Looks change but do people (Frelance & Notte)

[Evo Var]

Jason smiled at her question and blushed a bit as he leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Yes, whenever you want.” He would have hated it if she had not wanted to repeat what had just happened. He had waited for so long to be with a truly special girl, it had gotten to the point that more than a few people thought that he might not like girls since he did not pay any attention to the advances that they made. He had not thought about it much but the few times he did think about it he knew that he ignored them because he was waiting for Mercy to come back or until he was able to go and find her.

He put up no resistance as she took his hand and pulled him to her bed. When she pulled back the curtain he just shook his head and sighed a bit. He hated how even her bed showed signs of how her parents wanted her to be. As she climbed into the bed he ran his hands over the black curtains knowing that her parents had nothing to do with them. It wasn’t until he felt her tug his hand that he realized he had been running his hands over the curtain for a bit too long. When he turned to her and easily slid into the bed he kissed her cheek and picked up the stuffed animal looking at it. “Do you still have the cat?” He raised his head then pushed a pillow under he did not have to strain to look down at her.

He had just started to bring his hand back down when he brushed something that did not feel like a pillow. As he brought it in front of him, he chuckled a but as his question was answered for him. He put the bat and then kitten down between them still smiling. After a moment of thinking about how worn they were he felt a joy that he had not felt even after seeing her again. She must have brought them with her if they were so worn. He pulled a blanket over both of them and started to stroke Merrcy’s cheek then her hair as he closed his eyes. “I am glad you had them with you when you were away Mercy. I felt like I failed when you had left.” Somehow knowing that she had had them with her let him let go of the guilt he had held onto all those years.
Mia chewed her teeth as she walked out of her last class and headed for her friends as they grouped around Jason’s locker. It had not gone unnoticed that Mercy and Jason had not been at the school after lunch and she hated it. Not only was she painfully aware of it but everyone seemed to be talking about them. It had been horrible sitting through two classes of people talking about how they were pretty sure that Jason and Mercy were never without each other before she left. She had almost battened someone’s head off when they made the mistake of asking her if Mercy was a new outcast like them.

It had not been the insult that had pissed her off but the fact that they had pointed out that there was a good chance Mercy would become part of their family. He stopped walking a few feet from her friends as she tasted iron. It took her a second before she realized that she had bitten her cheek a bit too hard. She glared at no one in particular as she joined her group but more than a few people walking by moved a bit farther away from them. “We can’t let her into the group.” She did not bother explaining since she knew everyone understood who she was talking about.

“Why not? She is Goth, just like us.” There were a few nods to the point.

One of the girls looked around smiling as she said. “Its hard to see at first with her sense in fashion. But your right.”
Mia just glared at them and ground her teeth. “Don’t you see what she is doing? She is taking Jason and he is just ditching us for him. Hell they barely know each other anymore.” The smiles dropped from the faces of most of the group as they thought back to lunch when they did not even get a text from Jason.

“Still,” A girl who had been one of the first to have formed the group around Jason spoke up with a hint of anger in her tone. “She is one of us and we always take in an outcast.” She stared pointedly at Mia. “Even when they were not liked by a few of us, we give them a chance.”

Mia glared right back at her but she could not say anything since she knew the girl was talking about her. She had been a bubble head before and when she had given up on it and changed her ways they had let her in. She had made fun of them with everyone else but they still gave her a chance. “She wants him for herself. Watch she will chance him. Just watch.” She turned on her heel and stormed out of the school but before she was out of earshot she heard one of the guys say. “We give her a chance, she deserves that at least. We have all heard about Jason talking about her. Not by name but we now know who he was talking about.”

 

[Notte]

When Jason agreed that they could do it again, she hope that he understood that she meant more than what they had just done. Although it was special, she wanted to be able to give herself to him completely. She wanted to explore this new sexual world and enjoy it to the fullest, with him, only and always him. She didn't know how to breech the subject of going further than what they have done or when it should happen or if she should just let it fall into place. She wanted to explore every inch of Jason's body and crawl into the person that he is. She briefly wondered if this was the start of a new addiction with Jason as he drug.

Mercy picked up both of the stuffed animals that Jason had given her years ago before she was sent to Romania. He knew her like no other and often times, when she was alone in that cold place, she hugged them too her and wept, praying for him to rescue her. Her parents had tried to throw them away, but her ever faithful maid got them back for her and packed them in her things where he parents wouldn't look. Dolls weren't supposed to have toys, since they were a toy themselves. How she loathed her parents from the bottom of her soul. However, she would soon be free of them, having invested into multiple things she was finally earning her on her own. She knew that the first house she got wouldn't be as big as the one that she lived in now, but she plotted her parents downfall with every financial step that she took.

She looked over at Jason and wondered what it would be like to live with him in truth, not having to struggle everyday. Raising up her hand, she caressed her breasts and then stomach where his seed had branded her and thought what it would be like if he came inside. What would it feel like to have him inside, breaking past her virginal barrier. She had felt his fingers in the bath and they had pushed close against it, but didn't break it. Would it hurt? Would he enjoy being inside of her and the symbolism of their love? The idea just brooked more questions and as she thought she moved her body against Jason's, swinging her leg over his hips under the covers and resting her head on his chest. She tilted her head to look up at him and smiled, "you could never fail me."

Back at school, Jadien and Jace watched as Mia ranted in anger, so adamant about her not being able to join the group. They shared a knowing look with each other and Jace gave a hand signal to Jadien that only the two of them knew. Stating how she remembered the past, but knew that this would stir up trouble in the group, because Mia herself would orchestrate it, much like she was doing now. Jadien but nodded his head in agreement.

When Jace had spoken up, Mia looked ready to throw a fit in anger, and she couldn't help but remember how she hated the little bitch. "Maybe you're real problem, Mia, is that she is taking him from you. Not that you ever had a chance with Jason in the first place." As she spoke, Jadien moved up beside her and put his hand on her back before he spoke himself. "As far back as I can remember, Jason had always been Mercy's and it seems that Mercy had always been his. Even after Mercy left, she was all Jason would talk about, and maybe we don't know the rhyme or the reason behind it, but if we are truly his friends or even his family, we should support them both."

Jace leaned her head back against Jadien's chest and heaved a great sigh as Mia walked away. Her eyes looked over everyone in the group, one way or another, they had all gravitated towards Jason and he had their loyalty, if Mercy had his, than she knew that it was a great gift indeed and that it should be watched carefully for those who would try to ruin it. "You know, maybe Jason changing isn't such a bad thing. How many times have we all seen him drowning in depression and how many times have we ever be able to do anything about it? With Mercy here she could be his conduit and outlet for all of that. Jason has earned each of our respect and loyalty, he made this family. The least we should be able to do is trust his judgement. Just look at Mia, that bitch is already causing doubt's among us, but tell me, what do we really know about her? She is the last to join is and she is obsessed with Jason. I wouldn't put it past her to try something."

One of the other girls tilted her head in agreement and looked back at everyone, "speaking of new additions, has anyone seen that new guy Stefan as well? He is so deliciously dark and mysterious. I say we pledge him into our group as well."

 

[Evo Var]

Jason smiled softly as he felt her against him and he wrapped his arm around her. He wanted her as close to him as possible. He felt the frills brush against his skin and opened his eyes to glare at it. If he had a better alternative he would take Mercy away from her parents but he knew that his home was worse than her staying here. He was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of Mercy’s voice and the feeling of her warm flesh brush against his. “Thank you Mercy.” He smiled at her and held her tightly against him. “If I could give you a safe place to stay I would take you from here. So you can be yourself and not what they want you to be.” He could not bring himself to say doll as if it was admitting that they were right and he was wrong.

“I will find a way for us to be together every night in a home of our own.” He moved down slightly so he could kiss her forehead then he let his lips brush hers. “I want to have my home with you my love.” He ran his hands through her hair and letting his fingers brush her bare back. “A place where we can be ourselves.” He smiled at the thought and the feeling of her lips as his brushed over them. “Our safe haven. Our rules and our choice in everything in it.” He smiled and kissed her lips briefly then lay back just a bit so she could rest her head on his chest again.

He had started to slip off into a light rest when he heard an all too familiar ringing. Groaning he reached over the side of the bed towards the sound. After a brief search he grabbed his pants and yanked them towards him. He searched his pockets and pulled out his cell phone. Flipping it open he blinked a few times before speaking. “Hello?” Jason relaxed visible after a few seconds. “Yes I got it and I will take the extra shifts. I would have returned your text but things go out of hand for me today.” He went quick again other than the occasional yes or no. Then when the conversation was starting to come to an end he asked. “Do you mind if I bring someone along. She will be good probably just talk with me when I have the time or entertain herself.” He laughed a bit at something that was said then spoke again. “I don’t know if she will spend as much as them but I know she has a sweet tooth. Okay I will see you tonight.” He closed the phone with a sigh then set an alarm on it. Just as he was about to put it down he changed the alarm so that he would have enough time for Mercy to get ready before they left. Then dropped the phone to the bed and looked at Mercy. “I need to work tonight but you can come with me if you want.” He was hoping she would not say no because he did not want her out of his sight.

He had held back one thought from her because he was still embarrassed about it. He had considered saying that they would be able to lay with her every night and maybe they would be able to explore each other more. After what they had both just gone through in the bath he wanted more. It was as if something had been opened inside him and now he wanted to feel her more but even more than that he wanted to know what it would feel like to be inside her. He had heard what it was like and he knew that she was still a virgin just like him. He had felt her barrier was his slipped his fingers inside her. Now he wanted to know what it would feel like to slide inside of her and break through that barrier so he could brand her as his on the inside as he had done not long ago on the outside. He closed his eyes against as he tried to move his mind to something else so that he would not get hard again.

At the school the other members of the group looked around to each other. They knew that things were not going to be easier again for a while. After a brief silence as everyone thought about Stefan one of the guy just shrugged. “It won’t matter if we want him in or not. Mia would have a freak if Mercy was allowed in and Stefan was not even given a chance.” Linday put her arms around the back of the guys waist as she looked around him to everyone else. “I say we go and see Jason before we decided anything. He is supposed to work tonight and we all know he does not miss work.” She kissed the back of Clark’s neck then moved her hands to his and started walking away. “See you guys later.”

 

[Notte]

She looked up at Jason and fiddled with her fingers as he started talked about taking her away from here, about them having their own place together. She sat up and her hair dragged over his chest, a slight look of fear shown in her eyes as she was not sure how to tell him. "W-well... I have started making investments ever since I went to Romania. I.. err... I wanted to get out from under my parents thumb and even though they still legally have custody of me. Well... I have my own money to spend that they don't know about." She started to nibble on her bottom lip and looked away from him, worried about how he would react to that. "I almost have enough to by my own house, but I don't know if it would be enough to get me away from them." She looked back at him and her expression was one of a lost little girl, like she didn't know how to proceed. In fear, she laid her head back down on his chest and closed her eyes. After a few more words passed between them, her body lightened enough to fall asleep and she felt at peace for the first time in five years.

