jessehart

[jessehart]

The county road boasted no streetlights, the headlights barely illuminating more than a few feet in front of them. Jesse pulled to a stop and surveyed their playground, the hammering of his heart drowned out by the roaring of the car as he revved the engine.

He'd been out here before; it was a prime spot for drag racing. Quiet and tucked away from the bustling parts of the city, it felt almost a world away. A slow, lazy grin spread across his face as he rolled his head toward Link— the only warning he gave before the car shot forward.

They flew down the street and the world outside whizzed by in a blur. Despite the anxiety, exhilaration heated his blood, taking its place as he hit sixty, then seventy, then eighty. Nearing one hundred, he hit the brakes, fishtailing into a, expertly done one-eighty with smoking and squealing tires. A loud laugh and a whoop ripped itself from his lungs as he turned back to Link, nodding to the steering wheel and back again. "Think you can do better?"

link's grin didn't falter, just deepened into something slower, more amused. he rolled his head lazily toward jesse, the seat swallowing him like he belonged there already. "a detour," he echoed, liking the idea. "you offering a scenic route, or just trying to get me alone somewhere dark?"

his hand ghosted over the center console, fingers tapping, curious but not quite touching yet. "you always this generous with your toys?" he murmured, eyes flicking to the wheel, then back to jesse, "or am i just the exception?" and then, with a little tilt of his head and a voice soft like bait, "go on, then. show me where this little detour is. but if it is boring," a pause, then a grin, "i am driving."

[jessehart]

He could have let his annoyance bloom, could have snapped at her for continuing to push on this when he clearly wanted nothing to do with the conversation. A breath drew in just before he opened his mouth to say something that would surely send her scurrying off only to pause and consider.

"You should try asking Monty. He'll sell anyone anything anytime. Not that I think you'd get anything honest out of him even if you did." Another day, another seed planted. Try and kiss my girlfriend again, bitch.

He doesn't say anything, but the shrug speaks for itself.

Or, perhaps more accurately, she lets it speak for itself. Ascribes it meaning and subtext and a life of its own, until she is sure it encompasses all the bits of her she likes the very least. And for all her previous bluster about feeling contentment in spite of people's dislike, it needles at her. This infernal desire to be liked. To be loved. Even though she knows none of that will be offered up to her by Jesse.

"Do you know who might?" She tries, tone gentler now. As though she might, if she treads carefully enough, find use in this conversation all the same.

[jessehart]

It was as if now that he knew he'd be leaving this place behind, if only temporarily, the restlessness began to fade. He took his place leaning against Parker's doorway as she packed her things, trying and failing not to make a face at the mention of the Monty thing.

Jesse wasn't really sure why he couldn't seem to put down this grudge he'd been apparently holding against Monty, but the thing with Parker gave him an excuse not to. So, he didn't. "You talk to him about that yet?" Jesse asked, almost positive the answer was no. A small, mischievous grin curled the very corners of his mouth. "I can if you don't want to."

As she approached, he pushed off the wall, straightening and offering a more genuine smile as his hands settled on her shoulders. "That's called character growth, baby." And again, he found himself thankful for just how easily she could call him out of himself. What a difference actually making an effort could make. "Now, let's get the fuck out of here before I cash in that reward early."

parker leaned against his dresser as though she, herself, didn't have anything to pack. of course she did, but that would take her all of thirty seconds to gather on the way out. no, she was much more preoccupied watching jesse shuffle around. the urgency that'd initially filled his voice wasn't entirely gone from him, but it'd lessened enough that she didn't feel the need to try and compel any further details out. maybe with a bit of distance from campus, fresh air... no finals to worry about... being out of g's immediate scope... they'd reveal themselves. once they did more than this. they could do more than this, easy.

it hit her for the first time, as jesse turned back to pull her in, that she really needed the time away, too. "you're welcome," parker murmured only after he'd broken the silence, pulling back just enough to look up at him. "you know i'm always here for you." a small nod followed the sentiment, then a quick peck to his shoulder as she untangled herself and started again towards the door. because, really, she did need to pack some things.

