Chapter Text
Jason woke up feeling exhausted. His night was wrought with nightmares of the worst kinds. He couldn't recall all the details, but he vaguely remembered being in the middle of an earthquake, and some lady was chasing him through the night. She had these gnarly teeth with long, twisted limbs, and no eyes, it was terrifying! Thankfully, he managed to evade her grasp until he woke up. After a dream like that, maybe he should consider going to church to see a deliverance minister.
‘It’s probably not a good idea to show up tomorrow with how pissed my dad is at me right now. This is the second week in a row that I canceled on him.’
He cringed at the thought of facing his father, their arguments were becoming more frequent, and his constant nagging is beginning to wear on him.
"Ya gettin older now son, you have to start taking your responsibilities more seriously!"
"Have you found a girlfriend yet? By the time you graduate college, it’ll be time to settle down my boy! Ya oughta start lookin!"
“When you gon’ introduce us to that friend of yours? Your mother and I wanna make sure they’re good for ya!”
“You been payin’ your bills on time? Being a man means providing for your household, and I’m not about to be given you no free money, son.”
Suppressing a groan, Jason mulls over his family troubles. Good grief, he loves his dad but he can be a real pain in the neck sometimes. Jason shifts around only to encounter a weight on his chest. He looks down to see frizzy twists splayed over a still body, lightly breathing.
‘Oh yeah. Janeice…’
Jason really screwed up this time. Whatever had occurred had left her devastated, refusing to come out of her room for the rest of the day. It wasn't until half an hour ago that he was finally able to see her, and the sight broke his heart.
Seeing Janeice curled up in a ball, tear tracks of mascara staining her cheeks and her usually impeccable hair in disarray, filled him with regret. Even worse, when he tried to wake her up, she let out the most pitiful whine Jason had ever heard and curled in on herself even further. It was so sad!
He had never seen her so vulnerable before. In all of his time knowing Janeice, she always seemed to carry a silent confidence when she walked. When faced with a challenge, she never backed down, and she always went for what she wanted. If he were to be honest with himself, he’d say he looks up to her quite a bit. Her strength and determination are awe inspiring!
And yet, they’ve broken her. The cats have broken her….and it’s his fault….
Jason looked mournfully at Janeice’s sleeping face. He knew he had to make things right. She’s still wrapped in her duvet as he just kinda…rolled her up like a burrito and carried her to the couch. He asked if it was alright and she didn’t respond, and knowing her, she’d make herself dead weight if she didn’t want to be carried, so it was somewhat safe to assume it was ok, he hoped.
‘Poor Janeice, I really f*cked up didnt I? I didn’t mean for that conversation with my dad to take so long but, ugh, he’s just so f*cking stubborn sometimes that I….’
He stops himself there, the last thing he needs right now is to get angry.
The man rubs soothing circles into her back as he contemplates his options.
'But what do I do? It's been over a month since I found these guys, and I still haven't figured out what to do with them. Ithought maybe I could keep them but they're far too hostile to Goonie, and none of my other friends are in the market for a cat right now. I’m not even gonna bother asking my family cause I already know how that will go.’
Silent words tingle in the back of his head.
“Why not take them to a shelter or something?"
Jason frowns at the memory, 'But that’s too cruel! Most strays are rarely ever treated well at those kinds of places,’ he mused.
Jason mindlessly plays with a lock of Janeice’s hair whilst contemplating.
‘You know what? I think maybe putting up an advertisem*nt for adoption would be best. It'll take some effort, but it's worth a try, right? I’ll make sure the potential adopters are reputable, and if that checks out, then we can go from there.’
Jason smiles excitedly at the idea.
‘Yeah! That’ll work! It shouldn’t be too hard to do nowadays, people are always looking to adopt!’
Feeling a sense of relief at having a plan in mind, he smiles. If he could pull this off, then he’ll be free of those evil cats in no time. He can get his dog back and show Janeice the real, famous Hutcherson hospitality his family is known for.
Jason looks forward to having a normal life again. It’ll happen, one way or another.
The soft patter of furry footsteps caught the tall man off guard. Speak of the devils and they shall appear, the cats saunter into the living area with nonchalant steps. Jason's scowl deepens as he observes them.
He has always been raised to treat people with respect, indiscriminately. His grandma would say, “What goes around comes around. Love thy neighbor and treat them the way you want to be treated. Follow this teaching and you will be blessed always.”
Jason truly believes her whole heartedly, he does, he does, but…
While he considers himself a pacifist, as time passes, he’s slowly starting to feel like maybe some people don’t deserve kindness, including these wicked cats, as crazy as that may sound.
Indeed, they’re just animals, but; truthfully, he couldn’t stand the little sh*ts. Jason used to spend a lot of time volunteering at local shelters before College, and those were some of his fondest memories. He’s plenty familiar with mean and grumpy animals and isn’t usually one to hold their attitudes against them. Oftentimes those attitudes were the results of abuse, or a hard life on the streets, so he always extended grace.
That said, he’s hard pressed to believe that’s the case with these assholes. Despite his efforts to accommodate them, they remain aloof and ungrateful. It feels like they’re mean for the sake of it, and for what? He’s been trying to avoid it but he can no longer shake the feeling that something is off about them, especially after witnessing their behavior towards Janeice.
Jason is sure that if he ever brought this up to anyone, Janeice included, he’d immediately be deemed a crazy person, and rightfully so. But he just can’t help himself. He just knows they aren't ordinary cats.
He’s been watching them for a while: the oddly human mannerisms, they’re advanced grasp of English, they’re ability to read written language, they’re lack of any traditional feline behaviors….it can’t all be a coincidence, surely not!
His mind wanders to one of his favorite stories from the Old Testament. The story of the king Nebuchadnezzar, who was arrogant and refused to listen to God, as punishment he was turned from a man to a beast. Maybe this is a similar situation in the modern age?
Observing Midnight's ravenous gaze towards Janeice only fueled Jason's suspicions. The intensity of the cat's stare is enough to make his skin crawl. Anytime Janeice is present, Midnight’s constantly vying for her attention with this seemingly insatiable need to be near her.
This alone isn’t enough to warrant skepticism as cats choose favorites all the time, but Midnight acts less like a cat with a favorite person and more like a predator ready to pounce! The possessiveness...the desperate hunger in his eyes...it’s nauseating!
Moreover, with all of these observations being made, Jason can’t help but wonder….It’s a crazy line of thinking, but…..
‘Are Midnight and the others really just cats, or are they something else entirely?’
"Mrreeow~"
‘Oh boy, here we go. I’m sure this will be the highlight of my day.’
Jason observes the cats coming towards them, Midnight leading the charge with a possessive gleam in his eye, fixated on Janeice like a lion to a deer fawn. The other cats gather around the couch, barely acknowledging Jason. Instead, all eyes were on the girl lying peacefully on his chest. The black cat wiggles his bum, getting ready to jump onto Janeice’s back.
‘Not on my watch!’
“Aye!” Jason whispers sharply, trying not to disturb Janeice while reprimanding the cat.
“Don’t even think about it! Haven’t you bothered her enough?”
Midnight and the other cats are stunned by Jason’s outburst. The black cat's expression shifts from shocked to offended as he tries to defend himself.
“Mrreow!”
“Oh please.” Jason pretends to understand him.
“Don’t act all innocent now. I know you and the others did something evil back there and I am putting my f*cking foot down! As her friend, I forbid any of you from going near her from now until the end of her stay!”
Immediate outrage follows. Fur bristles, and claws tear into the carpeting as the cats clamor about. Midnight, in particular, is incensed. His eyes blaze with fury, and he huffs in disbelief.
Jason remains resolute, though internally perplexed by the cats' conflicting behavior towards Janeice. They act like they hate her most of the time, but yet they still feel entitled to her attention? Why?
Shouldn’t they want to be away from her?
“Grrrrr, meow!” Midnight protests.
“I’m not arguing with y’all today,” Jason states firmly. “If I would’ve known that you would act an ass upon Janeice’s arrival, I would’ve never introduced you! You have been nothing but terrible to her this whole time! Then you have the audacity to act entitled? I mean honestly, were you all raised by lions, tigers, and bears? By hyenas, wolves, and lambs? By badgers, racoons, and stray dogs? It’s embarrassing! This is not how you treat a lady. Now, get out, and find you some manners while you’re at it, because it seems you've lost them on the way in here.”
If he weren’t so concerned about disturbing Janeice's sleep, he’d be laughing hysterically at the bewildered expressions on the cats’ faces, particularly Midnight’s. It’s evident they’d never been spoken to like that before. Well, it’s high time someone set them straight because they desperately need it.
Fortunately, they get the point and leave, though they make sure to announce their displeasure with mumbles, growls, and hisses. Their frustrated departure left behind a clear message: this isn’t over.
