In a World Where Only Madness Matters

With another breath, as what can only be described as a sickening taste in Rebecca’s mouth, she stirred. Barely becoming aware she was even awake as the events from last night began to pound at the back of her head. She groaned in discomfort, squeezing her eyes shut tighter at the bright light that was now in the room with her. [She could’ve sworn she had just fallen asleep.] Nausea hit her and she shivered, reaching out behind her, searching for the covers that were no longer around her body.

As she rolled over, not wanting to open her eyes, she stretched her arm out across the bed, hoping for any type of blankets, but found none. With a sigh of exhaustion, she opened her eyes, not ready for the amount of sunlight coming in through the windows. She squinted, and looked around.

Jax was no where to be found, and nor were any of the covers that had been on her bed. Not only that, but neither were her clothes. Her eyes got wide with confusion as she realized she was only in her bra and underwear. In the midst of her confusion, she pulled at the bed sheets underneath her and covered herself up.

“Jax?” She tried, but found her throat clogged. Not that it mattered. The moment the words had left her lips, she had awakened him. Jax had been asleep on the floor, with nearly half his body under the bed on the opposite side. He had almost half the covers wrapped around him in some awkward looking cocoon, and the other half sprawled out on the floor next to him. “Jax?” Rebecca cleared her throat, a vomit tasting burp climbing out of her esophagus.

Without warning, his half naked body sprang from the floor, nearly scaring the hell out of Rebecca, and he raced around the bed. Practically tripping and falling into the bathroom, not even having the time to close the door.

Rebecca heard a loud thud, then the horrible sounds of gagging and splashing into the toilet. She struggled to hold back her own stomach contents as another disgusting burp emerged from the pit of her gut. She cringed as she attempted to swallow it.

A flush from the toilet, the sound of sink water, and Jax appeared out of the bathroom.

“Are you alright?” Rebecca asked, her voice still raspy and dry.

“Better now.” Jax answered picking up the covers off the floor and throwing them back onto the bed. “What about you?” He asked concerned, as he jumped up onto the bed next to her.

“I have a horrible head ache, and stomach ache. But other than that I’m alright.” Rebecca answered, laying back down on her back. Jax laid beside her, hesitantly putting his arm around her. He wasn’t sure if she wanted him to see her with just underwear, but she didn’t seem to mind.

“Ugh. Last night was awful. God what was Matt thinking? We never should have agreed to go to that party.” Rebecca explained, knowing that last night was a very bad mistake. Jax didn’t respond.

He would’ve liked to admit that it was a horrible decision to trust them and agree to that party, but he couldn’t. Because the only thing that kept him from not going to that party was Rebecca, and the secret he was keeping from her. That’s when he quickly drew his scar covered arms back, and shoved them under the blankets. Luckily, she appeared to be too out of it to notice.

“I mean he could’ve got us killed. And a hangover, really? I had no idea we were drinking alcohol.” That was a lie. Rebecca had somewhat of an idea what they were drinking. Whether she choose to not want to believe that it was alcohol they were consuming, or just didn’t want to think about it at that moment in time because she was too busy enjoying herself for once, is a mystery. What she did not expect was the effects to be this bad. She had never drank before, and will never drink again.

As Rebecca took a once over of her words she found herself repeating ‘could’ve got us killed’ over and over again inside her head. Images of Jax’s violent actions towards the police officer who had attempted to shoot at them filling her thoughts as it all came back to her. Jax had killed a man, in cold blood and without hesitation, right in front of her. Or… did that even really happen? There were quite a few things she wondered whether they were real or not about last night. Her dreams had been beyond spastic and out of the ordinary, she could’ve dreamt about anything. Even Jax killing somebody.

“Huh. So this is what a hangover feels like? Now I know why my dad was always such a jerk in the morning…” Jax mumbled remembering how his dad would drink all night, then be asleep all morning, yelling and being sick the rest of the day.

“Your dad was an alcoholic?” Rebecca asked curious, pulling herself out of her weary thoughts.

