His eyes bounced around the bar they were in, catching a few stares and glaring at them until they dropped. This was their business, not anyone else's. After articulating a plan, he finally settled his eyes back onto Joanna's. An easy smirk slipped over his lips as he hunched down some to be closer to her level. "Then I'll make this quick, Jo. As it might be, shit happened and I've found myself on the curb. Also as it might be, you happen to be the only person I know in these parts. Care to help a poor soul out and lend a hand?"
He wasn't exactly lying, he was jumping from hotel room to hotel room at the moment. It'd be nice to at least have a place to stay until he found some income and a will to live. But that wasn't the reason he was asking. He finally came up with a challenge, and if she said yes, it'd be much easier to win if he was in her space nearly 24/7. Basically a win-win if all things went according to plan. If not, he'd have to find some other way to entertain himself long-term.
"How bad is life going for you?" Joanna asked stepping away from him, and over to the drink counter. She picked up a glass, and poured herself a glass of whiskey. "Obviously pretty bad, if you've come to me of all people for help. But what am I looking at for rooming you?" She inquired sipping from the glass slowly, trying to weigh the odds of having the person she most hated, besides her ignorant parents, stay with her in the apartment she was living in. She needed a lot more information before she was just going to say yes. The only reason she considered, was because she'd have something to hold over him when he started acting out against her.
Joanna continued to simper over the glass she held, starring him up and down. "I mean, how long would you need to stay?" She inquired him, leaning against the counter. A thought came to her, so right after leaning back she sat up again. Setting her glass aside, she grabbed another one, pouring a drink for him. She held it out to him, picking her own back up and draining it off.
"It's complicated," he grumbled, eyes darting to the side as he thought about how his life went from bad to worse. This is what I get for helping out a friend. And to rub salt in the wound, he freaking left me after the fact. Kasiya shook his head to clear his thundering thoughts, then focused on Joanna as he watched her and listened to her questions. "I honestly don't know," he admitted with a shrug, grabbing the drink with a terse nod of thanks before downing it in one go. Gods, he really needed that.
"But," he added slowly, grateful that she had decided to not be difficult and actually talk to him, "I can offer a challenge. Y'know, for old times' sake." That devilish and easy smirk making its way back up his lips. "I'd also be in your debt, so there's that as well." C'mon, Princess. Say yes. I know you want to. Me, asking for your help. Perfect opportunity to get back at me for everything you think needs justice. Revenge is sweet, you know.
Picking up a new bottle, she popped the top off, offering to pour him a second glass. "Challenge? What kind?" Joanna questioned him, unsure she liked the idea of his vagueness about details. It was unsettling, but if he was going to brush her off, she'd just ask more and more questions to get under his skin. Mostly for the sake of annoying him, and he'd leave faster if she did say yes. "I don't accept any kind of deals without a contract where I've read the fine print."
Joanna wasn't lying, she wasn't about to trust him on anything. He was being weird, and it was starting to worry her. Something was wrong, but he was going to keep things to himself. Maybe tell someone else, not her. She poured herself a half of a sip, before holding it back out to him. 'Maybe if I get him drunk enough, things will go easier for me.' She thought sarcastically, a smirk on her own lips.
He barely even thought about it as he held out his glass for another drink, definitely needing the alcohol to calm his nerves. "So I've got you interested. There's a start." He cleared his throat dramatically and grinned, standing up to his full height once more. "We act like we're going out. All the mushy stuff couples do. My bet is you won't be able to resist my charms and will fall for me." His arrogance was true, but most of it was a mask. He was still worried about his brother, but maybe this was a good distraction from that worry.
Kasiya really didn't have anyone to go talk to about anything. He didn't like getting close to people, because all they did was turn their backs on you. His family, his one friend, everyone. Joanna was a slight exception, but that was just because they hated each other and constantly schemed to get under each other's skin. She didn't count. He highly doubted he'd be opening up to her anytime soon about anything that didn't concern her.
