Fic: Affinity (6a/?)
This is just the first half of what was supposed to be this week's chapter. I really want to get the second half done over the weekend, but we'll have to see.
Previous parts of the story: ( Part 1) ( Part 2) ( Part 3) ( Part 4) ( Part 5)
"Forty-fourth."
"Hey, Vance, it's Polniaczek. Any messages at the desk for me?"
"Hang on, Sarge... Nope, don't see any."
"Okay, thanks."
"Where you at? Aren't you off this week?"
Jo flipped on her left turn signal and changed lanes to pass a convertible doing 25. The occupants might have been out for a leisurely drive but she had somewhere to be. She gunned the engine, pleasantly surprised by the SUV's rapid acceleration. "Yeah, I am."
"Expecting a call while you're out?"
She hesitated. No messages at the precinct meant Blair hadn't checked in there yet, but that didn't mean she wouldn't. The reunion was probably in full swing by now and with any luck Blair was too distracted to dwell on Jo's absence. Dwelling could only lead to suspecting and suspecting was bad. But it wasn't out of the realm of possibility. She couldn't very well ask the desk to say she was on duty when she wasn't -- that would just open a can of worms. She was left with only one option: pray like hell Blair didn't up and decide to make inquiries at the 44th.
"Nah, just curious."
"Okay. You have a good Thanksgiving."
"You too, Vance."
Making a mental note not to call back until she was sure that officer's shift was over, she ended the call and tossed her cell to the passenger seat, where it bounced lightly off a plastic bag full of soda bottles. The convertible was barely visible in the rear-view mirror now. Jo was vaguely aware that the scenery on either side of the road was kind of nice, in that small-town way that always reminded her of Peekskill, but the view was wasted on her. Her predicament weighed too heavily on her mind.
I haven't worked this hard to keep something a secret since... well, since the big one, I guess.
That brought a smile to her face, even though the memories weren't all good ones. The feeling she remembered most clearly was that of being torn -- wanting to tell, hating the lies and evasions, but afraid to put herself at risk, too unsure of how people would react. She'd suffered from internal deadlock for what seemed like ages, until a moment's carelessness took the decision out of her hands, at least as far as Blair was concerned.
It had all started with Blair announcing that Jo had become civilized, and then, in the same breath, asking her to go to some stupid pep rally with her.
"Come on, it'll be fun. For me?"
Jo couldn't believe it. Blair never begged her to do anything -- she either issued orders, which Jo ignored, or she dropped hints and made references and simply kept talking about whatever it was until Jo did it just to shut her up. And now here she was actually pleading, complete with puppy dog eyes, for Jo to accompany her to a school event. Jo would never admit it in a million years, but it was... nice. Kind of a thrill. Not the invitation -- she didn't really want to go to a pep rally, although under different circumstances it could have been fun to spend an evening complaining to the blonde about her choice of outings -- but the part about Jo having changed.
Her highness finally thinks I'm fit companionship, she thought, turning away from Blair to hide an embarrassing little smile. Of course, it wasn't the kind of companionship that Jo had long since wanted to offer. But it was something.
"What are you grovelling about now, Blair?" Tootie asked as she and Natalie came into the shop.
"Jo is practically living at the library," Blair whined. "If we want to see her we have to look her up in the card catalogue and check her out."
With one last disgruntled look, she flounced into the kitchen. Jo was still trying to wrap her head around it all. Blair was usually annoyed by her presence, not her absence. Just a few weeks ago she had been ready to send the brunette out to sleep on a park bench rather than share her Langley dorm room for one more night. Of course, that had been less about their usual clash of personalities and more about the incredibly cramped quarters. They'd both expected to have so much more space and freedom once they started college, but instead they'd wound up in each other's hair more than ever. Not that Jo had minded. It was better than not seeing Blair at all.
