It was several days after the whole Walmart fiasco, and both Lexi and Law were fully recovered from their illness. Thankfully, there wasn't any majorly strange or bothersome occurrences in the time between, what with the engineers having to take care of three sick or mentally unstable people. With Lexi's direction and instructions, they helped clean and even cook for those occupying the house. Shachi and Penguin were pretty well-behaved, a grateful Lexi found, and it really made things easier for the rest of them.
Unfortunately, missing three days of classes couldn't be helped by the good behavior of the pirates. Her assignments began to pile up, and she had to haul ass the last day to even begin to catch up.
Lexi became a recluse after that, spending the majority of her time at the university or in her room studying. The only times she'd come out were to grab something to eat or make something for the rest of them.
Law began noticing the signs of exhaustion after the third full day of doing nothing but study. Though he had to admire her determination. Law and Bepo lounged around the living room, watching some strange program on the tv. Shachi and Penguin were in the backyard helping Nana with some gardening. Lexi emerged for only the second time that day, sluggishly descending the steps with half-lidded eyes.
"Um…Lexi?" Bepo pried, seeing her disheveled appearance.
"Hmm?" She replied, too much in a daze to meet his gaze. She was only reacting to the sound of his voice.
"Are you alright?"
"Mhmm." She reached the bottom of the stairs and went into the kitchen. She disappeared from sight, and Law watched the polar bear give him a concerned glance. They could hear her open the doors of the fridge, then a second later there was a loud crash of glass being broken followed by a feminine shout of surprise.
The two pirates jumped with a start, Law swinging his head around to gather the source of the noise. Rolling his eyes, he stood and went into the kitchen after her. There he saw a dazed and startled Lexi staring at the ground, where a glass baking dish with leftovers from the day before had shattered against the floor. The pieces had scattered everywhere, and the enchiladas, as she had called them, lay in a half-frozen pile in the middle.
Law looked to Lexi for explanation but she only rubbed her eyes furiously to get the sleep out of them. "It slipped out of my hand…" She said.
Sighing, he knelt down to start cleaning up the mess, but a quiet sob made him stop. Looking up, he saw her shoulders start to shake.
"Why are you crying?" He asked in confusion. Had she hurt herself? There were no visible wounds on her body anywhere…
"I'm just so tired…I can't fail my classes, but I'm so tired…" She sobbed, sniffing and wiping at her eyes with the sleeves of her shirt.
He stared at her a moment, unsure of what to do, but it seemed the universe would decide that for him. Lexi tried to take a step towards the stairs, most likely to go back up to her room, but she faltered. Law recognized something in her gait, something in the way she moved and instinctively stepped up to catch her before she passed out and fell to the ground in the broken glass.
Lexi's head lolled foward, and her full weight fell against the pirate. If he hadn't have been there, she would have face planted straight into a pile of jagged glass. He wrapped her arm around his shoulder, picking her up by her knees and back. With a sigh, he stood and walked towards the stairs.
"Bepo, will you clean up the mess in the kitchen?" He asked, and the bear stood.
"Yes, Captain."
Satisfied that the job would be done, he ascended the steps to the top of the stairs, pushing against her door that was slightly ajar.
Stepping carefully so as not to have her head hit the doorframe, Law moved towards her bed, gently lifting her from his hold and placing her on the comforter. She didn't wake up, probably feeling the full effects of her exhaustion. He was thankful of that, as if she'd been aware of his kind gesture, she'd probably mock him for it. He was not a hero, nor was he kind. It would do no good for her to be thinking that way.
"Troublesome woman." He muttered, stopping only to toss a blanket over her still form before shutting the door behind him on the way out.
*Somewhere In Town*
7:00 pm
He watched from his car as the attractive brunette woman exited the clothing store, shopping bag in hand. She chattered mindlessly into her cellphone, not aware that a steely pair of eyes followed her every move. She walked down the sidewalk towards where her car was parked.
He narrowed his eyes, waiting for the moment that she realized her vehicle would not start. He loved that most, seeing the interruption of a routine, watching as something completely fell apart and they didn't know what to do next.
Still talking on the phone, she opened the door with one hand, climbing inside and placing her bag on the passenger seat.
He gripped the steering wheel tighter, agitated, impatient. The loud rock music playing over the radio drowned out the cab, but he paid no attention to the noise. He watched as her confusion presented itself with her pause and a crease on her forehead. She frowned, turning the key several times but having no luck starting the engine.
Angry, she got out of the car and seemed to dial a new number on her phone, holding it up to her ear in frustration. There, that was his cue.
Turning the key, his vehicle roared to life, and he switched gear, pulling back into the flow of traffic. He passed her by, going a street down and turning around to head the opposite direction. Towards her.
She paced back and forth on the sidewalk, shielding her eyes with her hand from the bright sun. He pulled in directly in front of her car, slowing to a stop and exiting the vehicle quickly.
"…don't need a ride after all. No, there's a tow truck here now. Ok, I'll see you at 8." He heard her say as he approached. She gave a grateful smile, sighing loudly.
"Wow, you showed up at just the right time." The woman said, flashing a smile. He narrowed his eyes, but she didn't notice it from under his hat. He walked up to the car and gestured for her to pop the hood.
"Let's see what we've got here." He said, internally measuring her body for what he had planned later. Yes, she would do nicely…
"I don't know why it won't start. It has a brand new battery and everything." She called from her front seat, pulling the tab to pop the hood. It clicked open and he propped it up with the latch. Leaning forward, he peered into the engine bay, pretending to take his time as he 'searched' for the problem. Then, a moment later, he pointed to a hose by the engine.
