Room 205, Friday afternoon [NFB]

[sneerkite]

Steerpike was looking over his plans, making sure that it looked like everything was in order and trying to work out a good day for him to put them into action.

Soon, that was all he knew. Very, very soon.

[ooc: for them what knows who they are, NFB, please!]

Comments

[sneerkite]

Steerpike calmly tucked the more . . . sensitive papers into one of his class textbooks and continued to look over his notes from Revolutions. "Come in," he called.

[misshargrove.livejournal.com]

Taking a deep breath, she turned the knob and entered his room, closing the door behind her.

"Hi." And she was glad to see only him.

[sneerkite]

Steerpike looked up, and barely managed to refrain from rolling his eyes. "Ms. Hargrove. What might I do for you?"

[misshargrove.livejournal.com]

"So it's Ms. Hargrove, now?" She walked further into his room and casually glanced around though didn't make a big show of it.

"I came here to give you those pictures. But if you don't want them..." she let her sentence die as she stared at him.

[sneerkite]

Steerpike set his notes and his books to one side and stood. "If you have the pictures, hand them over and then please leave. I have no patience for foolish girls who believe that they can blackmail me."

[misshargrove.livejournal.com]

Both brows shot upwards, "Blackmail you? That is crazy talk and you know it. Whatever would I have to blackmail you for?" Annette looked down at his desk and moved closer to it, despite the fact that he was right there.

[sneerkite]

Steerpike moved to block her path. "I honestly have no idea, and yet you insisted on keeping photos of my personage that I asked for you to destroy. One can only conclude that blackmail was your plan."

[misshargrove.livejournal.com]

"Clearly I'm not as devious as your mind seems to be, Steerpike. I haven't lowered myself to such musings." That was a lie. He probably knew it.

She looked around his shoulder and arm, "What are you working on?"

[sneerkite]

He did know it. She'd as much as told him so at work the week before. "Homework, not that it is any business of yours. Now give me the pictures and leave, Annette."

[misshargrove.livejournal.com]

"Can't we be friends? I do try to be friendly with everyone, Steerpike. Want to go have lunch or something? Discuss this proper like?"

[sneerkite]

Steerpike watched her silently for a long moment. A part of him might have held the faintest hope that she was being truthful, that she honestly wanted to be friends.

Then he remembered how she had ordered him around, how she had tried to change him, and how she had held those damned pictures over his head when he'd clearly expressed his desire to have them destroyed.

She didn't want him to be her friend, she wanted a servant. And he was not going to be anyone's servant ever again.

"No, I don't think we can. Pictures. Then leave. I have work to do."

[misshargrove.livejournal.com]

"That's a terribly selfish thing to say. I am very likable. You would like me if you got to know me. You see me only as you want to see me. Which is a shame."

She looked over at his desk again. "Maybe I can help you?" Yes, she was totally ignoring the pictures and the leaving.

[sneerkite]

"No. You can't." Steerpike crossed his arms and stared down at her. "Pictures. Then leave."

[misshargrove.livejournal.com]

"I'm thinking." Annette crossed her arms and stared up at him.

[sneerkite]

"Why? There is no need for thought involved." If, indeed, she was capable of such things. Steerpike stepped closer, so that he loomed over Annette. "If you do not give me the pictures and leave, I will make you do so."

[misshargrove.livejournal.com]

"Right. And you think I would just let you do that?" Okay, she might be a little uneasy now, but she was the smarter one here, wasn't she? She did have that gun in the small of her back. Of course it wasn't loaded, but he certainly didn't know that. And she would never ever tell Nadia. Bad that.

"Come on, come on. Let's put this icky little past thing behind us and start fresh, hm?"

[sneerkite]

"What exactly is it that you are not understanding here, Annette? I had not thought you were this thick," okay, that was a lie, "but you are obviously laboring under some very large misconception. We are not friends. You have no desire to be my friend, nor did you ever have it. You merely want a servant or a pet project. And I will not be either." Steerpike did not, generally, like the idea of striking a girl. Not where said girl could see him do it, at the very least. But he had to impress Annette with the seriousness of what he was telling her. He reached out to grab the front of her shirt in his fist.

