Whispers

[Olivia Skye]

It looked like summer.
The small heels of Olivia's shoes tapped softly on the shining stone path leading into the gardens. It had been raining for most of the morning - so much for 'summer', then - but about ten minutes ago, the downpour had ceased, and the clouds were starting to disappear. In a short time, the sky would be cyan again, the clouds only white whispers of cotton wool.
And thank God for it. It had been raining steadily for most of the week, ranging from mere drizzle to the monsoon that had arrived on Wednesday, trapping most people inside when the season said that they should be outside enjoying the sun, who seemed to be a little shy these days.
Still, it had thrown aside the stage curtains now, anyway. The puddles were starting to disappear already, which probably had something to do with the abnormally high temperature.
Not that anyone minded the temperature. It gave everyone a chance to dress in something more cheerful, instead of the heavy clothes of winter. Example: because the weather was just so nice, Olivia was wearing nice clothes - her dark skinny jeans, black kitten heels, and a pale, lacy earthy green top with straps instead of sleeves - and how good it felt to have her arms out of winter coats.
She found the bench, and sat down on it, crossing a leg over the other, ready to wait. She and Jack had decided that if the weather was nice, they'd meet here; if not, they'd just have to try and find somewhere inside, as they had most other days this week. Another downside of rain was that when the weather was bad, everybody stayed inside.
She and Jack... well, they'd lasted longer than most people had expected, as Madeleine had told her with raised eyebrows and an impressed tone. It had been a few months... a lovely few months, but that wasn't to say that they hadn't had their arguments. She and Jack weren't really made to not argue. But they weren't damaging arguments, just... spats, was probably the word -
She could hear footsteps approaching the bench, and smiled to herself as she judged the weight and speed of them guessing correctly who it was.

[Jack Trove]

ooc: I swear it's not god-moding if he's dreaming!

The oddest thing had happened to him today.
He'd woken up with a smile on his face: a smile... at a memory, rather than a reality. Last night... Sophie had been in his dreams.
Not like that, you dirty bugger.
They'd just been... they hadn't even been talking. It was like they were back in the Knight Pub again, back in April, but the Pub was... different. For one thing, it was devoid of Mal, someone Jack had done his best to put out of his mind since. For another, it was clean, bright and fresh; with not a single drunkard sat around leering at Sophie from awful angles.
They were completely alone; a table apart, and she was just... playing with her hair and watching him with that smile on her face. And every so often; her lips would move, and he could hear a soft French whisper.
At first, he was content to just sit... and watch her. Just sit and watch. But soon, his curiosity began to bother him; and before he'd really made a decision, he was on his feet and moving slowly across the pub towards her.
She kept mouthing the words- but all he could hear was whispers.
Just whispers.
"What is it?" he asked her; his voice echoing oddly around the empty pub.
She smiled, but did not reply.
Jack's mouth smiled back automatically, without him having to think about it. He crouched beside where she sat, and asked her, "Sophie, what is it? What are you saying?"
But she'd merely shook her head, pressing one long finger against his lips, and then, leaning forward, had kissed his cheek-
"C'est un secret."
And that was it. He'd woke up.
As far as Jack could tell, the dream hadn't been provoked by anything. Ever since he'd gotten back together with Olivia... he hadn't... really... spoken to her. He'd seen her- she was hard to miss- but even then, he hadn't seen her for a long while.
It hadn't really occurred to him before, but the tug of his heart as he brushed his teeth that morning had reminded him of something: he missed her.
It felt surreal now, as he walked with a spring in his step he couldn't quite decide to attribute to Sophie or Olivia, that the dream had happened at all. Even at a distance, the fiery curls of Olivia's hair stood out against the forest greenery. And Jack began to feel all the familiar symptoms of infatuation:
His heart quickened.
His stomach lurched.
His eyes brightened.
His smile widened.
And his speed towards her increased dramatically.
Jack arrived by her side and sat down; breathless, as usual.
"Hey," he said, by manner of greeting, before his hands curled around her waist and he pressed his lips against hers.

