Cruel & Blue (Eyeless Jack story)

Chapter 54

His hair was black and in his face just a little. Skin pale but not to the point where it's paper white. His smile was soft and warm but his eyes spoke something else. Dark circles surrounded them, hinting that he didn't get much sleep, and his irises were a dark crimson. Not as red as Zalgo's human form eyes, but nonetheless still unsettling.

"How have you been, Toby?," the Doctor asked in a smooth and collected voice.

Toby gave his genuine, innocent smile and said, "I've been good!" He twitched.

The Doctor chuckled and remarked, "I see your tics are still the same. Where is Clockwork?"

"She's in the back room getting everything ready for the surgery," Toby replied. "Elizabeth is in her room."

"Ah, yes the little proxy. I can't wait to see her after so long," he mused. Dr. Smiley scoffed and said, "Excuse me, Toby, but I'm a bit thirsty. Is there something I can drink? Water, perhaps?"

"S-Sure thing," Toby stuttered and turned away to walk to the kitchen. The Doctor sighed and adjusted his coat. As he fiddled with the cuffs, he smirked and said, "Are you going to stand there all day or will you say hello?"

I knew he wasn't talking to Toby, and certainly not to himself (at least, I think). The Doctor suddenly raised his gaze up to me and I quickly reeled away from the corner. "No need to be shy," he said, "I don't bite. At least, when unprovoked." He stifled a chuckle, which made his comment slightly sinister.

Cautiously, I stepped out from the cover of the hallway and into the main room. The Doctor's expression became a bit lost for a moment before he grinned and remarked, "Well, you're certainly an interesting specimen." He narrowed his eyes at me and leaned his head forward slightly. "Have I worked on you before?"

"What?," I murmured.

"Never mind," he brushed off his previous sentence. The Doctor held out a hand for me to shake and greeted me, "Hello, I am Dr. Smiley. And, you are...?"

"Jeff," I answered and took his hand.

His eyes lit up for a moment which I questioned. "Toby has told me about you over the phone," he said, "as well as another friend. I thank you for bringing Elizabeth all of this way."

I nodded and replied, "I should thank you for coming here for the surgery."

"Yes, well, she is important for the sake of humanity's survival," Dr. Smiley jested, "though, she is important to some more than others." His eyes flicked down to my left hand, where my ring was, for a brief moment and I quickly withdrew myself from him.

Toby suddenly came back from the kitchen with a glass of water in hand. He handed it to the Doctor but not before twitching and spilling some over the side. "Aww," he whined, "...I'll get paper towels." His honey-brown eyes looked up at me and he said, "H-Hi, Jeff. Do you want water too?"

"No, I'm good," I said.

He nodded reluctantly and left the main room again. Beside me, the Doctor chuckled and remarked, "Things are a bit tense, I see." I disregarded his words.

Toby came back eventually with paper towels and cleaned up the spill on the floor. As he left to throw everything away, Clockwork walked out into the living room. She gave me a quick glare before flashing a collected smile towards the Doctor. I just turned my face away and stared at the couch.

"It's nice to see you again, Doctor," she greeted with a chipper tone.

"Hello, Clockwork," Dr. Smiley beamed, "it's good to see you, too."

"You have everything you need right?," she asked, almost nervously.

The Doctor laughed and said, "Of course, I do. All right here." He pulled up a suitcase on wheels, which I hadn't noticed before until now.