Why did you choose to lean on a man you knew was falling?

[hostage]

Who: Jesse Pinkman & Alice Cullen
When: Early morning of September 5, 1918
Where: Near Jesse's shelter
Summary: Jesse wakes after the first Darkness to a grief-stricken Alice bearing devastating news.
Warnings: It's sad.


[Jesse spent that first night alone, separated from the others when he was caught off-guard by the sudden reappearance of the Darkness. It was easier, in a way, to find a place to hide when he was all on his own and didn't have to worry about sheltering anyone else. A tiny, deep cellar that felt too much like a grave had served him well, though he'd been forced to remain sitting with his knees drawn to his chest because there wasn't even room enough for his legs.

The light of dawn peeking through the cracks of the trapdoor above is enough to wake him from uneasy sleep. He's sore all over from being cramped into a tight space and eager to get above to fresh air, so he climbs up the ladder right away, struggles with the door until it budges, and then sprawls out on the grass. He spends his first few minutes just lying there and breathing deep. It smells like death out here, but at least it isn't claustrophobic earth. When he's sure there aren't still monsters roaming, he lets his eyes close and gives himself this moment of true rest and relief to soak in the sun.]

Comments

[hostage]

[He tries to wrench away from her, but she's too strong. It's the same as it was with Jasper in the parking garage. His panic is rising, his eyes wide and pleading. He doesn't want to do the same thing to her. He killed Jasper. He can't kill her, too.]

Don't. Alice, don't make me...

[manicpixiedreamgirl]

[Her eyes flick up to his, only for a moment.]

Maybe not...

[The purple-blue veins are right there, fluttering just under the skin of his wrist. She leans forward, just the slightest bit, to better smell him.]

[hostage]

[He knows what she's thinking. He knows what she wants to do. That doesn't aid the decision, though. All it does is leave him weighing the value of his life against hers. His breath quickens, as does his heartbeat. He's shaking. Tears roll down his cheeks. He can't choose.]

Please. Don't...

jesse you precious little shit

[manicpixiedreamgirl]

[He's panicking, it's easy to tell from his pulse and his sweat. It doesn't bother her, though, not when her eyes are coal black and her stomach is empty.

It's been so long since she's had a proper taste of human blood. That man she bit months ago- Eddy, she thinks- barely counted, he got away so fast. Unfortunately, it'd been enough to turn her eyes and light her appetite on fire. If Jesse hadn't-

Jesse.

That knocks her out of her bloodlust pretty efficiently. She drops his hand from hers, slamming her other over her nose and mouth. If she can't smell him, he can't tempt her.]]

sorry he's so manly and stoic

[hostage]

[As soon as she lets go of him, Jesse scrambles backwards, stumbling and kicking until there's at least ten feet between them. Then he collapses, panting and still trembling, back onto the dirt. He doesn't think there's really far enough that he can run if Alice is determined, so he gives up here. Curling up into himself, he buries his face in his hands and sobs.]