All the little lights (Jayson)

[Katya Moschella]

Katya burst through the front door with a plastic bag from the local hardware store in her arms, the only place in town selling Christmas lights in July. It also contained a hammer and some nails; it was possible such tools were already in the house somewhere, but Katya hadn't bothered to look; that would take too long.

"I'm home!" she called, stopping to kick her shoes off before racing into the next room. Today was the day. Kat had waited long enough to decorate, and now she would have her fairy lights. It was technically a one-person job, at least with a ladder. But Katya didn't have a ladder - what she did have was roommates. And honestly, decorating would be more fun if she roped someone else into helping.

"Jay!" Katya found the tall man in the kitchen; he would do nicely. "Will you help me hang up my lights? The ceiling in our room is too high to do it by myself." That and she sort of hadn't asked Rayne for permission to hang lights in their room. But better to beg forgiveness - with an accomplice - than to ask permission, right? She fixed her roommate with her best puppy-dog pout.

[Jayson Kline]

Jayson looked behind him with a sandwich half wedged in his mouth as the door slammed closed. He wondered who it could be, but soon came to the realization that the only person he'd hear leave was Kat so it was pretty clear Kat had returned; though admittedly not the person he'd want to make her presence known by yelling out his name. And the shortened version too. While he didn't mind Kat at all, in fact, she was close to being his best friend aside from Ray, he did mind that she made him feel like Rayne had come home as she was usually the one to call out for him specifically.

In hindsight, Kat calling out for Jay specifically usually meant there was something she needed help with. And 9 out of 10 times it also meant something she wasn't all that sure of being okay. Yet Jay still took the time out of his day to go out and see what it was she wanted. Though he kind of hoped it was just to say hello at this point.

As the telekinetic turned around with the sandwich hovering inches before his mouth and both arms crossed in front of his chest he took a single bite and tilted his head as he came to Katya holding a plastic bag with what seemed like christmas lights. Jay sighed internally as he uncrossed his arms and made the sandwich hover over to the girl.

''Hello to you too.'' He said with a smile. ''Bite?'' He offered as he decided to ignore the plead for help.

[Katya Moschella]

Katya snatched the sandwich out of the air and took an oh-so-dainty chomp out of it. Hm, not bad. As she chewed, she held it out on the flat of her palm so that Jayson could levitate it back to himself.

"Pleeease, Jay?" Katya whined through her full mouth. Surely he wasn't that mad that she'd forgotten to greet him properly. They saw each other everyday, after all. She swallowed and continued, "You won't even be doing that much work, I just need help reaching my half of the ceiling." She was pretty tiny, after all. Surely carrying her around on his shoulders for a little while wasn't difficult. "You can tell me allll about your day at the same time."

One way or another, Katya knew he was going to end up helping her. Jay was dependable like that - and besides, she'd wheedled him into worse.

[Jayson Kline]

Jay took the sandwich for Kat's opened hand and flung it back into his own mouth, not taking a bit but just letting it hang in between his jaws so that it wouldn't take any focus away from him. He tilted his head slightly and pointed at the bag in her hands. ''Pho wuf if un ftere?'' He asked with the sandwich still wedged in between his teeth as he willed whatever was in the bag to come up to the surface so he could see what it was Kat had brought this time around.

She had ofcourse mentioned lights, that helped Jay in estimating their weight and shape as they slowly untangled above the bag. The telekinetic opened his mouth as he took the sandwich in his hand and put it on a nearby table. He eyed his roommate and raised an eyebrow. ''Christmas lights.'' He said with a serious lack of surprise.

''You have got to be fucking kidding me.'' He added as he put the lights on the nearby table in a neat bundle. He was going to help, whether he wanted to or not, even in the knowledge Rayne would probably look at Jay for an explanation first. Though, knowing Rayne she'd probably like it.

He took the bag next and turned it upside down to see if there was anything in it he had missed. The bag spilled out a receipt, some nails and a hammer. ''Okay okay, I'll help. But If Ray finds out this was all your idea and you threatened to ignore me.''

He telekinetically picked up a nail and made it hover in front of Kat. He winked slightly and smiled. ''9 outta 10, would nail.''

[Katya Moschella]

"They're not Christmas lights anymore, they're fairy lights," Katya corrected him as she gathered her purchases off the floor where he'd dumped them. "There's only one Christmas and it's not in July."

Items retrieved, she stood back up and plucked the floating nail out of the air. "Only nine out of ten? Aw Jay, that hurts." With an exaggerated frown, Kat flicked the nail back at him, knowing he could stop it before it hit him. "An' I was gonna do the banging myself, but you can if you want. I'll be sure to tell Rayne what a beeg, stronk mehn you are," she teased, poorly mimicking their roommate's accent. Jayson's feelings weren't exactly a secret, after all.

