sirenspull_logs | glitter on the wet streets

Entry tags:

glitter on the wet streets

Who: Lisbeth (

hejhej) and Jesse (

hostage)
When: Late night, waaaaay after evening sirens
Where: Twins Night Club in the Underground Mall
Summary: Lisbeth and Jesse have a drink, at Jesse's request.
Warnings: Language and maybe some frisky business. I'll change the warnings as it progresses.

Jesse had told her to give him twenty and the minutes were counting down. Lisbeth's hands felt unnaturally sweaty, a sensation she only experienced when she was nervous. Why was she nervous? Because someone had willingly asked her out for a drink, that's why. She only let Mimmi do that and that was because she'd known Mimmi for a bit. However, Mimmi wasn't here and to say that Lisbeth truly desired to be alone at all hours of the day and night was a bit of a stretch. Quickly, she changed into something a little more.. festive: she kept her racerback tank top on, but changed into a tighter pair of pants and a loose fitting shirt that exposed her dragon tattoo on the back. She kept her hair in the fauxhawk she'd put it in this morning. Who said she didn't put any effort into herself?

As she headed out of her apartment, she grabbed the steel pipe she used to get to places after the sirens. And the beasts she saw weren't any different than the ones she saw every night. It was quite a stretch since she had to get to Sector 3, but she soon found herself going down into the Underground Mall. This seemed to be a growing central part of her life. First Loki and now Jesse. Is this where she would meet the most interesting people she'd met on the Network?

Not wanting to wait in the long line outside the club, Lisbeth shoved her way to the front of the line where the bouncer stopped her. Without saying a word, she held out a wad of bills that quickly found her escorted in first. The booming techno music filled her ears and her chest as she looked around. She better have been the first one there; he'd already used her words against her. She didn't want him to do it again.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Jesse might have been there first, but getting Walt back into her cage had proven to be an unexpected struggle. Luckily, he was beyond rich enough to afford the armored night taxi, so he arrived at the club just about on time. He didn't need to pay his way to the front of the line, though. The bouncer and several of the would-be patrons in line recognized their favorite meth dealer, and after a few fistpounds and high-fives, he was inside.

A partiers' welcome always put him in a good mood, so he was beaming when he came through the door. He paused for a second to let his eyes adjust to the flashing lights, bobbing his head along to the beat of the music and looking for a familiar face. She would probably be easier to spot than him, since he was dressed low-key in black jeans and his signature black leather jacket. (A year earlier, that would be an entirely different story.)

- There she was, facing away from him. A fauxhawk and a flash of tattoo. Jesse wove through the crowd and reached out to touch her shoulder.

Lisbeth scanned the crowds to find him. Maybe she wouldn't find him and then she could run off. That sounded like a good idea until she felt someone hovering behind her. The moment she felt someone touch her shoulder, she quickly reached up and grabbed the hand. Lisbeth twisted it as she whipped herself around. It took a minute for her eyes to adjust to the darkness and the new face in front of her.

It was Jesse. She released his hand immediately.

Jesse let out a squawk of surprise as he was caught in her wristgrab, but he retained just enough kung fu knowledge from his middle school dojo days to remember not to put up a struggle... which may or may not have spared him a broken wrist.

"Uh, hey," he uttered when she turned to him, flashing a lopsided grin. "Surprised you, huh? Sweet ninja moves, yo." He tried not to wince so much when he shook out his newly-freed arm.

She arched her brow much like she had over their video not too long ago. He spoke like this? He reminded her of Plague, but then that thought quickly went from her mind. She didn't really like Plague. At least this one was attractive.

"Don't sneak up on me when I don't know you're in the room," she said sternly. Lisbeth then kept her eyes intent on him before turning around and heading towards the bar.

"But we came here for drinks."

Jesse opened his mouth to point out that he hadn't been sneaking, not even remotely, but he decided to let it drop. Hell, he'd known she was paranoid before he asked her out. And he kind of wasn't one to talk when it came to paranoia.

