Searching for answers [OPEN]

[morethan084]

WHO: Skye and YOU
WHERE: Around Heropa, Residence #031, and local diner.
WHEN: December 7th-12th
WHAT: Skye is trying to get answers as to what happened in downtown Heropa via witnesses and her own totally illegal research.
WARNINGS: Cursing

Of course things could never go right in her life, but this was a whole new level of fucked up. Her powers had been switched with Jesse's, and while she seemed to have gotten the easier to manage powers, Skye had to deal with the fact that Jesse needed her help in order to try and control hers.

So between helping Jesse, and searching for answers it left Skye with little time to sleep. Which, apparently, wasn't needed anyway thanks to one of Jesse's powers. Although it would've certainly been a lot easier without having that constant buzzing sensation running through her powers.

It wouldn't be hard to find Skye, she was all over town this entire week. Searching for answers, asking witnesses, searching on a computer she managed to swipe. Sometimes she was at her house, but quite a lot of the time she could be found at the local diner, sitting in a corner while sipping on an endless supply of coffee and researching on the laptop.

Comments

12/7 // evening

[hostage]

Jesse can't go home. Not now, not like this. He can hardly even control his car, the steering wheel vibrating under his hands as he drives furiously away from the school and into town. He's going to hurt someone if he doesn't calm down, but keeping calm while he's alone with his thoughts is near-impossible. There's only one place he can go.

The car screeches to a halt outside Skye's apartment, parked at a crooked angle Jesse can't be bothered to correct. He hops out and practically runs to the door, knocking frantically and ringing the doorbell several times.

"Please be home, please be home..."

[morethan084]

Skye perks up at the sound of tires screeching right outside the house and is already making her way to the front room to see what was going on when someone begins banging on the door and ringing the doorbell frantically.

Without looking out the window to see who it was, Skye unlocks the door and practically rips it open.

Jesus. He looked like shit. Of course she didn't say that to him.

"What happened?" She could only assume something happened, especially with that frantic look in his eye.

[hostage]

Thank God. Jesse steps inside, hugging himself tightly, as if that could possibly keep him from tearing the building apart.

"I can't - I can't talk about it." Not just because it's a secret, but because he's afraid all of those emotions will spill out of him when he's working so hard to keep them contained. "I just need you to make sure I don't do anything."

[morethan084]

Skye doesn't stop him from coming inside, all she does is step behind him to close the door and lock it again. Her roommates were in their respectful rooms, and thankfully it wasn't too late so she didn't have to worry about waking them.

So something did happen, something pretty bad from the looks of it.

Brows knitting together in concern, Skye runs her hand through her hair as she looked around the living room. Which was empty right now, but she very much doubted Jesse would be keen if someone came out.

"Let's go to my room." Skye told him, already leading the way.

[hostage]

Jesse nods and follows after her, trying to focus on anything but what just happened back at the school. Slowing his breath, keeping his eyes fixed on Skye, and slowly massaging his forearms to work out the buzzing in his skin.

[morethan084]

Once they were inside, Skye closed her door. The room wasn't very big, but it was enough for them to both walk around in. Skye was used to small rooms, so this was an improvement.

"You can tell me, you know. If you want."

[hostage]

"I'm afraid something bad is gonna happen if I do."

Already there's a subtle vibration that follows Jesse with every step. Smaller objects on the shelves rattle and the window gives a threatening creak as Jesse makes his way to Skye's bed and takes a seat on the edge of it.

[morethan084]

Skye can't help the panicked look on her face when she felt the shaking. Out of instinct she tried to stop it, hands clenching into fists as she tried harder and yet nothing happened.

"And if you don't talk about it, nothing will?" Because he's proving that not to be the case right now.

[hostage]

...Point taken. He's really not doing a good job of bottling this up.

Jesse swallows, debating internally for a moment before he says, "Did I, uh... Did I ever tell you I got a kid? Back home."

[morethan084]

Skye is surprised to hear that, given what else she knew about him. Still, she really shouldn't be so judgmental. Different situations and all of that.