‘Tch, I ain’t scared of no damn cats. I’ll be ready for y’all next time. Trust!’
Jason sighs relieved, closing his eyes as he settles deeper into the couch.
‘Phew, not gonna lie, I’m glad they left without a fight. I really didn’t want to get scratched again.’
He glanced down at Janeice with a withered smile.
‘But no matter what, I’ll do what needs to be done.’
Jason thoughtlessly pressed a soft kiss to Janeice’s forehead before drifting back into the arms of the sandman.
—————————————————————
Jason groaned softly as he stirred awake, the exhaustion from the previous night weighing heavily on him. It felt like he had just emerged from a coma.
‘Mmm, that was some good sleep. I haven’t rested like that in ages. Wait, what’s this weight on my chest?’
His eyes fluttered open to find a wide-eyed, brown-skinned girl lying on his chest, staring up at him with a curious expression, her chin nestled between his pecs.
‘Oh, it’s just Janeice.’
Jason relaxed, about to close his eyes again when sudden panic gripped him.
“Ah, Janeice!”
He instinctively attempts to sit up, but Janeice doesn’t budge. She continues to lay on him and stare creepily, her arms wrapped tightly around him.
They lock eyes in an awkward silence. Jason knows from experience that he is not winning this staring contest so he quickly gives up.
“Uuhh…” Jason’s voice trailed off nervously. “H-hey, ‘Neice. You, uh, you good? How’d you sleep?”
Janeice continues to stare, keeping unsettling amounts of eye contact.
“U-umm, feeling any better? If you are, I could whip you up some breakfast. How about some grits? They’re your favorite, right?”
Still, Janeice remained silent, her unblinking stare intensifying his discomfort and fraying his nerves. Sweat gathers on Jason’s brow as he tries to play it cool.
‘What are you so afraid of, dude? It’s just Janeice! She isn’t scary.’
Jason gulps as he looks into her eyes.
‘Well, maybe she’s a little scary.’
Jason flinches violently at the feeling of cold hands on his cheeks. God, her hands are freezing! Why is she so cold?!
Janeice's pupils dilate, her eyes growing larger and more imposing as she shuffles closer to his face. They are now nose to nose and Jason is terrified.
‘Is she angry? Did I cross another boundary? Oh god, please don’t hurt me!’
Janeice pinches his cheeks a little too hard while releasing a heavy breath, trembling above him with….excitement, rage, anticipation? Regardless, Jason braces himself for the worst.
He flinches again as the pillow soft touch of plush lips grace his nose.
‘Huh?’
Another press of lips is felt on his forehead, then another on his left cheek, his right cheek, his chin, and so on. Jason's laughter fills the air as Janeice continues showering him with kisses, each one eliciting a giggle from him.
“Hahaha, Janeice! What’s this all about? Hehe, that tickles!”
She paid no heed to his words, her onslaught of kisses only growing more fervent. Jason found himself enjoying this new side of her. Who knew Janeice could be so affectionate!
Eventually, Jason double taps her arm gently, signaling surrender. Janeice pulls back and smiles so tenderly that Jason can’t help but blush.
“Janeice…?”
Her grin widened, and she hums a sweet melody while lovingly squishing his cheeks. To end her lavish affections, she nuzzles her cheek with his like a big cat before nestling back into his chest, forcing his arms back around her and immediately drifting back to sleep, indicated by her light, steady breathing.
Meanwhile, Jason's head was spinning. His expression is akin to a cartoon character with swirling eyes and a red face after receiving a smooch from a pretty lady.
‘Wow…!’
Jason chuckles heartily, this girl is something else, that’s for sure!
A low rumble and the brush of sharp talons against his shoulder snaps him out of his reverie.
Looking up, Jason sees Midnight looming over him. The black cat’s face is stoic but his red eyes were visibly seething with rage. The feline’s furious gaze honed in on the man’s big hand still rubbing circles into his friend’s back. Midnight not-so-subtly attempts to pull Jason’s arm off, directly calling for an end to their embrace.
‘He can’t be serious! He’s really jealous of me comforting Janeice right now, even though this is his fault. Unbelievable.’
Raising a quizzical eyebrow, Jason quips, “Didn’t I tell you to leave?” Sarcasm drips from his words, punctuating his amusem*nt.
Midnight grunted, his anger palpable. He snarled at Jason with even more venom, if that were possible.
Jason smirked, taunting, “My goodness, is the great and terrible Mr.Midnight jealous of little ole me? How curious! What happened to your little lady friend, Scarlett? Is she no longer the apple of your eye?”
Oh that really got under the black cat’s skin. With a vicious swipe, Midnight narrowly misses Jason's face as he dodges out of the way, tearing at his shirt collar instead.
Quickly glancing down at the still-sleeping Janeice, Jason breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness the commotion didn’t disturb her.
“Give it up, will you? She’s just not that into you, my guy. Maybe if you had a better attitude, you’d get somewhere!”
Jason feels absurd saying that to a cat, but Midnight is weird so, whatever.
Besides, Jason is now, like, 80% sure that thing is no cat.
———————————————————
Jason closes the door behind him with a determined click. Janeice was stubborn, latching onto him and refusing to let go as he carried her back to her room. He had to promise to spend time with her later and pay the new “kiss toll” to get her to settle down.
‘She is such a handful sometimes,’ he thought with a wry smile. He’ll check on her later, but for now, he has business to take care of.
As he walked back to his own room, Jason couldn't shake the foreboding feeling of doom in his gut. He typically keeps his door slightly ajar so the cats could go in and out. The closer he got, the more anxious he became as he now had no choice but to directly address the entities in his home.
‘Why does it feel like something bad is about to happen?’
Bracing himself, Jason took a deep breath. Knowing them, they most likely awaited him on the other side, ready to terrorize him some more.
‘If I don’t address this now, things will only escalate,’ he reminded himself sternly.
‘It’s best to just rip the bandaid off and get it over with so we can all get our lives back. Remember, this isn’t just for me, it’s for Janeice too.’
Jason grips the knob and carefully widens the entryway.
‘And my dog.’
The anxious aura of the tall man gathers the cat’s attention. Each cat is looking at him with either intrigue or boredom, mostly boredom.
Inside, the cats lounged lazily around his room. Cheshire hid under his bed, Midnight perched atop his loveseat, King lounged on a nearby pillow, Scarlett occupied his work desk alongside Suit, and Dapper basked in a sunbeam by the window.
‘Well, here goes nothing.’
“Right so….,” Jason stands before the cats, his tone firm and unwavering as he addresses them directly, projecting his voice for all to hear.
“I’ll be brief. As you already know, this is my first time bringing strays into my home, and while I understood that the process of getting to know you all could potentially be difficult, I didn't account for just how strenuous it would actually be, and for that, I apologize.”
The cats listened intently with perked ears, interested in where he might be going with this.
Jason continued, “It has come to my attention that between you and me, our personalities…clash, for lack of a better term. Considering everything that happened over the last month, especially the past few days, I’ve come to the conclusion that we are just not a good fit for each other. Unfortunately, my expertise is limited at this time, and I believe it’d be best if we found you someone that could better take care of you and your individual peculiarities.”
The kittens are visibly flabbergasted. Some of them have open mouths, and some were looking at him like he had multiple heads growing out of his neck. Perhaps he should be more straightforward in order to get his point across.
“In other words, it’s been cool and err’thang but imma have to put y’all up for adoption. Cause y’all need to get up out my house expeditiously.”
As he turns to leave, the cats erupt into a cacophony of complaints. Truthfully he is not moved whatsoever. It’s not like he’s sending them to a shelter; if everything goes as planned, they’ll all be put into loving homes and then they get to be somebody else’s problem. Even better, they’ll be away from him and Janeice!
So what’s the problem?
Scarlett blocks the door, and the other cats surround him, their outrage palpable. Jason tries to remain unfazed; he knows this is the best decision for everyone involved, but the sheer depth of their entitlement is truly staggering, jarring even!
“Oh wah, wah, wah~! Gahdamn, all y’all do is cry. Will you ever be satisfied? I mean, come on now, be f*cking forreal. Why would you want to stay in a place that you supposedly hate?!”
The cats were once again, visibly appalled by his audacious insults. It takes a minute for them to gather themselves before one of them speaks, Suit being the one to break the silence. His meow is deep, growling, and said like a question. If Jason had to guess, he was saying something along the lines of, “Are you seriously threatening to abandon us?!” Or something like that.
In return, they were met with pure indifference. At this point he barely cares.
“Yes, you are being abandoned.”
Dapper hisses, but Jason brushes it off.
“Okay….And what exactly am I supposed to do about that?”
The room falls silent, he can feel the indignation rolling off of them.
Jason continues to look at them as if they were wasting his time because as far as he’s concerned, they are.
