The Perk, Monday Afternoon

[noboynextdoor.livejournal.com]

It had been a long weekend for Jess, and with no classes to go to, he had every intention of spending the day pretending Luke and his mom had never been here. For now, he was at one of the corner tables in the Perk, nursing a cup of coffee and trying to drown out the sounds of anyone else as he read.

[Open!]

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[repeterpetrelli.livejournal.com]

Peter needed coffee like nobody's business. Plus he figured he owed Sam a treat once he was done with classes. So he stopped by the Perk to pick something up.

[noboynextdoor.livejournal.com]

When Jess glanced up and saw Peter, he sank down a little in his chair, and brought his book up to cover his face.

[repeterpetrelli.livejournal.com]

"I have other things on my radar at the moment," Peter told Jess. "No offense."

[noboynextdoor.livejournal.com]

"None taken," Jess said, looking a little surprised nonetheless. "You okay?"

[repeterpetrelli.livejournal.com]

"Not so fun family dinner last night," Peter said. "Not that we got to the part where we had dinner."

[noboynextdoor.livejournal.com]

"I thought you got along with your family?" Jess asked. That had been a big difference between them, after all.

[repeterpetrelli.livejournal.com]

Peter got a coffee and helped himself to a seat near Jess. "I get along with my brother. I get along with Ma better than most. But apparently that's changed now that I have a boyfriend."

[darkangelsawyer.livejournal.com]

Peyton stopped by to pick up some coffee and maybe something sweet for a treat for tonight. She took a second to observe, then confidently sai, "Hey, Jess."

And hoped to God she'd got it right.

[noboynextdoor.livejournal.com]

The fact that she'd gotten it right was enough to earn her a smile. "Hey Peyton," he said. "How's it going?"

[darkangelsawyer.livejournal.com]

"Not bad," she said. "You have people up for the weekend?"

[noboynextdoor.livejournal.com]

"Unexpected people, yeah. My mother and my uncle," Jess said.

[darkangelsawyer.livejournal.com]

"Good thing or bad thing?" she asked curiously.

[noboynextdoor.livejournal.com]

"Bad thing. Very bad thing," Jess replied. "They didn't exactly know I was here."

[stocksgrrl.livejournal.com]

This time of year was totally the time for hot caramel apple cider and Turtle, although she wasn't sure if it was the best indulgence to pursue before her self-defense club, went to the Perk anyway to get some. She took a glance around and noticed who she thought was Peter sitting and reading, and though that, man, it had been a really long time since she'd talked to him, but since he was Mister Petrelli's brother she should definitely say hi.

She hopped over, sipping her drink as she took a seat nearby and asked, "Hi! What'cha reading?"

[noboynextdoor.livejournal.com]

It took a moment for Jess to realize that he was being addressed and look up. "It's just a book of poetry," he said, a little wary.

[stocksgrrl.livejournal.com]

Ew.

Still, Turtle asked, "Any good?"

[noboynextdoor.livejournal.com]

"It's pretty good, yeah. I've already gone through this book a few times though," Jess said. "Are you not a poetry person?"

[stocksgrrl.livejournal.com]

"Not really," Turtle admitted. "I have a really hard time garnering too much interest in some guy talking in overly expressive words about a tree or love or how tormented his soul is."

[noboynextdoor.livejournal.com]

"Not all poetry is that bad," Jess said, laughing. "Although yeah, there are definitely people out there who don't know what they're doing."

[grasshopper-mol.livejournal.com]

After this weekend, Molly needed a mocha. No, wait a minute. She needed a double.

"Hey," she greeted Jess as she waited for her drink. "Did you make it through the weekend in one piece?"

[noboynextdoor.livejournal.com]

"Just barely," Jess said, with an audible sigh. "I got hit with my mom and my uncle, with no warning."

[grasshopper-mol.livejournal.com]

"I'll see your mom and raise you a four-year-old," she said, leaning over to watch her mocha get made. "You get along with them?"

[noboynextdoor.livejournal.com]

"Not at all," Jess replied. "They didn't even know I was here, and I was really happy with that arrangement."

[grasshopper-mol.livejournal.com]

"How did they not know you were here?"

[noboynextdoor.livejournal.com]

Jess looked a little uncomfortable as he tried to figure out how to explain it. "My mom sent me to live with my uncle, so she wasn't really getting day-to-day updates. And my uncle, well, he didn't kick me out, but he was going to, so I left and went to find my dad. He and his girlfriend are the ones who sent me here."