It began slowly—her jaw resisted at first, her body trembling slightly from the conflict—but the smile came anyway. Awkward. Stiff. Forced. The perfect contradiction to her strength. I could feel my pulse quickening. That power, that defiance. It needs to be brought to heel! There was nothing like that.
"There," I said softly, marveling. "Much better."
Her fists clenched. Her body screamed rebellion. But her face was still betraying her—still smiling.
"Yes," I whispered, stepping closer. "You're going to be very interesting."
I leaned in. Her breath was shallow. Furious. Controlled. She wanted to fight. Maybe she even could. And that…
That was intoxicating to me...
Just as I was about to taste her to see if she was as sweet as she looked...
Thud!!!!
---
He falls down to the ground after I punch the back of his head hard, and just for a second my fist was glowing golden... and Jessica saw that but could not understand what she saw because of how fast it happened...
I look at Jessica and speak in a casual tone, "Uh, hey, are you fine? He seemed like a creep; that's why I did that anyway. Why are you smiling like that? Oh, don't tell me he was your boyfriend or something, and you two just talk weirdly to each other?"
And Jessica, for a second, was shocked before she blinked her eyes and stopped smiling... She looked at me and then looked back at the man on the floor. She did not know why, but she felt like she had just been saved from a catastrophe. Her female senses were going off when she saw that guy...
And Jessica looks back at me, and then she mutters, "Uh, no, he was not my boyfriend. Uh, wait, you are Leo, right? the guy I caught arguing with Trish?!" And I look at her tense face and just nod my head and speak, "Yea, that's me, by the way. Your sister started it, ok? Anyway, what are you doing here?? And who is this guy if he is not your boyfriend?" I spoke in a clueless tone.
"I have no clue; I was just beating up the thugs and saving that junkie before I knew it. He came around, told me what to do, and I could not control my body..." And Jessica's hands were shaking a little, just a little, but I noticed that it seems even this little control that Kilgrave had on Jessica has shaken her mind...
"Uh, what? Are you talking about you beating up all the thugs?? Uh, Jessica, are you joking? with me, and you can't control your body because of this dude? Are you fine?? You're not drunk like your sis, right?" I speak in a clueless tone because, well, this was acting. Leo is just an A-grade student in Jessica's eyes for now. I keep playing that role...
And Jessica, for a second, was truly speechless... She said too much just now. He was so confused that Jessica actually admitted to beating up thugs and a lot of weird stuff if you think about it, and Jessica tenses up for a second before saying in a drunken tone, "Oh, ah, yeah, maybe I am drunk... Ugh." And Jessica stumbles around; she was acting like she was drunk because she did not want to explain herself…
It was not a bad idea. Actually, just acting drunk would explain all of this on its own, but to Leo right now, this was so funny that he almost lost his own act and laughed, but he kept it cool and stepped closer to her and held her arm gently and spoke in a calm tone, "Hey, are you ok? right? You have been acting super weird. Are you both sisters alcoholics or something?"
And Jessica leans a little on my hand and mutters something. She was actually not a bad actor; if I myself was not acting right now and knew about her, I would have been fooled... "Uh, what? Are you saying? Wait, can you give me Trish's phone number? so I can call her to pick you up." I speak in an actually worried tone, and Jessica notices this, and her eyes go wide for a second...
It was really weird, to be honest. Jessica was in trouble, and for the first time in her life, someone actually saved her. She did not know what it was, or maybe it was just Leo? The first time she saw him, he was arguing with Trish... something Jessica enjoyed doing... and just hearing him actually speak in a worried tone for her... it was something for sure... for Jessica, her heart was beating faster even though she did not understand why...
"Uh, no, don't call Trish. Um, can you just call a cab for me? please?" And Jessica herself did not realize how soft her voice sounded, and I was actually even more weirded out. This is not how I expected Jessica to act... Why did she not want me to call Trish? There was no reason for Jessica not to do that. Uh, maybe because she does not want to explain this to Trish? Yeah, that has to be the only reason; explaining to Trish why she was acting drunk next to me would be hell for Jessica for sure...
"Oh? Um, are you sure? You seem pretty drunk. Uh, I have a car, you know. I can drop you off only if you want to." I spoke in a calm tone, and Jessica closed her eyes, but, well, it was clear she was thinking about this offer, and before I could say anything, she spoke again.
"I'm fine. Let's get out of here," and she started to walk out of the alley, and I followed her, but before leaving the alley, I made sure to throw something at Kilgrave's knocked-out body...
Jessica did not notice that she was still trying to act tipsy and drunk... I follow her and then step ahead of her and begin walking ahead of Jessica. For some reason, she tries to walk a little faster, but she actually ends up slipping on a wet road, and before she could fall, I grab her arm and pull her up...
I was not holding her or anything; I just had a soft grip on her arm and stopped her from falling...
"Hey, are you dumb? Walk slowly, stupid. What if you fall? Huh, who is going to take care of you then? And stay close for now! till I drop you off at your place." I speak in a calm but firm tone, and this time I don't leave her arm and walk with her...
And Jessica was left speechless. Never in her life had she been walked over like this before... not by a man. Never had she felt so weak. Jessica did not know what it was, really. She was tense for no reason. Her mind felt like a cloud because of Kilgrave's mind control. Jessica's emotions were everywhere, but that was normal; she had breakdowns normally, but what was different right now was Leo. Someone actually was holding her arm and walking her to a safe place...
To be honest, this feeling is the first time after Jessica's family crashed and years later that she has felt this feeling. Someone was scolding her for being reckless and for being unsafe. It was a nice feeling for sure... and Jessica just could not wrap her mind around this. Why was Leo so kind? Was he trying to flirt or get in her pants? But no, it was different. Jessica had been hit on way too many times, but Leo did not feel like that; it felt like he had nothing of the sort in his mind... It was actually a little warm...
And before Jessica knew it, she was in a lightheaded mood. She reached Leo's car, and she was a little stunned to see it was cool. She whistled and spoke, "Oh, that's yours?? I did not know you had taste in cars. Trish never told me that about you." And then Jessica, in a tipsy way, walks near the car door, and I unlock the car with my fingerprint on the door handle. Yeah, just a little thing. Jessica did not notice that, and I respectfully open the car door and let Jessica inside and then close the car door and walk around and open the driver's seat and sit down.
Turn on the car and start driving, and I speak, "Ok, so where do you stay?" and I spoke in a calm tone, and once we were in the car, I let go of her arm...
"Uh, just the house down the street, you know, near the Grass Park..." Jessica still spoke in a soft tone, but some of her normal tone was slowly coming back...
"Grass park? Like the rich zone? Holy moly, who knew you were from a well-off family? Ha, I wish I could move there one day." I speak in a playful tone as I keep driving, and Jessica, hearing this for a second, clenches her fists...
"What do you know about my family? Just because we are living in a big house, don't assume everything is sweet!" Jessica spoke in her old rude tone as she folded her hands on her chest and looked out of the window...
"I mean, don't get me wrong, I am not judging you; I am just making small talk, you know?" I speak in a low tone, almost like I was sorry, and, well, Jessica did not expect that; she thought I would be rude back at her! not speak in a sorry tone...
Now Jessica was feeling like crap for being rude...