Predictably, King steps forward, his demeanor haughty as he addresses him in a condescending tone. Jason is extra sick of him by now.
“I especially don’t wanna hear from you of all creatures,” he snapped. “You are horrible! You are the worst thing to ever happen to anyone ever, and I’m surprised as hell that you haven’t been abandoned sooner! You oughta be thankful that anybody is willing to put up with you at all! You deserve to be slapped!”
That was cathartic; he’s been waiting to say that since day three.
King gapes at him like a fish out of water, while Midnight attempts to conceal his laughter, failing miserably as his shaking shoulders give him away.
Cheshire meows menacingly at him as King flounders, surprising Jason as he hadn't expected the maine coon to react.
Jason maintains his composure, expression carefully blank. "And I hate that for you. But you cannot, shall not, and will not be staying in my house. It’s that simple!”
At this point he’s making sh*t up, but he can’t deny how entertaining this is. The cats continue their uproar, irritating him more by the second.
“You know, I’m hearing a lot of crying but what I’m not hearing is an apology.”
The man’s statement causes a lull in response. After a moment, Midnight meows in an inquisitive tone, almost mocking. He has the additional nerve to tilt his little head, as if to question Jason’s sanity. He can imagine the loathsome purr of his words; “My, whatever for?”
‘Oh wow...’
“Seriously?” he lashed out. “You can apologize for how you’ve treated Janeice, for one. That’d be nice, don’t you think?”
The cats glance between each other before doing the unthinkable, they scoff, and then, one after another, they laugh.
A symphony of raspy coughs invades his ears. Jason could imagine the jeering of men’s laughter racking around, taking up space as they kept going on and on and on. Some of them were laughing so hard that they couldn’t stay standing any longer, falling onto their sides and stomachs, heads rolling around, eyes closed from the need to make room for their large open mouths as they laugh, laugh, and laugh some more.
It isn’t just laughter; it’s derision, a mockery of his attempts to reason with them.
Jason sees red. How dare they. How dare they laugh at the mere idea of apologizing to his friend! Do they have such little respect for her that they can’t even see that their actions are wrong?! They f*cking treat her like she’s subhuman!
They treat her like she’s subhuman….
Oh.
‘Oh my god…’
The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. They don’t just lack respect for Janeice, no; they like seeing her upset, they relish in her suffering, love making her cry. It gives them joy to mess with her, to make her feel small and worthless.
They think she deserves it. They don’t see her as human; they see her as something significantly less than that. And if his theory is correct…
Anger surges within him, threatening to overwhelm his senses. Jason has to stop himself from doing something he may regret.
“ENOUGH!” Jason bellows, cutting through their laughter. “My decision is final! You all have FAR overstayed your welcome, and I personally cannot allow such abhorrent behavior to continue unchecked. You are to be moved into a new household and you will no longer be living here, end of discussion!”
He marched towards the door, his rage fueling his every step. With a forceful push, he swings the door open.
“Oh, and if any of you so much as lays a finger on Janeice after this, I’ll be sure to bury you myself!”
The door slams shut behind him, the finality of his words echoing in their minds. He didn’t care to witness their reactions; It doesn’t matter anyways. They’ll be gone soon enough.
————————————————————
Jason storms blindly down the hall in his fury. He has no idea where he’s going, and he doesn’t care either.
'I can't believe this. Taking them in has to be one of the stupidest decisions I’ve ever made. Yet here I was, judging Janeice for suggesting I take them to a shelter!’
Lost in his thoughts, Jason meandered aimlessly through empty rooms. He needs to expend his pent-up energy.
‘I mean, what the f*ck is their deal man? They act like they despise being here but refuse to leave, and they can't stand Janeice but won’t leave her alone. She can’t even visit without them crawling all over her. It’s madness! They should be ecstatic to leave!'
He pushed open the back door and continued pacing in his spacious backyard, leading himself toward the hiking trails without realizing it.
Jason sighs heavily, he begins to feel a headache flaring behind his eyes.
‘Ugh, now I’m getting migraines again. It's been years, I thought I was cured!’
Rubbing his temples, he inhales the fresh scent of post-rain air to sooth his frazzled nerves. He loves going for walks after a storm. There’s something about water in general that brings him peace. Lord knows he needs that right now.
‘Yaweh, I ask you today, how long will it take for my own personal storms to pass?’
Speaking of storms. That reminds him of something.
"I’ve been out here for a while. I should check on Janeice and make sure she's okay. Hopefully, she didn't hear me grumbling to myself, I was kinda loud."
With a resolute nod, Jason set off along the trails back home. On the way, he notices something amiss in the scenery. Large, jagged cracks marred the edges of some hiking trails, moreso along the woods behind his backyard.
Jason furrowed his brow, a sense of unease creeping over him. "Hmm, that’s weird. These weren’t here before, right….?"
Curious, he follows the cracks towards his home, only to be met with a large cluster of deep fissures near the drainage pipes. As he investigates further, he finds even more deep crevices snaking their way around the house's water piping.
"Holy sh*t!" Jason shouts in disbelief. "What on earth happened last night!?"
Hands on his knees, Jason hunches over. If the pipes are damaged, it’ll cost him a small fortune to get them fixed, and the absolute last thing he wants to do is add even more to his work load, or worse, ask his dad for money. He hopes to God he won’t have to do that. The embarrassment would be astronomical!
"How the hell did I sleep through all of this?! Damn it! I’ll need to call someone. f*cking hell!"
Just as Jason is about to scream, he notices something even more unsettling near some bits of jagged rock.
"Is that blood...?"
Jason's heart races as he spots several small puddles of dried blood concealed within the tall grass. The metallic scent of iron becomes more prominent as it lingers in the air and gets stuck in his nose. Well, that confirms his suspicions.
Even worse, he notices a blood trail stretching quite far into the distance. It seems to have spilled into the nearby river.
"Oh no..." Jason mutters, his mind racing with grim possibilities.
The bloody trail leads him to the grisly sight of a dead deer carcass half-drowned in the river. The stench of death and rot is strong and the sight brings Jason to his knees. The carcass has huge chunks of flesh ripped out of it and is reduced to nothing but skin and bones. The limbs and rib cage are pried open with the insides cleaned of its guts. Unable to stand the sight any longer, Jason sprints as fast as he can back to the safety of his home. He heaves up his last meal before he can make it to safety.
Pant pant pant
Jason almost passes out, but pulls it together enough to stumble back into the house. He limps to the kitchen and hastily drinks some water to rehydrate and calm down.
‘I can’t believe I just saw that…’
Jason sits on the couch and puts his head in his hands. It’s one thing to kill an animal, but to gut it like that, leaving it out for the world to see? It’s sickening! That poor animal can’t even rest in peace without the possible judgment of onlookers.
‘Whoever did this is a monster…’
——————————————————————-
It takes awhile for Jason to fully calm down, but when he does, he knocks on Janeice’s door to let her know he’s ordering food. He doesn’t have the stomach to cook right now.
"Hey ‘Neice, I'm about to order takeout. Let me know what you want when you’re ready!" He calls out before trudging through the dark hallway to his living room.
To further cull his nerves, Jason softly mutters a song on the way there. His voice softly reverberates as he sings, creating a haunting atmosphere.
"Oh, the music that plays
as you move through a maze
in the haze of your pure delight~"
Passing by his room, he ignores the cries of the cats and walks a little faster to the living room entrance.
"You are caught in a dance
you are lost in the trance
of another Arabian night~"
Jason reaches for the light switch.
"Arabian nights~
like Arabian days~
more often than not
are hotter than hot
in a lot of good ways~"
“Huagh!”
Startled, Jason flicks on the lights in a hurry, spooked by the strangely angelic, disembodied voice joining him.
He relaxes when he sees that it’s just Janeice, mellower than ever.
She must’ve stepped out of the shower not too long ago, made obvious by the fresh pajamas and satin scarf keeping her hair secured, undoubtedly protecting a large mane of Afro curls from the dry air. Her eyes were closed as she sat atop a towel with an array of products surrounding her. Lastly, she has the tv turned to Nickelodeon’s mascot, SpongeBob SquarePants.
"Oh hey Janeice. What are you up to, and why are you sitting on the floor? You’re more than welcome to sit on the couch, y’know. ¡Mi casa es su casa! Lovely voice, by the way!"
Janeice smiles shyly before signing, "Thanks. I just came out of the shower. I wanted to watch some cartoons while I did my hair, and I don’t want to get water all over your very nice couch. Plus, I want to spend more time with you! You have a lovely voice as well. You should sing more often."
‘How did she hear me…?’
Blushing slightly, Jason stammers, "Oh! I, uh, thanks! Heh, you weren’t really supposed to hear that. I don’t usually sing outside of church."
Janeice looks puzzled, a saddened expression gracing her face as she takes her hair out of the scarf.