He followed her to the bar, feeling strangely like an obedient dog. Maybe because of the way she was ordering him around like that. Did he like that or not? He hadn't decided yet. "Order whatever you want," he offered, trying to save face. "It's on me."

Their height difference noticeable as they stood next to each other at the bar, Lisbeth didn't bother taking a seat. She merely leaned against the bar and looked out at the crowd. What Jesse had experienced was the reason why she had to face a crowd at all times. It was the same in McDonald's; she couldn't sit with her back to the door.

When he said that her drink was on him, she turned to look at him. "I can pay for my own drinks," she said. "And maybe even yours." The money in her bank account was dwindling after buying all the necessary items for Irene Nesser, but she could at least pay for a couple of rounds before she started letting him pay.

The bartender was passing them when she reached out and grabbed him, causing her to almost put her entire torso on the bartop. He was startled and offended at the same time. "A Budweiser and whatever my lady friend here wants," she said, nodding in Jesse's direction.

It seemed downright wrong to let her pay for anything when he had so much money rolling in he literally couldn't spend it fast enough, but this was clearly a feminist thing. And he knew better than to get in the way of feminism. His eyebrows raised but he nodded his assent and made a silent note to make up for it later.

That eyebrow quirked up again when she called him a lady, but it was followed up with a good-natured little laugh. He was all too aware that the next words out of his mouth would not disprove her assessment. To the bartender: "Just a, uh, water."

Once the bartender left to get their drinks, Lisbeth hopped down to the floor once more. She reached into her own leather jacket to get her cigarettes. "Water?" Lisbeth asked, placing a cigarette between her lips. She fished around next for her lighter. "A smart ass like you doesn't seem to be the type to just order water at a bar."

Where the fuck was it?

Jesse watched her search for a second, then reached into his jacket to pull out two things. The first was his lighter, which he offered to her. "Well, you're kinda right about that," he said, and held up the second item. A gold coin, upon which were engraved the words ONE MONTH and KEEP COMING BACK. A Narcotics Anonymous token.

The lighter grabs her attention as well as the coin. She lit her cigarette as the club's lights reflected off the gold coin. She glanced up at him as she finished lighting her cigarette.

"Sorry," she said suddenly. "We'll go to Denny's next time." Really, though, she felt like an ass now. Lisbeth glanced at him as she took a drag of her cigarette.

"How long?"

"About five weeks clean," Jesse replied with a shrug, knowing it was nothing too impressive. "This time, at least. I, uh, tried it before for a few months and pretty much failed. Big time. But here's hoping, right? Anyway, don't feel guilty or nothing. I'm the one who invited you, remember? And I work in a bar, so I'm used to it."

[Lisbeth was no stranger to drugs, but she only used it in clubs. For some reason, she wasn't going to mention this to him. Some part of her didn't want him to not be around her because of it and she didn't want to be some kind of hindrance to his recovery. She had that kind of paranoia; she thought about the worst case scenario.

Their drinks came. She put down her cigarette and took a swig of her beer.]

"Skål to recovery, then."

Jesse was surprised by her reaction. He'd honestly been expecting her to laugh and crack a few more jokes at his expense. It happened pretty often when he refused a drink or a joint. And there'd been a time when he, too, had reacted derisively toward his friends in recovery. After all, nobody wanted to be judged and nobody wanted to party alone. But here she was, apologizing and congratulating him.

"Skoll," he said with a little smile, clumsy on his pronunciation, and took a gulp of water.

"Well, least the heavy stuff's outta the way now. I feel a little weird, though, telling you I'm a drug addict before you've even told me what to call you."

She did realize how strange it was. He had already revealed something that people would normally reserve for the second or third date. Lisbeth felt goosebumps break out over her skin. 'Date' was such a foreign word to her that she immediately pushed it out of her mind. Meeting. That was better. It wasn't something someone would mention until the second or third meeting.

