Mouse Hunt (JO)

[KIT RATHBONE]

There were many things that Kit could forgive and forget over the years. Like getting dumped when he was half conscious and wasted lying on a couch. Or getting pushed, shoved and slapped in the face on more than one occasion. But when the little mouse bitch ended up hurting the one person who was like family to him that was taking it too far.

Kit had spent the whole previous day consoling Kevin because somebody had to open their big fucking mouth and tell their stupid douchebag new boyfriend something that wasn't her damn business in the first place! Kevin had lied to his girlfriend and fed her a story about a picture perfect family that he grew up in. He'd left out the fact that he'd been adopted and that he'd been in the system numerous times. Hell, he even told Kit that when he met Mel that he needed to say they met at summer camp. He felt for his buddy. Kevin was Kit's closest and dearest friend and he was like a brother. Kev was also a little bit of a sap who whimpered a lot when things went sour and that's why Kit was going to clean up the mess.

So he was once again in front of Jo's door. Except this time he didn't bang on it and call her name, knowing that she'd just act like she wasn't home if he did that. Nope. He wasn't going to let her know it was him until he was shouting in her damn mousey face! He might even stay until night and when she turned into a mouse he could just eat her and be rid of her.

He mashed in the little button to ring the doorbell and waited, listening to it chime in the apartment. He was still trying to figure out the right way to approach this, because if he went in there hot headed he might just end up breaking his fist on something hard. He wouldn't hit Jo. Never in a million years would he ever think of hitting her.. but punch a hole in her wall? Definitely possible.

[JORDANNA HAILE GARCIA]

This shifting business was more trouble than it was worth. Every. Night! It was seriously starting to destroy her love life, which was the worst part because for years she had no love life, and now that she DID she had to shift every night. What she would give to spend one night with Brandon and wake up with him! Sure, she could ask him to spend the night but from seven until whenever he passed out she wouldn't be much company. There was only so much a mouse could do to entertain a human.

Jenny was opening the shop this morning so she had time to relax a little. She was considering maybe heading over to the pier and finding Brandon's boat. She thought it might be a little surprise if she just showed up, had some brunch sex, and went on her merry way. He would appreciate it, she was sure. She hopped in the shower and no sooner had she gotten out that she heard the doorbell ring.

No one ever rang Jo's bell. She got excited, a big grin spreading over her lips wondering if it was Brandon! He'd showed up with flowers the night before but she had a found out it was to apologize for completely throwing her under the bus with Kevin. Maybe it was flowers! He had promised flowers for no reason since the ones he brought last night were tainted with a fight and a near breakup.

Jo practically skipped to the door, a towel running through her hair to try and absorb some of the moisture, her other towel tucked neatly around her torso. When she pulled the door open her smile faltered as she stared into Kit's green eyes. She froze for a second and tried shutting the door, but he was faster than her and made sure she didn't get the opportunity to shut him out as she hoped to.

Jo didn't need to be a mind reader to know why he was there. She doubted it had anything to do with the loan and she took a step back into her apartment as if the open space could somehow protect her from what was about to happen. "Okay.. I know why you're here.." She started defensively, holding a hand up to try and stop him. "I swear I didn't know anything when I told Bran! I just.. I didn't know he'd lied! I swear! I had no idea, okay?" She bit her lip hoping it would be good enough but deep down she knew it wouldn't be. He was looking for a fight and he might get one..

[KIT RATHBONE]

When the door opened up Jo looked more than happy to answer it in nothing but a towel. Who the hell answered the door in a towel?! Then again Kit had done it a few times before but still she should have put some damn clothes on! Was she expecting that dickhead boyfriend of hers to come over, was that why she was smiling like a damn idiot? That only made him more angry and watched as the smile was wiped right off her face.

He wasn't about to let her shut the door in his face and stepped in before she could successfully do it, moving straight into the middle of her apartment ready to blow up. "Okay.. I know why you're here.. I swear I didn't know anything when I told Bran!" Jo tried to explain herself as if that would really change how he was going to feel. He didn't care if she didn't know. Why the hell would she know?!

