How Villains Are Made - Kaz Brekker

Chapter Seven

TW: UNWANTED SEXUAL ADVANCES (this isn't too serious or too explicit, just old, creepy men)

The friendship that Maud created with Judith certainly seemed to annoy Jesper a bit now that their little relationship – if their sleeping together could be called a 'relationship', so he started calling it 'situationship' – had ended, even if in good terms. Probably annoyed him because that meant that Maud was spending less time with him in her free time and he known for being a jealous friend. To worse Jesper's situation, Per Haskell seemed to want him to work while Maud worked, which left her to face the situation of her first singing-job in the Crow Club alone. Well, not alone. Anika was there and Maud seemed quite fond of her, but still, he wanted to be there, too.

"I really don't mind, Jes, go on," Maud said gently, taking the empty glass of beer from the counter in front of him. "Don't make him wait, you know Haskell."

"I don't care about the old man," he lied.

"The old man pays you, Jes, I do think you care about your money," she dismissed his lie quickly, laughing at him. "Go work and then get your money."

"I'll make it up to you, Maddie," he promised.

"Sure, sure," she said.

Jesper dragged his feet as he made his way out of the club, clearly not wanting to do anything but sit at the counter and make sure nobody would do anything against Maud.

"I really wished I could hear you sing," he admitted.

"You can always hear me sing, you literally live in the same bedroom as me," she laughed. "My mind is constantly signing dirty sea-shanties, all you have to do is ask me to sing them out loud. I can do that."

"It's not as fun as when there's actual drunk sailors singing along," he whined.

"Go get your money, Jes," she said, rolling her eyes.

He whined without words once more before starting to move again, glancing one last time at the drunk sailors, low-level merchants and other drunk men near the counter where Anika and Maud were working before walking out.

Jesper made his way through the dark street with some petty anger towards Per Haskell. He knew that he worked for the men, but the audacity of the man of asking him to work on his night off (not that he had any rights of them, like actual jobs) made him angry like a child, kicking rocks from the ground with his hands deep into his pockets.

"Now, that's a moody Jesper," said someone.

He looked up, smiling immediately when he saw Inej leaning against the Slat's outside wall. She seemed ready to climb up to Kaz's office, as she usually did, until he noticed that she had just climbed down and the front door opening was Kaz leaving the Slat.

"Haskell wants me," he complained.

"Sounds like a good reason to be moody," Inej said, agreeing.

"Well, a job means money, and I like money," Jesper said, trying to cheer himself up, but clearly it wasn't working. "What I don't like is leaving Maddie to sing for the first time alone with so many drunk men. Bolliger seems a bit drunk on the job, so I didn't want to leave her alone."

"Maddie will be fine, Anika's with her," Inej dismissed.

They didn't deny that Anika was a great fighter; Jesper himself had the great sense of being afraid of the girl, but Maud was... learning. Judith had to patch her up enough times for her to be learning one thing or another, but still, Jesper worried.