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 Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2018 6:29 pm
Lavender wasn’t exactly proud of the fact she had traced down Remarque’s civilian job…but she had to admit that she was at least a little proud of herself for finding it. There were things she wanted to talk about and perhaps this would give her the chance she needed. She was parked outside of the door to the Antique shop, waiting for the blonde male to exit. According to the website, it had closed fifteen minutes before, so in theory he would be out soon…
…Provided he was even working today…but…he should be.
She shifted, letting her one leg drop to the ground and placing the other foot on the wall of the shop, letting out a long sigh and raking her fingers through the short mess of hair that she had right now. She wanted it to grow back soon…wanted long hair again. Pretty hair. Prettier than Levi’s at any rate.
Well, she was always prettier than Levi, even without trying…but this new look, simple makeup, no piercings…short hair…
Honestly she wondered if Jett would even recognize her…
They hadn’t really hung out at all…perhaps she should have just done the normal thing and called him to meet up instead of standing outside of his shop like a ******** stalker.
Grunting at the thought, Lavender let the hand that was in her hair drag slowly down her face. She should just leave now before he saw her. Save her dignity a little.
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Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2018 6:37 pm
Lavender’s chance to leave before Jett appeared slipped away rapidly; the lights in the store shut off and only a few seconds later, he was stepping out the front door and locking up. He seemed aware that she was there if only because he met her gaze and dipped his head in brief greeting, but the initial interaction was no more than that.
He locked the door with expert skill; he’d been closing for years. He pocketed the keys and turned to face her, only now giving her proper attention.
She hadn’t left since he exited, and that was invitation enough that she wanted his attention. Recognition spread across his face suddenly and he raised a hand in greeting. “Lavender.” It wasn’t cold, but it was chilly enough that he rubbed his hands together as he approached. “I’m sorry, I almost didn’t recognize you. I’m always fascinated with how easily a woman can change her appearance. What are you doing out here, is everything all right?”
He was clearly accustomed to sometimes odd visits at his place of work; his priority was to ensure that everyone was all right and worry about the rest, later.
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Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2018 6:43 pm
For a moment she was both disappointed and relieved that Jett didn’t seem to realize who she was, and she was in the process of putting both feet on the ground when he spoke her name and raised a hand. Finally giving a rather guilty grin, she returned the gesture. “Yeah, yeah it’s me. It’s been a rough year so far, so I suppose I figured I was due for a change. You…I was here to see if you’d be available for a Q and A session…I have a few…uh. Q’s that I’m hoping you can A…and I’m not sure you’ll like any of them so, huzzah and fantastic…whatevers.”
She shrugged heavily, digging her hands into her coat pockets and attempting a carefree grin.
“Girl trouble, but I mean. I’m sure you could have figured that out anyway. Why else would a girl go to such lengths to become unrecognizable. I would have called…but now I realize that you wouldn’t have known who I was then either. I got my number changed. Again. Girl trouble.”
There was a part of her, a petty, vindictive part that hoped he would go and yell at Rhona. That he would rage at her by the time she was done with her conversation today…after she had asked her questions.
It would almost be worth the anger he would surely have at her.
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Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2018 7:27 pm
Jett raised a brow, but it was far from accusatory. He was naturally curious and had a need to meddle, so there was no way he could turn her away.
“I was going to grab some burgers or something on the way home. You want to stop with me, or do you want to keep this somewhere a little more private?” he prompted; there was no judgment in his voice, only sincere concern.
“I mean, I’ve got time for a Q and A, so you hit me up with whatever you need to and I’ll roll with it. I’m here, I’ll make all the time you need.”
Raven was having a girl’s night out with Chloe, so he wasn’t worried about her being upset that he wasn’t home in time for dinner. Chloe’s bedtime wasn’t for a little while, so he figured he still had a few hours to burn. “So go ahead, tell me what’s going on.”
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Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2018 7:47 pm
“Burgers sound great…but…maybe for after we talk…I…” Lavender blew out a disgruntled breath, watching it curl up in the cold air and gave an over exaggerated shrug. “How do you leave the court. I’m curious. I’m thinking about it, because…I’m tired of someone. I know that is a complete and utter bullshit reason. But…whatever.”
Her eyes were blazing and there was very little trace of the pain that she felt while thinking of Rhona. Or, the pain that she had felt. The pain had burnt itself into anger and she was just…tired of the bullshit.
“I doubt that I’ll ever actually do it, what with Levi in the court and all…but I just…I want to know how to leave if I ever decide that leaving is the right path for me. And—“ She held a hand up, hoping to halt his protests. “If you have issues with this, just blame that b***h, Acubens. This is her fault. I tried. I tried to make it work. I was honest with my feelings. I got sick. And she ignored me. Left me alone to die. And didn’t bother going after me when I ******** walked out of her house. Instead of going upstairs. So. Blame her. And when I say that, I mean please, yell at her for me. Hit her on the head. Boil her in oil if you want to, I don’t ******** care.”