"I don't care!" He shouted as his face darkened and went hard. Sure he got pissed at Jo before in the past and they fought like crazy but this was different. This wasn't about them at all. "You have any idea what you've done, Jo? Any at all?" Kit was practically snarling at her and seeing red. He knew she was going to blow up at him just as he was to her.

"What gives you the right to even talk about Kevin? His business is not yours to tell. I spent all day with him yesterday. He was practically in tears because he thinks he's screwed now. He doesn't feel like he's good enough and who's fault is that, Jo? Tell me!"

[JORDANNA HAILE GARCIA]

"I don't care!" Yep, this definitely wasn't going to go well. Jo felt her heart sink into her stomach, not wanting this to have been the way to start off her day. Why did he need to do this? Why couldn't he just listen to her before coming in guns blazing?

"You have any idea what you've done, Jo? Any at all?" His accusation made her furrow her brows. "Now, hold on just a second.." She started, but he started talking over her again, clearly riled up. "What gives you the right to even talk about Kevin? His business is not yours to tell. I spent all day with him yesterday. He was practically in tears because he thinks he's screwed now. He doesn't feel like he's good enough and who's fault is that, Jo? Tell me!"

"HIS!" She snapped, unable to hold back her anger long enough to think clearly. She held the towel tight around her wishing she wasn't nearly naked so she could flail her arms around, but now she had to be conscientious about what she did with her arms so she wouldn't end up naked in front of Kit. Not that he hadn't seen her goods a hundred times before, but she was with Bran now, and her body was for him to see only.

"Look, you know Kevin's got self esteem issues. I mean, you practically grew up with the kid, so if I know, you do! He shouldn't have lied to Melanie in the first place. That's first, SECONDLY, Kit, Brandon is crazy protective of his sister and when he mentioned that she was dating Kevin I praised the hell out of him and told Brandon that Kev was a good guy and he didn't need to worry about him with Mel. I talked him up, for your information! I mentioned he had humble roots and Brandon asked. I told him in confidence, which, yeah, wasn't my place but you know what? If Kevin hadn't lied in the first place it wouldn't have even mattered, so he has no one to blame but himself!" SO THERE! She thought in her mind feeling like she won this battle already. Why did Kit always have to be so high and fucking mighty?

[KIT RATHBONE]

"Look, you know Kevin's got self esteem issues. I mean, you practically grew up with the kid, so if I know, you do! He shouldn't have lied to Melanie in the first place. That's first, SECONDLY, Kit, Brandon is crazy protective of his sister and when he mentioned that she was dating Kevin I praised the hell out of him and told Brandon that Kev was a good guy and he didn't needt o worry about him with Mel. I talked him up, for your information! I mentioned he had humble roots and Brandon asked. I told him in confidence, which, yeah, wasn't my place but you know what? If Kevin hadn't lied in the first place it wouldn't have even mattered, so he has no one to blame but himself!"

Kit couldn't believe her. "He doesn't NEED you to talk him up, JO! He doesn't need you at all! Butt out of it. I don't care about your stupid boyfriend or if he is Melanie's brother! If he wants to tell her that he's the Prince of Persia then he can! Who are you to say anything different?!" He was seething. Most of his anger was built up from all the damn shifting they'd been doing. He had to spend all yesterday with Kevin and now he was spending today bitching Jo out. He'd spend his night as a damn dog. AGAIN.

"You're not doing anyone any favors! So why don't you just keep your mousey little mouth SHUT from now on?!" He wanted to just punch something! "This is it, Jo! I'm DONE." Kit shook his head and reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet, opening up the billfold he plucked out a folded check. He hadn't gotten a chance to go to the bank with all the shifting yet, and he still had a little bit of money in the back safe that was keeping him afloat until he got to the bank. But now? He didn't want her damn money. He wanted nothing to do with her.

