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 Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 5:57 pm
Time was moving strangely for Jett; the days passed, but had been bleeding into one another. He was in a routine, but he couldn't tell if he'd run into someone a month ago or a week ago. School was out, and despite that theoretically freeing up more of his time, he'd just spent more of it devoted to the same old things. Dark Mirror Court. Work. Mom. Friends. Raven.
Raven.
Jett leaned back in his chair and looked at the phone on his desk, tapping his finger thoughtfully on the surface before he reached over and picked up the device, flipping open to his last text messages. There weren't as many from Raven—not as much as he was used to. When was the last time they had spent time together? Or really spoken outside of the phone?
It couldn't have been too long ago. Could it?
He debated calling her and then decided to just tuck his phone away. He wasn't going to go out that night—until his mother offhandedly commented that the lightbulb was out in the kitchen and she couldn't find the replacement bulbs.
It was already drifting into evening hours, but he had offered to go right then despite it not being an emergency. She had asked if he was going to be home by dinnertime; he replied 'Probably not'.
Plans had already formulated in his mind; he kissed his mother on the cheek and got into the car. There was no rush, so he didn't make it one; instead of heading straight to the store, he went to where he really wanted to go. Pulling into Raven's driveway was a thoughtless procedure; he'd done it many times before. Today, he had no gift to bestow upon the girl, sans a few odd trinkets he had stored in his car. But dinner should be incentive enough, right?
At this hour, he assumed she was home; he could see the light on in her room and it was reassurance enough for him. He turned his car off and then trotted over to her door, knocking.
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Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 7:40 pm
The knock on the door was met almost at once by barking from Raven’s dog. Boy did she love when visitors came to visit. Honestly she loved it a lot more then Raven did nowadays.
But…the dog’s bark was very annoying, and that alone finally drew the blonde out of her bed and down the stairs, opening the door a few moments later. “Oh. Hey. I didn’t know you were coming over.” She looked at her boyfriend with a slightly confused expression. Had there been a plan to see one another tonight? She really hadn’t thought there was. Raven was not ready for any sort of date. She was in her worst pajamas, going much more for comfort rather than her usual style, and her hair was a complete mess.
This was not really the state she would have liked for Jett to find her in…but she couldn’t find much energy to care right now. “Did I forget about plans or something? Why didn’t you just text me?”
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Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 7:50 pm
Jett raised a brow. "No," he replied slowly. "I was in the area. Was it wrong to stop by?" he asked, kneeling to pet at the dog's head as she danced around Raven's ankles. If he had any displeasure for her appearance, it didn't show. "I suppose I could have texted. Haven't seen you in a while, missed your face."
He was a bit on edge, if only because it wasn't the welcoming he had expected. Certainly he didn't imagine she would throw her hands in the air and cheer, but he had expected a little more life to her. Maybe she was sick? Yeah, that made sense. There was still a lot of pollen in the air, that could have been it. Or exhausted from finals. He looked back up at her as he continued to scratch behind the dog's ears. "You busy?"
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Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 7:57 pm
Raven just shrugged slightly. “Missed my face, hm? Well.” She couldn’t stop a bit of a smile from twitching onto her face. That was just funny. Well. She did have a very lovely face. Of course he should have missed it.
The girl took a step into the house, walking out of the entryway. “Close the door, okay? We can go up to my room, I guess. Or the living room. Whatever works best for you.”
Of course she wasn’t busy. She hardly ever did anything at night anymore. She hadn’t been out on patrol since that last time, and quite honestly she didn’t miss much about it. Okay. So she missed quite a bit, but there was no way she was going to go back out there. Not anytime soon. Not so long as Remarque was still there being a stupid jerk. She glanced behind her, giving Jett a rather cool look. “I’m not busy. Aren’t you normally the one who’s busy at night?”
Ah. She just couldn’t keep her mouth shut, now could she.
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Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 8:10 pm
With one last pat to the dog's head, Jett stood up. He didn't seem to think much of her words—or, if he did, he certainly didn't show it. "Normally," he admitted. There was no point in denying it; he was out far more than he probably should have been. It had cut into some of his hobbies, some of schoolwork. Some of his relationships.
With the wraiths acting up, it was easy to step away; he didn't want to deal with them now that it was getting dangerous for him. Stepping in after her, he made sure to nudge the dog inside before he closed the door behind him and followed the girl into the house. "Doesn't matter where we go, living room, your room. Long as I'm with you, I'll be happy. When are your parents getting back in?"
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Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 8:18 pm
The blonde led the way to her room, flopping down onto her bed, fluffing her pillow as she snuggled into it. She didn’t look towards the area in the room where her large mirror used to be. The absence of it was quite painfully obvious.
Raven finally glanced back up at Jett. “They’re gone for the week. So they’ll be back next Saturday. Some sort of Poe event. You know. Nothing new there, right?”
The only really new thing was the fact she hadn’t called him the moment they left the house. No, she hadn’t bothered to let him know that they were going out for an extended time at all. It just hadn’t seemed like a good thing to do. Why would he take time out of whatever it was he did to be with her? No, sometimes she figured it was better to keep information to herself.
