"You know, when you said you were going to be home tonight, I didn't expect you to bring the office with you." Petra said, sinking down in her chair with frustration.
"I didn't get any less work than I normally do." Jesse replied matter-of-factly, not lifting her gaze from the letter she was writing out. "I did come home early instead of staying at the office, but I still need to get this done at some point." She glanced up at Petra briefly. "After all, if I don't get this done, I'd have to work on it tomorrow. I don't think you would have much love for that, would you?"
"Hell no." Petra muttered. "It's your day off for a reason, Lukas is coming over and everything."
"Exactly." Jesse replied matter-of-factly, looking back down and continuing to write. She ignored the repeated sighs, and other bored signals Petra was letting off.
In all fairness, she did feel a little guilty. It's been a few months since the last of the Order had split up, Lukas moving to his own place. She had been at work every day, and honestly didn't know what Petra was doing to keep herself occupied all day long.
Lukas was coming back over the next day for a short one-week visit. Jesse had arranged for Radar to take over her work for seven days, so she could spend some time with her friends. She had even come home early on her last day of work to start making it up to Petra, but alas – the work still needed to get done.
"You know-" Jesse groaned internally when Petra started speaking again, her voice shattering through Jesse's concentration. "When you said we were going to have this evening to ourselves, I was thinking it meant we were going to do some fun things.
You know, running around outside and killing mobs like we used to? Or hell, even something more boring inside like playing a video game! I did not expect to sit and watch you sign papers."
"Nothing's stopping you from going to bed." Jesse pointed out, not looking up.
"It's 8 pm!" Petra said, throwing her hands into the air. "You know I don't go to sleep for at least another two hours!"
"Yeah." Jesse said, sternly glancing up at Petra. "That's because you're always drinking way more coffee than your supposed to."
Petra muttered something about Jesse being a pain, rolling her eyes. But then it looked like a light bulb went on inside her head and she perked up.
"If you can get your work done in the blink of an eye, can we do something fun then?" Petra asked, planting her hands on the table and leaning towards Jesse.
"When I'm done, I'm going to bed." Jesse replied, pushing Petra backwards again to get her shadow off the papers.
"But what if you're not tired?" Petra asked mischievously.
"I'm already tired." Jesse deadpanned, not looking up.
"Just listen to me for one second." Petra said, snatching Jesse's pen out of her hands. "You said it yourself, I have way too much energy in the evenings... how would you like some of that energy?"
Jesse blinked a few times, looking at the redhead in front of her with a dumbfounded expression. Then she realised what Petra meant, immediately shaking her head.
"No, no, no and another no!" She said firmly, reaching for her pen in Petra's hand.
"You've never even tasted coffee!" Petra argued back, holding Jesse's pen out of reach. "You just decided it's evil the day I brought that coffee machine home!"
"Yes, because ever since you brought it home, you've been all over the place like an excited Chihuahua." Jesse replied firmly. "And whenever you aren't, you're walking around like zombie."
"You just scaled this up about five times." Petra said, rolling her eyes. She tossed Jesse's pen back onto her paper, the tip leaving an ink dot in the middle of the letter. "Once, that's all I'm saying. And you'll understand everything."
Not giving Jesse another chance to argue back, Petra shot out of the room like a bullet. Jesse groaned, pulling her fingers through her disheveled chestnut hair. Sometimes she questioned how Petra haven't gotten her to go grey yet.
Jesse had barely finished her paragraph when the familiar sweet aroma of coffee entered the room. She had to admit, the smell was rather nice.
"You're not going to take no for an answer, are you?" Jesse asked as Petra promptly pushed away her glass of juice and put down the coffee mug in it's place.
"How long have you known me?" Petra pointed out, sitting down in her chair with her own mug of coffee. She expectantly watched as Jesse continued writing. "Jesse, if you're not going to drink that, I will."
"Be my guest." Jesse said matter-of-factly, earning a long, dragged out groan from Petra.
Sighing, she gave into the redhead's wishes and reached over for the mug, carefully picking it up and bringing her to her lips. The coffee looked and smelled a lot better than it actually tasted, and Jesse had to hold back from shuddering at the bitter taste.
"And?" Petra asked expectently.
"It goes on the list of one of the weirdest things I have ever tasted." Jesse replied, looking over at Petra with an unamused expression.
