Big Hearts, Small Apartment (With Halcyon)

[Scaddox]

the drive home from work was not a quick one. Jack had always had a severe disliking for long road trips, but it was this one that angered him more than any other. The busy streets were like living roadblocks that prevented him from getting back to his apartment. He complained to himself about why he chose to live in this city, but he wasn't going to take it back now. He knew his way around here, and he didn't want to start all over again in a new city.


@Halcyon

 

[Halcyon]

Cleo stood in the small kitchen, her brown pulled up in a messy bun. She wore her glasses that she really only wore when she had to go do a job. Ad a freelancer photographer in a big city she was able to have enough money to live comfortable while still being able to work off and on. She was already well known for her work around the city.


She pushed the glasses up her nose and rolled the sleeved of her sweater back up. "Why is this not workingggggg?" she complained under her breath, trying to get the stove to work. She huffed under her breath before going over and grabbing the lighter, turning on the gas to the stove and then lighting the lighter. She watched as the burner finally light up doing a little happy dance. She then placed the water on the stove, waiting for it to boil. Cleo then pulled out her phone, checking the time and figuring that Jack would be home soon.

 

[Scaddox]

"Ugh, about time." Jack groaned as he slammed his car door shut. He climbed the never ending stairs that finally got him to his apartment and into his safe haven. He put his coat on a hook and fell onto the sofa in a sleepy daze, his throat dry and his hair messy. His shirt and tie were no match for his slumber, becoming dishevelled and less smart as he twisted around on the sofa. He groaned again, and rolled off the sofa, standing up and walking to his room. He threw his suit into a basket and opened his wardrobe, pulling out a black long sleeve shirt and some jogging bottoms. He fell into his bed and tried his best to fall asleep, failing to actually greet Cleo before stumbling to the even safer zone of his bedroom.


@Halcyon


(Dunno if this matters, or if you already know, but I'm using the British way of speaking, not American, so Trousers are pants and pants are underwear and stuff like that.)

 

[Halcyon]

Cleo stood in the kitchen, watching as the pot boiled. She quickly leaned over, grabbing the noodles and placing then in the hot water. She continued to wait patiently waiting for it to cook. Then Jack entered the apartment. "Hi lake!" She squealed slightly. She was trying a new recipe and could wait for him to try it. However she was ignored. She didn't mind it at first, just shrugging and going back to stirring her shrimp scampi sauce and checking the noodles everything In a while. Cleo frowned slightly when she looked over her shoulder from draining the pasta to see a grumpy looking Jack head to his room.


"That bastard." She growled slightly, pouting her lip as she placed the drained pasta back in pot. Before doing anything else she washed her hands quickly and stomped over to his room. If there was something Cleo didn't know it was personal space. She then swung open his door, standing in his door way with her arms crossed. "That's so rude Jack! You didn't even say hi. I even made you food and you're just going to go cower into your room?" She asked, tilting her head still pouting. She then fully entered the room, making her way over to her roommate. She leaned down, stabbing her finger into his cheek. "Get up get up get up! You can sleep after you eat." She complained.


@TheCrookedEagle

 

[Scaddox]

"Now? C'mon, I'm tired. I'll try whatever you've concocted later." Jack groaned. "I'll try it now if you get me a coffee too." He rolled out of his bed and beside Cleo. He stumbled as he lifted himself up, his shirt riding up past his stomach. He embarrassingly pulled his shirt back down, and slowly stepped along until he reached the living room couch. He refrained from laying and attempted to sit up while he waited for the only person in the world who could get angrier than him.


@Halcyon


(I apologise for brief replies, I hope they're alright.)