She woke up with a yawn that sounded like a cats and she stretched out against the warm body laying next to hers. An insistent ringing of his alarm was going off and he didn't wake up. She lifted her self up and looked at his sleeping face with a mixture of love, loyalty, and adoration. She had to scoot herself over and straddle him in order to reach his phone. When she pressed the button to turn it off, she looked down at him from her position and her body started to heat at the memory of what they had done and could do again. Leaning down, her nipples dragged across his chest before her breasts were pushed against it and she kissed him. Licking and nibbling at his mouth to awake him. Rocking back on him slightly. She moved her lips towards his ear and blew against it before she whispered. "Jason, wake up, it is time for us to get ready and go to work."

She couldn't help her hands as they explored down his arms and over his chest. But she knew that now was not the time to play. Pushing the covers off of them, she stood up and crawled naked to the stairs at the side of her bed so that she could get down. Pulling back the black velvet drapes she slid down the side of the bed until her foot reached the top step and she was able to walk down, letting the curtain fall back into place so Jason could continue to sleep if he so wished - she knew that he had set the clock earlier so that he could help her get ready. She walked proudly naked over to her armoire and opened the doors. Walking up the steps in order to reach the things she needed. She pulled out a deep purple corset and white stockings that had bows, she rummaged through her underwear and found the matching frilled boyshorts that went with the corset - it was all very burlesque. After she set them down, she went back to her armoire and picked out a violet gothic lolita dress and a mini hat that matched it. Taking all of her clothing over to her open dressing room; which was really just walls surrounded by mirrors with a pedestal in the middle. Hanging up the dress, she picked up the corset and hooked the front of it, leaving the back for Jason to have to tie. Grabbing her white stockings, she sat down and started to roll them up her legs, positioning them with the garters that hung from the corset. Once again she stood and looked around for where her panties were, she noticed that she had dropped them in the middle of the floor and walked over to pick them up. She hadn't heard Jason move.

School had been let out some time ago and Jace and Jadien had texted everyone to meet up at the the theater where Jason worked at a specific time. It was time for a little fun and a little interrogation. Jace looked over at Jadien and sighed, "I hope everything works out and that we don't have to deal with any drama or bullshit, I am more than willing to give anyone a chance. But if Mia shows up and causes trouble, I don't know if I am able to restrain myself."

A scream tore through the house and blood sprayed, effectively cutting off the sound. Stefan had been working on the girl for hours and his anger had not let up. Finally, he had the wax prepared and ready and he poured it over the girl, burning her flesh, even though she would become one of his living dolls and forever remain young and beautiful. He took his time with her, making her perfect, sewing her hair back on like a wing, replacing her eyebrows and eyelashes, dressing her up just right. She was no longer able to move her body or speak, but she would be kept alive through a feeding tube like the others were. When he was finished, he brought her down into his basement and stood her up with a stand to hold her in place. Her looked around at the four woman he had here, living as mannequins but able to feel everything he did to them. As his eyes took in each of them, his dick grew hard, and he couldn't wait to add Mercy to his collection, but for now he would stake his lust upon them.

 

[Evo Var]

Jason heard his alarm but it was far off and distant. He usually woke up right away to it but this time he just kept sleeping. He felt so tired but even more than that he was content and comfortable. He had fallen asleep just after Mercy had confided in him about the money she had saved up. As the alarm stopped he became dully aware of a weight straddling him then he felt Mercy ‘s breasts sliding up his chest and he smiled in the half sleep state he was in. A smile crossed his lips as Mercy kissed then nibbled on his lips. But even when she spoke in his ear after blowing on it he was just barely awake.

He lay there as he enjoyed how Mercy moved when she got off of him then he slowly rolled onto his side as he watched her until the curtain blocked his view. He lay back again not wanting to get up but he knew that Mercy needed help with her clothes and he would have to get up anyways in a few minutes. As he lay there he listened to Mercy move around the room before he slowly sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. As he opened the curtain he smiled as he watched her come out of the dressing room for her underwear. He stood up and slipped into his boxers and pants. “I will be there in a second.” He walked over to the doorway of the dressing room as he zipped up his pants and tightened his belt. He smiled as he looked at her then moved up behind her and started to tightened the corset after running his hands down her shoulders. Once it was tightened he checked the laces then got the dress and helped her into it. After he had finished helping her he went back into her room and put on his shirt.

He carried his jacket downstairs while he called a cab. “There is a café that looks into the theater so you can wait there. I am not sure exactly what they sell but I am sure they have cake.” He smiled at her as they walked. When they cab came he waited for Mercy to get in before he told the cabby where to go. He thankful that Mercy came along since he would have never concentrated on work. He knew that he would have been thinking of Stefan and what he might try to do to Mercy while she was out of his sight.

It was only a few minutes after he started working that he spotted his friends walk into the mall and head for the theater. He realized he had not given them any warning at lunch when he should have but he had been so overwhelmed by seeing Mercy again that it had completely slipped his mind. He turned away and kept working but when he turned back around he realized that Linday and Jace weren’t there. “Where are Jace and Linday?” The guys just shrugged and smiled then pointed to the café across from them. Linday walked up to Mercy with a smile on her face. “Do you mind if we join you?” She indicated Jace who had gone to the counter and was ordering cake for both of them.

 

[Notte]

The cake and tea had been placed before Mercy by an overly excited waiter. Thanking him, she pulled the chocolate cake in front of her, but was watching Jason the whole time with a soft smile on her lips and eyes of a woman who was hopelessly lost in love. She sighed in contentment, loving being able to watch him work, but she worried at how tired he was. She waved a hand to the waiter and when he came over, she asked him to bring her iced double coco vanilla bean mocha in a to go cup, hoping that the sugar would wake up Jason. He nodded and said that he would bring it to her after he finished up with his other customers.

At the sound of a female voice, Mercy looked up and blinked in both confusion and embarrassment at being caught moon-eyed. Her eyebrows drew together as she tried to figure out who this girl was when she remembered them from Jason's group. Lifting up her hand she indicated to the chairs with a smile and said "Please do." Just as she spoke, Jace walked back with their own order and set one cake down in front of Linday and the other in front of herself. The waiter was bringing over three drinks, two in normal cups, and the one she had ordered. When he set it down in front of her, he eyed her and the other girls happily and asked if she needed anything else to not hesitate to ask, she politely thanked him again and picked up the cup. She looked at Linday and Jace with a blush staining her cheeks, "pardon me for one moment, I will be right back."

Hopping out of the chair, Mercy made her way over to the theater with multiple stares and whispers following her. She kept her head down and started to walk faster. When she got into the theater, there was no line, but Jason's male friends were surround him and she didn't know what to do. "Jason?" She spoke his name in a soft whisper, intimidated by all of the tall males. She hid the drink behind her back and tugged on the shirt of one of the men. Jadien turned around at the tug and didn't see anyone at first until he looked down and spotted Mercy. He grinned as he saw what she had hidden behind her back and in a flourish, he picked her up, spun her around, and presented her to Jason at eye level, all without spilling a drop. All she could do was blink as she looked into Jason's eyes with surprise. Pulling the drink from behind her back, she offered it out to him and when he took it, she leaned forward and kissed his cheek, then wriggled out of Jadiens arms and disappeared from the group of men.

Not paying attention to where she was going, but just trying to get back to the Cafe, she ran headlong into a little boy and they both feel to the floor. When the little boy started crying, Mercy scrambled forward on her hands and knees and pulled a handkerchief out of her sleeve. Sitting in front of him, she pulled him onto her lap, and dabbed at his eyes and made cooing noises to get him to calm down. The boys mother walked up to them and looked at Mercy oddly and Mercy could only look guilty and apologize. She stood the little boy up and then stood up herself, she placed his hand in his mothers and patted him on the head with a smile before she started back towards the cafe again, this time more aware of the people around her.

Jace watched Mercy as she made her way over to Jason and the guys, sliding a sidelong gaze at Linday, "What do you think of her?"

She walked back into the cafe and Jace threw her a huge teasing smile, having watched the whole thing, from her giving the cup to Jason to her helping the little boy. She noticed the guys watching after Mercy as well and she waved across the cafe at them. Jadien gave her a secret smile and rolled his eyes while shrugging his shoulders and tilting his head back towards Jason to point out his expression as he watched after Mercy. At seeing Jason's face, Jace felt settled on the inside, at first unsure of Mercy, but if Jason could look at her with that expression, then she knew that Mercy had to be special. Taking her eyes off of the guys, she looked back at Mercy as she carefully got into her seat, having to watch her hair. "So, Mercy, tell me about yourself."

Mercy's eyes widened at the question and she started to stutter out what little she could think of. "I-I'm Mercy Suou, daughter of the CEO and owner of Suou Industries..." She rattled off a few more things, still embarrassed, but starting to relax in the presents of the two women. These were Jason's friends and she wanted to get along with them. They both asked her questions and she always responded with honesty and even asked questions back. As they talked they ate sweets and drank their own special drinks. All the while, Mercy's eyes would drift off over to watch Jason work, and they would have to pull her attention back. She only hoped that they wouldn't ask her about when she left five years ago, but she knew that sooner or later, the question would be coming.

 

[Evo Var]

Linday smiled and sat down across from Mercy. “Thank you.” As Jace sat down with her she took her cake and started to eat it as she glanced over at the guys. “Okay, we will be here when you get back.” She watched Mercy as she slipped off the chair and walked towards the theater. She glanced over at Jace as she heard her question. “I don’t know yet. She seems nice enough but the way she was looking at him before. They spent one day together and she seemed lost. I don’t know I just don’t want him to get hurt by her again.” She had nothing against the girl but she did not want to see Jason the way he was in the earlier days.

Jason was a bit surprised when Jadien turned away then turned back to face him with Mercy in his arms. He smiled as she handed him the cup and he whispered to her as she kissed his cheek. “I will talk to him about that if you want.” He quickly kissed her cheek then took a sip of the drink and shivered. “Thank you this should help.” He smiled at her then as she made her way back towards the café. The love and devotion that showed on his face. When she bumped into the boy he put down the drink and was ready to go over and check on them but the boys mother had come up and Mercy seemed to be fine so he stayed where he was and the brief look of stress slipped off his face again as he drank more of the drink.

It wasn’t until she had sat down and Clark snapped his fingers in front of Jason to get his attention. “Okay well the look on your face as you watched her walk away just cleared up a few question. But seriously not even a text saying that you were going to be reconnecting with her?” Jason had to blink a few times before he could think straight. “It all went to fast.” He smiled a bit as he thought about what had happened. “Look I meant to let you guys know. Its just that it is all a blur for me.” He stopped talking just before he was about to say that what he woke up he had to think for a minute before he remembered why he was lying naked in her bed. “I don’t know what it is but I can hardly believe she is back.” He just shook his head then took a long drink before putting it down and walking off to service someone.

