8/15 Instance: Intervacation

[puppygirl]

Timeline - A few days before the game 'Remedial Ethics'

Jay chewed the inside of his lip as he walked a little behind Selene, looking down at the GPS in his hand as he programmed in the address. "Y' know, he's probably gonna kill us f' dis." He pointed out. "Possibly somethin' involvin' pointy sticks, Ah'm thinkin'."

"I don't think you'll have to worry that much, Jay," Selene replied, turning her head to look back over her shoulder. "He won't dare to object too much. The natural sense of dread that a boy feels towards his mother works in our favour. He'll have to face her anger if he tries to weasel his way out of this."

"True. An' she already knows dat we're bringin' him. He cain't escape." Jay shook the GPS and tried again. "Mesi, y' pieca shit, Ah told y'all it existed. Ah'm tellin' him dere's a weight limit, so he cain't take any fuckin' books wit' him. No studyin'. At all."

"Let's just hope his mother's town doesn't have a public library then," Selene said, stopping in front of the door to Darren's room. "Otherwise we might be forced to chain him to the house." She took a breath and gently knocked on the door.

"Ah don' think we'll need t' worry." Jay said in a low voice. "Goes back to d' dread of d' mother thing. Why knock? My room too." He grinned at Sel and pushed open the door. "'Ey, Gede, y'all okay?"

Darren waved a hand over his back at the door, "Fuck off Jay, i'm working," he said without turning around as he bent over his book of logrithams ... since when did Jay knock on their door?

"Hey, love," Selene said, stepping into the room after Jay. "Careful, if you tell me to fuck off, too, we could misunderstand it as an invitation to do something you might find questionable."

"Dat's nice. Ah bring y'all good things an' Ah get told t' fuck off." Jay smirked, knowing better then to take it personally - even though being around Darren recently was like walking on eggshells, testing even his patience sometimes. "Fine, Ah'm takin' d' coffee machine out an' ain't buyin' your cigs no more." He shoved the GPS into a pocket and folded his arms.

"What?" Darren spun around in his wheely chair, "Oh ... heya Sel," he mumbled, that at least explained the knocking, "whaddya want then Jay?" he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose underneath his glasses.

He didn't really believe the threat about the cigs and coffee ... after all, it was Jay's room too.

Selene crossed the room and sat down on the edge of Darren's bed, crossing her ankles. "Oh, I'm sure you'll find our news to be very exciting." For better or worse, she added in her mind.

Jay shot Selene a look. Great, he was going to have to tell the short-tempered guy that he was basically being kidnapped. He went through a list of approaches, before deciding honesty was the best course. "Oui. Y've got about half an hour t' pack, Gede." He ran a hand through his hair. "We're kidnappin' y'all."

He paused for a moment. "An' no fuckin' books, except t' read."

"... Kidnapping?" Darren raised a tired eyebrow at them, while he'd taken Lorna advice and started taking some medication, his sleeping still wasn't amazingly good, and with the sheer amount of work he was having to do to try and maintain his average ... "I ... I don't really have the time to go out guys, Lenny gave me some make-up work to try and bring my grade back up ..."

He might have lost his god-like status, but he sure as hell wasn't going to stop being a genius ... he had to be naturally smart right? He couldn't have lost everything now?

"I don't remember that we mentioned anything about you having a choice in the matter," Selene said, leaning back. "You probably won't believe us when we say it's only for your best, but we're pretty sure that you could benefit from our little plan."

"Oui." Jay nodded to the pile of books littering Darren's desk and the paper on his bedside table. "Dis ain't good for y'all, Gede. And besides, 'kidnapping' means y're goin', whether you like it or not." He folded his arms. "Think of it as intervention. Y' need a break, 'fore you go insane." And Ah need one too. He added silently.

Darren just looked between them, "....No."

"Believe me, Darren, I have profound experience with things like going insane and related topics, and I know it when I see someone on the way to a serious case of critical sanity fail," Selene remarked. "Aside from that, I'm starting to get irritated by you foul mood, so you might consider coming along simply to prevent me from giving you a telekinetic wedgie."

"An' she ain't d' only one." Jay raised an eyebrow. "Dere is some choice in dis, Darren. Y'all can either be awake when we take off, or asleep. Which would y' rather be? Ah'll give y' a hint - one involves keepin' dat nose of yours in its present shape." He wasn't in the mood to argue with Darren any more. He hadn't slept properly since everything because of him, he'd put up with the tantrums and now his grades were suffering.

Darren huffed and turned back to his books like a sulky kid, "You guys wouldn't," he muttered, trying to concentrate.

"I've got those sleeping pills now, so I'm starting to sleep again, I don't need a vacation, and I haven't got time either ... I'm starting to track Kevin down now as well in my spare time ..."

