Rum Raisin 3: Meet and Greet
Title: Meet and Greet
Main Story: In The Heart
Flavors, Toppings, Extras: Rum raisin 3 (sister), malt (marika_kailaya's trick or treat: I don't understand you at all. --The Indelicates, 'New Art for the People'), fresh strawberries (aesop: you can't please everyone), chopped nuts (Jake's sisters are still alive).
Word Count: 1350
Rating: PG
Summary: Lauren picks a fight.
Notes: Finally I have finished this flavor!
Overall, Jake thought this whole "introduce the girlfriend" thing was going rather well.
His friends had loved her practically on sight. Aaron had muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "about time," and Ivy had flat-out asked him why he hadn't started dating her sooner. Danny had already known her somehow; he hadn't asked, but there had been jokes and blushing on Olivia's part, so it was obviously a good relationship. Mrs. Hirschfeld had expressed enthusiastic approval of a girlfriend in general and Olivia in particular, so no worries there.
That just left his sisters, and on at least one front that was going fine too. Olivia had hit it off with Amanda, who'd minored in music, and they were off in a corner right now discussing the nuances of style evident in the works of some obscure composer he'd never even heard of. Music geeks. Not that he was about to complain-- he wanted Olivia to feel as comfortable as possible with his sisters, and it seemed Amanda was going to make it easy for her.
Olivia laughed in a quick, bright burst, and Jake smiled to see it. Yeah, Amanda he didn't have to worry about.
Lauren, though... At first he'd thought it was just a kneejerk response, the sort of "if Amanda likes it than I refuse to" pettishness that Lauren had been known to indulge in. But Lauren usually gave up on that within a week or so. This was the fourth time she'd met Olivia; they'd known each other now for almost two months, and she just didn't seem to be warming up.
She was standing now across the room, glass of wine dangling precariously in one hand, staring out the window with a vaguely irritated expression on her face. Jake crossed the room and touched her elbow.
Lauren started, and with a skillful roll of her wrist managed not to spill a single drop of wine. "Hey!" she said, and smiled. "Stop sneaking up on me."
Despite himself, Jake grinned. "I'll stop sneaking up on you when you stop making it so easy. Can we talk?"
"Sure," she said, and set the wine down on the end table beside her. "What about?"
Jake glanced over at Olivia and Amanda, who had their heads together over some of Olivia's sheet music. When he looked back at Lauren, her face had gone stiff and closed. "I see," she said.
"In the bedroom, please," he said.
He shut the door behind them.
Lauren sat carefully on the bed and fussed with her sleeves for a moment before looking up at him with... well, Jake didn't want to call it a challenging look, but that was as close as he could get. "Well?"
He considered how to approach the subject, then decided that it was Lauren; blunt was best. "What's your problem with Olivia?"
Lauren sighed heavily. "What do you mean? I don't have a problem with her."
Except for the part where she rolled her eyes when he talked about Olivia, and the part where she wouldn't even say her name, and the part where she got very subtly snotty about doing things, no matter how politely Olivia asked. Jake pointed all of this out.
"That's not my problem with her," Lauren said. "That's her problem with me. I don't have any problems with her."
"Olivia hasn't got a problem with you," Jake said, from experience. "She's being perfectly nice."
Lauren shook her head, surprising him. "That's just it. She's being too nice to me, Jake. It's like she's trying to manipulate me or something. It gives me the willies."
"Um," he said. "Laure, what are you smoking?"
She stiffened. "Excuse me?"
"My girlfriend's being her usual sweet self to you, and you're pissed because she's being too nice?" Jake asked, and ran his hands through his hair. "Jeez."
"You don't get it," Lauren said. "It's like she wants something from me, but doesn't have the common courtesy to tell me what it is. It's creepy!"
He ran his hands through his hair again, but this time grabbed a handful and tugged. "Lauren, of course she wants something from you! She wants you to like her!"
His sister scowled at him, and folded her arms. "Well, I don't trust her. She's too goddamn nice."
Jake stared at her for a moment. "You know," he said, at last, "I just don't get you. You're bitching because she's nice, but I know you'd bitch if she was rude and you'd probably bitch if she didn't pay any attention to you at all. Is this because Amanda likes her?"
"No!" Lauren shouted, then, at his wince and flapping hands, lowered her voice. "God! How immature do you think I am?"
"Pretty damn," he said, and folded his own arms. "I don't see why this is so hard to understand! She likes you, she wants you to like her, she's being nice."
"She wants something, all right," Lauren muttered.
Jake wanted very, very badly to just let go and scream at her. Maybe-- maybe-- Livvy overdid it a little sometimes. But given the hell her adolescence had been... how could she possibly help herself? And how the hell could Lauren get from "nice" to "untrustworthy?"