They had that in common. Katya wasn't bitter about it, not really. She wasn't fifteen anymore, and she'd had time to come to terms with Rayne's tremendously unfortunate sexual orientation. All the better for Jay, though - Kat sometimes liked to joke that given a level playing field, he'd be no competition. Quite probably untrue, but it was fun to pretend.

"Now come on, we've got a job to do!" Katya gathered the untangled lights of the table with one hand and grabbed Jayson's sleeve with the other, pulling him to and up the stairs.

[Jayson Kline]

With the nail now hovering in front of his own face Jay cracked a smile. ''We all know who the 10 out of 10 is.'' He said silently as he began turning the nail slowly and guided it along his fingers.

It was when Kat mentioned Rayne and started mimicking her that Jay lost focus for a moment and could barely stop the nail from shooting itself into his hand. It had halted before doing too much damage, but it had slid along the palm of his hand and drew a little bit of blood. Jayson flinched a bit, stepped back and angrily shot the nail into the ceiling.

''Don't.'' He simply said, trying to keep his voice at a reasonable level even though he was quite irritated. He paused a moment and closed his eyes to calm down, he sighed and motioned for Kat to hold on a moment. As soon as he opened his eyes again he saw the girl standing in front of him with the lights in her hand, and grabbing Jay's sleeve with her other, nearly forcing him over to the stairs.

''Sorry.'' He finally said.

[Katya Moschella]

"What's going on in that perfectly coiffed head of yours, hon?" Katya inquired as she dragged him up the stairs. "I'll get you a bandaid if you spill."

It was worth a try, although Kat knew the man wasn't much of a talker. Anything that would make him puncture himself, even on accident, was worth opening up about. Had something gone wrong with Rayne? On the one hand, Katya hoped not - drama in the house was no fun, and she didn't want her friends unhappy. On the other, the sooner Jay and Rayne got together, the sooner she'd be stolen away.

Okay. So maybe Katya was a little bitter. But she could still be a decent listener.

Up in the room the two girls shared, Katya dumped the lights and tools on her bed.

"Wait here," she ordered, before trotting off to the bathroom and returning with a bandage for Jayson's hand.

[Jayson Kline]

She wanted him to open up. He was certain that his loss of focus when she mentioned Ray was the source of it since the tension between them had been tight for quite some time. He looked at his hand and traced the single drop of blood that made its way down, thinking about what he'd say, if anything at all. Perhaps he'd just stay silent. He liked being silent.

And just about everyone knew this. Unless there was something to say he didn't say much, and if there was, he'd probably deem it too minor to even be talked about. For all he knew he could mention the wrong thing and bring about more hurt than he'd intend for. So when she asked for him to spill he grunted for a bit.

''Nothing.'' He said in about the most serious tone he could muster. He knew Kat liked Rayne too and decided to play with it for a bit.

''..yet.'' He added as he playfully forced a smile and looked at Kat as he took the nail from before and wedged it out of the ceiling, bending it back into itsn original position for second use.

[Katya Moschella]

Katy's flicked the bandage at him in a huff.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she pressed, torn between her previous concern and plain curiousity. Honestly, sometimes Jayson's tightlipped-ness drove her crazy, desperate as she often was for news and gossip. "You know you can't leave me hangin' like that, Jayson Kline!"

Striding back to the bed, first Katya snatched up a pillow to fling at the man in mock frustration - maybe retaliating by launching it back would get him to lighten up.

[Jayson Kline]

Jay dropped the nail to the floor as he had to physically catch the bandage. ''Don't startle me with flying tools.'' It'd of course be way worse if it was a hammer or he was caught by surprise with the nail being thrown at him earlier, but still, there was a point in there somewhere.

He could catch them from a distance, but there were his off-times in which he was just too preoccupied to notice anything. He smiled a bit as he finished wrapping the bandage around his finger and threw the remainder of it on the couch because he was sure either him or Kat would be needing it soon. His money was on Kat.

He then got hit in the face with a pillow that Kat flung at him. He wasn't too sure if he had even noticed it being flung, but since it was pretty soft coupled with the assumption Moschella was trying to cheer him up he decided not to say anything of it. He just grabbed the pillow before it fell from his face and tilted his head slightly. ''I meant for that to happen.''

He threw the pillow at Kat and as it nearly reached her Jay drew a circle with his index finger and made the pillow fly around Kat in an attempt to get her in the back of her head.