The Demon's Mighty Grip [PRIVATE]

Joey erupted into laughter at Tynan's question. It wasn't so much what he had asked that got to her so much as it was the seriousness of his voice when he asked it.

"N-no," she said around her laughter. "We're definitely not." She finally managed to regain her composure some, but she was still grinning stupidly by the end of her laugh attack. "It's a saying. Just choose whatever looks good and I'll order it," she explained, pointing at the various pictures of different types of pizza.

ooc;; xD maybe you're just good at playing clueless characters? lol I love Tynan and Elspeth, they're both adorable

also, 'meat lover's chocolate milkshake fries?' help im dying i can't stop laughing xDDD

ic;; Joey buried her face into her sleeve as Tynan ordered. Her shoulders heaved with laughter--if not for the protection of her arm, her laughter would probably be ringing out throughout all of the food court. When she finally looked up, there were tears in her eyes.

"I-I'm sorry sir," she apologized. "My friend here--he's an exchange student at my school. He doesn't quite understand how... how...." she let out a snort of laughter, covering her mouth with both hands to keep from erupting again. After a few moments, she simply shook her head, pointing to what it was she thought Tynan had been trying to order.

ooc;; xDD just imagine it. You're on your way to work, you decide to go to McDonald's, you're having just the worst day ever. And then the guy in line in front of you says this:

"Yes, I'd like the big mac fries sundae mcnugget with cheese"

ic;; Joey grinned, using her sleeve to wipe away her tears. The fact that Tynan was now laughing despite not understand why made the situation even more comical.

"I'll have to teach you how to order food, it seems," she murmured. Her laughter had died away, but she was unable to get rid of the giant smile that was plastered onto her face. She payed for their order, took the pizza, and made her way to the nearest empty table, grinning all the while.

"And here you have it--one meat lover's chocolate milkshake fries," she announced loudly as she opened up the box of pizza, earning a few weird looks from the people around them.

ooc;; xDD

ic;; Joey helped herself to a slice of pizza as well, finally managing to work the grin off of her face. She glanced up as Tynan bolted from his seat, spitting out his pizza. Her eyes widened in alarm as he grabbed some woman's drink, gulping it down before taking his seat once more.

"Umm... Tynan," she mumbled around a mouthful, shooting a nervous look back at the woman; however, to her surprise, she was laughing. Sure, she did look irritated, but it seemed that she couldn't help herself from joining in laughing with everyone around her. Joey relaxed, sinking back into her seat and shaking her head.

"You're something else," she murmured once she'd gotten her pizza down, grinning.

Joey grinned a little at his remark. She felt her face grow hot at his words, and she averted her gaze, distracting herself with another slice of pizza. Incredibly adorable, she thought. Of course, she would never think of saying that to him out loud.

She was in the middle of digging into her second slice of pizza when she noticed that Tynan seemed a little distracted. She frowned slightly as she studied him, surprised to see a glint of fear in his eyes. Everything seemed to be going well--what could possibly have frightened him again? She looked around, trying to pinpoint the source of his fear, but had no such luck. She tried her best to ignore the feeling of dread that had begun to creep up her spine, attempting to distract herself with something that would usually have stressed her out--how to keep Tynan hidden.

"So, we made it past night one. That's a good sign, yeah?" She said. "Now on to night two. First order of business: sneaking you back into the house."

ooc;; omg I didn't even think about that .3. Wow

ic;; Joey stared at Tynan as he stood up from the table,slightly taken aback. She opened her mouth as if to protest, but before she could say anything he had gone, disappeared into the crowd. She whirled around in her seat, pushing herself up on her knees and searching the crowd for any sign of the boy. That earlier feeling of dread began to creep back up. What was going on? She felt like a character in some kind of weird thriller, caught up in some kind of complicated scheme, yet completely oblivious to what was going on around them. Tynan had been acting strangely since they had gotten to the mall. She tried too convince herself that all of the people were just getting to him--maybe he was scared by all of them and wanted to hide. Some kind of animal instinct? Somehow, though, she knew that that wasn't the problem.

She felt her heart lurch when she finally picked Tynan out from the rest of the the crowd, relieved that he hadn't completely disappeared. He stood with his back to her, standing slightly hunched over, as if he was staring at something much smaller than him. She began to call out to him, then hesitated, biting down on the edge of her lip. Whatever he was doing, he hadn't wanted her to see. She couldn't think of what he could possibly be doing, or why, but she knew better than to distract him from it.

She sat back down in her seat normally as Tynan began to walk back towards her, watching as he sat back down across from her. He smiled, but it was hardly convincing. He looked... Different. Like something was clawing at his gut. Like something was putting him in great distress distress. Joey wasn't sure what to say. She glanced down at her hands for a moment, and when she looked up, she felt an unexpected sympathy for him. He had a glazed, glassy look in his eyes, the look that people got as tears to to pool in their eyes. Her eyes widened slightly, and she resisted the urge to reach out and wipe them away.

