Punk's Not Dead

"Cataleya. And you're Jacks, yeah?"

She isn't feeling shy, exactly, but maybe a lesser variant of starstruck. Being an indie musician sounds so cool. And given the size and energy of the crowd, the three of them seem to be doing a pretty good job of it.

"Yup, that's my name. And these two are Connor and Damian." He motioned to his drummer and bassist to gave Cataleya a little wave and a nod.

With the crowd of people slowly dispersing, Jacks motioned for her to follow him to the bar where he ordered himself and her a beer.

“You talk too much.” is the man’s immediate response, less distracted now that he’s sewn the gash shut. He’s quick to tie a small knot between the “free” end and the thread still attached to the needle to loops the loop. Caio then holds the remaining suture out at an angle away from Jacks, picking up a pair of surgical scissors to give the end above the small knot a small snip. The used supples [ both thread and need ] are placed on the spot outside Jack’s leg, and a gloved hand immediately grabs more supplies right after.

“You’re going to have to be careful with these.” the raven drones, opening a small jar of some sort of ointment to spread across the newly done stitches, “Because if you rip them out, I’m gonna be pissed.”

— And he’d be half tempted to let Jacks bleed out on account of his own stupidity…. But only half tempted.

Caio opens a second and third item without hesitation — the first being a sterile pad to place over the sutures and the second being a small roll of bandages. He wraps the latter around the former slowly, only pausing to rise from his sitting position to stand, lifting Jacks’ thigh along with him so the bandage could go under and continue to be wrapped around it.

“...And all you or anyone else needs to know is that I am good at my job.” he tells Jacks, “I’m not married to it — I am just …. good at what I do. What more does anyone need to know outside of what I look like and what the clinic looks like?”

Aside from the good doctor. And being a dog, he was going to sniff out some secrets. Even if he had to get injured just for a reason to be send back here.

"Alright, something easy then."

"What's your favorite food?" He didn't even seem to care about the procedure anymore. Now that the bloody work was done and the rest was clean, surgical precision, it didn't interest him anymore. His leg was basically stitched up by now and even the blood had been wiped away entirely.

Dwight goes quiet as he listens to Jacks, his face softening as he did. Despite explaining his issue with his mother, he still felt close to her that it felt hard to imagine someone not being close to their parent. “I’m sorry your dad is mean to you, that’s awful!”

“I don’t know what I’m going to do once I’m 18…I don’t think I can get into college or anything like that, I miss so much school that I’m failing half my classes.” That idea churns Dwight’s stomach. “I don’t have any practical skills, I’ll probably just end up waiting tables like my mom.”

He waved a hand in dismiss when Dwight mentioned Jacks father. He liked to vent but didn't want any sympathy for something as stupid as his annoying father.

"Don't you have anything you like doing? Only because you're failing classes doesn't mean you can't do something awesome when you're older." He should know, he was also failing all his classes aside from art and P.E.

"And of course I have. I mean. I try not to cry over every little thing because I'm an adult. But sometimes I can't help it. I get so worked up and it just has to come out! I am human!" She shrugged.

"Hey, I'm not judging you. We're all just human." Jacks gave a chuckle, resting a hand on his hip. There she went again, yapping away like she always did.

"Inside or Outside the bedroom?" He asked, baring his teeth in a naughty little smirk. For someone so tolerant, he sure could be childish about this sorta stuff.

She had to admit he did surprise her for a moment there as he took the lead this time around. An elegant brow cocked as she does follow the punk, well this was turning into a fun night more than she had expected with each passing minute.

Thanks to her befriending a certain someone, Cataleya's taken more of an interest in the local music scene in recent months. There's so many bands she hadn't heard about before, and she's even seen a few play.

Like No Man's Anthem, in this case.

Still pumped from the show, she's decided to wait, hoping to meet the band who had her nearly joining the mosh pit. However, their more dedicated fans got there ahead of her so she's waiting even more. Still, the crowd thins out, and Cataleya can finally approach the three guys.

"Heya!" she says to them once she's close enough. "This is my first time hearing you play live and I had a great time! ...Can you sign this, please?"

After the usual crowd had gotten what they wanted, Jacks, Connor and Damian tried to make sure to give everyone a bit attention. Especially the new faces.

Looking at the girl approaching him, Jacks smirked "Sure thing." He takes the poster, signing it before handing it to the other for signing. It gave him some time to talk to the girl.

“It doesn’t sound like his kind of thing, for sure… But I don’t think it’s lame !” Evan nodded, still chuckling. “Oh, maybe I should try.”

“He’s the artsy one after all.” His sister said, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and leaning on him - making Evan groan.

They both made a shocked face mixed with amazement at the tidbit of info. “Woah ! So many ??” Was the young man reaction, while Deborah couldn’t help her curiosity : “Are they all as good looking as you ?”

Of course Evan nudged her with his elbow, only for her to give it back twice harder - causing his brother to wheeze and hold his stomach.

= = =

“See ? This guy gets it.”Kim grinned at a grumbling William, kissing his cheek before leaving.

“I just don’t want to hear that about MY OWN SISTER !!” He threw at her as she was nearly out of sight, and she flipped him the bird from behind, laughing.

Annoyed, William took revenge on his beer instead. Why was everyone so determined to poke the bear (him) ?

He stared at Jacks when he spoke, and as often it felt like some kind of challenge the policeman couldn’t help but throw himself at.

“It’s like when you go to someone's place and they offer you food, it’s polite to eat all your plate. You offered me some music, gotta listen to it. Else Mom would be ashamed.”

Yet he didn’t mention how he, in no way, would listen to music he disliked, or how politeness wasn’t in the top of things his mother taught him actually.

Half a grin chased the annoyed look as he spoke more. “So wait. You’re telling me you watched me - and more specifically, my mouth - so hard you were able to tell what I was saying ? You may want to do something about that.”

It was obvious how amused he was at pointing that out. It didn’t matter how much he didn’t mind that Jackson was staring.

“Anyway. You make good music, you sing well. What’d be the point being such a hypocrite I pretend I don’t like your album ? You even decorated it specially for me. So sweet of you.”

Sarcasm heavy in the last sentence, meant about the pig and wolf thing. Not that he liked being compared to a pig - both as a policeman and a slightly narcissistic person - but he couldn’t help to enjoy Jacks’s art of any kind, apparently. William put the album with the others in his stash of favorites. It was the first time he got one personally after all - but obviously he didn’t intend to tell the singer that.

A glance at his siblings confirmed they were still in their own conversation, whatever it was. Good, he didn’t really want a part II of the dinner at his parent’s home. He loved his family but they enjoyed teasing him way too much, since he was the ‘best’ target. Deborah was hardly bothered by anything, Jade was bothered by nothing (when she actually got what was happening), Evan was too easily bothered…

Left William, perfect one to annoy. Wonderful.

"Well, I'd say I'm definitely the prettiest of the bunch." He smirked, waving a hand in dismiss before taking another swig of his beer.

-----

"Dude, of course I watched you when I recognized you. I wasn't sure if it was you standing with that hottie. I was thinking she was into guys with no sense of humor. But turns out she got taste after all."

Jacks had his arms folded over his chest, listening to William with an eyebrow raising. "Oh, yeah. That's the same thing. Don't wanna disappoint your mom." He joked with a smirk. He had expected an excuse but that was such a Will excuse.

"You should, I bet she'd love it. I can make her a copy too." It would be too funny if she was blasting NMA during family dinner. Knowing his family, his siblings would probably support it.