"Why?"
Jason rubbed his arm nervously, feeling a bit exposed.
"It’s not intentional or anything, I just got tired of my own voice after a while. I sing all the time at church, y’know? Besides, I’m trying to get out of the choir and move more towards directing and management."
Guilt creeps in at the sight of her sad expression, especially with Janeice being so passionate about music. But hey, it’s best to be honest, and he knows Janeice won’t judge him.
Janeice signs with wilted fingers, "Awe, that’s a shame. I can’t say I understand, but I support you fully, no matter what!”
Jason eases out of his defensive posture, he’s deeply appreciative of Janeice’s unwavering support. He loves the choir and he loves his church, but singing brings back bad memories sometimes. He still can’t help but feel guilty though. He knows Janeice has been wanting to hear him sing for quite awhile now.
Jason tries to focus on ordering lunch. He knows he’ll feel even worse if he keeps looking at her.
“So!” Jason exclaimed with faux enthusiasm. When in doubt, change the subject.
"What do ya wanna eat for lunch? I'm up for just about anything, but I know yo’ ass is picky."
Janeice scoffs at the jab. “Hey! I’m not picky!”
With a look, he replies, “I can’t eat that! Dairy is too much for my tuummmyyy~. Oh, I can’t staaaannndd beef, something about those cows don’t be sittin’ right. Jasoooonnn~, you need to stop with all those energy drinks; you know they’re bad for you!”
“...”
”…”
“..Do I really sound like that?”
“To be fair, you don’t sound like much of anything, but yeah, you do.”
Jason smirks as the usually somewhat stoic woman deflates like a balloon. How he loves to pick on her.
As always though, he makes sure to reassure her right after.
“But it’s okay! Wanna know why~?” Janeice looks up at him, timidly hiding behind her bangs.
“Because you’re one of my favorite people, and learning more about you makes me happy.”
'Oof, a little heavy on the cheese there, big homie. Relax.'
Janeice giggles sheepishly, blushing heavily as she tackles him in a hug. Jason stumbles but manages to catch his balance. Unfortunately, he couldn’t save himself from getting a face full of cottony, afroey goodness.
“Ack! Girl, you can’t be flying at me with all that hair! Now I got a mouth full of Jamaican black castor oil!”
He received a light punch to the shoulder for that comment with Janeice laughing at his misfortune.
“There’s nothing in it yet, smartass! I was just about to section it before you waltzed in here like you own the place.”
“I do own the place.”
“Oh, you know what I mean. Quit being annoying.”
“Tch, you’re the annoying one! I, on the other hand, am extremely calm and mysterious.”
“Hah! As if! You don’t even have an inside voice!”
Jason dramatically clutched his invisible pearls. “How rude! I totally have an inside voice.”
Janeice just gave him a deadpan stare. Jason stared back before deflating, much like a balloon.
“Shut up, you're such a bully.”
“It's my job to bully you. Speaking of bullies, you should probably let them out of your room.”
“Say what now?”
Janeice points behind him, where the muffled cries of distressed felines plagued the household. Jason makes a face, he was hoping to leave them in there for a little longer.
“Tch, they’ll be alright. I’m sure it hasn’t been that long.”
Jason checked the stove clock, wincing upon reading the time, 12:48 pm.
“Ah, f*ck, it’s been 3 hours, and I don’t remember feeding them breakfast.”
“Do you need help dealing with them? I can keep them occupied while you get situated or whatever. They’re a pain in the butt, but I’ll deal with them if you need me to.”
Jason gave Janeice a sad look, guilt once again bubbling in his gut.
‘I’ve been asking so much of her lately. Even with the cats being assholes, she still goes out of her way to be helpful. No, not this time. I’m gonna put her first for once.’
He gently put his hands on her shoulders, feeling her tense up slightly while she looked at him somewhat alarmed.
“That’s a very sweet offer Janeice, but I know those guys have been hurting you, and I refuse to sit idly by while they treat you poorly. Not in my house and not on my watch. Besides, you're the guest, and it’s about time you’re treated like one! Go on and relax, and I’ll handle everything from here. I promise. Okay?”
Janeice’s eyes widened, and Jason could almost swear that they sparkled. Mouth agape, Janeice didn’t know what to say, so instead she did the next best thing.
“Squeee!”
She let out the softest, happiest squeak he’s ever heard as she once again tackled him in a bear hug. This time, making sure to nuzzle under his chin for added effect. He could feel the vibration of flustered giggles in his chest as she made herself comfortable in his arms before pulling away and practically skipping back to the couch, bashfully hiding her face behind her bangs with closed eyes.
Jason chuckles at her antics, ‘She really is something else.’
———————————————————
“Alright, fine, you win! I’ll let the little devils out, but I won’t be happy about it!”
Another half-hour passed before Janeice reminded Jason to let the cats out. He tried to argue but by the look on her face, he knew he’d be receiving another lecture if he didn’t so he forced himself to get a move on.
‘I swear, she is way too nice.’
Jason unceremoniously swung open the door.
“Be free ya little sh*ts.”
The cats all but tumbled out of the doorway, each of them making sure to voice their displeasure on the way out.
“You better be grateful!” Jason shouted after them. “If it weren’t for Janeice you’d still be in there right now, unloved and unwanted!”
They unanimously chose to ignore him, pointedly glaring ahead as they waltzed into the living room like they owned the place.
‘Tch, let me make sure they’re keeping their distance before I make the phone call.’
Jason peeks through the doorway, checking to see if they remembered his warning.
‘Ok, they’re more or less hovering around the couches, but they’re not trying to bother her or anything. That’s good. Maybe watching some TV will calm their ornery asses down.’
Jason smiles at the thought. There’s nothing like old cartoons to tame even the most ferocious of beasts. Turning on SpongeBob used to work every time on his little rugrat siblings.
‘Ah, wonderful. Now I can finally-uh oh.’
He spoke too soon. None of the cats were paying attention to the TV; instead, they were all watching Janeice fluff out her mane of wooly curls with noticeable awe and fascination.
Janeice paid them no mind, occasionally giggling at whatever nautical nonsense was happening on screen. Meanwhile, Jason is creeped out.
“Hey guys?” Jason asked loudly enough to catch their attention. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but uh, the TV’s behind you, not on Janeice’s head. Leave her alone.”
The nasty looks being sent his way made his skin crawl, but seeing the appreciative smile on Janeice's face let him know he did the right thing.
And with that, now he could dial up the pizza place and-”
‘Oh yeah…’
“Janeice, what do you want for lunch?”
The aforementioned woman sectioned her hair into two halves, pinning one back before giving Jason her full attention.
She hums softly before responding, “I actually ate a pretty hefty meal earlier, I should be straight for a good while. No need to worry!”
Jason blinked owlishly at Janeice. She already ate?
‘I should probably order something for her anyway in case she gets hungry again later.’
“You’re fine, Janeice. I’m more than happy to order for you anyway. I can’t have my guest going hungry after all. And before you start, no, you’re not being a burden. You’re my best friend, and I enjoy taking care of you. The pizza should be here in about an hour if I order now. I’ll add some anchovies to your half.”
Once again, Jason has caught Janeice off guard. She ducked behind her hands, dazzled by his proclamation and hoping Jason wouldn’t see her somehow. Anything to prevent herself from having to make eye contact, even though her eyes were closed.
“Where are your glasses?”
Janeice pops back up to quickly sign, “I’m too lazy to put them on.”
Jason sucked his teeth and rolled his eyes dramatically, “Of course.”
She flipped him off, causing him to double over laughing. Maybe today will be a good day after all!
——————————————————————-
“Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? SpongeBob Squarepants!
Absorbent and yellow and porous as he? SpongeBob SquarePants!”
The classic SpongeBob theme song rings in his ears as Jason delves into a crossword puzzle. He needs something to sooth his nerves until the food arrives and crosswords are one of his favorite distractions when he’s stressed. He’s completed several books worth of puzzles since the cats came, he’d be proud if it weren’t worrisome.
Jason is still miffed at their behavior. The audacity they had to laugh in his face at the mere suggestion of apologizing to Janeice. Like, how dare he ask them to be good people, cats, or whatever the f*ck they’re supposed to be.
‘That was crazy. I ain’t never seen no sh*t like that before. Ridiculous.’
Jason shook his head. He’s not going to worry about that right now. The pizza should be here in approximately 45 minutes, so he might as well work on these crosswords until it arrives.
The brief image of the deer carcass he had stumbled upon earlier graces his minds’ eye. Despite trying to distract himself, the memory continuously resurfaces, making him shiver. He has to fight his stomach to keep from wretching.
Peering over at the cats, Jason noted that they were still watching Janeice more than the tv, but at least they were keeping their distance. Some of them even seemed to be enjoying the show. Mostly King, but hey it’s something! Anything helping to release the tension in his gut is welcome.
