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It was a dark and stormy night by the time Allison Abbott shook the rain out of her hair and stepped into the lobby of the apartment block she had been looking for. Her mutterings as she hit the elevator panel were dark and stormy too, lamenting the fact that she should have been curled up in bed with Kichiro, but no, Teddy just had to ask her a favor. She shook herself then, grumbling quietly some more before bringing her thumb up and gnawing at the knuckle. It was an old nervous tic of hers that she'd thought she'd gotten over years ago, but with . . . current events, it had come back.
Not that there weren't things to worry about.
The League was in utter disarray from the multiple incineration's across the board, a high number of players lost suddenly and without warning, but not without, at least in many peoples perspective, a culprit.
A low, angry growl formed and died in Allison's chest as she considered the situation with an almost understanding disgust. Sure, people were gone, taken by the blaseball gods yet again, folks had a right to be angry. But to blame Jaylen for it, not even giving her the leeway to talk about it, talking about pushing her up on the idols ratings to get her shelled? Allison had already gone through the exercise rooms stock of punching bags by now, and frankly couldn't go for another round she'd managed to wear herself out, otherwise she would have started putting dents in the elevator doors even now. They dinged open finally, letting her out on Jaylens level, which somehow managed to be entirely empty except for her. They'd been there for the housewarming party when the news of the first incineration had hit, the celebration dying as Jaylen had stood there, hand shaking before Marshmallow of all people managed to slowly take the glass of champagne from her and suggest that maybe it was time they all went home. The Garages hitter grimaced at the memory of them all filing out of her apartment, expressing their joy at her return and hugging her goodbye. The door hadn't closed long before they heard something shatter and the small, quiet sounds of someone sobbing wretchedly.
"YO, JAYLEN, OPEN UP!" Allison pounded on the door to Jaylens apartment now, noting a pile of mail left unattended next to it. No one had seen the returned pitcher for a few days now after the newest round of flare ups, and Mike, of all people, had called up Allison asking her to check up as a favor as he was out of town, something about some kids birthday. She waited, pounded the door and waited some more, a creeping worry gnawing at the back of her mind as she started wonder if she was gonna have to take a more drastic step. She raised her fist to hammer on the door again. . . .
. . . Only to bring it down square in the middle of Jaylens face as she opened it wide, mashing her nose flat.
"Ow!? Wad da fuk?! Alllizn? Ugggghhhh Fucging 'ell!" Jaylen staggered back, any sleepiness of fogginess long gone with the searing pain of a freshly broken nose. Allison just winced, holding up a carton of beer.
"I, uh, thought you might want some company?"
~~~~~~~~~~
It was about an hour later before they made it out onto the balcony, Jaylens nose (painfully) reset and no longer bleeding profusely, and Allison's head remaining on it's body thanks to cool, pain numbing beer.
"Alright Allison, spill, why are you here?"
Allison took a swig and burped long and hard before she answered. "Team's worried about you." She said plainly, scratching her nose.
"The team is worried about me, and they sent you?" Jaylen raised an eyebrow at that, conveying all sorts of questions and comments that Allison most definitely didn't appreciate, considering the effort she went to, buying the beer and all.
"Fuck you Pork Knuckler, and the horse you rode in on." the hitter snapped back, though the smirk on her lips belied the heat of the reply enough that Jaylen just laughed weakly (but still laughed, thank fuck) and held up the hand that wasn't nursing an icy beer to her nose in surrender.
"Yeah yeah, fine, you made the effort Abbott, I appreciate it." She looked Allison in the eye then, nodding her thanks and smiling. It was sad, it was weak and it was struggling, but it was a smile at least, which had to be a good sign. At least that's what some anger management shrink had told one time before she had shattered his table with her nailbat, smiling all the while.
Allison looked back in the main room of the apartment now, taking it in for the first time since the party, wincing again at the mess of frozen pizza boxes and a stale smell of old beer, as well as the seasons highlights dvd's for teams that had lost players to incinerations. "Jesus Jaylen, you just locking up in here to beat yourself up?" Her team mate flinched away, throwing back the rest of the beer in her hand as the rain pattered away on the balcony just a few inches away from the cover of the awning.
"I uh, missed out on alot you know? being gone for so long and all. Had to catch up." Jaylen didn't even sound like she believed it herself, so Allison didn't even bother hiding her snerk and chuckle.
"Yeah that's a fucking lie. You're just torturing yourself you know, trying to figure out those faces, see the love and joy on the faces of their teams and fans."
"Fuck you Allison, you blunt bitch." Another beer, another gasp as the nose twinged painfully.
"Yeah, fuck me, and if I hadn't shown up you'd still be tormenting yourself with the ghosts of dead people, with absolutely no way to bring them back."
