Before the Looking Glass

Jason looked to her for a moment then smiled. "You know Rue, you're a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for. If someone had to have my back in all of this, I'm glad it was you."

He then turned back around and entered the kitchen, starting to open the cupboards and drawers to familiarize himself with what had been placed where before he sat down and actually took inventory of it all. As he'd suspected, they definitely hadn't cut corners. Everything was well organized, they had a bunch of non-perishables, and would be able to have balanced and healthy diets. At first he considered it weird how little food there was when they;d originally planned to have at least seen operatives here, but then he also remembered that there was only one bedroom too. There were probably different apartments and houses that had been prepared for them depending on the number of survivors there were. Shine always thought of everything.

Once he'd done a quick check around the kitchen he turned back to re with a small sigh. "Anyways, I wasn't just suggesting that you go to sleep first for your sake. I just learned a lot of new things and... there's a few things I need to think about right now and I think it'd be best for me to be alone while I did. Besides... you shouldn't pass up an opportunity to sleep. I... I think you and I both know we won't be sleeping very well for the next few days. Better make every minute count. Plus, you saw those files back there, we're gonna have a lot of reading to do today to learn who we're supposed to be now. Best to let your minds rest as much as they can before that right? Like I said, I'll be going to sleep as soon as I'm done."
 
  • Bucket of Rainbows
Reactions: Ravenbelle
Rue was glad to see his smile. It was a ray of sunshine in a mad hurricane and when he told her she was strong, that he was glad she was here, the smile almost felt contagious. A rare little curl of her lips showed him she was grateful for what he said. If she was to stay strong enough to stand beside him, she would save those words and engrain them in her memory for when she most needed them.

She wasn't sure if he caught her barely-a-smile before he turned around to begin his task, but in order to possibly help, Rue pulled the blanket off of her, held it in a ball against her midsection and got used to the temperature in the kitchen corner. That way, he could give her instructions if he so choosed. From what she could see, the both of them could stay here for awhile without leaving the apartment, but she wasn't sure if they were to keep moving around or if they could stay here because of extra supplies...

Once given a quick once over, Jason turned fron the cupboards of the kitchen to face her. She waited for a task, but was sent to bed instead. The corner of her mouth quirked downward for a moment, but she did not otherwise complain. He wanted to be alone and she would give him his space without question. Though her body was tired, her mind was not and even though she would rather do anything else, Rue nodded reluctantly to his admission on the fact that they wouldn't sleep all that well. If she could read the files now, she would, but instead, she shuffled to the bedroom, with a small "Okay." and closed the door behind her. Placing her sneakers by the door with the bag, she wondered if there were pajamas in there. Rue shrugged, sat on the bed and once more spread out the blanket to warm her. The near silence in the small room was a clear opposite from her noisy thoughts. Rue tried to lay down and relax in the pillow, but she was nervous about what she would see while her mind was vulnerable and her walls fell down. The monster of her subconscious was going to be strongest and most vicious today, tomorrow, the next day... etc.
It always had something to feed on. And every new catastrophic event only made it that much easier for the monster to use older memories against her, while she was weak. Rue bit her lip, closed her eyes, curled up tight, took a breath and pulled the blanket up to her chin.
It took her a little while, but she fell asleep. Of course, it wasn't long until she would hit REM sleep and that would be when the monster's cage was weakest.
 
Last edited:
  • Love
Reactions: Buio
Jason watched Rue go off to bed with a smile, though the expression faded away after she closed the door. He was stone faced as he turned to the task he had set himself. He reached into one of the drawers and took out some stationary and a pen, and got to work counting the items in the cupboards by category and noting them down. He was completely silent and focused on the task at hand for the whole hour and a half it took him to go through every single item in the cupboards, pantry, and refrigerator. His face remained expressionless all teh way through and any psychic trying to read his mind would have been met with emptiness beyond processing the task at hand.

Once Jason was done, he organized the notes neatly in a small stack on the kitchen table, then out the stationary and pen back in their drawer. With everything done, he left the kitchen and entered the living room, closing the door behind him. He walked over to the large window behind the couch and drew its curtains, covering the room in a heavy shade. He laid down on the couch and, with great effort, managed to only weep silently without relying on his powers.

From within his mind, Jack found himself desperately wishing for a body of his own for the first time, that he might provide some comfort to the poor boy.
 
It took maybe two hours for Rue to start dreaming. Her muscles were tense, her eyes were twitching behind their lids and a very soft whimpering started up in her throat.

