defeat she started over to the car.
Isaac was sitting comfortably in the seat with his head resting against the head rest, and once Jenna closed her door he rolled his head to the left and watched as she slowly stuck the keys in. Her eyes were narrowed as she glanced down to the shift gear, and a moment after she went from staring at it to glancing out of all the mirrors, she finally glanced at Isaac and frowned at the intense look he was giving her. Finally, she put the car in reverse, and started to back out of the garage painstakingly slow, remembering Isaac's instructions with turning the wheel, and a strong nervous feeling crashed over her when she realized another truckload of henchmen were in front of her, waiting to take off. Once she backed out, the truck in front zoomed off, and Jenna's lips parted as she struggled to put the car in drive.
"Where are we going?" She finally asked Isaac, who had grown shockingly surprised at her lack of constantly complaining over being forced to drive. But he said nothing, and only glanced out of the window as he waited for her to start driving forward. "Isaac," she said again in a more stern voice. "Where are we going?"
"You said not to talk to you," Isaac said, his eyes still fixed out of the window.
"Really?" Jenna mumbled now, and she tightened her grip on the steering wheel. "You're going to be this immature right now? I don't know what the fuck I'm doing!"
"I'm immature?" Isaac asked now as he finally looked over to her, his blue eyes piercing as they stared into hers, and Jenna could already feel herself backing down, something she was not proud of, and hoped that Isaac couldn't detect. "You told me not to talk to you because you don't know how to handle being offended maturely. You said not to talk to you, and quite honestly I don't want to right now anyway." He glanced out of the window again.
I'm being treated just like a child, again, Jenna thought sourly and sadly to herself. Why did this keep happening? And what did she say now? Did she ignore him, like she originally wanted to do, and just start driving? But the truck was already long gone, she had no idea where they had turned, and she didn't even want to begin to think about how furious Bane would be if she was the cause of Isaac not showing up to... wherever they were going. But how could she apologize, and ask him in a nicer tone to please tell her what to do? That would only enhance how she felt right now, and make her seem even more like a child. She bit down on her tongue as she glanced out of the windshield, growing more nervous when she confirmed that the truck was nowhere in sight, and she sucked in a breath as she turned back to Isaac.
"If you don't tell me where we're going you'll be late, and Bane won't like that, especially from his second in command," Jenna offered sternly, deciding there was no way she was going to apologize. Isaac let out a small chuckle before he turned to look at her.
"Nice try," he said. "You're in the position of making us late. The blame will go to nobody else but you."
"You should have been the one driving," Jenna retorted as her bangs fell into her face, and she hated the way Isaac grinned at this, too.
"Bane agrees you need to learn how to drive. Perhaps that's the only way you can be useful to him."
Jenna remained staring at him as he turned away, and she highly considered getting out of the car right there and then. But her body kept her put, deciding her stubborn mind would only lead to her getting killed, and she began to feel dizzy. If she didn't apologize, this would more than likely lead to death, as well, but if she did, how would she ever be taken seriously here?
"Take back what you said," Isaac finally told her. "And I'll tell you where to go."
"I'm not apologizing," Jenna mumbled as she glanced down to the steering wheel, and she clenched her eyes closed in anger when Isaac chuckled again.
"You know, you're the one who puts yourself in these situations." Isaac looked at her again. "You claim you don't like your wrist being grabbed, then pay attention and follow the person you're supposed to be, quickly. You say you're not a high society brat, then don't get mad when you gotta wear clothes you don't want for a couple hours. You claim you don't like being treated like a child, then don't act like one."
His tone was fierce and biting, and Jenna felt her stomach drop, though she continued to sternly remind herself she wasn't the one who was acting like a child. But regardless of her thoughts on the subject, a bigger worry lingered in the back of her mind, and finally she let out a sigh.
"Okay, I take it back then," she grumbled. "Please just tell me where we're going."
"Turn right up ahead, then left out of the property."
She kept her lips sealed tight as she finally accelerated the car forward, the engine loud and rumbling, and once she was out of the property, she fixed her hands on the wheel and sat up in her seat as she tried to remain calm while driving.
