Chapter Text
'Gert'
‘Mhm’, Gert stops her writing and looks at Jinx, who is sitting at her desk with hands on her head like it might fall off if she didn’t hold it up.
After she screamed a few hours ago without explaining why, she found her friend and coworker looking pretty grumpy. Nothing to worry about, pretty normal :
On Mondays, Jinx can’t stand her coworkers (except Gert), as well as the whole city and all the people and animals living there—even their dead, six feet under. Like oil repelled by water, she can’t bear to see, touch, or smell them when they’re around, turning her face all sour.
Tuesdays are too long. Plus, Paez, a criminal defense lawyer who only works on this day, has this disgusting tendency to chew his gum from 8:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. for the coffee break ; ‘the worst part is that he doesn’t just throw it away’ said Jinx, face contorted with disgust, ‘that sewer rat actually keeps it in his hand! For fuck’s sake Gert, I’m gonna die, we’re gonna die !! We touch the same doorknobs, breathe same air !'.
On Wednesdays, she doesn’t complain, for one simple reason : Working from home.
Thursdays are because the week is too long, boring and she still hates her coworkers.
Fridays, she doesn’t complain—yes, exactly for the reason you’re thinking of.
So today, well, it’s Monday. 2:44 p.m. No wonder she looks like the grim reaper.
‘Am hot’.
‘Mhm’.
‘Funny’.
‘Mhm’.
'Hand on heart'.
‘Uh-hmm’.
‘So sweet’.
‘…’.
'…Then, why are the heavens doin' this to me.. To meee ??'.
‘You probably did some mean shit in your past life like killing your family, blowing people up...’.
‘Argh, can you stap with those new age crap ! I—ah, jus'... gimme some comfort, this is real-so-real serious here !’.
Gert snorted before picking up her fountain pen again as she crossed her legs in her swivel chair, turning toward her workmate.
'What’s up now ? Paez has decided to work in the office today, is that it ?'.
Jinx doesn’t blink, ‘Worse’.
Her friend laughs while continuing to write her report, ‘Is boss gonna stick a new intern on you ?’ There’s an amused ring to her voice, still carrying funny memories from a few months back.
'Worse'.
Uh, this is getting dangerous.
Gert frowned but didn’t look up just yet.
Was she out of bubblegum-flavored lollipops ? Impossible—she’d stocked up on Friday.
Her request for vacation time in a couple of weeks had been approved, she’d just received the best file of her whole career just a few days ago, congratulated by the whole team (not to mention the entire building)—so what could possibly be that terrible ?
Gert slowly lifted her head, mouth slightly agape, ‘Don’t tell me Damson Idris just got hooked up...’.
Damson guy was basically their crush back when they were still in college, nodding off with their noses buried in the Civil Code.
For once, Jinx changed her dramatically desperate expression to a dramatically outraged one, 'Girl, you're a lesbian!’.
Dead silence.
And Gert, eyeing her intently, waved her hand in the air, ‘And ?’.
‘Can ya be real for like.. ten seconds ?’.
Gert didn’t realise that Jinx was the pot calling the kettle black, something more compelling was on her mind, ‘Is he still on the market or not ?’.
The blue-haired girl huffed, barely believing her ears and losing all patience, ‘Yeah ! Is that it ? Can I talk to my friend now, pretty please ?’
Her friend chuckled, moving closer to her desk, ‘Come on, spit it out the lad, it’s not like I can read your mind all time, Miss.’
Jinx shrunk back, her expression turning into an injured little puppy’s, and in a hushed voice afraid the walls might have ears, she whispered quietly ‘The case I just took.., y'know, the celeb couple…’
Gert put her elbow on the wooden surface of her desk to move her head closer, now that the subject was truly serious. Even though the distance between their desks was ridiculously large, it was even more silly when they whispered to each other. It was all part of their routine and suit them just fine.
'I.. know… the opposing counsel'. Her lips pressed so hard together like a confession of a foolish mistake, attempting to diminish her guilt with her big blue eyes.
‘HUUhhh ! -what..did..y'say??’ Her mouth opened on its own, hands splayed on the table.
'Iknowtheopposingcounsel‘ Jinx repeated louder and quicker. Hearing her own voice made her realise even more just how shitty her situation was—like pouring salt on a wound she struggled to recognise. ‘Fuck’ escaped her lips absentmindedly. It had to happen now. Now, and with this particular deal !
Gert stood motionless. The distress evident in Jinx’s voice and face was so obvious that it didn’t match the simple ‘know’ she had said. Therefore, she immediately realised that this mysterious lawyer wasn't just a casual acquaintance but someone who was very important and influential in her friend's life.
But, in bad way. A very bad way.
At that realization, her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, but Jinx didn't flinch when she looked up. She was closer to tears than laughs, even though Gert’s utterly shocked expression was quite funny.
‘But there’s a conflict of interest !’ Gert exclaimed, whispering loudly.
‘I know, I know ! But what am I supposed to do then ?? Can’t lose this case, ...ever !’
Neither of the young women’s hearts could stop pounding ; heat was rising through their limbs along with the rush of adrenaline. Boredom was a common occurrence at work, but now—now—they knew they were in for a busy season spent regretting those dull and monotonous days.
Gert pushed her hands against the desk, as if searching for something solid, cold, tangible. But to know just how deep in trouble they both really were, she had to find out.
'Jinx. . .‘ she said even more quietly, and her friend miraculously managed to hear it. The words were so soft now that they couldn’t be heard, just air, only guessed at by the movements of her lips, ‘...who.is.it.??’ and her movements was firm, authoritative, almost threatening. Because she was scared. Both of them was so scared.
The information was so crazy that Jinx still had trouble processing it hours after opening that email containing the updated details of the job she had accepted without thinking. But when Gert pressed her for an answer, forcing her to speak the truth, her mind had nowhere left to hide.
What could she say ?
Gert comes from Zaun, maybe that's why Jinx felt so at ease with her compared to the others. She doesn't even know if her friend actually meets this man who comes from the same place as them. A man she doesn’t want to imagine, to think about, or to name even in her own private little world. But Gert is still there, waiting for her answer. She has to tell her, she’s her coworker, she’s her best friend.
But… how could she answer her ?
There’s no right answer—none of them are good, they’re all horrible and unspeakable.
Her lips open, close. Sometimes sounds come out, other times just empty air. She’s never been like this—well, she has, but it was so long ago, so long that she can’t even remember it anymore.
And screw it.
‘H-He's. He's...’ she inhales, ‘an old friend’. Her saliva feels as hard as concrete, ‘The kind of friend you never wanna see again’.
Jinx is a master with words—no wonder she chose to be a lawyer, nor why she excels at her job. Yet here, she couldn’t bring herself to tell her friend everything, just as she couldn’t bring herself to take in her words with her very own ears.
So instead of admitting that this man was her first everything, her first friend then her best friend, inevitably her first love, and easily the strongest in her life, and yet the very one she ended up abandoning cowardly without a word or even a single letter, all that came out at that moment with an aching heart and a lump in her throat, was ‘an old friend’ sounding oddly like a ‘worst friend’ or rather a 'best enemy'.