It was the night of the break out again and things were quickly becoming out of control. They were running, always running until one by one, they were plucked out of the air and killed instantly with a spay of blood left to coat a piece of her. A scream came from Rue's left. Ashling was taken up by a sadistic telekinetic and tossed around violently. Every time they hit her a bruise would show up black on Rue's bloody form While Ashling's screams rang out and pierced Rue's eardrums. The little girl instantly ran forward, ignoring the pain. She had to save Ashling because she had saved her and--
A smaller version of herself could be seen in the corner of her eye right before Rue reached the telekinetic hurting her--and falling. Failing her.
Everything went dark and there was nowhere to stand. Empty space surrounded a redhead between dreams as she was held up by puppet strings sown into the open wounds of her red wrists. Above her, Ashling was beaten to death. Below her, a childhood memory was beginning to replay and as soon as she looked down, the strings snapped painfully
No!nonononono...! until she crashed into the dark room in the orphanage and he was there and he was--

"Noo!" Rue screamed, shooting up into a scrambling sitting position with her eyes as wide as dinner plates and her throat still sorely coughing out a few more whimpers. Parts of her cheeks were wet as Rue trembled on the bed trying to find her breath again and remember that she was alive even if hardly anyone else was. That she's here and not anywhere else. It still hurts. Rue choked on a tiny sob while a sharp pain sliced through her heart. Both hands went up to stop the bleeding, but the wound was internal. Not curable. The scar would be big and sensitive, but less obvious than the ones that had been scratched on her red wrists . While she was asleep, Rue had scratched the cutting scars beneath her palms until they were raw. It stings, but there isn't really any blood. Not on the outside.
Rue watched the room stay still now, taking deep breaths in and out until she could stand and quietly exit her room. Now she stood in the kitchen, which had been closed off from the living room. Judging from the silence, she assumed Jason had fallen asleep there. And if she was going to fall asleep again, she had to have something between her nails and the inside of her wrists. As tempting as it may become later, she did not want to get back into the habit of cutting up her own flesh on purpose again. Hm...gauze.? Probably won't hold up. Maybe...oven mitts? That might work. But first, she'd check on Jason. She hoped he was sleeping peacefully, but she knew it probably wasn't so.
Rue slowly opened the door leading from the kitchen to the living room and found him sleeping on the couch without any pillow or blanket. Creeping a little closer, Rue saw that his cheeks were tearstained and his expression was one of sorrow and pain. His silent onlooker immediately tip toed back to her room, snatchd the black blanket she'd been using and took it back to her leader. Then Rue carefully and quietly draped it over Jason, making sure she wouldn't wake him. She wanted to bring back a pillow, but she wouldn't be able to put his head on it without waking him.

With a miserable expression of her own, Rue lowered herself to her knees beside his head and fought the urge to wipe away his tears. Instead, silent streaks of salt water made their way down her cheeks and dripped from her chin to the carpet. When she could no longer hold back sobs, Rue left the room, grabbed some oven mitts after searching with blurry vision, and retreated back to her room to dump out the buckets of liquid agony bottled up ever since the escape. Her pillow was soaked and entrusted with muffling all of her sobs by the time she was exhausted enough to fall asleep again, curled up and wearing the mitts to prevent her nightmares from physically affecting her. She wouldn't be surprised to discover she was dehydrated and terribly sore when she next woke.
 
Last edited:
ONE WEEK LATER

"Hmm, I think it's about time we go do some grocery shopping, Belle." said Jason as he looked over the inventory sheet and then back up at the cupboards.

To be fair they still had plenty of food to last them, the two of them alone hadn't come close to clearing out the supplies in seven days' time. In fact the majority of the first week had been spent more or less as college students prepping for a final exam. The folders containing their new identities were... thorough to say the least. Not only had Shine's people made sure to provide the two with every piece of identification they could possibly require (birth certificate, social insurance number, medicare, and school records being only a few obvious ones), reading through the documents after the first few pages felt more like reading a book or maybe a full biography than through official documents. There were anecdotes to whom Jason, as 'Jacob Saulnier', had gotten in a fight with in the third grade, where he had gone to eat for his tenth birthday party, who he had lost his virginity to and how, even an unfortunate story involving a girl, a toy mallet, a wrecked car, and a strange can opener that left 'Jacob' forever mistrustful of open air vents. At first he had felt like a secret agent, now he felt more like an actor rehearsing for a part, trying to 'get into the mind of his character' so to speak. Except of course that Jason couldn't count on anyone calling cut if he messed up a line or got a detail wrong. He couldn't just memorize this, he needed to live it, it was literally going to be his new identity. Hell, he'd already received his first call from his 'mother' who was checking up on him (even knowing that it was an agent working for shine on the other end of the line, the woman had doe a good enough job sounding genuine that Jason had almost started feeling guilty for impersonating her son) and apparently rue had gotten one from her 'uncle' though he;d been asleep at the time.