Maybe the blonde was starting to come to the same conclusion, now that Jo was spending all her free time -- the little bit left after classes, studying and working for Mrs. G -- away from their new home, the house in downtown Peekskill to which Edna's Edibles was attached. Or maybe Jo really had changed. Five minutes earlier she'd tossed a would-be shoplifter out on her ear, and Blair had praised her for the way she'd handled it, saying that four years ago there would have been a lot more violence involved.
Actually, Jo thought, four years ago I would have been the one trying to rip the place off.
Her Eastland education had been about more than just math and science and English lit. She'd also had to learn self-restraint. There was part of her that still resented being packed off to boarding school, treated like a wild animal in need of taming, but the more mature part of her had to acknowledge that the road she'd been on back then couldn't possibly have led to anything good. It couldn't be so bad to learn to ignore your instincts when your instincts were always getting you in trouble.
Acting on her feelings led to things like getting arrested. Getting Mrs. G arrested. Punching Blair in the face... followed by the mother of all guilt trips.
Sitting on her hands instead seemed to have much better results. Like Blair saying she was "no longer a psychopathic ragamuffin," which in Blair terms was high praise indeed.
As Jo finished putting away the merchandise she'd taken off that little delinquent, she became aware that Natalie was giving her a sly smile.
"You're gonna have to do better than that old library story with us, Polniaczek."
It turned out Natalie had gone through Jo's dirty laundry and discovered a piece of popcorn in the pocket of one of her blazers. Jo tensed up immediately. She had known her cover wasn't airtight -- the library closed at ten during the week and she had been out past midnight the night before -- but she hadn't expected Natalie to go to such lengths once she became suspicious.
The future reporter brandished her little baggie of evidence with a smug expression. "Now spill it. Who's the man behind the popcorn?"
Despite the tension that had crept into Jo's body, she almost laughed at that. Natalie didn't know it but she'd just asked the only question on this subject that Jo could answer honestly without actually revealing anything. But because she hated Nat's Columbo routine, and because she and Tootie thought they were such hot stuff confronting her like this, she decided to stonewall them.
"Orville Redenbacher."
And then, just as she was walking away, resolutely ignoring all further questions in the hope that they'd eventually get tired of asking, the bell over the door jangled and alerted them to the presence of a customer. Jo was relieved for about half a second -- until she saw who was walking in.
Erica. Oh, crap.
"Hi, welcome to Edna's Edibles," Tootie said absently. She and Natalie gave Jo looks that clearly said their quest for juicy details wasn't over, then wandered off into the kitchen, kindly leaving Jo to do the actual work of serving the newcomer.
Jo faced her over the counter. The sun shining through the front windows seemed to set Erica's red hair on fire and light up her pale skin, making her even more striking than usual.
"Hi."
Stuffing her hands in her jeans pockets, Jo managed a smile. "Hi."
Erica's eyebrows lifted. "You don't look very happy to see me."
"No, no, I am," Jo said quickly. "It's just your timing is a little..."
"Don't worry. I can keep my hands to myself." Erica's lips curved up teasingly.
Jo tried not to blush. They hadn't really talked about it, but Erica seemed to understand her need for privacy. The night before, when they'd arrived at Erica's dorm and parked the bike, Erica had quietly pulled her around the corner into a shadowy spot away from prying eyes. The memory of the heated makeout session that had followed was shot through with the sensation of a rough brick wall at her back. Their other dates (all four of them) had had to end with nothing more intense than eye contact, since they'd taken place on campus -- lunches grabbed between classes. Erica was a sophomore and had an even busier schedule than Jo did.
The kitchen door banged open again, causing Jo to jump as if they'd been caught in a clinch.
"Boy, Blair's in almost as bad a mood as Jo," Natalie said to Tootie as they traipsed back into the room.
Erica gave Jo a curious look. Jo shook her head subtly. There was no way she was going to try to explain the Blair thing.
The bell over the door went off again, this time heralding Mrs. Garrett's return from aerobics class. Clearly energized by her workout, she greeted them all with enthusiasm.