“Uh, I think so… I’m not really sure what that means. But there was definitely something wrong with him.” Jax replied being honest. He had heard a number of different diseases in Arkham. For all he knew, alcoholism could’ve been one of them.

“Hm.” Rebecca sighed, thinking over what Jax had told her. “Then you probably shouldn’t drink again. Alcoholism can be passed on genetically. It might have the same effects on you as it does him.”

Internally, Jax became very frightened. As stated before, he never, in a million years, wanted to become what his father was, or still is to this day. But as he went through all the horrendous symptoms of the hangover he was having, he was sure, he wasn’t going to be drinking again for a very, very, long time.

Outside of Rebecca’s room, and in the hallway, came the sound of a door opening, followed by shuffled footsteps, leading to more noises in the kitchen. Rebecca rolled her eyes. It seemed Alice and Matt had managed to escape the roof last night and find their own way back home. Rebecca was almost tempted to wish that they had been arrested after what they had but her and Jax through.

“And I don’t even know what to do with them.” Rebecca said closing her eyes, exasperated by the thought of them.

“Want me to take care of it?” Jax heard his fathers familiar voice echo through his own. But he couldn’t help it. Children learn what they are taught. Not only that, but he was anxious to send a razor edged saw blade through Matt and Alice’s skulls. He had seen it a good bit of times to know, it gets the job done.

“What? No!” Rebecca replied looking at him as if he were insane. [Maybe what he did last night was real.] But she quickly reproached the situation, realizing if she was going to help him adjust, she’d have to first start by not yelling at him. Then try to explain the right way on how to do things. “No, there’s always another way Jax. Violence is the last resort of the unintelligent.”

“Are you sure? Cause I know a guy.” Jax smiled, half being serious, and half not. Rebecca only sighed, irritated, and closed her eyes. Massaging the pressure point in between her eyes. She looked as if she had been annoyed by him. This rubbed Jax the wrong way. “And I’m not unintelligent.” Jax stated, being somewhat offended at what she had said.

He threw the covers off himself and headed for the bathroom. Making the slamming of the door obvious, before the noise of the shower turning on could be heard. Well, at least she got being hygienic across to him.

Exhausted, Rebecca pulled the covers off of herself, and looked for where her clothes could have gone. But as she slid onto the floor and walked several paces forward, she found them at the edge of her bed, thrown carelessly on the ground next to Jax’s. She picked up the dress, and hung it back up in her closet, not to get any more wrinkled than it had already gotten.

The shower being taken, there was nothing else for Rebecca to do besides lay down, and try to stop the world from spinning. She pulled some shorts on, along with a matching tank top, and laid back on her bed. Grabbing the remote for the television off her nightstand and turning it on, finding the first news station the tv would go to.

Of course the party made it to every major headline on the news stations and local channels. Scenes of reporters standing on the now day-lit rooftop, broken things and caution tape only a few feet behind them, as they tried to tell the story of the things that went on last night. Talk shows and popular news anchors giving tons of press and interviews about the party and all the major crime heads that had been there. Press conferences from the GCPD trying to insure citizens their safety, saying how it was their first priority to catch The Mad Hatter and his workers, along with Jax. [Or EHR patient 21295 as they referred to him.] The topic of the day it seemed.

Rebecca was slightly surprised at the GCPD. Which was a rarity. Not only were they quick to respond to the scene, but they had already figured out two of the major suspects that had been there last night. But Jax and Matt weren’t the only big concerns of the authorities. Oh no, it seemed half the Falcone Crime Family had been amongst the other guest last night. Rebecca remembered hearing plenty of different names passed around through the many introductions she had endured. But none of them could she seem to remember. Perhaps because she genuinely wasn’t paying attention, or more than likely drank too much. Either of those reasons could be the cause of that.

