* IT'S NOT SAFE HERE, [josh]

"I'll go stick this in the trunk, 'kay babe?" Joshua held up the bags in his hands as he spoke, though it was probably unnecessary. Since Nell was getting off work any minute now, he figured there was no harm in going out ahead of her to relieve himself of the burden and wait by the car. "I'll meet you outside." There was no point in coming back in afterwards, he figured. He'd hung around Maple Hollow with a friend for most of the day, Christmas shopping and the like, but when said friend had to jet and take their car he'd been left without a ride. Not that Joshua minded too much, it just meant taking a cab home... or dropping by the concert hall to hang out with his fiancée, which was exactly what he'd done. He'd only been around about five minutes or so. The air outside was cold but he shivered for only a moment before he quickly grew accustomed to the temperature. It might as well be a warm day in spring for all that he felt. It really was convenient. No effects from the frigid temperatures of winter nor the blistering heat of summer. He shifted the bags from one hand to the other, red welts cutting into his palms. To someone like Joshua the weight was more of a nuisance than anything but he was not immune to the way the bags strained and dug into his hand.

It was a relief when he made it out to the car and unlocked the trunk. setting the bag down on the ground beside the vehicle for a moment before lifting the lid. And freezing. And staring. And, "What the hell?" He was normally a calm, confident, and very composed person. It took quite a lot to shake or surprise him, even more to have him display that shock. Unfortunately for Joshua, finding a man tied up in your fiancée's trunk with a gag in his mouth happened to be quite a lot. His hand went immediately to his pocket, the comforting lump that was his switchblade present under the denim fabric of his jeans. There was no real danger but he'd felt a wave of unease and panic wash over him. Wasn't every day you found a guy in a trunk. Especially not a trunk belonging to someone you knew, though he still hadn't connected that bit yet. His next thought was cops, witnesses, and he had half a mind to slam the trunk shut again and try to look inconspicuous as he backed off. But, no, that probably wasn't the best plan. Innocent bystanders weren't so innocent if they locked a victim back up in the trunk he'd been found in and allowed him to suffocate from lack of oxygen.

Should I... help? All in all, only a few seconds had passed since the initial opening of the trunk, seconds in which he'd double-checked to ensure he was armed at least to some degree and glanced around worriedly for potential witnesses. There had been none and now he'd glanced back toward the dude in the trunk, at a loss of what to do. "Uh, don't yell or anything, please," he requested, sounding as uncertain as he felt but with his voice nevertheless quite steady. He could probably use his knife to untie the guy but he wasn't sure that was the best plan. What if the guy attacked him? God damn it, there was nothing he liked about this situation. The reason for Joshua's slow request became evident as he leaned down and tugged the rag—ugh, god, this is disgusting, what was it used for?—out of the man's mouth and dropped it just as quickly. Jesus, Nell was going to be here soon and—Nell. The thought was surprised, like he'd momentarily forgotten he even had a fiancée, let alone that she was probably only a minute or so behind him. Did she... would she... no, right? It seemed bizarre that Nell would do something like this but then... why?

[Figured she'd give him the keys; can edit if not xD Assuming Nell's like close behind enough that she'd approach at the end of the post?]

Joshua turned to glance at Nell as she approached, searching her face for a moment as if wondering whether she was capable of, you know, shoving a man into her trunk and gagging him for good measure. It didn't make sense but how else could someone have wound up there? People didn't tie themselves up and climb into the backs of cars. He was so thrown off by the situation that he almost didn't hear her question, so he hadn't gotten the chance to answer before she glanced at the trunk and saw for herself. He watched her face, analysed her earlier question. Then something obvious clicked. Uh, Nell wouldn't have given me the keys if she didn't want me to know. And who would want their fiancé to find out about a dirty little secret such as this. "Hey, I know we're getting married eventually and I probably should have mentioned this sooner, but I like to tie people up and stick them in my trunk. Sorry!" Yeah, no. He then felt like a bit of a jerk for doubting her but reassured himself that it had only been for a second. Who wouldn't have let the insane thought cross their mind? It's Nell's trunk, he defended himself adamantly. What was I supposed to think? He turned his attention back to Man In Trunk, mind still boggled. Then what in the hell was he doing there?