In order to help each other out with their studies he and rue had gotten to calling each other by their aliases even when they were alone and wold quiz each other several times a day both on their respective characters, and on what the other was supposed to know about them as well since they were currently posing as a couple who'd been together for the past 16 months and had known each other since middle school, because of course their files not only explained what part of each other's lives they were supposed to know about, but also which parts they purposefully kept secret, which ones had simply never come up in conversation, and which ones they had actively lied to one another about. Jason felt bad saying it, but at this point he honestly knew more about 'Belle Langlois's past than he knew about Rue Benette's, though he supposed that was only fair, he'd never been too chatty about his own experiences before Brewster either so Rue probably knew a lot more about Jacob than she knew about him. In a way that was probably good too, less conflicting information to separate between the real and fake identities.

Having just finished quizzing each other a few hours ago and each one having answered perfectly, Jason was now considering having them go out together. Jason had been out of the apartment a few times already to scope out the town in case they had ever needed to make an escape, but those times had all been either late at night or ungodly early in the morning, when no one was likely to see him, and he'd taken precaution to be heavily covered (thankfully not so odd a sight since it was still early February) so if anyone saw him they'd never recognize him. Still, anyone who'd seen any crime drama or suspense thriller knew that there was never more obvious a target for investigation than 'the new couple that just moved in [to a small town] a few weeks ago but no one's really spoken much to or knows anything about'. Since they were getting comfortable with their new identities it was about time that Jacob and Belle became recognizable faces in the small town of Orignale. Thankfully his personal backstory also included his mother sending him a monthly allowance behind his father's back, so no one should find it odd that neither he nor 'Belle' are currently looking for a job (though the two had spoken about the possibility of her getting a job as a waitress or something similar before in order to further sell the illusion).

Jason turned to the red haired girl and smiled lightly. "We don't have to get a lot, but I figure it might also give us an opportunity to meet some of the folks who live here. With any luck talking to them will give me more inspiration for story writing. Wha'dyou think?"
 
Rue cocked her head when Jason addressed her my her new alias. After a week, it had become a bit easier to immerse herself in this character complete with birth certificate, social security number and even medical insurance. To the rest of the world, Belle Langlois was more...real than Rue Benette was. It felt too easy to play the part of a girl who never existed. She had already felt that way before. In a way, it was nice to act as someone else. Her history still had its rough patches, but it was far more preferable than Rue's own past. So pretending to be Belle during the day was as great a distraction as she was going to get while awake. The nights were still riddled with agony, restlessness and tears, but by the time breakfast was over, they would have quizzed each other and Belle would come around with forced smiles and better posture, more confidence. Her life hadn't been as miserable as Rue's, so she had to portray that. She had to be a totally different person. Except thanks to Shine, she was not different enough that Rue could not relate to her. She likes to read, just as Rue does. It's also written that she enjoys singing, but that hasn't been exactly shown, because like Rue, she's soft-spoken and kind of shy. She'd rather stare off at a beautiful scene than converse at a party. Rue supposed that Belle was written as a daydreamer just in case Rue ended up using her powers on accident, but thankfully, that hasn't occurred yet.

After a whole 7 days, Rue has been trying to hold back all the visions behind her eyes, but even when she took everything off her list, the feeling of dread and the urge to see what's next has only grown worse. It hasn't gotten to an unbearable point yet, but the headaches are coming more often. The fire in her belly that Chess mentioned, it won't stop scalding her for being unable to save the others. Most of her nightmares now consist of what Brew must be doing to them now. Or if...they died. It hurts more that she doesn't know.
Which is when it's nice to jump back into pretending she is just the girl with fighting parents who were so terrible at providing for her that her uncle had to be her parental figure and her boyfriend, her shoulder to cry on. That's why she left with him and her uncle doesn't know where she is, but knows how to reach her. That's how detailed her character is. And now Jason knows more about Belle than he does about the actress who plays her part so well. But if Rue thinks about that too much, it starts to feel all wrong to be Belle. Kind of like wearing a skin suit that's itchy on the inside. So itchy at night that she scratches right through it. Despite a few invitations, Jason refuses to take the bed, so she just keeps the oven mitts under the pillow. They still work, but the cloth is ripping on the inside and soon enough, she's break right through the top and start unintentionally self harming again. What she'll do then? Not sure, but she hasn't told Jason yet. She's glad he's a semi-deep sleeper.