‘Ugh, I need to go take a nap or something and sleep this off.’
Jason watches Janeice with a withered frown.
‘Regrettably, I can't leave her by herself. Who knows what they’ll try next while I’m gone.’
“Hey!” Jason calls out to Janeice, he has an idea in mind.
Janeice jolts harshly, spooked by the loud shout. Anxiously, she turns down the tv volume. Oh dear, Jason didn’t mean to scare her like that. Maybe he really doesn’t have an inside voice.
‘I should work on that.’
“Sorry! You’re not in trouble! I’m kinda sleepy and I don’t wanna leave you alone, so I’m just gonna take a nap on the couch for a bit. Wake me up the minute they start being a problem, ok? I’ll take care of it. Don’t be afraid to elbow me awake if you have to, I’ve been told that I’m a pretty heavy sleeper, heh heh!”
Janeice is a bright cherry tomato by the end of his soliloquy. He wonders why she still reacts so strongly whenever he does something nice for her. It’s been three years….
The wooly-haired girl nods demurely, obviously very charmed by his statement. The lovely lady blows him a kiss before running up and giving him one more hug, the cats looking perplexed and bothered as she does so, which only amuses Jason further.
He squeezes her tightly and chortles, tickled by the fresh flurry of kisses generously placed upon him. As he settles on his couch, body heavy with exhaustion, he couldn't help but grin coyly at the envious glare in Midnight's eyes. Jason 2, Midnight 0.
‘Hah! Stay jealous, you prick.’
—————————————————————
Janeice’s POV
In the meantime, Janeice immersed herself in the antics of her favorite yellow Sponge. Even with her eyes closed, she can still hear and visualize everything that was happening on screen. Janeice laughs as Squidward is booed off stage during the talent show he’s hosting at the Krusty Krab. This has to be one of her favorite episodes.
Janeice heard soft rustling come from behind her. Of course she knows the cats are watching her, like always. Despite this, she paid them no mind. She’s more than got her revenge on the old bastards last night, and now, they are no longer worthy of her attention. Her current focus is solely on pampering her wilted tresses. The poor things were pushed pretty hard last night and they needed the delicate treatment of a loving hand to revitalize them.
The lady already has the perfect style in mind. Janeice is obsessed with the pretty girls at her school with the tribal styled cornrows. She can’t braid well at all, but anything can be converted into a twisted style with enough effort. It wouldn’t be too far from her usual look, but instead would have neat flat twists that stopped at the crown of her head, leading into draping medium twists in the back with mini twists at her temples. She already has thread and other adornments picked out to go with her natural “beads.” Oh yes, this will be perfect! Janeice can’t keep still, she’s so excited.
‘I simply MUST pull out those designer shades that I bought! Oh, should I do an all black ensemble? At least once for the culture right? Gasp! Wait wait wait, even better, my big leather jacket with those patent leggings and the boots? A statement gold necklace, onyx rings, and some hoops sis!?’
A squeal and three finger snaps are given in response to her thoughts, not noticing the strange looks she’s receiving at the sudden movement. Janeice is beaming brightly with joy, clapping and dancing as she gets lost in her fantasies, being largely indifferent to her admirers at the moment.
While lost in her thoughts, silky fur brushed against the draping cloth of her t-shirt, accompanied by the gentle touch of an extra fluffy tail wrapping around her wrist. Janeice stops what she’s doing, allowing the twist she’s working on to unravel as she lets the massive tail pull her hand down. She holds in a sigh as she knows exactly who this is.
Her oily appendage is pulled to a stop in front of a tiny button nose belonging to a certain temperamental redhead. Scarlett sniffed Janeice's hand curiously, thoroughly taking in the scent of the mysterious concoction the lady is using.
The redhead takes care not to get close enough to touch it, but Janeice can imagine the red cat is curious to know what she’s using as a beauty connoisseur herself. At least, that was the Siren’s best guess.
“Mrreow…?”
A judgmental, condescending undertone is detected within Scarlett's meow, as if the cat were questioning her choice of hair products. She could practically hear the hypothetically patronizing words being spoken aloud.
“You’re putting that in your hair…?”
Janeice did what she always does to nosey people with bad intentions; she ignores her, quickly taking her hand back and refusing to acknowledge the question. She scoots away from Scarlett, who was still close enough for Janeice to feel her bristle at being ignored, and focuses on steadying her hands, closing off the scalp twist with black thread before moving on to the next section.
“Meow!”
‘Yeah, yeah, girl whatever,’ She thought to herself and rolled her eyes. Janeice is completely unmoved by the cat’s nastiness. If she wants to bother someone then she can bother her no-good boyfriend, Midnight.
‘Ok, flat twists are done. Now, onto the back section.’
Janeice hummed along to the SpongeBob theme song as she worked. She divided the back section into two halves, parting her hair meticulously with a rat tail comb. With experienced hands, she pinned one halve up then sprayed the other half with water to untangle the dry curls, lovingly separating the larger section into smaller pieces to twist later.
Hmmm, Hmmm, Hmmm
Memories of bonding with her sisters flood her mind. Janeice recalls when she and her sisters would float by the coastline and braid each other’s hair, oldest to youngest. She remembers being rocked back and forth by the evening currents, sharing stories and gossiping with her younger sisters, whispering fervently about the latest gossip in their enclaves. Days would turn into nights as they experimented with different styles and compared trophies and gifts from the surface world.
‘Gods I miss them…’
A soft, furry paw on her left forearm shakes her out of her somber thoughts. Janeice tenses and stops what she’s doing, twist held tightly in her hand. Which one is this now?
“Mreow~?”
Dapper.
Janeice sighs through her nose. The aforementioned feline moves the paw placed on her forearm to her shoulder, gliding the other paw down the length of her frizzy dark coils. The calico’s movements were slow and tentative. The audacious feline flexes his paw pads to get a better feel for the texture.
“Reeoow!”
Dapper wailed pathetically as he tips over, barely catching himself on his front paws. Janeice shimmies a sizable distance away from him, turning her nose up with a quiet, “Hmph!” as she continues twisting her hair like nothing happened.
“M-meow…?”
Janeice scowls fiercely at the audacious feline, closed eyes and all, daring him to continue testing her patience. The calico yelped before sprinting away to hide behind Scarlett.
‘The nerve of that classless, dirty rat! I will not be treated like a pet!’
She has to take a few deep breaths to maintain her composure. Janeice’s patience is beginning to wear thin, and with thinning patience comes an increased appetite. She hopes that the pizza will be here soon. Speaking of which…
‘How long has it been since Jason ordered that pizza? Shouldn’t it be here by now?’
Janeice shrugged, oh well. She’s still digesting her deer carcass, so it’s not like she’s starving. The pizza can take its time. Besides, she certainly can’t answer the door with her hair half done. It’s unbecoming!
She was allowed to watch a few more episodes of SpongeBob without being bothered, and within that time, Janeice had made progress on her hair, now being halfway done with the back section. Boy is she glad to be doing chunkier twists this time, they’re so much easier!
‘Sweet~, Sweet~, Sweet victory~ Yeah!’
Janeice harmonizes with the song. If she keeps this up, she’ll be finished just in time for Jason to wake up, and then they can finally play games together! She’s been looking forward to perusing his game collection all weekend!
‘I wonder if he has Mario Kart? Or better yet, Resident Evil 2? The remaster just came out and I’d pay to see him get his ass beat by Nemesis. I need a good laugh.’
“Are you ready kids?
Aye aye captain!
I can’t hear you!
Aye aye captain!
Oohhhh~”
‘Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?
SpongeBob SquarePants.
Na na na na na na porous is he?
SpongeBob SquarePants! Heheee~’
“Meow.”
Oh geez, it’s Cheshire, and based on the tone of his meow, he’s not in a particularly playful mood today. He sounds completely flat, and there was no drawl or discernible emotion in his voice at all.
‘That’s concerning,’ Janeice worries. ‘I can’t guess what he’s thinking.’
Janeice feels conflicted. As unwise as she knows this to be, she has a bit of a weakness for Cheshire. He’s been the nicest to her out of their little troupe, and she generally adores big, fluffy, gentle giants like him.
That friendliness seems to have vanished, however, as the big cat makes no move to engage with her outside of his initial greeting. Instead he just sits there, somewhat menacingly, on his hunches as he observes her. The intensity of his gaze pierces into her as she twists her hair, making her severely uncomfortable.
Janeice is determined to maintain her dignity so she ignores him. She doesn’t pay him any attention, but she doesn’t shoo him away either. Janeice tells herself that as long as he stays in his place, her life will continue to be problem free. She just needs to mind her business and wait for time to pass. He’ll get bored eventually.
