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The Deck; Wednesday Morning

Summer seemed to be on its way out. It was overcast and cool which made being outside a lot more comfortable than when it was nearly one hundred degrees and just breathing made you sweat. Jasper preferred this sort of weather above anything else.

He'd gotten a few messages over the past few days from Doug Weathers, hoping against hope for an interview and from some people that were fans of his father's. They just wanted to let him know they were waiting and hoping that he'd soon take up his father's mantle and become the killer that he'd been.

Needless to say, Jasper hadn't answered any of those. He wasn't a huge fan of Melissa Hoover's but he had to credit her with keeping his location fairly secret. Doug Weathers showing up here would have been a headache and Jasper had enough of those.

He'd gone into town to grab a coffee (not pumpkin spice flavored) and was now dropping into a chair on the deck, head back and eyes closed. He felt like he was just floating through life lately with no real aim and that scared him. If he got bored, things could get...messy.

[Open]

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"Because he's a gross old man?"

Xanthippe had no better reason for that.

"I mean, who else would try to spend his time acting like he's playing golf in his head? Although I think maybe he's just, like, avoiding my mom with it. Maybe she talked about squashes too many times."

"My grandmother's got dementia," he shared for some reason he couldn't really pinpoint. "Some days are fine, other days, she likes to call me 'bastard son of a dog' or something even more charming. It was always a crap shoot on what I'd have to deal with on any given day."

Oh God, Jasper, brace yourself for clueless rich girl talk.

"Oh my God, I think my brother's nanny has that! Like, she says the weirdest stuff and she didn't even have a cellphone before Jacqueline gave her one. And she can't pronounce my name to save her life."

Bless her heart, she actually, seriously thought she was relating.

Well, Jasper wasn't the type to knock her back to reality. He was the type to go along with things because it was easier to cover up all the nasty stuff about him and make him think that, just for a second, he was a normal kid.

"Your name isn't that hard to pronounce," he told her though he didn't know the whole of it. "Xan? I like it, actually. Very exotic sounding. Different name for a different kind of girl, right?"

Oh, hey, if that was the case, they were going to get along famously.

See, Xanthippe was smiling at him. "It's Xanthippe, actually," she said, flicking her hair back again. "It's Greek."

"Very Greek," Jasper said, turning the name over in his head a few times before chancing saying it out. "Xanthippe."

See, that was easy. Just took a little practice.

"I'm afraid you're one up on me there," he drawled, smiling crookedly back at her. "Jasper's the long and short of my name. Nothing fancy, nothing exotic, nothing fun to say like your name."

"I think Jasper's cool." That was a lie but it was in Xanthippe's best interest to keep cute, potentially cool guys happy, especially ones that were paying her compliments.

Wasn't like she was lying about anything significant, anyway. "Just two syllables, gets to the point easily. My full name's kind of long."

Her full full name was twenty six characters long. (Plus two spaces.)

"No one thinks Jasper's cool," he told her, shaking his head. He appreciated the compliment but Jasper wasn't a cool name. "You don't even want to know my middle name."

Jasper Francis Dent. Perfect serial killer name, apparently.

"You don't have to fib at me, you know," he crooned pleasantly. "You can tell me what you really think. Jasper's a crap name."

He was talking to a Voorhees. Talk about serial killer names.

"No, it's fine, it's cool." ... Well, okay if she didn't need to fib, then maybe she could soften that up a little. "I mean, maybe it's a little kinda old? But you know, vintage is always in."

"It's a family name, I think," he told her, not really sure if that was the truth or not. "Jasper Francis. It's old and I'm not sure it's vintage."

He didn't really know why his parents had chosen that name for him when he'd been born. With his father's ego, he thought he would have been a junior first and foremost.

"Can't go back and undo the mistakes of my parents, though," he sighed. "Hope that doesn't make you think less of me."

"Totally doesn't," Xanthippe assured him, shaking her head (and her wavy curls, as there was hardly a way for her not to). "I'm accepting like that."

She was really not that accepting in most ways, really.

"So, what do you like, do around here? For like fun?"

To that question, Jasper shrugged a shoulder.

"There's not much to do," he admitted, gesturing to the island with a hand. "I like swimming but that might not be really doable much longer. I take walks in the preserve sometimes because it's quiet. Sometimes I watch movies."

He wasn't all that exciting, unfortunately. His time tended to be taken up by other things he didn't share.

Oof. That was a little harder to work with. Especially because Xanthippe really wanted to ask about the bird situation in the preserve but didn't want him to think she was a geek or something.

Even if he enjoyed walks in the preserve. Shut up, she had her own logic.

She hesitated for a second, metaphorically looking for something to grab hold of. And then she remembered. "You know, I think I saw there's supposed to be a party on Friday..."

"I think you're right."

He knew she was right because his roommate was throwing said party.

"You gonna go?"

"I might?"

Hint.

Hint, hint.

Luckily, Jasper knew what that sort of thing meant. He was many things but dumb was not one of them. He could charm and flirt with the best of them.

"You might?" he repeated slyly. "What if I asked if you wanted to go with me? Change the answer?"

Xanthippe maybe wasn't the best at flirting, but she was a master at getting what she wanted.

So there was the vaguest sense of smugness in her pleased smile right about now.

"Oh, it would totally change the answer."

"How would it change your answer?" he asked, curious and oh so attentive. Was he playing? Maybe a little but he was genuinely enjoying himself right now too.

She could play along. Without eyerolling, even! "For the positive."

She nodded at him.

"But I mean, the only way to know that for sure is asking me. For real."

The voice of Jasper's father wanted to push its way into his head, say something grotesque and unnecessary but Jasper didn't let it. Not right now.

"I can do that." He smiled. "Xanthippe who has a very Greek name, do you wanna go to the party tomorrow night with me, the guy with the vintage name?"

And Xanthippe smiled widely. Although if you looked closely enough, there was something a little awkward, maybe even a little shy about it.

(She had bravado and attitude, but not a whole lot of actual experience.)

"Yes. I do."

Don't worry, for all of Jasper's charm and ability, he didn't have much experience either. Very little, in fact. He tended to keep away from people for the most part.

"Excellent," he remarked with a nod. "Then, we'll do that and hopefully it'll be a lot more exciting than walks in the preserve."

Though he did like those.

"Okay!" Xanthippe replied brightly. Already getting out of her seat. "So, I guess I'll see you there."

She needed to excuse herself before she ended up screwing up this first successful foray into being social on this stupid island.

"You will," Jasper said, smiling up at her and nodding. "Until then, Xanthippe. Don't have too much fun without me."

Xanthippe maybe blushed a little bit. It was hard to tell under all her makeup.

She gave him a nod and then did her best to leave like a cool person.

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The Deck; Wednesday Morning

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