After Isaac had informed her they'd be staying straight on the road for a while, Jenna grew relieved when he had nothing more to say. She still felt like an idiot for apologizing, and though it had not been in so many words, and although she had not actually said 'I'm sorry', she still felt pathetic. But she would not allow herself to believe Isaac in deciding that maybe she was acting like a child. She wasn't. She was a hostage stuck in this shitty situation with these stupid and above all confusing people. How could anyone blame her for being angry?
The thoughts made her think back to her clothes. Bane and Isaac were wrong. Jenna was still high on the fact that she wasn't a 'high society brat' who always had to wear the most expensive and 'cutest' clothes, as Bane had said, but she knew she would not only feel better about herself, but also be able to preform Bane and Isaac's tasks more thoroughly if she could wear what she wanted to and feel comfortable. Baggy cargo and army pants and plain black shirts may have been comfortable for them, but they sure as hell weren't for her. They rubbed against her legs awkwardly, the swooshing noise they made on her sounded like nails on a chalkboard, and the looseness and bagginess of them kept her from moving smoothly. Why did she have to match them anyway? She wasn't apart of their team, she knew she never would be, nor did she even want to be. What was wrong with her leggings and jeans?
After a few more instructions on where to go, they had arrived to their destination, ten minutes late, and the rest of Bane's thugs were hanging outside, waiting with annoyed looks on their faces. Isaac knew the majority of their anger to be with Jenna, but he also assumed a portion of it was directed to him as well, for having her drive. Though he had never said anything, Isaac couldn't help but to be surprised with how much Jenna's driving had improved since the night before. Perhaps she had done so much better because she could not complain and allow herself to be scared. The thought satisfied him, and as Jenna took the keys from the ignition after she had parked on top of the line again, Isaac got out of the car and slammed the door shut.
"We're fuckin' late," one of the henchmen was saying as Isaac walked up to them while Jenna closed her own door, and she glanced at the building they were parked in front of while she followed Isaac. "The fuck is the girl doing here?"
"Bane wanted her to come along."
"Why?" One of them asked.
"Did she really have to drive, Isaac?" Another chimed in. "The fuck are you helping her for?!"
Isaac was ignoring them, for he was all business now, and he started toward the front doors of the building, which Jenna realized was some sort of old abandoned restaurant with the windows boarded up. The henchmen were glaring at her, and she tried to ignored them as she quickened her pace to follow Isaac closer as he led them to the door, which she noticed the wooden board had been ripped away from once they stepped inside.
The building was dim, the lights above barely illuminating the space, and in the near distance she could make out four other guys sitting at the old bar, and one of them grinned at them as he stood up from the stool to start over to them, the other three following his actions.
"I figured Bane's army would have been more punctual," the man said, and Isaac stopped in front of him, Jenna standing off to the side of him while the other henchmen waited behind them. "Who's the girl?" The man asked now as he glanced over to Jenna, and she raised her eyes to look into his dark ones before she glanced away with a roll of her eyes.
"The new recruit in training," Isaac replied smoothly, his words shocking Jenna. "And the source of our unpunctual mistake, in which I offer my apologies. But she's not what's important here."
Jenna's eyebrows were furrowed as she stared down at the ground. New recruit in training? Was that true, or was Isaac just saying that to get the man to lay off of her? With further thought, she had to wonder why she had even gone along in the first place.
"Bane needs to know you four are the best of the best, and capable of carrying out what he wants."
"Then why isn't he here to find out for himself?" One of the other men asked. Jenna glanced up to Isaac, and she stared at his smirking face, wondering how he was able to keep himself so composed. The attitude exuded from the four men were starting to piss her off.
"This is nothing more than an informal meeting, Alex, and Bane has better things to do than chat with the men he is... hiring. If he were here, however, he'd be able to see quickly your lack of seriousness over the issue, and decide that he'd no longer desire your services. We're more than capable of finding someone better and offering them the benefits and rewards we have so generously offered you."
Jenna had never felt more confused, and she glanced over to the man known as Alex as he stared at Isaac, a slight look of defeat on his face.
"So if there will be no further interruptions, I'd like to get on to the point. Is that alright with you?"
