What's up? The name is Jason Miller, but most people call me Jay. Born and raised in Austin, Texas but moved to Lima for a job opportunity. Y'all need to know anything more, just ask. I can't guarantee I'll answer everything, but I can try my hardest to answer it.
P: I am aware... The news has been awfully concerning... Especially with that young girl.
P: Do you have any ideas if the doctor has been experimenting? I mean you were told about that right? Just... These poor kids. Do you think they have any idea what's going on?
J: I'm only told what is necessary, so no, I'm not sure if he was. But I do know that it was more than likely the work of Purists.
J: Irregardless, we need to be careful. And we need to be swift.
I gotta darlin'. Missin' two weeks ain't really got me in the school's good graces. Besides, Mr. Rowland ain't have me done anythin' yet, so I'm sure ya can laugh at him more.
Not too bad, darlin'. I'm just gettin' over this cold I had. Kept me out of commission for two weeks so that's why I ain't been around the school much lately.
“If you do want to hook up, I’m not going to be telling anybody,” Puck smirked again, licking his lips. He smiled at the guy, before shaking his head earnestly and continuing, “Seriously, I won’t.” He covered = his nervousness with another swig of his drink. Okay, so he was nervous, but he hadn’t a first time since he was fourteen, and that was ages ago. The guy had said it was different, and the last thing Puck wanted was to be seen as an innocent kid. ‘Cause he totally wasn’t.
“My type?” Puck leant backwards, considering. He hadn’t really thought about it until now – it wasn’t really something he’d thought about in detail in the past – and yet he found himself with a rough idea. “Well, dude’s gotta be hot. He’s gotta know he’s hot, you know, ‘cause that’s always the best kind of hot. When people own it.” He sipped his drink as he thought more, before finishing with, “And he’s gotta know his stuff too. Virgins aren’t worth it, you know, all they do is get all surprised and it’s gets boring after a while. But I guess I’m just really into confidence.”
Jay:
"So ya are interested, huh?" Jay asked with a chuckle, looking at the guy next to him carefully. While the kid was hot enough that he would consider risking his job, he wasn't sure if he should. After all, he could tell that he was more or less inexperienced when it came to men. From the way he seemed nervous to describing his type, Jay could sense that this guy was a first-timer looking to experiment. While he knew that that also meant he, more than likely, wouldn't get attached, Jay contemplated the risks and wondered if the guy before him was worth it.
When he listed his type, Jay just let out a laugh as the bartender placed another beer in front of him and he shook his head. "Well, no wonder ya are tryin' to talk me into hookin' up with ya. I ain't a virgin, far from it, I know I look good and I know confidence is sexy, so I think I just hit all ya marks." Glancing at the kid next to him again, sizing him up, Jay smirked a bit before leaning forward. "Think ya could handle me?"
I think you will. Just make sure you’re wearing mittens and earmuffs. It makes it more magical.
Food is like…what? Chickens are chicken, turkeys are turkey, deer is venison? Truth be told, I’ve never seen venison in the store either. I don’t think I’d like eating deerison very much.
I dunno if I got all that, but I'll keep that in mind for when the snow falls and I'll let ya know how I like it.
Cow is beef and pig is pork, so it ain't really difficult to see that they got different names and stuff. And they don't really sell venison in the store. Mostly in fancy-pancy restaurants. Or ya can hunt a deer and cook it ya self.
Puck raised his eyebrows again. Was this dude serious? ‘Cause Puck didn’t find it funny - and who did this dude think he was? - he was Noah Puckerman he could try anything and continue to be badass. He could wear a dress and still be awesome – in theory. There was no way he was going to be wearing a dress any time soon.
He pursed his lips before taking another drink from his own glass, “Hey, maybe I wanted to try the other half. You know, seeing as most dudes are awesome at sex I thought I’d find someone as good as me and take ‘em for a ride. You know, see what the other side’s like.”
Speaking of dudes with as much sexual knowledge as himself, he bet this dude was experienced. He was hot enough to pick up both guys and chicks anyway, and if Puck used his Puckerman charm the dude would probably end up in Puck’s bed by the end of the night. And he kind of knew who the dude was anyway, so he probably wasn’t some psycho gay rapist. He smirked at the guy and then replied, “So am I really your type? ‘Cause I’m totally interested if you are.”