"I knew you'd like it!" Petra replied, grinning broadly.
Jesse rolled her eyes, putting down the mug and continuing to write. As much as she didn't like the taste at first, a part of her wanted to take another sip of it.
"I'm really not into watching you write this." Petra replied, getting up and tipping the entire mug of liquid into her mouth. "I'm going to take a shower, hopefully when I get back the caffeine starts kicking in and you can get a little more alive."
With those words she just slammed her empty mug back on the table, practically jogging out of the room with a bout of energy. Jesse just rolled her eyes at Petra, before reaching over for her own mug again.
She found herself now actually liking the taste of the coffee. The bitterness had put her off at first, but now she barely tasted it. Why didn't she like this flavour?
After Jesse had finished the entire mug, she went back to scribbling her letter. She was starting to tap her foot to the ground repeatedly as she worked. Some beat of music would've been nice.
Jesse pushed the finished paper to the side, pulling out the next one. She was feeling really good, refreshed and excited. She wanted to get the job over with.
Jesse's eyes landed on the mug, a grin playing on her lips. She wondered if Petra would mind her having another cup? If one gave her this much energy, how good would two work?
Jesse pushed her chair back, getting up and grabbing the mug. She energetically walked to the kitchen, straight up to Petra's coffee machine. The redhead had stuck a sticky note to the side it ages ago, that read: "Petra's. Don't Touch."
Jesse ignored the note, it was Petra's idea after all. She put her mug beneath it, looking at all the buttons. She's never operated a coffee machine before and wasn't exactly sure what to be pressing.
Shrugging, Jesse pressed a few buttons that looked like they could be the right things, grinning broadly as a thin trickle of brown liquid started filling up her mug. While it filled up, she walked to the fridge to get out the milk.
Jesse took her cup once the machine beeped, carefully pouring in some milk. The sweet aroma of coffee had already filled the kitchen.
Jesse lifted the mug up, taking a small sip. She grimaced; it was a lot more bitter than the cup Petra had made her. Did this mean she pressed the wrong buttons?
Jesse didn't want the coffee to go to waste, but she definitely wasn't settling for the bitter stuff. She dipped back her head, downing the mug of bitter liquid, before putting the mug back under the machine to try again. She ignored the burning in her throat from gulping down the hot beverage so quickly.
Jesse impatiently waited for the second mug to fill up, excitedly taking it and putting the milk in. She groaned when it tasted just as bitter as the previous one. Jesse slowly drank the mug, trying to think what she was doing wrong. Then it hit her like a bullet.
Sugar! She forgot sugar!
Jesse quickly finished the mug, placing it in the machine for a third time. She wasn't as desperate for a sweet coffee any more; after two entire mugs the bitter stuff was growing on her. But she wasn't going to go back to work before she had one decent cup.
Jesse was grinning from ear to ear as she got out the sugar. She was feeling incredibly enthusiastic for this evening. She wondered what wild things she and Petra could get up to tonight?
The machine beeped and Jesse excited snatched her mug. How much sugar did Petra always put in? Jesse had no clue, so she just tipped the sugar jar over the mug and let an unmeasured amount sink into the brown liquid.
If it was too much, how bad could it be after all? Jesse has never felt this careless, and it honestly felt great!
Jesse nearly forgot to pour in the milk, giggling childishly when she realised her mistake. Once she was done, she brought the mug to her mouth, greedily taking a large gulp. It was quite sweet, a lot sweeter than Petra usually made it. Jesse didn't care at all.
Once she had finished the mug, savouring every gulp, she decided it was time to go back to her paperwork. She put the mug under the machine one more time so she had something to take back with her.
Jesse impatiently tapped her foot as she waited for coffee machine. She just couldn't stand still, she felt too excited. She started thinking of all the exciting things they could do tomorrow when Lukas was there. Maybe they could saddle up some horses and go galloping outside of Beacontown, racing each other through the fields? Hell yeah, it sounded like a lot of fun.
Finally Jesse grabbed her fifth coffee, walking back to the dining room with it. She sat down on her chair, looking down at the papers in front of her. She really wasn't in the mood to work on them, how was she going to sit still?
"You done?" She looked up, hearing Petra's voice.