What puzzled her the most was there complete disinterest, in well, herself. Even if they knew she had been there, they hadn’t mentioned it. Maybe even called off the search of her completely. She wouldn’t doubt it though, she was minimal risk patient, and had no behavioral problems during her stay. [Other then escaping that is.] But she had been put there on 3 counts of murder. Rebecca was at a loss of what could possibly be going on with the police, or who they were going to pursue. At the moment it seemed they were more then busy trying to go through all the evidence at the crime scene, and ‘eye-witnesses’ hear say. She had no worries that she’d be found, or even discussed by other police forces.

The door to the bathroom opened, and Jax stepped out. A towel being wrapped around his waist and another one in his hands as he attempted to dry his head off. Rebecca couldn’t help but look at his physical features as he walked back into her room. [The good, and the bad.] His toned stomach and arms looked astounding on his slim figure. Especially his arms, they always looked so strong. His body always brought a light blush to Rebecca’s face. But her expressions of wonder and admire were soon replaced with uneasiness and worry. There were scratches and cuts all over Jax’s shins and arms. They looked new, one of them possibly even bleeding.

“Sorry.” Jax spoke, his voice flat of any emotion. “I didn’t have any clothes in there. I know how you are with being nude and all so I’ll hurry up.” Rebecca didn’t respond. Only watched as Jax walked out of the door and across the hall to the other room where he now got all of his clothing.

Without hesitation, she grabbed a pair of clothes, headed for the bathroom, and took a shower of her own. She brushed her hair, deciding to just wear it down for today, brushed her teeth, and did a very light layer of makeup. She pulled on a pair of faded gray skinny jeans, a white t-shirt, and a small black zip-up jacket to go over it. [Regardless of how miserable she was feeling she’d still need to get back to looking for the criminals who framed her.] She pulled a relatively short pair of black heels on and walked out of her room. As she emerged from the hallway, she found a very shockingly calm scene in front of her.

Alice was the in kitchen, wearing sweats and a t-shirt, slaving away at the stoves. Cooking what looked like eggs, bacon, and hash browns. Matt sat on one of the island stools, his head on the counter, in only basket ball shorts and a t-shirt. Which was a big difference for Rebecca. [Being so used to seeing him in his fancy suits and classy outfits.] His face looked drained of all liveliness and queasy. He groaned in discomfort.

“Serves you right for drinking so much.” Alice chimed at him, as she happily flipped over an egg she was cooking.

In the living room, Rebecca found Jax, fully dressed in a light blue zip-up hoodie with a yellow t-shirt under it, and slightly baggy blue jeans. [Hiding his cuts perhaps?] And had on the same yellow converses from last night. He was laying on the couch, sideways, his head resting on his hand as he flipped through the multiple cartoon channels they had. Probably looking for the Clone Wars.

“Rebecca. Come have some breakfast.” Alice called as she realized Rebecca had come into the room.

Everything Rebecca had to say to Alice and Matt, about them getting her and Jax drunk, causing them to get shot at, and almost killed, suddenly left her as she was greeted with hospitality from the two of them.

“Oh, here’s your birthday money we forgot to give you.” Matt barely managed to get out, pushing a bulging white envelop in Rebecca’s direction as she neared the counter. “We were going to give it to you after the party, but obviously that didn’t go as planned.” Matt’s head quickly fell back into his arms on the counter, just the mention of last night seeming to make him dizzy.

“Hope its enough. Oh and tell me what you think of the eggs.” Alice added, sliding a plate of a delicious looking breakfast in front of her.

“Thanks…” Rebecca said at a loss of words. It seemed every time she was ready to confront them about there criminal ways and corrupt lifestyle, they unknowingly win their way back into her good graces.

“Jax, do you want some food?” Alice asked, raising her voice only a little bit higher then average.

Rebecca sat down in the stool next to Matt and dug into her breakfast. Jax appeared beside her and now had a plate of his own to devour.

“Do you want some?” Rebecca offered to Matt, her mouth still full of hash browns.

Matt disgustedly groaned and held his hands up, indirectly telling her not to come near him with it. Rebecca laughed, as did Alice.