"I will not stand here and be talked down to, Barsad," Alex said. "I didn't spend my time training to be a damn firefighter all this time to work for pompous criminals who think they're the best of the best."
Isaac merely shrugged. "Then prove to us you're capable. On the date specified, aid with the arson on the city capital building and get us what we need from there, and if you do well then you will be accepted in our regiment. And by the end of this all, if you're not with us, then you're dead." Isaac's words sent a shiver down Jenna's spine as she desperately wondered what he meant by that.
"The city capital building?" Alex repeated, but Isaac was quick to interrupted.
"If that's too challenging we'll find someone else who is capable. It's your call, Alex."
The room went silent as Alex thought this over, his eyes rolling to the left in thought while he thinned his lips, and Jenna went from glancing at him to Isaac, who still wore that all-knowing smirk on his face.
"Alright fine," Alex finally said.
"We'll be in touch," was all Isaac replied with it, and without anything further to say he turned around and began out of the building. Jenna quickly followed him, staying behind a few of the other thugs while the rest followed her, and once they stepped out of the building she let out a small sigh as Isaac started toward the car. The henchmen said nothing to Isaac and Isaac said nothing to them as he waited for Jenna to unlock the car, and once she did he opened the door and immediately got in, leaving Jenna to follow his actions.
"What's going on?" She asked as she glanced over to him.
"It's just another phase in Bane's plan," Isaac answered as he glanced over to her. Jenna's eyebrows were furrowed as she tried to decide which of her fifty questions she wanted to ask him first.
"They're firefighters?"
"On the outside," Isaac replied. "We recruited them not too long ago and put them in training for the job. They are really working for us, or at least, they might be."
"Why?"
"Because we need guys on the inside of society," Isaac replied, "to secretly carry out tasks we otherwise couldn't without making a scene of it."
"Why did I have to go?"
"So you can get a taste of what we do," Isaac replied. "We need to find something you can offer to us, and the only way we'll find out is only after you experienced what we do."
"What if there's nothing I can do?" Jenna asked him a moment later in a quieter tone of voice.
Isaac shrugged. "We'll have to see," was all he said, and when he glanced away to look out of the window Jenna finally started the car, finally realizing the truck of henchmen had already driven off long ago. Jenna remained silent as she turned out of the abandoned bar's lot, trying to remember which ways to go to get back to the warehouse, and as she drove, struggling to keep the car straight and going at a steady speed, she figured she was on the right track, for Isaac never spoke up to correct her.
The silence gave her time to think. Bane was still hung up on the fact in wanting to see if she was good for anything, but why? Jenna still couldn't understand why he was keeping her around in the first place, though at the same time she knew she should maybe consider herself lucky that he was. Although she didn't want to be there or associated with Bane, Isaac, or any of them, it was better than being dead with a snapped neck and a lifeless body tossed out like garbage. She was instantly reminded of those strange feelings she had been having toward Bane, her actions the previous night and her dream, and she tried to push them out of her head as she continued on, hoping she hadn't missed a turn somewhere. So Bane wanted to find something she was good at, fine, but Jenna knew the first step in doing so would mean she'd have to be comfortable.
She was unsure why she was still so hung up on the clothes issue, or why she suddenly wanted to find something she was good at herself, but she knew she'd have to do it in steps. Staying alive by all means was her primary goal, and she knew she'd have to play by Bane's rules to continue to achieve it each and every day. But she wasn't anticipating just bing another thug mindlessly working for him. No, she was better than that, and if she was going to prove anything to these people it was that she was someone who deserved to be treated with respect. And her first step? Proving to Bane and Isaac that clothes that were comfortable to her would help her to preform better.
After she had pulled in front of the garage at the warehouse, proud for having Isaac have to tell her where to go only once, she put the Challenger in park but never removed the keys. "Wait here," she said to Isaac before he could open his door, and he cocked an eyebrow as he turned to look at her.
"Why?" he asked slowly.
"I need to go somewhere."
"Yeah, I don't think so," Isaac said with a smirk as he started to push open his door, but Jenna quickly spoke up.
"If Bane says I can, then you'll have to go with me."