having crossed into her room, parker immediately began sliding things off of hangers and tossing them onto her bed. "besides," she called, "the g thing is getting me to, too." it came out quite casually, for something that'd had her shaking when she'd initially told him. her, basically having told them to fuck off with their guessing game. them, basically having replied 'no' and that she'd made herself a target. the waiting game, the jumping at every text or odd look. "and the monty thing." something far less terrifying, but perhaps still just as jarring when she'd relayed it to jesse the following morning. she still hadn't told ollie. to be fair, she hadn't seen him since. maybe she'd text him once they got to... wherever. ask to hang soon. "and all of the—fucking scary end-of-year theatre department things." at that point, she was just venting. cut the crap, parker, he gets it.

it'd all be dealt with later. everything could wait a few days. the sentiment breezed over her as she, too, slung her bag straps over one shoulder and approached jesse. "for once, we're not the most dramatic thing going on with us. maybe we do deserve a reward."

[jessehart]

An aura of menace threaded itself in the space between where Jesse sat and where Link leaned in. The smirk that danced across Jesse's face hid sharpened teeth, his head cocking to the side. "You can use your left hand and pretend it's a stranger, but it's never as fun alone."

And that seemed to answer that as Link slid into the passenger's seat. "She's only mine until we get back," he said, revving the engine with a loud roar, the tires squealing as he shot out onto the road. "But I've been known to share, so maybe if you say please real nice you'll put me in that giving spirit."

It was bravado, definitely, and he hoped it hid his unease, but as the road unfolded before him, a shred of that wild freedom slipped into his veins. He slid a look over to Link, an eyebrow arching. "You wanna take a little detour?"

link didn't break stride at first, just a flick of his gaze toward the glossy cayman as it crept alongside him like a sleek, overfed cat. he clocked the driver, that smug tilt of jesse's head, the way his arm slung over the wheel like he owned something.

then he slowed.

"so you decided it's no fun flexing alone?" he planted a hand on the roof, leaning in just enough for his voice to carry, casual but close. "if this is your idea of foreplay, you might have to try harder. so is the plan just cheap beer or are you gonna let me drive this thing?" he questions with a little grin as he gets in, a grin that should tell jesse he should not be trusting link behind the wheel.

[jessehart]

Spring Break. Right. He'd forgotten about that in the midst of this new game of G's. A little bit of the tension he'd been holding in his shoulders loosened, as if the break were a boon meant specifically for him. They loosened further when Parker was just ready to go, no prodding, no questions, no stalling.

He was never more thankful for her.

Already, he could feel himself coming back down— the need remained, but he no longer felt on the verge of losing control. His hands didn't shake as he began shoving clothes into his half-packed backpack, laughing a little stiltedly at Parker's question. The sound of the zipper met the air first as he finished packing, tossing the strap over his shoulder and turning to face her. "This G shit's just getting in my head," he said. The truth, even if it only edged around the full scope of it. "I just wanna get away from this place and, like— I don't know— remind myself that there's more than this."

He figured that answer would suffice for now and headed for the door, only to stop suddenly and turn back to her. In one swift movement, Jesse pulled Parker into him, tucking her head under his chin, eyes closed as his arms settled tightly around her.

Affection had always been easy for Jesse, but it was vulnerability that terrified him. It was letting someone in enough that they became necessary to function, to reach a point of having something to lose, that he knew made him keep people at arm's length. But he drew her in now and let it settle into his bones. He'd taken her for granted so many times— too many times— and yet, she was still here. "Thank you," he whispered against her hair. For today. For everything. He didn't deserve her, but it was well past time to try.

"and miss out on spending spring break on campus?" parker retorted in a soft, entirely sarcastic tone. the fingertips that grazed jesse's forehead pulled back and lowered until her hand met his shoulder, then slid to a comfortable hold on his upper arm. meanwhile, her eyes flit from point to point across his face like a star-gazer scanning for the hallmarks of a constellation. she'd gazed at that face countless times—across crowded rooms to no one's knowledge, mere inches from one-another in the heat of their worst arguments and most intimate moments—but the action still provided no answers.

after a beat, parker's gentle grip loosened until both arms fell back at her sides. she then moved for her bag, head tilting downward in the brief search for her keys. once her finger looped through its heart-shaped carabiner, she dug them out and held them at her side. "i'm ready when you are."

perhaps she shouldn't have been so encouraging, but parker had ran away enough times herself to know that, sometimes, it was just needed. at times, it should be indulged. really, it was probably the healthiest thing to do, all things considered. "wanna tell me why the sudden urge to flee on the way or when i've already become your accomplice?"

