The Inveigled

Chapter 4: Juno

Why does Jax have to do this? They've had to move us to so many different wings just because of all these incidents he's caused...

I get that it must be hard for him, but I'm going through the same thing! I'm just lucky that this girl seems forgiving enough to forget about it and not file a formal complaint.

"It'll be a bit of a walk... I'm sorry about Jax again. He's so unaccustomed to Wing B. Things work different here." I chime, hoping that my apologetic words would be able to smooth over the tension taking over the situation.

A small frame of silence takes over the exchange and I pause to think about what I've said. Did I give us away? Oh no, what if I said something wrong...

Maybe it's best if I just go and get this girl's blazer. What was her name..? Oh yeah, that man that was nearly just muscle called her Blythe, or something.

Yeah! If I go and get her blazer she can't ask me any questions!

I brighten up, pleased with my spur of the moment idea. Except with the look she was giving me, I think I might have missed something she said. Better to just ignore it at this point.

"Huh... why don't you just wait here while I rush down and get you those clothes?" I hope I made up with whatever she said with that. It might be better if I just ignore the question completely.

The look on her face was a bit unsettling, and I flash on the most personable grin I could conjure.

"I guess... but you better hurry, since my next class starts in ten and I'm not looking forward to being late." She says, and I must be glowing. She didn't ask anything, and I should get out as quickly as possible. She's great! People in the other wings are usually never this forgiving.

"Yeah, yeah. I got you! Sorry again about what happened with Jax!" There can never be enough apologies, right?

Before I can hear any sort of reply, I was already sprinting down the hall. I'm pretty sure that a subtrain doesn't leave for another good three minutes, so that gives me enough time to make it to the station and get a train down.

I can feel my heart popping in my chest while I let my legs carry me as far as possible with long, steady strides. I can't stop now, that poor girl could be late if I take too long... Even running as fast as possible, I can notice how much nicer these halls look here. I hope it doesn't take Jax too long to realize how lucky we are to be transferred here, especially considering our background. I always feel like he's getting a bit selfish. He might be going through some difficulties, but I'm here too. I'll listen to him rant for hours if that means that I can see him genuinely smile again. After that night, everything changed. I don't think he's ever made some sort of joke since then. Except to that Blythe girl..

I couldn't really hear what he said to her, but he looked amused.

She definitely didn't though..

I take a turn to the left and a quick shuffle down a set of stairs before letting my eyes sweep over the station. It was completely stark of any life, except for a thin woman that sat on a steel bench. She patted down her wrinkled dress before taking a wrapped sandwich and resting it on her lap. With trembling hands, she slowly unwrapped it, and stared at it like it was pure gold. She rips off a corner and takes little nibbles of it before setting it back in her lap and wrapping it again.

I think she noticed me staring at her, so she completely freezes.

I look back at a single train sliding to the station, flashing the words 'Level K' atop it in flashing white letters, as if it was showing off that you were unlocking a new achievement for an all time low.

The metal doors slide open smoothly, slowly revealing an empty train cart.

Of course, what was I expecting? Who would voluntarily take a trip down to Level K?

I basically shove myself in the cart and take a seat on the old, worn seats. The countdown plays, signifying the doors will close in five seconds, as if anyone would be boarding anyways.

Except... someone does. The figure sits down on a seat in front of me and brushes his hair out of eyes.

"Jax!?" I burst, and he squints his eyes.

"Oh, god.. I didn't know you'd be here... What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in class, you idiot." His scruffy voice slithers harshly.

"That girl you ran into? Blythe? Do you not remember completely trashing her uniform?"

"Oh yeah... She has a stick up her ass. It wasn't even that bad."

"That's beside the point. I have my excuse, what's yours?"

His silent response makes my head rush to different places.

"No. You're not thinking of the syndicate crap again, are you? That's illegal!"

"We're illegal." He smugly responds. He always has a stupid comeback!

"..." My silence is accepted as his victory.

"Mom should have thought again before sleeping with that Skeptic. We shouldn't be alive, but look at us."

"That's different! We aren't doing any harm. We're good people!" I burst at him.

"Well, the Black Wave understands us. It's full with people that are good, they just don't have a chance! I'm tired of living off of dad's fucking checks. It'll be soon when he completely cuts shit off, and we're stuck living in the gutters again. At least this way we have a shot. A shot at living."

"That shot's going to be taken away if you keep running into people and shoving trays of food into them! You're lucky those kids that left were idiotic enough to leave spots wide open for us."

I feel my hands trembling with fury, and I just felt like shoving my fist through this stupid subway seat.

Luckily enough, the doors slide open and it signifies that it was time to get off. I swiftly stand up and take quick curt steps to the door. Then I start to run. I don't know what I was running from, but I just knew I needed to keep running. Every step felt like a leap away from my problems, and I wasn't close to stopping any time soon.