Nodding, she filled his glass to the rim with a slight smile. She was going to avoid drinking anymore. But hearing his challenge made her choke on her own saliva. "Excuse me?" She asked setting the bottle aside. It was one thing to propose they start fake dating, but it was another to assume she'd fall for him. "How can you be so confident I'm not seeing someone? Don't you think that they would get rather upset seeing another guy coming up and running his hands all over me?"
This was ridiculous. He was assuming and expecting too much of her. Her heart began racing, and her face flushed some, but not because of a fluttery feeling she was gaining. She was rather upset with him. It bothered her a lot, but she knew she had to accept the challenge. Though she needed her moment to freak out, and be pissed off at him. Joanna had to accept the stupid challenge, otherwise he'd feel like he had the power over her.
Kasiya rose a brow and pointedly looked around the bar she worked at—at all the drunkards that were likely doing that exact thing she said her hypothetical boyfriend wouldn't like him doing. "If this supposed boyfriend had a problem with that, he'd have issues with your choice of career," he drawled, rolling his eyes. "Or girlfriend, whatever you want your imaginary significant other to be." He downed his drink again, then set his glass off to the side and stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets, tipping his head to the side and biting at one of his snake bite piercings. He studied Joanna for some time before speaking again.
He shrugged and shifted, as if getting ready to leave. "Your choice, shortcake. Say no, and you won't see me again. Say yes, and I'll be in your debt." Either way, it was a win-win for her, and he had offered it like that for that specific reason.
Joanna's doll like green eyes narrowed, watching him down the whole drink. It was oh so tempting, and she didn't want him to actually leave. No, no, no, she actually liked having someone around to tease. Sucking in a deep breath, she ran a hand down her face and nodded. She had already had a few drinks spread throughout her shift, and only now realized she was feeling a little tipsy. "Fine. I accept." She said simply.
She had done it, she had accepted the challenge and there was no going back. She was stuck with him, and now the two of them were about to start touching in a lot more intimate ways than before. Everything was about to change between them, and nobody would believe her when she told the, she wasn't actually dating her rival. But this was a risk she was willing to take.
He smirked triumphantly when she agreed, leaning back down to her level again. "Then it's a bet. How much?" he asked, eyes sparkling. Bingo. He got a place to stay and entertainment, and a chance to earn some cash. He wouldn't fall for her, that much he knew, so he was safe if she wanted to add onto the bet. "Also, when's your shift end? I don't particularly care to hang around here doing nothing while waiting for you."
Despite how much of an asshole he was, Kasiya knew he wouldn't push Joanna around too much when it came to all the couple-stuff they'd have to do. He might just a little bit to push her buttons a bit, but he wouldn't go too far. He was an ass, but not that much.
She looked up to him, a little taller than usual with her heels. "I dunno, twenty bucks?" She offered in a quiet tone. Her eyes flitted to his lips, watching them carefully. Joanna didn't want to see them too close, but they were already breaking that wish. She knew that for this challenge they had to get close, and the thought of him staying at her place weighed her down. She groaned internally at remembering that tiny insignificant detail.
Joanna was going to win this, there was no way she was letting Kasiya. Never in a billion years. So she had to get on her a-game to be as seductive as possible. So she decided to start now. Resting her hands on his chest, she trailed her finger downwards. "I get off in about 45 minutes. So you have time to wander. Though I should probably get your number."
Kasiya's eyes flicked down when she placed her hands on his chest, then flicked back up to hers. That's not going to be so easy, shortcake, he thought with amusement, but didn't pull away to humor her—and because now they were supposed to be fake dating. "Yeah, should probably get that." He reached back and grabbed his phone from his back pocket, then handed it to her. He didn't have anything on it for her to snoop, so he wasn't worried about her finding anything he didn't want her to find. "I'll probably just walk around a bit while I wait for you. I'm not hanging around all these drunkards."
