oh no, oh no, you touch my soul (jack)

[RUE ISOLDE HART]

I seek ye vainly, and see in your place
The shadowy tempest, that sweeps through space

Rue had awoken that morning at dusk, she had never broken herself of the nasty habit of waking up before almost everyone. She was increasingly fearful of being vulnerable, even in her sleep. Years of being abused and manipulated had at least taught her that, no time of day was she ever safe. She hardly trusted the people in the asylum with her vulnerability while asleep, hence the reason she slept only five hours a night and slept with pepper spray under her pillow. Rue had trained herself to sleep lightly, whenever someone entered the room or even rolled over she awoke and laid completely still. Many people called her paranoia idiotic and stupid but to her it was entirely logical. Nothing was sacred, not even a night's sleep.

Waking she put on a dress and a pair of boots, sliding a pack of cigarettes and a lighter into her bra she headed out far before everyone else was awake. Striding through the halls several of the staff looked at her oddly but when she did nothing too suspicious they let her go. Heading outside she snatched someone's coat from the coat hanger and slid it on before lighting up a cigarette. Where most people would be hungry, Rue simply wanted to smoke instead. She was used to eating very little food and even now it was no exception. The brunette smoked a cigarette to completion, tossed it to the ground and stepped on it thoroughly extinguishing the burning butt under her boot. Rue was freezing, her skin was most likely cold to the touch but she didn't dare go inside yet. It was quiet and peaceful outside, despite her usual need to observe others.

After an hour outside she decided that she was frozen enough that it was probably best for her to head back inside. Rue was surprised that the owner of the jacket she wore wasn't looking for it yet. Walking inside a man stride toward her, called her a psycho and snatched the coat from her back giving her a shove. "How would it have looked if I had frozen to death? Not good right counselor?" Rue asked her voice entirely monotone but with a slight devious curl to her mouth. She hated the therapists, they thought they could 'fix' her, but she figured she was beyond fixing and she had survived this long anyway. It wasn't like anyone cared what happened to her anyway, it wasn't like her foster parents were waiting for her release from the asylum.

The man growled, raised his hand and swiftly slapped her across the face for her insolence. Rue simply stood there. A slap was nothing especially considering the man wasn't even strong. Her cheek would be red but there wouldn't be a bruise. The brunette was used to being at least bruised if no worse. The man, realizing what he had done looked around, lucky for him no one was in the immediate vicinity to see him hit a patient. He growled about how he was going to have to burn his coat to get rid of the 'crazy'. Idiot. Like being a patient here was contagious. It wasn't logical. Leaning against a column in the foyer she felt her cheek burn as she watched people filter through. Some were guests, others were staff and very little were new patients. She watched the way they walked, how they spoke, everything. Rue knew her skin was most likely cold to the touch, it took sheer will power not to shiver at the loss of a coat. Instead she went back to watching her surroundings, people were far more interesting when they didn't try to be her friend.

[/blockquote]

And I, cut off from the world, remain
Alone with the terrible hurricane.

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outfit

[JACK DOMINIC WALKER]

it wasn't unlike jack to be up early. he'd always been an early riser, and a late sleeper. kind of an odd combination, but then again, it probablly helped that he smoked a thousand and one times a day, ran when he was bored, and didn't turn down drugs all the time. if you took one look at jack, you would probablly think he was totally normal, just your average 'i don't give a fuuuck' bachelor. oh, but then you'd realize he was in an insane asylum, right. jack had a little trouble with a problem he liked to call 'rage'. there was nice, sweet, protective jack, and then there was violent, terrifying, psychotic-protective jack. and at the present, jack was feeling a little...stressed. he'd run out of smokes and hadn't been able to bum any last night to get him through the morning. naturally, he figured someone wuld have to be smoking in the quad. it was as natural a place as any to smoke.

in a pair of worn-out jeans, and yes, naturally worn out jeans. he definitely wasn't one for the uh, trendy hollister and abercrombie crap. he preffered vintage. so, in his jeans and blue flannel, that dangerously matched his eyes, jack headed for the quad, leather jacket slung over his shoulder like a real pro, sun glasses on and ready to go. sure, he was a little cocky, and looked a little like he'd walked off the cover of a magazine, but that was just jack for you. and if you couldn't handle his mild spurts of cockiness, then the whole rage factor would for sure put him out of the question. jack was used to that though, having people afraid of him was as natural as white on rice--or light during the day. dark as night...you get the jist.