"Someone cut your engine hose." He explained as she walked up, then watched as she ran a hand through her hair in frustration.
"That's just great…" She muttered, probably thinking about how much it would cost her to repair it. Though, he assumed that would be the last thing on her mind before too long.
"Lucky for you, I'm not on my way to another call." He flashed her a charismatic grin, watching as she returned it with one of her own. "Let's get you hooked up and out of here."
"Thanks, I really appreciate it." She said, and he only laughed a little, careful to to let on that he could care less what she appreciated. Walking back to his vehicle for his tools, he grinned madly to himself, curling his fingers in anticipation for what was to come.
Lexi cracked one eye open, finally aware that she was, in fact, awake. With a groan, she took a deep breath through her nose, rubbing at her eyes blearily. The first thing she registered was that it was night. One look at the clock told her it was 10:51 pm, but she couldn't ever remember falling asleep in the first place.
Frowning, she slowly rolled out of bed and padded towards the door. Reaching for the handle, her stomach growled loudly, and she placed a hand on her chest as the rumbling slowly died away.
"Starving…" She muttered to herself, turning the handle and stepping out into the hallway.
The dark house was illuminated only by a lamp from the living room, and Lexi raised a brow when she saw Law still up, reading from one of her medical textbooks.
"You're still awake?" She asked softly, making him look up from his reading.
"Some nights I find it hard to sleep." He answered truthfully, watching her come down the stairs. "Now, why are you awake, Lexi-ya?"
She yawned deeply, holding onto the banister as she set foot on the ground floor. "I'm not sure, but probably because I'm hungry." As if to emphasize the fact, her stomach rumbled again, causing the pirate to smirk and Lexi to blush. Before she could unintentionally embarrass herself further, she headed towards the kitchen and opened up the fridge.
"Thanks for bringing me upstairs…" She faintly called, and Law raised a brow in surprise. He hadn't expected that.
"Hmm. Perhaps you should be more careful not to faint in the future." He replied, unable to resist teasing her just a little.
"Hmph." She retorted, just loud enough for him to hear as she rummaged through the various food items in the fridge. Seeing nothing she wanted, she switched over to the freezer. There was still a frozen dinner not yet eaten, so she removed it from the box and walked over to the microwave.
There was silence, and Lexi thought that maybe Law went back to his reading. Before, she might have been irritated that he was touching her stuff, but she supposed there wasn't much she could do to stop him, so she let it be. It wasn't like he would rip it up or something. At least she hoped.
The whirring of the microwave putting her into a sort of trance, she was startled when it beeped several times, indicating it was done. Opening the door, she retrieved her food and turned to open the drawer with the silverware.
Macaroni and cheese in hand, she walked into the living room and sat on the couch opposite of Law. With a sigh, she placed the tray on the coffee table and curled up on the arm of the couch.
"I don't know how much more I can take of this…" She sighed, eating a mouthful of her dinner. Law, his interest piqued, glanced up at her.
"Of what exactly?"
She gestured to the medical book in his hand. "College. Studying. Life in general." She stabbed a few more macaronis with her fork, chewing them quickly. "Nothing is as I'd hoped it would be…"
"You mean since your parents were killed?" He asked in the silence, and she stilled, fork still in her mouth. Eyes wide, she turned to Law quickly.
"How do you-"
"Your grandmother told us." He interrupted, watching her reaction with interest. She glanced away, seeing the anger well up in her eyes, but then it was replaced with a weariness.
"I see." Was all she said, but he'd hoped from more than that.
"She said you blame yourself for what happened." His prying was making her retreat further into herself, if her body language was anything to go by. She tucked her legs up underneath her and tilted away from him.
"Yeah…" She ate a few more bites before adding softly, "If I hadn't have left the house, they'd still be alive."
"That may well be true." He said, and she looked at him sharply. Obviously she didn't appreciate him saying these harsh things, but he only shrugged. "You can't know what would or would not have happened if your actions had been different. You'll just have to live with the outcome." He answered honestly.
She was silent, staring at the black screen of the tv, chewing mindlessly on her dinner. There was a long pause in the conversation, Law staring at the brunette in wait, knowing that she would be the next one to speak or she'd get up and go back to bed. He was rather curious which option she'd pick. And he wasn't disappointed.
"When are you guys going back to your world?" She asked after several minutes of silence. He shrugged.
"Unless we find out what exactly caused us to be sent here, we can't possibly find a way back."
"Well, I hope you find it soon." She retorted in a clipped tone. He smirked in amusement, noting the way she wouldn't look at him but down at her now-empty tray of food. She absentmindedly swirled the fork in the left-over cheese, saying nothing.
"Are you that eager to get rid of us, Lexi-ya?" He asked, and she spared him a glance.
"You guys have made my life an insane mess since you got here. I'll be happier when you are out of my life." She accused, and he had to admit that perhaps they'd caused quite a lot of commotions since arriving, but he only chuckled deeply.
"And yet you still haven't called the authorities, though you've had plenty of opportunities to do so."
To this she had no answer, but she still didn't feel like getting up quite yet. There was another long pause as she continued to stare into space, and Law went back to the medical book after awhile, convinced that her next move would be to head back to bed.
Again, he was pleasantly surprised.
"Tell me about your world." Her quiet voice said. Law glanced up in surprise, staring at Lexi's face to see if she'd been kidding, but she returned the gaze with her serious green eyes,
Setting the medical book down, he turned back to her. "What exactly would you like to know?"
"Everything you can think of. I just want to know." She propped up her head with one hand, as Law took a moment to think, before telling her all about the things he'd come to know in his time as a pirate.
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