Back in the café Linday listened intently to what Mercy was saying. She had a lot of question about her and Jason that she had stayed away from so far. Even though she was a Goth she had heard about Jason laughing and a few other things but the fact that Jason had actually laughed was stuck in her mind. “Mercy,“ She waited until the girl had took her attention off of Jason and back to her and Jace. “Can I ask why you left?” She left out why she wanted to know since she figured that Jason would tell her when he decided to. She also was not sure if she could tell her without getting angry with her. She had grown close to Jason and thought of him as a brother so the fact that Mercy had hurt him so much did not sit well with her.

 

[Notte]

The questions she had been dreading cut through the air and Mercy visibly shuttered, she looked down at her wringing hands and was not able to look at anyone, not even over at Jason. "I had no choice when I left five years ago. I remember screaming and fighting as my parents forced me onto the plane, calling out Jason's name. I was not a child that they had wanted in their lives and yet when I grew older, they wanted to make the perfect d-doll." She choked on the last word and a tear rolled down her cheek, one that she quickly brushed away. "When I was with Jason, he had made me to human for them. They wanted a marionette that would walk, talk, look, and act how they said it too. So, because of my friendship with Jason, they sent me away to Romania," at the mention of Romania her shoulders hunched in and she took a deep breath, and straightened, her face blanking over.

Jace watched Mercy's reactions as she spoke closely, trying to catch a lie, but she found none. When Mercy voice went hollow and she watched as the life that lit her eyes faded, only to see a blank piece of a person that Mercy had become. "Mercy," she said her name and tried to stop her from continuing, but Mercy seemed to not hear her nor did she notice that anyone else was there. All the while, she had to listen and inside she cringed, "I was forced to endure unmentionable things, all so that I could become the perfect living doll." A ghost of a smile touched Mercy's lips and she hugged her arms around herself unknowingly, "I found the two stuffed animals that Jason had given me, hidden in my bags by my maid, every night after the Head Mistress would teach me, I would curl up on the cot and hold them, trying to stay strong for him, because I knew that one day I would be back and I would find him. Even while they punished me and I could give no reaction... I always thought of him and he kept my humanity."

Why? I'm scared? Why can't I stop talking...? It hurts... God... It hurts. I can't breathe, I can't scream... Jason, help me. Jason. Jason! JASON! Mercy's mind screamed at her, dragging her back into the place that she was when she was in Romania. Yet, on the outside, she showed nothing. Nothing that would betray the fact that she was still human and still had a conscious. The people and place that were before her changed in her mind and with a blank expression, but doll like voice, she looked over at Linday and saw one of her tormentors. "Mistress, how shall you punish me today? Shall I grab the whip or the switch? I am nothing but a doll. Nothing but a doll. Just a doll." Over and over Mercy repeated the word doll, as if she were trying to make it come true.

Jace, who had been just listening, signaled over to Jadien that there was trouble and Jadien came over, watching as Mercy rocked back and forth and repeated endlessly that she was nothing but a doll. Jace tried to talk to Mercy, but she wasn't hearing it. Looking over at Jadien, Jace growled, "go and get Jason!"

At the mention of Jason, Mercy finally quieted, and looked over at Jace with hollowed eyes. "Please, don't hurt him. That is why I am here. I will take whatever punishment, no matter how bad, I will take it and I will smile and I will be your doll. Just please, don't hurt him." It was a threat that Mercy had heard many times, from her parents, from her 'teachers', it was why she took everything, every punishment, no matter how painful, because if she could be nothing but a doll to the rest of the world, than at least she would be able to protect Jason.

Not knowing what to do, Jace grabbed a glass of ice water and threw it in Mercy's face. Mercy sputtered like a drown cat and blinked at them as she came back to herself and the present time. She looked over at Jace and Linday with a confused expression, "what in the world was that for? All I was going to say was that Romania was something else." Mercy had no idea what had transpired over the past several minutes as she spoke, having locked that part away deep in her mind once the water had hit her face. She looked over at Jace with an annoyed expression, but picked up a napkin from the table and started to pat at the water. "One bath was enough today, thank you."

 

[Evo Var]

Linday Narrowed her eyes slightly as Mercy looked down at her hands. She was trying to keep an open mind but it was hard to do when it had to do with Jason. As Mercy started to speak she tried to pick out any lies but she was never sure if she heard one or not. But the more she said the more she didn’t like it. To her it sounded like she was blaming Jason for what had happened to her and being as close to him as she was Linday never took kindly to people saying anything negative about him. Even though she had never dated him or even thought about it she felt that their relationship was as close as any siblings. Linday glanced over at Jace knowing if the girl had lied she would almost certainly catch it.

It was not the fact that Linday saw no reason to think that Jace had heard a lie that made her turn back to face Mercy. It was the hollowness of Mercy’s voice that made her turn back. A shiver ran up her spine causing the hair on the back of her neck to stand up as she listened to what Mercy was saying. But even with the hollowness of her voice Linday knew with certainty what was being said was true. She glanced over at Clark but he was busy talking to Jason about something to see the look in her eyes. She knew all to well what the girl had been put through but she unlike her also knew how to enjoy it but she forced herself to take her eyes off Clark and move back to Mercy. It was obvious that she did not want it to happened which caused a aping of guilt to go through Linday knowing that the pain had been horrible having experienced it herself. It was Mercy’s words to her that froze her though. “Mercy, snap out of it. I am not your Mistress and you are not going to be punished.” She gripped her hands together to stop them from shaking. “Mercy, stop it!” Her voice had not risen but her fear could be heard in them.

Jason and Clark looked up when Jadien came back to them, the look on his face telling them both that something had gone wrong. “Jason Jace needs you. Something is wrong with Mercy.” Jason’s eyes narrowed as he walked past him. Clark and Jadien moving out of the way just fast enough to not have him hit into them. Jason’s concern turned to anger as he arrived just as Jace through the glass of water in Mercy’s face. “Jace what the hell was that for?” He moved to Mercy’s side and wiped off her dress as much as he could while he got control of his anger then looked at Mercy. “Are you alright?” He tried to push his anger away but it burned in his eyes.

Jadien walked around the table stopping just in front of Jace. He took the cup form her hand letting his fingers stay on hers longer than needed before he put it on the table and turned to face Jason. He did not think that he would do anything violent to the girls but he had seen the same look in his eyes a few times over the years and those times had always ended with someone from outside the group down on the ground with at least one broken bone. "Jason just calm down and let them explain. I am sure there was a very good reason for what happened." Jason's attention switched to Jadien's as he glared at him. He knew he was right but it was hard to see it at the moment. He had seen Mia hurt to many times already today and he was loosing his patience very fast now.

Clark had seen the look in Linday’s eyes as soon as they had arrived and had gone straight to her side puling her out of her chair and wrapping his arms around her As she held the front of his shirt and mumbled into his ear still shaking. Clark just held her and spot things to her that never should be heard by anyone else. He kept his voice low and it was not until she stopped mumbling did she actually hear his words and blush. "Stop, I am fine." She pushed away from him then went over to Mercy and knelt down beside her chair. She paused for a moment not sure of what she was doing but after a few awkward seconds she put her arms around Mercy hugging her as she spoke softly into her ear. "I am sorry that you suffered so much and I am sorry that I ever thought you might hurt him."

All three of the guys stared at Linday, not sure what had just happened Jason moved closer to Mercy until he was right behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. Clark blinked after a few seconds then he caught Linday's eye with a question in his own but she said nothing just knelt beside Mercy as she looked back at her not sure if she should go yet. Jason looked to Jace for answers but got a look telling him not to say anything and he kept his mouth shut as he turned back to look at Jason and Mercy.

 

[Notte]

She tilted her head to the side and looked at Jason when he knelt down next to her to try to brush off the water. "Jason, be nice, it was simply nothing, alright. I am sure that it was just an accident or done with good reason. So don't yell at Jace and apologize to her for being harsh." The anger was plain in Jason's face and Mercy raised her hands up to run them over his forehead and down his nose like she used to do when they were children. It was her way of calming not just him, but herself. Dutifully, she rubbed at his temples and down his cheeks, over his jaw, and up to his mouth where she pulled the corners up into a smile. "Jason, a little water never hurt anyone. Besides, people are always telling me that I'm dripping with good looks. Even if it is only because I look like a doll."

She smiled up into Jason's eyes and leaned into him, whispering in his ear so that no one could hear but him. "When you're in front of me, my heart beats so quickly as if I am a youth tasting love for the first time. You are the beautiful God who sheds light into my sea of loneliness. The sinful God who taught me about the forbidden fruit." All she wanted was for him to stop being angry at his friends, although she couldn't remember why Jace had thrown the water at her, she no doubt probably deserved it for how she had acted earlier that day at school. It was no big deal to her, not really, and she didn't want Jason to overreact and lose his friends.

When Jason had moved and Linday came to kneel down beside her chair, confusion lit Mercy's eyes. At the feeling of Linday's arms around her, she looked up shocked, having never been touched by anyone let alone Jason and she looked up to him with panicked eyes, pleading for him to tell her what to do. Unsure if it was the correct thing, she awkwardly wrapped her arms around Linday. At hearing her words, she patted her back and said out loud, "it will be alright, it will always be ok." She turned her face into Linday's hair so that her lips were hidden and against it she whispered, "I would never hurt him nor would I ever let anyone do so, but thank you for protecting him."

Mercy tilted her head backwards at the feel of hands on her shoulders and looked up at Jason, her head rubbed against his stomach so that she was able to see him semi-clearly, the elegant length of her throat extended as she smiled up at him and removing her arms from Linday, she put her hands on Jason's. Linday pulled away out of embracing Mercy and watched as Mercy looked up at Jason with a real smile. She looked down at the length of Mercy's throat and her stomach clenched at the faint scar that was just visible over the frills of her dress as she tilted her head back. Linday stood back up and went over to Clark, wrapping her arms around him once again. Her mind going over how many scars that Mercy hid and how many would be just as faint to keep her looking forever like porcelain.

Although her smile was soft as she looked up at Jason, she knew that he had to get back to work and not stay here with her. "Jason, you must get back to work, I don't want to get you into trouble. May I go back with you so that I can apologize to your boss from taking you away?" As she spoke, she moved out of the chair to stand next to Jason and tugged on his hand to try to make him step forward. "Come on you, lead the way." She teased him with a voice of Dominance that still sounded like a girls. Yet, he cooperated and started to walk forward, her hand still in his.

Throughout the whole thing, Jace had been quite, only laughing slightly when Mercy said her thing about dripping with good looks. Only to have her laughter die away as she spoke about it being because she was a doll. She looked up at Jadien and knew that he could feel her pain over Mercy's pain. When Linday hugged her, she wanted nothing more than to do the same, but she just sat there, unsure of what she should do. She enjoyed how Mercy even bossed Jason around a bit, unafraid of how he would react, and the visible reactions that Jason showed Mercy. Jace knew without a doubt that this... this is what love was. She reached out her hand and touched Jadien's briefly, for theirs was a love that would always be denied. When Jason and Mercy walked away, she looked up at the others and said the only thing she could think to say. "Well, fuck." Jadien's hand came down on his shoulder and squeezed.