 

[Halcyon]

Cleo humphed in triumph, feeling proud for getting the male up. She watched as he stumbled out of bed, his hair disheveled and his shirt riding up. Her eyes went wide slightly, eyeing his toned stomach before clearing her throat and turning away, a blush on her face. She was glad Jack noticed it seconds later, quickly fixing it. As the boy walked out of the room Cleo followed behind him. She wanted to push him along, but knew not to irritate him anymore. He went to the couch, while she headed towards to kitchen, taking out two plates. "Coffee right?" She asked, mainly to herself but still outloud none the less. She placed a mug under the keurig, placing a cup into the little holding and starting the machine. As that brew she focuses on making the plates, putting on a nice scoop full of angel hair pasta and then covering it in the scampi sauce. She finished it off are putting a parsley garnish on top, finish that as soon as the cup was finished. She picked up the hot coffee with one hand and manged to balance one plate on her forearm and the other on the palm of her hand. It was this moment she was thanking her years of waitressing. Cleo then made her way into the living room, placing the mug and one plate on the coffee table before handing the plate to Jack. "Here you go! I tried to make shrimp scampi today. I think it turned out great. I'm really getting the hang out this cooking thing." She grinned, complimenting herself before turning around and sitting on the floor, putting the remote in her hand. "Do you want to watch anything? I've had to TV all day today so you can choose what to watch now."


@TheCrookedEagle


(No they're perfect! I just tend to add too much detail. Sorrrry)

 

[Scaddox]

Jack ignored most of what Cleo was telling him and just stared blankly at the food she handed to him. "Thanks... For the coffee and the food." He mumbled as he pulled out his cutlery and tried some of the food she had made. He made a weird sound, showing an acceptance of her cooking. It was difficult for him to eat, having got takeaway about an hour beforehand, as he was unaware of how long it'd be before he got home. He took a while, occasionally looking over and smiling at Cleo. He left a tiny bit on the plate and downed the coffee. He put the plate in the kitchen and stumbled back along and fell onto the floor in the living room. He groaned again and lifted himself onto the couch.


@Halcyon

 

[Halcyon]

Cleo sat waiting for a response on what to watch but ended up not getting one. Typical Jack. Cleo sighed and just turned on supernatural, scooping some of the food into her mouth. In between bits she's add to the conversation that was mainly just her talking. "So I finally go the check from my last job. 500 bucks. And I should be doing a photoshoot tomorrow with an amatuer model. So that should pay a lot." Take a bit of food. "I'm thinking about maybe just simply burgers tomorrow. That seems easy since I may be late getting home." And it continued like that until she watches Jack stand up. Her eyes stayed on him, watching him place the plate in the kitchen and walk into the living room. He then took a nice tumble. "Ah Jack!" She said worriedly, crawling over to his body, only to have him kinda stand up and plop onto the couch. Cleo frowned slightly, shuffling over the the couch and sat by it. "Maybe youre narcoleptic?" She wondered. "Or maybe youre sick?" She lifted her hand, placing it in his forehead. "Do you feel okay?"


@TheCrookedEagle

 

[Scaddox]

Jack emitted a sound, equivalent to that of a dog growl and twisted his head to face away from Cleo. "I'm just tired, I told you that already." He said, slipping down from the sofa, along with a pillow, and laying on the ground. "I'll get pizza tomorrow, call me when you're on the way home." He stretched out beside her and grumbled before beginning to drift off.


(Bit busy, so it's a shorter reply than normal.)


@Halcyon

 

[Halcyon]

Cleo jerked her hand at the little growl. He was always so grumpy and times like this she always question why she even agreed to be his roommate. She was slightly surprised to see him just roll off the couch. She shuffled backward a tad bit to prevent him from rolling on top of her. "Oh pizza? Hmmm. Okay. I'll call you." She mumbled slightly, still eyeing him as he laid there. She continued to watch his sleeping face. It was so soft and gentle looking. When he was sleeping and had a relaxed face he always looked so much more handsome. "You work way too hard..." She whispered, trying not to wake him up. She then slowly stroked his hair back and away from his face, letting out a soft sigh before standing up. She took her plate back to kitchen, washing it as well as Jacks plate. Cleo then went to her room, grabbing her duvet and camera and took it to the living room, gently placing it over top of the sleeping male. Bringing her camera to her eye she focused it, snapping a picture of him. "Sleep well Jack." She cooed, sitting by his side and resting her chin on the coffee table.