He almost laughed when she greeted the man. Almost. It was that pulse of bizarre amusement people often get during tragedies. For some reason, everything was funnier when it really wasn't supposed to be funny. He had no trouble suppressing the random urge and Nell asked the question he himself was wondering a moment later. Is that the best you've got? The guy was tied up in the trunk and he couldn't even tell them what the fuck he was doing there? Alright, so maybe his exasperation was a little cruel. Maybe he was being unfair here. He met Nell's gaze when she looked at him, shrugged helplessly. "Haven't got a clue." It seemed they were both a little confused but it was only natural. This wasn't an every day occurrence. "I just came out, opened the trunk, and... uh, yeah." Suddenly spooked again, he cast a nervous glance around the near-empty parking lot. We have to get out of here. Oh, paranoia, how Joshua so adored it. The idea that someone would see them and call the cops was making him nervous, his lips felt a little dry. Realising he was still holding the car keys, he hesitated for a second before holding them out to Nell. They weren't his, no reason to hang onto them. Besides, he needed to get something.

Pulling the switchblade from his pocket, the Fire graduate flicked his wrist to open it. "Do you think I should...?" Alright, so that might have looked eerily like he was planning to stab the guy to silence him. No, no, that wasn't where he was trying to go with this at all. He figured that Nell would realise this and so didn't explain himself. While he could often get violent under certain circumstances, such as with Rafael, Joshua was not generally aggressive without a cause. This man, strange as it was that he'd somehow found his tied-up way into Nell's trunk, had done nothing to wrong him. Joshua was still a tad wary considering they didn't know the man or what he was like as a person but then he reconsidered the situation. I'm armed, I have my phone, this guy is the one jammed in the back of Gwen's massive ass. Yeah, he had the upper hand here. "Hold still," he advised, not wanting to accidentally cut the guy instead of the ropes. He backed off a couple of steps after he'd slashed the ropes so that he wasn't in the way, looming over the guy or anything of the sort. He glanced uneasily at Nell for a moment, then back at the guy. "Uh, so, yeah, what are you doing in her trunk?" He gestured loosely to Nell with the hand that wasn't holding the knife.

Joshua scoffed in exasperated irritation when the man begged him not to cut the ropes. Why the hell not? The guy had requested that they release him from the trunk, what else was he going to do? The Fire graduate was rather high-strung from a combination of confusion and paranoia and so a scowl found its way onto his features. "The fuck else am I going to do, stand here and untie you? Hell no." He wasn't standing and untying every single knot (and they were probably pretty tight to make sure this guy didn't get away) with his bare hands when he had a knife that could do the job in a couple seconds flat. He wasn't in the mood for standing around and chit-chatting as he painstakingly fiddled with the ropes and hoped to God that none of the other employees from the concert hall decided that it was time to leave. Even thinking about how they'd explain this to another person made his skin crawl. "Oh he's just... a friend! A... a friend that we locked in Nell's trunk for shits and giggles. What do you mean he looks terrified? Nah, he's fine, really!" No, it didn't work like that. Nell explained his intentions and Josh rolled his eyes. "What, you thought I was going to kill you? Here? In the middle of a fucking parking lot? Yeah, that's a good one." He shook his head and slashed the ropes without further comment. He felt wound up and he couldn't dispel the unease.