Jay eyetwitched at Darren's back, just about managing to reign in his temper enough that he didn't smack the guy's head off his precious homework. On the other hand, he did scruff the guy, pulling him bodily out of his chair and off his feet, pulling his face close to his own. "Your mother is expectin' us in four hour's time." He growled, eyes narrowed. "You're gonna get off y'all's self-pityin' ass and pack, Darren."

"Because Ah swear t' god, if y'all don't, Ah'm gonna let Sel here take care of dat emo-stick up your ass while Ah pack for you, an' Ah know a nice pair of sequinned trousers dat'll really bring out y're eyes. Do y' understand me, ami? Because if you ain't got a bag out within three seconds of me puttin' you down, Ah ain't gonna be held responsible for what happens next."

Selene watched the two guys with obvious curiosity, before she raised a finger. "I don't think there's any need for threats," she interjected. "Except maybe for one - think about how upset your mother will be if you refuse to take her up on her invitation."

"My mom!?" Darren yelped as he struggled in Jay's grip, "You got my mom in on this!?" He twisted slightly, "Ow! That's hurting, this is cruel and unusual torture!" he whined.

"Indeed, your mom," Selene remarked and gave a firm nod.

Jay dropped Darren unceremoniously onto the floor. "Get packed, Darren." He folded his arms, a muffled 'At the next junction, turn left' coming from his pocket. "Y' mama's worried."

Darren's eyes strayed down to Jay's talking pocket, "B-but ... what about all my classes and stuff, and Kevin?"

"Given the circumstances, I doubt anyone will mind if you took a break from classes," Selene said. "After all, this Kevin kid twisted people's DNA like a kitten toying with a ball of yarn. If that's no traumatic event warranting some downtime, I don't know what else has to happen before they send you off to a vacation."

Jay pulled out the GPS and turned it off. "Oui. So y're takin' one." He looked at Darren and sighed. "Y' need it, man. You ain't d' only one dis has happened to, and if y'all keep workin' yourself like dis you ain't gonna be in any shape to do anythin' even if we found him."

Darren rubbed his hand over the back of his neck, he really didn't want to go but ... fuck, if his mom was expecting him, "... How long for?"

"As long as necessary," Selene replied, getting back on her feet. "At least for the weekend, but give it a chance. Perhaps you decide that a change of scenery and company is good for you and you'll want to stay longer."

"Ain' nothin' wrong wit' takin' a break, Gede." Jay nodded. "An' lets face it, you know y' want it, hmm? Don' worry 'bout your classes, ain' nothin' normal goin' on for now anyway, right?"

He ... he could do the weekend right ... well, not like he had a choice is his mama was involved ... she'd fly up to the school and beat him with a broom handle if he didn't arive ... thought it didn't mean he had to be happy about it, "... Alright, fine," he said a little huffily.

Selene smirked. "See? That wasn't too hard, was it? And I still believe there's a good chance you won't regret this decision." She slightly cocked her head. "If you like, I could stay with you for a while. Your mothers seems to be fine with it, provided we'll be well-behaved. But I'm willing to make that sacrifice for you."

Jay smiled at Selene. Score. "Oui. If not, can always fly back. Knew y'd see sense. Get your ass packed, Gede - an' dere's a weight limit. So no school books. Don' make me go through your bags t' check it, y'all - vacation means exactly dat. No work."

"What about the laptop Xaiver gave me?" Darren asked hopefully.

"Actually we planned on leaving it back here along with all the rest of your textbooks," Selene said, slowly tapping a finger against her cheek as she gave Darren a thoughtful look. "But I believe we could be persuaded to take it along and let you use it for an hour a day, if you will be social during the rest of the day and your mother allows it."

She turned to Jay. "What do you think? We could use it as a reward for non-emo behaviour."

Jay grinned at Selene. "Ah like dat idea. Maybe he can even have a cookie with it if he smiles."

Darren glowered at them at that, before going and grabbing the backpack Jay had got him on the day that he'd lost his powers, "Fine, it's a deal," he grumbled, grabbing his few clothes and tossing them in.

"Excellent," Selene said, shooting Jay a triumphant grin behind Darren's back. "Shall I help you pack some things?"

Jay grinned back. "Ah'm gonna go fix food for d' journey. Don' be too long, you two, an' watch what he packs, Sel." He turned to head for the door, pausing. "Ah swear, though, y'all take longer'n twenty minutes an' Ah'm comin' up here wit'a bucket of ice, oui?"

Darren flushed hard at that, tossing his copy of 'War of the Worlds' into his bag and muttering something unintelligble.

"Oh, no need to worry, Jay," Selene said, putting on a smirk. "We'll hurry up. With packing, that is."

"You better." Jay winked at them both before ducking out of the room. He felt a little guilty about bullying Darren into this but seriously, the guy needed a break - and so did he.