A Series of Unlikely Events - Boring Teenagers Date

[madesomenoise]

The movie was...it was pretty okay. Mostly, Girl had spent it being very aware of her own boundaries, very aware of Carson's. She's never been in this situation before. Any connections she'd managed to make out in the Zones had been fleeting, a few hours at most, warm bodies in scavenged sheets. This is different. This is a boy who had wanted to spend time with her, who'd danced with her. At one point, she'd wanted to hold his hand so much her fingers had itched.

She'd held onto a fistful of her skirt instead.

After the movie, the Mall feels incredibly, intensely bright. Girl had spent what felt like hours getting ready while Poison had helped. He'd picked out the polka dot skirt flaring slightly just above Girl's knees. Her hair is up, held back with red cotton that matches her lipstick.

Why does she still want to hold his hand?

"So," she says. "What are we doing next?"

Comments

[boywhoflew]

"Fair point," Carson conceded with a nod. He wondered if he should feel guiltier for still taking so much for granted, but she doesn't seem offended so he idly runs his thumb over the soft bump of her knuckle. "I guess I just didn't really think about it much. That probably sounds privileged as shit. But I dunno. I grew up in this really normal town. Yeah, some people struggled more than others, but they didn't really struggle."

"Honestly, I don't think I really got it until I got here and had to start over. It was a pain in the ass at the time." He chewed the inside of his cheek thoughtfully. "It's cool it was the opposite for you though. I'm glad you're getting that chance to really pick your style and express yourself. I mean. I know I didn't say it earlier, but you look really nice." She looked stupidly nice, which was at least half the reason he hadn't said as much before. It just seemed unnecessary.

[madesomenoise]

She's got her mouth open to say something but then his thumb brushes her knuckle like that and a shot of electric warmth sinks into her belly and, for a moment, she can't do anything but ride it out. She drags in a breath through her nose and then smiles at him.

"Yeah, everything's a struggle in the Zones. Especially because I've been on my own for as long as I have. I like the idea of growing up in a normal town. Like the idea of you growing up in a normal town. I wouldn't wish the Zones on anyone." She looks down at herself, a little warm colour flushing across her cheeks. "Poison helped."

[boywhoflew]

Part of him was tempted to argue that was easy for her to say seeing as she'd never been to Clover, but perspective was a funny thing. He'd hated it there. He'd hated the small minds and the small lives, but as much resentment as he'd carried through out the years, there was no denying how safe it had been. People rarely wanted for much, and usually what they had wanted for had been extravagant. Even his own dreams of university and a big career, which had seemed huge but reasonable, would have been impossible and luxurious for someone like her.

Short of a low budget movie and mall pizza, he just didn't know what else he could offer to show her how normal of a life she now had a chance at.

"He sounds like a good dad." He agreed, and maybe some of the things she mentioned sounded odd, but the love as blatant. "It must be crazy, getting to see him after so long. I only saw my mom less than six months ago, but I don't know what I'd do if she was here." If he had to guess it would have been some torn combination of hugging her until neither of them could breathe and shoving her into a dark hole and hiding her. But the idea of ever seeing her, or his dad or grandmother or even Malerie again seemed utterly impossible.

[madesomenoise]

"There were four of them, but I kind of think of him and Ghoul as my dads, I guess?" she says, her hand tightening a little in his as she thinks about everything she's lost. "Ghoul was like, the only other person I'd go to except Poison when I was clingy. Jet was amazing - calm, quiet, the best guitarist I've ever seen. Kid was Poison's brother and he was really, really quiet, but he told the best stories." A smile tugs at the corner of her mouth. "I remember more since I've seen him again. It's weird, like...It opened a door in my head or something?" She frowns. "That doesn't even make sense." She feels odd, suddenly, self-conscious. "You know, they didn't even give me a name? Suppose it just didn't occur to a bunch of teenage revolutionaries that they were supposed to name this kid they ended up with. So they just used to call me Girl."

[boywhoflew]

"It makes total sense," Carson disagreed, a small frown crinkling between his brows as he tried to paint a picture from her story. It was so muddled and vivid simultaneously, and not for the first time, he felt like he might be talking to some sort of comic book heroine. "I mean, you didn't see him for years, and all of sudden he's right there in front of you, right? Memories are weird. The human mind is weird. Have you ever smelled or tasted something, and then it reminds you of something that happened when you were a little kid, or of a certain person? So seeing him is the same deal. You just got reminded, is all."

Chewing at his lip, he glanced down at their joined hands in a bold move he hoped he wouldn't regret, threaded their fingers together. "I think," he started carefully. "That everything you dealt with, what all of you dealt with, was really jacked up. Maybe they didn't do everything right, but they tried. Maybe they could have done better, but they did what they could, right? Besides," he shrugged. "A name doesn't make you you. Whether you're Dee or just Girl, you're who you are." He felt an odd heat start to creep up the back of his neck again, and with a steadying inhale he shrugged again. "And I mean. I don't know you all that much yet. But from what I can tell, you're special. And not just for being a bomb, either."