Her hand raked through her hair again…this was quickly turning into a nervous habit but…there was nothing she could do about it now.
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Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2018 8:11 pm
Jett’s stomach suddenly clenched and his eyes were on her, far more intent than the had been before.
It wasn’t a question he wanted to hear. It wasn’t a question he wanted to answer.
But there were only a few options, and if he didn’t give her the information, she’d find out from someone else—someone who might be more keen to encourage her to actually leave. Right now, she had ties in the Court, but if he ostracized her for it, if he made her feel like she couldn’t trust him…
He didn’t want to tip her in the direction of actually going anywhere.
He drew in a slow, calming breath and exhaled before nodding. “All right,” he finally said. He’d processed, memorized what she said, and could now start formulating an answer.
“First of all, I recommend not leaving the Court, but that’s a whole bag of trouble that I’ll go over with you if you ever decide you want to head out. Second of all, I’m sorry you got stuck in a weird relationship, but—if I know anything about girls, I know that running away will only solve some of your problems. I’m pretty sure the only real way you’ll ever find closure and feel satisfied with what happened is to find a smart, sexy, talented girl and flaunt her.”
He shrugged and added, “You get to watch the jealousy blossom. It’s killing two birds with one stone—you wind up in a happy, fulfilling relationship, and get to rub it in her face. Maybe you’ll get lucky and find an unawakened Senshi, we can bring her into the Court. You two can be a power couple?”
He let the thought fester for a moment and then said, “But if you want to leave…and, I hope you’ll talk to me before you decide to leave, if it ever comes to that, but if you want to leave, you’re going to have to take a trip to Mirrorspace. I don’t know how long it takes, I’ve never tried myself, but Mirrorspace will try to stop you. It’ll show you something—a reflection of your starseed, or something. All you have to do is take it. Just, you’ve gotta work for it.”
He scratched at his chin, trying to figure out how best to articulate how to describe what he’d been told.
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Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2018 8:16 am
Lavender watched him. This was a difficult question…and honestly she was almost hoping that he would beg. Beg for her to stay, lie to her and say how important she was to the court, but…while he didn’t do those things exactly, she could see that the question hurt him, and for a moment…that was enough.
…Not that Jett had ever wronged her…but it was enough to make her feel wanted.
“Yeah, but Jett…as great as that sounds and all, that would require someone being interested in me, and honestly, I guess I just can’t keep girls interested. The first one up and vanished on me, and the second…never had the time of day for me.”
A shadow crossed her face and her arms slowly settled across her chest. It still hurt, even when she thought she was over it…it all still hurt.
Everything did.
“I mean, it sounds nice, what you’re saying, and I’m not going to lie, all I want is to make Rhona feel what she’s making me feel, but the damn b***h is so…” Lavender snorted shaking her head. “You know, I bet she doesn’t even hurt at all. I bet she doesn’t even realize it’s been over a month and a half since we’ve spoken. She’s a ********, Jett. And I’m sorry you have to deal with her in the court.”
She grew quiet and sighed. “Would you go with me if I decided to leave? Would you come into mirrorspace and help me find…whatever it is I have to find? What do I do after that?” If he was with her…he could still stop her. He could still convince her to stay.
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Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2018 8:56 am
Jett paused for a moment and then reached over, wrapping an arm around her shoulder in a quick hug. He gave her a small squeeze—as much as he could dare to give for comfort without risking being overbearing. He wasn’t much of a physical person in that regard. Well, punching people, fighting, that was his forte. Not being nice about things, or comforting people.
But Raven and Chloe had softened him, and he had always had a weakness when it came to upset women. He should have blamed his mother for it, but he cared too much about her to find any fault.
He didn’t comment on Rhona; Lavender had enough on her mind and he wasn’t going to dwell on where she seemed to be hurting the most. “I’ll go with you,” he promised, though the words were slow to come. It wasn’t that he had any intention of resisting, just that he really didn’t want to see her leave. Naturally hew as curiosus about actually seeing the process, but in that same vein, it would give him one last opportunity to try and convince her not to leave. If he didn’t agree, they could have easily lost her.
