Jesse stood at the window of her office, staring outside. She was itching to get out there before the day was over. Not just out of the building, but out of Beacontown.
Wiggling her wrist, Jesse checked her watch. Usually she wouldn't head home for another thirty minutes, but she was considering making an exception that evening. Hesitating, Jesse glanced out of the window one more time. Then she made up her mind, grabbing her jacket that was draped over her office chair and heading for the door.
As Jesse stepped out into the hallway, she heard a sneeze coming from behind one of the other close doors. For a second she froze, wondering who the hell was in the building with her.
"Oh, right, Radar." Jesse smacked her forehead. "Forgot about him."
She was still getting used to having somebody who worked for her. But Radar was a big help, and Jesse have finally had time to breathe again. And he seemed to love his job a lot, which made it a lot easier for Jesse, considering how guilty she had felt about somebody else sacrificing their personal time to help her.
Jesse walked open the door, opening it a crack and peering in. Radar was sitting as his desk, writing on a piece of paper at the speed of light. Jesse was silently amazed, wondering if he worked at that pace every day. How was his wrist surviving it?
Suddenly Radar glanced up, nearly jumping out of his chair when he saw Jesse. "B-boss!" He gasped, nervously adjusting his glasses. "I d-didn't realise you were h-here!"
"Jesse." She corrected him. "And sorry for giving you a fright."
"Right, right." Radar said nervously, getting up from his chair. "Do you need me to do anything, b- uh Jesse?"
"I want to call it a day." Jesse said, leaning with her shoulder against the door frame. "Don't want to accidentally lock you up in here again – that's happened one too many times already."
Radar let out a nervous chuckle at her words, before nodding. He frowned, glancing over at the clock on the wall.
"I know it's half an hour early." Jesse answered before he could ask. "It's just kind of been a long day, and I have something I'd like to do before going home."
Radar nodded in response, quickly shuffling his papers into a neat pile and grabbing his jacket as well. The two of them walked out of the building together, Jesse locking the door behind them.
"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then, Boss." Radar said, starting to turn away. "Have a good evening!"
"Radar wait." He stopped in his tracks at Jesse's words, almost freezing to the spot.
"Y-yes boss?"
"First of all, it's Jesse." She said, grinning at him. "Secondly, don't freeze up when I talk to you. I was under the impression that I wasn't that terrifying of a person."
Radar chuckled nervously at Jesse's words, nodding his head and scratching the back of his neck. "S-sorry Boss. Uh, Jesse I mean!"
Jesse chuckled, shaking her head. She was about to say goodbye to Radar, before stopping herself as a lightbulb went off.
"Do you have any plans for the evening, that you're in a hurry to get to?"
"No?" Radar responded in surprise, cocking his head to the side.
"Like I said, I have somewhere I'd like to go before returning home." Jesse said, nodding down the road. "I could do with some company."
Radar's eyes widened, looking completely speechless for a second. Jesse was inviting him along with her for company??
"I mean, if you'd rather go home-"
"No!" Radar quickly shook his head. "I'm h-happy to come!"
Jesse smiled at him, before gesturing for him to follow her. Radar had to hold back from skipping the first few steps in excitement. He's never hung out with Jesse outside of work before!
"So where are we heading?" He asked her as they approached Beacontown's gates.
"A little place I like to visit when I need to get away from Beacontown from time to time." Jesse said as they walked outside. "It's not far."
"Need to get away?" Radar asked, frowning.
"Don't get me wrong, I love Beacontown." Jesse said, glancing back at the town. "But it gets a little much sometimes."
Radar nodded thoughtfully, continuing to follow Jesse in silence. They walked out into the field, to a bit of a slope. And to Radar's complete and utter surprise, Jesse sat down right there on the grass.
"Take a seat." She said, patting the grass beside her.
Radar hesitated, finding himself a little against the thought of sitting on the dirty ground. He slowly lowered himself down, sitting beside Jesse.
"I love sunsets." Jesse said dreamily once he was sitting, letting her gaze rest on the horizon. "When we were younger, my friends and I used to watch it every evening."
"It is beautiful." Radar softly agreed.
The sky was a peachy colour, turning more golden the closer it was to the sun. It's warm rays left a yellow tint to the grassy fields.
For a long while, the two of them just watched the sunset in silence.
"Do you sometimes feel like you should have lived your life differently?" Jesse asked out of the blue, her voice almost distant. "That you didn't end up where you wanted to?"
Radar thoughtfully scratched his chin. "Honestly, boss... It's the opposite. I never in a million years imagined that this would be where I turn up." He glanced over at her. "Working for the person I looked up to for most of my life."
Jesse smiled faintly, turning her head in his direction as well. "You really looked up to me?"
"Yes, and I still do." Radar responded honestly.
"I would have thought that I'm not quite what you expected." Jesse said, turning her gaze back to the sunset. "Because a lot of people... they don't realise that behind the title of the Wither Slayer, there's just a normal person."
"Just normal?" Radar shook his head. "No! Even without the title of hero, you're amazing!"
Jesse chuckled, shaking her head as she looked down at the grass below them. "While I appreciate that you think that way, Radar, you are wrong." Her expression fell slightly as she glanced back up at the setting sun. "I too used to be pushed around and picked on. People cheer my name today, not realising I'm the same person they walked over back then."
Radar had fallen quiet, almost taken aback by Jesse's words. He never imagined what her life before the wither storm was, even less expected it to be like that. He turned his head, looking back at the sunset as well, at a loss for words.
It was starting to grow darker, only the glowing rim of the sun still in few. The peachy sky above them had faded to dark purple, the first hints of stars beginning to shine.
"We should get back before monsters start spawning." Jesse said, getting up. "I didn't bring my sword." She held a hand out to Radar, which he gratefully accepted.
"Listen, about what I just said..." She shrugged, smiling sheepishly. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, just don't let anybody ever tell you who you are."
She glanced over at the setting sun one last time.
"Things can change in a heartbeat. I should know."
___
Sooo, you can probably tell that my idea brain wasn't too active today!
My biggest problem was that it kept feeling like my ideas are becoming repetitive. So this is me attempting to write something a little different, but still in my comfort zone to keep writer's block at bay!
I don't hate it, but I definitely feel like I could have done better. Ah well, tomorrow is another day, let's see if I can redeem myself then!
Also, can ya'll believe we're already on the 21st? I feel like months go by so much faster when one of these challenges are going on!
I hope you all enjoyed today's one shot and I'll see you all tomorrow with whichever prompt I draw next!