"Hey, Jo, did you two enjoy the movie last night?"
Jo was caught off-guard. Instantly, Natalie and Tootie were in her face.
"So you were at the movies!" Natalie leaned over the counter to poke her in the shoulder. "Mrs. Garrett, who was she with?"
The older woman frowned. She held out a hand towards Erica, whom the younger girls had forgotten but who was watching the scene with great interest. "This young lady here."
"I didn't see you there," Jo said, struggling to keep her voice even. Where was she sitting? How much did she see? Not that we did much at the theatre, but still...
Tootie looked Erica up and down and turned back to Mrs. Garrett. "No one else?"
Mrs. Garrett shrugged. "She didn't come out of the theatre with anyone else. I was across the street, at the coffee shop."
Jo let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. Natalie's narrowed eyes stayed trained on her for a long moment, and then she backed off, her mouth quirking glumly.
"So much for a mystery romance," she muttered to Tootie.
Tootie put a hand on her arm. "Wait -- what was Mrs. Garrett doing at the coffee shop at that time of night?"
As one, they turned on their employer. "Mrs. Garrett--"
"Oops, look at the time. Gotta run!" The older woman scurried to the door that led into the house, the younger girls hot on her heels.
"Poor Mrs. G." Jo shook her head. "She won't have a minute's peace until she gives up his name, address and social security number."
"They do seem very... inquisitive," Erica said.
Jo dropped her gaze to the floor. "Uh... sorry, I should have introduced you, huh?"
Erica smiled. "Next time."
"Sure."
"Listen, I know you're working. I won't hold you up. I just wanted to say hi."
"Sure, sure... I'm, um... I'm glad you did."
"See you tonight? Eight o'clock, don't forget."
"I won't forget."
Erica took a step toward the door. Jo hurried over and opened it for her, earning another soft smile that in turn produced another blush. When Erica was gone, Jo whacked herself in the forehead with an open palm. Smooth, she thought sarcastically. Real smooth. You'd almost think she was my first girlfriend or something.
[Continued on side B]
Previous parts of the story: ( Part 1) ( Part 2) ( Part 3) ( Part 4) ( Part 5)
"Forty-fourth."
"Hey, Vance, it's Polniaczek. Any messages at the desk for me?"
"Hang on, Sarge... Nope, don't see any."
"Okay, thanks."
"Where you at? Aren't you off this week?"
Jo flipped on her left turn signal and changed lanes to pass a convertible doing 25. The occupants might have been out for a leisurely drive but she had somewhere to be. She gunned the engine, pleasantly surprised by the SUV's rapid acceleration. "Yeah, I am."
"Expecting a call while you're out?"
She hesitated. No messages at the precinct meant Blair hadn't checked in there yet, but that didn't mean she wouldn't. The reunion was probably in full swing by now and with any luck Blair was too distracted to dwell on Jo's absence. Dwelling could only lead to suspecting and suspecting was bad. But it wasn't out of the realm of possibility. She couldn't very well ask the desk to say she was on duty when she wasn't -- that would just open a can of worms. She was left with only one option: pray like hell Blair didn't up and decide to make inquiries at the 44th.
"Nah, just curious."
"Okay. You have a good Thanksgiving."
"You too, Vance."
Making a mental note not to call back until she was sure that officer's shift was over, she ended the call and tossed her cell to the passenger seat, where it bounced lightly off a plastic bag full of soda bottles. The convertible was barely visible in the rear-view mirror now. Jo was vaguely aware that the scenery on either side of the road was kind of nice, in that small-town way that always reminded her of Peekskill, but the view was wasted on her. Her predicament weighed too heavily on her mind.
I haven't worked this hard to keep something a secret since... well, since the big one, I guess.
That brought a smile to her face, even though the memories weren't all good ones. The feeling she remembered most clearly was that of being torn -- wanting to tell, hating the lies and evasions, but afraid to put herself at risk, too unsure of how people would react. She'd suffered from internal deadlock for what seemed like ages, until a moment's carelessness took the decision out of her hands, at least as far as Blair was concerned.