“You get what you need from Mirrorspace, and then we’d go find you a prince, a princess, something. I know a few,” he grumbled; Castor came to mind first, but if Lavender was going to purify, he wanted her with someone softer, someone more gentle and comforting. “They take care of the rest. At least, insofar as getting the ‘Dark Mirror’ out of you. After that, you have to rebuild your life. You start over, you have to make new friends, a new life. All of your accomplishments—everything you’ve worked for, is lost. You remember, but no one will recognize you. So—if you’re looking to find true love,” he shrugged. “It’s going to be a little harder once you do the swap because you have to find yourself, first. I’m surprised you can say you don’t have someone interested in you now, though—don’t you do those blogs online?”
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Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2018 11:15 am
The hug surprised Lavender but it made her smile all the same, she even leaned into it for a moment. “I appreciate you, Jett. I’m glad that you’ll go with me…I promise I won’t leave without telling you…I…” She shrugged and sighed. “So…that doesn’t sound too difficult…I mean, I don’t have much in the here and now…it’ll suck to lose Levi but…” Another shrug.
“I’m a loner, Jett. You know that. Not counting when we were all stuck together in that creepy castle…you’ve seen me what…three? Four times max? I don’t do much for the court as a whole and…I don’t know. Maybe I’d be better with the White Moon. At least maybe it would make Acubens suffer. She caused it, after all.”
The very idea of Acubens crying, being upset brought a glint of amusement to the dark haired girl’s eye.
“Eh…I used to but…you know. New Year, New me. I don’t really know myself right now anyway so I figure…it’s as good a time as any to be thinking about defecting and fighting for another group I don’t believe in, right? Because…truth be told I don’t believe in any of it, Jett. And…maybe that’s one of the biggest issues.”
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Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2018 12:36 pm
Jett raised a brow at the strange glint to Lavender’s eyes. He narrowly avoided huffing, but he knew the vengeance of a girl scorned and he wasn’t going to agitate Lavender if she already had murder in her eyes.
“Don’t leave just because you don’t know what you believe in,” Jett mused. “I mean, before you do anything, talk to them. The White Moon Senshi. Most of the ones that I’ve spoken to don’t actually know what they’re supposed to be doing. They’re stumbling around in the dark, trying to make heads and tales of what they’re supposed to be doing. The only diference is, it seems like any time they’ve got a goal they need to work towards, they always wind up sabotaging themselves. They never seem to get along. But I guess, when you’ve got a group that size, there’s never going to be any peace. But,” he released a long sigh and pursed his lips. “I just don’t want you to jump into their arms without thinking of all your other options, first. Right now it sounds like you’re dealing with a lot, but ‘New year, New you’ doesn’t have to mean start all over. But you’re young—go, have fun. Meet new people. Focus on finding what makes you feel complete, on what makes you happy. If you’re struggling with the Dark Mirror Court…”
He paused for a second and had to force himself to say the words, “Then take a break from it. No one’s going to blame you for taking some time off. If you need to find a purpose, something to believe in, you and I should go patrolling. I’ll show you what I fight for. What the Court means to me. What I’m going to do with the power its given me.”
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Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2018 1:31 pm
“I don’t know what I’m going to do, Jett…honestly I really just wanted to see if you’d work your magic and make me want to give it another chance, and for now you have but…just…I don’t know. Reach out to me sometimes? I think I could use it. I don’t have people that just…I don’t know. Call me or invite me to burgers so, if you wanted to be that guy, I wouldn’t mind. And your…your fiancé? Wife? I don’t know your life but, she can’t be jealous because Jett,”
Lavender reached out and took his hands in hers, looking him right in the eyes. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I am a hardcore lesbian, and I fully intend to stay that way, so as sweet and kind as you are, I’m just not interested.”
She gave a grin and pulled away. “Sounds good though. When do you want to go patrolling? I’m game for whenever. I might take a break but…you’re still free to invite me places. I doubt I’d say no, most likely.”
Lavender turned and began walking slowly, hoping he’d get the idea and begin to follow. “Anyway, I’m getting hungry, and now that burgers have been mentioned several times…I really think I need one, so…you coming?”
New Year, New her. New friends and new ideals…she would figure this out one step at a time…and going to talk to Jett had been a good first step. At least she hoped it had been…It was a step regardless of if it were good or bad though, so that was something.
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Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2018 2:08 pm
It took Jett a moment to process her assurance that he didn’t have to worry about her falling for him—but he was never one to be late for burgers. He took a few steps to catch up with her. He kept a smile on his face and shook his head. “I might have to keep my wife away from you. She doesn’t need to be tempted by more beautiful women in her life. But I’ll do that,” he promised. “At least once a week or so, we can work out a time to go patrolling if you’re up for it. And I’m always game for a good burger. Most of my life has been work, work, work.”
He gestured vaguely to the store while it was still within sight.
“But getting out for a bit, relaxing, hanging out with a friend? …I could do that.”
For as long as he had her around, at least.
He just had to do whatever he could to keep her around.
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