[madesomenoise]

And then he's holding her hand properly, just like that, their fingers threaded together, and Girl feels her cheeks get hot, all of a sudden. She squeezes her hand, wants to reassure him that she appreciates him taking her hand like that. And then he calls her special and the urge to kiss him, right then, it overwhelming. She rides it out. She breathes through it.

"We picked me a proper Killjoy name when I got here, anyway," she says. She hasn't told him her full name yet, afraid, somehow, that he'd make fun of it. It means too much to her - it's too precious. "Like Fun Ghoul or Party Poison."

[boywhoflew]

"Those are pretty wild," he admitted, cocking his head and puzzling over it. His comic book theory, or at least his sci-fi theory, just kept feeling closer to being on point. Any kid who had called himself something like that back home would have probably been laughed out of town, or hauled in for drug testing by some concerned parent, but he had the idea that in Zones, wherever those were, that the rules had been hugely different.

He was suddenly thankful that his name had just come from his mom getting bored and watching an episode of Johnny Carson.

"Is there a meaning behind them?" He asked curiously, trying to ignore the nervous flip in his belly when her hand squeezed his. "Like, are the names random? They sound like they would be, but you never know."

[madesomenoise]

"They started off as military call signs during the war," she admits. "They were kids when they first started fighting. Mine's different because I chose it myself. I introduce myself to most people as Dee, but Poison calls me Sunny."

[boywhoflew]

That made infinitely more sense, he had to admit. He doubted any kid would be trusted to come up with something simple, and if he had to guess, the more distinct the name probably the better.

He was still pretty happy to have a simple name for himself, though.

"Sunny?" He questioned. Even if they hadn't known each other long, he had already grown so accustomed to the name Dee that it was difficult to imagine her as anything else. He had to admit though, there was a certain charm to it. Eyebrows pinching, something itched at his mind and he pondered for a moment. "Wait, Sunny Dee?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Like the juice?"

[madesomenoise]

"Yeah, Poison thinks that's pretty funny too," she says, rolling her eyes a little and nudging him with her elbow without letting go of his hand. "It's short for Sunshine. Sunshine Detonator. Because they called me Sunshine Girl when I was little and, you know," she shrugs, feeling silly and hating it. "Bomb."

[boywhoflew]

"Huh," Carson exhaled thoughtfully, purposefully ignoring the heat that rose to his cheeks when her small sharp elbow nudged his ribs. "I mean. I wouldn't have thought of that. But I've got to say? That's a lot cooler than strictly being named after a watered down orange juice."

He worried the inside of his bottom lip as he considered the name for a second, before nodding to himself. "You know what? That's a lot better than getting stuck with something like Ashley or Brittany. And you picked it yourself right? So you know it'll fit you." He glanced down at her. "Do you have a preference? I mean, do you like being called Dee or should I call you something else?"

[madesomenoise]

"You're blushing," points out Girl and then, on impulse, pushes up onto her very tiptoes to press a kiss against his flushed cheek.

"You could call me Sunny, if you wanted? Pretty much only Poison calls me that."

[boywhoflew]

He wasn't expected her to rear up on her toes and press a soft kiss to his cheek. That was probably the last thing he had expected and he was surprised enough that he almost misstepped but corrected just in time. He wouldn't have been surprised if there was a red smudge left behind by the stain of her lipstick, or if his face had managed to burn hotly enough to match the color.

Jesus he was in trouble.

"Maybe Dee then," he decided, thankful his voice was flat and steady instead of the squeak he half expected. "I'm not sure I want to call you the same thing your dad calls you. Kinda weird."

[madesomenoise]

"Dee," she echoes, grateful that her lipstick is a relatively expensive one and stays put when she kisses his cheek. It does, if anything, make him blush even hotter though. Girl finds that she likes that she's having that effect on him. "Yeah, okay."

[boywhoflew]

Carson nodded with a hum, intent on forcing whatever remaining heat lingered in his face to dissipate. They were most of the way through the mall and the foodcourt wasn't far off. He was oddly thankful that for an evening during summer vacation that it wasn't too crowded. There was still a fair number of families and other groups of teens and college students milling the area, but it was easy enough to ignore them when he had Dee's company and stories to focus on instead.

Glancing at the stores they were passing, he hesitated and glanced down at her. "You said you played guitar, right?" He asked, unsure if he was remembering the details correctly. "There's a music store up here. Do you want to take a look before we go eat?"

[madesomenoise]

Girl lights up when he suggests it, a sudden smile spreading across her face. She had her guitar at home, but they always remind her of Ghoul and Jet and that's not something she's about to pass up.

"Absolutely."

She toss Carson in the direction of the store, stopping in front of the window.

"Jet had one just like that," she says, pointing with one finger of her free hand, leaning into him as she studies the window display.