[Olivia Skye]

She moved her lips back against his as Jack's hands slipped around her waist.
It had been a good few months, but the thing was... back in February, when Jack had told her that he loved her... well, she'd said it back, of course, but she still wasn't... wasn't sure...
It was something more than like... or even like like... but when Olivia had said that she "L-worded" him, it had felt like less of a - no, not a lie, more of an ... exaggeration, shall we say, than saying that she loved him.
And even though they hadn't said it since - after all, neither of them were the type to constantly repeat it - guilt was still playing on Olivia's mind somewhat. Okay, well, maybe not guilt, but that little ... nagging feeling was definitely there, because Olivia just... wasn't sure. She didn't know. She didn't know what 'love' felt like, but she imagined it to be ... different from what this was, but she wasn't sure just how it was different. It felt as though she'd talked herself into believing that she loved Jack, but after the first little while, the pretence that was going on inside her head had kind of... faded.
Still, it didn't mean that she didn't want to be with Jack. The opposite, actually - it made her, if anything, more determined to eventually be able to say it truthfully, because it had sounded at the time like he'd meant it. And of course, being with Jack felt as good as it had done right from the start.
She pulled back from him, smiling. "Hey to you too."
The sky was definitely brightening - the sun was becoming clearer, just like the day she'd met Reuben on, when he'd woken up from being knocked out.
That had been playing heavily on her mind, too. She hadn't seen him since, but something told her that they were going to meet again. Concussion-induced cheesy lines and confusion aside, he seemed like the type of person she'd want to meet again.
But going back to the present...
"How was your morning?"

[Jack Trove]

The pressure of her lips wasn't quite so definite as it usually was. Jack drew back from her without much regret, for once. Her mind was somewhere else- you could always tell when you were kissing someone.
Hey, but he could hardly complain.
Sophie's French purr still resonated in his ears.
"My morning wasn't half bad, you know," Jack said comfortably, lazily settling his arm around her shoulders. "Not much to report... well, except that Cole was bothering me about giving him a place on the team again."
He was a real killjoy, that guy. He hadn't stopped bothering Jack ever since, as some people had labeled it, the 'betrayal'. Kept stopping him in corridors, and sometimes, the conversations could get pretty nasty.
Most of all, Jack felt Cole was looking for redemption.
Trouble was, Jack's pride prevented him from offering any.

[Olivia Skye]

Olivia coloured slightly at that, her hand tucking her hair anxiously behind her ear.
"Have you found a replacement for him yet?"
She hadn't meant for it to got that far - God knew she hadn't! Kissing Cole was only ever... it was only ever meant to evoke some sort of emotion from Jack, to make him stop ignoring her... Well, it had worked, but she hadn't meant to hurt Cole - or Jack, not really. She'd thought that after the initial flash of anger he'd give Cole back his place on the team, but Jack's pride seemed to have taken a hit that he wouldn't forget.
But as much as Olivia wanted to fix things, Cole was still a sensitive topic. Even though they'd been broken up, Jack still became cold whenever Cole was brought up - or even if he was in the room. A few... arguments had erupted between the two, and it wasn't easy to listen to, especially since Olivia knew that it was her fault.
And that kid, Craig... well, he'd kind of gotten his dreams crushed in the process too, if Jack had kicked him off the team...
Yes, she'd learned her lesson, but the price was still being paid...

[Jack Trove]

"Yeah," Jack yawned, scratching his ear. "Yeah- I told Craig that he had a guaranteed place in two years time, but he just wasn't tall enough yet. He argued at first, but then he met Jason and- well, I guess he won't be arguing much anymore."
Jason was of average height, but built like a barrel. His skin was rough to the touch, and there were a few mysterious scars littered across his face- mysterious purely because nobody had dared ask him how he got him. He had broad-set, powerful shoulders and one hell of a tackle.
He was a Warrior, of course, a man after the Head's own heart.
But, like, in a non-Lee way.
"Jason being the replacement," Jack said in explanation.

[Olivia Skye]

Olivia nodded, still slightly pink. "Is he as... is he any good?"
Hopefully he'd be as good as, if not better than Cole. Not that that made it any better, but... ugh, God, she didn't know.
But at least Craig's heart hadn't been totally smushed. And who knew, maybe he'd turn out to be good at rugby?
It was just... it was Cole who was the problem. Of course, neither of them had spoken to the other since, and Olivia was pretty sure that this wasn't going to get fixed - or at the very least, not for a really long time.
Hey, at least there was something she was actually sure of today.
She recrossed her legs, stroking back her hair self-consciously again.

