FREAKS || Jerome Valeska¹

11 || Riddle Me This

Her cheek lightly cradled in the palm of her hand, she gazed at the city from the facility's window, her thoughts consumed by her older brother. He hadn't come around to see her in a long time, almost three or four days now, ever since before Casey and Linda were set alight in their cell. It had been more or less three or four days now. It was starting to bother how much she missed him.

Edward had always been an integral part of her life, the one person who could keep her up and going when everything seemed worthless. No one understood his eccentricities; he spoke in riddles and complex vocabulary, but that's what she loved the most. Their conversations were full of words they only understood - Like secret codes. Reese grew up hearing her brother speak about the periodic table, listening as he obsessed with forensics. She grew up figuring out that frogs in a blender was the answer to 'What's green then red?'.

The ginger sitting across her stared quietly. Light reflected into the cold room and brightened the girl's dark eyes. "What's wrong, doll?" He questioned, breaking the silence, clearing his throat, and crossing his arms over the metal table. "Not having fun in mean ol' Arkham?" A mischievous smirk played on his lips.

Reese turned, unable to keep a smile from her face. His presence never failed to make her content, the boisterous personality weirdly made her feel comfortable. He almost made her feel normal, not like some lunatic. "What makes you think I'm not having fun in mean ol' Arkham?"

Raising an eyebrow, he teased, "Well, for starters, that cute smile of yours was missing." The brunette blushed. "And you've been staring into space like something's bothering you."

"Well, if you find it worrying enough, I was just thinking, ginger," Reese replied softly.

Jerome frowned, hearing her words falter in sadness. "Tell me, gorgeous, what was running through your mind?" Reese thought he was waiting for her to say something insane to keep his mind preoccupied. But truly, he wasn't.

"My brother."

It was not what he was expecting. Words that made big bubbles of toxic simmering anger form. "Brother?" He had to remind himself that Reese lived a different life, and he quickly masked his emotions; every muscle struggled to relax. "And, um, what about your brother?" Chin placed on the palm of his hand.

"He hasn't come around to see me." Her lips formed a slight involuntary pout.

He stared, letting her words settle. It didn't make sense, but he knew he couldn't just assume she hated her brother. "Lighten up, gorgeous." She looked at him with conjoined eyebrows. "He'll come around if he's a good brother. In the meantime, have fun with the new psychiatrists. They're so boring." A fake yawn emitted while he rolled his eyes.

"Really?" Her grin returned, relieved that the conversation was forcing her to shift away from her momentary sadness. "I can't believe I ever considered it a job option."

Jerome chuckled. "You're joking." Reese only shook her head in denial, which humored him. "That would have been the best plot twist of the century: Psychiatrist gone crazy." He couldn't keep a straight face, belting out uncontrollable laughter. Reese joined him, finding his laughter infectious. The rest of the inmates (the ones that cared) gave the two annoyed looks, but they didn't care, lost in their little world, having the time of their lives. "How tragic... and ironic." He caught his breath.

The girl giggled, "How things change."

"Right? Now you're in the looney bin registered as a 'psychopath' with major 'crazy' issues." He snorted.

"Well, whatever they call crazy, I love it." She smirked.

"Crazy?" He whispered, his chuckle tinged with darkness. "Doll, we are not crazy, alright? We're just... a little ahead of the curve."