#replies:jack

“So, I’ve been thinking lately who actually thought of dressing up and going to people’s houses to take their candy? Because someone had to come up with the idea and pitch it in a way that doesn’t sound like thievery, and other people had to approve of it. I’m not complaining, obviously, because it’s great, but I’d have loved to be a fly on the wall for that pitch. It must have been extra amazing!” Balo rambles as she walks next to Jack on the way back to the dorms. Hopefully, he wouldn’t notice just how artificial at moments her pep actually was; although she was starting to feel better on the medication, she was still hoping her mom would pick up the phone. The longer she waited, the more it sunk in just how little her parents wanted her, and the more she questioned what it meant when your own parents no longer loved you. What were the moral implications of such a thing? But the feeling of the first raindrop hitting her distracts her entirely as the sky opens up into a full-blown downpour. “Tut tut tut; it looks like rain! Come on! The sooner we get inside, the sooner I can grab my wellies and come back out.”

“You make it sound like I only hang out with people who suck my dick,” Jack complained. “I’ll have you know, I ain’t never fucked Balo. Or Avery. Or Cait,” he made a face at the thought. “The dick sucking is just the cherry on top, thank you. And the Leo hating.” The mention of which was enough to sour his mood the slightest bit, but he quickly regained his smile, grinning widely at the idea of kidnapping the dog. “It’s a good plan, I’ll give you that, but getting the dog onto a plane from Leeds to New York might be hard, you know? Although I’d move back to Yorkshire for Barney, to be honest. College education or dog, right?” Which one he’d prioritise was fairly obvious. “Yeah, I know it’s bullshit. I’ve said that,” he muttered impatiently, waving a hand as if dismissing her statement. “It’s Claire, she’s a little bitch about that shit. Like, she overreacts. Last time I had like, the most minor cough, she cancelled a whole trip to England.” He rolled his eyes at the thought. He was still, unsurprisingly, angry about that. “We’re always counting pussy, love. Do you expect any less?”

“You should know that wasn’t what I meant.” Ches protests, she knew Jack was capable of hanging out with people without his dick getting sucked. It was more a concern about their individual dynamic than his ability to have a normal friendship. “And it’s not personal, Jackaboy, I’ve just been thinking lately. That’s all.” What was going to happen to particular dynamics when she stopped seeing other people. She was serious about Elliot, and it felt like only a matter of time at this point. “Are you worried you’ll get caught with him and have to return him? Because the best way around that is to send the dog over with someone else. I could ask Cade to do it, tell him he needs to girl up if he whines about the travel from London.” She could probably get him to steal a dog, “just have to remind him he can’t shoot heroin in front of the dog because he shouldn’t be subject to that. Knowing brother dearest, Barney might actually be more of a motivator than his own sister.” There’s a bitterness in her words when she realizes the dog indeed would likely have a better chance of getting him to pause at least for a little while than she had ever had. “Anyway, my point is we can work around it as long as it’s not obvious you’re involved! Can I see your phone for a second? I’ll put Logan’s number in, you shouldn’t need me to hang out with Treadwell.” She leans down to steal some pets from the dog as she asks the question, tossing herself into everything but the dognapping scheme. She didn’t need her thoughts lingering on that problem, she’d just given Jack a loaded gun, better not to provide him with additional ammunition. “If Claire’s going to to have a log up her ass, we’ll just have to work around her. You know, if we weren’t traveling next year, I’d say you could stay with Sky and me if you promise not to antagonize him. I’m a pretty generous landlady - I allow pets.” But they were both a part of that program as far as she was aware, staying at Luxor and adopting a couple of pets wasn’t an option. “Well, given you didn’t want to come along - you can’t blame me for assuming they weren’t included. Darn, is that way you didn’t give me that threesome I wanted for my birthday? Unwilling to share with me for a few hours.” She pouts, although the expression was simply to mess with him.

Maybe Zander couldn’t pick a fight with Jack today - no matter how much he actually wanted to already - but after his argument with Balo, he was pissed, and there was only one person he was going to use any of these emotions on at the moment. “Hey, douchebag, we need to talk,” Zander calls over to Jack, raising an eyebrow as he gets close enough to read the shirt that he’s wearing.  “I’d ask what the fuck is wrong with you, but I don’t actually care.” He probably should wait to start shit with Jack until he was actually allowed to hit him, but sometimes things couldn’t wait.

And he needed to try to convince Jack to stay the fuck away from his sister again before he dragged her down with him any more than he already had. 