Joanna took his phone, and tapped her number in quickly. She named her contact, mostly to humor him, Princess, and handed his phone back over. She bit her lower lip some, and leaned back against the counter once more. "Sure thing hot stuff." She whispered some, holding her head high. "I have my car with me, I decided to drive today. So I'll meet you at the park in 45 minutes." She told him slipping off to go finish working her shift.
A smirk came to her lips as she walked off swaying her hip in the process. Maybe she shouldn't drive because she had had a drink, but she didn't take them like shots. So she felt she'd be fine. Though she clearly wasn't think straight. That's not how this kind of thing worked, so the drive home would be interesting.
Kas rolled his eyes at the 'hot stuff,' watching her go. He knew the change of attitude was because of her determination to win the bet, so really he was just amused by it. He stood up straight and glanced around the bar, adding a certain look to his gaze—a look of possessiveness. If he was to act like her boyfriend, then he might as well look the part to others. Which meant that he had to play the part of a protective boyfriend.
"Ugh, I'm going to drive myself nuts by the end of this," he muttered under his breath as he turned to leave the bar, "I'm thinking too much. Time to blow some shit up." 45 minutes was ample time to get into some harmless trouble. The only factor was what trouble he was going to get into. Gambling wouldn't work, as he had little money. Or, perhaps, he'd sneak off to somewhere secluded so he could work on his magic. He didn't like that idea, but he had to to avoid losing control of it. Besides, he reasoned with himself, he'd have the chance to blow stuff up.
(Do we wanna go ahead and skip until she comes to meet him at the park?)
((Yeah, I think skip is the best))
((Alright~))
Joanna had driven over, and was walking through the park carrying her heels with the tips of her fingers. She hummed softly, looking around for her "boyfriend" feeling a little sick to her stomach. Things were starting to clear through her head, and she realized what she had agreed to in a more serious sense. "What have I done?" She asked herself, rubbing her face.
"I've doomed myself, with that son of a-" She caught herself, sucking in a deep breath. Letting it out slowly, she dropped her shoes and sat down on the grass next to them. "Relax Jo, you'll be fine. It's only a game." She muttered, looking up at the night sky.
Kas walked into the park, split lip and a few cuts on his face and arms. His magic had backfired, yet again. He had tried to use it on some discarded garbage cans, and it had whipped around and hit him instead. So to say he was back to being pissed was an understatement. He had no plans to mess with Joanna at the moment. He just wanted to get some sleep and pretend his brother didn't exist like he had done a long time ago.
He found Joanna on the ground and came up behind her. "Let's go," he said, avoiding eye contact with her and hoping she didn't notice the cuts and slight drops of blood on his face. His hands were stuffed into his jean pockets to hide their cuts.
Joanna glanced up at him, pushing herself off the ground. Brushing herself off, she bent down, and picked up her shoes. "My car is that way." She pointed off towards the parking lot, and started strutting off to one of the few vehicles in the lot. Pulling her keys from her front pocket, she unlocked the doors and opened her own. "Come on loser get in." She called after him slamming her door shut.
Starting the car, she clicked her seat belt in place, leaning back in the car seat. She shut her eyes, and rubbed her face trying to relax after the long day. Her car was neat and sleek on the inside, with leather seats, and a dark interior. She did not have an electric car, but she rather wished she did. So in hopes of selling this one she kept it as clean as possible.
"Alright, so we're both in a pissy mood. Wonderful," he mumbled as he opened the passenger door and slid in, ducking his head down so he didn't hit it on the frame. There were perks of being tall—he got to intimidate other people pretty easily, could reach stuff easier, could see over people's heads—but there were also some serious cons to it, which usually resulted in bodily harm.
He settled into his seat and clicked on the seatbelt after a moment of deliberation. Joanna would probably yell at him if he didn't, and he wasn't in the mood to argue with her. He, instead, distracted himself by admiring how clean she kept her car. Either she's a neat-freak or she's planning on doing something with the car.
