Chapter Two: The Movie

[backinthsaddle]

Today was the last day of finals for Cole, and it's with a silent sigh of relief that he heads home, ready to ditch the books for the summer. Not that he'll stop studying altogether, but a break is welcome after the week long cramming session.

Liam doesn't appear to be home once he gets back to the apartment, but he's slowly been getting used to there being someone else living there, and she isn't really the going-out-and-about type, at least not right now. So he makes a little noise on his way in, so he doesn't startle her.

Comments

[victormakesart.livejournal.com]

"I can't imagine that'd take any less than three days to get right."

[backinthsaddle.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, something like that."

[victormakesart.livejournal.com]

She leans over and... very, very deliberately ruffles his hair. "Good luck, now you have three more days of work ahead of you."

[backinthsaddle.livejournal.com]

He pretends to be dismayed, and runs his hands through his hair. "All my hard work, ruined forever." But he definitely doesn't mind, especially since she's enjoying herself, and reaching out voluntarily.

[victormakesart.livejournal.com]

"I'm a terrible person," she intones flatly, then she winks. "A being of great wickedness, ruining pretty hair from sea to shining sea."

[backinthsaddle.livejournal.com]

"Is that your evil superpower? Should I start calling you the Fashion Disaster?"

[victormakesart.livejournal.com]

"Oh, honey, people've been callin' me that for years. In slightly different words." She grins hugely. "I once made a fashion designer choke on his soup, just by walking by."

[backinthsaddle.livejournal.com]

"Really?" Sounds like there's a story behind that one.

[victormakesart.livejournal.com]

"Yeah. I was just walkin' around Houston, but I was in, like, lime green stockings, this turquoise skirt with sequins, a mustard yellow scarf, this giant floppy red and purple hat, an orange and red shirt, a pink furry coat, rollerskates, and twelve necklaces."

[backinthsaddle.livejournal.com]

He winces just thinking about it. "Why twelve?"

[victormakesart.livejournal.com]

"Because I could. That's the only good reason for anything, as far as I'm concerned."

[backinthsaddle.livejournal.com]

"Fair enough, I guess." That does seem to be the way she rolls.

[victormakesart.livejournal.com]

"It was fun. A good day." Speaking of good days.... "I'm making something. To make it so I can go outside again."

[backinthsaddle.livejournal.com]

"What's that?" It's a good sign that she's creating already, even if it isn't art or writing.

[victormakesart.livejournal.com]

"It's a mask. I... I've always wanted to be a hero. Maybe, if I pretend to be a superhero, I can feel brave enough to go out. And a mask'll mean that no one's looking at me. Or, when they are, they're not really looking at me."

[backinthsaddle.livejournal.com]

That gets a bit of a pause from him. He'd just been joking about the supervillain thing; he hadn't realized she'd been actually thinking about it. Well, minus the villain part. "That's... really interesting." And if it gives her the courage to go out again... why not?

[victormakesart.livejournal.com]

"I guess it's kinda stupid. But... I haven't been able to. Go out, I mean. I tried yesterday and then I had a panic attack and...." That's why she spent the rest of the night hiding in the workout room. "And I think if I could just be someone else for a while, it'll get easier."

[backinthsaddle.livejournal.com]

"You'll need to think of a name... and more of a costume, I think."

[victormakesart.livejournal.com]

"Actually... I have, uh. Ideas. I just haven't put it to paper yet."

[backinthsaddle.livejournal.com]

"Maybe that's the other thing you can use the notebook for," he suggests.

[victormakesart.livejournal.com]

"Yeah. I'm thinking... um. Like, a plague doctor mask, a long coat, a green wig. It'll give me a lot of pocket space. Do you know about plague doctors? They're pretty cool."

[backinthsaddle.livejournal.com]

"Tell me about them?" he asks. Cole does actually know a little bit, but he doesn't mind her talking, and telling him more.

[victormakesart.livejournal.com]

"They've got white bird masks, and waxed overcoats, and they were around during the Black Death. They thought the herbs they stuffed in the nose of their masks would protect them from the bad air, but really it was the wax. It kept away the fleas from the rats that passed the infection."

[backinthsaddle.livejournal.com]

"So they were half-right, just for the entirely wrong reasons."

[victormakesart.livejournal.com]

"Exactly. And I love the ritual of it all. The idea that, if we just do this, and this, we'll be safe."