[boywhoflew]

Rather than put up a fight, Carson allowed himself to be tugged in the direction of the store window. What had been a mild suggestion was met with a rush of surprise at how brightly her face lit up under her smile, and it was enough to startle an awkward grin from him in response. He still felt like he had no idea what he was doing, but somehow he was managing to fake his way through successfully.

"Yeah?" He questioned, glancing at the guitar in the window and away from the pretty profile of her face as she leaned in against him. There was still that itch under his skin, the one that said having someone so close should be unpleasant and abhorrent, but she was soft and warm and smelled nice so it was easier to ignore.

"C'mon," he decided, tugging lightly on her hand and towards the open door of the shop. "Maybe they have a model we can look at while you tell me about him."

[madesomenoise]

"About Jet?" She lets him tug her through the door of the shop. "I don't talk about him as much as I talk about Ghoul. I don't know. Just easier to talk about Ghoul. Closer to the surface." She shrugs, suddenly self conscious. "Something." She wanders through the shop slightly ahead of him, her fingers loosely linked with his, still. "I remember them playing a lot."

[boywhoflew]

For a second he kind of feels like an ass for making assumptions, but their hands are still linked and he lets himself trail after her. With her polka dot skirt and the flash of red in her hair he's certain she looks more like she belongs there than he does. He only has a vague notion of the different kinds of instruments crowded into the shop, and his knowledge of the accompanying tech was worse, but it was bright and colorful and somehow it framed her nicely.

"So they kind of raised you around music, huh?" He hazarded, careful to not push into the later part of the story, the sadder one. "Is Ghoul the one that taught you to play? Or did you figure that out on your own?"

[madesomenoise]

"They both taught me," says Girl, glancing at him, smiling. She doesn't want to give him the impression that she doesn't want to talk about these things; she loves being able to talk about them when she kept it all bottled up for so long. "I remember, like, sitting in their laps and them showing me how to move my fingers on the strings? I play more like Ghoul though. It's more..." She makes a vague gesture with her free hand. "Chaotic? You should come the next time we do a gig."

She blushes darkly when she realises that she's essentially asked him out again.

[boywhoflew]

He could picture it. Probably a little too easily, but it simple enough to imagine a small slip of a girl with rampant curls sitting on some teenager's lap, plucking at strings and learning chords. In comparison to the darker things she had told him, the things that were dark and intriguing and tragic, it was just sweet enough to give him some relief. To explain how she could be so genuinely warm when she had no reason to be.

It took him a second to realize she was basically asking him out for a second date, and he was flummoxed enough that he had to clear his throat before he could answer. "I could give that a try," he answered dryly, squeezing her hand in contrast to his tone. Honestly concerts weren't his scene. Too loud, too many people, too little sensibility. But maybe joining the crowd would be worth it if he got to see her on stage.

Or earn another one of those stupidly pretty smiles.

"It's not chaotic, but I could show you some of my articles," he offered, it suddenly occurring to him that this wild girl might find him dull. "I have some from home, and ones I've written here. Most of its from school, but I'm hoping once I'm in college it'll be more hard hitting material."

[madesomenoise]

"Yeah," she says, smiling. "I'd...really like that, actually. I never went to school, so that might be really nice." She tugs her hand out of his, but only so she can reach for a guitar that looks exactly like Jet's. She lifts it carefully, almost reverently, sitting down in one of the available chairs and settling it across her lap.

"This is nice, right?" she says, looking doubtful for a moment. "You're having a good time?"

[boywhoflew]

The guitar she picks up seems almost as big as she is, and Carson watches with a sort of muffled amusement as she sits and balances the instrument across her lap. But even more appealing than the image of her sitting like that was the idea she might actually be interested in his writing, that she wouldn't roll her eyes and just barely humor it. He cracked a grin in response before he could help it and made a mental note to pull his best pieces, the ones he was most proud of, so he could show her.

"This is really nice, actually." He agreed, his grin crooked but stuck in place. He shrugged, hooking his thumbs in his pockets. "What about you? I mean. I promised you boring stereotypical and I delivered, right?"

[madesomenoise]

"Stereotypical, maybe, but I'm not bored," she says, running through a series of muffled chords. She bites her lip, practicing a particularly fiddly bit of fingering, one of the solos from Sing. She catches herself staring at him a little too long, the lines of his body, and blushes, looking down at her hands in feigned concentration.

"Nobody's ever done anything like this for me before."

[boywhoflew]

It figured that her blush would be as attractive as everything else she did, and Carson had to bite down on the inside of his cheek as he watched her slim fingers pluck out chords. There was something almost familiar about the tune she played, but for the life of him he couldn't place it, and it was difficult enough to pay attention when she had that nice color darkening her cheeks.

"They should have," he blurted out before he could help himself. "Well. I mean, I get why they wouldn't have had the chance. But this is something that gets taken for granted, right? At least for people like me. There's no reason you shouldn't get to just... go out. Do normal things. Learn to take it for granted yourself." He considered for a moment. "I'm-- uh. I'm glad you let me, though."