If you knew Joanna well, you'd know she was absolutely not a neat freak. Far from it besides her car and 75% of her apartment. Everything else in her life was a mess, but she never had the time to fix it. So she struggled with the effects of a messy bedroom and unable to find a single thing in it. She hoped he wouldn't insist they sleep together in the same room, because that would be the point she would get up and kick him out. No matter if she owed him 20 bucks or not. For now at least.
She turned down the radio, switching the station to a quiet hum of popular music. She didn't care for it much herself, but she thought it was probably the best choice if it was quiet. "So, how's life been so far?" She asked, attempting to start a simple conversation. Mostly expecting him to brush it off, or tell her it was fine.
Kas did actually consider brushing her off with a 'fine,' but he wasn't feeling fine, he was frustrated and angry. He was swirling around in an unending spiral of emotions and self-loathing. "It's been," he muttered, running a hand over his face and into his hair, pulling some strands out of the hair-tie so it fell into his face. "It's been eventful, to say the least. Not exactly the good kind." And that's where he shut up.
And it was also when his mind sunk into itself. His brother's image popped up behind his eyes. He was exactly like Kas, though without the piercings and burns. Redore did have tattoos, though they weren't exactly like his. It hurt to stare back at his own face, the face that betrayed him when he was just a child, the face that sneered at him in mockery. He bowed his head so the loose strands of hair covered his face and looked out the window.
Joanna listened to him, and could honestly feel pain at his words. Not normally being the sensitive feely type, she was struggling to push her pity down. "How so? Is it anything anyone can help fix?" She asked, attempting to be polite, or sensitive. Whatever it was, she wasn't doing very well at it. Boy did she know it too. She was really terrible at comforting people, mostly because she never received any herself.
Though this wasn't about her right now. So it didn't matter. What mattered was figuring out what was wrong with Kas, and focusing on the road. Maybe attempting not to get in a car crash as well was a high priority at the moment. Pulling up to the red light, she turned to face him. He honestly looked terrible. Not to mention his beat up face. 'What the hell did you do in 45 minutes?' She wondered, biting her lower lip as she thought.
"No," he said, shaking his head and sighing. He stretched out as much as he could in the smallish-space the car provided, cursing his long legs. He could feel her gaze on him, so he turned his face so she couldn't see the cuts, feeling a wash of shame and guilt. It wasn't even anything to do with her, more like how he was trying to hone something he wanted nothing to do with—and getting himself hurt in the process. 'All magic does is get people hurt.'
He unconsciously rubbed at the scars on his neck, fingers hooking around the black choker after catching on it. He desperately needed to think about something other his brother and everything that's happened, but it was hard not to think about it all. So he focused on the world around him out the window, trying to ignore Joanna's stare that he knew was on him.
Sighing, she turned her gaze back to the red light. "You can scoot the seat back. It moves." She told him, as the light flashed to green. Hitting the gas, she eased her speed onwwards, practically able to see her apartment from here. It was in the large city building, that seemed to be clouded by thick clouds that began to decent to the streets. She scanned the sky, hoping it wasn't going to rain. She hated it when it stormed over night, she never felt safe in her glass window bedroom. It scared the hell out of her.
She realized the red light, a split second too late, running through it. "Oh god no…" She muttered wanting to slam her head against a wall. She knew by the flash of the camera she was about to get a ticket. All because of her wandering mind. She should probably be more amazed they didn't just get hit, but she was too annoyed to be grateful for that.
Kas snapped his head up when he saw the flash of light, then twisted around to see the red light they just sped through. "Head in the game, shortcake," he said without thinking, blinking and looking back at Joanna. He sat back down properly and studied her a bit. She was lost in thought, like him, but about what he didn't know. Then again, he wasn't exactly the most forthcoming about what was on his mind, so he didn't have the right to try and figure it out.
"Speeding tickets are 'bout 150 to 200. You got the cash?" he asked after a stretch, busying himself with adjusting the seat to better suit his taller stature. Talking to Joanna would have to be the distraction he needed from his past and life. Teasing her, more like. Either way, he didn't think much, so that was good. Thinking was bad.
