Computer Friends 9.5 -- {PROLOGE - CHAPTER TWO UP

Sometimes, you can’t fix anything. Not even yourself.

Sometimes, after you break too many times, you’re broken for good.

That’s what had happened to the infamous agents of RPC. After having their trust broken one too many times, after having been lied too one too many times, after dealing with situations most adults couldn’t even begin to comprehend, the agents were truly broken.

Jay Symons had betrayed them all. Him and his friend, Miranda Sanchez, had completely fooled everyone into thinking that he’d changed for the better. He mailed a fake letter to Annabelle Marie Jones, one of the top agents, claiming that her parents had sent tickets for them to go on a trip. Once in Paris, France, Jay began turning everyone against one another. While they were all bickering, he kidnapped Lauren, and they hadn’t even noticed until it was too late. Jay’d tortured Lauren. They didn’t know how, they didn’t know why, all they knew was that he had, and when they showed up, Lauren was bleeding. And sobbing. And talking to herself.

Anna’d had the biggest fits in the history of fits. Without thinking, she’d charged into the thick of things and earned herself a black eye, a bloody lip, and a broken leg. In her defense, she hadn’t expecting all the back-up that Jay had. He nearly never planned ahead, but Miranda had a powerful influence on him, and must’ve convinced him to do what he did, which was having a back-up plan.

Rebecca Lillian and Jacob McNight had fallen into their familiar fighting pattern, and for a while, had the upper hand in the fight. But the back-up that Jay and Miranda had hired eventually overpowered them, and they were just as injured as the rest of them.

Daniel McGavok and his best-friend-slash-partner-in-crime, Benjamin Olander, had taken on Jay Symons and Miranda Sanchez themselves. Worst idea in the history of ideas. Long story short, Danny has four broken bones and a ton ‘o scars. And what of Ben? He’s still in urgent care, three and a half months after the incident.

Three and a half months after, and the infamous agents of RPC are completely hopeless. Lauren can’t stop talking to herself. Anna’s nightmares started up again, and ten times worse. Rebecca can’t fight to save her life. Danny and Ben hadn’t been able to come up with any of their brilliant, break-through plans in what seemed like forever. Jake hadn’t been able to hack into anything for months. Yes, it was true, everyone was at the lowest point of their lives. It can’t get any worse, they comforted themselves.

The sickening reality was that it could, in fact, get a lot worse, and just their luck! It was going to.

With everyone cooped up in their rooms, sulking, there was nobody keeping track of Lauren Mallory. All of the lower ranked agents flat-out refused to "babysit the crazy girl", so Lauren was on her own.

Bad idea.

Lauren unlocked the lock on her bedroom door with a swift, expert movement. Pushing her door open, listening to the familiar eerie creak as it slowly swung open, she shuffled out into the hall. The wood flooring felt cool underneath her bare feet, and she looked around cautiously. None of her friends were out of their rooms, and none of the regular agents cared what she did, so she figured she was off the hook.

Wrong.

Lauren made her way down the hall and into the main lobby of the agency. Her braids swung as she walked, unsteady. Ever since the incident with Jay, in Paris.. Lauren shuddered at the memory. Why he had even done that to her, she didn't understand. As far as she could recall, she hadn't done anything to him..

Speak of the devil.

Lurking just around the corner, as if he knew Lauren was coming, was Jay Symons. Tall and gangly, with unruly black hair and striking blue eyes, you wouldn't expect Jay to be what he was. Evil. At first glance, at least. Once you got closer and saw that mischevious glint in his eye, you were on the edge of your seat, expecting him to spring.
And that's just what he intended to do.

As Lauren rounded the corner, her expression vacant and blank, Jay leapt out of his hiding spot, much like an animal would, if it were attacking prey. Grabbing her by the arm, he dragged her into the hall closet, shutting and locking the door behind them.

Lauren looked bewildered for a moment before she recognized the face. Her eyes widened in horror and for a moment, she looked ready to start crying. Opening her mouth, she prepared to scream.. But before she could, Jay clapped a hand over her mouth. "Don't you dare." He threatened, glaring sharply at her.
They sat there in silence for a while, while Lauren calmed down. Jay still had his hand over her mouth, but she didn't look like she was going to call for help anymore. Watching the trembling girl before him curiously for a moment, he let his hand up off her mouth hesitantly.

"Wh-what do you w-want?" Lauren asked, her voice unsteady as she tried to demand an answer and failed. Scooting backwards, she pressed her back against the door and wondered briefly if she could get the lock open fast enough, if she might be able to run. No, she decided, she'd fumble with it and then he'd grow irritated and hurt her again.
"Fff, well, someone's finally scared of me." Jay muttered sourly under his breath. He rolled his eyes, leaning against one of the stacks of boxes and inspected his fingernails. "I'm not here to hurt you, Lauren." He informed her, glancing up at her now doubtful expression.

"R-right, like I-I'd believe y-you!" Snapped the trembling girl, her back still pressed against the door. As soon as she'd burst out, she looked down, fumbling with the hem of her shirt to keep her hands busy and mind distracted. It was one of the only things that the therapists had suggested that actually worked for her. "C-can you j-just tell me w-what you w-want? P-please?" Lauren refused to meet his gaze stubbornly.