The redhead was coming down the stairs two at a time, her red hair damp. She was grinning broadly, but her smile faded at the papers in front of Jesse.
"You're almost exactly where I had left you!" She said in dismay.
"Sorry." Jesse said, grinning. "Got distracted."
"Don't smile at me like that!" Petra snapped, crossing her arms. "I thought we were going to have some fun together, while you're working at a tortoise's pace!"
Jesse's face fell as she looked down at her papers. Fun? She wanted to have fun with Petra, she wanted to run and jump and put her energy to use!
Jesse's face laced with determination and she all of a sudden shoved her papers off the table with one swipe of her arm. Petra watched with wide eyes as Jesse's valuable papers fluttered to the ground. Her friend got up, raking her fingers through her chestnut hair before planting her hands on her hips and grinning at Petra.
"I'm sick and tired of all this work." Jesse said firmly. "I'd much rather be doing something enjoyable with you."
"Now that's the spirit!" Petra said, breaking into a smile and holding up a hand for a high-five.
Jesse slammed her hand against Petra, their skin connecting letting out a loud slap. She felt her palm sting, but it honestly didn't even hurt. Petra on the other hand was silently gasping and shaking her hand.
"Good grief Jesse, usually I'm the one who gives high-fives like this!" Petra said, looking at her red palm.
Jesse just laughed at Petra's reaction, reaching over for her mug of coffee and quickly gulping it down before it could get cold. She slammed the mug back down on the table, grinning up at Petra.
"So, you ready to catch up on all the fun we missed out on while I was working?"
"Hell, yes I am!" Petra said excitedly, grinning. "Let's stretch this late into the night! Want a second cup of coffee to keep you going?"
"Sure!" Jesse said excitedly, not bothering to correct Petra that this would be her sixth cup.
She excitedly skipped after the redhead as they went into the kitchen, Petra shoving a mug underneath the machine and pressing some buttons.
"So what are we going to do?" Jesse asked, excitedly hopping from one foot to the other. "Mob hunting? I'm feeling hyped enough to take on three endermen at once!"
"Uh..." Petra started uncertainly, lifting an eyebrow. She gestured down at her clothes. "We're wearing pyjamas, Jesse, not armour."
"We can change!" Jesse said excitedly. "Don't you want to get out there and kill some things?"
"You're making it sound inviting." Petra said, leaning against the counter and folding her arms. "Maybe tomorrow, the three of us can. For tonight, let's stick to something like the TV."
"Why are you so boring all of a sudden?" Jesse asked with a grown, hopping up to sit on the table. She hopped back down again in a few seconds, feeling to fidgety to stay seated.
"Says the girl who's in an office six days of the week." Petra shot back, grinning as she removed the mug and starting putting sugar in. Jesse was disappointed to see Petra only putting three spoonfuls in; she was kinda enjoying the sickly sweet coffee!
"So what do you say?" Petra asked as she slid Jesse's coffee to her across the counter and made another cup for herself. "We could watch TV, or maybe dig out a video game...""
"That sounds boring." Jesse complained, chugging down the hot beverage, barely feeling as it burned her tongue. "I want to do something exciting! After being cooped up all day you can't expect you sit still!"
Petra raised her eyebrows, looking back over her shoulder from pouring milk into her coffee. "Jesse, did you hit your head while I was in the shower? What's gotten into you?"
"My statement still stands." Jesse said, putting down her empty cup and leaning against the fridge while still grinning like an absolute idiot.
"Well, I'm glad you're opening up to reason and realising how boring you became." Petra said, taking a sip of her own coffee and starting to walk out of the kitchen. Jesse excitedly skipped after her.
"So." Petra said, flopping down on the carpet in front of the couch and picking up the TV remote. "You have any movies in mind- OW!"
Petra nearly completely toppled over from the pillow that had hit her in the face. She looked up at Jesse, who was giggling uncontrollably, while holding the pillow she had just whacked Petra with.
"Oh, you're paying for that!" Petra said, grabbing another pillow off the couch flinging it at Jesse.
Jesse ducked out of the way, snorting with laughter as she threw Petra with her pillow – and missed by mile. The pillow hit the coffee table, knocking Petra's half-filled mug down. The carpet saved it from breaking, but the coffee seeped into the carpet and the bit that didn't, pooled on the wooden floor.