"What makes you think he'll let you go where you want?"
"It's worth a try," Jenna replied. Isaac paused, wondering where all of this was coming from, but a moment later he closed his door and leaned back in the seat.
"Fine. But don't start crying if he tells you no."
"Fuck you," Jenna mumbled as he stepped out of the car, and Isaac watched her head over to the exit door, wondering where she even wanted to go in the first place.
The building seemed empty as Jenna headed down the staircase, but with each step she took she felt herself losing more and more confidence, and once she had stepped up to Bane's closed door, she started to wonder what she had even been thinking. She was foolish for thinking Bane would allow her permission over what she was about to ask, and she took in deep breaths as she thought this over. She frowned, realizing how fucking pathetic she would look if she silently headed back upstairs to turn the car off and tell Isaac never mind, especially after not having asked Bane at all. She continued to stand there, finally realizing she had set herself up to have to at least ask now. Fuck me, she thought sourly to herself, and she forced herself to raise her fist to leave three small knocks on the door.
"Come in," she heard Bane's low voice grumble from inside, and she swallowed before she pushed open the door. The room was nearly dark, the small lamp on the desk not offering much light, and a shock ran up her spine when Bane turned in his chair in front of the desk to glance back at her, and his eyebrows furrowed once his eyes found hers. What was Jenna doing there?
"Where's Barsad?" he asked her, and Jenna swallowed when he stood from the chair suddenly to take slow, lingering steps toward her, and Jenna stared up at his giant frame, which suddenly didn't seem so sexy all of the sudden. Her intense nervous state was only allowing her mind to see him as something to be feared of for the first time in her eyes, but she tried to ignore this as she opened her mouth to speak.
"He's... in the car," she forced the words out. "I, um... had a question."
Bane's eyebrows furrowed even more as he stared down at her while he wondered what was going on, or why Isaac was allowing this. She had to be lying. The majority of him wanted to silence her and send her to go fetch Isaac, there being more important issues on the line than her question, but unfortunately Bane's curiosity was heightening with each second that went past. Jenna acted uncaring, mean and brave, but this was by the far the first act of bravely she had done since first arriving here, and Bane couldn't help but to be slightly impressed. He figured her question must be important. Why else would she have the courage to knock on his door and momentarily pause the important conversation he had to have with his second in command? Jenna continued to listen to his eerie breathing that filled the room as he stared into her eyes intensely, until finally he asked, "what is it?"
His voice sent a chill down her spine, but she tired to ignore it as she struggled to focus on what was really important here. "Do you still have my... purse?"
"Perhaps," Bane replied. "Why?" He pressed on further with a growl.
"Can I have it?"
"This is what you came down here for?" Bane asked her now, starting to lose patience. "For your bag back?"
"I need the money that's inside my wallet," Jenna correct quickly just as Bane started to turn around, and he paused before he slowly started to turn back to her.
"For what?"
His voice sounded like that of a demons as he asked her these questions, and although Jenna was wishing she had never in come in and asked, she was in too deep, and had no choice but to argue her case.
"I need to buy something," she said in a slight mumble, and she glanced down slightly.
"I'm not someone to avoid the main point with, Jenna, what do you need?"
"Something," she replied, but when she heard Bane take in a large, annoyed breath, she quickly looked back up at him to continue on. "You'll... see what it is, but Isaac is going to go along too. It's nothing... bad, I promise."
Bane felt confused, but he welcomed the feeling, for it was confusion about something else other than his odd feelings toward Jenna. "You seem to be forgetting who's in charge here. You don't decide what Barsad does, I do, and it's not going to be so simple for you to decide what you want to do around here or what trivial objects you think you need. However," Bane went on quickly, and right when Jenna had accepted the fact that she had lost, and only worsened her situation, her eyes narrowed slightly as a small feeling of hope arose in her. "I'll grant you this permission one time because unfortunately you've heightened my... curiosity, especially with your courageous and intelligent act of asking my permission first. But when you return, you come straight back to me after I meet with Barsad so we can re-discuss how it'll work around here."