"Tynan... You're crying," she said softly, trying to keep the surprise and alarm out of her voice.

ooc;; "I'm leaking. That's all."

So I'm sitting in my school library right now, supposedly studying. I was doing a really good job at being quiet, and then I read that line. Just...laughter. Laughter everywhere. Idk why it's so funny xD

oc;; At this point, it was plainly evident that there was something wrong with Tynan--something had reached within him and squeezed his heart and wrenched it, and she had no earthly idea what it was. She stood to her feet as he walked away from the table, abandoning what was left of the pizza and making her way over to him. The look on his face gave her an overwhelming since of foreboding. One moment, he had been the happiest guy in the world--things were going great. Now, he looked as if he had just lost the love of his life. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen so much pain in someone's expression.

"You're not leaking," she said quietly, trying to make sense of the smile on his face. "You're crying." She hesitated a moment before reaching up, dabbing at his tear-stricken cheeks with the edge of her sleeve. "Something that people only do when they're overwhelmed with emotion." She lowered her hand away from his face, brows knit in concern.

"Tynan, what is it that you're not telling me?" She asked, almost desperately. Whatever he knew was causing him to suffer, and she hated having to see him suffer alone. "First, you act as if you've seen the devil. And then you turn into Mr. Cheerful. And now you're....you're...." She grasped at the edge of her mind for the word, then shook her head. "I just don't get it. I've tried my best to understand you, and I just can't." She looked at him with a pleading gaze, softening her tone some. "Don't leave me in the dark on this. Help me out here. Please."

ooc;; xDD there were only a few random freshmen that I didn't know. My old English teacher gave me this look, though lol

ic;; Joey listened to his explanation without interruption, staring at the ground the whole time. When he had finished, she said nothing, only stood in silence. She wanted to call him out--laugh at whatever extravagant prank he had cooked up, tell him he was a liar. But she couldn't bring herself to do either. All of the emotion he'd expressed--the fear, the tears--it had all seemed plenty real. How could he fake that?

She didn't know how to comprehend what was going on. Who was this Derrian guy? Why was he trying to execute Tynan? Was Tynan really considering turning himself in for her sake?--After all, he could just as easily abandon her. And where did some little girl come into play in all of this? She wanted to ask him all of these questions plus a thousand more. She looked up at him, looking as if she might say something; however, she remained quiet. After a while, she simply shook her head, looking away. She suddenly felt sick to the stomach, and didn't want to do anything other than curl up in bed. All of the people around her made her feel wary, and their incessant chatter seemed to have risen to a war. Her temples throbbed and her head pounded, causing her to clench her teeth from pain.

"Come on," she said quietly, raising one hand to her forehead. "Let's just go home. Please."

Joey followed a little more slowly behind him, studying the groundas they walked. She wasn't quite ready to accept defeat yet--she just needed a bit of time to process the situation at hand. She wouldn't ever be able to live with herself if Tynan turned himself in just for her sake. What kind of person would that make her? Besides, as much of a chore as her life had become since she'd decided to help him, she enjoyed having him around. The thought of him leaving left a hollow feeling in her chest, neverless the thought of him dying. And by his own choice. That made it even more hard to bear.

She walked in complete silence as they made their way out of the mall. By this point, her mind was already made up. Tynan couldn't sacrifice his own life for hers. That wasn't good enough. She wouldn't be satisfied unless they both survived. And one way or another, she would make sure that happened. Her little bout of confidence was fleeting, however. When she glanced over at him, she was reminded of the despair that he felt. He had already seemed to have given up on himself. How could she possibly have faith where he did not?

"Tynan," she said abruptly as they waited for a cab. She was scared, and felt more helpless than she ever had before--there was practically nothing she could do to help either of them in this situation. But she certainly wasn't gonna let him go down with a fight. "What makes you so sure that this...Derrien person won't stab you in the back?"

"No!"

Joey suddenly stopped walking, staring at him with an incredulous expression on her face. She earned a few bewildered looks for her sudden outburst, but she ignored them.

"No, that's not how it works," she said, a little more quietly this time; however, the disparity in her tone remained the same. She stared at him for a few moments, her mind whirling. Finally, she let out a sigh, shaking her head. "So maybe I did save you. But what choice did I have? You were alone, defenseless, suffering...I couldn't just leave you. But your situation is not like mine. Your life is at stake here. And you don't have to throw it away." She paused for a moment, glancing down at the ground.

"I used to be terrified of you," she said, almost smirking at the thought. "You were just some scary demon monster thing to me." She shrugged. "But now, you're just as much my friend as any normal human being. I don't see you as some kind of wolf demon anymore. You're just Tynan in my eyes." Although it was all true, she knew she was rambling at this point--stalling, maybe. But for what?"

"All I'm trying to say is, if you really want to help me, then don't turn yourself in. It would hurt...really bad to see you just give away your life for my own good." She gave him what she thought was a reassuring smile. "You don't have to go down without a fight."