"We don't have to get a lot, but I figure it might also give us an opportunity to meet some of the folks who live here. With any luck talking to them will give me more inspiration for story writing. Wha'd you think?"

Well we don't have to get a lot because we don't really need anything, but it's better to blend in than to stay cooped up in here all the time. To look strange isn't exactly safe right now. Rue felt comfortable enough to pretend in public now so...time for the studying to be put to the test. As easy as it felt most time for Rue to be Belle, it was still a little weird to see Jason acting as yet another person. There are three now. Jason, Jack, and Jacob. Sometimes it gets a little confusing, but she's got it mostly down. What might be the most difficult would be acting like a couple. That aspect hasn't been rehearsed as often and she wondered just how awkward it could get. Her first kiss will probably end up happening while they're both pretending to be someone else. While that kind of disappoints her, it's not like anyone would want to or get the chance to do so in any other scenario.

"Sure. I guess it's about time for some fresh air. Since we obviously won't tell them our real age, so how old do you think I could pass for?" She asked, smiling a little in return. That was actually one of the more challenging aspects. Acting more cheerful. Smiling in particular. It was rare to see Rue really smile, but Belle wouldn't be like that, so she's been practicing in the mirror. But the practice time is unfortunately cut short when Rue starts hating the monster she sees there. Lingering in front of reflective surfaces has never been something Rue did often and now, it was even harder. But to survive, to protect the ones she cares for, she has to try.
 
Last edited:
Jason looked at her and chuckled lightly. "Well, no offense honey but with your girlish looks you'll still be looking like you're twenty by the time you're forty. Maybe it'd just be easier to call you my little sister, haha. Though, in all seriousness i doubt many people are gonna question us if we just say we're eighteen."
 
Rue ducked her head when he called her honey. So hard to get used to listening to things like that come out of Jason's mouth. She could hardly utter such affectionate phrases without blushing and feeling like he'd take it as more than acting. But she nodded anyway, agreeing with the last sentence. "Okay." Rue stood from where she'd been in the living room and joined him in the kitchen, ready to go in a pair of blue jeans, a white blouse and black flats. "So what are we going to get? You know, besides some new acquaintances?"
 
"Well, I've been looking at our finances," he replied, closing the cupboards and putting the sheet away before turning to her, "and it seems we have a little extra money to splurge, so i was thinking of getting some junk food and renting a movie for us tonight. I can't remember the last time we've had either."

He knew she wouldn't be able to either. While Brew had always done its best to put up the front of seeming like any other town, it had always been very apparent how the media they were exposed to was very selective, neither of them would know about any movie to have come out in the last three years or so, and as for junk food, whatever Brewster didn't just manufacture itself just belonged to cheap knock off brands they could import without raising suspicion. It would be refreshing to have the 'real thing' again after so long. Jason knew that for all their play acting during the day the nights were still very rough on rue, one need only look at the bags under her eyes every morning to tell. He hoped to kill two birds with one stone with this outing and give her something to genuinely feel good about.

"Do you have anything in mind you'd liek to get?"
 
He's serious? Like him, Rue couldn't even remember the last time she actually watched a whole movie..Had she enjoyed it?
Should they be spending the extra money at all though? Little costs tend to build up, but then again she trusted Jason to know what they should or shouldn't do with their money. Besides, it could give her something to do at night besides jerking herself out of a nightmare. And Jason too..but she normally slept through his if he had them. Lucky.
She hoped this was a good idea. It sounded almost..fun.

"Do you have anything in mind you'd like to get?"

Rue's eyes widened when she remembered what she'd been craving this whole week. "Yeah..Maybe I could find a good book to read?" It probably wouldn't last her very long, so she hoped to find one with a lot of pages. She really hoped there would be a book section. Inwardly, she smiled a little bit. She was starting to act a little like Belle from the musical Beauty & the Beast. She had read that a long time ago, but she remembered that Belle was a book lover too. What a coincidence.
 
Jason smiled as she said she wanted a book. He remembered what a bookworm she'd been back in brew. Whenever she had time off she could usually be found at a book store, purchasing whatever fantasy books the Admins deemed safe to distribute to the test subjects, and even in between 'classes' it wasn't odd to find her with her nose buried in one. He was sure that finding more of these in the small town would help improve her mood greatly.