Jenna's heart was racing as she watched Bane turn toward the wide, metal dresser that was on the wall behind the door, and she sucked in a deep breath as he opened one of the drawers to pull out her purse. He reached into it, took out the wallet, pulled out all the cash she had inside it and slowly stepped back up to her. He held out his hand to give her the cash, but once Jenna lifted her own and took the money in her hand, she jumped when Bane suddenly closed his fingers around her hand, and she flinched at the pain he inflicted by squeezing too tightly.
"If you come back here with anything that is trivial or may aid with your... escape attempts, I will use that object to aid me in your death. Do you understand?"
The pain from her hand was starting to shoot up her arm, but she forced herself to nod as she struggled to keep eye contact with him. He remained staring fiercely into her eyes for another long, silent moment until he suddenly let go of her hand, being careful as to not brush his fingers against her skin, and Jenna tried not to let out a sigh of relief.
"You have no more than one hour," Bane told her as he turned around to head back over to his desk.
Jenna said nothing to this as she turned around quickly to head out of his room, and once his door was shut she she rushed up the stairs and out to the car, where Isaac was surprisingly still waiting. When she got back in, he eyed the money in her hand with confused eyes before he finally glanced up to her for answers.
"Whose money is that?" He asked. "Where are we going?"
"It's mine, and where-"
"He gave you your money back?" Isaac interrupted, bewildered. "Why wou-"
"Isaac please, I only have an hour to do this. Where is the closest sporting goods store?"
Isaac was still staring at her, positive she was lying. Why would Bane give her money to go do what she wanted? It made no sense. He sighed a moment later, however, deciding he was too curious to see what was going on, and he knew the sooner Jenna did what she had to do, then the sooner he could find out what was going on. "Get out," he said to her. "I'll drive."
Jenna shot him a confused look, but she was quick to follow his request and get out of the car while Isaac scooted over to the driver seat. Once she closed the door, Isaac put the car in drive and zoomed away from the building. Jenna quickly grabbed and held onto the door as her body was jerked around due to Isaac's crazy driving.
"What do you need at a sporting goods store?" Isaac asked her once they had gotten onto a main road.
"Something," Jenna replied. "I'm going to prove something to you guys."
"With something from a sporting goods store?"
"Yes," Jenna replied, growing frustrated. "Just... be patient."
"How'd you get that money?"
"It's mine," Jenna said. "I asked Bane for it."
"And he just gave it to you?" Isaac asked, glancing over at her. Jenna sighed.
"Yeah, but not without a cost."
"Well, yeah," Isaac agreed. "You may have just given yourself a death wish. I hope whatever you getting from here is worth it."
Jenna didn't reply to this, and she was relieved when the conversation died down as they continued on to the store. Fifteen minutes later, Isaac was parking in the lot, and he turned the car off as Jenna started to open the door.
"You've got fifteen minutes," he told her sternly, "and keep your head down. Your cursed eyes will be the cause of you getting recognized." Jenna ignored him as she stepped out of the car and started toward the building, and she rolled her eyes over Isaac's command and the sound her pants made as she walked. But regardless, as soon as she stepped in the store, she kept her head down, and she avoid people's gazes as she headed to the department she was looking for, wondering if any of them were even looking at her anyway.
Pairs of woman's cargo pants hung neatly on various racks, and upon glancing around she noticed various tank tops and that the shoe section was located directly behind the clothes. As she started to quickly go through the pants, looking for a style she liked and her size, she couldn't help but to grin to herself over her plan. In Bane's game, she would follow his rules and dress to match his crew, but she was going to do it her way in a way that made her feel comfortable and confident. As she picked out pairs of pants, she couldn't help but to worry that Bane would get angry over her for this, but suddenly the majority of her wanted to go through with her idea and make it work. It'll work, she told herself. "Your situation is what you make of it," Isaac had told her when she first got there. Now, Jenna felt like she was starting to understand what those words meant.
After she had picked out the pants in her size, hoping they would look how she was picturing in her mind, she picked out two black tank tops, remembering she had a few black shirts back at the warehouse, and moved on quickly to the boot section of the shoes. Fortunately, this area was not very crowded, and this gave her plenty of time to muse over the selection in front of her.