Jay
"Ain't gonna knock ya there. Sex is sex and it don't matter the partner, just that they enjoy themselves," Jay said, taking another swig from his beer as he listened to Puck as he explained that he wanted to see what the other side is like. "It's a lot different, I'll tell ya that much. But an orgasm is an orgasm and I ain't picky on how I find one. 'Course, I'm attracted to both, so it makes sense that I ain't picky."
Watching the guy next to him, he let out a small laugh when the guy smirked and asked him if he was his type. "Ya might be, but I ain't really lookin' to get fired or anythin'. Even if I'm just a student-teacher, foolin' 'round with a student ain't really somethin' I want to be doin'." The guy was definitely attractive, Jay couldn't dismiss that, and from the way he bragged about sex, he also knew that the younger guy wasn't looking for anything more than just a quick fuck, which is just the way Jay liked it. One too many times he ended up fooling around with someone that had wanted more out of him.
"What 'bout you? What's your type?" Jay asked the male carefully before glancing around the bar. "There's all kinds of guys here. Sure you'd be able to find one willin' to hook up with ya." Finishing off the bottle, Jay placed it back on the bar before looking at the bartender and waving for another.
Charlie fluffed her wings softly as she sat on a spot on her roof. Her sharp hawk eyes looking over the street for anything out of the norm. The bird of prey wasn’t seeing anything strange though and it frustrated her to the point that she gave out a squawk. Then something grabbed her attention. A runner who had ran down her street more than once now. It wasn’t like her street was a popular jogging route, the path through the forest behind her house was. Having seen all she needed to, Charlie flapped her wings and flew around the back of her house and in through her open bedroom window before she changed back. Getting dressed, she got ready to meet Jay. He wasn’t much older than her, but she felt like she had to talk to someone older than her. Her parents wouldn’t do, Figgins was completely out the question. She trusted Jay more than any other ‘teacher’ at McKinley. Tying her hair back she looked into the mirror frowning when she saw it was jet black instead of her usual brown. That wasn’t good and that hadn’t happened before. Grabbing a hat, she pulled it over her head and left out the door to meet Jay. If he noticed she’d say it was a hair dye job gone wrong.
Jay was slightly worried that his identity had been compromised and that his cover had been blown when Charlie had first sent him the text and told him that she thought someone was following him, and he tried his best to calm her down and tell her it was all in her head. After all, he wasn’t sure if the girl knew it was him following her or not, as he did trail her for a couple of days over the past week while he was feigning sick and he didn’t want her to realize it was him if that was the case. Unfortunately, she didn’t seem to take his ‘it was all in your head’ for an answer, so he decided to agree to meet with her, wanting nothing more than to see what she knew and how she knew about the people following her. There may very well have been someone else following, and if there was that may have meant his cover was safe, but he could also use this opportunity to talk to her and get her to trust him enough to tell him her secret. With that in mind, Jay got himself dressed in a pair of jogging pants and a light-jacket, grabbing his pistol just in case, and headed to the park where he and Charlie agreed to meet.
Jay reached the park in only a few short minutes, and he hadn’t seen the girl he was supposed to meet so he pulled out his phone and played around on it until he heard footsteps. When he did, he looked up to see Charlie walking down a path and he slipped the phone back into his pocket before walking up to her. “There ya are,” Jay said as he walked up to her. “I was beginning to think you had stood me up,” he joked teasingly before he nodded to the bench. “So ya want to tell me what’s goin’ on? What makes ya think someone is followin’ you?”
Charlie smiled as she saw Jay and walked over to him as he walked towards her. “I could never stand anyone up. I wouldn’t want people doing it to me so I wouldn’t. Treat others the way you want to be treated.” She smiled softly and she thought about his next question and sat down on the bench. “I know it sounds crazy, but I can feel it. Like a deer senses the Hunter in the Forest.” She sighed and rubbed her hands over her face. Shrugging lightly the girl looked around to him. “It started from before the break in at my place. I dismissed it at that point, but it grew stronger after the break in and the kook sprouting off insane things.” She knew in that sentence there was no lie or deceit, she was being truthful, turning into an animal was insane, but the way she phrased it was truthful yet dismissive.