So far, Cheshire isn’t bothering her too much. The maine coon is mostly staying in the same spot, seemingly content with just watching her. That’s fine, she’s used to it by now. Staring isn’t a crime after all.
Regrettably, the shaky peace of the atmosphere couldn’t stay. The moment Janeice begins to relax, Cheshire makes his move. He slinks behind her, making Janeice feel exposed as the big cat eyes her up and down, clearly sizing her up. Finally, he stops to take a gander at the siren’s collection of priceless hair jewelry.
Janeice grows cold, the air freezing along with her. She knows exactly what Cheshire is doing and she won’t have it. One must never touch a siren’s belongings without permission, especially jewelry with it being the most sacred. To allow him to sully her precious possessions with his filthy paws would be blasphemous. He must be stopped, immediately.
“No.”
The large cat balks at the harsh reprimand. Is he hearing her correctly? Did she just tell him no?
“No.”
The T.V statics before flatlining. Nothing can be heard except for Jason’s faint breathing. The once calm atmosphere becomes incredibly tense as Janeice and Cheshire silently battle for dominance. The maine coon refuses to be bested, keeping his stance steady and gaze steely. He has something to prove now, not so much to the others but to himself. She may be powerful, and she may be lovely to look at, but she’s still just a girl. An insignificant, meek, jiggy girl with more power than she knows what to do with. Honestly, whose idea was it to let such a thing loose?
Clap!
Janeice claps her hands right in Cheshire’s face, the sound louder than it should’ve been, making him jolt back. Cheshire lands on his fluffy butt and has to wiggle himself upright. Janeice snickers quietly behind her hands as the TV cuts back on.
“Hiiiiiisssss!”
The cats nearly leap out of their pelts at the shocking sound of Cheshire hissing. Even Janeice is surprised. This is the first time any of them had seen him angry. Truthfully, Janeice didn’t think it was possible. Guess there’s a first time for everything.
For the cherry on top, Janeice shoos him away, making sure to exaggerate the motion of her hands. She waves and silently tells him to get lost with the most condescending, closed lipped grin on her face. Cheshire growls hatefully at her, but nonetheless, leaves her alone. For now.
‘That’ll teach you, freak. Mind your business next time.’
Things were quiet for a while afterwards, that is until Suit, of all cats, felt the need to make his presence known by planting himself smack dab in front of Janeice with a glare so intense, it burned.
The tuxedo cat’s claws audibly graze the carpeting as he scrutinizes her selection of products, giving each one a thorough sniff and gingerly poking at the glass containers. To her, it sounds like the grumpy kitten tried to analyze the bottles, failed, and is now pissed because he can’t understand what she's doing. Suit trudges back to his previous spot to hurl an irritated growl at her.
“…”
‘Don’t do anything Janeice, remember your Karma.’
As always, she resortes to ignoring him. Why should she have to explain herself? Janeice doesn’t even know what he’s upset about.
‘He probably just wants attention. Once again, ignore him and hopefully he’ll go away.’
Janeice tries to carry on and re-immerse herself with the show. Oh, the night shift episode is on! Janeice perks her ears to listen better as she finishes another twist. Only a few more to go and then she’ll be done!
“Grrrrrrrrrrr—”
Suit is becoming more hostile by the second. Good grief, why is he so angry?
‘What did I even do? Is he mad at me for existing? He’s gonna have to get over that because I’m not going anywhere!’
“GrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrRRAAAAOOOWWW!!-“
Slam!
Janeice had her arms up, ready to smack the angry kitten out of the air, but someone beat her to it.
“Mmrrooww.”
‘Wha..? Cheshire?’
Unbelievably, it was Cheshire that striked Suit. The big cat is poised defensively in front of Janeice, claws drawn and stance wide. Janeice can’t believe it. Cheshire is protecting her? Even after their little spat?
Suit furiously hisses at Cheshire. To Janeice’s ears, he sounds offended. “How dare you involve yourself! Stay out of this!” The cat probably said.
Cheshire snarls at the tuxedo cat, fierce and threatening. The two are going back and forth like they’re mortal enemies!
Even worse, Suit had the nerve to hiss at her again!
If Janeice were a lesser person, she probably would have stooped to his level and growled back. Maybe even threatened him with castration if he didn’t stop. But, because she’s classy and unbothered she decides it’d be best to be more subtle with her ire.
Janeice finishes the twist she was working on, wipes her hands, stands up, and goes into the kitchen to grab a chair, causing the cats to mutter to themselves, confused.
“Meow…?”
Janeice firmly plants the chair in the center of the room and sits down. She holds the spray bottle between her legs before going back to business as usual.
Janeice feels a little guilty for pulling all of these stunts instead of just waking Jason up. He was insistent that she alert him if anything happens, but...oh she just feels so useless! He’s been taking such great care of her this entire weekend and she truly didn't want to impose further. Not to mention his speech earlier; if he had kept going she would’ve melted into a puddle, literally!
Admittedly, Janeice’s pride is wounded too. She couldn't shake the embarrassment of letting him see her vulnerable with blackened tears on her face, curled up, and non-verbal. A siren should never be seen like that! She’s always been the sensitive one in the family, and it’s a huge insecurity for her. She’s supposed to be strong, fierce, independent and confident! Not some whimpering guppy curled up in a ball, crying over cats, of all things. Honestly, if her mother were here to witness this, she’d call her an embarrassment and rightfully so.
‘Come on sis, you’ve got to get it together. You’ve cried more within the last few weeks than you have in years! Get a grip!’
A nasally giggle caresses Janeice’s ears and warms her heart. The little yellow guy’s laughter always made her feel better without fail.
‘You know what, I’m not gonna worry about that right now. Everything will fall into place eventually; that’s what my grandma always said.’
Janeice found solace in the comfort of her favorite show as she continued twisting. Everything will be ok, she’s almost done anyway.
‘Mmph, time can’t go by fast enough.’
——————————————————————-
‘Whew! Thank Oshun, I am finally finished!’
Janeice stretched her arms overhead, feeling the satisfying ache in her muscles after hours of styling her hair. She threw her head back, tired as she leaned back in her chair, wincing as her scalp smarted with soreness.
She ran her hands over her new twists and swung them around. She adores every inch of her hair, but she won’t lie and say she hasn’t thought about cutting it from time to time.
‘Hah! As if it’d let me, even if I wanted to. Not in this lifetime, that’s for sure.’
Janeice chuckles softly to herself. Thigh length coily hair is laborious, but it’s a labor of love she’s more than happy to indulge in. The sound of SpongeBob's laughter continues to brighten the room, providing a comforting background to her thoughts. SpongeBob really is the funniest dude on the block and Janeice fully intended to die on that hill.
Now content with delightfully sore muscles, Janeice allows herself to relax for a bit.
Overall, despite her sour mood this morning, today was turning out to be a great day! She got plenty of Jason hugs, the cats weren’t bothering at the moment, and she even came up with a few lyrics for the melody that’s been stuck in her head lately. She has the cats to thank for that!
“Hmmm~” a satisfied hum escapes from Janeice’s lips.
‘Should I do my baby hairs? Or would that be too much?’
It would certainly draw attention, and she’s pretty certain that the judgemental feline mobsters would probably hate it.
‘They’ll be alright. I’m pretty sure I know exactly what their issue is, and if that’s the case, f*ck their feelings respectfully. I’m black dammit, and unapologetically so! They need to get over themselves.’
Janeice scoffs, unable to stop herself from chuckling out loud. If they were to ever turn back human, she’d have a whole lot of sh*t to talk.
‘Besides, as they say, too much is never enough! Let’s do it!’
Janeice keeps a soft smile as she continues to slouch against her chair, her arms hanging from her sides. The soreness is starting to lesson a bit so perhaps she can start again?
‘Meh, I’ll grab the gel after this episode.’
Janeice giggles to herself, ‘Yeah, that’ll work. Sounds like a plan to me, hehehehe~!’
“Puuurrrr, Mrrrreooow~”
‘Oh great heavens!’
The familiar sound of a certain cat's purr interrupts her thoughts. Janeice lurches out of her chair, aghast. Is she hallucinating or did Midnight just croon in her ear?
Janeice stays as still as possible and tunes out the tv to better take in her surroundings. As she leans back, she is met with the familiar feeling of coarse fur grazing across her neck and shoulders.
His presence unsettles her despite her attempts to remain calm. Oh gods, Midnight’s being creepy again!
Unfortunately for Janeice, Midnight doesn’t seem to notice or care that Janeice is uncomfortable as he proceeds to nuzzle his face into her freshly styled hair, expressing his appreciation for the new look. The frazzled siren cringes harshly at the sensation. She could visualize the brush of long, elegant fingers tucking loose hair behind her ear, playing with the curls that rested at her nape.