just as jack walked into the foyer to make his way outside, his eyes fell on rue, an acquaintence he'd made a decent amount of time ago. he'd like to consider them friends, but rue on the other hand, was so distant and hurt that he wasn't sure how close she'd let him get. he was cautious around her, as cautious as he could be. he opened his mouth to call out her name, maybe she'd let him bum a stoge and they could chat outside a little bit, she looked really cold actually, he wouldn't mind giving her his jacket--because apparently some asshole was taking away hers and slapping her, right across the face.

jack hadn't seen it coming, he'd had no fucking warning. but just like that--the drop of a fucking hat, he snapped. he stormed right over to rue and handed her his leather coat, "put this on." he gruffed angrily, maybe shoving it at her a little too roughly before he took off after the fucking prick who'd slapped her. if there was anything jack hated more, it was men who hit women. that was un-fucking-acceptable. "hey, asshole!" with rage, unbeknownst to the good side of jack, he spun the guy around and punched him square in the face. he went down like a ton of bricks, let me tell you. his nose had right off the bat, broken. "guys like you make me fucking sick." he spat, aiming a well-deserved kick at the mother fuckers ribs. "are you fucking kidding me? she's 1/16 your fucking size, and you slap her? what the hell kind of a man are you? god damn prick." he hissed, rearing back for another kick--when a hand on his arm stopped him.


ooc: sorry for the mild god-mod at the end, hope you dont mind her trying to stop him! but god, i absolutely adored your post!! i got to the part where the effer slapped her, and i was like "uh no he did not! jacks gonna go nuts."

[RUE ISOLDE HART]

I seek ye vainly, and see in your place
The shadowy tempest, that sweeps through space

There were few times in her life where she was genuinely surprised, this was one of them. Considering she had been alone for awhile now and no one had been in the foyer previously she assumed Jack just had impeccable timing. Just when Rue had gotten into her routine of observing those around her, the sting on her cheek was very slowly fading a jacket was shoved at her and she was commanded to put it on. The brunette knew that voice, and certainly knew where this was headed. That damn counselor was going to get the shit beaten out of him, and just that thought made her mouth curl in satisfaction. It was a small victory and she knew she should keep her emotions pushed down, but Rue couldn't let go of her satisfaction quite yet. She watched the man crumple to the ground as soon as Jack had hit him square in the face, his nose would be broken by the amount of blood that had come gushing out of the front of his face. The man was yelling and whimpering, if Jack wasn't careful enough he would be put into solitary.

Just that thought made something tweak inside of her. For the most part she felt people deserved what they got, they made their decisions and they had to live with them. But something about the idea of Jack being confined in a small space made her feel vaguely uncomfortable. She felt like someone was poking her constantly, prodding her enough to make her squirm in her skin. Annoyed at herself she strode toward the two men placing a hand on Jack's arm. Rue knew she couldn't forcibly pull Jack off the man, but she could use logic against him. "Enough. It was his jacket to begin with, apparently I didn't follow proper etiquette." She said in her usual emotionless voice. The only thing that betrayed this small emotion that had begun to develop was her hand that was placed gently on his arm. Her stance was neutral, after all it did not affect her if Jack was put into solitary. It did not affect her if the counselor bled to death.

People were beginning to gather and once Jack was distracted by her enough the man scrambled up from his vulnerable position on the ground and had gone limping away. He seemed to ooze fear as he headed for the door and run outside without a backward glance. The man was most likely only used to desk work and had hardly interacted with many patients. He probably wouldn't forget this encounter for the rest of his life. Once the door had closed behind the man people around them slowly started to wander away, some whispered to each other while others hurried to get tasks done. Watching them she realized her hand still rested on Jack's arm. Now that she was not stopping him there was no need to continue the physical contact. Rue had merely forgotten. Right, forgotten.