“Doesn’t mean I’d say no to some kind of repayment,” although Jack was too distracted by the dog to give Ches his full attention, throwing the ball for Treadwell and grinning as he watched the dog retrieve it. “Good boy!” Turning back to Ches, he shrugged. “Love dogs. I had a girlfriend with a golden retriever once. I swear he liked me more than her.” Probably because Jack had doted on the dog far more than anyone should, but it was what it was. “For the record, I don’t like cats, though. If you have any catsitting planned for your trip I’m out.”

"Well, if you're not busy after we bring him home I could give you a tour of my bedroom if you'd like, I've got a comfy bed." Ches winks at him, but they could discuss that later, she didn't exactly want to make serious moves in front of the dog. This was supposed to be casual, which meant she would try to be on her best behavior and keep her mouth away from the button of his jeans until later. "And you didn't walk away with the dog in the breakup? Shame. Do you have any pets with your... whatever you call Claire and her husband? I've been avoiding getting any since it's not like the school board will approve, and being away from Treadwell here is brutal enough. Isn't that right?" She grins as the dog rags his tail again, but he was way too focused on playing fetch with Jack for Ches to reach out and pet him. The last thing she wanted was to ruin the game, after all. "Oh, don't worry about that. The only cat I really like is myself, I tolerate the rest of the ones in my life." It wasn't like she hated them or had a severe issue with them, but she wasn't fond enough fo them to go out of her way to spend time with them either. If they were there, they were there - if they weren't, she took a breath of relief. Okay, so Ches really didn't like cats, but she wasn't going to tell her friends that. She had enough cat lovers in her life to know that wouldn't be an appreciated sentiment.

“Weren’t even that bad,” Jack denied, unable to hide the grin on his face as he saw the dog, crouching down to start to pet him, his voice slightly more of a baby voice as he talked to the dog - “hello, cutie, what’s your name? Is it Treadwell? Are you a good boy? Are you a good boy, Treadwell?” Blowing little kisses to the dog, he finally stopped being too distracted by the dog to talk to Ches, looking up, an expression of childlike joy still on his face as he grinned at her. “Best dog in New York, I’m calling it now.”

“I take it that means you don’t want me to pay you back?” Jack seemed genuinely excited to see the dog, a response she hadn’t quite realized he’d have as she grins at his expression. Treadwell himself wags his tail, the black cavapoo excited to see another human, and for a moment Ches actually wonders if dogs could take flight. The more Jack talks, the happier the dog seems, and the second Jack’s attention shifts he’s already trying to shove a ball in the man’s hand with an expectant look. “He’s the best boy but I’m biased. I spent a lot of time with him this winter. I never realized you loved dogs this much though, I wasn’t sure you’d actually come.” It was just an attempt to give him a break from having to deal with the aftermath of Win’s posters, something cute and a bit more innocent then sending him her nudes in an attempt to make him smile. So far, so good.

When Ches texted Jack she was getting a chance to dog-sit and invited him over, she actually wasn’t expecting him to say yes. But she can’t help the grin that forms on her face when she spots him. “How bad was the fare over here?” She asks him, continuing to pet her brother’s dog as he joins them. It was a bit of a hike from the upper east side, but it was one of the better dog runs in the city. “This is Treadwell, yes he’s named after Timothy Treadwell, no I don’t know why. Treadwell, this is Jack. If you give him your hand, he’ll shake it.”

As much as Balo hadn’t wanted to admit it, she really needed to go to the doctors. She’d been sick since before they even left for the city, and she had still been ill after returning. It had been about time for her to admit it wasn’t going away on its own and get medicine for her sore throat or something. But, still, the last thing she wanted was Zander to take her - he’d do nothing but panic over something that wasn’t likely more detrimental than a hangnail in the long run. Caitriona didn’t have a car, Logan was too far away. So that left Jack to ask, and he saved the day by taking her to the doctors. He dealt with her as she shivered on the exam table and suggested maybe, just maybe a hug from him would fix whatever was wrong with her and she wouldn’t have to be anywhere near them.

But even Balo knew it was nothing more than an attempt to flee from the help she knew she needed, so she’d stayed put. She let them do tests, she listened to the results and reacted in the only way she knew how before going back to Luxor and pretending nothing had occurred. And now, being back on the exam table a couple days later, she dreaded when the doctor would arrive even more by the second.

“Promise me that you won’t pull any funny business this time. I still don’t know how you got my doctor in on that joke.” It was easier to process if she told herself Jack was simply pulling her leg, that any denial of the fact was part of the joke as she tried to suppress how much she was freaking out. “And thank you, for not making me bring Zander. You know he’d have flipped, and whatever we learn today will set him into a panic even when it’s the good answer. You’re a lot better at this.”