[misshargrove.livejournal.com]

She was frowning, greatly, staring up at him while he ridiculed the friendship that she had seriously tried to make with him. If she was thick, then so was he. It was obvious he was blinded by whatever force was driving him to be so cruel. "Perhaps you should think back to the beginning of this term. We were friends. You changed that with your self-absorbtion." She arched a haughty brow just as he reached out and fisted her shirt in his hand. Automatically did her own reach up to try and pry his off. "What do you think you are doing?"

[sneerkite]

He was tempted to shake her. She had no bloody clue. It was ridiculous. "I told you that if you did not give me the pictures and leave, that I would make you do so." He started toward the door, pulling on her shirt to bring her with him. "And you're still not giving me the pictures and leaving. So what do you think I'm doing?"

[misshargrove.livejournal.com]

She dug in her heels and became dead weight, and doing so, tried to reach around with her left hand and grab that gun at the small of her back.

"You haven't given me a chance to even get them!"

[sneerkite]

He was stronger than he looked, and he didn't let go as she went to dead weight. He also ignored her reaching. "I've given you any number of chances! Each and every time I told you to give me the pictures and leave was a chance for you to do so. And you haven't. You've been trying to distract me and belittle me and I won't stand for it."

[misshargrove.livejournal.com]

"You are being a total pain in my ass, Steerpike! You are also ruining my blouse!" Annette tried hard to yank herself back from his hold, even going so far as to drop to her knees. Her hand wrapped around the gun and she brought it around in a quick flash, surprising even herself.

"Now, let go!"

[sneerkite]

It was painfully clear from the expression on Annette's face and the manner in which she was holding the thing that what she was holding was a weapon.

Steerpike let go and stepped back. "I assure you, you will have no need for . . . whatever that is."

[nadiathesaint]

After her phonecall to M, Nadia decided it might be best to check in on Annette. But she wasn't in her room, and Nadia had no idea where she might be, so she headed down to check in Annette's . . . little project, instead.

She arrived outside Steerpike's door just in time to hear his statement, and with a firm shoulder against the door, shoved it open. It took her no more than a moment to assess the situation.

"Steamedpork, get the hell back and down. Annette, give me the gun. Now."

[misshargrove.livejournal.com]

Annette fell back on her ass when he let go but she scrambled up quick enough, "No need? You just grabbed me and threatened-" Her eyes snapped to the door and she gasped when Nadia came in. "Nadia!" Annette flailed a little, waving the gun. "What are you doing here?" She didn't move and she kept half her attention on Steerpike.

[sneerkite]

Steerpike had done exactly as Nadia had said, having dropped back and sat down quite heavily on his bed.

"She came into this room, taunted me with photos of . . . an indiscretion, refused to leave, and now she's waving that . . . thing around! I've done nothing wrong!"

[nadiathesaint]

"Shut up, Snakebite," Nadia pulled the door closed and stepped over to Annette, dropping low and holding out her hand. "For godssake, Annette, don't wave that around. Hand it over, now and let's get out of here, okay?"

[misshargrove.livejournal.com]

She was glaring at Steerpike, "You are such a liar! He let me in," she said to Nadia, still looking at Steerpike. "I tried to be helpful, ask him to lunch. But no, he grabs me, oh yes, he used brute force against me and I was...scared for my life! I had to choice but to defend myself." Annette pointed the gun at Steerpike, unwavering, probably because she knew it wasn't loaded. Still, she had to make a point. "Don't ever touch me again. Ever."

She finally looked at Nadia and nodded once, handing her the gun.

[sneerkite]

"I gave her plenty of warning and I intended only to make her leave. This is not my fault!" Steerpike might be sulking, and he was definitely staying well away from Annette and Nadia.

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia immediately checked the safety and the chamber on the gun and relaxed when she noted that it wasn't loaded.

That didn't make things much better, though. "I said shut up, Steerbreak. I'll talk to you later." She tucked the gun away and held out her hand again to Annette. "Annette, you and I are going to go for a walk. We're going down to the weapons cabinet to secure this, and we are going to have a very long talk. Is that clear?"

[sneerkite]

Steerpike glared for all he was worth, but he fell silent.

[misshargrove.livejournal.com]

She only nodded again, glaring at Steerpike. She didn't need anything said to her in front of him.

Taking Nadia's hand, she came up fully and realized just then that she was shaking, bad.

[nadiathesaint]

"Right then, let's go." With one last hard glance at Steerpike, Nadia lead Annette out of the room.