St. Mungos ~August 29, 2025~

Jackie was persistent. Despite his silence she wanted to know more. She poked him. "I'm talking to you! I didn't give you her room number just because I was bored, you know."

Darien gave her a glare. "Yes, thank you so much." His words dripped sarcasm.

"And if you did just for your own amusement, to watch me humiliate myself, or just to annoy me, I don't care! Leave me be!" His voice raised slightly, but he kept walking.

"Whoa screamy," Jackie said having to take more steps than Darien just because she was shorter so that she could keep up with him. "What happened?"

"None of your business." Darien snarled, eyes focused on the way before him.

Jackie nodded. "That bad huh, well if it's any conciliation, I was rooting for you."

Darien slowed his pace slightly.

"What do you mean, rooting for me?"

"You know, you and Diana?" Jackie explained.

"...There's nothing between me and Diana. Nothing!" Darien exploded.

"Hmm... she doesn't seem to think that." Jackie pointed out. "And pipe down won't you? your annoying the other patients."

"Oh, I think she does! I think they both do!"


Darien made no effort to lower his voice. "And I don't see why you keep trying to lump us together, just when everything was going fine! " This was a lie. "Do you enjoy messing with my mind?! What's wrong with you? Why did you make me look like an imbecile in front of- Why?!"

Although this was not even slightly Jackie's fault, Darien's puerile side demanded he take out his anger on the nearest person, in this case Jackie.

"Shhhh!" Jackie said grabbing Darien's collar and dragging him to a corner. "Other patients! Honestly if you act that way normally I'm not surprised that you're an imbecile."

Darien jerked his collar out of her clutches. ((lol))

"Normally I am not totally humiliated! Normally, I am fine! Normally, other people aren't trying to interfere in things they don't understand!!"

"And normally visitors are quiet in the hospital wing!" Jackie scolded. "I'm sorry to hear that my hunch was wrong."

"What hunch?! You sent me in there on a hunch?!" Darien growled. "I hope you don't treat your patients on the same hunches..."

"My hunches are mostly never wrong," Jackie defended. "Besides, it was your choice to follow, you could have gone the other way."

"If your hunches are so trustworthy, why didn't you realise that one was?!" Darien's voice grew louder again.

"Hey mister," Jackie said raising up a finger, "Don't go yelling at me because you missed out."

"I'll yell at you if I want to!" Darien bawled.

"This is all your fault! I was doing fine-I was moving on! Then you have to go and drag me back to square one!"

"Why are you so angry anyway?" Jackie asked with a raise brow.

"Because I-You-I...BECAUSE..." Darien stopped himself from shouting, with some difficulty.

"Because you have made me look like a complete idiot!" He hissed through tightly clenched teeth.

"Hmm... let's evaluate that claim shall we?" Jackie said glaring at Darien. "Who is shouting in broad-daylight in the middle of a hospital ward?" Jackie shook her head.

"Follow me," Jackie said then shouted to a man in the reception. "Oi! Rick, I'm taking my break!"

Rick nodded happily and she then turned and headed outside.

"Screw the-What?" Darien cut off his fuming in mid-sentance, and sighed inwardly before following Jackie.

"Where the hell are we even going?!" He asked, still unsure as to why he was following her when he could've just walked away...

"To a pub, I'm buying you a drink, looks like you need one." Jackie muttered to him.

Darien merely grunted.

He couldn't argue with that. A drink sounded like a very good idea...

((where to?))