@TheCrookedEagle


((It's fine! I had a lot of school work today anyways~))

 

[Scaddox]

(8:30am)


Jack opened his eyes and looked around, taking the duvet off of him and putting the pillow back on the sofa. He stood up and looked at Cleo, who appeared to have fallen asleep resting her head on the coffee table. He frowned and picked her up, slowly carrying her to her room and putting her on her bed. He returned the duvet and put it over her, getting some energy tablets and some water and placing them by her bed. He put her camera on the bed-side table and left her room, closing the door quietly. He ran back to his room and threw his clothes on the bed and ran for a shower. He let the hot water run against his skin while he washed himself and quickly jumped back out. He got a new suit on from his wardrobe and quickly put everything on, before running into the kitchen. He stood in the kitchen for a moment, grabbed some bacon and bread and began to cook them. He put the bacon on the frying pan while he toasted the bread and waited. He quickly scribbled out a note for Cleo and made himself and her a bacon sandwich before leaving the apartment (with his sandwich).


["Went to work early, left you a sandwich, I'll see you later!"]





@Halcyon

 

[Halcyon]

Later that day: 11:30


Cleo woke up, here head of a soft pillow. She groaned slight, the side of her cheek feeling a little numb. After cuddling up with the pillow she finally felt the warm sun on her back. Moaning once again she turned over, staring at the window. "Im almost positive i fell asleep in the living room..." She whispered, turning her head to notice the water. She sat up, sighing as she stared at the vitamins. "Oh Jack..." She whispered, her finger sliding along the glass. She popped the energy tablets in her mouth, taking a large sip of water. She then slipped out of her bed, padding over to get dressed. After doing so she went into the kitchen, finding the note and sandwich. A smile worked its way of her face, taking a large bite of the sandwich. Even if he didn't leave early she probably won't have seen him off. She was now cursing herself for waking up so early.


2:45


"Chin down. And put your left arm higher up your hip." She commanded, making the shot perfect. Every time she took a picture she felt confidence swell up inside her, this job was perfect and she could ask for more. She knew she had a talent and she loved using it to make people look good. "Okay, Five minute break and then we'll add the next model." she decided, walking over to the snack table. She plopped a grape in her mouth before taking a sip of water. She then looked at her phone, checking the time. She wasn't entirely sure if she should groan or be excited for still have another four hours.


((Sorrrry! I had 15 notifications this morning and i guess this one got lost? ;-; ))


@TheCrookedEagle

 

[Scaddox]

11:30am:


Jack cleared his throat, looking at the script. "But Rick, isn't thi-" Jack hesitated and laughed nervously. "Sorry, sorry, let me try it again." He looked at the script again and waited a moment. "But Rick, isn't this what you asked for?" He smirked as he finally finished the line. He hated the process between reading the line and successfully saying it. He had 13 more lines to read out before his break.


3:20pm:


He finally stood up after reading more lines and pulled out an energy drink. He took a large gulp of it and pulled out his phone. He resisted calling Cleo so as to not interrupt her in her job. He played on his phone for a few minutes and walked back in to the recording room.


5:30pm:


He walked up the apartment block stairs and entered the apartment. He closed the door behind him and went into the kitchen. He filled up the kettle and turned it on, grabbing a mug and some hot cocoa mix. He sat on the side for a few minutes until the kettle boiled and poured the boiled water into the mug along with the mix. He dropped a few sugar cubes in and stirred it before sitting on the living room sofa.





@Halcyon

 

[Halcyon]

5:15 p.m.


Cleo stood next to the unbelievably tall model. She clicked the next button on her professional camera, showing each and every photo she took. She then looked up at the model, a hopeful gleam in her eyes.


"I want to redo the set with the balloons." The model decided, flipping her hair and walking away. Cleo watched her walk away with pleading eyes, having been promise to leave at 5:30. She groaned, about to text Jack that she was going to be late but was called out to hurry up by the model.