After being stuck with no choice but to try the two pairs she liked on, she quickly replaced the boots back into the box and started over to the checkout lines.
"Did you find everything you need?" the lady behind the counter asked as she began to scan the items. Jenna made a point not to let the lady see her eyes when she answered yes. The lady sensed quickly that Jenna was not one to chat with, and after she had bagged the items and given Jenna her change, Jenna took the bag and headed over to the bathrooms to change.
Twenty minutes had gone by now, and Isaac was starting to lose his patience. He remained sitting in the car, waiting for Jenna, and when he glanced down at his watch he decided to be generous and offer Jenna five more minutes before being forced to go in there, fetch her, and bring her back to Bane to let him decide her fate. He glanced up and looked out of the passenger side window toward the building, and he watched as a slender lady wearing a black tank top, tight cargo pants and combat boots that ended just below her knees start out of the building, a large bag clutched in her hand, and he smirked as he nodded in slight approval before he turned his head to look out of the driver side window. Not even three seconds after, however, he did a double take, and as he stared out of the window at the woman, he realized it was Jenna. His eyebrows rose as she headed over to the car, the wind blowing through her hair, and his jaw had dropped slightly by the time she opened the car door to get in. As she situated the bag by her feet and closed the door, Isaac couldn't help but to let his eyes roam down her body ridiculously quickly before he looked back to her face just as she turned around.
"That's what you bought?" He asked, more bewildered than ever. Jenna surprised him when she grinned.
"Yup," she replied simply.
"And... what point does this prove?"
"It proves that comfortable, stylish clothes make all the difference," Jenna said, fully aware that she sounded like a high class brat, but at the moment she didn't care. "And you can't say anything about it because I'm still dressed like the rest of you."
Isaac finally started the car. "I may not be able to, but Bane can say whatever he wants." Jenna glanced over to him, a nervous shock running up her spine, and Isaac grinned when he looked back over to her before he put the car in drive. "Good luck," he added before he took off out of the parking lot.
–
The ride back to the warehouse went by quicker than Jenna had expected, and by the time Isaac was parking the car in garage, she felt as though she hadn't been left enough time to prepare to meet with Bane again. Isaac's words had left her feeling nervous again, and second guessing her choices. Would Bane take this too seriously, and grow furious over her slightly smart-ass-like ways, or would he simply accept what she had done, at least be grateful over the fact the clothes issue could be dropped, and proceed with reciting the rules to her. As she got out of the car and headed to the door, bag in hand, she hoped for the latter.
Isaac followed her inside and remained behind her as she headed into the basement, and she couldn't help but to grow slightly relieved when she noticed Bane was nowhere in sight, and his door was shut. Isaac remained silent as he immediately started over to the door, leaving Jenna to head over to her room and close the door behind her. She took slow and steady breaths as she emptied the contents of the bag onto her cot, and since the pants she wore fit her so well, she started with removing the tags from the pants and other tank top before she began to rummage around in her bag for more black shirts. In the back of her mind she had to wonder, however, if she was doing all this for nothing.
At last the time to find out came, and just as she had finished folding the clothes and placing them on the floor next to the cot, she heard a door open, and a shiver ran through her when she heard Bane call her name. She swallowed as she headed to the door, and she opened it cautiously, glancing around first to see who would be witnessing Bane's rage she was predicting, but she grew shocked when she noticed the main area of the basement was empty. She stepped out of her room, searching for Bane, and once she found him sitting on an old, torn up couch in the middle of the room, she slowly started over. His back was to her, and only after she had stepped down a small platform to the area the couch sat in, did Bane finally turn his head to look at her. He froze however, a shock running up his own spine once his eyes found her body.
A tight, black tank top hugged her body, hiding any cleavage but the tightness of the material showed off her breasts and curve of her waist perfectly, and as his eyes slowly roamed down he stared at her pants. The tight, army green cargo pants hugged her legs, showing off how slender and shaped they were, and he noticed the two pockets located on the sides of her legs. What was most note worthy, however, were the combat boots that were so obviously designed for the fashionable woman. They ended just below her knee, the laces criss-crossing all the way down, though judging by the base of them, they did appear functional enough, much to his surprise, and he had to wonder where she had gone to get the outfit.
