Interlude [h.s]

eighty-five

"Oh, so that's why," he says, amusement in his tone. "What did she do to you?"

Jayden stands up. "I'll go check on your food." He leaves the room in an instant.

Jesse glances at Alouette. "Did you piss on his pillow or something?"

She throws one of his pillows in his direction. "Mind your business."

He falls back on the bed, laughing.

There's a single knock on the door.

Alouette looks up curiously. "Expecting someone?"

Jesse laughs and stands up. "I wish." He flattens the creases on his shirt as he walks, trying to gain back an appearance of elegance after having spent the past few hours on the mattress. He opens the door and closes it.

Alouette raises an eyebrow. "Have you just seen a demon?"

Jesse lets out a loud laugh, seeming to find unintentional irony in her words. "That would've been less frightening," he whispers. "Your puppy's here."

Alouette couldn't jump off the bed any faster. "What do you mean, Harry's here?" Her eyes dart to the door. She's suddenly all too aware of the fact that she's spent the last three hours sprawled on top of another man's bed. Now she feels a little sick.

Jesse rolls his eyes, his back still against the door. "Yes, Harry, your puppy, your dictator slash boyfriend slash your possible future murderer if he decides he doesn't like you anymore, that one, you know, the one you were supposed to kill but then decided against it because he was just that good and now we're all in the shit because of—"

"It's not that he was that good—"

Jesse's eyes widen. "Oh my, is he not good?"

"That's not what I meant, he's—" Alouette suddenly realises she's discussing Harry's skills in bed with a near stranger while Harry is standing on the other side of the door. She blinks a couple of times. How did her life get to this point? "We're not talking about this now, nor ever," she states, "besides, you're rambling."

Jesse's eyes couldn't get any wider. "Yeah, because I'm terrified! What the hell is he doing here, he's been ignoring us for the past five days and now he suddenly decides to pay us a visit at ten in the evening?! Where I come from, we call that getting rid of evidence hour."

Alouette chuckles. "Oh come on now, Harry could get rid of evidence at any time of the day."

Jesse sends her a long, silent look.

She clears her throat. "Not that it's a good thing, of course. It's just useful sometimes, I guess?"

He nods slowly. "I knew there had to be a reason why you like him that much," he says quietly.

Alouette's defences go up instantly. "What do you mean?"

"You're just not as innocent as you seem," Jesse replies. "You like having him on your side, don't you? You like that he'll stop at nothing to get what he wants—you may say you don't, but deep down, you admire it for it." He smiles. "Suddenly you aren't so confusing anymore."

"I don't—" She closes her eyes. Not the right moment. "Open the door."

Jesse sends her a puzzled look. "What?"

"Open the door before Harry reconsiders his decision to let us stay here," she murmurs out in an exhausted whisper, "I'm pretty sure it's the first time in the past six years someone keeps the President out of a room in his own Palace for this long." Not the first time someone shuts a door on his face, though, a traitorous voice in her mind whispers.