#secondhandmckie || main .001 jack

[jesvshotsaucechristmascake]

@secondhandmckie sent Jack out of the party.

"Did you want to be alone?" Jack can tell it's not been a very kind evening to him, but he's also not sure if immediately running off the second Mike appears is the best way to handle it, either.

ㅤThe party wasn't a disaster because Mike's mother, the charming and impressive Senator Michelle Munroe, wouldn't accept such a result during such an important and delicate time frame - she was campaigning and her only son was only just making his first few debuts in proper society since the tragedies on Blackwood Mountain, and there was a very fine line to tread between victim and hero that didn't leave room for any kind of acting out. Mike was on his best behavior and he somehow felt like he was suffocating while entirely alone for miles, disconnected from anyone in the room yet on display for the world to see.

ㅤThe questions were expected, just like the whispers and glances and even outright stares he was getting; his mother had specifically coached him on keeping his left hand pocketed or angled in a way that it wasn't incredibly visible if they weren't actively discussing anything that would benefit from having it on display, and he was supposed to stay mindful of when he should flash the injury. The same went for the bandages visible from beneath his collar, which were still required because the claw marks were still uglier beneath the clean white gauze than the gauze itself was with the suit, but he was instructed to keep his left side to the cameras to avoid that view wherever possible. It was constant awareness of his surroundings and movements, and granted, he was already too aware after everything that had happened, but this was something else entirely.

ㅤWhen he hit his limit and slipped away from the crowd for a quiet moment to gather his bearings and talk himself out of calling a taxi to get out of there, or maybe just walking somewhere, he wasn't really expecting anyone to find his quiet corner around the side of the house and the garden. When he jerked his head up at the voice, tense for no good reason before he seemed to 'relax' on purpose, he figured he shouldn't have honestly been surprised - of course Jack Kelley would know the quiet places at these things, maybe better than Mike ever would. Mike couldn't fault him for it, either, though maybe he should start asking for pointers.

ㅤ"Oh, hey man, no, it's cool," he offered, tone much more easy than the initial reaction to sound had been. It was like that split second had never happened, and he offered a little smile that was less like the camera one, or the polite-conversation-while-internally-dying smile he'd been pulling out most of the night, but a little more real, maybe. He released a long breath, leaning back against the wall in the expensive suit he was hating once more and glanced out over the dark for a second before back at Jack. "Am I in your spot? I can go, I just needed a minute."

#secondhandmckie #secondhandmckie || main .001 jack #waiting on that morning sun 💀 [v. until dawn]