God, Midnight's persistent advances make her feel so exposed. He’s so damn needy, and his timing couldn't have been worse. Janeice can’t help but wonder how she ended up in this bizarre situation. Why is this cat, man, whatever so obsessed with her? She just wants to do her job, snuggle Jason, and go home! It seems that the only way she’ll receive any peace is if she wakes Jason up. Oh, this is so embarrassing!
“Augh-!”
A barely silenced scream is ripped out of her. The f*cking creep just bit her ear! Hard!
The black cat purrs in satisfaction as he burrows his head around the area he bit her at. To her horror, he proceeds to lick Janeice’s ear like she’s something good to eat. The sensation perturbs her so intensely that she almost dissolves. Gingerly poking at the sore spot, a sharp pain pierces through her upon contact, making her wince. Dammit, it’s bruised!
The girl whips around, finally opening her eyes to see the blurry glow of two red lights. The sun is shining brightly in her face; regardless, she knows the cat is leering at her. With darkened eyes only he can see, Janeice scowls at the beastly thing. She has had enough!
“Go away.” Janeice audibly voices her disdain, voice low and barely above a whisper, but it should be more than enough for the black cat to hear and understand that she’s not playing around. If he doesn't stop harassing her then she’s gonna have to do something drastic, again.
Midnight is undeterred, if anything, her speaking just made him even more excited. Purring loudly, he audaciously leaps down and forces himself into her lap despite her obvious reluctance, pressing himself against her stomach.
“Mrrp! Mrreooww~!”
Janeice looks down at him, appalled by this lackadaisical breach of her boundaries. The black cat plays around with her hair without a care in the world, messing with the beaded decorations like toys. The siren looks around at the other cats to gauge their reactions. While she couldn’t quite see their faces, she could easily sense what they were feeling and she sensed...nothing. They’re watching them, they see what’s going on but, just like Midnight, they don’t care. She’s shivering, distressed, yet they all are just sitting there.
Watching. Indifferent. Uncaring.
Heartless…
Hell, Janeice can even feel the vaguest tinge of amusem*nt from Cheshire and Dapper, and actual hatred from everyone else. Her hands clench, desperately trying to restrain herself. These aren’t real cats. These are grown men in the bodies of vulnerable animals, and yet, she can’t hurt them the way she really wants to, especially since they’re Jason’s. She can’t bear the thought of him hating her, even if her anger is justified.
‘I hate them, I hate them, I hate them! Why can’t I just toss him off?! Since when did I become so weak!?’
Janeice shamefully fights off tears. All of this brings back horrible memories.
“Hey!”
A deep voice angrily yells from behind her. A large hand snatches the devilish feline out of her lap, being careful not to hurt her in the process. She squints her eyes and watches her hero in awe.
‘Jason…’
His presence is commanding and authoritative. Jason’s brow furrows in anger as he firmly grasps Midnight after removing the offending cat from Janeice's lap with a swift motion.
“What the hell do you think you're doing, huh?” Jason's voice is laced with frustration, as he glares down at the mischievous feline.
Midnight is unfazed by Jason's stern tone. He squirms in his grasp, emitting a low, defiant growl.
Janeice feels a surge of relief at Jason's intervention, grateful for his timely arrival to rescue her from their relentless harassment.
“I thought I told you to stay away from her! I know you see that she’s uncomfortable! Have you no shame?! Something is seriously wrong with you!”
Midnight hissed and thrashed within Jason’s hands. This has to be the most upset she’s ever heard him sound. She could feel the concern and regret permeating off of her gentle giant.
“Are you okay?” Jason's concern softened his features as he turned his attention to Janeice, his eyes scanning her for any signs of injury.
“Did he hurt you? Did any of them hurt you? Oh man, I am so sorry. Damn, I can’t believe I messed up again! I knew I shouldn’t have taken that nap. It’s obvious these f*ckers can’t be trusted.”
Janeice covered her ears as she’s overwhelmed with the clamoring screams that were undoubtedly curses in kitty language. Janeice had to close her eyes again to keep herself from reverting. God, she is so tired.
“̸̹̔Ḑ̸̳̅ä̴̗͋m̴͉͘͝n̵̝͐͠ ̸̘̅͑͜i̸̥̔̃ṱ̵́̊ ̴̟̽J̸͔̠̒̐ǎ̸̯͍ṇ̶͍͛ě̷̮i̷̫͗͝c̴̝̏ȇ̸̱̻̾!̴̲́̃ ̶̗̀Ś̷͎͜ť̶͎͒ő̴̧̲p̶̬̓ ̴̻̅̾c̶̻̆̐ŗ̵̿ý̸̹̩̃í̸̼̆n̶̹̉ġ̴͇ ̴̡͔̽̏b̸̦̣́́e̶̮͠f̷͎̱͝ṏ̶̻̮́ṙ̴͉̟͝e̷̩͍̿͘ ̴̳͑͌Ị̴͝ ̴͈̰̏r̵͉͋e̶̮̓ā̵̳́l̴̰̲͘̚l̵̫̣̍̓y̵̯͕̿͠ ̶̠̾ĝ̵̬̼͒ỉ̶̙̰̐v̸͔̈́̎e̷̪̒̀ ̶̹͖̏̕y̷̙͗o̷̞̅̋ú̴̻̰ ̴̹͋s̶̫͆o̶̙̼͗͠ḿ̷͚̟̎e̸̲͐̈t̷̠͊ĥ̷͕̽i̵̘̠̇͘n̴̢̻̂͝g̶̟̚ ̷̨͆̈́t̴̨̀̈o̸̧̾ ̸̜̂̓c̷̔ͅr̵̼̄́y̷̢̪͠ ̸̭̻͂̈a̴̧̼̅b̴̛̜̅ö̵̱́̚u̶̝͇͑̒t̸̳̎!̶̗̀”̸̘̂̅
“SHUT UP!” Jason’s shouting was only making the problem worse, but it got the cats to quiet down.
He tucked the irritable cat under his arm before crouching down and gently putting his other hand on Janeice’s shoulder, slowly so as to not scare her.
“Hey, hey it’s ok. You’ll be ok. Take deep breaths. You're not alone. I’m right here. I’ve got you.”
A soothing voice swims in her head. She couldn’t understand what he was saying, but Jason’s warm hand grounded her nonetheless.
You’re not alone.
You’re not alone.
You’re not alone.
I’ve got you.
Tearfully, she did as they practiced; taking deep breaths repeatedly until she was calm enough to uncover her ears.
“You’re doing great, Janeice. I’m so proud of you!”
Jason’s voice is soft and nurturing, easing her out of her panic attack. The tall man has used this voice on her a few times, particularly during freshman year. It made her feel childish at first, and still does at times, but she truly can’t thank him enough for his support. Janeice wishes she received this kind of understanding growing up.
On her final exhale, she looks Jason in the eyes with a watery smile, before glowering harshly at the menace in black tucked under his arm. She can feel the satisfaction radiating off of him. The black cat doesn’t even bother to hide the fact that he’s proud of what he’s done; having no remorse at all for his awful behavior.
‘That stupid cat and his petty games. Fine! Screw being the bigger person. When they go low, we go lower, and I have the perfect punishment in mind.’
Janeice taps her friend on the arm, the one still placed on her shoulder. She might have to persuade him a bit for this to work.
Jason quickly draws his hand back, apologies rolling off the tongue like water before Janeice shushes him.
She signs, “Hey, I have an idea. Do you mind handing over Mr.Midnight?”
Gaping a bit, Jason questions her, “I don’t know Janeice. What if he tries something again?”
“Relax, big homie. I got this.”
Jason hands Midnight over, a skeptical look gracing his features. His attempt to hide his mistrust of her is so cute! She could devour him whole right now!
Ahem…!
Janeice flashes him an innocent, toothy grin, batting her lashes up at him. She’s typically not keen on playing charades but her hands were full and she is NOT putting midnight in her lap.
Jason raises a brow, confused. “You need your glasses?”
Janeice nods vigorously. Jason hurries to go get them for her.
While he’s doing that, Janeice holds Midnight close to her chest and scratches him underneath his chin to get him to relax. Midnight is undoubtedly confused, but it doesn’t seem to stop him from enjoying himself. The dreadful thing is purring like a mountain lion.
‘Perfect.’
Jason’s heavy footsteps signal his return. “I’m back. Want me to put them on for you?”
Janeice nodded and allowed Jason to tilt her head enough to carefully place them on her face, the world immediately becoming more clear; still blurry, but clearer.
“Thank you…”
Jason beamed at the sound of her voice. “You’re welcome! So, now what?”
Janeice just winks at him as she brings Midnight up to eye level. Midnight has a suspicious glare pointed towards her and grows tense in her arms. The beautiful lady smiles sweetly, attempting to disarm him before placing a loving kiss upon the cat’s forehead.