[jessehart]

Flecks of color seemed to enter the room as Parker moved toward him. Instinctively, it made him want to retreat, to throw up walls against that feeling of needing someone else. She didn't hesitate, an immediate yes on her lips without probing him for answers. She was steady, a tether that kept his feet on solid ground the moment her hand slipped into his.

A rough, mirthless chuckle scraped its way out of his throat, Jesse's eyes falling to their hands before he blinked up to meet her gaze. He wanted to go. He wanted to go and keep on going, outrun his secrets, his demons, fucking G. None of that was possible, though, so he just shrugged. "We'll probably need that tank of gas." A ghost of a smile curved at the very corner of his mouth, but it didn't touch his eyes. "Wanna run away with me for a few days?"

"hey, so i was gonna make a stop at the commons—" parker's thought was cut short as the door finished swinging open, eyes settling on a bundle of nerve-endings molded into a person. jesse's unease was immediately apparent, a stark contrast to the way in which her limbs had loosened with relief at the sight of his door. it zapped whatever suggestion she was about to make from existence and replaced it with a confused look.

for a few seconds they stayed like that, parker hardly noticing the way her shoulder met the doorframe in a slight lean as she tried to discern the situation she'd walked into. with no obvious tells, she took in a breath to ask—and was swiftly beat to the punch.

the ask, though no more revealing than the quiet, broke through the stillness and parker began walking towards him. "sure," she answered with ease and without hesitation—'of course, let's do it'—offering a couple nods. when nearly close enough to feel his breath on her face, she stopped and, without looking down, slid a hand into his. "but do you mean somewhere like out-of-the-dorm or somewhere like... we'll need to stop at the gas station first so i can fill up my tank?" her free hand rose to move some hair out of his face, despite there not really being any to move in the first place.

[jessehart]

Jesse took her question as rhetorical and only offered a shrug. He'd already decided why she'd sought him out so it never would have mattered what she'd said, anyway. From the moment she'd landed on his radar, Lola Rhodes had made it abundantly clear to him that if he didn't disgust her, she at least didn't care much for him. And that was bound to color the rest of their interactions until they never crossed paths again.

He didn't want to admit to himself that she didn't exactly deserve all this ire. He hadn't even really been aware of the fact that he was holding onto so much of it. He wasn't about to rein it in now, especially not when he could see the stubborn set of her refusing to back down from her point, either. "Well, I don't. Sorry to disappoint."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

She looks up at him, arms crossed tightly over her chest, straddling the line between confrontation and self-preservation. It was not an actual question, so much as it was a signifier of dislike. Lola knew what others thought of her. She knew she ticked certain boxes, fit neatly in the slots people wanted her to. Knew she was a cardboard cut-out, an archetype rather than an actual person. She had made her piece with it, she thought, but to hear it weaponised like this? It hit something buried deep at her centre. Came into contact with the insecurities she had learnt to think of like her personal brand, as opposed to what they actually were: fatal flaws.

“This didn’t have anything to do with you,” Lola insists, wanting to slap herself over the petulant quality her voice takes on when she places the emphasis at the end of the sentence. She hadn’t gone into this thinking it had, not really, but now? All this anger had to be rooted somewhere. It couldn’t all simply be because Lola had stuck a toe (well, a whole foot) over the line. “All I’m saying is, you were friends. You’re as likely to know as the rest of them. And you are here.”

[jessehart]

WHERE: some off campus party. WHO: @ironlvngs & jesse.

Jesse settled into the sleek leather interior of the Cayman. Jared had been bragging about the sports car for weeks now; a gift from his father. Just because, as far as Jesse knew. He wanted to pretend like that didn't bother him, that someone else's healthy relationship with their father didn't needle. Especially when that someone was Jared, the fuck ass meathead that was arguably worse than Jesse himself in every single way.

He'd handed over the keys easily enough, though. Despite the way he slung his dick around like he was god's own gift to the world, he was still desperate to prove himself to his lacrosse captain. Which was how Jesse found himself settled into the driver's seat now, the engine purring beneath him.

Now, all he needed was a passenger.

And, as if on cue, Link Crawford swaggered across Jesse's field of vision. He nudged the car along, rolling down the window as he pulled up beside Link. "Hey," he called, leaning across the center console to peer out the passenger side window. "You wanna go on a beer run?"