"No." If he had, then she didn't remember it.

[hostage]

"He's a good kid." Jesse smiles briefly, a bit of a proud father for a second before he dissolves back into twitching nervousness. "He's real quiet. Shy. Just turned eight before I got here, which was... which was about two years ago. But he's small for his age, you know. He looks like a little baby sometimes. You can't help but love him, he's that cute."

[morethan084]

Skye likes to hear stories of parents talking about their kids in such a positive way, in a way she lived through that. Because growing up, that was certainly not the case for her.

Taking a seat on the bed too, Skye looked over to him.

"What's his name?"

[hostage]

"Brock." He lets out a choked little laugh. "Like the Pokémon character."

[morethan084]

Skye lets out a soft laugh in amusement, it wasn't what she was thinking of when she heard the name at least.

"Did you name him after that on purpose?"

[hostage]

"His mom named him," Jesse answers with a shake of his head. "I think she just thought it sounded strong. Like, badass."

[morethan084]

"Well it made me think of Brock Lesnar, which sort of works."

If this is what he wanted to talk about in order to calm down, Skye was more than willing to.

[hostage]

Jesse smiles again. "You know what, I bet he'll be telling people that's who he's named after once he gets to high school."

[morethan084]

"Is he even still wrestling?" Skye hadn't watched wrestling in years.

[hostage]

Jesse gives Skye a helpless look. "Last I heard, he quit for good. But I been a little preoccupied the last couple years, so... Who knows."

[morethan084]

"Right." She knew he had told her he has been here for a while, but it still didn't cross her mind that some of the people who lived here hadn't experienced the present year.

"Do you have a picture of him?"

[hostage]

"I wish." No one ever expects to go on a one-way interdimensional trip. He would have packed one if he'd known. "It ain't smart to carry that kinda stuff in your wallet. You don't want somebody in this business finding out all about your family." One of Walt's rookie mistakes, Jesse remembers well.

...Which brings his mind back to the present.

"I almost killed somebody once because I thought they poisoned him to get to me."

[morethan084]

"...Right." He had a good point, but growing up Skye never had to worry about things like that. It's what made her so reckless before she joined SHIELD.

"What? They didn't though, did they?"

[hostage]

"No, he didn't."

Jesse says it as much to confirm it for himself as he does for her. He has to believe it's not true. It has to be a move, a manipulation on Walt's part. Because if it is the truth, then Jesse's world will be in ruins - figuratively and literally.

"Brock was poisoned, but it was an accident. I thought it was ricin, but it was - it was lily of the valley. Little kids just eat that stuff on their own. The berries... Just an accident." Just an accident. Just an accident. Just an accident.

He looks at Skye, going sallow and trembling as he clarifies, "It was all in my head. It was just me being paranoid, getting all psycho. He's my best friend and I almost killed him because of it."

Jesse takes a deep breath. "And now he's trying to get me to go through with it."

[morethan084]

"Oh my god." Skye could only imagine how terrifying that had to be, to almost lose their child like that.

"You had to have a reason for thinking he did that." It was a poor attempt at trying to reassure him that it wasn't paranoia. Usually someone's instinct wasn't wrong.

Wait, did she just hear that right?

"He wants you to kill him? Why?"

[hostage]

Jesse shakes his head at her attempted reassurance. He knows himself too well, knows his own instability. She was absolutely correct when she called him psychotic. Even in a situation as terrifying as that, his first reaction should not have been murder. He's always wrong about these things, and he was wrong in that assumption, too. Of course he was.

"He wants to die," Jesse replies quietly, "but he's too much of a pussy to kill himself. He's trying to get me to do it. He keeps pushing me, and I don't..."

His voice breaks and he looks away from Skye, squeezing his eyes shut. His hands curl into fists.

"I don't know if I can control myself much longer. I hate him. I hate him so much. But I don't think I can live with myself if I kill him. All these games he's playing with me, but I still..."