Current timeline
<Jessica> Jess sat in the bar of whatever hotel it was she'd wandered into this evening. She was just on the right side of tipsy because she was abusing the patches again and had made a friend... or two. She'd forgotten as they'd gone to order drinks and she wasn't really paying attention - more focused on scanning the room. She should stop that. Paranoid. She sighed and sat back in her seat.
<Shaw> Considering how things had gone for him of late, paranoia was Sebastian's friend of the day. It had almost made him stop in his tracks and go back to his room when he noticed the tall, attractive brunette at the bar.
<Shaw> But, his room was far too quiet and he couldn't sleep, so he carried on, making a casual turn away from her to take a seat in a corner booth. He knew the dark glasses made him stand out, but less so in this hotel, where discretion was the order of the day.
<Jessica> She sat up straighter once her new friends had returned with drinks, her eyes skimming the bottom of her glass. Paranoid. She shook herself and offered them a smile.
<Shaw> He ordered a scotch and slid far back into the booth, watching Jessica. If this was a normal night, he would have sent those two oafs packing and claimed her already. It was far from a normal night, unfortunately.
<Jessica> Jess decided she was going to need to be more drunk to deal with these two. On closer inspection, they were idiots. Rich idiots, but idiots all the same.
<Shaw> His drink came and he sipped it slowly, finding himself rubbing his healing wrists. The bruises on his face had faded, and he wore a thin, black turtleneck to hide his neck.
<Jessica> Jess laughed at a really bad joke and finished off her first glass. The guys seemed pleased she was drinking fast and one of them hopped up to get her another drink right away while the other slid closer along the booth seat and attempted to subtly place his hand on her leg.
<Shaw> Sebastian rolled his eyes and slid lower into the booth to stretch out his legs. He sighed.
<Jessica> Jess wasn't going to go that easily, she shifted to cross her legs and raised an eyebrow at him.
<Shaw> Jessica was not a cannibal, he rationalized, debating going over there. Of course she wasn't, but he was dead, and he wished to remain so for at least a while longer.
<Jessica> She glanced over at the bar, what was taking so long? There wasn't a queue... She eyed her other date, what was he doing? She realised then how vulnerable she was without her powers, even if getting drunk was nice. She couldn't hear what he was saying to the bar staff or doing while he was over there. And Touchy McGrabbyhands wasn't getting any less personal.
<Shaw> Drumming his fingers on the table, he watched all this, noticing Jessica was getting more uncomfortable. She wasn't a cannibal, but what if they were? It was this thought that got him out of his hiding place before it finished.
<Jessica> She glanced up at the movement from the corner after swatting the hand away again and cocked her head on one side. Something about that man was oddly familiar...
<Shaw> He'd already been noticed, so he smirked.
<Jessica> Her eyes went wide and she moved to get up, excusing herself. Either she was more drunk than she thought or that really was Sebastian Shaw. But... he was eaten.
<Shaw> "Ah, there you are, my dear." Going straight to her, he slid a possessive arm around her and gave the man she'd been sitting with a dismissive glance. Quickly, he tried to steer her from the bar.
<Jessica> Oh hey, well that was easy. She gave him a smile and slipped her arm around his waist, "You have the best timing."
<Shaw> "Generally, yes." She was the first person he'd seen that he really knew, so he allowed himself to tighten his arm in a squeeze.
<Jessica> "I thought I was going to have to stab him with a cocktail stick." She glanced around, checking they were out of sight and earshot of others before turning to face him, narrowing her eyes a little. "Okay. Who are you?"
<Shaw> Sebastian smiled. The slight beard did about as much to disguise his features as the dark glasses, but he just wanted to pass at a glance. "Who do you think, Jessica?"
<Jessica> "They found your head on our lawn. They told me." And that had been the start of a very bad week. "So... either someone fucked up or...." she gestured vaguely at him, "You're an hallucination?"
<Shaw> "A hallucination?" He smirked and slid one hand to the back of her head. Leaning in, he kissed her.