[Jack Trove]

It was so nice to see that this was still a sore spot for her. Jack sighed wearily, looking upwards.
"Yeah. He's great. Knock the stuffing out of you if he weren't so mellow."
The silence between them was beginning to get on his nerves. He was certain things used to flow better between them. These days, words stuck in his throat, and could never quite explain the 'whys' behind the feelings that kept his blood flowing.
Whys never had mattered much before.
"How was your morning?"

[Olivia Skye]

She relaxed slightly, her fingers finally ceasing playing with her hair now that the subject had moved away from Cole.
"It's been... pretty uneventful. I've been assigned another nightshift on Saturday night, though," she added, with a sigh. "I swear, the next time that happens, I'm just going to walk out of the ward. This is the fourth one in a row."
Four times... four nights wasted - and it wasn't only the nights, it was the days afterwards that it took to recover from working all night. There was supposed to be a fair rotation, but recently, Olivia had been finding herself assigned to more and more Saturday nights in rows...
"I'll probably end up having to bribe a second-year, or something."

[Jack Trove]

"Hmm, Will's not half the slave driver, is she?" Jack found himself asking her teasingly, a fond picture of their race forming in his mind.
It was funny, sometimes, to imagine her in a position of authority, knowing her and seeing her like he did.
Evidently, Olivia did not see her the same way.
"She's pretty dead-on, you know," Jack told Olivia conversationally, but he had the feeling she wouldn't quite accept it.

[Olivia Skye]

Olivia shrugged. "Oh no, I know. I have nothing against Will, not at all. It's Nurse Gornray's fault too, and then all the others who make up excuses to not work... they're all dirty liars," she added, with a light laugh. "And I'm not sure Nurse Gornray has forgiven me for those times you came into the hospital wing over Christmas..."
Those... ahem... illicit encounters seemed so long ago now, and Olivia ... well, if she was honest, really missed them on days like today, when things could be awkward and sometimes the words were hard to say.
She moved slightly closer to him. The strange thing was: even though things were so awkward, and sometimes it was hard to remember why she felt the way she did about Jack, Olivia's blood still rushed and her heart skipped a beat like a scratched record as her skin brushed against his.
Not that that was a bad thing - but she missed the days back when everything was effortless.
"She's probably not as bad as Madeleine, though," she smiled. "The stories I hear..."

[Jack Trove]

He smiled slightly, cocking his head to the side. "I reckon she likes me, you know. Okay, so she pulls that tough army chick thing, but deep down, you can tell, she definitely likes me."
He'd certainly hope that she liked him a little bit more than some of the other Warriors, who tended to mess around a bit more with weapons and junk. Madeleine had managed to improve the standards a hell of a lot, but that didn't stop them getting rowdy from time to time. It was all Jack could do for her, when her back was turned and they were acting up, to stand nearby, and crack his knuckles menacingly until they shut up.
It didn't take long either.
"You two are best friends," Jack observed, for what was most likely the umpteenth time. "I still think you should put in a good word for me... from time to time."

[Olivia Skye]

Olivia chuckled lightly. "Firstly, I'm a Carer, as unfortunate as that might be, and am therefore supposed to stay well out of Warrior business. Secondly, that's called cheating," she said, giving him a gentle nudge. "And thirdly, it's not like it would make any difference, you know you're practically second in command anyway."
It was true enough. Since Levi Ryder had left, Madeleine seemed to have put a lot (if not most) of her trust in Jack, although she hadn't officially named him a certain rank... not yet, anyway.
"I think if you give up teasing her about having dated her cousin, that might get you further. Co-Cheif, maybe?" she added, teasingly.

[Jack Trove]

Jack rolled his eyes, equally as playfully. "But Olivia, dear, how is that staying true to oneself? One of the things Madeleine values above all else is honesty- if I wasn't so, how would that help to promote me to a higher rank?"
Oho. Jack had to admit, he felt that was a rather good argument. Academic-worthy, that.
But joking aside, Co-Chief? For real? Christ, that...
That would really be something.

[Olivia Skye]

Olivia smirked. "It's just a suggestion, that's all. You can take it or leave it..."
The honesty principle was all very well, but she doubted that Madeleine enjoyed being mercilessly reminded of her past 'mistakes', as she and Russ had both put it.
Mistakes, mind. Not 'regrets'.
And it might do wonders for both Madeleine's and Lee's sanity if it was toned down a little.
Just a suggestion...
Still, it would be wonderful to see Jack promoted further up the ranks of the Warriors - he definitely deserved it. She'd heard what he'd done, seen him in action during battle, and knew exactly how much of a help he was proving to be.