Jay followed Charlie over to the bench and sat down as she spoke, explaining how she could feel it and sense it like a deer could sense a hunter in the forest, and he wondered briefly if her abilities were manifested in her human form, and she was able to adopt the senses of other animals. Regardless, he listened intently and nodded before he shrugged. “Well, what kind of feelin’ is it? Do ya got it now or anythin’?” Jay asked, looking at her carefully.
Charlie tried to think how best to explain it. It was difficult to explain how she felt. “I don’t know how to explain it really. It’s like my body is hyper alert. The slightest sounds I can hear, I process information quicker, sounds, directions. I feel like someone is watching me. Something feels off. Every instinct in my body is screaming at me, it’s surreal.” She paused at his last words and froze for a second before shaking her head. She didn’t feel like anyone else was watching them. “No, but whoever it was, they followed me on my date with Carter Lennox.” She took a deep sigh. “It was me they were following and I think I know why. I don’t think it’s worth following me. I mean a few people know about it that I trust… Can I trust you? I need advice?”
Jay listened to Charlie carefully, nodding to let her know that he was interested and that he didn’t think she was crazy. Thankfully, she had said that it seemed no one was following her, so that made him feel a bit at ease, however when he heard Carter’s name mentioned, he made a mental note that he would need to investigate the guy further. But for now, he was here with Charlie and he listened to her when she asked if she could trust him, nodding. “‘Course you can,” he said with a smile, knowing what she’d probably tell him. “I helped ya out before, didn’t I?”
Charlie took a deep breath and tried to phrase it in a way that didn’t make her sound crazy. She shifted in her seat and pulled her hat into her pockets as she began to boil. Resting one of her legs under her she faced Jay and decided it was best to explain it from the beginning. “When I was sixteen, I woke up in the middle of the night in agony. It was really bad, I remember hearing screams but I’m still not sure if they were out loud or in my head. That was the first night it happened… I… I uh… I became someone, something other than myself. I changed into a wolf - I am not crazy! I promise I’m not. It’s not just a wolf. I’ve been domestic animals, a variety of different birds, a tiger - which isn’t as fun as it sounds. I was spying on the person who was watching me before I came to meet you, they wouldn’t have even known it was me.”
Jay could only keep quiet as the girl explained what had happened to her and he nodded at her words before chuckling lightly. “Darlin’, I know you ain’t crazy. I put the pieces together.” Sliding in closer, he lowered his voice. “I’m like ya. I’ve got something that extra that makes me more than ordinary. It’s how I knew ya were like me, and others at the school too. There’s a few of us ‘round these parts,” he said, keeping on his drawl just in case someone was watching them.
Charlie fought to hide her surprise but chuckled at his words. “You aren’t wrong about that. I know of five others, six now… So what’s yours? I mean everyone seems to have something different.” She thought for a second. How had he known she was like him and that there were others? The girl frowned in frustration and looked at him. She pushed that to the back of her head and gave a humourless laugh. For some reason the people I tell take it very well or think I am going to kill them.”
Jay smirked lightly before shaking his head. “I figured you would’ve guessed since I pretty much just told ya. I can tell if someone is like me or not. I ain’t sure what it’s called exactly, but it comes in handy.” Glancing around, Jay looked at the girl. “And ya think someone is followin’ ya ‘cause of your shape-shifting?” he asked before standing up. “Ya might be right. But before I tell ya anythin’ more, we need to go somewhere private. Ain’t nowhere safe.”
Charlie nodded with a sigh and stood up. “Yes I do think that. Especially after that asshole went spreading to the entire of Lima what happened. It’s the only thing that makes sense. I am not interesting enough to follow otherwise.” She made a gesture with her hand to let him know she would follow him, she thought about what he said. He already told her what his was. He said his power was what let him know that she was like him. Was his power sensing other powers? “Lead the way and I will warn you, try hurt me and I will bite you.”