6:00 p.m


Her lighting case and two of her lens cases were strapped around her shoulders. She trudged out into the night groaning. She hated sassy models like her. She took a deep breath, heading over to the metro. She then pulled out her phone calling jack. "Jack! Hi! Sorry I'm so late today. But I should be home in about 25 minutes. I'll be looking forward to that pizza." She cooed excitedly before saying bye and hanging up.


6:30 p.m


Cleo walked threw the apartment door, gently shut it. She made a quick detour to her room, dropping off her bags. She then went into the living room plopping down on the floor. "Jackkkkkkk." She whined rubbing her temples.


@TheCrookedEagle

 

[Scaddox]

6:29pm:


Jack stepped out of the shower, and walked into his bedroom. He put on his jogging bottoms from earlier and walked into the living room. He checked his phone and saw he had a message, listening to the caller.


"Jack! Hi! Sorry I'm so late today, but I should be home in about 25 minu-"


Jack stopped the message and rung the pizza place. He gave them the order of a simple large pepperoni pizza and told him which apartment block he was in before cutting the phone call and turning round. He heard his name called out as Cleo dropped onto the floor next to him. He immediately blushed and stepped into his room, slamming the door quickly.


@Halcyon

 

[Halcyon]

Cleo was almost shocked at the way he slammed the door. She literally just came home and he was already in a grouchy mood. Nothing made Cleo more mad than someone just overly grouchy. She had already dealt with one brat today and she wasn't going to deal with another. Cleo huffed, standing up and walking to his door. She gently knocked on it. "What did I do jack? I don't believe you're being very fair" she huffed, waiting for a reply.


@TheCrookedEagle

 

[Scaddox]

Jack quickly put a shirt on and opened the door, hugging Cleo on the way out. "It's nothing, don't worry. I was just shirtless and didn't want you to see me." He admitted, releasing her from his grip and turning red. He probably shouldn't have hugged her, he was giving her very mixed signals. "I'm gonna go down and wait for the pizza, I'll be back in a minute." He added, quickly leaving the apartment and running down the stairs barefoot. 'Ouch, don't do that again.' He reminded himself as he waited on the step in front of the apartment Block.


@Halcyon

 

[Halcyon]

Cleo stood there waiting for the door to open. As soon as it did she felt arms around her. Cleo stood there frozen, slightly in shock. Her face as pressed against his warm chest. Her heart fluttered, not used to this type of attention from Jack. She then looked up at his blushing face, which only caused her to blush. 'What the hell is he thinking?!' She thought silently as she stared at him. He quickly left out the door though. Cleo turned on her heels, staring at the front door that was no shut. She lifted her hand, placing it on her cheek, rather confused as to what just happened. "Ayah. What was that?" She mumbled, willing herself to stop blushing. She walked onto the kitchen, pouring herself a glass of water. After downing it it one gulp she filled it up again, walking over to the couch and sitting. She turned on the TV, silently watching the news as she waiting for Jack.


@TheCrookedEagle

 

[Scaddox]

Jack scratched his hair, and thought for a moment. Should he have hugged Cleo? Ah whatever, it was done now. He watched as the pizza man, Todd, slowly parked and hopped out his car, pacing over to Jack and handing him the pizza. Jack handed him 15 dollars and they both nodded.


"Jack."





"Todd."





Jack entered the building again and quickly walked up the stairs and entering the apartment again. He rubbed his bare feet and closed the door behind him. He put the pizza box on the coffee table and sat beside Cleo.


"That hug was just to make sure you didn't get grumpy."


Jack commented, opening the box and pulling out a slice of pizza, the pepperoni very slowly sliding off along with the melted cheese that was the equivalent of ambrosia.





@Halcyon

 

[Halcyon]

Cleo looked at the pizza, staring at the box before she felt the couch shift slightly. She looked away from the box at focused on Jack profile. 'so I didn't get grumpy' she thought, still staring at his face. "Oh... I know." She decided, looking away and at her lap. He didn't have to hug her. He just had to explain why he got so angry from her seeing him shirtless. She was a photographer. Seems see old men naked, so really it wasn't bad at all. And did she really get that grumpy? Even then she wasn't mean she was grumpy. Right? She decided to stop thinking about it, reaching out and pulling the crust off a piece of pizza and taking a bite out of it, a bad habit of hers. "Mmmm~ Pizza Crust makes me so happy!" She squeeled, taking another bit.