It had all started with Blair announcing that Jo had become civilized, and then, in the same breath, asking her to go to some stupid pep rally with her.
"Come on, it'll be fun. For me?"
Jo couldn't believe it. Blair never begged her to do anything -- she either issued orders, which Jo ignored, or she dropped hints and made references and simply kept talking about whatever it was until Jo did it just to shut her up. And now here she was actually pleading, complete with puppy dog eyes, for Jo to accompany her to a school event. Jo would never admit it in a million years, but it was... nice. Kind of a thrill. Not the invitation -- she didn't really want to go to a pep rally, although under different circumstances it could have been fun to spend an evening complaining to the blonde about her choice of outings -- but the part about Jo having changed.
Her highness finally thinks I'm fit companionship, she thought, turning away from Blair to hide an embarrassing little smile. Of course, it wasn't the kind of companionship that Jo had long since wanted to offer. But it was something.
"What are you grovelling about now, Blair?" Tootie asked as she and Natalie came into the shop.
"Jo is practically living at the library," Blair whined. "If we want to see her we have to look her up in the card catalogue and check her out."
With one last disgruntled look, she flounced into the kitchen. Jo was still trying to wrap her head around it all. Blair was usually annoyed by her presence, not her absence. Just a few weeks ago she had been ready to send the brunette out to sleep on a park bench rather than share her Langley dorm room for one more night. Of course, that had been less about their usual clash of personalities and more about the incredibly cramped quarters. They'd both expected to have so much more space and freedom once they started college, but instead they'd wound up in each other's hair more than ever. Not that Jo had minded. It was better than not seeing Blair at all.
Maybe the blonde was starting to come to the same conclusion, now that Jo was spending all her free time -- the little bit left after classes, studying and working for Mrs. G -- away from their new home, the house in downtown Peekskill to which Edna's Edibles was attached. Or maybe Jo really had changed. Five minutes earlier she'd tossed a would-be shoplifter out on her ear, and Blair had praised her for the way she'd handled it, saying that four years ago there would have been a lot more violence involved.
Actually, Jo thought, four years ago I would have been the one trying to rip the place off.
Her Eastland education had been about more than just math and science and English lit. She'd also had to learn self-restraint. There was part of her that still resented being packed off to boarding school, treated like a wild animal in need of taming, but the more mature part of her had to acknowledge that the road she'd been on back then couldn't possibly have led to anything good. It couldn't be so bad to learn to ignore your instincts when your instincts were always getting you in trouble.
Acting on her feelings led to things like getting arrested. Getting Mrs. G arrested. Punching Blair in the face... followed by the mother of all guilt trips.
Sitting on her hands instead seemed to have much better results. Like Blair saying she was "no longer a psychopathic ragamuffin," which in Blair terms was high praise indeed.
As Jo finished putting away the merchandise she'd taken off that little delinquent, she became aware that Natalie was giving her a sly smile.
"You're gonna have to do better than that old library story with us, Polniaczek."
It turned out Natalie had gone through Jo's dirty laundry and discovered a piece of popcorn in the pocket of one of her blazers. Jo tensed up immediately. She had known her cover wasn't airtight -- the library closed at ten during the week and she had been out past midnight the night before -- but she hadn't expected Natalie to go to such lengths once she became suspicious.
The future reporter brandished her little baggie of evidence with a smug expression. "Now spill it. Who's the man behind the popcorn?"
Despite the tension that had crept into Jo's body, she almost laughed at that. Natalie didn't know it but she'd just asked the only question on this subject that Jo could answer honestly without actually revealing anything. But because she hated Nat's Columbo routine, and because she and Tootie thought they were such hot stuff confronting her like this, she decided to stonewall them.
"Orville Redenbacher."