“See what happens kids. When you’re a drunken moron all night. That’s what you get.” Alice stated, sitting across from them and beginning to eat her own plate. Rebecca laughed again, but Jax paid no mind to them. Only swiftly pushed the food down his throat [in a matter of two minutes] and finished. Getting up and putting his plate and silver-wear in the sink, before returning to his seat next to Rebecca. “So what are you guys going to do today?” Alice asked, pushing another helping of eggs into her mouth.

Rebecca shrugged, not having thought about it yet. Other then go about her usual business of trying to figure out who framed her, there was nothing else. But before she could answer, Jax finally spoke.

“Me and Rebecca are going to go out and, uh, look into some of the people who might have framed her. Ya know, figure out who, uh, might’ve had something to do with her case. Oh, and she’s going to help me try and find my mom.” Jax replied, staring down at his fingers as they fidgeted on top of the counter, picking at his nails.

“Oh. That sounds fun.” Alice nodded, taking another bite of food.

Rebecca turned, being completely taken back to Jax’s response. Never did she think he’d actually want her to help him look for his mom, or even want to come with her and look for the people who set her up. She was overjoyed at what he had said, and smiled at him as he carefully lifted his gaze to look at her out of the corner of his eye. Once he saw that she was happy with what he had said, he smiled back.

“Yeah.” Rebecca added, sliding her hand into Jax’s. She felt a small twitch in his arm, as they linked their fingers together.

“Well you better get a move on.” Matt suddenly spoke up, his voice being muffled by his face still being shoved into his arms. “Its lunch time. Most businesses and employees leave their work or change shifts around now.” Matt finished with another groan, grabbing at his stomach and slowly heading for the small bathroom behind them.

“Yeah, especially police. Its time for their doughnut breaks and to sit around in their cop cars and stare at woman‘s asses.” Alice said as she finished her own plate.

Jax cocked a brow at Alice, not fully understanding what she was saying, but Rebecca’s thoughts were somewhere else. She knew Matt and Alice would know how to sneak into the police station without getting caught, she just didn’t want Jax to know she was going to ask them for help on how to do something illegal.

“Jax, why don’t you go down to the lobby and wait for me? I’ll be down there in a few minutes.” Rebecca asked, being polite as she possibly could, not wanting to give Jax the impression. Jax simply shrugged, replied with a, “Sure.” Got up and left. Once the door was closed, Rebecca wasted no time. “So how do I get in?”

“To the police station, or courthouse?” Alice asked causally, as if the question arose on a day to day basis.

“Both.” Rebecca replied.

“Well the courthouse is easy. The police stations a bit trickier. I’d suggest doing one at a day. And sense you and Jax aren’t exactly professionals,” Alice paused, watching as Matt stumbled out of the bathroom. “You should go with the easier of the two.” She stood, picking up the remaining dishes, putting them in the sink, and beginning to wash them. “The courthouse has a guard on duty at the front entrance, and the rest of the doors are locked from the inside. Only to be used for fires or other emergency exits. You need either a clearance pass to get by the guard, or have ‘official business’ for being there.”

“There’s also a metal detector at the door.” Matt added, attempting to get interested in the conversation. [Infiltrating secure buildings being his hobby and all.] “So you can’t bring any weapons, unless you know how to get them by.”

“Geeze, I thought you said this was the easier of the two.” Rebecca replied not expecting such security measures for a building like the courthouse.

“It is.” Alice assured her. “The hard parts getting in with the courthouse, but once your in, you have nothing to worry about. There’s little to no cameras, and the room where they keep the all case files is in the basement, where there are no cameras whatsoever. There’s even an exit right out of the basement to the streets. While with the police station, you can walk right in. But once your in, there’s about 30 or so cops in the place, and I’m pretty sure one of them are bound to notice the two of you going through their paper work.”

Well, Alice had a point. Not only would they notice two kids going through their files, but more than likely half the police force have their faces memorized, or Jax’s at least. The courthouse it was then.