His lips did twitch briefly when Nell brought up food, though. He was too tense to manage a real smile or laugh in his own amusement but it was something at least. It calmed him ever so slightly as he backed away from the trunk, though he did wish he felt safe enough to pocket the blade. He didn't, though, because this man still made him nervous. He didn't feel threatened so much as uncertain. They could overpower him, especially since Josh had a knife, it was more of what finding a guy in a trunk might mean that concerned him the most. It meant that someone had unlocked his fiancée's trunk while she stood counting money in the concert hall and shoved a living person in there. Much like a robbery, it was a violation of safety. Nell's safety. He was angry for her, protective as usual. He was going to end up giving himself an aneurysm with just how much he concerned himself over the Earth girl. Eh, that was love for you. He was so busy worrying over the meaning of the incident that his reaction to the man running off was delayed, else he might have grabbed his arm or something similar to prevent him from running off without an explanation. "Hey!" The outburst was more in frustration than anything else. He didn't think it would cause him to look back. "Asshole," Joshua muttered under his breath, flipping the knife shut and pocketing it as he turned to Nell.

His lips pressed tight at her question. "Mhm." He wasn't angry at her, just unsure of what to do as he raked an anxious hand through the back of his dark hair. At least, he wasn't angry until she mentioned pranks. The gray eyes flashed, the first lightning strike of a storm. "A prank, Nell, really?" Alright, so the rough tone with his fiancee was a little unnecessary but he hated the suggestion that anyone would be this cruel, least alone Josh himself. He didn't like the way she looked at him and he narrowed his own eyes in return. "You really think I would do that to you?" Ouch, well that stung. He'd never prank Nell with any intentions other than decent ones. Little things, things that wouldn't spook her quite so much as men turning up in trunks like fucking old-school mob movies. Mob... movies. He blinked and quite plainly snapped, "Fuck." He slapped a hand against his thigh and shook his head. Pacing like a dog in a cage, a riled-up animal waiting for someone to open the door so they could jump straight for the throat. Glancing at Nell, still irked but willing to try and move past his irritation toward her, he asked, "Where's your aunt? Do you know?" Fuck. If Jane had anything to do with this, he would not be a happy camper. Well get your morose camping gear, Josh, because—

A small part of him acknowledged that he was being unfair to Nell by snapping at her and that he should probably calm down and apologise. He did not acknowledge this minuscule area of his conscience, for the rest of him was wound up about the incident and quite frankly offended by the fact that Nell would suggest he had anything to do with it. She amended her words quickly and he gave a curt nod, moving on. He did feel a little bad when he saw her shoulders slump—damn it, Nell being upset was a weakness of his—but he didn't say anything about it. His pride wouldn't allow him to admit that he shouldn't have been so harsh. Nope. He worked his jaw for a moment at her words and managed, "I know." Okay, so maybe he could have done better than that, but 'I know, I'm sorry' was pushing the limits for him. He wasn't going to apologise when he felt like his burst of anger had been justified. This wasn't a good situation to be in. "He could have told us what the fuck was going on." Joshua still sounded noticeably irritated with Man In Trunk as he stared at the place where the guy had vanished like sheer force of will could drag him back from wherever he'd run off to. God damn it. He wanted answers. Answers that made sense. He was worried about Nell now because he didn't quite know how much danger she was in.

Then it clicked, and Joshua went silent when Nell pulled out her phone. He had connected that she meant hell by her words and that might have made him laugh if there had been anything funny about what was going on. The bizarre element had started to wear off and now he was just angry. Angry and upset. If Jane was responsible for this, that meant the bitch was causing problems in Nell's life again. She should be back in America, he thought angrily. In a nice orange jumpsuit behind the thickest fucking bars they have. God, he hated the woman. He was sure Nell wasn't too fond of her either. Was his fiancée capable of hate? He couldn't say. He could only hear Nell's side of the conversation but she sounded angry, as she should. "Fuck that bitch," he growled when Nell hung up the phone and asserted that she was the one responsible for the... accident. "Who the fuck does she think she is?" He wished that he could nudge Nell into going to the cops but if Jane was involved with the mafia then that probably wasn't a very effective solution. He loathed her so much. "What'd she do it for, shits and giggles?" He sounded angry, looked it as he ran a hand through his hair a second time, paced for a moment before stopping. Anger made him restless, irritable.