[jessehart]

WHERE: their dorm. WHO: @walshparker & jesse.

The dorm was uncharacteristically empty. The room was illuminated only by the waning sun filtering in through the blinds, casting golden stripes across the floor. Somewhere, Jesse could hear the ticking of an old analog clock.

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.

His leg bounced. He chewed at the skin around his thumb. He tried desperately to drown out the static in his mind, but that only seemed to make it all grow louder.

It had been a while since he found himself feeling this desperate for that quiet numbness he'd retreated into last year. And it pissed him off that all it had taken was one text from G to do it.

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.

He wanted to rip the god damn clock off the wall. In fact, he might have done just that, his fingers digging into the arm rest of his chair like he might spring from his seat. It was only the turning of the doorknob that had him freezing in place. There was little more he wanted to do in that moment than face his roommates with their probing stares and quiet judgment. He was ready for it to set him off.

And then it was Parker who appeared in the doorway.

A rush of relief left his lungs in an exhale and Jesse found himself on his feet. He didn't close the space between them, instead lingering where he stood like he might start pacing. There was no hiding his unrest. And honestly, for maybe the first time, he didn't want to. She'd said she could handle all of him. Maybe it was time to find out just how true that was.

"Let's go somewhere," he said, the sound of his voice cutting through the otherwise stilted quiet. It wasn't a greeting, wasn't the calm and collected confidence that usually dripped from him, but rather an almost desperate plea. "Anywhere. Can we just..." Jesse raked a hand through his hair as his eyes settled on her, "go?"

[jessehart]

Jesse didn't buy it. Perhaps, no matter what she said, he wouldn't have believed it because, in the back of his mind, he would always be worried that the scandal would follow him for the rest of his life. That he would be measured against it forever, a scarlet letter carved into his forehead. That he would be Jesse, the recovering addict instead of just Jesse.

And the other, slightly less jaded, part of him wondered why he gave it so much power. Why he played his father's game and accepted his own defeat without even surveying the board. But now wasn't the time for introspection as he eyed Lola, trying to drag the truth— or what he'd insist was the truth— out of her.

"I was," he admitted with a nod of his chin. "And so were a lot of other students." Even more than he knew about, he didn't say. He didn't know why it still ate at him, that he and Greer hadn't been as close as he'd thought, but it did. "But sure, we can go with that. I'm sure you're not the kind to stereotype," Jesse said with a dry tone that clearly said he thought the opposite.

Why choose him to ask? It was a fair question. Only, she did not have an answer he would like. Nor the answer he seemed to be angling for. Lola had, in an uncharacteristic display of methodological thinking, asked almost everyone. That seemed the best way to get around having to actually confront anyone. The truth was this: Jesse had been there. In her path. It was as simple as that. Though, had she known the anger it would inspire in him, maybe the conversation could have been foregone. She could have just texted his name back, without the need for any of .... this.

"You were close to her, were you not? I figured it would not be someone peripheral in her life."

[jessehart]

Jesse made a disappointing tsk sound, shaking his head in mock disappointment. "I guess I'll just pine and forever wonder what if." The teasing lilt in his voice drew a smirk onto his lips, glad that whatever, exactly, his relationship was with Mari, that they'd both arrived here in some strange semblance of comfort. They understood each other in a way that too many others couldn't and for that, he would always have her back.

His smirk grew into a real, genuine smile as she agreed and he slipped his arm through hers, tugging her through the party toward the drinks to salvage whatever they could from their night.

Mari reached out, giving Jesse a light pat on the chest, a simpering smile coming over her face as she leaned into the teasing of him - grasping any topic that wasn't her father, really. "Sorry, babe. Don't think I'll be giving you any second chances any time soon," she said, the curl of her lips giving away that she wasn't being serious.

Well, she was deadly serious about what she was saying - she just didn't mean it it as an insult.

"Honestly?" she said after a moment, raising an eyebrow as her expression turned more serious. "That sounds ideal. Just stop me before I make too much of a fool of myself, yeah?"

[jessehart]

Jesse set his taco back down, reaching for more tomatillo sauce to drown it in. He nodded a little absently as Coco went on, eyes only flicking up once he mentioned Jesse being captain as he rolled his taco back up and took another bite. Perfect.