But he was right. She hadn't even given him a real name.

"Lisbeth," she said.

"Lisbeth," he repeated with a nod. He almost wanted to say it was pretty, but he wasn't sure if that'd offend her. Instead: "That's cool. Nice meeting you, Lisbeth. I'm Jesse, but I think you know that already."

He seemed rather neutral about her name just as she was. She didn't think it was pretty nor grotesque. It was just a name. When he told her his name, a small smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth. "I do," she said, taking another drag of her cigarette from the left side of her mouth. She blew her smoke away from him.

She looked up and looked around the club again. Lisbeth was an awkward woman. She didn't converse much so she didn't know why Jesse wanted to hang out with her.

"You said you'd been here a month when we first talked on the Network," she said suddenly, turning back to him. "Do you still like it here?"

Jesse didn't mind her being awkward. He was interested in her anyway, just watching the way she behaved. She was real mysterious, not like any of the girls he knew back home. Well, maybe a little like Jane. But he wasn't going to let himself think about Jane right now.

"Yeah," he answered, although he didn't sound quite as enthusiastic about Siren's Port as he once had. Maybe the bruised and beaten state of his face had something to do with that. "Yeah, I like it. If somebody gave me a choice to go home tomorrow, I'd stay here anyway."

"Oh yeah?" she asked, smoking leaving her mouth. There was a brief pause before she spoke again. "I'd stay here too, I guess," her voice lilting at the end. It was different from the steady tone she always spoke with. "I don't know that many people, but the ones I have are... interesting." She glanced his way before pretending to be really interested in her beer.

"What about your power?" It still sounded like a bunch of bullshit to her. She'd yet to discover it.

"I don't got one," Jesse answered, then corrected, "- yet, I guess. They keep saying I'll get one soon, but I don't even know how I'll be able to tell, you know? Like, what, I'm gonna suddenly guess that I can shoot fire out my eyeballs or something? Though this one chick told me it'll probably happen when I'm stressed out or in a fight.

"But..." He gestured to his face with a shrug. "Sure didn't help me out with this whole thing."

Realizing he was talking way too much about himself, he turned his attention back to her. "What about you? What's your power?"

Her brows furrowed, she studied his face under the lights. Before she could even ask what happened, he asked her a question. Lisbeth really didn't talk about herself either unless she was prompted. And even then it was only answers to questions she deemed suitable.

"I don't know yet either," she said. "I think it's a bunch of bullshit." But why would these companies apparently be kidnapping Newcomers? Then those news articles with kids with special abilities..

"Who kicked your ass?"

Crap, he shouldn't have pointed that out. Jesse leaned back with a sigh and delayed his answer by taking a sip of water. "It was this guy I ran into," he said finally. "Like, literally ran into him. By accident. When I was at work. And like he recognized me off the network, and I guess I'd pissed him off, so he dragged me outside. It was stupid. I mean, I coulda fought him off, but I was at work. So, yeah, he kicked my ass. Then my boss saw us and pulled him off me. Lucky I didn't get fired 'cause of that asshole."

She listened to Jesse's story as she finished her beer. Lisbeth put the empty beer bottle on the counter. The bartender gestured to it, asking if she'd like another, and she nodded. "I would've fought back," she said easily. "But I've heard Newcomers shouldn't get in trouble here because of AGI and SERO."

What he didn't mention was that he tried fighting back. And he lost. But he's eager for the topic of conversation to move on. "What do you think of all that?" he asked. "AGI and SERO. I mean, I never been too political or nothing, but the whole thing sounds more like... like gang rivals, you know? Not like something you'd see involved with the government and shit. But yeah, I heard that too, that you wanna stay outta jail 'cause they might pick you up."

"It's stupid," she said. "It's nothing but red tape with legal loopholes and easily paid off politicians." She might have been a bit of an anarchist. "Home wasn't any better..." Her voice trailed off. Her institutionalization, Bjurman, her mother.