He looked at the still very meek seeming girl and a though suddenly occurred to it. His eyes drifted away from rue as he visibly pondered it for a moment before focusing back on the girl and walking over to her. Without any warning he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek lightly and then took her hand in his, intertwining his fingers with hers without any explanation.
 
Why is he smiling? She's just making sure it's alright. It's not too much trouble right? If anything, it might help him stay asleep in preventing screaming too loud one night. Rue tilted her head a little bit, practicing a tiny smile as Belle. Didn't he want anything to keep his mind off of things? Was that was he was visibly pensive about? Maybe he'd want some music or something?

When he looked back to her, she expected him to voice his own choice of entertainment, but instead he walked closer and--oh! Rue's eyes went very wide when his lips pressed against her cheek and his fingers intertwined with hers. The instant he kissed her, roses bloomed under her cheeks, so red you could watch their petals spread wide along with her smile. Her fingers tightened in his when she remembered to stay in character rather than turn into an awkward weirdo. She laughed a little nervously. Be Belle. Jacob and Belle have been a couple for a long time now. This is nothing new so don't get stupid.
"So..I'll take that as a yes..." She smiled and glanced at the door. Now that she could prove to herself that she could stay in character after that..why not..
"Shall we?" She gestured for the door and remembered that Jason wouldn't do that. This is only an act to test us. Jason wouldn't ever want to actually kiss me. No one would. Just remember that and don't forget your new identity.
 
Jason had a light expression on as he examined her reaction, giving her a slight chuckle when she suggested they get going. It was good to see her try to stay in character but he'd already gotten his answer just by the blush on her cheeks. he gently slid his fingers away from hers and spoke. "You know, I've had this impression about you for a while, but you're not really comfortable around men, are you Rue? I'm sorry for kissing you like that, but despite all our rehearsing this last week we haven't really put much focus on the relationship part of our interactions. I wanted to know how you'd react before we went out in public since Jacob and Belle are supposed to have been dating for a while, but i can tell from that nervous blush that you didn't really like me getting so close huh? Sorry about that. I guess that's why they had our characters date for so long. New couples are usually lovey-dovey but people in long standing relationships are more casual, so we should still blend in well enough."


That was half of the reason anyways. The other half, and the half that explained why he'd kissed her on the cheeks instead of on the lips for his test, was that he was also monitoring his own reaction. The unfortunate reality was that one of the psychology books he'd read thanks to Shine had gone into great detail about how humans handled stressful situations, one part in particular discussing the truth that 'fear is the most potent aphrodisiac'. When humans are in life threatening situations but not in any immediate danger, their reproductive instincts get kicked into high gear as an evolutionary defense mechanism: an attempt at passing on their genetic code before whatever is threatening them manages to kill them. The problem with psychology though is that it can teach you to analyze how you are thinking, why you are thinking those thoughts, and react to those thoughts in a more educated and beneficial manner, but it doesn't stop the thoughts from coming. If anything , recognizing the thoughts only makes them more clear in your mind. S here Jason was, a hormonal sixteen year old boy, completely and utterly aware of how he was SUPPOSED to be a sex-driven wolf who would spend his time doing nothing but thinking of ravaging the little rabbit that was going to be living with him, completely unsupervised.

This had made it next to impossible for him to look at Rue for more than five seconds at a time for the last week and not think exactly those kinds of thoughts. Even knowing why it is he was thinking all these things and knowing how that should be his last priority over it, he hadn't quite managed to stop his mind from wandering (no thanks to Chess and all his baby making talk from the first day). Jason was just thankful that so far Rue had displayed at least as much self control than him, since he couldn't guarantee what would happen right now if she made the first move. Ultimately though he had wanted to kiss her and hold her hand not only to see how she would react, but to make sure he would be able to keep his cool while play-acting the part of her boyfriend out in public too. Thankfully he had managed to keep himself under control minus an increase heartbeat and a small feeling of nervousness.

"I wonder if we'll be able to discretely buy some porn while we're out today."

"Jesus fucking christ, jack" responded jason mentally.

"What? We have to do SOMETHING about your/our sexual frustration, or do you want to wait until you stumble onto rue getting out of the shower and have to go lock yourself in the bedroom?"

"Thinking about her naked is REALLY not what i need right now!"

"THEN GO GET US SOMETHING TO FAP TO!"

"Could you stop saying 'us' like it's gonna be a team activity?!"