Jay Taking a step forward, Jay looked over his shoulder as the girl warned him about hurting him. “It’s goin’ to take a lot more than just a bite to hurt me, darlin’. I’m used to gettin’ in a lot of skirmishes.” Pausing, he turned around to look at her with a small smile. “I played football, remember?” With that, he turned around and led the girl further into the woods, knowing that there was a small and abandoned cabin nearby, and after about fifteen minutes, he came to the clearing with the cabin in it. “C’mon, I’ll make you a cup of coffee or a hot chocolate or somethin’ while we talk. Sound good?” he asked, knowing that he had tripped the surrounding area with sensors to warn him if someone or something got to close, and that the walls were soundproof so that no one could listen in on any conversations he had. Holding the door open for her, he headed to the stove. “What’s your poison?”
Charlie laughed. “How about a bite to the jugular?” She knew she would never really do it, she just wanted him to know if it came to a situation where she had to defend herself that she would. “Please tell me you aren’t going to go all cabin fever and kill me…” She muttered as they reached the cabin. Great choice she thought to herself, a cabin where no one could hear her scream. “Um, hot chocolate. I’m not much of a coffee person. Thank you.” She sat down on a seat and looked at him. “So you’ve known I was different since your second day at McKinley? I missed class the first day because of my power. I can change when I want, but there are times where I change randomly and that had been one of them. So how many people at McKinley do you think have powers? Like I said, I know of five. Three of whom I definitely know don’t go to your class, I don’t know about the other two.”
Jay rolled his eyes. “Trust me, I’d be able to wrestle ya. I’m tougher than I look, and I already look dang tough.” It took them awhile to reach the cabin, and he laughed when she asked him if he was going to go cabin fever on her. “I ain’t gonna hurt ya. I ain’t the one that’s hear to hurt y’all,” Jay said before he started up a tea pot and headed to the front door to close it. With that done, he turned to look at her. “There are a lot more of you all than I had anticipated,” he spoke, dropping his drawl. “And with my gift, I don’t just think, I know. I’ve trained myself to be able to sense anyone with an extraordinary gift that is within a mile radius of me, and I’m sure that I could expand on that if I chose to. It comes in handy.” Pausing, Jay walked over to the Ottoman and sat down. “I’m sure that you have plenty of questions for me, and I will answer them in time, but you have to believe me when I tell you that you, as well as your classmates and friends, are potentially in some serious danger. It is why I’ve been following you, as well as a few others, to make sure that no one else notices that you all are different.”
Charlie froze and looked around at him. “Woah back the hell up. You’re the one that has been stalking me?!” She ran her hands over her face. She was caught between trying to bolt and staying where she was then. “Comes in handy yeah.” Part of her was seriously questioning why she had trusted him. He’d been lying to her the whole time, even the flipping accent was fake it seemed. “So who are you really?” She clicked to the fact he said she and her friends were in danger. Charlie knew Santana and Quinn could handle anyone, Alex too. But Britt and Marley? They wouldn’t be able to defend herself. Dylan was sure to have a power too especially if her and Marley were twins. “I’m sorry I screwed that up the other night then.” She said, but her tone was quiet, filled with fear and uncertainty.
Jay shook his head. “Stalking you isn’t how I would view it, no. I view it as investigating and shadowing you. I was trying to get as much information about you all as I could, as well as try to protect you all. And yes, your stunt with the robber the other week didn’t exactly help matters. I’m sure that…others have taken notice and I’m sure that they’ll want to investigate themselves.” When she asked him who he was, Jay stood up and pulled up his shirt to reveal his gun, and he sat it on the table before turning around. Heading to the desk in the corner, he opened up a drawer and pulled out his ID, and with it in hand he walked back to her. “Who I am isn’t really important, but where I work is. When I said that I had come here on a job, I wasn’t lying. I work for a company called Division. It is our job to track down rogue mutants and eliminate them before people ask questions, and we also allow others to join our ranks, much like I have. But we aren’t the only ones out there that are aware of the existence of gifted humans, and they aren’t as…kind and generous as we are.”
Charlie gave him a deadpan look. “Hiding in the shadows is stalking, whatever way you view it. Did you ever think, oh I don’t know. Let’s maybe ask Charlie what’s going on. Let’s not freak her out…? He had a knife, what was I supposed to do? His eyes were hard, his breathing was calm, he wasn’t scared to use that knife on an eighteen year old girl in her pj’s… He had it against my throat. Besides, remember the random changing I mention. Meet prime example.” As he placed the gun on the table she jumped out her seat and backed away. Yup, he was going to kill her. Maybe her killed the crazy doctors granddaughter?! “It is bloody important to me. I trusted you so it is damn important. Division. Don’t tell me they had a hand in the experiment. Commissioned it to I am guessing. Does that mean you’re going to kill me? I’m not part of your creepy organisation… Generous. I suppose they want to kill me too right? You know what, I hate my biological father, he was an idiot to take part in those experiments. He did this to me.” She tried to keep as much distance between her and Jay as possible, if that even was his name.
