(no subject)

[hebeimmortalized]

Feb 17, 2017; late evening

Jillie doesn't find Girl before she leaves the club. She doesn't think to text her, or look for her. She just leaves, because she suddenly has to leave, get away, get out. It's cold in her revealing clothes, and she doesn't have a jacket with her. She'd left that at the fucking club, too. It doesn't matter, anyway: she's too upset to feel it.

And the night gets worse.

She doesn't see him in time to avoid him. She doesn't know his name, hasn't ever seen him before. She takes a deep breath and stops when he stands in her way.

"Move," she says. It's an effort to get even that out.

"Oh, is that any way to talk to Daddy?" he coos. His voice sounds sickly sweet, but his breath stinks as he reaches for her. "Come here, Darlin', I'll keep you nice and warm."

"Don't touch me!" she snaps. She slaps his arms away from her and takes a step back. His lusty smirk twists into a snarl.

"Hey," he growls. He reaches for her again, hands vices on her arms. "You don't go walking dressed like that if you don't want some attention. You want me to fight you for it, that it?"

Jillie feels something sharp and cold in her chest. "Get off—!"

"That's the plan," he says. "And you're gonna help me with that, aren't you, you little slut?"

It's fear, she realizes. That's what she's feeling. It sits like ice in her belly and she feels her fingers tingle as the panic attack starts to set in. She tries to pull away, struggles in his grip. Her mesh top rips a little, and it's just enough give for her to slide out of his hands. She stumbles back, heels barely keeping her upright. He snarls like a fucking dog and lunges for her again.

Comments

[thebloodyglue]

He hadn't meant to follow her. He hadn't meant to, but he knew enough about her mental state to worry when he saw her spin out like that and he hadn't been lying - she was beautiful and it had felt good to dance with her and, when he catches sight of her ahead of him (it makes sense; their new house isn't far from Newt and Kavinsky's), he decides to keep her in his eyeline.

Which is just as well, when he sees what happens.

In the Scorch, Newt learned how to run even when his knee hurts like hell. He breaks into a run, shouting and, when he pulls level with Jillie, he hauls back and swings and it's a really solid punch that he lands, enough to snap the guy's head back. His fingers explode with pain, but that's okay. He turns, noticing the tear in her shirt.

"Are you okay? Did this clunkhead hurt you?"

[hebeimmortalized]

"Don't touch me!" she snaps, but it's obviously on instinct. She's not breathing levelly, and she's paler. Her lipstick is too bold, too stark, against her bloodless face as she fights through her panic. Careless of the filthy, cold ground, she drops to her knees, sits on her thighs, feeling the bite of slush and ice and asphalt. She shudders and looks up at the guy Newt just decked.

He's evidently decided that Jillie is more trouble than she's worth, because he's cradling his face and stumbling away. She's sure he must be bitching in some fashion, but all she can hear right now is her blood rushing in her ears, her own harsh, uneven breaths.

[thebloodyglue]

"Jillie," says Newt, well aware of what a panic attack looks like. He crouches down, his hands spread in surrender, in submission. "Jillian. You're okay. You're safe, okay?" He shrugs out of his coat, battered leather, and holds it out to her. He knows better than to try and swoop it around her shoulders. "I'm here."

[hebeimmortalized]

She can't get her fingers to move, but she reaches for the coat anyway. The words are getting through, but her brain is having a hard time catching up to them.

It takes a long time — or, it feels like a long time — before Jillie can breathe normally, before her fingers get feeling back in them. The tension in her body gives way to shivers, and the first sob comes unbidden, and she folds over her thighs as the rest follow.

[thebloodyglue]

Newt stays crouched down in front of her, doesn't try to touch her, even as she starts crying, even as his heart aches for her.

"Jillie," he says, softly. "C'mon, love. It's Newt. You're safe, okay? Let me get you home."

[hebeimmortalized]

She manages to work her tears down to sniffles, and she swallows hard. She's still hugging Newt's coat, and she pushes it back towards him, unaware that he'd intended to cover or warm her with it. She pushes up onto her knees first, face slowly shuttering into blankness. She pats her hips, her ass, her tits, looking for her phone. But she's pretty sure that it's in her wallet, or in her coat pocket, and neither of those are with her.

"My stuff," she says, voice thick and husky from crying, from yelling at the perv. "Girl," she adds, looking around. "Where am I?" The events are there, it isn't that she's forgotten what's happened, but the geography is hazy, and she can't visually place herself on a street.

[thebloodyglue]

"We're not far from the bar. A couple of blocks. Your coat is...yeah, it's probably back there, if you forgot to pick it up. And Dee can look after herself. You can wear my coat until we find yours." He offers her his hand, in case she needs help getting up. "C'mon, love. Let me help."

[hebeimmortalized]

She nods, and she clutches his hand. The tightness with which she does belies the expression on her face, which has been all but schooled into neutral. She manages to get her feet under her, and she sways a little before getting her balance back. Her knees and thighs and ass are dirty from sitting on the ground. She's got broken glass biting into her thigh, leaving a tiny trickle of blood. She's had worse shaving; she barely notices it.

"It's cold, you should—" She offers his coat again, as if she doesn't feel it, herself.

[thebloodyglue]

"Put the coat on, Jillie," he says. "I'm fine. I promise." He flashes a smile meant to be reassuring. "C'mon. I'll walk you home. I'll call Dee to make sure she grabs your coat for you, okay? Are Jack and Poison at home?"

[hebeimmortalized]

"I, I think so," she says. She pulls the coat close again, then pulls it around herself, almost absently. She's curvier, fuller, than Newt; she fills it out differently than he does, and she hugs it close around herself. It's warm around her from his own body heat, and she shivers a little.

She doesn't talk for the rest of the walk, but she also doesn't let go of Newt, clutching his arm, his hand, at times walking awkwardly with her need to stay close.

Part of her is terrified of Jack's reaction. She's got tear tracks on her face, her makeup is smudged; she's dirty and her shirt's torn. She can imagine what she looks like.

[thebloodyglue]

"I can clean you up at my place before I take you home, if you want?" says Newt, quietly, letting her hold on to him however she needs. He glances across at her. "Whatever you need, Jillie."

On 19 February 2017 at 23:45, hebeimmortalized - DW Comment < dw_null@dreamwidth.org> wrote:

[hebeimmortalized]

She shakes her head. "I just want to go to bed," she says. She doesn't want to even clean off, though she knows she has to. Her arms are twinging in a way that suggest bruising from the guy's hands, and she wants to burn the memory off of her skin.

[thebloodyglue]

"Okay," says Newt, nodding, his hair slipping into his eyes. He pushes it back with his free hand, fingers on his left hand intertwined with hers. They walk in silence until the townhouse comes into view. "You know where I am if you need me, okay? I'll get my jacket back off Jack tomorrow."

[hebeimmortalized]

She nods, and she stares at the house for a long, long minute. Then she turns and pulls him into a hug. She's shivering a little, obviously from residual nerves, and she clings to him.

"Thank you," she whispers. Her chin wobbles a little when she pulls away, but she doesn't start crying again.

[thebloodyglue]

"You're welcome, love," says Newt, wrapping his arms around her for a moment and squeezing her gently. "I'll call you, okay? In a few days." A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. "I'd love to dance with you again, Jillie." He nods towards the door. "Go on. Check they're home and then I'll get going."

[hebeimmortalized]

She feels like a little girl, like she's fourteen and being escorted home by the fucking cops or something, as she steps up to the stoop and checks the knob, then rings the bell. A light flicks on, visible through the front window, and she glances back at Newt and waves a little.