“Alright. I’ll see you guys later then.” Rebecca stood from her stool, and stuffed the envelop full of money into her back pocket. “Wish me luck.” She stated heading for the door.

Alice only shrugged, not bothering to look up from the dishes she was washing, and mumbled, “Curiosity often leads to trouble…”

Rebecca looked back before opening the door, and glanced to Matt for an explanation. He simply smiled, and whispered “Good luck.”

With a confused expression, Rebecca left. Not having the time, or patience to figure out what Alice meant. That and she was kind of worried about Jax. He wouldn’t leave without her would he?

As Rebecca walked out of the elevator and into the lobby, she found herself practically frozen. The magnificent sounds of ivory keys beautifully filling the airways within the downstairs area of the building. There were only a few other people in the room, so she wasn’t worried of her identity, and none of them seemed to be paying attention to her as she walked like a mindless zombie toward where the music was coming from.

Walking the short walk to the front part of the lobby, from the elevators, Rebecca found an unimaginable scene in front of her. A scene she simply just never would have guessed could be seen. There, sitting at the massive, all black, yet very beautiful grand piano, was Jax. His fingers gliding over each key with expert precision, making each note he hit sound perfectly combined with his next. It was a slow song, with a calming melody, yet his hands rapidly seemed to dash from one set of keys to the next. Not missing a single key as he did this. It was nearly impossible for Rebecca to believe the boy before her had just violently murdered someone a few hours ago. And now here he was, looking as docile as an angel. Making the most eloquent of sounds come from the instrument in front of her.

His eyes were soft, and almost looked closed, as if he were falling asleep. Not the way they usually looked, hard and brutal all the time. His body looked relaxed, if not totally at ease. Not all stiff, and tense, or paranoid that something would suddenly jump out and try to kill him. He looked… happy. Or at least as content as someone like him could be. Rebecca had never seen Jax this way, never. It nearly pained her now to have to stop it.

Jax hadn’t seen Rebecca come in. Nor had he witnessed the way she had walked up to him and the piano, with her mouth hung open in shock, and eyes peering wide at him in disbelief. In fact, it’d be a safe bet that when Jax was playing the piano, he couldn’t even be aware that there were other living beings in the room with him. He always got lost in playing this way. Such a simple thing it was really, a piano, but it never ceased at having this effect on him. It was one of the only things his doctor, Stoubs, had gotten to see of Jax’s inner self. Something that blew him away, and made him realize Jax’s potential. The only thing that could prove there was someone hidden underneath that crazed shell the boy had made around himself. [The only thing.]

“Jax.” Rebecca breathed, immediately wanting to take it back. Because the moment his name had left her mouth the music stopped, and all of Jax’s peaceful, and calm expressions vanished. Leaving beside her a very hard and practically empty looking boy staring back up at her, as if caught off guard. “I didn’t know you could play.” she smiled, sitting down beside him on the bench provided.

“I…um…uh…” Jax scratched the side of his head, facing away from her. “I didn’t know you were watching.” he managed to reply, but Rebecca ignored his response.

“What was that? What were you playing?” she asked genuinely curious.

“It was, uh, Eternity by Shardad Rohani… I think.” Jax answered nervously, thinking maybe Rebecca didn’t like him playing the piano.

“It was beautiful. Will you play it again for me?” she asked looking into his dark brown eyes. Jax shifted slightly in his seat, being both a mixture of nervous and taken back. [No one ever asked him to play for them…]

He was hesitant, and looked to her several times, just in case she had been joking. But when she smiled her overly loving smile at him, and nodded a nod of reassurance to him, he knew she had truly meant what she said, and really wanted him to play for her.

Slowly, Jax slid his fingers back onto the keys, and began to play again. A slightly more fast tempo being heard in the melody because of how nervous he was to play in front of Rebecca. But it wasn’t noticeable to her in the least bit. She only sat there amazed, and astonished, as she watched his hands move gracefully from one key to the next. The wonderful sounds parting from the large instrument she was sitting at, and pleasantly filling the room once more.