Jay, again, rolled his eyes mockingly at her, although his expression had softened slightly. Her stupid crazyness was getting to him. He hadn't meant to mess her up this badly, honest, but here she was, completely and totally not herself. Had she been herself, she would've kicked the snot out of him already.
"I'm not here to hurt you," He insisted, the corners of his mouth pulling down into a tight frown. "It's just.. I'm really, really, really bored. And Miranda won't stop pestering me, and I can't come up with a scheme to save my life." He admitted sheepishly.

Lauren raised an eyebrow. "What, so, you just thought you'd come and torment me and suddenly you'd think of some brilliant idea?"

"Again, I'm not trying to hurt you." Jay snapped, irritable. "I actually kind of wanted to say I'm sorry." He growled before he could think about what he was saying.
Lauren raised an eyebrow again, doubtful. "You.. Wanted to say sorry?" She blinked at him for a moment, then burst out into a fit of hysterical laughter. "I-I'm not an i-idiot, Jay Symons!" Laurie coughed inbetween giggles.

"Forget it," Jay snarled, shoving past her. He pulled up his hood as he went through the agency, flashing his "badge" (which was really Danny's, but with his picture and name on it) and leaving the agency without anyone the wiser.

All except Lauren, who'd stopped laughing to watch him go. Maybe he really was trying to say sorry? Nah, that wasn't possible. Jay had no conscious, he was selfish and concided and didn't think of anyone but himself.

Shoving his hands in his pockets, Jay stalked down one of the many sidewalks in downtown Seattle, glaring at the ground. As it started to sprinkle, he felt a flash of irritation towards Lauren. Why wouldn't she believe him? Of course, he had done a couple, okay a lot, of unforgiveable things, but still..
Little did they both know, this was the beginning of a very odd, almost-friendship. A weird relationship that would lead to some bigger problems for everyone.

Unfortunately for Lauren Mallory, the dark-haired boy made it a regular thing to drop by and "talk" to her. Lauren knew better, she knew he was trying to push her until she fell off the edge.

Her therapists told her that she hadn't fallen into complete insanity. Not yet, at least. Lauren Mallory was very, very close to falling off the edge. Sometimes she'd hallucinate and see things that weren't really there, hear things that weren't really there. Or she'd recall something that never really happened. Just the other day, she refused to talk to Anna because she "remembered when she tried to stab her during training and called it an 'accident'", when it reality, nothing of the sort had ever occured.
Yes, Lauren was teetering on the edge, and she knew Jay was just trying to push her off.

Sometimes, though, the half-crazed girl didn't mind the company. Jay didn't seem phased by her rambling, unlike everyone else. And when Lauren would ask a question, a stupid or silly question, according to everyone else, he'd consider it and give her his best answer. Maybe he was just humoring her, or maybe he was just as crazy as she was, either way, there were times when it wasn't so bad to be around him.

Sighing wearily as she trudged down the hallway, just getting through another therapy session, Lauren reached her bedroom door. Starting to pick the lock, she was stunned to realize that it was unlocked. Had she forgotten to lock it when she left? It didn't seem unlikely, considering her state of mind, but still..

Opening the door, Lauren was even more stunned to see Jay sitting in her room like he had every right to, leafing through her journal. Standing in the doorway for a moment, unable to speak, Lauren looked furious and horrified. Scrambling forward, she knocked into Jay. Knocking him backwards and onto the bed, she grabbed the journal from him, trembling furiously. "What the h-heck are you doing here? And why were you going through my stuff?"

Jay gazed calmly back up at her, seemingly unphased. "Your therapy session took forever and I got bored. Sue me." He shrugged, smirking at her and quirking his eyebrow at her.
Lauren was trembling furiously. "I won't sue you, I might kill you though!" Threatened Lauren loudly, clutching her journal. Under any other circumstance, she would've been able to break an arm, no problem. But Lauren was shorter, weighed less, and "sick" (that's what everyone said, anyways).

"Right, right," The dark-haired boy that she still had pinned to the bed where he'd been sitting moments before dismissed her threat, rolling his eyes. Lauren sat there for a few short moments, silently fuming. "You can get off me now.. Unless you don't want to?" He smirked, raising his eyebrows at her.

Lauren scrambled off him, scowling. "You stupid.." Trailing off as she cursed under her breath, she turned and slammed her journal back on her desk, her face bright pink.

Jay sat up, rolling his eyes. He brushed his hair out of his eyes, and was quiet for a few moments, watching Lauren shove all of her stuff back in place unceremioniously. "Lauren?" He asked curiously.

"What?" Lauren snapped, turning to him and crossing her arms over her chest tightly. He was such a stupid idiot.

"Don't you ever get bored, staying your room all day?" Jay asked, cocking his head to the side and inspecting her.

Lauren shrugged. "I suppose. Why?"

Jay held up his index finger as if making a point. "I believe the question is, why not? You're bored, I'm bored, let's get outta here." He suggested.
Lauren blinked, caught off-guard. "W.. What? I'm not supposed to leave-"

Jay cut her off. "And I'm not supposed to be here. But rules are supposed to be broken, right?" Before she could even answer, he grabbed her hand and dragged her out the door, pulling his hood up with his free hand.
---
"Is that Lauren?" Rebecca Lillan prodded her friend's side, peering at the peculiar looking couple heading down the hall. Lauren, both her and Anna knew for sure, but who was the boy?
Anna was thinking the exact same thing. "C'mon." Anna grabbed her friend's arm, dragging her down the hall after the tall, gangly boy and their Lauren. Who was that boy?

Anna intended to find out.