Linday looked over at Jace with a knowing expression, "yes, I know what you mean. When he hears about it, I worry how he will react. You know, I feel bad for her, obviously she is a woman, but she is trapped looking like a doll. Except for one part of her and how she walks straight, I will never know." Everyone just looked at her with a question and Linday didn't clarify herself. Yes, she knew that Mercy looked like a doll, but after hugging her, she knew what Mercy hid beneath her clothing.

 

[Evo Var]

He frowned at her words, it had never sat well with him when she called herself a doll even if it only happened a few times. Those few times were too many for his liking. Jason stood very still as Mercy reached up and ran her hands over his forehead. He didn’t want to let his anger go but as she continued to run her hands over his face he felt his anger slipping away from him. He sighed as he let himself slip into a place that Mercy had opened for him so many years ago when he had thought that he had nothing. He opened his eyes as she pushed the corner of his lips up into a smile. “Your right.” He shook his head slightly and was going to turn and apologies to the others when she leaned into him and he smiled as he heard her words. “You light the fire that burns inside me. It keeps me moving and gives me purpose in this world. Your presence grounds me when I feel like I will be lost in the tides of chaos that threaten to pull me over the edge.” He kept his voice as low as hers since the words were for her alone.

He had been lost until they had found each other. It was the only time that was darker than when she just left. The days had seemed to be one form of torture after another, he had been about to give up on everything after he had not even been able to find comfort in the burn of a blade splitting skin. It had been then that Mercy had found him. He had been at the far corner of the school grounds that was out of sight. He had been going into to comfort his mother one night after she had protected him only to be beaten but when he peaked inside the room making sure she was alone he froze and his eyes grew wide as he saw his mother using a kitchen knife to deliberately cut a row of lines up her arm. He had stood there for a long time watching as the blood ran down her arm and he saw the look of peace on her face. That look was even more shocking than the blood to him since he had almost never seen her look so peaceful. So when Mercy found him he had just pressed the blade of a pairing knife to his arm and starting to cut the skin letting his eyes close as he let the pain wash over him before that sense of peace came over him. It had been the sixth cut on his arm and all were bleeding slightly. He had cut just enough to bring blood to the surface. Mercy had been there standing in front of him when he opened his eyes and he had just stared at her with the knife in one hand and the knife in the other.

He had to shake himself to realize that he was not that boy anymore. When he looked down he saw the panic in Mercy’s eyes but he just squeezed her shoulders a bit as he watched Linday. He was not sure what was happening but he held his tongue and instead he turned to Jace and Jadien. “I am sorry for yelling. I should never have lost it like that.” It was not often that he lost it like that but when he did he always apologized if he felt he needed to.

He looked down at Mercy and smiled back at her as he ran his fingers through her hair then took her hands in his. “You can come but he may not have time to talk right now.” He didn’t move right away since he was trying to push the memories her calming touch had brought to the sureface back into the depths of his mind. He stepped forward as she yanked at his hand then started walking after he straightened his shirt. When they were out of ear shot of anyone else he glanced down at her. “I will cut myself twice as deep as you cut yourself.” He sighed and squeezed her hand a bit knowing she would remember that day. “I felt like I was that boy again as you ran your hands over my face.” He shook his head and pulled down the sleeve of his shirt self consciously even though not even Linday or Jace had ever noticed the scars since they were so faint against his pale skin.

When they got back to the theater a man in his early forties walked up to them and looked between Jason and Mercy then back to Jason. “What was that? I need those games up and running before the rush.” Jason kept eye contact with him and nodded when he was reminded of his dead line. “I will have them done in time. Also this is Mercy, she is the one I said would be coming along.” The man looked at her then after a moment he held out his hand. “My name is John and I am the owner of this theater.” Jason rolled his eyes at his words but there was a faint smile on his face. “I am going to let you to get to know each other.” He leaned down and kissed the top of Mercy’s head then walked back to the games he had been fixing.

Clark sighed and looked around at them. “What the hell did happen? I mean I was with Jason until Jadien came to get us.” He looked between them not sure what else to say. He wanted to know what had happened even more than he wanted to understand her comment. Linday sighed and then pulled him into a seat at their table and looked at Jadien. “Come on sit down. There is no point in you standing around while everyone else is sitting here.” When he had sat down she started to tell them what had happened, stopping to confirm details with Jace to make sure she got everything right. When she was finished Clark nodded now understanding the expression he had seen on her face when he had arrived. “We have to make sure this works between them. No one wants to see Jason get hurt, and we owe him at least this after everything he has done for us.” Clark looked around the table to make sure they agreed with him.

 

[Notte]

Jace and Jadien both looked up at Jason with identical expressions telling him that it was alright. Jadien slapped him on the back good naturedly and smiled, so much more social than his twin sister Jace. "Jason, don't even worry about it. Families can get mad and fight, but at the end of the day, we're still family, so we can make up. Anything happened to Jace, I would probably be in the same state you were." Jace made a sound of protest in the back of her throat and rolled her eyes at Jadien, she looked back up at Jason with this look, "do you see what I have to put up with?" Even as she spoke, she gave them both a nod of love and forgiveness, they were family after all.

When Jason ran his hands through her hair, Mercy all but purred, loving the feel of it. She smiled up at him and her eyes and nose wrinkled. "That is alright, if he is busy I will just apologize and come back over here. Without running into anyone again." When she spoke the last, her eyes shifted from side to side, as if she really didn't know what she was talking about even though she did. Unable to stop it, a little giggle of embarrassment slipped past her lips at remembering running into the boy. As they started to walk away, she turned around and waved goodbye to everyone with a smile, then continued to walk forward with Jason.

When Jason repeated the exact phrase that she had said to him upon their first meeting, she smiled at him. "Hey now, I am the one who taught you that." She ran her hand over his arm and then her own where her scars matched and doubled his. They were complete strangers at the time and Mercy remembered how she had tried to get away from the other kids who had picked on her because of how she looked and dressed. She walked back to a far away corner and saw Jason there cutting himself. When he finally opened his eyes and saw her, she grabbed the knife away from him. She had taken off her overcoat and let it drop to the ground. At the first cut against her skin, her eyes filled up with tears from the sting, and each cut afterwards a noise would always come up from her throat, even though she had tried to stop it. Twelve cuts opened and bled, the crimson blood like a river running down her arm; twice as many, twice as deep. She handed the knife back to him with a warning, "For every cut that you have do, I will cut myself twice as deep." She had knelt down in front of Jason and ran her hands over his face, finally ending with pulling his lips up into a smile. Her own smile lit her face through her tears. "That is the look that I always want to see, a smile ready and waiting." Afterwards, she had licked his wounds to make the bleeding stop and wiped away his blood. The knife having long been forgotten.

When they got to the Theater owner and he offered Mercy his hand, she put one small delicate hand in his and then curtsied to him. "It is my pleasure to meet you, John, my name is Mercy. I really must apologize for taking Jason away from you and his duties, I will make sure that it will not happen again." After she apologized, she stood back up and removed her hand from his. Smiling up at him with her innocent face. When Jason walked away, Mercy looked after him with pride and then turned back to John, knowing that she couldn't stare at him all night, even though she wanted too. "If there is anything I may do to help make up for the lost time, I will gladly do it."

Jace made her conformations when needed, otherwise staying silent, she was the observer and usually used Jadien as her speaker. "You know, I don't think that we have to protect them from themselves, I mean, they seem to do just fine on their own. Just watch them together and you will see. What we really have to worry about is protecting them from others." Her eyes looked at each person and she pursed her lips, putting her hands together on the table and clutching them together tightly. "One person in general comes to mind and we all know who I am talking about. We heard Mia today and we know that Mia is going to try and cause problems, not just for them, but for all of us. Jason has never looked at another person the way he looks at Mercy and judging by Mercy's actions and reactions, I bet you anything that she never has looked at anyone the way she looks at Jason. This is going to cause Mia to become angry and jealous, since she has been trying to get Jason's attention for years. However, even without Mercy physically being here, she is the only one that he has ever seen." Jadien nodded his head in agreement at Jace's words and had to add in his own. "You know, after seeing that little Pixie when I came over here, I don't think I want to see her hurt anymore either."

 

[Evo Var]

As Jason knelt down next to the game and took off the side cover he wondered if it had been that day when he had took her arm and sucked the blood from her cut arm that she had started to think of him as her vampire. He shook his head of the thoughts and focused on the circuit board in front of him. He started going through and pulling one chip out and cleaning it before replacing it and moving to the next one.

John smiled at her slightly surprised by how mature she sounded he had seen her run into the boy and then help him up afterwards. He had wondered how old she actually was but had just gone back to work and decided he would ask Jason later but now that he was talking to her he figured he could ask her himself. “Thank you but its alright. He is a good kid.” He thought for a minute then indicated a table and chairs near them. “Would you mind having a seat and answering a few questions?” He smiled at her and pulled out one of the chairs. “They are nothing really. I am just curious to know how old you are and if you can act.” If she was even close to Jason’s age and could act he knew that she could make a killing in the movie business.

Jason finished fixing the game and turned it back on. Smirking as it started up he stretched and walked back over to John and Mercy. "See I told you I would get it done before the rush came." He pulled out a seat and sat down beside Mercy. John just shook his head smiling. "I can see that. So if this the girl you have been holding out for all this time?" Jason blushed slightly at the question but then put his arm on Mercy's shoulder and let his actions speak for themselves. "Do you disapprove? She is much better than anyone else here." John just laughed. "Be careful Linday might not like hearing that." Jason just smiled and shrugged. "She has Clark to give her all the complements she doesn't need mind." John had taken Jason under his wing and tried to be a father for him when he had first witness how devoted he was to Linday and the rest of the group. So when Jason had asked for a job he had hired him on the spot. John turned back to Mercy smiling. "I am glad Jason has someone to make him happy." Jason smirked as he looked at Mercy. "John here is Linday's father and as much as he is happy she is happy with Clark over there he still wished she had gotten together with me." John opened his mouth then just shrugged. "What can I say Jason would have made a good husband for her but I can live with him being like a brother to her."


Linday looked down at her hands as she listened to Jace’s words. She was right and they all knew it. When she looked up and spoke there was a determination that had she pulled from the family around her. “She may say she is one of us but she is showing us that she never cared about anything up Jason. We all have doubted her in the past but now its out in the open and there is nothing she can do to make me believe it was just another one of rants.” Clark nodded as he drummed his fingers on the table. He looked around the table not saying anything then looked across to Jason and Mercy as he considered what he was about to do.

His fingers stopped moving and he rested his hands on the tabled. “We cut back twice as hard twice as deep.” He paused and let the words sink in as he looked around at the others before continuing. “Those are the words that bind us. It is our law and it is what Jason has taught us.” His eyes searched for a hint of doubt in all of them knowing he would not find it. They all lived by the law but Jason had never seen fit to tell them where it had come from and Clark had gone with him out of respect but now he felt the family needed to hear the truth and stop thinking that they were Jason’s words. “They did more than bring us together. They were what made Jason the driving force that has brought us together.” He looked over at Linday as she put her hand on his arm. “Clark what are you talking about? We know that Jason lives by the words.” Clark shook his head slowly. “He lives by them but they are not his words. They are Mercy’s words. She said them to him the first time they met.” He sighed and nodded when he saw the look of dawning realizations that Mercy was more a part of their family than they had thought and had been from the beginning. He looked to Jadien and Jace not sure if he was going to have to tell them the full story but he knew they should hear it.