Both of them blankly stared at the mess, before Jesse grabbed her pillow back up off the floor. "We'll clean it later!" She said, giving Petra a playful shove. The redhead was caught off guard, stumbling back onto the couch.
"No fair!" She called after Jesse, leaping and and chasing after her with her pillow held above her head.
Jesse didn't care that she was probably waking up the entire Beacontown, shrieking with laughter each time Petra's pillow made contact with her. As much as she wanted to fight mobs, a pillow fight was quite the fun substitute.
Jesse swung around, aimlessly waving her pillow at Petra and only just managing to get a head shot in.
"Oh no you don't!" Petra responded instantly, barreling into Jesse the two of them landing on the carpet in a laughing heap.
Petra pinned Jesse down, yelling something about being the winner. But Jesse was too busy shredding her lungs with laughter, she barely heard Petra. The redhead joined in the overwhelming giggling and snickering, rolling off Jesse till both of them was lying flat on the ground, just laughing.
Jesse closed her eyes, breathing out a contented sigh of relief. She felt so happy, and carefree at that moment. But also... tired.
As the adrenaline wore off, Jesse felt mind fogging over with drowsiness. It felt like she was going to slip into sleep at any moment.
And within the next few seconds, she started feeling physically sick. Pain numbly started pulsing through her head, making it feel like the world was tilting around Jesse. It felt like she had been shoved into an oven, sweat breaking out on her skin. Her stomach was churning, making her feel sick to the core.
"So, what do you want to do next?" She heard Petra asked ask. There was a moment of silence. "Jesse? Are you OK? Holy crap you're pale!"
Jesse felt a hand on her shoulder, giving her a gentle shake. Petra's hand felt incredibly cool against her skin, and she felt disappointed when it left. "Jesse, can you hear me?"
Jesse forced her eyes open to show that she was awake, although it made her feel ten times worse. Two pairs of wide blue eyes were staring down at her.
"Petra?" Jesse asked groggily. "Did you multiply?"
"What?"
If Jesse wasn't feeling like absolute crap at that moment, the overwhelming confusion in Petra's voice would have made her laugh. But she was too drained to even notice.
Petra shook her head, brushing off the odd question Jesse had asked her. "Jesse, what's wrong? You look like you went from completely energised to practically dying in two ticks."
Jesse groaned, letting her eyes fall close again and reaching her hand up to her forehead. She gritted her teeth, trying to rid herself of the growing nausea.
"Is this what coffee do to you when it wears off?" She asked Petra numbly.
"If it did, do think I would be drinking it?" Petra asked her in near-annoyance. "Two cups are harmless."
"What about six?"
Jesse received no reply, prying open her heavy eyelids again and squinting up at Petra. Mouth open, blue eyes wide.
"Huh? Where did you get the number six from-" She stopped herself, slowly sitting back on her hunches. "Jesse, what were you doing while I was taking a shower?"
Just by her voice, Jesse could tell that it was really more of a rhetorical question. She watched as Petra did a face-palm, groaning.
"First you said you didn't like it, but then you got addicted to it in in ten minutes?" Petra groaned. "Jesse, you moron!"
"Yeah, I really feel like a moron right now." Jesse replied with no humor in her voice, letting her head drop back onto the carpet and closing her eyes again.
"Well, how do you feel right now?" Petra asked her, sounding slightly uncertain about what to do.
"Sick." Jesse just replied bluntly, not opening her eyes again.
"Alright, let's get you off the floor first." Petra said.
Jesse could hear her getting up from the carpet, and soon felt Petra's hands beneath her armpits. The redhead grunted as she heaved Jesse off the ground, clumsily picking her up.
"Damnit Jesse, you got heavy since the wither storm!" Petra wheezed. "What have you been eating at the office, cake?"
Jesse didn't reply, just letting out a pained, nauseated groan in response.
"Don't even think about throwing up on me." She heard Petra warn. "Or I will drag you all the way outside and leave you in the middle of the road, in this state!"
"Whatever." Jesse mumbled.
She felt Petra haul her over to the couch, harshly dumping her on it. Jesse grunted slightly, but then just had her eyes fall close again. Her throat felt dry and was stinging, most likely from the mugs of coffee she had downed without acknowledging the temperature.
