Jason Carew and Jonathan Crane were now one person. That provoked a fear in him unlike any other. It was funny for him to have a fear like that but now he was living with a madman, hellbent on making his life a living hell. It wasn't even so much of Crane trying to assert himself into situations he shouldn't be in, it was less assuming than that. It started slow and it was a whisper in his ear, something that he could hear and could choose to ignore if he wanted to. Then it was the devil on his shoulder, playing into the tendencies of Jason and knowing full well that he liked a little chaos and destruction. It kept him on his toes and he felt like he could always handle it by simply walking away and watching the world burn behind him. For years it had been like that and now he wanted a break. He wouldn't get that, though, not with Crane lurking in the shadows.
It had been easy to keep Crane at bay without his tools, though. It certainly didn't stop him from trying to find his tear gas and there were days when the man would just want to sit in the house with the Scarecrow mask on and Jason would give in, allowing the man to have some agency in all of this but it was still Jason's life. Even if Jason lived a rather hermited life as of late, for a variety of reasons, it was still his life and he was intent on living it. The constant nagging about fear gas made him hope that Crane never found it because he wasn't sure what the man might do if he ever did get his hands on it. There hadn't been a lot of times that he has used it, only a handful, and it was more or less when Crane had spiraled out of control. He remembered putting on it on the money in the bank and causing chaos and walking through the park, scaring the children with the mask and fear gas, but that seemed like a lifetime ago now. So much had changed since then. The hope was that he would never regain access to Scarebeast. Jason wasn't sure if he could go through that again.
Jason had skipped out on a couple of therapy sessions, mostly because he was out of town, but he was trying to lay low from Julia. The woman was becoming a nuisance on his life with the constant calls and text messages. Her understood it; she was feeling hurt from her broken marriage and she was rebounding with him. It seemed that she had always had some sort of feelings for him, which were unknown to him, but he had been focused on another person at that time. It seemed that was always the case with him. It had been his girlfriend previously and himself now. There was no way for him to have a functional relationship, not like this. He couldn't even have a functional relationship when it only happened once a month. If Crane was around permanently it meant that Jason had resigned himself to the life of never having a meaningful relationship again. Which, quite frankly, was likely for the best.
Crane had found what he was looking for, though, and he fought like hell to take the materials with him to the next session with Julia. Jason had resisted several times but the other man didn't care. The woman knows too much as it is, he would say and Jason couldn't think of a good retort for that. When he had felt like the last man on earth, he had gone to her office and made a fool of himself. If she thinks we're trying for one moment you know what will happen. It was something that Jason couldn't even argue. She knew a lot and he certainly didn't want this but he would give Crane an opportunity.
When he had arrived it was business as usual and he sat on the chair opposite her. The gas was in a bag next to him and he claimed to need to grab his phone for a moment to turn it off, instead opening the bag enough to let it fill the air around them. The session started before it started to take hold of her. He smiled and cocked his head to the side and asked her what was wrong. At first she didn't respond and she tried her best to shrug off whatever was going on inside of her. Then it became too much to handle. "I don't know what's happening but... Oh god." She broke down in a puddle on the floor, crying about her failed marriage, how she didn't want to be alone, how she would be a single parent. Jason just watched it all happen knowing there was nothing that he could possibly do now. Crane watched in delight, head still slightly cocked. He rose from the chair and crouched on the ground next to her, arm on her shoulder, and he gave it a couple pats. "There, there. Don't you worry. I'm going to take good care of you."
It had been easy to keep Crane at bay without his tools, though. It certainly didn't stop him from trying to find his tear gas and there were days when the man would just want to sit in the house with the Scarecrow mask on and Jason would give in, allowing the man to have some agency in all of this but it was still Jason's life. Even if Jason lived a rather hermited life as of late, for a variety of reasons, it was still his life and he was intent on living it. The constant nagging about fear gas made him hope that Crane never found it because he wasn't sure what the man might do if he ever did get his hands on it. There hadn't been a lot of times that he has used it, only a handful, and it was more or less when Crane had spiraled out of control. He remembered putting on it on the money in the bank and causing chaos and walking through the park, scaring the children with the mask and fear gas, but that seemed like a lifetime ago now. So much had changed since then. The hope was that he would never regain access to Scarebeast. Jason wasn't sure if he could go through that again.
Jason had skipped out on a couple of therapy sessions, mostly because he was out of town, but he was trying to lay low from Julia. The woman was becoming a nuisance on his life with the constant calls and text messages. Her understood it; she was feeling hurt from her broken marriage and she was rebounding with him. It seemed that she had always had some sort of feelings for him, which were unknown to him, but he had been focused on another person at that time. It seemed that was always the case with him. It had been his girlfriend previously and himself now. There was no way for him to have a functional relationship, not like this. He couldn't even have a functional relationship when it only happened once a month. If Crane was around permanently it meant that Jason had resigned himself to the life of never having a meaningful relationship again. Which, quite frankly, was likely for the best.
Crane had found what he was looking for, though, and he fought like hell to take the materials with him to the next session with Julia. Jason had resisted several times but the other man didn't care. The woman knows too much as it is, he would say and Jason couldn't think of a good retort for that. When he had felt like the last man on earth, he had gone to her office and made a fool of himself. If she thinks we're trying for one moment you know what will happen. It was something that Jason couldn't even argue. She knew a lot and he certainly didn't want this but he would give Crane an opportunity.
When he had arrived it was business as usual and he sat on the chair opposite her. The gas was in a bag next to him and he claimed to need to grab his phone for a moment to turn it off, instead opening the bag enough to let it fill the air around them. The session started before it started to take hold of her. He smiled and cocked his head to the side and asked her what was wrong. At first she didn't respond and she tried her best to shrug off whatever was going on inside of her. Then it became too much to handle. "I don't know what's happening but... Oh god." She broke down in a puddle on the floor, crying about her failed marriage, how she didn't want to be alone, how she would be a single parent. Jason just watched it all happen knowing there was nothing that he could possibly do now. Crane watched in delight, head still slightly cocked. He rose from the chair and crouched on the ground next to her, arm on her shoulder, and he gave it a couple pats. "There, there. Don't you worry. I'm going to take good care of you."