Duke It Out

Jack nodded and turned her broom in a circle once, trying to delay the awkwardness of the conversation that had begun to lull. She hated small talk but she knew awkward silence could be just as bad. Usually, she was gone by now. She suddenly realized that she had turned in a circle three times. Whoops. She stopped.

"Well," she announced. "We seem to have hit a brick wall. Neither willing to disclose more, neither wanting to hear more. Now what?"

James started getting a bit uncomfortable because he never really talks to anyone for a long time. He's already exceeded the amount of normal conversations lengths that he has.

"You could... buy me those smokes I need. I would buy them, but I left my money at home." James shot Jack a sheepish grin.

Jack raised an eyebrow. The redhead had always been hurting from money, seeing as her parents had refused to support her way through Hogwarts and she had alwayshad to rely on less trustworthy sorts such as her cousin and uncle. Once she had co-signed for Weasley's and begun making money, she had become self reliant. And even with her two jobs, Wheezes had a lot of expenses, and she was still supporting Satan's without any profit.

But Jack's money problems were unknown to all, and she intended to keep it that way. Her expression unchanging, she fished out a few sickles and tossed them to James. "That's enough to buy a pack or two of lung cancer."

When she tossed him some sickles, he smiled. She said, "That's enough to buy a pack or two of lung cancer." James allowed himself to laugh. He just got money from someone. He may have failed at seducing Jack, but he got money out of her. It's also another thing James likes to do. He doesn't need money, in fact, he still gets a bit of money from his parents. But, he can't live off of cigarettes forever. Even if he wants to.

"Mhm, Lung cancer. My favorite." He smiled. "They should make that as a flavor for Bertie Botts Every-Flavored Beans"

Jack sneered at him. She had accepted a variety of vices as she had made the painful transistion from childhood into adulthood. The girl so adverse to companionship, alcoholic consumption, and romance had had her taste in each during her final year of Hogwarts. Having gained the trust of Andrew and Chase, been driven to drown her sorrows in a bottle, and allowed Ariel Greyback to slip past her defenses to briefly throw her heart into a tangle.

However, she had never smoked. Her mother had been a smoker and it had turned them off for Jack. "You know, if you hold yourself in such high regard, you shouldn't smoke. Destroys your face and body." Well put, Jack, well put.

James always got lectures from his parents about not smoking, but that's why he did it. He knew all the consequences and he tried not to get addicted, but he just did. He always ignored others when they told him it was bad because who has the right to tell him what to do? But something about Jack saying it to him was different. Maybe because she was the first girl telling him instead of his mother or sister.

"Are you saying you don't want me to ruin my fit body and my precious face?" James winked at her and then sighed. "I know, but I only started smoking to annoy my parents and it is sort of a habit now."

Jack nodded as though she were vastly intrigued and almost convinced by his arguments, her eyebrows high on her forehead and her eyes wide. “Oh yeah?” she said, the sarcasm of her actions becoming even more apparent in her voice. “Look, Mr. D’Eath, I don’t give a rat’s ass about your body or face. But let me tell you, killing yourself is a pretty stupid reason to get back at your parent’s in my opinion.” Maybe it was all the self-destructive smokers she had known. Nemo, Vito, even Chase had taken up a cigarette on her lowest times. That was what frustrated her. People with problems unwilling to fix them always ended up relying on her. And this was one battle, smoking, she would not help them through. They needed to grow up themselves.

James nodded letting her words sink in.

"I'm not trying to kill myself. They just didn't like it. Turns into a habit. I tried to stop, but I don't have much to do lately. I might stop when I get a job."

James sighed. He got enough shit from everyone else. One more person isn't going to make him stop.

"You don't smoke. You wouldn't know how hard it is to quit, alright."

Jack stared at him, unable to do anything but argue. Perhaps it was the redhead in her, but Jack had a problem of letting some of these little things slide. Just little things that bugged her about a person... She had to pick at them.

"So you admit it's a lack of will?" Jack said. "Anyone who says it is hard to quit has let it become a weakness. You would rather be weak than foolish? Though I think weakness comes from foolishness, personally, but that's just me."

James sighed. He's decided that he's probably not going to win this argument.

"Yeah, alright. Okay. Whatever."

James was getting tired of being outside.

"What now?"