"Water." Jesse mumbled out nearly inaudibly.
"What?" Petra asked, sounding confused. "What do you need a walnut for?"
"Water." Jesse repeated a bit more clearly, still not opening her eyes.
"What am I, your servant?" Petra asked her in annoyance. "You can get your own water!"
Jesse turned her head towards Petra, forcing her eyes open to a give her friend the 'you think?' look. "Please."
Petra rolled her eyes, but seemed to realise that Jesse really needed some assistance at that moment. She strode out of the kitchen, looking rather annoyed, soon coming back with the water for Jesse.
"What were you thinking?" She snapped at Jesse, her loud words making Jess winch.
"I don't know?" Jesse muttered, taking a small sip of water and rubbing her sore forehead. "I felt really good after one cup..."
"I take it back, I don't want a walkthrough of your addiction." Petra just replied, holding up her hands.
Jesse tried to give Petra a smile, but then just sunk back down on the couch, exhaustion consuming her.
But that wasn't where her night ended.
------------------------
Lukas was grinning broadly as he walked up the steps of the Order Hall, carrying two gifts under his one arm for Jesse and Petra. He was quite excited to see the two of them again after quite a few months.
Lukas took out his key and unlocked the front door, stepping into the building. It was deathly quiet inside and – as he started wandering down the hall - he wondered if they were were even home.
"Hello?" Lukas asked uncertainly as he stepped into the living room.
It was quite a mess, pillows from the couch scattered across the floor. There was even a discarded mug on the ground, surrounded by a dry, sticky stain that looked like it was spilled coffee.
Lukas hesitantly put the two gifts on the coffee table, looked around him. At the dining table, he could see papers scattered across the floor. Walking over, Lukas picked one up and turned it over.
"Town expansion to the west." He read to himself. It looked like the type of document Jesse would have in her office.
Lukas turned around at a muffled sound in the distance, almost sounding like the rattling of dishes in the kitchen. He swiftly started walking there, glad to know that at least somebody was home.
Lukas stopped in the doorway of the kitchen, surprised to see Petra standing there with her back turned to him. She was making coffee, her coffee machine still having the sticky note on that was there even before he left.
Lukas glanced at the clock on the wall, and then his watch. Six AM. It was quite unusual for Petra to be up at that time, as she had a habit of snoozing until later in the day.
"Hello?" Lukas greeted hesitantly.
Petra glanced over her shoulder, before turning around and leaning with her back against the counter. Only now did Lukas notice that she was wearing pyjamas, looking like she had barely slept the previous night.
"Hey Lukas." She greeted him sleepily. "Glad to see you again."
"Likewise." Lukas replied. "Where's Jesse?"
"In bed." Petra replied, stifling a yawn as she reached for her cup of coffee.
"Really?" Lukas asked, mildly surprised. "Usually she'd be up early with you still sleeping."
"Believe me." Petra said, giving Lukas an irritated look. "I want to be in bed right now. I was up all night with her."
Lukas raised his eyebrows, all of a sudden concerned. "Jesse isn't sick, is she?" He asked her worriedly.
Petra snorted, taking a sip of coffee. "Oh she's sick. Sick with a hangover."
Lukas was speechless for nearly an entire minute. "But Jesse doesn't drink!" He blurted out in surprise.
"Not alcohol. But she does drink coffee."
___
Ooh, boy, I had way too much fun with this one! What a great start to getting back into writing one shots.
So, @Nix7303 did a sort of similar, yet very different, one shot where they put their Jesse on a caffeine high as well. I mostly joked, saying I wondered what my Jesse would be getting up to on a caffeine high. But then I started puzzling over the thought even more, and then I couldn't resist writing it!
So thanks for the idea! :D
Not a coffee drinker myself, I've never been fond of that taste that Jesse fell in love with instantly xD
But this was a blast, as I said. Forgive me for focusing it on Jesse and Petra once again, as I do 90% of the time xD
I thought Petra would be the best victim to deal with the caffeine drunk Jesse, not only because she would be the one to encourage her into it, but she would also be anything but sympathetic when Jesse's buzz creased.
Anyhow, that's all I have to say for this one. Next up, I'm going to do a sequel for "It'll Be OK"
Please shower me in some requests so I can get this book back on its feet! XD