He snorted around a mouthful of his food as a few of Coco's toppings went flying, the question turned back around on him. He shrugged as he chewed, setting the taco back down and swallowing. "I'm feeling the pressure, for sure," he admitted honestly. Even if their coach hadn't explicitly said it, Jesse knew he was on a short leash this year after the article and his own antics the year prior, so he really wanted— needed— to pull the stops out for this final season.

"It's kinda what I wanted to talk to you about," he hedged. "I was wondering if you wanted to run some new plays I'm thinking about trying, just me and you? I think we could stand to tighten up defense a little more on the [bad knee, right or left? idk] side."

Absentmindedly, Court flexed his knee under the table, extending out his lower leg and retracting it back underneath him before he answered Jesse, the motion an instinctual reaction to the question. "Feeling great," he chirped after a moment, flashing Jesse a bright smile. He wouldn't dare saying anything else, no matter his true feelings - he couldn't risk being benched or anything like that. He quickly turned towards his own half dozen tacos, eyes darting back and forth over them before picking one up at random. "Don't worry about me, though - I'm not the captain. Or a senior," he said, brushing away the question with a quick gesture - yes, with the hand with the taco, a few toppings going flying. "How about you?" he asked, before taking a bite from the taco, quickly trying to turn the subject from theirself.

[jessehart]

A ripple of muscle feathered in Jesse's jaw at the mention of Ollie. Their last interaction had left a sour taste in his mouth, a grudge he wasn't even sure was one-sided clutched between his fingers like he might come untethered if he let it go. But Jesse nodded along with Diego as if mentally taking notes because he wasn't about to peel back the curtain on that particular sore spot. It was a shame all those files went missing from his glove box, though. They might have been helpful right about now.

Jesse laughed humorlessly, a commiseration of Diego's words— some of the very same he'd thought when all this G stuff plagued him in the middle of the night. Surely it was all leading to something. It was the inability to see the end game that frustrated him. "Hard to think they care if they've got all this information and have decided to play mind games with us instead of take that shit to the cops, but what do I know?"

In the brief lull, Jesse ran an eye down the length of Diego, finding it amusingly odd that he actually liked the guy. Once, he'd have loved nothing more than to slither under his skin. Was this character development? He decided to take it one step further, clapping a hand on the other man's shoulder. "Appreciate you trying to brainstorm with me, man."

"Could it mean someone like Ollie?" Diego said, putting forth that idea. Ollie had very much gotten everything from cheating, literally. That was his job. But that also wasn't a secret. Or it was a secret, but not to them, so he doubted it was actually about Ollie. However, that didn't mean it wasn't a place to start. "It's likely not about him, but that might not be a terrible place to start. Anybody willing to go to him, is willing to cheat to something they want." Not to disparage anybody willing to go to Ollie to do their work for them, as Diego had a number of times. But it wasn't nothing.

"Yeah," Diego agreed, his eyes narrowing a little at the thought of G dangling these things over their heads like they were getting some enjoyment out of it. "I don't get what the end goal is here. Do they want us to find Greer? Do they want us to hate each other? Be humiliated? What happens in four months when we graduate? Are we going to know the answers by then, or not?" He shrugged, with a deep sigh, arms out simply saying 'I don't know'.

[jessehart]

There was a numbness in his chest where sympathy might have stirred, watching her eyes glisten with unshed tears. Frankly, he thought he hadn't even scratched the surface of just how scathing he could be. What kind of cushy life had Lola lived that this would be the kind of thing to make her teary?

He could leave it alone. Accept her apology, walk away before a tear could fall, and call it a day. But maybe it was morbid curiosity, or some need to prove to himself that he'd been right to get angry. "Answer me one question. Why choose me to ask?"

Once again, Lola is overcome with the sense that she is a deer in headlights. She had never been one for conflict, never one to put herself deliberately in the line of fire. In her world, people got along – and even where they didn't, no one ever acted on it. A world without consequences. And yet, G seemed insistent on making that Her heart is thumping in her chest, so desperate in its insistence that it would not surprise her the least bit if Jesse could see it through her top. Thump, thump, thump. Over and over and over.

The anger, it is her fault. She understands that. The rational part of her brain knows she is the architect of her own misery. Not that it matters. The sheen of approaching tears gloss over her eyes all the same. She blinks. Once, twice. Hoping it grounds her. "Jesse, I'm - I'm sorry. I didn't know it would ..." The words fail to materialise. "I only asked you on the off-chance. I didn't know it would evoke .. all this, I guess."