And then, just as she was walking away, resolutely ignoring all further questions in the hope that they'd eventually get tired of asking, the bell over the door jangled and alerted them to the presence of a customer. Jo was relieved for about half a second -- until she saw who was walking in.
Erica. Oh, crap.
"Hi, welcome to Edna's Edibles," Tootie said absently. She and Natalie gave Jo looks that clearly said their quest for juicy details wasn't over, then wandered off into the kitchen, kindly leaving Jo to do the actual work of serving the newcomer.
Jo faced her over the counter. The sun shining through the front windows seemed to set Erica's red hair on fire and light up her pale skin, making her even more striking than usual.
"Hi."
Stuffing her hands in her jeans pockets, Jo managed a smile. "Hi."
Erica's eyebrows lifted. "You don't look very happy to see me."
"No, no, I am," Jo said quickly. "It's just your timing is a little..."
"Don't worry. I can keep my hands to myself." Erica's lips curved up teasingly.
Jo tried not to blush. They hadn't really talked about it, but Erica seemed to understand her need for privacy. The night before, when they'd arrived at Erica's dorm and parked the bike, Erica had quietly pulled her around the corner into a shadowy spot away from prying eyes. The memory of the heated makeout session that had followed was shot through with the sensation of a rough brick wall at her back. Their other dates (all four of them) had had to end with nothing more intense than eye contact, since they'd taken place on campus -- lunches grabbed between classes. Erica was a sophomore and had an even busier schedule than Jo did.
The kitchen door banged open again, causing Jo to jump as if they'd been caught in a clinch.
"Boy, Blair's in almost as bad a mood as Jo," Natalie said to Tootie as they traipsed back into the room.
Erica gave Jo a curious look. Jo shook her head subtly. There was no way she was going to try to explain the Blair thing.
The bell over the door went off again, this time heralding Mrs. Garrett's return from aerobics class. Clearly energized by her workout, she greeted them all with enthusiasm.
"Hey, Jo, did you two enjoy the movie last night?"
Jo was caught off-guard. Instantly, Natalie and Tootie were in her face.
"So you were at the movies!" Natalie leaned over the counter to poke her in the shoulder. "Mrs. Garrett, who was she with?"
The older woman frowned. She held out a hand towards Erica, whom the younger girls had forgotten but who was watching the scene with great interest. "This young lady here."
"I didn't see you there," Jo said, struggling to keep her voice even. Where was she sitting? How much did she see? Not that we did much at the theatre, but still...
Tootie looked Erica up and down and turned back to Mrs. Garrett. "No one else?"
Mrs. Garrett shrugged. "She didn't come out of the theatre with anyone else. I was across the street, at the coffee shop."
Jo let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. Natalie's narrowed eyes stayed trained on her for a long moment, and then she backed off, her mouth quirking glumly.
"So much for a mystery romance," she muttered to Tootie.
Tootie put a hand on her arm. "Wait -- what was Mrs. Garrett doing at the coffee shop at that time of night?"
As one, they turned on their employer. "Mrs. Garrett--"
"Oops, look at the time. Gotta run!" The older woman scurried to the door that led into the house, the younger girls hot on her heels.
"Poor Mrs. G." Jo shook her head. "She won't have a minute's peace until she gives up his name, address and social security number."
"They do seem very... inquisitive," Erica said.
Jo dropped her gaze to the floor. "Uh... sorry, I should have introduced you, huh?"
Erica smiled. "Next time."
"Sure."
"Listen, I know you're working. I won't hold you up. I just wanted to say hi."
"Sure, sure... I'm, um... I'm glad you did."
"See you tonight? Eight o'clock, don't forget."
"I won't forget."
Erica took a step toward the door. Jo hurried over and opened it for her, earning another soft smile that in turn produced another blush. When Erica was gone, Jo whacked herself in the forehead with an open palm. Smooth, she thought sarcastically. Real smooth. You'd almost think she was my first girlfriend or something.
[Continued on side B]