Besides. If he was here, he’d end up leaving to go run around as Remarque. And she didn’t want to deal with that. Didn’t want to deal with that at all.
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Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 7:46 am
Following Raven into her room, his eyes instinctively went to where the mirror used to be. That she hadn't replaced it surprised him a bit, though considering the status of the wraiths, he didn't blame her. She'd seemed a bit off since the last time he'd seen her powered; he wouldn’t have been surprised if she'd had some post traumatic stress to deal with or something.
That definitely explained everything.
He avoided commenting on it in favor of taking a seat at the side of her bed. Absentmindedly he reached over, fingers combing through her hair as she lay there. "Nothing new there," he agreed; he was used to time alone at the house these days—when he was home. "Mom's back in town, she asked about you. Wondered if you'd like to come over for dinner or something, sometime."
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Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2013 11:59 am
Raven glanced up at him, then shrugged. “Yeah I guess so. I like your mom. She’s cool.” Even though she was the main reason that the two hadn’t yet gotten an apartment together. Maybe she didn’t like his mom as much as she thought. Honestly…maybe it was just the fact that he liked his mom too damn much for her comfort level. That was the truth.
She sighed, rolling away from him. “Anyway. Did you want something tonight, or were you just killing time before prowling the streets like a grade A creeper?” The blonde couldn’t stop the bitterness from creeping into her voice and didn’t really care to. She was ticked off, and honestly, it was all due to Jett. All due to everything about him, but she just wasn’t sure how to deal with it right now. She just wanted something to get resolved…but as of yet…nothing was getting resolved.
Honestly…she wondered if it would. Part of her just wanted to turn her back on the dumb blonde bimbo who was sitting next to her and be done with him forever…or for at least a while. A good long while.
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Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2013 7:24 am
Instinctively, Jett snorted. It wasn't the idea that was ridiculous to him but the phrasing. "No," he replied simply. Her rolling away made him a bit suspicious—but she had been off for a while now. Not that he knew what to make of it. Instead of moving closer, he instead hunched forward, resting his elbows on his knees to make himself more comfortable.
"Not going out tonight." Well, he might, if she was going to make such an effort to drive him out, but it wasn't his plan to. What the hell was the point when the wraiths were doing more harm than good? He couldn't go out and gather energy without one of the little bastards trying to jump through him—and talk about trying to win over any senshi. It was downright impossible with the wraiths doing whatever the hell they wanted.
They were making him look bad—and smashing them to pieces was starting to sound better and better each night.
"All I wanted was to visit. Can't I just drop by to see you, or is that Grade A Creeper, too?" he asked; there was a twinge of annoyance as he repeated the phrase, but he seemed in a decent enough mood. His gaze drifted to the empty spot where her mirror used to be and he tapped a finger thoughtfully on the bed.
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Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2013 8:05 am
Oh. So he wasn’t going out. Well. That still didn’t make Raven feel in any sort of forgiving mood, in fact, it just made whatever anger was coiling inside of her coil up a bit more. And when he had the nerve to pull the ‘All I wanted to do was visit you is that so bad?’, oh she was about ready to smack him right across his pretty little face.
“Well. You should have called. I really don’t think I’m in much of a mood for visiting tonight, thank you very much. I’ve just about had it with you. I’m tired of you loving Remarque more than me. It’s not fair, and damnit I’m just tired of it.” Raven sat up, looking at him, finally unable to hold it all back.
“I mean, we’ve been dating for how long? Since all of this mess started, almost two years, yeah? I told you I wanted to move in with you, and you said that you couldn’t leave your mom. Fine. Whatever. But she’s out of the house so damn often anyway, what’s the point? Are you sure you just don’t want to move in with me because of the damn DMC? Because let me tell you something. I ******** hate being a senshi. What’s the goddamn point of it all? We’re doing what—grunt work for a queen who hasn’t been around for ages? Why? Why the hell are we sticking our necks out for her? Why are we trying to help her, and then getting the short end of the ******** stick because of it?
She stood up, pacing a little, going to her dresser and picking up her little hand mirror. “I can’t even stand the sight of mirrors anymore, Jett. I don’t like them. I don’t like the thought that she could be watching, like some ******** up freak. I don’t like the fact that it zaps all of my privacy to about zero, and I don’t like the fact that you like them more than you like me.” Raven swung the hand mirror hard against the corner of her dresser, smashing it quite effectively. “I’m done with this bullshit. Please get out of my house.”
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Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2013 8:37 am
Her demonstration was effective enough; Jett looked as calculating as ever, though she had rendered him speechless. He didn't stand for a few seconds, and when he did it was to his full height. "You seem like you've had a lot on your mind for a while now."
Jett seemed in no rush to comply with her demands; he hadn't been intimidated by her display, but he chose his words carefully. "I should have called," he agreed—certainly he would have if he'd realized this was the can of worms he was opening just by dropping by. "You might have mentioned a little bit of this to me before now. Maybe we could have worked something out. How long have you been bottling all that up for?"