Linday let go of his arm just before Jadien spoke up. "Clark explain. How do you know this." The family had been built on trust so Clark had to be careful. "We all know him as the person that he turned into after Mercy left. But I knew him before he was trying to pull himself together." He took a breath as he collected his thoughts. "He has gone through hell more times that I want to count. He grow up in a house where his father beat his mother as she protected Jason. I don't know exactly but I think he saw someone cutting themselves when he still in grade school. What he told me was that the day that he started he had cut himself a few times when Mercy saw him. She took the knife saying she would cut herself twice for every cut he had given himself and she did. From then on he protected her while she kept him grounded. She pulled him back form the edge." He stopped and ran his fingers through his hair. He leaned back in his chair and let himself come to terms with what he had done. "Jason did not say anything because when he met everyone else he had thought that life was over." He wished Jason had told them now it would have kept him from feeling like he had betrayed Jason.

 

[Notte]

When John pulled out the chair for her, Mercy pulled her hair over her shoulder so that she wouldn't accidentally sit on. With her hair as it was, it dropped off of her breast and accentuated how large they actually were and how easy it was that the frills could hide them. It gave weight to her age. She tilted her head to the side and looked up at John with a soft smile. "I am actually a year younger than Jason, Sir John. As per the acting," as she spoke, the little boy that she had run into earlier ran up to her and their conversation was put on hold as the little boy talked to her about the movie that he had just seen. Mercy gave all the right ques and laughed when necessary, looked shocked when needed, and even gave a startled cry when he told her of how it ended. When the mother smiled and took the boy away, Mercy looked back at John her face was once again settled into a pleasant mask as if nothing had happened. "I have never given it much thought. Of course, due to being the Heiress of the Suou Corporation, I have people trying to get pictures of me all of the time, but my parents refuse every offer." She shrugged her shoulders with a mixture of both innocents and elegance. "Although, I have just recently gotten back from Romania and they are keeping my return a secret from the majority of people."

She remembered the sordid tales about her disappearance on the news when her parents had sent her off. She remembered watching them as they stood in front of reports and told them they had no comment or that she was sent away for safety purposes. When really, they just wanted to protect their investment in her being a doll. A perfect heiress. One made through blood, sweat, and tears. Yet, her parents had lost all of her respect and she would enjoy nothing more than to stick it to them. Her mind returned back to her and the present the moment Jason returned to their table. When Jason put his arm around her shoulders, Mercy looked up at him with a smile and a blush, letting him know that she had waited for him and would have waited forever if that is what it took. When John turned back to her, she still had not taken her eyes off of Jason's, and her lips curled up even more at the sides until dimples showed in her cheeks. "I just want to be able to make him as happy as he makes me." When Jason informed her of whose father John was, she looked back at John with a small O of surprise, her fangs just barely showing. She gave a smile tight smile, unsure of how to take his last compliment, but looked over at Jason from behind her lashes. "Jason would make any girl a wonderful husband, I have no doubt of that."

Jadien nodded in agreement with Linday about Mia, "How many of us have actually ever trusted her? I can speak for Jace and myself, but what about the rest of us. It isn't that she is just a newcomer to the group, she tries to act like she is better and higher than all of us still. Telling us whom we can and cannot let into the group. As far as I am concerned, Jason is the one who brought us all together, Jason is the one who adopted us into his family, and Mia has no right to any of it, since all she has ever wanted to do was control him." When Clark had started talking after that and telling them the story of Jason and Mercy's past, his fist tightened and he took hold of Jace's hand under the table. "I must correct myself than, Mercy is the one who brought us altogether by how she affected Jason. This is just as much her group as it is his. We owe that little Pixie more that she will ever know and more than we could ever truly thank her for. What her parents did to them, just isn't right, and what Jason lived through was never good either. Maybe that is why they are so good together, because they know each others pain and how not to cause it. But, I tell you, that little Pixie, she is a tough one alright, to take the cuts twice as hard and twice as deep. I wonder if that is why she keeps her arms constantly covered."

Jace watched as Jason and Mercy greeted John and then as Jason left to work. From this distance, she couldn't see Mercy's physical reactions to being left alone with someone. Yet, when John had offered her a seat, she wondered what kind of impression Mercy had made on him. "Hey, Linday, look at how your dad is acting with Mercy." She watched as the little boy ran up to Mercy and how Mercy seemed to become animated with the boy, using her whole body language to make the boy smile. Whether it was an act or the truth, Jace honestly could not tell. Yet, she knew in her heart, that Mercy had not acted earlier, the hollowness had been all to real. Jason had walked back to the table and taken a seat, putting his arm around Mercy's shoulders, and Jace just stared at the open affection he was showing for her in front of his boss - even if it were Linday's father or perhaps because it was Linday's father, she couldn't decide which was more shocking.

 

[Evo Var]

John couldn’t help but beam when he saw how well she acted around the boy. When he was gone he nodded at her words then thought for a few moments before he spoke. “Well you have talent. If you’re interested I know a few people who would love to see how well you do with a script.” He gestured to a poster on the wall of a young boy. “He made over five million just on that movie alone. But then again money may not be what you want.” He smiled he think she wanted money, no he did not believe money was what she wanted.

Jason looked down at her and smiled then kissed her head. “You have always made me happy and the happier you are the happier I will be.” He pulled her close against him then looked back at John. John titled his head slightly when he saw the hint of fangs in her surprised expression. “Are you the reason Jason was thinking of filing his teeth down to fangs?” He glanced to Jason and saw the answer to his question then shook his head as if it was something he did more often then not around Jason and LInday. “I gave up trying to understand you kids and what you do to yourselves.” Jason just groaned at Johns words and started to explain. “John she did not get hers filed down. They are naturally like that.” John sat up a bit straighter. “Natural?” He looked to Mercy wanting to make sure Jason was not pulling his leg. “They are actually natural?” With Linday being his daughter he had seen a lot of things that he never thought he would see outside of movies.

Linday had listened quietly while first Clark spoke then Jadien. She felt that Clark was not telling them everything he knew but she pushed the feeling aside and focused on Jadien’s words. “Mia never gave up her high horse when she came to us. She just painted it black and thought we would welcome her like she was a queen.” He ground her teeth and shook her head. “Jason won’t agree to kicking her out through. We never kick someone out and he will stick to his rules no matter what.” He looked at Jace then twisted in her seat to watch Mercy and her father. As she watched she was more interested in her father than Mercy. She tilted her head to the side as she watched and couldn’t help but smile when Jason came over and sat down putting his arm around Mercy. As she turned around she saw a looked on Clark’s face and her smile tightened. “Clark what is it?”

Clark had turned around in time to see Jason’s action but he stopped watching them and turned to Linday. “Nothing, I am just glad your dads there for Jason now. He needs a father and your dad came through for him.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek. He knew there was a lot more to the story that he had not told but he would not say anything else unless he was asked. Even then he would only give enough to satisfy them until they figured out that he was still holding back. He was hoping Jason would tell them before he had to tell anymore. When he pulled back he turned back to Jace and Jadien. “I say the laws apply to her just as much as they do to anyone outside the group.” They had never had to use the laws against anyone in the group before but he would do it if they needed to. “She does not really want us around unless we praise her so it just means that he have to sink her until she gets what is coming to her.” He kept it hidden from most people but he was actually quite sadistic and it had been a complete accident that he and Linday had found each other at first but when they did it did not take long before they found they were right for each other. Linday took his hand and squeezed as she leaned in and kissed his cheek. “Calm down. She may deserve it but that does not mean she gets what you want to give her. ” Her voice was low but forceful. She knew Clark would do it, he would go overboard if no one was able to pull him back.

 

[Notte]

She gave a regal nod to John at the mention of possibly doing a movie, "I would have no problem with auditioning, but Jason must be alright with it first before I even consider really doing it." When he gestured towards the wall, she looked over the poster carefully, taking in the movie. Turning back to him, her eyes burned with a fierce desire, "Money may not be what I want, but it is money that I shall need." She could honestly care less about wanting money, she wasn't a money greeding deceiver like her parents, she only needed it so that life could be more comfortable for her and Jason.

When Jason pulled her closer, she leaned her head against his chest and closed her eyes for a brief moment, semi-exhausted from the day, but she would stay strong and awake for him. She found that her small stature required more sleep to recouporate for the next day and she had to bite back a yawn that had her eyes watering, for she didn't want to be rude. At the question, Mercy nodded her head and lifted up her lips, showing that they weren't filed or false fangs, but complete natural ones. "Yes, it is slightly odd, but they are one hundred percent natural. I have never had any work done on them and I refuse to have them removed to make me look more normal, although, my parents had tried extremely hard to have me get rid of them." Ah, yes, her parents thought they took away from her image as a doll and her fangs disgusted them, yet Mercy adored them. "I do realize that they are quite odd and I had to learn how to talk around them without cutting open my tongue or having a lisp." She raised her hand up to her mouth and with her fangs showing, she pressed the tip of her index finger onto one of the fangs. When she pulled back her hand, she showed John the blood that started to drip from where she had pressed it against her fang. She raised her hand up to pop her finger back into her mouth and to suck away the blood, but realizing that would be improper, she looked around the table for a napkin. While she was searching, she turned her head towards Jason, "Jason, John was telling me that he knew of some people that might be interested as casting me in a movie. What are your thoughts on that?"

Jace looked over at Clark with a look, a look that told him that she knew he was hiding more, and her eyebrow popped up in question. "Clark, I know that there is more you aren't telling us. Jason may have told you for a reason, but I think we need to know in order to effectively protect them both from that bitch or anyone else who tries to harm them." Very rare was it that Jace would be demanding and rarely did she ever swear. Sensing her distress and frustration, Jadien put his hand up on her shoulder and squeezed, he could feel how tightly wound she was and that was never a good thing. He know that although his sister was quiet and somewhat timid, when she lost it, it was bad. He didn't want to see her in that position ever again. He knew that she couldn't stand people who prayed upon the weak and Mia had always gotten under her skin that wrong way. Hell, Mia even got under his skin, for reasons that he had never told anyone about before because he was ashamed of it. He slid his eyes down over to his sisters face and wondered for the millionth time, if she had known that he was being blackmailed and if she knew the reason why.

To redirect the conversation after hearing what Clark had to say, Jadien raised his eyebrows. "We have all accepted Mercy into the group, aye? Now, the next person we have to consider is Stefan, but first we should talk to Jason about that, since he is our leader." He had never personally met Stefan, so he really didn't have an opinion on him. Jace shifted her eyes to look at everyone and bit down on her lip, "I saw him leave school today around lunch time, he walked through the building like he was ready to murder someone at any moment. He scares me. Although, if it is what Jason wants, then I will welcome him into the group."