He made a scoffing sound of disbelief in his throat. Poor guy. Wrong people. "Fucking Jane! Of course he got caught up with the wrong people!" He was incredibly frustrated and growing more so by the minute, raising his voice more than he usually would out of reflex. He exhaled loudly, realised that his fiancée was not responsible for all of this, then squared his shoulders and reluctantly mumbled, "Ugh, it's not your fault. I'm sorry." He hated apologizing. It was like the word actually burned up through his throat and mocked him on its way past his lips. Still, Nell didn't deserve to be the subject of his ire. It was Jane he was angry at. Jane and her family of assholes. He furrowed his brow when she told him to back away, obeying her words despite not knowing the reason for them. His thoughts were not on car bombs right away. "Wh—oh. Jesus Christ, Nell!" He sounded frantic for a moment as he realised that she was just going to start the car up and take the risk. It was too late to do anything, though, and so he could only tense, clench his jaw and hope nothing happened. When she put her head against the wheel he shook his own and got into the car. "Why the fuck'd you do that?" He now sounded more exasperated than upset with her. "Do you have a death wish or something?" Was she going to need to look behind all doors for trip wires now? Fuck Jane.

[so. much. rage. .-.]

The fact that Nell never got upset with him when he snapped at her was probably one of the reasons Joshua was so content to back down and apologise to his fiancée. Most people snapped and bit back when you snarled at them but she always seemed to just stand there and take it. It made him feel guilty, caused him to realise that he was being irrational, and essentially guilt-tripped him into calming down at least enough to force the word 'sorry' past his lips. "No," he said, and though his words were fierce he no longer directed the anger toward her. "No, she doesn't. She can't—ugh, I fucking hate her, Nell, I really do." He shook his head, feeling like he needed to reassert these words aloud even if his hatred was made plain as day by the way he'd flipped out. Moving around or striking things was always a good way to at least vent some of his steam without hurting his fiancée, hence the pacing. There was nothing within striking distance besides Nell and her car and he really wasn't willing to test his strength on either of them. He would never hit Nell unless it was playful and light and Gwen? Well, that was Nell's car. Her property. He wasn't going to be responsible for any damages to it. He was pretty strong and adrenaline was fuelling him so he figured he might be capable of denting the hood if he whacked it hard enough. He wasn't going to find out, not if he could help it.

He didn't want Jane working against Nell. If the woman was a part of the mob then he knew what she was capable of doing to mess Nell's life up, the lives of her friends up. Unfortunately, the alternative was even worse. To think of his fiancée cooperating with the mob made him rather uncomfortable. Nell wasn't like that, he'd spent ages convincing himself of it after he'd heard she was responsible for the death of her mother. He didn't want to be proved wrong. "Fuck," he said again, sounding tired and worn out. "Is there anything you can do? Anything at all?" It was probably a fruitless question. "No, never mind," he sighed heavily. If Nell could do something, she'd have done it by now. It wasn't like she liked Jane meddling in her life or anything like that. Who would? "I still shouldn't take it out on you," he pointed out. She hadn't asked for the guy in her trunk, hadn't asked for Jane to be released from jail, hadn't asked for any of this. "You know what I'm like." He sounded almost irritated with himself as he admitted this. She knew his anger as well as everyone else did. He wished he could shut it off permanently around her and never get upset with her but it didn't work like that. Anger problems were for life. He refused to get help for them because that would be compromising his pride and for what? Some shrink to get paid a ridiculous amount to tell him to concentrate on his breathing when he was upset? Fuck that.