"I don't need your help either. So how about you just keep your little comments to yourself and next time you think you're doing someone a favor? Don't." He ripped the check into pieces and threw them up in the air so they'd slowly rain down around them. He knew if he took her money she'd only nag him about it anyways. Now he wouldn't have to put up with her. "Now I don't owe you shit."

[JORDANNA HAILE GARCIA]

"He doesn't NEED you to talk him up, JO! He doesn't need you at all! Butt out of it." Why did he need to be such a prick ALL the time? She wanted to smack him and push him and kick him square in his damn balls, but she didn't do anything. No one riled her up like him!

"You're not doing anyone any favors! So why don't you just keep your mousey little mouth SHUT from now on?!" "I was, you're just too damn stubborn to see through your own bullshit, you DOG!" She snarled, feeling the tears in her eyes. She hated when he taunted her, which was far too often especially considering their age.

"This is it, Jo! I'm DONE." She rolled her eyes at him and scoffed. She'd heard that before! He was messing with his wallet and she saw him pull out the check she'd given to him the previous morning when he'd come into Sunshine's to talk about the loan he'd needed. "I don't need your help either. So how about you just keep your little comments to yourself and next time you think you're doing someone a favor? Don't." He proceeded to rip up the check and a part of her felt like he was ripping out her heart as well. She had wanted a clean break from him after he'd gotten one of her coworkers pregnant, and then he came back again and again.. she couldn't get rid of him! But ending it like this just hurt. She liked it being on her terms, and as much as it stung to watch him do it and hear his angry words, she still knew it was probably for the best. Probably..

"Now I don't owe you shit."

"GOOD!" She yelled storming up to him and shoving him hard, one arm still wrapped around the towel to make sure it didn't fall. "Only you would see the pure negative in everything I do, and you know what? I don't even care this time!" She yelled, though it was clear she did by the tears in her eyes. "All I've ever done is give, give, give to you and your damn friends and for what? To be treated like THIS? You needed a place to sober up, I gave you one! You needed money to bail yourself out of debt? I wrote you a check! You've been fucking my world up forever and I'm glad you're finally taking a hint you selfish bastard." Tears streaked her face as she shoved him again. "I've been trying to get you out of my life for months now, you damn leech! I don't need you! I don't want you! I don't love you! I don't want anything to do with you!" She cried, only partially meaning it. "Now GET OUT!"

[KIT RATHBONE]

He could see that he'd made Jo cry but it didn't matter to him. Not now. Later he'd probably regret it when his temper died down but right now he could care less. In fact he wanted her to cry! It was such a dick thing to think but he didn't care. He had to try and build Kevin back up after she knocked him down because of her stupid fucking mouth! And yet she was still running that damn mouth in what seemed to be an intentional way of trying to hurt him by shouting jabs at him. He was a leech and she didn't love him or want him.

He'd told her he loved her that drunken night when he'd crawled back to her and needed a friend. But what kind of fucking friend was she really? Everytime he came over she was trying to slam the door in his face or calling him names. Even when he didn't start it! If this was going to be the end of any kind of relationship that they were going to have then so be it. He'd move on. It wasn't like she'd be that hard to get over. He'd done it time and time again!

Kit half stormed and was half shoved out of the apartment but he was glad to be out of there. "Keep telling yourself you're a good person JO! Maybe one day you fucking will be!" He shouted as the door slammed and then turned and made his way down the hall. He was too angry. A part of him blamed Kevin for not being more of a man and just sucking it up, but he knew it wasn't all Kevin's fault. Hell, it wasn't entirely Jo's fault either. Everyone shared some of the blame here and that included Jo's stupid boyfriend. He just hoped he didn't run into him on the way home or the whole situation would really get ugly.

He didn't care who got hurt at this point. He was probably going to lose his bar and in turn his home because he'd ripped up that check. He'd also just lost one of his oldest friends. He hoped Kevin would be satisfied at least.

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