Unfortunately, Lauren didn’t know Olivia's history, and Jake was in no way authorized to share it. Or he would have, because Jesus. And he couldn't shout at her, because then Olivia would worry.
Fortunately, that in no way prevented him from losing his temper.
"Yes, Lauren, she wants something," he snapped. "She wants to be part of our family. She's going to be part of our family, because I want to be with her for the rest of my life. So grow up and accept that and get over it."
"Oh my God," Lauren said, and rolled her eyes. "Excuse me for expressing my legitimate concerns about your precious girlfriend."
Jake pressed the heel of his hand to his forehead, trying to stave off the headache he could feel starting behind his eyebrows. "I wanted you to meet her. I neither asked for nor wanted your opinion of her."
"Then you shouldn't have invited me to meet her," Lauren retorted, completely illogically.
He pressed the other hand to his forehead too, then said, "Okay. Whatever. I don't want to have this fight now. If you don't like her, at least pretend you do, and we'll talk about this later."
She rolled her eyes again. "No we won't, you coward. You're just ditching because you don't want to do this."
"I'm just ditching because my girlfriend is in the next room and she will get upset and I don't fucking want that, okay?" Jake's voice rose until he was almost shouting, and he pulled it back down to a reasonable level with an effort. "Lauren, this is my home, and you are a guest in it. Please behave accordingly."
Lauren got up with a huff. "I'm sorry my honesty hurt your feelings," she said, stiffly. "And I'm sorry a little shouting upsets her precious feelings. I'll just go back to my hotel if I'm bothering you two so much."
"Lauren..." But she was already marching out of the bedroom and seizing her coat.
Across the room, Olivia stood up, looking surprised and a little unhappy. "Do you have to go already?"
Lauren gave her a tight smile. "Jake seems to think I make you uncomfortable, so I'll just take myself off. Enjoy your evening." She grabbed her purse and left.
Jake, standing in his bedroom doorway, pressed the heel of his hand against his forehead again.
Olivia turned towards him, looking distressed. "Did I...?"
"No, it was me," he said, and sighed. "Sorry, love."
Amanda looked as if she very badly wanted to say something, but she just shook her head, then touched Olivia's arm. "Don't mind Lauren," she said. "She's having a bad couple of months."
This was the first Jake had heard of it, but it eased the distress in Olivia's face a little, so he let the lie stand.
Fuck Lauren, anyway. Nobody needed her.
Main Story: In The Heart
Flavors, Toppings, Extras: Rum raisin 3 (sister), malt (marika_kailaya's trick or treat: I don't understand you at all. --The Indelicates, 'New Art for the People'), fresh strawberries (aesop: you can't please everyone), chopped nuts (Jake's sisters are still alive).
Word Count: 1350
Rating: PG
Summary: Lauren picks a fight.
Notes: Finally I have finished this flavor!
Overall, Jake thought this whole "introduce the girlfriend" thing was going rather well.
His friends had loved her practically on sight. Aaron had muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "about time," and Ivy had flat-out asked him why he hadn't started dating her sooner. Danny had already known her somehow; he hadn't asked, but there had been jokes and blushing on Olivia's part, so it was obviously a good relationship. Mrs. Hirschfeld had expressed enthusiastic approval of a girlfriend in general and Olivia in particular, so no worries there.
That just left his sisters, and on at least one front that was going fine too. Olivia had hit it off with Amanda, who'd minored in music, and they were off in a corner right now discussing the nuances of style evident in the works of some obscure composer he'd never even heard of. Music geeks. Not that he was about to complain-- he wanted Olivia to feel as comfortable as possible with his sisters, and it seemed Amanda was going to make it easy for her.
Olivia laughed in a quick, bright burst, and Jake smiled to see it. Yeah, Amanda he didn't have to worry about.
Lauren, though... At first he'd thought it was just a kneejerk response, the sort of "if Amanda likes it than I refuse to" pettishness that Lauren had been known to indulge in. But Lauren usually gave up on that within a week or so. This was the fourth time she'd met Olivia; they'd known each other now for almost two months, and she just didn't seem to be warming up.
She was standing now across the room, glass of wine dangling precariously in one hand, staring out the window with a vaguely irritated expression on her face. Jake crossed the room and touched her elbow.
Lauren started, and with a skillful roll of her wrist managed not to spill a single drop of wine. "Hey!" she said, and smiled. "Stop sneaking up on me."
Despite himself, Jake grinned. "I'll stop sneaking up on you when you stop making it so easy. Can we talk?"
"Sure," she said, and set the wine down on the end table beside her. "What about?"
Jake glanced over at Olivia and Amanda, who had their heads together over some of Olivia's sheet music. When he looked back at Lauren, her face had gone stiff and closed. "I see," she said.