Jenna had watched his eye movements slowly roam down her body as she stepped over to stand in front of the couch, and she remained silent as she waited for him to speak. She stared at his eyes, trying to judge what he was thinking or feeling as they slowly roamed back up her body, but because his mask obstructed so much of his face, she could not tell, and she stayed still as she listened to him breathe.
"Are you trying to prove something to me?" Bane asked her as he slowly rose from the couch, and Jenna's eyes flickered over him, and they lingered on a large and wide belt he wore around his hips. The sound of his boot hitting the ground snapped her away from her daze, and she lifted her eyes to look at him. "Are you?" Bane pressed on when he was a mere foot away from her. He watched as Jenna's mouth fell open, and he anticipated for her to say no, but a moment later she thinned her lips before she blinked her eyes slowly.
"Yes," she said. "I am."
Bane's eyes widened as he took another small step closer to her, and he glared into her eyes, waiting for an explanation.
"You're expecting me to go out and do all these tasks and 'see what I'm good at'," she began, and she broke eye contact with Bane, his glare too intense. "And I can't do that unless I'm wearing something comfortable."
Bane didn't know where to begin. "You are an enigma , Jenna," he began as she shook his head slightly, and his eyes roamed down her body quickly before he looked back to her face. "You demand to make it known you're not a child, but yet when you're expected to wear something you don't like you go out of your way to make things go your way." His words faded off into a growl, and the noise caused Jenna to glance up at him again as he slowly started to circle around her. "You claim these clothes will aid with your capabilities, or at least the ones we are striving to discover," he began now in a louder voice, and once he had gone around her completely he stopped in front of her. "But to me they appear to be nothing more than a feminized statement of our uniform. Those can't possibly be comfortable."
"They are," Jenna began, but she jumped when Bane interrupted her with a booming voice.
"Then you'll have to prove it to me!" Bane said, suddenly not liking where Jenna's gaze was fixed on the floor, and he reached out to take a firm hold of her jaw before he lifted her head up, forcing her to look into his eyes. Her body had stiffened, pain already stemming from where his fingers gripped her jaw, and as a quick reflex she had reached up with her own hands to push him away, but instead she ended up clutching the fabric of his black shirt. She swallowed as she held onto his shirt, staring into his eyes now, and her actions had slightly shocked Bane. "Failure to do so will result in these pants, here, being strung around your neck as I watch the life drain from your eyes." He remained staring into her electric eyes, and he grew frustrated when the urge of wanting to curl his fingers back and feel her skin again overcame him. At the same time, Jenna could sense the muscle that laid just beneath the shirt she was clenching, and she struggled not to let her finger tips touch his body, because she knew what urges she would have then.
The silence and the weight of the moment seemed to intensify second by second, and Jenna felt her lips part when Bane's hand twitched slightly, his fingertips just barely brushing against her skin, and in response Bane felt her own fingers move closer to his stomach, her clutch on the material loosening. Bane had been stern on the fact of wanting to stop the feelings between the two and keep them from having moments like this, but as he stood there, staring at her, he realized he was failing. At the same time, Jenna had been desperate to avoid him, but her failure had already begun that morning, and as she continued to stand there, barely able to feel his stomach beneath her fingertips, she felt her self-will slipping away fast. She instantly thought back to the night she had so bravely felt his arm, but the second the idea slipped into her mind she immediately forced it out.
Finally, Bane forced himself to release her jaw, and he allowed his fingers to brush her skin as he did so, just to see what would happen. But the shocks that ran up his spine were proving to be tradition every time he touched her, and the feelings that overcame him were becoming fact. Once he let go, Jenna finally did as well, and she gently let the material of his shirt slip slowly from her grasp. Bane stared at her a second longer, and right when Jenna expected him to say or do something else, he turned around and started up the stairs to the basement.
In the beginning of October I started writing a Joker Halloween one-shot, so that is why this story hadn't been updated in a while (if you were my friend on Facebook you would have known that! Lacey ClownQween Michele - add me!) But rest assured that I'm back to updating this story to its completion! Please leave me some love!