<Jessica> Probably not then... she returned the kiss, studying his face when they broke apart. "What happened?"
<Shaw> "Come to my room and I'll tell you?" He smirked, tilting his head and conducting his own study.
<Jessica> She nodded, "Okay..." she offered a smile in return, "But you better actually tell me... I may have been drinking but I can still remember that I want to know."
<Shaw> "Are you drunk?" Sebastian led her to the elevator, glancing around and making sure they were unobserved. Everything seemed fine.
<Jessica> She thought about that, "No... not really...." she frowned, that was slightly disappointing. "I was working on it..."
<Shaw> "I presume you're making use of one of those ingenious little patches." He stayed close to her on the elevator, wearing a smirk. "Well, we can continue to work on that if you'd like."
<Jessica> "Yes, I am... and that would be awesome." She smiled, linking arms with him. "Assuming this is really happening and it's not some kind of freaky dream..."
<Shaw> "I'm flattered, Jessica, that you think enough of me to allow me to star in your hallucinations." He smirked, watching her face.
<Jessica> She wrinkled her nose a little, "Still too soon for that to be funny." She shook her head, "Oooor I'm not drunk enough. One of them is easier to fix than the other."
<Shaw> Of course, he'd taken the penthouse, so a swipe of his keycard brought the elevator to the top floor and the doors slid open to a breathtaking view of the city.
<Jessica> Jess took in the view, turning her head to look at him again, "Well you really know how to spoil yourself."
<Shaw> "I feel I deserve it. It's been a rather trying week, after all." He flashed her a smile and took back her arm to lead her inside and to the sofa in the sitting room.
<Jessica> "Yeah... about that..." she sat down and crossed her legs, "What happened?"
<Shaw> "The man who died in my stead? He was a metamorph... a shapeshifter of some sort." Sebastian pulled off his concealing shirt so she could see the damage. "I don't even know his name... it's something I intend to discover."
<Jessica> "Not that I'm pleased some other poor guy died... but I'm glad it wasn't you..." She reached to gently touch some of the marks on his skin, "I guess you found out too much..."
<Shaw> "Oh yes, far too much." He took her hand for a moment, then let go and went to the bar to make them drinks.
<Jessica> "So telling you to be careful was a waste of time?" She leaned back into the plush sofa and watched him cross to the bar. "Didn't work on Cassie either..." she shifted her gaze to the ceiling.
<Shaw> "No, I was... well, I wasn't careful enough, I suppose." He mixed the drinks - making them strong - and returned to her. "Yes... I heard." Sebastian looked away, eyes on the skyline but not seeing. "She was with me when I was taken."
<Jessica> "Yeah... she said..." she sat up, taking her drink. "It's not been a great time..."
<Shaw> "To Cassandra then, and all those of our kind we've lost." One corner of his mouth quirked and he held out his drink in a somber toast.
<Jessica> She raised her glass to his, nodding along with the toast before taking a sip. "How did you escape?"
<Shaw> "Quire." He downed half the drink, making a face at both the name and the burn.
<Jessica> Jess blinked, "Okay... you're going to have to elaborate because I'm either too drunk or that's too ridiculous for me to make sense of right now."
<Shaw> "It's quite ironic, actually," he said, relaxing back into the sofa and staring into his drink. "Quire ambushed me at the club, but he believed me dead, so he was quite surprised when i caved in his skull with a fuse box cover."
<Jessica> "....you hit that smug little shit right in his stupid pink haired head?" She stared at him for a long moment. "I think I love you."
<Shaw> "I did," he laughed, taking another drink, though he choked a little at her second statement.
<Jessica> She giggled, "I'm just sad I didn't get to see... or help..."
<Shaw> He sobered a little, staring into his drink. "It's... I wouldn't wish that on anyone."
<Jessica> "You didn't see what he did. I'm sure he deserved everything he got."
<Shaw> "I meant to be in that place. It was horrible." Sebastian fixed her with a stare. "In fact, it's not safe - what you were doing. Those men likely were bored businessmen out for a good time, but what if they had been something more? You are without your abilities and alone."