"In the bedroom, please," he said.
He shut the door behind them.
Lauren sat carefully on the bed and fussed with her sleeves for a moment before looking up at him with... well, Jake didn't want to call it a challenging look, but that was as close as he could get. "Well?"
He considered how to approach the subject, then decided that it was Lauren; blunt was best. "What's your problem with Olivia?"
Lauren sighed heavily. "What do you mean? I don't have a problem with her."
Except for the part where she rolled her eyes when he talked about Olivia, and the part where she wouldn't even say her name, and the part where she got very subtly snotty about doing things, no matter how politely Olivia asked. Jake pointed all of this out.
"That's not my problem with her," Lauren said. "That's her problem with me. I don't have any problems with her."
"Olivia hasn't got a problem with you," Jake said, from experience. "She's being perfectly nice."
Lauren shook her head, surprising him. "That's just it. She's being too nice to me, Jake. It's like she's trying to manipulate me or something. It gives me the willies."
"Um," he said. "Laure, what are you smoking?"
She stiffened. "Excuse me?"
"My girlfriend's being her usual sweet self to you, and you're pissed because she's being too nice?" Jake asked, and ran his hands through his hair. "Jeez."
"You don't get it," Lauren said. "It's like she wants something from me, but doesn't have the common courtesy to tell me what it is. It's creepy!"
He ran his hands through his hair again, but this time grabbed a handful and tugged. "Lauren, of course she wants something from you! She wants you to like her!"
His sister scowled at him, and folded her arms. "Well, I don't trust her. She's too goddamn nice."
Jake stared at her for a moment. "You know," he said, at last, "I just don't get you. You're bitching because she's nice, but I know you'd bitch if she was rude and you'd probably bitch if she didn't pay any attention to you at all. Is this because Amanda likes her?"
"No!" Lauren shouted, then, at his wince and flapping hands, lowered her voice. "God! How immature do you think I am?"
"Pretty damn," he said, and folded his own arms. "I don't see why this is so hard to understand! She likes you, she wants you to like her, she's being nice."
"She wants something, all right," Lauren muttered.
Jake wanted very, very badly to just let go and scream at her. Maybe-- maybe-- Livvy overdid it a little sometimes. But given the hell her adolescence had been... how could she possibly help herself? And how the hell could Lauren get from "nice" to "untrustworthy?"
Unfortunately, Lauren didn’t know Olivia's history, and Jake was in no way authorized to share it. Or he would have, because Jesus. And he couldn't shout at her, because then Olivia would worry.
Fortunately, that in no way prevented him from losing his temper.
"Yes, Lauren, she wants something," he snapped. "She wants to be part of our family. She's going to be part of our family, because I want to be with her for the rest of my life. So grow up and accept that and get over it."
"Oh my God," Lauren said, and rolled her eyes. "Excuse me for expressing my legitimate concerns about your precious girlfriend."
Jake pressed the heel of his hand to his forehead, trying to stave off the headache he could feel starting behind his eyebrows. "I wanted you to meet her. I neither asked for nor wanted your opinion of her."
"Then you shouldn't have invited me to meet her," Lauren retorted, completely illogically.
He pressed the other hand to his forehead too, then said, "Okay. Whatever. I don't want to have this fight now. If you don't like her, at least pretend you do, and we'll talk about this later."
She rolled her eyes again. "No we won't, you coward. You're just ditching because you don't want to do this."
"I'm just ditching because my girlfriend is in the next room and she will get upset and I don't fucking want that, okay?" Jake's voice rose until he was almost shouting, and he pulled it back down to a reasonable level with an effort. "Lauren, this is my home, and you are a guest in it. Please behave accordingly."
Lauren got up with a huff. "I'm sorry my honesty hurt your feelings," she said, stiffly. "And I'm sorry a little shouting upsets her precious feelings. I'll just go back to my hotel if I'm bothering you two so much."
"Lauren..." But she was already marching out of the bedroom and seizing her coat.
Across the room, Olivia stood up, looking surprised and a little unhappy. "Do you have to go already?"
Lauren gave her a tight smile. "Jake seems to think I make you uncomfortable, so I'll just take myself off. Enjoy your evening." She grabbed her purse and left.
Jake, standing in his bedroom doorway, pressed the heel of his hand against his forehead again.
Olivia turned towards him, looking distressed. "Did I...?"
"No, it was me," he said, and sighed. "Sorry, love."
Amanda looked as if she very badly wanted to say something, but she just shook her head, then touched Olivia's arm. "Don't mind Lauren," she said. "She's having a bad couple of months."
This was the first Jake had heard of it, but it eased the distress in Olivia's face a little, so he let the lie stand.
Fuck Lauren, anyway. Nobody needed her.