Sliding it off she pulled her pack of cigarettes from her bra, tapped the pack against her palm and extracted one and handed it to Jack. That was most likely the reason he had approached her. After all he had come from outside and he smoke just about as often as she did. It was logical that he had been searching for someone to bum a cig off of and had stumbled across her. Extracting one for herself she headed toward the door beginning to light her own cigarette then tossing the lighter to Jack without a backwards glance in his direction. The odd feeling that has bubbled up before was slowly ebbing away and she was grateful for it. Rue tossed his jacket back to him as she stepped foot outside. Jack had most likely given her the jacket as a trade for a cigarette and now that she had given him a cigarette willingly there was no need for him to surrender his jacket to her.

Crossing her arms over her chest she willed herself not to shiver as she stood outside, leaning to one side as her hip stuck out. Rue was thin and it made it that much more apparent when she accentuated her long legs and overall graceful frame. She had long limbs that supposedly made other girls jealous, she had never quite understood why. Rue's eyes flickered from person to person as she watched people walk by. Some were with other people, others mumbled to themselves and some seemed to be striding with a destination in sight. Some people were fascinated, but most of the population was rather dull to Rue, predictable. The brunette had seen the asylum as an odd sort of blessing, people in here were interesting, their minds were different and thought differently. Rue found many of her fellow patients intriguing, hence the reason she spent most of her time alone and watching others in utter silence.

[/blockquote]

And I, cut off from the world, remain
Alone with the terrible hurricane.

ooc: Glad you liked it! I figured I'd leave it up to you if he saw it or not. Sorry for the slight god mod about him being distracted, I figured he would be surprised enough that she touched him.

outfit

[JACK DOMINIC WALKER]

jack was only just getting started when rue put her hand on his arm gently and spoke with almost no emotion. he was shocked to say the least, that she'd branched out so much to put a hand on his arm--to try and stop him none the less. he had hald a mind to ignore her, but when he turned back to find the sorry sap again, he'd run off. "fucking coward." jack spat after him, shaking his head furiously, almost flagrantly so. he needed to calm down, the last thing jack wanted was to scare rue away. he liked the girl, as much as an acquaintance could like another. she was...very intruiging, and very real. after a few moments of tense silence in which jack used to his advantage to calm himself down, he shook his head.

"jesus, i think you saved my ass from solitary confinement." he said brusquely, laughing at the end of his statement. "are you alright?" jack questioned her, ducking his head to get a better look at the cheek that'd just been slapped, if they weren't in stanford, he might very well have reached out and put a hand on it--but he'd noticed long ago that the girls here didn't like unnecessary touching, some of them anyway. jack was better off leaving well enough alone. seeing the red hand print though, that made him angry. but what was done, was done. and there was no chance he'd find the fucking counselor in time to murder him without getting put in shock treatment or something. "i really, really hate men like that. can't even be considered men." he said under his breath, still fighting against his own angry demons. really, was jack any better? beating people senseless just because they pissed him off, that didn't sound all too different then a man hitting a women. but to jack, it was. it was a lot different.

jack watched her curiously as she removed her slender hand from his arm, he couldn't help but notice how painfully thin she was, and how tiny her clothing was. he followed her outside without a word and took the cigarette from her gratefully. "thanks, rue, i owe you one--and don't let me forget it." he grinned, tapping his forehead appreciatively. it'd be nice if their cigarette sharing became a regular thing. jack certainly wouldn't mind that at all. she was as good company as any. he caught her lighter out of the air effortlessly, admiring it's quality in his hand for a moment before he lit up his own cigarette. "they should open up a store or something, where we can fucking buy cigarettes. we all smoke them anyway." he suggested thoughtfully, taking a long pull.

when she tried to hand him back his jacket, he shook his head, "keep it, please, you look freezing." jack told her with a smile. jack was a decent guy, when he wasn't in one of his moods. he didn't expect anything at all like sex or sexual favors in return for good deeds. in fact, since he'd been here he hadn't slept with a single woman. he didn't feel the need to take advantage of them in such a vulnerable state. if there was one thing jack appreciated, it was respect. and unlike his father, jack had promised himself to give women that same equality. sure, maybe he sounded like a faggot, but jack knew his rights from wrongs, on occasion.

jack followed rue's eyes as they took in the scene outside. he poised his cigaretted between his lips and put his hands in his pockets before he attempted to speak out of the corner of his mouth, funny he looked a bit like popeye, "have you ever watched someone and in your head made up you know, 'their story'?" jack wondered curiously, noticing her gaze flickering from person to person. with accumulating interest, if he was correct. apparently, jack and rue could pleasantly agree that the people here were...interesting. very much so actually. they all had such extreme problems that varied so widely from one to the other that it was...refreshing. it was definitely refreshing to know there were people that weren't carbon copies of the people on tv or in books and magainzes.

here, each was their own.

