[PRP] Paging A Doctor (Jack/Chel)

[chiickadee]

"Desperate for someone who can ********' do somethin'." she responded with a half-smile. "And who can I say "I care about ya" without makin' it 'bout himself."

She rolled her hands and slipped on one side of the headphones again. "I got it, I put everyone in danger, I got it. Cool cool." Her tone was far too bored for the words she was saying, even more polar when she turned to give Jack her backside.  

[medigel]

He gazed at her back and revisited the idea of violently vacating Chel from his room. Then, he reached for Owain's totem and slipped it back on before he sat himself on the bed,

< She is frightened, Jack. She must have been feeling like this for a long time now. >

sipped his coffee,

< Nightmares, near-death scares, the thing constantly around her wrist. And now this clone business. >

and looked absentmindedly through the window.

< Dear one, she confided because she cares about you and wants your support. She wants to know that this matters. >

Then she can quit acting like a ******** child every time I try to help.

< Or perhaps you could be less sensitive about slights to your ego and more aware of how you affect others, how their individual lives and issues mat-- >

Jack took the armlet off and dropped it straight on the ground by his feet without letting the mug leave his lips.
 

[chiickadee]

To drop Owain a second time was complicating matters. Chel would've left Jack in peace until he'd cooled down, but he'd boxed her in on the bed unintentionally.

"What's he sayin'?" she questioned trying to keep the tone conversational. "Somethin' 'bout wind in the leaves again?"

She thought about the conversation lurking the back of her mind under Abbi's well-intentioned advice. This was why she laughed. Owain had to speak for her and Jack couldn't even take that.  

[medigel]

He nursed his drink instead of answering at first. It wasn't that Owain had brought up anything new--this was certainly not the first time he had been forcibly made aware of the condition of others--but that he didn't want to have to deal with all that bullshit right now. His headache was gone, but his sleep schedule was ********, he had apparently wasted his time with dyslexia research when he could have been looking at something else more important, and the upcoming mission had a high chance of him being even more ******** one way or another. It was his turn to curse himself for not just simply being in the mood for a rough ******** to forget about it.

Jack answered brusquely, his voice somewhat muffled by the mug he continued to drink slowly from. If he was aware of the parallel with how he had acted earlier, he didn't show it.

chiickadee

 

[chiickadee]

"Mm. At least he's tryin'. Tensy just told me to spill yer coffee. Sounds like we need t'trade." Actually, her weapon had been totally silent this entire time. It just seemed like a conversational thing to say.

She summoned enough effort to look back over her shoulder on a propped up arm. "You got headphones that aren't uh- stuck together? Like little earbuds somethin'?"  

[medigel]

"Tenebrae's also a nasty ********. Top drawer of my desk." He had bought them to replace the headphones he'd given her, but he wasn't a huge fan of earbuds. They were rolled up neatly by his iPod, bound by the twist they'd originaly come with so that they wouldn't mysteriously tangle themselves.  

[chiickadee]

Chel unhooked her headphones and set them on the nightstand, and pushed herself off the bed. As she passed Jack she put an absent-minded hand on his shoulder until her fingers dragged off and dropped back to her side.

It took some effort to find the headphones as she'd been imagining something more colorful, but an undone twist later and she had hooked them up to her ipod. One earplug went into her right ear and she returned to where she'd been laying with the sigh of a person much older than she was.

The other earbud was offered to Jack. "C'mon," she tempted him. "There's nothin' some Fall Out Boy never solved." It shouldn't have come as a surprise that Chel still wasn't over her precious middle school bands, but it might have been a surprise that she really only listened to them when she needed the armor.  

[medigel]

He continued to drink without reaction until the offer was made. After a pause, Jack turned and took the earbud. "New or old?" he asked as he placed it in his ear, though he still appeared grouchy. "Don't like their new s**t as much."  

[chiickadee]

"I got 'em both," she told him, handing him the playlist to pick what he wanted. "Totally wanted to ******** Pete Wentz when I was little. Still probably would."  

[medigel]

Jack scoffed, hit the shuffle button, and skipped through several until they reached "Calm Before the Storm." "You and every other FOB fangirl who wasn't thirsty for Patrick Stump," he said as he let the iPod fall back into the bed. "I knew someone who decorated their whole locker with their s**t, it was disturbing." Still judging, still in a mood, but at least talking.  

[chiickadee]

"Why I gotta ******** one or the other? I am down to ******** both. At the same time even," she gave him a sideways grin, looking for approval. "I never put stuff in my locker 'cause that would require me actually bein' at school, but I totally had posters and s**t. Surprised you didn't, emo boy." It was said affectionately, complimented with a hand that gestured him closer because him being so far away was tugging the headphone out of her ear.

He'd picked a decent song, though Chel was more prone to their made-for-radio hits. "S'is one your favorite?"  

[medigel]

"Of course," he said with a roll of his eyes. "Classic you."

He scooted the minimum distance required to let them sit without having an earbud pulled out and laid against his pillow, one leg on the bed and the other hanging off. "One of the first ones I heard from them, actually. I had some stuff," he added with a small shrug. "Parents encouraged self-expression, so maybe I took it a little far just because. Emo dens are great at repelling them."  

[chiickadee]

"Takin' it too far to piss someone off. Thas classic you." She reached out with a single finger to knock against his cheek with her knuckle.

Finally she turned on her side (this time facing Jack) and gave him her attention. "Y'wanna go hit some s**t? Might make ya feel better." She'd had a full day of cave exploration and duties, but Chel was always up for more mayhem.  

[medigel]

He leaned his head away to avoid being touched and pressed on the bud when it threatened to pop out. "s**t like the training dummies? Pass." Although a work out might tire him out just enough to go to sleep..."Unless you meant a spar?"  

[chiickadee]

"Naw. Spar would be downright pitiful with my daggers against darlin' Owain. Thas slaughter not a spar." Then to spite him she reached out to touch his nose and leaned far enough until the headphone fell out from the rowdiness and his nose was sufficiently tapped.

She laughed something low as she put the headphone back in, taking a second or two to revel in the amusement of a cranky Jack. "You gotta do me a favor."