[jessehart]

Jesse's easy demeanor was slipping, the conversation triggering that panicked, helpless feeling he'd lived in over the summer. He grit his teeth, gnashing them together so hard he thought they might crack. He didn't want this to be his legacy, his ghost that trailed along at his heels, reminding him, haunting him. And she just kept. on. pushing.

He wheeled on her. "Listen, Nancy Drew, I appreciate what you're trying to do here, but you're wasting your time. And worse, you're wasting mine."

It feels inappropriate that she still harbours a sense of missing out. She hadn't been around, had been but a footnote in stories relayed by Coco, when anything up for discussion about Greer played out on stage. And yet, the fact that the world had continued to turn, in spite of her absence, filled her veins with ice. It was so at odds with how she envisioned herself - the centre of the universe, the sun around which everything else spun, that it was almost dizzying.

"Follow-up question, then," she says, ignoring his barb as best she can, though there is a slight tremor in one hand that belies that beneath the surface, Lola's legs are thrashing. "Did you ... or anyone," she's quick to add the latter, not wanting it to seem like she was singling him out specifically. "Cause an overdose with her drugs?" Here, she had to force herself not to add 'No worries if not!' as a force of habit.

[jessehart]

Jesse laughed a little darkly. "Probably safe to assume anything out of Crawford's mouth is a lie." There had never been any love lost between Link and Jesse. Perhaps it was because they both could recognize a bit of each other in the darker parts of themselves, but that required the kind of self reflection that Jesse preferred to ignore.

It was Diego's question that dragged Jesse's attention back, surprised at his willingness to help. He hadn't really expected this to be a group project, but he couldn't say he minded the collaboration. "Honestly? I was kind of thinking Crawford," he said with a laugh, but now another thought was creeping back in. What if it was romantic? He could think of someone who had gotten everything she had from money others had given her— money his father had given her— when they were together. But was that too obvious? Was he playing right into G's game? It was impossible to know and that might have been the thing that pissed him off most: being outplayed. "But I could toss a rock into a crowd here and hit someone who could be capable of it, so who knows. Just wish the bitch would tell me instead of play these dumb ass games."

Diego nodded his head a little bit. Greer didn't really say much of anything, but that was partly why so many people had potentially told her things. Because she was trustworthy that she wouldn't go out and tell everyone else. There were people who painted Greer as a very 'mean girl' type of person, and maybe she was in ways, but she'd never really been the sort to go and gossip about others. At least not over important things. If you told her something in confidence, or if she found something out on her own, you could usually trust that she wouldn't say anything to someone else. But was that the problem? If she didn't want that she could have said something. If she wanted someone to confide in she could have gone to anybody. He would have listened, Jesse would have listened, Mari, Heni, Eddie… But here they were.

"Ah," Diego said, understanding the questions Jesse had been asking him now. "No, not yet," he said in regards to Link. "I'm not sure if I will. He could lie, and I don't know him well enough to know whether he is or not." He didn't know if he would be good at telling if anyone were lying to his face, though. Maybe Jesse wasn't really good at it either. "If you don't think it's romantic, who do we know that has gained a lot in their life that they could have gotten by cheating? I don't feel like anyone here would be above something like that."

[jessehart]

Pathetic.

It was funny. From the mouth of his father, the word lashed and bruised, left indentations on his soul. From Nate, it drew a laugh out of him, one hand sliding through his hair, mussed with sweat from the fights he'd sorely lost. A silent and unacknowledged moment of camaraderie slipped between them and Jesse leaned his head back against the wall, the corners of his mouth curved only just. "Nate Shaw, the altruist." But it wasn't a comment meant to needle; it sounded like an acceptance.

Nate let out a short laugh, giving a short shake of his head. "Nah," he said, leveraging an appraising glance on Jesse for a moment before he shrugged up one shoulder. "It's just getting a bit pathetic, mate," he said, his eyebrows raising up minutely on his face. "Reckon I can't watch it for much longer, and if I feel bad for you...'magine everyone else must. So really I'm doing them a favor." Th sarcasm was tinged with a side of amusement, one he had surely never addressed Jesse Hart with, but it was easier to be facetious than to admit any sense of...wanting to help. Nah. He wouldn't be owning up to that anytime soon.