 

[Evo Var]

John moved a bit closer as he looked at her fangs. After a few seconds he whistled and shook his head. “Now that’s something.” He sat back and watched as she pressed her finger to the fang only to show him the fresh blood on her finger tip. Jason watched with a slight smile as she pricked her finger and when she started to look around for a napkin he leaned over to one of the other tables and grabbed one then handed it to her. “Here take this one.” He turned to John after Mercy mentioned the movie. “You really think that she could be in one?” John nodded as he spoke. “Yes, she looked like a young child.” His eyes shifted to Mercy. “No offence intended.” Then he looked back at Jason. “But she can act like one as well. Child actors are some of the hardest type of actors to find so she would probably make a lot of money really fast or she would get royalties from the movies so she would have a steady income for the rest of her life.” Jason thought about it for a minute. He knew Mercy didn’t want money like her parents did but at the same time she was practical. Even one movie could probably pay for a house for them and with him working he could save up enough money so that he could go to school once he was out of high school. “Sounds good to me. You said that you have some investments so even if nothing happens with the movies you have those and I have been saving every cheque since I started here last year. So we have a starting amount already.” John frowned as he listened to what was being said. He knew that a house was expensive and both of them had a place to stay so he didn’t see why they should waste their money paying for a house. “Jason. I thought you were saving to go to college.” Jason looked away from Mercy and back to John. “I lied. I was saving up so that when I finished high school I would have to money it took to find Mercy. College would have come after that.” John looked at Mercy then back at Jason. “Well now you don’t have to spend your money to find her so it can pay for your education. A house is expensive and it can wait. You need to be able to pay for it afterwards and that won’t be easy if you are trying to go to school and work part time.” Jason just shook his head. “I survived through everything else and it all makes paying for a house simple so no I will choose how to spend the money.” John just groaned and shook his head. “Jason your Aunt is giving you a home for free.” Jason just glared at him but didn’t say anything. He had tried to explain that it was not a home just a place to stay but he and John never agreed on the point.

Clark looked up at Jace and narrowed his eyes for a second but in the end he sat back after looking at them all. “I don’t know the exact date or even year but Jason’s mother killed herself. But that’s not the worst part.” Shaking his head he leaned forward slightly. “She tried to kill him before she slit his wrists and I mean she really tried to kill him. She took a kitchen knife and I guess she was trying to make it fast because she stabbed him in the chest.” He let it sink in and looked around making sure that everyone connected the scar Jason had over his chest to what his mother tried to do before he spoke again. “The only reason she missed was because Mercy threw herself in front of the blade. He said that the paramedics had to pull him out of her grip when they found them. She had been trying to stop the bleeding even as the cut on her neck was draining her just a lot slower. After that he was taken from his dad and I assume that Mercy had her parents take him in because I when I met him she was never around.” Linday thought about the scar she had seen then shook her head. “So she saved him twice. No wonder he is so dedicated to her.” Clark nodded then looked over at Jason and Mercy only looking back when Jadien started talking. “Yes she is in.” As they listened Linday thought about what she had heard about Stefan. “I agree with you Jace. That calc class had more than a few odd rumors. I mean I was only interested in the fact that Jason actually laughed but someone was saying that both Stefan and Jason had gotten up to help Mercy but Stefan had gotten there first and picked her up. The weird thing is that he supposedly turned around and faced the class as if showing her off before he put her down.” Clark put a hand on her shoulder. “We should ask Jason what really happened first. But either way I agree with Jadien we talk to Jason but I think we should have a talk with Mercy. She should know what she helped make for us.”

 

[Notte]

Mercy took the napkin from Jason and smiled as she put pressure to her finger to stop the bleeding, "Thank you." She sat silently as Jason and John conversed about her possible movie career. However, when he said she looked like a child she cringed on the inside and tried to suppress her reaction on the outside. She hated being viewed as a child and that is all they would ever see her as. Her image would be cast down in history, no one ever seeing her as an adult. Would she carry this curse forever? She had to give a cough to clear her throat of the growl that wanted to come up and she smiled over at John as if nothing were wrong, "No offense taken." She looked back and forth between Jason and John a slight look of annoyance pulling her eyebrows together. She didn't like how they talked as if she were just a child. "Well, I could do them, but I will not go anywhere without you there. Although, there would be one main problem with me playing a child's role." She paused and looked up at Jason and then looked down at her chest, "there are somethings that are just impossible to hide." Her cheeks heated slightly and she hoped that John didn't catch onto her meaning or at least hoped that he wouldn't say anything if he did.

Tears slipped into Mercy's eyes as she heard Jason's honesty and unable to help herself, she sat up straighter and kissed him on the cheek, a silent tear came sliding down. "Thank you." At their talk of education, Mercy pursed her lips slightly together and then titled her head to the side. "I have a college savings account that my parents are not allowed to touch, one that my grandmother made for me before she passed. All of her money went into that account, but I am not able to touch it until I come of age." She looked over at Jason with a thoughtful expression in her eyes. "I wonder if I am able to transfer that over to you, that way you can access it on your next birthday." She didn't mean it to be insulting, since she knew Jason could make it on his own, but she had a cold calculating gleam that lit her eyes and inside the thought made her want to dance with glee. She knew that once she was old enough to access it, that her parents would try to control it, yet, if the money were out of her hands and singed over to Jason, they would never be able to get their greedy hands on it or Jason ever again.

Jace frowned as she heard the story of how Mercy risked her life for Jason's and knew what it was like to have someone love you that much that they would risk anything for you, she had to fight not to look over at Jadien. "You know, that dedication has to go both ways though, she has to be just as dedicated and loving of him in order to risk her own life like that. If there were someone like that in my life," her voice grew a bit stronger and rougher, "I know that I would never leave." She kept her face straight and watched Jason and Mercy past Linday and Clark, not looking at her twin, but knowing he was there all the same, she could feel him beside her, around her, and knew that the would live the rest of their lives protecting one another. Yet a hollow ache sounded in her chest, for she did not want him to spend his life without happiness and children. "Now that that matter is laid to rest since we have to talk to Jason, why don't we go over and join them, unless someone else has something they'd like to talk about?"

 

[Evo Var]

Jason turned to her and smiled there was a hint of cold resolve at the thought of leaving her alone somewhere and he knew he wouldn't let it happen. “I would not have agreed to it if I was not there to protect you.” He rubbed his hand on her arm a bit to make sure she knew he meant it. At the mention of her problem Jason blushed a bit as the memories of what he had seen and what they had done came back to him. John to his credit didn’t say anything about it even though he got the reference right away. Jason thought for a moment then smiled a bit as he said. “They can use CG to fix that I am sure.” He leaned down and kissed the top of her head.

“You were there for me and I will always be there for you.” He held her close for a few seconds then loosened his grip just enough to let her sit up properly. Jason’s eyes dropped to the table as she mentioned her grandmother. He had liked her and he knew now that she had been the one who had made sure he moved in with Mercy when his mother had killed herself. He had to clear his throat and wipe away a tear before he looked up at Mercy. At first he frowned at her idea but then he saw the cool look in her eyes and he thought deeper into it. When he realized if he had it her parents could not get to it he smiled darkly and looked at her. “If we can’t then as soon as its opened you need to transfer it all into an account that they have no pull on.” John just looked at them with a confused expression feeling the familiar feeling that he was missing something important. He had it a lot when Clark and Linday would be talking. “Well if you have the money then I say you should rent first make sure you get any kinks out of your relationship that way when you get a house it’s a happy place and so are the memories in it.”

Clark and Linday listened to Jace and not for the first time they wondered about the twins and what their whole story was. Even though the group always told the truth to each other most of the time they tried not to push people into telling their worst memories. It had been what brought them together even though no one had realized it right away. “Just watching them and the way they look at each other shows that he is dedicated to her just like she is too him.” Linday had spoken softly but it was all that she felt was needed at the moment. “I have nothing more to say.” Clark looked at Linday who shook her head. “Okay let go over an join them. I doubt John is going to have Jason working much tonight if he realizes what he has been through today.” Linday smiled at Clarks words then added. “I know he is going to get the rest of the night off. He should not have come to work in the first place.” She wrapped her arm around Clark’s waist as they stood up and the four of them headed over to the theater. When they walked in Clark and Jadien grabbed a few extra chairs and brought them to the table before sitting down. Clark sat down next to John and Linday sat on his lap then looked at her dad as she said. "Doesn't Jason have a few sick days saved up?" That remark made Clark laugh but he tried to cover it with a cough. In fact Jason had at least two weeks worth of sick days saved up.

 

[Notte]

Mercy tilted her head to the side with slight confusion and bit the inside of her lip with embarrassment. She had never really watched television or movies, her parents leaving her with books and opera. She raised up her arms and folded them across her chest, trying to protect them. Looking up at Jason with worried eyes and a very small voice, "What is CG? Is that some type of torture?" At the thought of torture, her mind went back to Romania and how she had had her breasts bound to try and confine them or make them smaller. How they would use rope to squeeze them painfully down. She remembered watching as her breasts turned an odd color as if they were being suffocated and the pain of blood rushing in as they were released. The bruises that stayed for weeks.

Her eyes looked up at Jason with a smile "Twice as many, twice as deep.” That one saying meant so many different things to her and the first feeling she got when she said it was love for Jason and the first time that they had met. Reaching over, she placed her hand in Jason's and squeezed, then left it there to just be able to touch him, to comfort them both. The memory flashed through her mind, one of a dark rainy night filled with cries and screaming. His mother on the floor after another beating and his dad drunkenly walking out the door. Mercy and Jason huddled together, doing the best they can to protect one another. Cries from the kitchen greeted her ears, mumbling of the things that happened throughout the years. Never enough, always too much, finally it was time to give in and give up. A flash of silver and his mother stood up, carving knife in hand. Lips where incoherent words fell, she stumbled forward, and they were going to escape this hell. A scream, the pain, she jumped in front of the blade aimed at Jason’s heart. Blood mixed together as the world fell apart. The knife pulled free, she felt the sting, and she couldn’t let this how their lives would be. She covered the wounds, blood in a river under her hands. Tears painfully fell from her eyes as she prayed to God that he would not die. His mother slit her wrists, telling the world “Fuck you and goodbye.” What seemed like hours, but was only minutes, arms tried to pull her away from Jason and she fought to try and keep the pressure on him. She was weak and shaking from having lost blood herself, but even weak as she was, she had tried to fight. She had woken up a few days later in the hospital, sharing the same room with Jason. Her heart had thudded painfully at seeing him alive and she remembered the rush of tears that burned her eyes and left a river down her cheeks.

After they were released from the hospital, her Grandmother had taken Jason into their home, disregarding the opinions of her son and daughter-in-law. Gran was full of love and laughter and tried to do everything that she could to protect the two traumatized children from the harshness of anyone else. When she had gotten sick and passed away, her parents saw it as an opportunity and sent both Jason and Mercy away. However, Gran was a smart woman and had split her money up into two different things that neither of Mercy's parents could touch, a savings fund for Mercy that had half of her money and the other half to an investment of some sort. Gran had done all she could to insure the future and Mercy would not let her parents get to it.

