Participants:
| Scene Title | Delay Tactics |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | In an effort to avoid going clothes shopping, Kendall asks Melissa about some of the things he missed while dead. |
| Date | September 24, 2010 |
The day before Melissa was too pleased to have Kendall back to deny him much of anything. Especially a good night's sleep after doing all the illusions that kept him alive. Then both alive. Even Jerry abandoned her to curl up at Kendall's feet. He missed the boy too! And while she's normally not a morning person, she's up early today. A quick errand was made off the island, before she makes her way upstairs.
There's no knock, no warning, before Melissa enters his room, which was left exactly how it was a month ago. There wasn't even any cleaning, shockingly enough. She moves over to the bed and plops down on the edge, waking Jerry, before she grins and leans down to plant a big, loud kiss on Kendall's forehead. "Time to wake up, hon!" she says brightly.
Aww, man, Kendall was sleeping! He was tired! And now he's being woken up by someone in a very embarrassing manner. He jerks awake and blinks blearily at Melissa. "Whaaaaa?" he complains, rubbing his eyes. He actually had to shake out his sheets to get rid of the dust that was left on them in the month he was gone, but for the most part the rest of the room is still dusty. Grumbling, Kendall rolls over with his back facing Melissa, intending to go back to sleep.
Yep, that's the Kendall she knows and loves. Melissa grins and shakes her head, before she reaches over to ruffle his hair. "Oh c'mon. Wake up. Got breakfast downstairs, and you'n me gotta go shopping. Assuming you wanna go to a big party tonight where you might be able to sneak a glass or two of champagne. Actually, scratch that. We gotta go shopping, period. Now wake up, please? Try to remember it's been a month since I saw you, and that's one hell of a long time!"
Kendall sighs. "I don't think you're going to let me sleep regardless, but why shopping?" he peeks over his shoulder. "…video games?" he asks hopefully. "If it's been a mon—OH NO!" he bolts upright, looking very unhappy. "What's today's date?"
Melissa winces a little at the unhappy question. "September twenty-fourth. And that's an entirely different conversation. You've missed a lot of stuff," she says, sounding and looking wholly apologetic. "And shopping because you need something nice for this party. It's a formal sort of affair."
Kendall looks very unhappy. "Birth by Sleep came out on the 7th! I MISSED IT." there's been a whole 16 DAYS he hasn't been able to play the game! He's behind! "And what's this party and why do I need to go?" uh oh, she said formal. That means suits and ties. And behaving.
"I'll buy you the game while we're out," Melissa promises. "And it's a grand opening. They're surprisingly interesting in this city if the last one I went to is any indication. Besides, I'll make it up to you. I'll tell you how while we're out. So get dressed or I'm coming back in here with a bucket of ice water!" she warns, though she's smiling as she stands and leaves the room so he can get dressed. Or pass back out.
Kendall seriously considers sending an illusion of him out with Melissa and going back to sleep while invisible. His illusion will last as long as Melissa thinks it's him! He sighs. That won't work if they're going clothes shopping because his illusion would need to try on clothes. Aw, man. Getting up, Kendall hunts around for clothes, pulling them on. Can't risk the ice water, after all.
When he emerges from his bedroom Melissa is downstairs, sitting at the table and having breakfast. This might actually have a moment of deja vu for Kendall, though for him it was only yesterday that Mel got breakfast for them before a mission. The same sort of breakfast that's sitting on the table now.
Kendall eyes the breakfast. "Again?" he asks her, though it's been an entire month for Melissa. Oh well, it's good breakfast, so Kendall doesn't mind. "So… it's really been a month? I bet my friends and stuff wonder where I've been. Kendall also blinks innocently at Melissa. "I guess this means I dont have school anymore, huh?" pause. "Oh shit, what about my job? Did you… say anything to my boss?"
"Yeah, it's really been a month," Melissa says softly. "And some people know…some of it. For the most part I just said it was a tragic accident. Only a few people outside of Messiah know the truth. Raquelle was just told it was an accident. Um…Your parents were told. Not the truth, but just…told."
A few bites are shoveled in to give her time to think. "I guess no school. Be kinda odd when you're supposed to be dead. But you're gonna work then. After a bit. I'm fine with it if you just wanna stay home and be lazy for a few days."
Kendall pauses eating when she mentions his parents. "…oh." he looks down at his plate, fiddling with the food with his fork. "I… suppose that's for the best, huh." he adds, still not looking up. Then he kinda smirks. "Raquelle, you said? I wonder if I can play a trick on him." revenge for the smiley face thong thing, likely.
"I just…We thought it was the right thing to do," Melissa says, frowning, as though not sure she did the right thing. Then she smiles. "You can play a trick on him, so long as it's not too bad. Now hurry up and eat. We gotta shop! For that matter, we could go to Raquelle's. Get all gussied up for tonight," she says, eyeing his hair.
Kendall notices her looking at his hair, and lifts a hand to it defensively. "What's wrong with my hair?" he asks her. Then he sighs. "Do I have to get new clothes? I can look like I spent a million bucks on my clothes if I need to." obediently he continues eating.