Stubbornly, Josh insisted, "I would have." It wouldn't have solved anything of course, it would simply mean that he would be the one to get a face full of fire and twisted metal instead of Nell, but he'd have done it. He really would do almost anything for Nell. It was scary to think about the many ways that he might put his own life on the line for the sake of hers. "No, she'll just stuff people in your fucking trunk and try to threaten you into—ugh, sorry, again." He exhaled angrily, irritated. He needed to stop getting riled up and snapping at Nell. Though the apologies sounded like the irritated huffs a young child might give their siblings when demanded by their parents to apologise, they really were sincere on his part. He hoped she knew that he did feel bad about being short with her so often and that he was just bad at showing it. He'd lost friends because of his temper before. It was hard for him to keep people that didn't understand him around. It wasn't like he could expect a lot of people to stand there and listen to him rant if he was set off. That was too much to ask from a lot of people. "Do you think she'll ever give it up?" He hated the fact that he sounded hopeful. He wanted Jane to relent because he wanted Nell to be safe. God damn, he hated the woman. Hated. Sighing, Joshua pulled his own seatbelt over whilst asking, "Are we going home, or?" Home sounded nice right now. Safe. But if Nell was going somewhere else, he'd go with her. He wanted to be close for a while.

Fake people infuriated Joshua. Fake people called Jane who spent their days messing with his fiancée infuriated him even more. It bothered him to think that there were plenty of people that liked the woman even as she went behind their backs and pulled the puppet strings or was involved in illegal activities right under their noses. His father had believed the woman when she'd told him about Nell, after all, bought into her lies with ease and turned against his own son because of her. He might have forgiven his father for that but he'd never forgive Jane. Lying bitch. "They'd better be interested," he muttered. "People like Jane don't usually stop what they're doing, they just get better at hiding it." It was sad how true that was. Getting caught taught you what not to do, it made you better prepared for the future. Sure, some people were genuine when they said they'd stop their crimes after getting out of jail but the majority were just a lot more careful about it from then on. "She hasn't gotten you into any trouble with them, has she?" Putting cocaine in Nell's bag and people in her trunk was bound to attract some sort of attention eventually. He didn't want his fiancée to get in trouble with the cops because that made him antsy. She wasn't a Canadian citizen yet, he didn't want them to kick her back to America because of anything like that. Would he go with her? Yeah, probably. Better that than lose her.

His lips twitched slightly into the brief beginnings of a smile when she patted his arm and told him that she loved him. Even though she said it jokingly, the fact that she meant it still reached him and it made him feel better and worse at the same time. Better that she was able to put up with him where so many others could not, worse that he couldn't control his anger around a person as good as Nell. She was so damned genuine and hard to hate. He'd tried to keep his distance from her in the beginning like he did with everyone but she was persistent in her friendliness and in the end he'd just tossed in the towel, given up. He was glad he'd made the decision, else who knew where they'd be now? "Love you, too." He sighed, glancing around the parking lot. That seemed to have calmed him a little at least, for he wasn't shouting any more and he'd paused in his angry pacing. He wasn't completely calmed and could still feel the anger bubbling in his blood but he wasn't angry at Nell. Never at Nell. He usually just took his anger out on the world no matter what it was about. Old and bad habits die hard. "She better get bored soon or I'm going to lose it," he grumbled. He sounded irritated because he knew there was nothing he could do about it, irritated or not. Not unless he wanted to attract danger. He'd jump in to help Nell if he had to but he'd rather avoid confrontation with Jane. Especially after the last time.

Joshua nodded when she said that home sounded nice, agreeing with her wordlessly. He needed a shower as well, come to think about it, but mostly he just wanted to get the fuck away from the concert hall and anything else associated with Jane. He was suddenly comforted by all the security that the mansion had in place because even if the systems weren't flawless, they were something. He felt protected in the safety of his own home. They had top-notch security thanks to the fact that he could afford it and hopefully that would keep out Bryce and Jane and anyone else that might decide it was fun to fuck with the couple. When they pulled up into the garage he got out of the car and took a moment to pause and breathe before he pulled Nell into a hug, needing the moment of calm that it gave him. "At least you're okay." He tried not to think 'for now', because that was grim and he really just needed to think more positive things now. The garage door led into the dining room and from there he went into the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water and chugging some of it down. It had been a long day and he'd needed that. Stress wore him down. He thought about the alcohol in the liquor cabinet but decided that he wanted to be clear of mind for the next few hours. Maybe later. "You gonna catch that shower now or later?" He set the cap loosely on the bottle when he placed it down on the island, looking at her expectantly.