<Jessica> She sighed, looking down at her drink. "I know... I just can't be there anymore... and I don't have anywhere else to go so... working on just forgetting it for a while... which works a lot better when there's alcohol involved..."
<Shaw> He snorted and finished his drink.
<Jessica> "What? If you have any better ideas, I'm open to suggestions."
<Shaw> "You are here, and I am certainly here," he said, giving her a lazy smile.
<Jessica> "Well I was working on that downstairs but you crashed that party," she prodded him with her foot. "Not that I'm complaining... you're much better company.... and, you know... not a zombie..."
<Shaw> "I am most certainly not a zombie." Sebastian moved closer and slid his arm around her.
<Jessica> She smiled, leaning into him a little, "Good. I like my brains where they are, thanks."
<Shaw> He turned his head and nuzzled her ear. "As happy as I am to see you, Jessica, I do need to ask something of you."
<Jessica> She tilted her head a little to expose her neck to him, enjoying the feel of his breath on her skin. "Ask away."
<Shaw> "You haven't seen me," he breathed, kissing under her ear.
<Jessica> "I had a feeling it'd be something like that," she closed her eyes, "Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me... I'm fairly sure it'd raise far too many uncomfortable questions if I told anyone I'd seen you anyway."
<Shaw> "I can imagine. Who was it... who found my head?" Putting both arms around her, he urged her partially into his lap, finding the contact as relaxing as the alcohol in his system.
<Jessica> She obligingly moved into his lap, sighing a little. She really wanted to be off this topic but she thought back to what she'd been told and heard later on. "Cecilia... and Angel..."
<Shaw> "That's... unfortunate." He would have to at least contact Angelina, sooner rather than later. Letting out his own sigh, he studied her face and considered sharing more.
<Jessica> Jess nodded, "I was starting to wonder if I was cursed.... but if you're not dead then maybe there's hope for the rest...."
<Shaw> He tilted his head. "Perhaps." Cursed?
<Jessica> "I like to think so..." She offered him a small smile.
<Shaw> "Well, let's hope then," Sebastian said, returning the smile. He considered a moment longer, then went on. "I have taken another, more cautious, avenue to assist in stopping all this, and it should soon pay off."
<Shaw> "I know at least two other students are missing from Xavier's... I would of course like for them to be found as quickly as possible."
<Jessica> "We all would..." She cast her eyes around the room while she tried not to think about what could be happening to them. "More cautious than letting everyone think you're dead?"
<Shaw> "Oh, definitely more cautious." He gave her another toothy grin and leant back in to kiss and mouth her neck.
<Jessica> She gasped a little, having not expected that and closed her eyes again, leaning back against him. "Well good, always better to be safe than sorry."
<Shaw> Sebastian let his hands roam, exploring her through the silky material of her dress. "I don't wish to end up searching for you as well, so feel free, if you need company, to pay me a visit." He nipped at the side of her throat. "Any time."
<Jessica> "Are you going to stay here?" She wasn't going to go wandering all over the city for him that was for sure.
<Shaw> "I am, at least for a while longer." He gripped her hips and pulled her against him.
<Jessica> She smiled turning her head to catch his lips, "Then I think I might just take you up on that offer."
<Shaw> "One can only stay dead for so long, after all," he mumbled against her mouth with a smile.
<Jessica> She laughed softly, "Mmhmm, if I were your shareholders I'd be pretty pissed..."
<Shaw> "Oh, they'll be rewarded for their patience." He found the zipper of her dress and started to slowly slide it down, his mouth following the path of skin revealed on her back. "I always reward loyalty."
<Jessica> "Oooh that does sound promising," she turned her head slightly to watch him out of the corner of her eye before she leaned forwards slightly. Now if they could just stay off that uncomfortable topic long enough for her to enjoy it.
<Shaw> "Of course." Sebastian unhooked her bra with one hand and smirked. "But enough talk of business and such unpleasant things..."