"Oh right, because you;re really going to get embarrassed now when there is nothing you have that i haven't seen already."

"NOT, THE POINT!"

"Hmm, you think shine will let us set up an internet connection soon?"

"Yep, ending this conversation right now."

Jason had been holding his forehead with one hand and closing his eyes as if he was dealing with a headache. It wasn't like he was actually in pain mind you, but it had more or less become his signal for when the two sides of him were speaking in his mind and the broken mirrors had learned to pick up on it so he never really saw a reason to get rid of the habit either. That being said he did give a somewhat exasperated sigh when he opened his eyes again and looked over to the girl on his right, avoiding meeting her eyes and fighting back a slight blush that tried to creep its way to his cheek. "A-anyways, i guess we should get going."
 
Last edited:
With the lighter expression he observed her with and his brief chuckle, she could almostjustabout predict when he switched from Jacob to Jason...Right?
Oh. Right. Her posture relaxed a little when he pulled his hand away, leaving hers slightly cold. She hadn't realized she had been so tense there.

"You know, I've had this impression about you for a while, but you're not really comfortable around men, are you Rue?"

Oh tell me about it... It's that obvious?

"..I'm sorry for kissing you like that, but despite all our rehearsing this last week we haven't really put much focus on the relationship part of our interactions. I wanted to know how you'd react before we went out in public since Jacob and Belle are supposed to have been dating for a while, but i can tell from that nervous blush that you didn't really like me getting so close huh? Sorry about that. I guess that's why they had our characters date for so long. New couples are usually lovey-dovey but people in long standing relationships are more casual, so we should still blend in well enough."

Rue's eyes looked down at the ground shyly. She hoped he was right, because she didn't want to blow anything. He hadn't done anything wrong and she didn't exactly want him to eliminate all affectionate touches because she imagined Jacob and Belle would still interact that way..
"Okay, but you don't have to be sorry..I mean it wasn't--It's not that I didn't--well it's...they're kind of supposed to--" The endings to those would-be sentences didn't really fit quite right so she just sighed. "Nevermind." She knew he wasn't really listening anymore. By his expression and habit of putting his hand over his eyes, she knew he had a different voice making conversation with him, though he didn't seem to enjoy it. So she just waited patiently and by the time he got back to her he seemed a little nervous himself. What had Jack said? Hm...probably shouldn't ask since it seemed to agitate him at first.

She cleared her throat and blinked up at him. "..Yeah."

---

The walk to the grocery wasn't a long one, but it still made Rue nervous. She felt like she should always be watching her back, as if someone form Brew would come out of one of the alleys or doorways and take them right there! Needless to say, the couple looked normal, walked normally, but felt absolutely out of place. At least that's how Rue felt. Inside the store wasn't much better, but she hid her anxiety well and kept her eyes peeled. Once Jacob started for the movies, Rue spoke up. "Mind if I let you choose while I go find a book? I won't be long." She likes choosing books alone. Besides, she trusts him not to get a horror movie anyway. The book selection probably wouldn't be too big here, but they wouldn't be limited to Brewster's standards, which made her eager to see exactly what kind of books Brew didn't allow.
 
To his pleasant surprise, Jason found himself a lot more at ease once they'd left the apartment. Though he hadn't realized it earlier, it dawned on him now that having been more or less locked up in that apartment with rue for the last week had not been a good contributor to his mental stress levels. Getting outside with her and walking around, getting some fresh air, and being around other people had done wonders to calm him down, which was a very odd feeling as Jason was used to feeling more tense whenever there were too many people around. With his new feeling of ease he even dared to hold rue's hand -though without intertwining the fingers like before- as they walked together through the small town.

The grocery run was successful as well. Jason had been happy to find out that despite the town being small and relatively off the radar they had still opened a major shopping center within so they'd be able to purchase anything they could reasonably want. The second floor of the mega store was where the book shop and video retailer were so they'd left those stops for last since they both knew they wanted something there. It came to Jason as something of a surprise when Rue asked to go off by herself but he smiled and nodded in agreement. "Sure thing babe, I'll try to pick out something we both like."

"Score!"

Jason sighed internally as he turned around and walked towards the video store, trying to not make it apparent that jack was annoying him.

"Awesome, this is our perfect chance to get 'the goods' while she's not looking."

"Yeah, see, i've been thinking of that-"

"No you haven't, I would know."

".... right, well then to phrase it better, something just occurs to me. I'm 16. How exactly do you expect me to buy 'the goods'?"