As Mercy thought of the past, her hand had gone to her neck and she touched the scar and looked at Jason with a smile, knowing that he would know what she was talking, "the best decision I have ever made and one I would do again." She nodded her head as she listened to him about what she should do about the money, "They will never get their hands on the future that Gran had for us, I promise." At John's statement, she looked over at him and frowned. "Kinks? What sort of kinks?" She looked up at Jason confused, "Do we have kinks?"

Clark, Linday, Jace, and Jadien were walking up just as Mercy made her statement about something being twice as many and twice as deep. The way that she said them was light a weight that both dropped and lifted something from each of their shoulders. When they heard her declaration of how she would risk her life to save his again, there was no longer any doubt in their hearts, for the sincerity in Mercy's voice lifted it. They had all just walked around and sat down when she asked about the kinks. Clark hid his laugh behind a cough, Linday giggle, Jadien's shoulders were shaking from trying to suppress it, and Jace just had a secretive smile. When Linday asked about the sick days, John raised up her eyebrows and looked over at Jason and then Mercy, "Well, Jason, do you want the rest of the night off to take your girl there home to sleep?" Mercy made a sound of protest in her throat, "I don't want him to get into trouble because of me, I am fine, I promise, plus, weren't you telling me about some scripts?"

 

[Evo Var]

Jason looked at her for a second just a bit more confused than Mercy but John saved him and spoke up. “CG is just part of movie magic. They use computer programs to change things in movies thats all.” Jason confirmed the explanation with a nod then kissed Mercy’s cheek. “They wouldn’t even have to touch you.” Jason decided at that moment he was going to ask her to tell him what had happened. It was true that Stefan had started to tell him but he wanted her to tell him. He felt he should know the pain she went through and give her someone she could talk to about it. He didn’t see why he should let anyone else that that role except for him.

Jason smiled at her words. “The foundation of my life from that day on. We may take it hard but it comes back twice as hard.” It had been the words he spoke so many times when he had to keep everyone thinking of the future and not on things that had been done to them. It was when she touched her scar that he knew exactly what moment she was thinking about at that moment and he nodded as his mind went back to the memory. It had been one of the worst nights of his life and he distinctly remembered wishing Mercy had not had to see it. It had been one of the few thoughts that had gone through his mind as he huddled with Mercy in the corner of the room as he watched through tear filled eyes as his father beat his mom. When he had stormed out of the house Jason had hugged Mercy tight enough to bruise her as he cried. When he heard his mom walk back into the room he looked up at her and had started to get up to hug her when he saw the knife and froze. His first that was that she was going to start cutting herself like she did every time his father left but when she raised the blade He realized something was wrong. It was not until she started to bring the knife down and Mercy threw herself in front of the blade deflecting that his mind grasped what was going on. But by that time it was too late. Luckily Mercy had deflected the blade just enough that instead of going in between his ribs it smashed into one and ground against another while just barely missing his heart. He had screamed as he felt it sink into his chest and his ribs cracked but the pain as it was pulled out pushed him to the edge of blacking out. He remembered looking up as his mother slit her wrists and sat down on the couch letting the blood run out of her.

As he was about to pass out he felt another pain on his chest and thought that he had been stabbed again but when he opened his eyes he saw that Mercy had him in her lap and was pressing down on his chest. He had reached up and tried to stop the blood from flowing out of her neck but seconds afterward he was enveloped in blackness and his hand fell from her neck. It was only minutes later that the paramedics and police broke down the door and rushed to Mercy and Jason. Jason had woke up day after Mercy and started to panic. When he had spotted Mercy he had calmed just a bit. A few minutes later the doctor and two nurses rushed into the room as Jason tried to get out of the bed and go to Mercy, he had pulled off his heart monitor and the doctor had thought he flat lined. They had to restrain him on the bed until Mercy’s grandmother had come in and calmed him down before getting the nurses to push the two beds together before Jason fell asleep again with his hand gripping Mercy’s.

From that day on he had grown even closer to Mercy’s grandmother as she took him in and gave him everything he needed. When she had died and Mercy was sent away and he
moved in with his aunt the same day he had lost his faith in the world. It took him a long time to pull himself back together but ultimately it had been her words that saved him. When he spoke them to Clark they had given him strength even as he had taken the knife and pressed it into his arm. He had cut his upper arm but they were deep and had bled for a while.

When he came back to the present he realized John was looking at him concerned by the tears rolling down his cheeks. He bowed his head and wiped them away as he realized that everyone had come over to sit with them. His grip had tightened on Mercy and he relaxed not wanting to hurt her. He leaned down and put his forehead against hers while his fingers ran over the faint scar on her neck. “We will find a way to make her proud of us.” He looked into her eyes for a moment knowing she would know he was talking about her grandmother.

He had just sat up straighter when John spoke of kinks. He knew what he meant but he couldn’t help but laugh a bit with everyone else. It was not a real laugh just one of the ones he would us if he felt he should and had enjoyed something but was still too distant for it to really sink in. It was Mercy’s words that had him shaking his head and remembering that her parents had sheltered her. Jason looked down at her smiling. “I don’t think we have the ones he means no. He just wants us to make sure we get sued to living with each other before we buy a house that’s all.” There was still a hint of humor in his eyes but he decided not to explain anything else not wanting to embarrass her or himself.

Johns words made Jason look up then to Linday frowning. “I came to work didn’t I?” John opened his mouth to say something but stopped when Linday started talking and realized Jason had been talking to her and not him. He just looked at Mercy and smiled. “I can get the scripts to you any time and Json is to valuable for me to get mad if he takes a day off. He just never asks for one.”

Linday for her part looked at Jason with a raised eyebrow and Clark groaned knowing that this was going to get old really fast. He glance at Jace and Jadien seeing that they could see this heading to another argument between the two. “Jason, just take the day off. You were practically falling asleep until Mercy brought you that drink. Just go home and rest enjoy your time wit Mercy.” Jason opened his mouth to argue then closed it and looked at Mercy. He sighed knowing he wanted to go an arguing the fact with Linday would just add tension that he didn’t want to deal with. Linday smiled and pulled out her phone before calling a cab knowing that Jason had given in. When she put the phone away she turned to Mercy. “Make sure he sleeps please. He needs to relax for once.” Jason shot her a dark look but he didn’t say anything when he saw the look Clark gave him. He stood up slowly and looked around as he let his arm slide around Mercy’s back and down her arm so he could take her hand when she stood. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow then.” John nodded and the just remembering something he added. “Jill wants to invite you over this weekend for dinner. I think she still wants to put more fat on you.” He smiled as he stood and Linday giggled again knowing her mom thought Jason never ate enough even though whenever he was over he ate everything he was given.

 

[Notte]

Mercy's cheeks burned with mortification and embarrassment over not realizing what it was. She looked down and bit into her lip, her fang showing on the other side, but not digging in, that way she could avoid her lip bleeding. Nodding her head, she gave a small "Thank you" for the explanation, but was still unable to look up and face them. Now that it was clear what CG meant, she didn't think doing a movie would be that bad, but she was a woman, damn it, and not a child. Although she knew that a child is all she would ever be cast for. She idly wondered to herself how many people would want someone who looked like her.

When Jason put his head against hers and ran his fingers over her scar, she reached up and put her hand over his chest where she knew his scar would be. She kissed each of his cheeks, tasting the salt from his tears, hiding her own somewhere deep inside. She missed her grandmother terribly, for she was the only member of her family that wasn't indifferent to her existence. Mercy raised up her pinky and took Jason's in hers, "It is a promise." Her heart suddenly felt lighter than it had in years and she felt as if her grandmother was there smiling down on them.

When everyone laughed, Mercy had stayed silent, still confused as ever. However, she let it pass and would ask Jason about it later when they were alone. Unable to suppress it as she had been doing all night, Mercy's mouth opened in a yawn, her fangs showing, and a high pitched kitten sound came out as she finished. Her eyes slightly drooped down into a sleepy expression and she raised both of her hands to rub at them with a frown pulling her lips down. Jace who was sitting next to Mercy made a little sequel noise after Mercy yawned and wrapped her arms around Mercy, gushing out "That was just so adorable!" She didn't know who she surprised more, the others who just stared at her with this odd expression, Mercy who just looked shocked and bewildered, or herself. Pulling back, she gave an embarrassed cough, "Sorry, I don't know what came over me." Mercy just looked at her like she was an endangered species, blinking repeatedly, and said "it's alright." Looking up and over at John, still slightly in shock, "I can take those scripts any time you are able to get them too me or Jason could probably give them too me, I don't want to constantly bother him with being here and causing a disruption."

John just looked at Mercy and smiled, "Mercy, you are more than welcome to come with Jason anytime. In fact, since you have been sitting here, I have noticed that more people have come into the theater trying to get a look at you. I bet when we close down the theater for the night that sales will be higher than normal. I'm half tempted to offer you a job to just sit here and look like you always do, I'll even throw in some cakes." He made a small laugh, half unsure, but half serious. "Next time Jason comes in, I will have a script ready for you, so come along and we could go over it together."

When she and Jason were all but dismissed, she nodded her head at everyone and smiled, "It was a pleasure being able to meet and speak with all of you. I hope we can do so again." Taking his hand, Mercy slid off of her chair. When they started to walk away, Mercy was about to ask about Jill, but Jace and Jadien called out to them, "Oh yes, one more thing we forgot to ask. What about Stefan joining the group?" At the mention of Stefan's name, Mercy's eyes grew round and she hid behind Jason slightly, "No, no, absolutely not. He is a crazy stalker creep and he tried to hurt Jason. I won't allow it." She actually gave a little stomp of her foot to emphasize her point, Clark and Linday showed up around the time when she said he tried to hurt Jason and Clark's eyes went cold. "What do you mean 'he tried to hurt Jason'? What did he do?" The last question was aimed directly at Jason as Clark brought his eyes up to his.

 

[Evo Var]

John nodded to Mercy acknowledging her thank you but said nothing. He could see that she was embarrassed and he was not going to make it worse. He looked around at how many more people were around than was usual and smiled loving it.

Jason didn’t react as she kissed his cheeks but as she touched his chest his breath quickened. He knew he could not keep his mind from returning to those dark days. He had been able to block it all off and burry it for years now but now. Now he could not seem to control himself. Maybe it was just seeing Mercy again after so long. Sighing he shook off the thoughts and smiled as Mercy took his pinky. “A promise it is.” He smiled at her and felt secure and almost at home for the first time in years.

Jason and Clark stared open mouthed at Jace as she squealed and pulled Mercy into a huge hug. Linday kept her dignity and just smiled to hide her surprise. They almost never saw Jace actually seem to enjoy something so openly. First Linday then Clark and finally Jason looked over at Jadien to see if he had any idea what the hell had just happened. When they got nothing from him Linday and Clark just smiled at each other and held onto each other a bit more while Jason put a soothing hand on Mercy’s shoulder to let her know that everything was alright. He looked over at Jace as John spoke with Mercy. “You know I always knew you could break the ice but I think that was loud enough to break glass.” He rubbed at his ear mockingly while smiling at her to make sure she knew he was just joking.