The kiss immediately riles him up; his whole body tenses and relaxes like a spring. The black cat leans forward and returns the gesture with a series of licks atop the tip of her nose, and a sharp nibble for good measure.
Jason is visibly disgusted by the cat’s weird show of affection. Janeice giggles at his reaction and gives Midnight a hug, making sure to squeeze him slightly between her breasts before doing the unthinkable.
She tosses him. Hard. She throws him into the other cats like he were a bowling ball and they were the pins, all with a sad*stic smile. Chaos ensues as they weren’t expecting a full sized cat to be thrown at them. They scramble out of the way, just barely able to dodge Midnight’s plunge into the wall. Janeice cackles maliciously at the black cat’s disoriented face. The cat’s shocked screams make Janeice laugh even harder.
‘Haha! Serves you right, sicko!’
“Janeice!”
‘Uh oh.’
Janeice freezes.
‘Shoot, I got carried away again.’
Jason stuttered, “T-that was…”
Her heart is pounding in her ears.
‘Please don’t hate me. Please…’
The sound of a wispy chuckle brightens her world. The siren watches her gentle giant laugh to the point of breathlessness, barely able to stay on his feet. He’s not mad…?
“Hahahaha! That was hilarious! You got him all excited only to trick him, and he fell for it like a sucker! Oh man, that sh*t was funny. I should’ve recorded it.”
Jason turns his attention to the disoriented cat, “That’s what the f*ck you get you little freak! Be for the streets if you want to, but don’t impose that on everybody else, weirdo! No means no!”
‘Oop!’ Janeice whisper-scream laughs. Who knew Jason could roast like that!
‘Hmm, that reminds me.’
Janeice smacks his arm, stopping his laughter. “Ow! What?”
Janeice co*cks her head innocently, “Is the pizza here yet?”
Jason responds, “Hm? Oh yeah, food’s here. You said you ate earlier today, right? How long ago was that? You should at least be snacking between meals, only eating once a day isn’t good for you, y’know. You’re a tiny lady and you need all the nutrients that you can get!”
Janeice grins, happily listening to Jason fuss over her.
‘Hehe, Jason is such a mom. I’d never hear the end of it if I told him that though, hmm.‘
———————————————————-
Jason POV
‘Man oh man, what a day.’
Jason brushed his teeth, getting ready for bed after a long evening. He and Janeice had a great time playing video games after lunch-dinner. Jason was personally proud at besting Janeice in Mario Kart and terrorizing her with Resident Evil 2. The original.
“Wow, I haven’t seen the game over screen for level 1 in like, 10 years. Nice job Janeice!”
“f*ck you...”
Jason snickers under his breath. Oh yeah, he is definitely going to tease her about this for the next few weeks.
She creamed him in Mario 3D world though. That sucked.
‘Eh, strengths and weaknesses.’
Jason spits out his toothpaste, wipes his mouth clean, and then washes his hands, making sure to apply lotion once dry. Afterwards, he haphazardly ties his durag over his curls before turning off the lights, now ready for bed.
‘Maybe I should let Janeice braid it. She’ll crucify me if she ever finds out about my lack of routine though. But sh*t, I don’t have time for all of that. That’s why we have barbers!’
Jason snuggles comfortably into bed.
‘Ah well, I’ll cross that bridge when I get there. For now, I should be safe.’
Jason smiles a little at the thought. He tilts his head down reverently as he whispers his nightly prayers to God with clasped hands.
“Lord, may you continue to watch over my friends and family and keep them safe from foul spirits. Thank you for blessing me with another day, and may you bless me with many more to come. Thank you for the wonderous gift of life you have given me, and I swear in the name of your son, Yashua, our savior, that I will continue to cherish everyday on this earth and use my blessings to do good onto others. Amen to Yahweh, the light of our faith.”
And with that, Jason finally feels prepared and safe enough to rest.
———————————————————————
Thump
A heavy eyebrow twitched in response to the noise
Thump, Thump, Thump
Bleary eyes blink open, barely congnizant of their surroundings
Crash!
“What the-?!”
Jason is disoriented and confused. What on earth is all of that noise? He instinctively grabs a bat and hauls ass out of his room to see what’s going on.
“Is someone tryna rob me? sh*t, Janeice!”
Jason sneaks out of his room and creeps around, following the mysterious noises until he sees what’s causing it, the cats.
More specifically, Suit and Mr.Midnight.They were fighting in front of Janeice’s door and it looked pretty intense.
“What the hell…?” He mutters to himself as he puts his weapon away. He needs to step in now before they kill each other.
“Aye!”
The dark duo is startled out of their skins, alarmed to see the large man standing over them.
“What do you think you’re doing? It’s the middle of the night!”
The two cats look around nervously, doing whatever they can to avoid his eyes as Jason realizes what’s going on. They were trying to get into Janeice’s room, or at least one of them was.
Jason looked down at the cats, revolted and growing increasingly horrified.
As awful as this is, he’s not at all surprised by Midnight's behavior. The creep doesn’t even try to be discreet about his desires. He has such a flaming disregard for Janeice’s feelings that it reminds him of those older men that would try to hit on his little sister. It’s gross and so freaking uncomfortable to watch, and the fact that he’s 85% sure that he’s not a cat makes it 1000 times worse.
Suit though, he never would’ve expected this from him. Out of their whole little group, the tuxedo cat seemed to have the most contempt for her, outside of maybe King. He’s always cold and stand-offish with Janeice. In fact, he often treats her like she’s some sort of diseased vermin. So to see him here, battling it out with Midnight, presumably over who gets to go in and watch her sleep, is a crazy concept for Jason to consider.
Nonetheless, this is the reality he’s dealing with, and now, it’s his responsibility as a man to fix this.
After all, men must handle other men.
Jason adopts a cold expression, making the cats even more nervous.
“Please tell me I’m mistaken, and that you weren’t planning on sneaking into Janeice’s room to do god knows what in the middle of the night…”
The silence is deafening.
Jason sneers at them, “You disgusting perverts…”
‘So this is what Janeice has been going through this whole time? No wonder she’s been so jumpy lately!’
Jason cringes when he thinks about the previous day. Asking her to help him bathe the cats was the absolute worst thing he could’ve done.
‘To think, this has been happening under my nose the whole time. These people have the gall to do this to my tiny lady?!’
Jason snaps out of his spiral with a shake of his head, now’s not the time to feel sorry for himself. He has a job to do.
“You have 10 seconds to make yourself scarce. If I count down to 1 and you’re not out of my sight, I will make you permanent outside cats. Am I being understood?”
Suit and Midnight snarl at him. Jason gets the message:
“You wouldn’t dare…”
‘Watch me.’
Jason clears his throat, “Ahem,” and begins counting
“10”
Jason stands tall in front of the door, solid and strong like a barricade.
“9”
He tightens his hands around the bat
“8”
The cats step back, they couldn’t believe he was serious. They clearly underestimated him.
“7”
Midnight attempts to stand his ground and snarls at him. Perhaps intimidation will make the giant stand down?
“6”
The tall man brings the wider end of the bat into his opposite hand with intent to make a point. He’s not backing down.
“5”
Suit’s claws glint threateningly in the moonlight as he, too, attempts to use intimidation to make the giant back off. It’s no use, however; the giant isn’t budging and Jason could see the nervous energy withheld in his eyes.
“4”
Jason smirks as he lifts the bat over his broad shoulders. They still have a choice here. Lord knows he doesn’t actuallywant to hurt them.
“3”
But if this is what it takes to protect his friend, then so be it.
“2”
Midnight and Suit exchange worried glances. While not as swift as the lady, there’s no way they were going to take him down in these forms. Not on their own.
“1”
The cats flee before Jason gets the chance to swing his bat.
‘Thank God.’
Jason sighs, leaning against his friend's door before sliding down clutching his head, a migraine forming.
‘This is all my fault. I should never have brought random animals into my home in the first place.’
The image of Janeice’s broken state that morning crosses his mind, further shattering his heart.
‘Oh Janeice, I was supposed to protect you…’
Jason quietly heaves himself up and walks solemnly back to his room, exhaustion physically weighing him down.
‘Lord forgive me, I don’t know what spirits I’ve brought into my home, but I can’t ignore this any longer. It’s time for me to do some investigating; and maybe a cleansing too.’
Jason is scrolling on his phone when he sees an ad for a pet groomer’s place nearby. An idea forms.
‘Hmm…you know, the cats would probably benefit from a professional grooming appointment...wouldn’t they?’
With a smirk, he takes a screenshot of the ad and puts down a note for his digital alarm clock.
‘It’s gonna take me a while to get to the bottom of this, especially without Janeice knowing. But in the meantime, I think I know just how to punish those freaks.’
Jason grins, giddy as he tosses his blankets over his head. Oh boy, he can’t wait for tomorrow!