@TheCrookedEagle

 

[Scaddox]

Jack looked at Cleo for a moment, and knew what he had to do. He chuckled slightly.


"I know what else makes you happy." He mumbled just enough for her to hear. He stood up and entered his bedroom quickly. Emerging shirtless and sitting opposite from Cleo, making sure that every move he made used every muscle in his body. He wasn't really sure why he was doing this, maybe to see if she blushed, or if she made a comment, but he knew something would happen. He blushed when he thought about what he was doing, but tried not to show it as he reached for another slice of pizza.


@Halcyon

 

[Halcyon]

Cleo looked over at him as he made a comment. She was slightly confused, as she furrowed her eyebrows and tilted her head. "What...?" She asked as she watched him enter his room. Not even a moment later Jack walked out. Shirtless. Cleo's eyes went wide, a blush covering her face. Wasn't he just complaining about her seeing him with a shirt off. But she wasn't going to let this get to her. She shook her head, clearing her throat. "You know... Compared to some of my models you really need to work out more." She shrugged, staring into his eyes with a smirk on her face. She then looked away and focused back on the TV, taking another bite of the crust.


@TheCrookedEagle

 

[Scaddox]

"I could be a model. I just choose not to be because I know you'd take more photos than you need." He replied quickly, smirking and slowly lowering the pizza slice into his mouth, taking a quick bite. He extended his grin and stretched out in front of Cleo. He stood back up and sat beside Cleo again, taking a smaller bite of the slice, and sneakily glancing down to see if she had smelt the cologne he had quickly sprayed on before leaning back.


"Anyways, I know that you wouldn't be able to focus on the rest of your work if you always saw me barely clothed."


@Halcyon

 

[Halcyon]

Cleo scoffed, rolling her eyes. "PSH, who would want to take pictures of you?" She mumbled, glancing off to the side as he stretched. 'Gosh damn it he's pretty.' She scolded her herself. She quickly looked back at him when she felt the couch shift once again. His body was inches away and he smelled like a Greek god. She moved her face away, staring at the coffee table with a deep blush. "You're right. I wouldn't be able to focus on my work because I would have to look at your ugly face." She mumbled harshly. She then quickly stood up, arms stiff at her side. "Uh. I'm going to get some water." She decided, picking up her already full glass and shuffling into the kitchen. Once there she turned on the water, getting her hands wet. She then pressed them against her burning red cheeks, huffing. "What does that brat think he's doing?" She whispered to herself.


@TheCrookedEagle

 

[Scaddox]

"If I was ugly you wouldn't keep looking at me the way you have been." He shouted from the front room, finishing his slice of pizza and standing up. He followed Cleo into the kitchen and laughed when he saw the sight, the short woman having turned red. He stared at her red cheeks for a moment, before looking around the kitchen. "Wait, I found you!" Jack exclaimed gleefully, opening the fridge and pulling out a baby tomato. He put the tomato back and closed the fridge. He frowned slightly and stepped over to the door.


"Just... Just so you know, I heard the camera yesterday, when I was falling asleep. I'm gonna grab another slice and go in my room for a bit, and leave you alone." Jack told her, scratching his head and quickly walking back over. He hugged Cleo quickly before releasing her, blushing slightly.


"Uh... That was to make sure you smile for the rest of the night." He explained. It was an excuse for him to hug her again. He thought to himself for a second, before walking back to the front room. He grabbed a slice of pizza and closed the box, before walking into his room and shutting the door. Jack turned to his bed and picked up the black long sleeve shirt from earlier, putting it back on before turning his TV on. He turned on his PS3, and went on Netflix. He just put a stand-up comedian on and fell onto his bed, watching the show.





@Halcyon