Work Text:
Lucy leaned back in her seat as she nodded along to Jodio rambling about something relating to his work, hardly paying attention at all. He had been sitting across from her at the small restaurant's outdoor seating, having crashed her one-woman day of relaxation. It annoyed her to no end, but she didn't want to be rude and tell him to get lost. Not that it'd actually work in the first place.
The two of them met two years ago, when she was twelve and he was thirteen. Their teachers kept sitting her next to him and assigning them work to do together, in hopes of having her more positive qualities rub off on him. In all honesty, she felt that the whole thing was futile. He was still as impulsive as ever, and she didn't see any way of getting him out of that gang he and his older sibling was in no matter how much she insisted.
"You're not even listening to me anymore." Jodio said, rolling his eyes at Lucy. That got her to focus back on him as she sat up properly with her hands clasped on top of the table.
"I'm sorry, I was somewhere else entirely," She apologized, shaking her head, "What were you saying?"
Jodio stared at her blankly from beneath his light bangs before clicking his tongue, "You know anything about some party that's coming up? Apparently, it's supposed to be big."
Lucy hummed, bringing her hand to the side of her face as she tried to remember any gossip about a party. She wasn't one to attend them if she could get away with it without upsetting someone, but she was pretty popular in school so she got invited to them often anyway. Finally, she nodded.
"I heard that an upperclassman was going to host something Saturday night.. I don't know why though. I'd guess it's for someone's birthday."
"Wanna crash it with me?"
"I thought you didn't like parties." Lucy tilting her head slightly, voice tinged with a hint of confusion.
"See, you're not seeing the bigger picture here; Parties are always a good venue to sell at. Makes the whole thing more fun, you feel me?"
Lucy let out a deep sigh, dragging her hand down her face. She shouldn't have been so surprised that he was using this as an opportunity to do business, and yet here she was. Unbelievable!
"Jodio, you know that I'm not one for partying.. or going with you to your deals."
"You need to get your ass out the house sometimes. You can't just waste your days away dreaming about princes on white horses, y'know."
"Can't I?" Lucy shot Jodio a tired look, sticking her lips out in a small pout. That was the last time she let him see her book collection.. and she was going to have to hide her diary in a different place when she got home later that night. She had a sneaking suspicion that he managed to get a hold to it at some point, and that statement outright confirmed it.
"You're coming with me, and that's that. Won't Steven be happy that you're not some loser homebody?"
"He'd be happier if I were out doing stuff I actually liked. Besides, we don't even know where it's being hosted or who's even hosting it."
"Don't you worry your pretty little head about it. I got my own ways of finding this stuff out," Jodio was making an attempt to reassure her, but that mischievous grin on his face didn't ease any of her concerns, "Just be ready when I pick you up."
"I still don't know why you bring me along to these things in the first place… but fine. Just so I can keep you out of trouble."
~•~
Lucy shifted in place against the wall she pressed herself against with a red plastic up in her shaky hands, watching uncomfortably as a bunch of older teenagers bumped and grinded against each other. No one had batted an eye at her and Jodio when they walked through the front door, and she was on the verge of screaming when she realized her companion wasn't beside her anymore.
A little while ago, someone she recognized as the birthday girl thanks to the sash saying as much around her body rushed off to the back of the house with a distraught expression. Apparently, she hadn't expected so many people to come and most of the attendants were strangers to her anyway. Lucy felt bad for the poor girl, especially because she was one of those many strangers.
Letting out a sigh, Lucy brought the cup to her lips only to be startled by a hand pressing itself against the rim to stop her. Her head quickly snapped to the side, only to visibly relax upon realizing it was just Jodio grinning at her
"Don't drink that. I just watched some guy spike the punch with gin," Jodio said, taking the cup from her hand.. only to down it all himself. Lucy could only stare at him incredulously, and her expression soured slightly as he crushed the now empty cup and dropped it to the ground, "Anyway! Let's blow this joint. I'm done here."
"Oh, already? It feels like we just got here, if I'm being honest."
Jodio snorted at that, shaking his head, "Naw, we've been here for like an hour and I made some really good cash. Now seriously, let's get outta here before someone calls the cops for the noise."
As Jodio dragged Lucy out of the rather nice house her face seemed to go even paler, causing the light spray of freckles across the bridge of her nose and cheeks to become a bit more prominent even in the hazy lights of the party and the setting sun. Did people seriously call cops to end parties? She thought that was just a movie thing! But then again, she didn't attend parties like these in the first place so she didn't know any better.
After they climbed into a car that Jodio probably stole a while ago, Lucy stared out at the passenger door's window at the stars twinkling above. The two of them were silent, and it was honestly kind of nice. Jodio was way more fun to be around when he wasn't saying weird stuff he saw online or dragging her around town. She'd probably like hanging with him if he were more like this.
"So, Lucy. Wanna come over for dinner tomorrow?" Jodio's voice suddenly cut through the silence, which surprised Lucy. He rarely invited her over.. that was usually up to Dragona or Johnny.
"What's the occasion?" She asked, raising her eyebrow a little.
"Johnny told me to ask." Jodio said a little too quickly. Lucy kept her eyes on him for a while longer before shrugging and nodding. She did like Barbara Ann's cooking a lot.
"Then, I'll be there. I'll just let Steven know when you drop me off." A small smile spread across her face as she turned her head back towards the window. She heard him mutter something along the lines of 'alright, cool' in response, only for her smile to grow a bit bigger.
She already knew that Johnny had absolutely nothing to do with that request. Jodio was probably inviting her over to make up for the party tonight in her own way, which kind of warmed her heart. Maybe his rare flickers of kindness was what made her stay by his side even now.