[RUE ISOLDE HART]

I seek ye vainly, and see in your place
The shadowy tempest, that sweeps through space

They were walking and he felt the need to thank her. Everyone did things with selfish intentions, wasn't that right? Hadn't she simply stopped him for her own benefit? What did she have to gain from him not beating a counselor to death? Why did he even feel the need to defend her? These concepts were foreign to Rue. Everyone did everything in their own self interest, that was the end, the truth. In the end everyone only cared about their own well being. Yet why had Jack, a man she would call and acquaintance at best attack a counselor? Because he had slapped her? But the man had done nothing to Jack himself. She was confused, at both her reaction to the incident and his. She had stopped him and she could not ascertain why she had felt that small emotion to do something.

As they walked he asked about her well being. Why? Rue didn't understand the concern. "I am perfectly fine, you may ascertain for yourself if you're not satisfied." Rue said looking up at him. Personal boundaries were never her problem, she had been broken of that social concept long ago. And then he mentioned that he owed her one, some of the English sayings were lost on her European mind. "One what? Cigarette?" Why did he owe her anything? There was no contract between them. As far as she knew the give and take had been done, finished. She had given him a cig and that was the end of it. And then as they had walked outside into the winter air he told her to keep the jacket in her hand, apparently she looked cold.

Was she turning blue? Rue figured she held her shivers in very well. Why was he giving her the jacket to begin with? There was no need for an exchange anymore. Looking at him she handed him the jacket again. "Why? Me wearing your jacket does not benefit you in anyway." Rue looked him up and down. In fact it most likely hurt him because he did not have a jacket of his own to wear. Was he not cold himself? If he had a high body temperature then why did he wear a jacket in the first place? The European did not understand his logic in the slightest. Her confusion was slightly present on her face, as her brow furrowed ever so slightly that it was barely noticeable to the naked eye. Jack made her question everything she was entirely certain about in the world.

God, she hoped she would not suddenly get the urge to spill her deepest darkest secrets. Not that Rue believed she would get that personal with anyone. Perhaps he wanted a sexual favor from her instead? At the moment she thought the only thing that was worth was most likely a steamy kiss. She looked at him for a moment before pulling on the jacket stepping forward and planting an intense kiss on his lips, running a hand through his hair in the process. Rue pulled away and continued to smoke her cigarette, the smoke she exhaled wrapped itself around her like a snake. "Even right? Unless you want more." She said glancing at him out of the corner of her eye.

Thats when he made a comment about the people who passed by, the people Rue had been watching with her eyes. She was oddly surprised that he was thinking along the same lines she was. Rue didn't necessarily have the imagination of thinking their entire story, but she did attempt to categorize people into their respective diseases. "Yes, I suppose you could say that. That one is most likely a crazy." She said watching the way a young girl walked, she was pale and looked like she hadn't slept in years. She was introverted and slightly curled around herself as if she was protecting something precious. Pursing her lips she took another drag of her cigarette, putting her free hand back into her the jacket pocket.

"What do you see?" Rue asked slightly curious. After all she could never actually be in someone's head but she liked to know the people who she considered tolerable. People who surprised her or made her feel anything she was always wary of them. The European brunette preferred predictable to unpredictable. After all if you could see something coming there was no need to get a rise out of her. Emotions were weak and Rue could and would not be weak in any sense of the world. She wasn't physically strong but she could potentially compensate for that with intelligence and observance of human behavior.

[/blockquote]

And I, cut off from the world, remain
Alone with the terrible hurricane.

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outfit

[ooc: gahh sorry for the shortness, hope it's enough to work with]