As they started walking away he wondered what Mercy thought of the others. He doubted she would have said anything if she disliked them but he would ask when they were alone. They had made it to the theater entrance when he turned to look at Jace and Jadien wondering what they wanted. He froze when he heard the name and he wrapped his arms back behind him and around Mercy holding her tight to him. His eyes had hardened then shortly after the rest of his face had gone cold as he looked straight back at Clark. “He found us at a park around lunch. I tried to hit him when he would not stay away from Mercy. After what happened in our Calc class I was not going to let that pycho touch Mercy again and I still won’t.” Linday put a hand on Mercy’s shoulder then one on Jason’s arm. “Jason let go of her before you end up hurting her.” Jason realized he had a death grip on Mercy’s arms and he released his grip but when Linday started to move his arms off of her he tried to grab her again but Clark grabbed his arms. “Let go of her, you and me have to talk she can wait for the cab with the others.” He glanced behind him at Jadien and Jace. “Go with Linday while we talk, please.” He added the last word as an afterthought. It was times like theses that he tried to stay away from the group since he focused on the task at hand and tended to hurt those around him one way or another. Jason glared at Clark but he saw the look in his eyes and he glanced at Linday. “She stays where I can see her. I am not risking her again. Anyway she was there so she knows what happened just as well as I do.” This seemed to get Clarks attention and he let go of Jason’s arms. “Fine then tell me what he did to you.”

Jace and Jadien moved up to stand with Mercy. “Here move off a few steps. Don’t want Clark getting to pissed and you being too close.” Jadien had positioned himself between Mercy and Clark while Jace got Mercy to move a few steps away. “Mercy what happened in the Calc class?” Jadien figured it would be easier to get the answer form her than trying to get between Clark and Jason at the moment.

Linday had stood with Jace but moved off as soon as John started moving towards the group. “Dad, just leave it. Clark and Jason need to talk. ” John was not convinced and he tried to move a bit closer to them when Linday put her hand on his chest. “Dad trust me. I know them better than you do. Just go back to work and everything will be fine.” John looked between the two boys and his daughter then spoke. “Come and get me if you need any help.” It was a strain to say it but everyone watching him could tell that he was having to keep himself calm. He slowly turned around and left to go back to work. He would have to talk to Jill but even as he thought it he knew she would tell him to let it be.

Linday sighed and turned around. As she looked at Clark she walked up behind him and put her arms around his waist just as Jason spoke again. “He pinned my arm behind my back and started telling me what Mercy went though in Romania.” He looked over at Mercy and then glared at Clark and walked over to Mercy taking her hand. “She tackled him to the ground and I kicked his temple hard enough to make him pass out.” He indicated the faint discoloration on the toe of his boot. “So he has been dealt back twice what he gave.” He looked around at them. “Anyone still want him in the group?” His words held all his contempt and hate for Stefan.

 

[Notte]

Mercy looked up at Linday and blinked her eyes as she tried to separate Jason from her. "He isn't hurting me at all." When Jason tried to reach back for her, Mercy reached her hand out to grab at him, but Linday was in the way pulling her back. When Jace and Jadien ushered her back, "I am not afraid of him. He can get pissed all he wants." She was defiant and petulant while they moved and treated her as if she were a child. If she were normal size, she thought that they would treat her differently.

At the question of Calc class, Mercy pushed her index fingers and looked down. "Well, I felt like there were eyes watching me when class first started, and I looked back and Stefan was sitting there staring at me and Jason. Apparently Jason and I had caused a disturbance or something, because the teacher really does not seem to like us. She had handed me a stack of papers to pass out and when I got to Stefan, he took my hand and kissed it, thanking me." She looked up with her brows drawn together. "I didn't really think anything of it, of course it made me feel awkward, but I didn't think he had any bad intentions. As I was walking away, Jason saw him lift up my hair and smell it." She picked up the heavy length of her hair and ran her fingers through it to show them. "Because of how long and thick my hair is, I didn't feel anything." She suppressed a shudder at the thought of him touching her and wanted to wash herself all over again, but she raised her eyes up to look at Jason and remembering their bath, the feeling faded away and all she felt was Jason there.

"The teacher wrote a question on the board and called me up to answer it, well, do to being vertical challenged," she indicated her height with a hand by waving it down her body, "I couldn't reach the board to write down the answer." She gave a heavy loaded sigh knowing that it would forever be the story of her life. "Before I knew what was happening, I felt arms wrap around me and lifted me up. My back was to his chest and he had one arm under my breasts and another under my bottom, so it was like I was sitting in the air." Her whole body gave a physical shudder at the memory. "I looked up and I thought that it was Jason, but it was Stefan and how he beat Jason to the front is beyond me, because he sat further away from the board then we do." She tried to analyze the memory of it, wondering how it was possible from his position, he would have had to gotten up at the first syllable of her name as it dropped out of the teachers mouth in order to get there at almost the exact same time.

"Anyways, I wrote the answer down quickly, and instead of him setting me down right away, as is proper, he turned around to face the class still holding me," Her voice went hollow, "as if I were a doll. Finally, he put me down, but he didn't just set me down, he more like slid me down his body." She felt sick at the thought and her hands started ringing and she whispered under her breath hoping that no one would hear, "It made me feel violated." Although it was so low that it could barely be heard, Jace picked up on the words and her fists clenched so painfully together that Jadien put his hand over hers to loosen them. Jace knew that feeling all to well. Mercy continued to tell the story, "When lunch came, Jason and I went out to a cafe. Well....." She paused for a moment and her cheeks heated at the memory of how she acted and she looked up at the ceiling, then to the floor, then around at anything and everything else, as long as it wasn't Jason. "S-something ha-h-happened," she started to stutter over the words and she bit her cheek to stop it, "I ended up leaving the cafe before Jason. I arrived at this park that I found and as I was sitting on the swing, Jason arrived first and something seemed to be wrong," She looked up at Jason with a question, of course she had not seen Stefan before he showed up.

"Stefan seemed to have just shown up out of no where," She swallowed hard and moved her body closer to Jasons, but people blocked her way from being able to touch him. She just wanted to reach out and feel him, but with them surrounding her, she felt like she was being interrogated and she brought her hands up to her chest, trying to block them out. Her voice started to go low and empty. "He wanted me to go with him, said that he knew me unlike Jason. He said that he would get to me again. I didn't understand, I never met Stefan before our Calc class." Her voice chocked up as if she had a lump in her throat. "He said he first saw me in Romania, then he said something about wanting to add me to his collection. Whatever that is." She backed away from all of them, even Jason, and her eyes squeezed shut, a trail of tears running down her cheeks, and she huddled into herself. "He threatened to tell about Romania."

Jace tried to move forward to comfort Mercy, knowing apart of her pain, knowing what it was like to want to keep the past a secret. However, before she could take her first step, Jadien had grabbed her and held her in place, shaking his head silently at her. He knew on an instinctual level, that if anyone besides Jason tried to touch Mercy right now, that she would run. He knew from personal experience and that experience had cost not just him, but Jace their childhood. They both knew what it was like to wear a mask to show the world, while inside deep and dark emotions raged.

 

[Evo Var]

Linday frowned when Mercy said that Jason wasn’t hurting her at all but she pushed it to side thinking that she might just be saying it so that Linday would stop. “Please Mercy just move a bit away.” She wanted to make sure she was out of the way since Jason knew how Clark could get but it was still a very small chance that he would do anything. He had learned to control himself much better than before and Linday was grateful for it.

Linday glanced between Jadien and Jace as she listened to what Mercy was saying but as usual she could not see what they were thinking. She was more than a little surprised to find that most of what she had heard about Stefan seemed to have actually happened. She would have thought that most things were not actually true or had been blown out of preparation. She was frowning deeply and had crossed her arms by the time Mercy had stopped speaking. She wanted to go and hold her and had even started to move towards her but Jason brushed past her. She stood there watching him wondering what was going on in his head.

Jason went straight to Mercy and sank to one knee in front of her then leaned forward wrapped his arms around her slowly making sure he did not startle her. “Its all right Mercy, everything will be fine.” He kissed the tears on her cheeks then pulled her to him. “Your safe now, I promise that no one will hurt you.” He held her against him whispering things to comfort her like he had so many times when they were younger. After a minute his words were interrupted by a yawn that he could not stifle. As soon as it was done he started to speak again as he blinked the sleep form his eyes a few times.

Clark had come up behind Linday still frowning but he put his arms around her waist and held her against him. He felt how tense she was and kissed her neck then started watching Jason comfort Mercy even as his mind raced to find a way to get back at Stefan. Linday had not relaxed but as she felt him kiss her neck she sighed and tried to relax into his arms. After watching Jason and Mercy for a few minutes her eyes caught a flash of light. She looked over at the parking lot and noticed a taxi drive into parking lot. Pulling herself out of Clark’s arms she turned and kissed his cheek and smiled as she saw that he looked more relaxed but still thinking. She walked over to Jason and put her hand on his shoulder instead of saying anything she waited until he looked up at her then nodded to the taxi.

Jason looked in the direction she indicated then rose to his feet but kept his hands on Mercy. “Come on. Lets go home, I want to lie in your bed again.” He smiled down at her wondering if her mind would go back to that afternoon just like his mind had. He turned to look back at the others. “I will see you tomorrow.” He flashed them a faint smile then waited for Mercy before he turned and went to the Taxi. After waiting for her to get inside he told the driver where to before getting in himself and put his arm around Mercy. “Will you be alright?” He asked her softly as he ran his fingers over her arm then leaned his head against the back of the seat as he waited for them to get back to her place.

As they drove away Clark watched them go then moved up to the twins and Linday. “Lets hope tomorrow is better than today was.” Linday frowned then took his hand as she spoke. “It will fine, now lets go inside. I want to watch a movie before we go home.” She looked at Jace and Jadien. “You two want to come?” She left out that it would be free since by now everyone in the group got in free.

When the car pulled up in front of Mercy’s house Jason paid the driver then got out and took Mercy’s hand. He walked with her to her room and nodded at the maid as he saw her waiting at the doors again. “I can take care of her thank you.” His voice was not cold or distaining just tired. He waited until he had the door closed then spoke to Mercy. “Lets get you undressed or into something more comfortable.” He doubted she would want to put something on since he remembered even when they were young he would find her in nothing whenever they were at home. It had been her parents that had not been happy and tried to get her to stay dressed. Following her into the dressing room he slipped off his coat and hung it on the corner of the dressing room door figuring he would move it when they were finished. Once inside he walked up behind her and carefully unlaced the dress and slipped it off of her then knelt down behind her and kissed her neck as he ran his fingers over her corset as he watched her face in the mirror. “I never thought I would get the chance to see someone in one of theses.” Smiling he moved his hands to the back of it and loosed the laces as he spoke. “It just means I am even luckier since I get to see you in them.” He was looking down watching his work but the smile on his face was all too obvious. When he had finished with it he unclipped it and put it to the side then stayed kneeling behind her not sure if she still wanted his help or not.