"Yeah, like you couldn't bring me back?" Jaylen snarled scornfully, dragging the urn with her own ashes out from under her tank top. "Yeah real fucking impossible."
"You think we did it ourselves? We had help from every fucking team, Tigers through to those Moist Talkers. The instant they thought they could bring someone back they were going to do it." Allison brooded, sinking into her chair. She hadn't been too in favor of the whole necromancy thing, not from the start. She knew for a fact that some people had just done it because it had been possible, not for any real reason. It's why Teddy had talked with some of the folks at the stadium and organized The Vote. She'd abstained, not trusting herself with the vote personally because of just how conflicted she had been about it. Even so, she'd still been one of the first to step up for the van into the void. Why had that been the case? She didn't really know herself, mostly putting it down to not leaving a member of the band in the lurch, no matter what. "We still don't know what actually happened in there, how we actually found your egg and brought you back. Anyone who thinks they can go and replicate the results is fucking kidding themselves."
Jaylen took a while to reply, looking down at her pitching hand as she contemplated Allison's words. "Who the hell would want to anyway? All you get is a monster. . . " The words were quiet, so quiet that she almost wasn't sure Allison heard her, until Allison started laughing so hard she spilled her beer. "What the FUCK Allison?! This is funny to you? I throw the ball, I hurt the other players and then . . . then fucking poof! Up in smoke they go courtesy of the Garages pet half-umpire!"
"Oh fucking get over yourself Jaylen, you ain't no fucking monster. Seen enough of them prowling the field every eclipse." Allison ground her teeth at that thought, silently cursing all gods and demons in her thought as she turned to Jaylen. "Jaylen if you were a fucking monster would you be tearing yourself up so much about them? About any of them? You've seen the umps too, seen how they're utterly devoid of emotion and life and anything until it's time to try lighting up another player during the eclipses. You aren't one of them."
"Oh, and just how the fuck do you know huh? You suddenly trade in you Nail Bat for an occult degree?" Jaylens voice was harsh at that last, and the anger inside Allison boiled up. . . then away, knowing that it wasn't Jaylen at fault here.
"I know you don't mean that Jay." She said simply, reaching for another beer for herself as Jaylen simply collapsed her chair, the hurt, the pain, the utter desolation in her heart about all of this exhausting her. She didn't have it in her to push Allison, to needle and prod her until the hitter lashed right back at her. She was just empty.
"I'm sorry Allison. I. . . just don't know what's happening." Jaylen looked up at the awning as a thick gust of wind from the storm caught it, snapping it about some. It was drenched at this point, water seeping through in thick droplets that occasionally splattered down around them. Jaylen spoke slowly as she watched one droplet gather larger and larger. "I'm not sure I can ever forgive anyone for bringing me back like this, you know. You could never have asked if I want it, but dammit you all could have thought for a damn second. You toyed with the 'Eldritch threads of the universe' as Ron loves to say, there were going to be consequences."
"Jaylen," Allison said after sometime, toying with the label on her beer, "We're the Garages. We never think about the consequences."
"Heh, Yeah, we really don't."
"I am sorry Jaylen. For what it's worth."
The pitcher just sighed. "I know Allison, I know. And I appreciate this, I really do. Thank you."
They were quiet for a long time after that, enjoying the rain and the beer and just the simplicity of some quiet company, before Allison coughed, burped and started to talk, somewhat embarrassedly this time though. "Hey, so, I uh, can't help but notice that this floor is pretty empty here, and that the apartments are pretty big."
"Allison, please, I'm fine here. You don't need to move in." Jaylen grimaced at the thought.
"What? No. Fuck that. I was gonna ask what the rent was in this place, Kichiro stays over a lot more these days and it'd be nice to have. . . y'know, a little extra room." It wasn't the only reason, of course, and they both knew it, but they both knew Allison was a proud sort and Jaylen was willing to let her have that much, after the effort she'd gone to tonight.
"Uh. . . yeah, yeah I think it's pretty affordable actually, good placement, not far to the stadium or downtown."
It was quiet again, and this time Jaylen was the one to break it. "Um, I was thinking, this weekend, are you up to anything? I hear there's a pretty good bar with a Roller Derby league." Allison actually laughed at that, making the returned pitcher blink a bit.
"I'm going to that already actually." She explained with a bit of a playful glint in her eyes. "Me and Kichiro were gonna go meet up with Wyatt Quitter. We're both a little interested in just where she hides her ears under all that hair. We both intend to ask if we can go searching, maybe give them a bit of a nibble if she's amenable."
Jaylen could only shake her head and roll her eyes with a giggle. "Guess you don't want a third wheel."
"Nah, it's fine, this is only a meet and flirt, she'll have friends along too, no reason you can't come. In fact I insist."
"Ok then. Thanks Allison."
"No problem Jaylen."