". . . FFfffffffffffff-"

Jason actually sighed out loud while he was walking in reaction to his other half's lack of forethought.

"I thought you were supposed to be smarter than me."

"Not smarter, just better at thinking under pressure."

"Apparently not if the pressure's in your crotch."

"Piss off. Next time we talk to Shine I'm DEFINITELY asking for an internet connection."

"Right, good luck with that."

With the short conversation ended Jason had made his way to the store and walked in without ceremony. He looked around the shelves somewhat aimlessly, realizing that he really had no idea which of these movies were supposed to be good or not since he hardly recognized any of the names. It didn't take long for the clerk, a young man around jason's age with hazel brown hair almost reaching his shoulders, styled in a way that made it obvious the young man had spent at least an hour on his hair that morning trying to get it to look just the right level of 'messy and unruly'.

"Hey there, can I help you find anything?" he asked in a friendly tone.

"Oh, uhm, yeah probably," replied Jason, somewhat caught unawares. "I'm not really a big 'movie guy', but I'm trying to find something for me and the girlfriend to watch tonight. You have any recommendations?"

The clerk laughed lightly at this "I see, I hear ya man. Well I'm not gonna tell you to rent one of our crappy chick flicks unless you're in the dog house buddy, I've got no grudge against ya. Hehe, let's see here. Ah, here's and old one but a good one."

The young man handed Jason an old blu-ray case and the white haired young man looked it over for a moment with a confused expression before turning back to the clerk "Uhm, why is there a giant plant man and a beaver with a shotgun on the front cover of this thing?"

"Dude, you're looking at the best movie of the 2010's right there, and those are the two best characters in the movie, trust me. It's got great action, great comedy, some really dramatic scenes, you can't argue with a classic man, whatever your girl's into she'll love Crusaders of the Cosmos, and unlinke the Revengers movies you don;t have to watch 10 other flicks before it to understand the plot."


Jason looked it over once more and shrugged lightly. "Well, I guess it can't hurt to try it out. Thanks for the advice. You got anything else for me?"

* * *

After renting three movies, the aformentions Crusaders of the Cosmos, one romance film for rue, and a medieval fantasy epic for Jason, the young white haired man exited the store with a good feeling. The clerk had been quite helpful and friendly and had been fun to chat with. It was slowly sinking in to Jason that this wasn't just pretending. even if his name was fake, even though he had to always be careful, even though there were still strings attached to the whoel deal, this is what he'd wanted. He was finally on the outside, living a normal life, having normal conversations, maybe even making normal friends. He still felt guilty that he couldn't get all of his people out, that there were so many peoepl still trapped in brew, not even knowing what they really were in the eyes of the administrators. But for right now, he just let the moment soak in. He was doing it, he was normal, he had escaped. and if he could do it... then someday there wouldn't be a reason for brew to exist anymore. If he could do the impossible and break out, then one day he;d do the impossible again and tear brew apart completely and set everyone free.

with the first genuinely uplifting thought he'd had in a week tucked away securely in his heart, Jason made his way towards the book store to see if rue was done on her end.
 
Belle matched her boyfriend's smile, not without effort, and headed for the bookstore. This place was pretty big and Rue made sure to keep out of everyone's way until she found her way to the rows and rows of shelves in the bookstore. Most of them had labels so she she wandered in, smiling genuinely at the smell of the novels and the stories she had never read before. If it was possible to read every moment of every day of her life, she would never be able to read every good story ever written. It was both humbling and exciting, for she could never run out of things to read and she could never read it all if she tried. So she took a deep breath and found her way to the young adult section. It was pretty big and she didn't know how in the world she would choose just two or three to read. But she definitely wouldn't leave empty handed. Scanning the titles one by one, she picked a few up and read the backs, choosing which were more interesting to her than others. By the time she reached the end of the shelf she had lists in her mind of which were maybe's and which were no's. She almost felt for a moment like a normal small town girl in a regular bookstore, looking for something to read. She did find one that she actually held for a moment, considering how exciting it would be, how fast she would read it...until someone walked past her in her peripheral vision. She had dark skin and wavy hair, at least Rue thought so from the brief glimpse she got. It couldn't possibly be...no, don't think like that she isn't..

Against her better judgement, Rue turned the corner and followed the girl who was shelving books in the one ahead of her. She stopped short...the girl was cute and not as tall as Casey, but the resemblance was almost sisterly. Warm, brown eyes, dark skin and long hair...would this be what Casey would look like if she were out of Brew, safe and most of all...free? She had been one of the girls to be captured, so the slim chance that she had escaped and gone with them died as soon as the employee turned around. Rue blinked, took a step back and surprised herself when she felt a teardrop drip off her chin. She wiped it away immediately before the girl spoke.

"Oh hiya. I didn't see ya there...Do you need any help with anything?" She asked kindly, tilting her head with a book in her hands. Rue bit her lip, cleared her throat and looked down at the book she had picked off of the previous shelf. It was titled Unwind.

"Oh! I read that one! It's really good. I love Neal Shusterman. That copy is actually part of our library. Since I haven't seen you around before, I assume you're new here, so I'll explain. This place is actually half library, half bookstore. Unwind had been here for awhile so it's marked with a red dot on the spine. I can give you three weeks to borrow it and if you absolutely love it like I did, you can come back and buy it or return it to get the next book in the series. Oh! sorry I didn't introduce myself!" She laughed at herself and stuck out her hand. "My name's Charlotte."

Rue stared at her while she rambled on about the library/bookstore. It was pretty cool, but what really caught the little redhead's attention was the way her eyes lit up when she laughed, carefree and honest. Oh how she wished that for Casey now... Rue gulped and placed her slightly shaky hand in Charlotte's. "My name is. Belle. Thanks a lot, I um..I'll just check this one out if you don't mind." Rue mumbled, blinking away the tears in her eyes. Now is not the time.

"No problem at all. Follow me and I'll put the date card in so you know when it's due." She smiled brightly and led Rue to the counter when she took the book, put the card in the inside back cover and handed it back. "It's really nice to meet you Belle. Hope I see you around."

Rue forced a smile to the sweet girl and headed for the door instead of lingering. The flesh-eating virus was consuming her whole now. Her face was red and she held the book tight with both hands so they wouldn't shake as heart and mind raced. Why do you go looking for pain?

Well? Why are there still people that need saving when all you're doing is sitting around in an apartment and getting books to read to distract yourself?! All the freaking fiction books in the whole world wouldn't make you forget the people who died so you could stand here with a beating heart!

Rue sped up, walking quickly out the way she came until she was dodging the citizens of Originale. People who were always free their entire lives, totally oblivious to the fact that there was a facility, maybe even more than one, that brainwashes and drugs kids who think they're safe there!

stopstopstopstop

Rue gasped suddenly when, having had her eyes cast down, she bumped into someone's chest and stumbled backward, tripping back over her other foot to land hard on her bottom with one hand still holding the library book and the other holding herself up. Misty blue eyes looked up and she found Jason's emerald irises while she panted before letting out a little sigh of relief. "S-sorry.." Her voice quivered so she bit her lip and started to pick herself up, avoiding his eyes this time.
 
Last edited:
  • Love
Reactions: Buio
Jason was caught in a moment of distraction when rue came crashing into him, though the difference in mass resulted in him just taking a step back whereas she fell to the floor. Jason looked at her with a worried expressin and immediately took her by teh arms, helping her get back up. "Oh my god, belle are you okay?" he looked at how red her face was and saw how she was on the verge of tears and gave her a concerned and worried look, lowering his voice. "what happened? Are you alright?"
 
Rue let him help her up and steadied herself, keeping her eyes away from his. She grit her teeth, tied between being relieved for the interruption and hating the fact that he was seeing her this way. She just kept her hair forward and her chin low, sniffing and blinking a lot. "I-I'm fine...It's not important." She mumbled, knowing that he was probably freaking out in case she had a vision or Brew found them or something equally disastrous. She just wanted to get out of here. Away from everyone, especially those with the lingering eyes as they walked by.
 
Jason acted mostly on instinct when he took her by the shoulders and hurried her off to a more discrete corner, knowing she woudln't want everyone to see her like this. when they were mostly out of sight he took her in his arms and hugged her tightly, rocking her gently even. "Sweetie, I'm here for you. You can tell me what happened."
 
Rue, having kept her eyes down, let out a small gasp when Jason took her by the shoulders and led her away to a shadowy corner that hid them well enough in the mega store so that most wouldn't notice them. What surprised her was when he kept acting, even when he hugged her tight. Rue winced as he continued to pretend they were a couple.

stop that. It hurts. No one can hear us so I know now that you wouldn't say that if you were Jason.

"Jason...the girl in the bookstore...she.."

Why are you so pathetic?

"She looked just like Casey and I just--" Rue mumbled into his chest and wrapped her arms around him, trying to take breaths that would loosen up her tight throat and get rid of her stupid urge to cry.




 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back