Jay shook his head. “Calm down, Charlie. I’m not going to kill you. I’m giving you an opportunity.” Showing her the badge in his hand, Jay sat back down on the Ottoman. “I am aware about the experiments, and my own parents took part in it themselves, hence why I have my own ability. However, we only kill rogue mutants. As far as we are concerned, you are not rogue and you are not a threat. But, it appears you have drawn attention to head quarters, and they have approved of you for recruitment,” Jay spoke before taking a deep breath. “You may want to know my name, but you should know it as Jason Miller. There are others that wish to kill me, as I tend to get in their way when they try to kill mutants. That is why it isn’t important for you to know what my name is, and that it is very important that our conversation here remains a secret.”
Charlie tried to process everything he was telling her, trying to ignore the gun sitting not to far away from her. “I’m scared, you have no idea how scared I am.” She focused on trying to calm her breathing so she wouldn’t change and run. She looked at the badge, it seemed legit, but she’d never heard of the Division before now. “Do you have a list of people who took part in the experiments? Cause I suppose I should make sure it definitely was my father before jumping to hatred.” She released a deep breath she hadn’t even noticed she was holding in as he said she wasn’t a threat. That was good right? It meant she wouldn’t be hurt. “So why the gun to come meet me? Woah back up a second. Drawn attention, approved for recruitment? You’re offering me a job?” She sat down on the nearest chair. She was so confused. “Is it kinda like X-Men where humans are jealous and try hurt mutants? All this is hurting my head. I can’t even control my power most of the time… Look at my hair?! That’s never happened before and I don’t know how to control that…. But how can I trust you if I don’t even know who you really are?” She asked in a small voice, still trying to figure the entire situation out.
Jay sighed and shook his head. “I do not have the authority to give you that list, but I did bring the gun for protection. I told you that there are people out here that want to eradicate the work of the experiments that happened in the late 80s, and I wanted to prepare myself just in case we were to run into complications.” Pausing, Jay watched her and listened to her as she freaked out. “Division can help you with that. They are able to train your power and let you have a firmer grasp on it, much like I have today. And while you can’t fully trust me, you should know that I am a good guy. You said it yourself, you knew I was a decent guy, so all you need to do is believe that that is still true. And you need to believe that Jason Miller, mild-mannered Texas star, is real.”
Charlie huffed a sigh. “What if I give you a name and you either nod or shake your head? But authority sucks a as. I have no right to know who exactly made me like this? I have no right to know what was done to me? That is a load of bull in my mind.” Charlie gave the man in front of her an unamused look. “Hey smart ass, how can I believe Texas Ranger is real when I know for a fact he ain’t…? I can’t unlisten to what you just told me or your nice new accent, yeah I thought you were a decent guy but that’s before the gun came out.” Though the young woman had to say, the idea of someone helping her control her powers, maybe even taking away the pain when she shifted, that would be amazing and she sighed and rubbed her face with her hands. What to do? “What is the dental and retirement package like?”
Jay rolled his eyes. “I just said it wasn’t my place to tell you. If you accept, you will be able to learn everything. It’s called acting. I’ve done it and I’m sure you’ve done it yourself, even if you hadn’t realized it. Regardless, I am still a good guy. Think about it; if I were planning on hurting you, would I have left the gun somewhere you could reach it? Would I turn my back from you when you could have grabbed the gun yourself? I had the gun for protection and protection alone. The Purists are…” Jay paused before he shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. You just need to know it’s not safe here in Lima anymore, especially for you.” When she sighed and began rubbing her face, Jay thought for a minute that she was about to decline the offer, yet instead she asked about the dental and retirement. With a small smile, Jay looked at the girl in front of her. “Is that a yes?”
Charlie nodded softly. It couldn’t hurt and a job was a job right? “Yes. So when do I start?”