in the arms of an angel, may you find some comfort here
[[ooc: you can totally treat this as a party post. if you see someone you know and want to go up to them, threadhop at your leisure!]]Chicago, the break is not stopping. There have been a string of losses and they've been keenly felt throughout the city. There are ghosts on everyone's faces and soon enough they'll overpower them unless something is
( Read more... )
Jo hadn't read the journal entry. She hasn't read any of the journal entries because no one's really told her about the journal network and so she hasn't noticed her own.
She knew some shit was going down because it was blatantly obvious and she's not a dense cookie. All one had to do was walk out the street and see the heavy warring ghosts people wore on their faces.
She's seen that kind of look before, even if the situations have been different. It makes her throat clog in an unpleasant way, though something about everyone rallying up together--even if it's for something like a hug--is something Jo can respect.
Right now she's just gonna...stare at the sign. And stare some more.
Reply
He's been in Chicago a long time. In theory, he'd be used to something like this. In theory, he'd have checked his whole journal, not just the first entry or so, and seen what the heck was going on. But maybe he's just come to expect the worst from Chicago.
He looks around again and sees Jo. And points.
"Is this for real?" he asks. Just to make sure.
Reply
"Looks like it," Jo answers, sticking her hands in her pockets. "As for the why or how of it, not a clue. I just got here."
Well, it's been a few weeks but still.
Surprisingly, it's felt a lot longer than that. Oh, Chicago, how you break them.
Reply
He eyes the coffee, and then glances once again at Jo. "What do you think the odds are that the coffee is poisoned?" he asks, before realizing that perhaps that is not the best way to hold a conversation.
"I'm sorry. Uh. When you meant you got 'here' did you mean here as in this very spot, or..." Because it totally matters. If she just got here as in this very spot, well, good luck escaping the nice men in the white coats, Vaughn. But if she got HERE as in Chicago, then he's safe because even when you've only been here a short while, you realize how crazyweirddangerous the city really is.
Reply
Glancing at him, her amusement dwindles momentarily. The truth is a heavy stone, and once reminded of it, Jo can't really ignore the weight.
"Here in Chicago," she says. "It's been giving me a real warm welcome, let me tell ya."
Jo's full of sarcasm and snark, Michael Vaughan. Don't mind her.
Reply
So with a shrug, he steps up with her. And listens to her snark with a grim, very twisted half-smile on his face.
"Yeah, well. I don't suppose you ran into your fiancee with no memory of you, did you?" It's not a pissing contest, Vaughn.
Reply
It's a testament to how thrown off she is by that question. She flinches, as if she's been struck. It's only for one ungrateful sliver of a second, and then it vanishes. As if it wasn't there.
"No, not my fiance," Jo answers in a surprisingly quiet voice. Dean didn't view her as anything other than a...sisterthing, she supposes, though she tried to change that at first.
And now she's a stranger to him here. He has no idea who she is. That stings, more than she'd like to admit.
Reply
"I'm sorry," he apologizes. "That... I'm sorry." He can't tell her why--mostly he can't find the words--but he feels like a huge jerk. It's obvious someone's forgotten her, or she's missing someone or...
If Vaughn were the flailing type, he would be flailing right now. Needless to say, he's flailing inwardly. "This place tends to make you bitter," he says finally. Because that explains EVERYTHING.
Reply
"It's okay," she says, and it is. It's mostly due to the fact Jo can tell the guy has no idea what to say and didn't mean to bring up painful reminders.
Awkwardness is not how Jo likes to roll.
"So I've been told," she murmurs, before giving him a half-hearted smile. It's as grim as his previous one, but it's genuine in its intent. "How long have you been here?"
Reply
He gets a cup of coffee for himself as the line moves around to talk or hug or do whatever the hell it is they're all here for, and then he hands one to Jo. He is so uncomfortable it is kind of ridiculous.
Reply
Leave a comment