Joanna glared at him, thinking about her pretty good income. "Tell me what you think." She told him, pulling up to the tall building, reaching up piercing the midnight blue sky. The clouds above hung there rather ominously, and you could see blue flashes zap across the sky every once in awhile. A storm was brewing, and Joanna didn't like it one bit. Shutting off her car after parking she turned to him.
"Once we're inside I mean. Let's see if you know your numbers." Smirking, she clicked the buckle ejection, and put it back in it's place. She slid out of the side, picking up her shoes. She slammed the door shut, mostly from too much force, and barely leaned against the side. Pulling her foot up, she strapped her heels back on, as to not get yelled at by Paylor, the lobby manager.
The lightning put him on edge, his grip around his throat tightening ever so slightly as his eyes glued themselves to the blue flashes. His own magic stirred, as if hearing its call and begging to join it in its destruction. He snapped out of his trance-like state, however, at the sound of the car door slamming shut. He huffed with a roll of his eyes, freeing himself of the buckle and sliding out of the car and shutting the door with less force than Joanna.
"I know my figures relatively well, shortcake. But I also know my social queues," he said as he rounded the car and leaned his hip against the hood, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'll take your word for it that you can afford it." His eyes jumped back to the sky as another lightning strike rumbled, teeth worrying at his lip without even thinking about it. He hissed when a flash of pain went through his lip, the clotted split torn open yet again.
With feet firm on the ground once more, and she looked at him standing straight. "Ready to go inside?" She asked, taking a good look at him for once. Besides the glance she got earlier. He looked much worse now under the street lights and glow from the inside. Hearing him hiss in pain, made her jump. "What did you do? Are you OK?" She asked, a little too quickly to sound sympathetic. More annoyed than anything.
Though she really did feel bad. She wasn't sure why, but she did. Though he wouldn't care, why should he? They weren't really a thing, so maybe she shouldn't care either. But she had known him for oh, so long, it was hard not to care. It seemed impossible not to. So she kept doing so, even if she sucked at showing sympathy. "Can I help?" She asked a lot more tenderly than before.
Kas looked back down at her when he heard her voice, selfishly using that as a way to distract himself from the lightning. He blinked, then registered her questions. He swiped his thumb over his bottom lip, already feeling the blood before he looked at the digit. "Fine, just ripped it open again," he murmured, shrugging and stuffing his hands into his jacket pockets. "Can we just go inside? I'm ready to crash."
While he was tired, he wanted away from the lightning, away from the storm, and away from his thoughts. A strange room that housed his long-term rival would surely be enough to snag his attention long enough until he fell asleep. After that, he'd be out cold without any worry or racing thoughts. Besides, it'd give him time to think over the arrangement he rashly proposed in order to keep an eye on Joanna. 'You're only worried about what your brother will do to her because you don't want anyone to suffer under his hands. That's all.' Even still, despite his words, there was the underlying worry he couldn't mask for long. They've known each other forever—of course he was going to worry about her as he would hypothetically worry about someone he cared about.
Joanna cringed at his choice of words. 'Ripped, any other word, and you chose ripped?' She wondered what was going through his mind, but focused on his second request. "Yeah, wipe your feet before entering the lobby though. I don't think you want to get yelled at tonight." She warned him, her heels clicking on the pavement as she walked up to the building. She yanked on it, using more force than needed, and held it open for him.
"Paylor has a thing for dirty shoes. So like, in hopes of you not standing in the lobby all night, wipe your feet and keep your shoes on." She said, looking to him, crossing her arms over her chest. Exhausted from the long tiring day, she let her mind wander some. Maybe it was more from the drinks she was loosing her head, but whatever it was, her thoughts wandered aimlessly. 'Why did he ask anyways? Especially you of all people Jo?' She wondered, not meaning to, but totally starring at him.