They didn't talk about Dark Mirror things. It was her rule. He couldn't have known otherwise, he justified. He tried not to be offended at her words—but it was difficult. He was a prideful man and any accusations hit him, hard. Especially when they were from a girl who was supposed to care dearly for him. Especially when they were from a girl he cared dearly for.
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Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2013 9:32 am
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Ages. Ages and ages.” Raven looked over at him, then looked away, taking a careful step away from the new pile of glass shards at her feet. “Maybe since you let that one girl come live with you. I don’t know. It all bugs me. And I just…I feel like you’re too busy with everything else. I’m getting madder by the day.”
There wasn’t anything else to say, really. She was unhappy with him, with their relationship and with everything. “Do you even want to be with me forever? I mean. It’s starting to seem like you don’t…yeah, we’re boyfriend and girlfriend, but this isn’t middle school anymore, Jett. This isn’t something that a bouquet of flowers is going to fix, or jewelry, for that matter.”
She paused for a moment. “Unless it’s an engagement ring or something dumb like that.”
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Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2013 10:00 am
"Considering the fact that you're so keen to throw me out of your house, I'm not sure I should be giving you an engagement ring, Raven," he replied coolly, eyes still on her. Though he attempted to remain calm, he was upset.
As if opening up to anyone wasn't hard enough, being told it wasn't good enough? That even after all he had done for her, he still loved himself more than her?
Yes. The Dark Mirror Court was important to his life. But he wasn't with it—dating it, sharing and investing emotional attachments to it. Not like with Raven. The Dark Mirror Court wasn't a woman he was having a scandalous affair with—it was a job. One that Raven had been so quick to abandon.
He continued, "You haven't a need to worry about Ophelia. We've been over this, time and time again. I thought we were done with that. Even with me being busy, I've gone out of my way to accommodate you, to pamper you, to keep in touch. When was the last time you called me? When was the last time you came to me?"
It hadn't been something that bothered him before—he wasn't even sure if it bothered him now, or if he was just arguing for the sake of arguing. "But," he said, forcing his nerves into the pit of his stomach. "You haven't heard me complain about that. Have you?" he asked, though his voice was flat enough to imply that it wasn't really a question. "Instead, I've called you. I've come over. If you think I would make an effort for any other woman—Ares included—then you are sorely mistaken. I don't do that for anyone. Anyone but you. Yes, I should have called. But I didn't think you'd pick up. I thought you'd tell me no, tell me to stay away. So I didn't call, because I was going to come knocking on your door tonight, one way or the other. I'd rather it not be against your will, I'd rather not give you another reason to be mad at me. Because—you know—it's a bit of a big deal to me. You are among one other person, in the entire expanse of this world or any other, that has the ability to keep me up at night. Because I worry."
His eyes were on hers, and though his expression was almost unreadable, his tone was of frustration and passion; one hand had balled into a fist at his side. "Because I know something's not right. I know you're not all right. And you won't let me in enough to fix it."
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Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2013 10:28 am
Raven looked back at him, shaking her head and not saying anything. Her anger seemed to have evaporated slightly and she walked back over to her bed, sitting down and reaching up a hand to rub at her forehead. “Okay. Yeah. I know the Ophelia thing was a long time ago, but it still gets under my skin. I feel like you liked that girl more than me. Let her live with you when you didn’t know her. I would give anything to move in with you, and the longer we spend not getting an apartment together, the more I keep wondering why. I don’t get what I’m doing wrong. Am I just not a good enough girlfriend? Or am I just…not good enough in general?”
She flopped backwards, putting the pillow over her head again, squeezing it tightly.
“I hate the Dark Mirror Court. I hate that you and I couldn’t just have been dating like normal people for this whole time…it’s not fair.” Her voice was muffled, but the pillow didn’t stop it from breaking slightly on the last word.
God she was hormonal right now.
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Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2013 10:54 am
Jett stood for only a moment before his hands unclenched. He didn't want to test Raven's boundaries any more than he already had, but he sat down on the bed and ran his hand down her back gently. His voice had softened by the time he spoke again. "Well, if you'd let me, I'd like to make things more normal. To take you out more. I'm trying, really."
And he had more time—at least for a few months. Without school, most of his day was freed up. Nights…
He couldn't very easily abandon the Dark Mirror Court. He'd still have to go out.
But he could time things differently, if he had to. Swap up his schedule. He'd figure something out.
"There are some things I can't change." Except 'can't' was more of a 'won't'. "You have to understand that. But if you just tell me what's wrong once in a while, I'll do what I can."
He didn't really know what to say about hating the Dark Mirror Court; it was something he couldn’t understand. The Court gave him the power to do things he would never have been able to, otherwise. "In the meantime? …Don't think about the Court if it's bothering you. I can't quit. I can't do that." Another won't. "But we can figure something out, Raven. You just need to let me know what you want, and we can work on some compromise. Would you be willing to do that, for me?"
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