She took an angry drag that burned the whole cigarette down to the filter. Lisbeth may have been a little too forceful when crushing it in the ashtray.

Thankfully the bartender came back with her beer which she chugged about half.

Jesse watched her in silence. He understood the anger, because when he compared the situation to gang warfare, it was actually a personal experience for him. He knew what it was like to have his life negotiated and traded like property. And he wished he could talk about it with someone. Unfortunately, the consequence of being sold to a Mexican drug cartel was learning that some things just had to stay secret forever, even when he was willing to run his mouth about so many other topics.

It didn't occur to him that the sudden quiet might speak volumes.

His silence did speak volumes to her and Lisbeth wondered if she ruined the mood. Her face reddened with embarrassment as she continued drinking her beer. "But there has to be some redeeming quality to this place if we both want to stay," she said then, forcing her tone to be light. "The people, the idea of starting fresh.."

Lisbeth shrugged. She then noticed how hot it was getting in the club. Why the hell did she bring the jacket? She shook it from her shoulders and took it off, draping it over one of the stools.

That snapped him out of it. A smile returned to Jesse's face, brought on by the unexpected lightness of Lisbeth's tone. And she was right, of course. He didn't know about her situation back home or how it compared to this place. But for him, at least...

"There's freedom here," he said. "I don't think most people get it, and maybe where they come from is better than here, but to me - all I'm seeing is opportunity, you know?"

Siren's Port meant no Mikael, no government records, no Harriet Fucking Vanger, no anything. She wasn't a ward of the state and was free to do as she pleased.

Free to handle her finances. Free to do whatever she wanted without the threat of institutionalization over her head. Granted, she'd scared Bjurman straight, but she didn't like people thinking she was some special charity case.

"There is opportunity here," she said with a small smile.

Jesse was glad that there was someone here, at least, who shared his point of view. Even though Mary was also determined to stay, it wasn't exactly a matter of choice for her, and she looked sad when she talked about it. Didi had encouraged him to see this as a second chance, but that was only because she knew everything. Probably even knew that he'd end up dead meat back home.

Lisbeth, however, was just like him. He could tell from looking at her that she was an outsider, too. Maybe she was searching for a place to belong, same as him. Even though he didn't know the details, it was obvious enough that her own world hadn't been kind to her. So there they were: two fucked up kids who saw something in Siren's Port that no one else seemed to see.

"So what is it you wanna do here?" he asked. "I mean, like, got any big plans?"

It was rare that Lisbeth found a kindred spirit. The people that she usually attracted and whom attracted her were usually the complete opposite of her. So if she ever knew Jesse's thoughts that they were alike, she wouldn't know how to react to them. She would at first deny it because she didn't want to be anyone but herself, but upon retrospect, she wouldn't know how to answer.

But plans? Lisbeth never really had plans. Lisbeth shrugged, but it was barely a shift of her shoulders. "Just live day to day," she said. "That's how I lived back in Stockholm. No one bothered me and I didn't bother them."

She finished her second beer. "You?"

Stockholm? Where was that? Somewhere in Europe, Jesse knew that much. He'd thought she was German, but he was pretty sure Stockholm was somewhere else. Now he felt like an idiot. He'd have to look that up before she noticed how dumb he was.

"Huh?" He almost didn't realize she'd asked. "Oh, uh... Pretty much the same thing, you know. Not used to settling down. Did a lot of, uh, traveling. Back home. Lotta packing up and going out into the wilderness, all that. But I can't do that here, obviously... I'm thinking I'll buy a house. That's the next step, yeah. Get outta those shitty apartments."

A small smile appeared on Lisbeth's face and she tried so hard to hide it just as quickly, turning her head away from him slightly as she did so. "I think shitty is a compliment," she said.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

glitter on the wet streets

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject