Room 417, Sunday night

[fates_jaye]

Jaye's had an interesting weekend. There was checking on Alec after he ended up in the clinic. And kind of freaked out over that, which she hadn't expected. And then there was saying goodbye to Veronica and "welcoming" the newbies, where she'd gotten to mess with some people, actually talk to some others. And then there was that whole bit where she turned down a guy because of the guy she's already dating, and she got to feel better about it given that Jack's the same way with his situation.

And then there was that whole bit where she found out that the guy she's really been feeling great about is sleeping with his doppleganger.

As soon as Jaye gets to her room, she closes the door and goes for her phone.


There's a sigh into the phone pretty much immediately, accompanied by "Jaye, I'm working. I know it's Sunday, but it has to get done. I really don't have time-"

"How's that lesbianism thing working out for you?" Jaye interrupts.

Sharon pauses. "What?"

"I'm just wondering. Maybe I should try it."

Another pause. "You can't just try to be a lesbian," she says. "The real lesbians don't like it. Where did this come from?"

"I'm not feeling that great about relationships right now, okay? Humor me," Jaye snaps.

"Lesbians have relationships, too, you know!"

"I'm just asking!"

"Yeah, I noticed! You can't be a lesbian and that's final!"

Jaye pouts at the phone and asks, "But it's probably easier, right? You get things easier because of being the same gender, or something? I mean, that's not the problem but it has to be a plus, right?"

Sharon laughs for a while. "No, seriously. What's with the sudden pseudo-bi-curiosity?"

"Bad day."

There's a pause on Sharon's end, and then a wary, "Did you want to... talk... about it?"

Jaye shakes her head. "No. I'm okay."

Another pause, this time shorter, with a slightly warier, "You sure?"

"Yeah. I'll talk to you later," Jaye says, and hangs up.

Comments

[x5-alec.livejournal.com]

"I was liking where we were," Alec says. "I like the dating, the sleeping together, and... you. I like you." He pauses. "I just don't know if it's the kind of thing that goes there."

[fates_jaye]

"Yeah," she says, and has no idea why that makes her feel worse. "I figured. So were you even going to tell me about this? Because you know, hearing it from Dean in the middle of all the new students like it's nothing? Doesn't make me feel too great."

[x5-alec.livejournal.com]

"I didn't ask him to tell you," he says, feeling defensive. "And I thought we were still doing the open, casual thing."

[fates_jaye]

"I didn't ask if you asked him to tell me. I asked if you were ever planning on it, or if I just got to be left in the dark the whole time while he was apparently just looking to tell me," she says pointedly, not sure where half of this is coming from. "I barely did the open thing to begin with, and I don't know, maybe when there was talk to kidnap me if I got stuck at home and things like that, I got the impression you didn't need anything else."

She shrugs. "Like I said, I was an idiot."

[x5-alec.livejournal.com]

"I guess it seemed a little more tactful not to bring them up," he says. "Dean is an idiot, I have no idea why he suddenly felt the need to say something, but if you ever wanted to know, you could've asked."

He looks at her, still frustrated, and has no idea still what's happened or if there was something he did wrong. "I've never had anyone I'd said I'd kidnap before. What does that have to do with it?"

[fates_jaye]

"I didn't know there was anything to ask! Fine, maybe I was hoping that there wasn't anything to ask and I should have said something. And okay, no one actually cares what I do or where I go do saying things like that? Has a lot to do with it. And now I just spent however long thinking that meant something it didn't."

[x5-alec.livejournal.com]

"I care," he says, voice low, angry and hurt now, but there's nothing else he can even think to say to that.

[fates_jaye]

Another one of those firsts, hearing that. "But not enough to tell me when there was something else going on that was big enough that Dean felt he had to say something?"

[x5-alec.livejournal.com]

"I'm not dating him," Alec says, looking at her in complete surprise. Because in his mind that's what makes the difference here. "He's like..." He reaches for words that are difficult to find because he's never used them before. "My best friend. Like you. But I'm dating you, and if I was dating someone else, I'd say so."

[fates_jaye]

"Dating him or not, it matters," she says quietly, and she really doesn't want to admit how upset this really makes her. "Or it should, or it matters to me, or something. I don't know, but it does."

[x5-alec.livejournal.com]

"I'm sorry," he says, and it's probably the first time he's ever said it and meant it quite so much. He's also bewildered, and looks it, uncomfortably open and seeming completely out of his depth where he's normally so good at adapting.

[fates_jaye]

Jaye kind of doesn't know what to say anymore. She just knows this isn't going well and doesn't know how to make it go well. "I accidentally kind of called you my boyfriend earlier," she admits. "Hello with the bad timing."

[x5-alec.livejournal.com]

Alec's already apologized, but that doesn't feel good enough, somehow. "I'm sorry," he says, and still means it. "I don't think you're an idiot."

[fates_jaye]

She does. "Thanks," she says, and has no idea what else to say.

[x5-alec.livejournal.com]

He looks down for a moment and then back up at her. "I don't want to stop seeing you, but-" He stands up, taking a deep breath. "Maybe we need to think about things."

[fates_jaye]

Jaye's never cried at a breakup, and she's not about to start now. So she nods for a minute before saying, "Yeah. We do."

[x5-alec.livejournal.com]

Alec nods and looks at her searchingly. No words come, no matter how hard he tries, and he finally goes to leave.

[fates_jaye]

She wants to say something, too, but has no idea what's left. So she finally moves away from the door to let him.

[x5-alec.livejournal.com]

He watches her as he passes and the sound of the door opening - and then closing behind him - echoes entirely too loudly.