Melissa arches a brow. "For an hour or more? With champagne?" She smirks then. "I heard how your illusion failed when you got a little tipsy on your date with Quinn…"
Kendall gapes at Melissa. "She…wh…" oh SHIT. "I don't know what you're talking about!"
That prompts a laugh. "Yeah, right. Two dates. I remember the guy you were pretending to be. And tsk. You should've told me. Bad Kendall, no cookie!" Melissa teases.
Date #2 is still fresh in Kendall's mind since it was just yesterday, and he winces in memory. "I still don't know what you're talking about." yeah, right, Kendall's a terrible liar.
"Liar," Melissa says without heat. "I suppose you've forgotten about the Old Spice incident too? Are you no longer the man my man could smell like?" Which oddly segues into, "We've got a new roomie by the way. Edgar. A speedster. Former carnie. Gonna juggle sharp things for the Labyrinth Ball."
Goddamnit, how is Melissa finding out about every embarassing thing that Kendall has done?! NO FAIR. "New roommate? a carnie?" he looks around the room. "When did we start becoming a circus?"
"He responded to an ad for performers for the ball, and we got to talking. We were in Moab together," Melissa answers as she leans back, her breakfast finished. "He's a good guy though. Fun, protective. Though he's got this fixation with using tampons for things they're not intended for. Like nose plugs and building…something."
"…" thanks to sex ed and general knowledge, Kendall does know what tampons are and how they're used, so the mental image is… kinda disturbing. "Is he… touched in the head?"
"Nah. He didn't know what they were when he decided they'd make good plugs for broken noses," Melissa says. "But there've been a number of things happen. Like Edgar, and the letter to your parents, and the ball. I think you'll like the ball. I actually had you in mind when I started planning it. Wished you could've been alive to go to it. Remember me making you watch the movie Labyrinth?"
"What is this ball you're talking about?" Kendall asks curiously. "Labyrinth, yeah, I think so." he peers suspiciously at her. "Why?"
"The ball is based on that. Specifically the ball in the movie," Melissa explains. "People'll show up in costumes of faeries and goblins, masked. Figured you could come up with something awesome to illusion for a costume."
Kendall tilts his head. "I see…. so think anyone'd mind if I went as Jareth?" smirk. "I'm sure there's plenty of people who wouldn't mind seeing David Bowie present. Of course, I'll need to see the movie again."
Melissa beams at him. "You remember! And no, I don't think anyone would mind. And you know where the movies are, so watch it all you want." She grins. "The costume I've ordered…it's a video game character who just happens to fit perfectly."
Kendall raises his eyebrows at Melissa. "You? Dress up as a video game character? There's hope for you yet. Which one?" maybe Melissa isn't as adult as Kendall thought she was.
The grin goes a bit impish. "Half spider chick named Mistress of Pain from Diablo III. Though I'm gonna nix the spider bit, because it would mean a platform with wheels and just…no."
Kendall sniggers, shaking his head. "Mistress of Pain? Fitting. You are the Mistress of Pain." not including all the ass kickings Melissa has done in the past.
"Exactly! I'd already decided on the costume before I heard that, and the name just made it so I had to use it," Melissa says, grinning. "Just too damn perfect. Now hurry up and eat. We have clothes to buy. Also, what would you think about adding onto the house? A bedroom or two?"
Kendall blinks at Melissa, looking around. "I dunno. I guess if you keep on taking in freeloaders you'll need to add more rooms." so says Freeloader #1. When Melissa mentions buying clothes again, Kendall deliberately slows down eating. DELAY TACTICS ACTIVATE.
And those delay tactics are recognized, because Melissa lightly kicks at his leg beneath the table. Then smiles sweetly. "Your opinion does matter, Kendall. It's as much your house as mine. And…um…I got fifty thousand dollars yesterday."
"Ow!" Kendall sulks when he's kicked, and sighs. "Fiiiiine." he finishes eating, bending down to rub his leg. That hurt! "Fifty thousand?! From who? Man, I wish someone would give me that much money." pause. "This wasn't from doing anything illegal, was it?" he has to ask and make sure.
"It actually has to do with how I came to see you in the past," Melissa admits. "Some old guy showed up. Said he'd help me get you back if I delivered some cash to a family in the past so they could leave the city. But Delilah and hiro showed up and told me that was a no-no, and helped me instead, and I was able to keep the cash."
Kendall blinks at Melissa. "Why didn't you give the money to that family, then? Doesn't seem like such a bad thing to me." Kendall shifts a little in his seat. It's still hard for him to come to grips with the fact that he had died, and that he's only alive now because they changed history.
"Because it would've changed the present for the worse," Melissa says, shrugging. "Now eat. We've got clothes to buy and hair to get made faaaaabulous." Someone doesn't want to talk about it!
"How would it have changed the present?" Kendall asks, hoping to distract her from shopping. Maybe he can make her squirm this time! He really, really doesn't want to be dragged clothes shopping.
Melissa arches a brow at him and just says, "Eat."
"I finished already." Kendall points out, nodding to the plate. He really did.
"Then let's go," Melissa says, smiling and rising to her feet. And she has no issues dragging him to the car before dragging him shopping. For nice clothes. Though she does also buy him the game. It's the least she can do.