MCA #4, Saturday Morning

[myownface]

Deep breath. Exhale.

...

Deep breath.

...

Exhale.

Dial.

Deep breath.

And hit send.

Sparkle had a call to make today. One he'd been putting off since forever, and his last excuse had run out. The island was back to normal. He didn't have to worry about The Big Stuff being completely derailed because he woke up one morning underwater or he couldn't leave the house because there were dinosaurs or on account of nightmarish penance zombies. Dr. Lecter had given him the number to phone, and yeah, he knew it was Saturday and yeah he knew it was early, but he was kind of hoping he could just leave a message and wait for a phone call back on... Tuesday. Because long weekend! See? Smart. Sparkle was super smart. It wasn't procrastinating if there was Labour Day to contend with.

Somebody actually answered the phone.

"Um."

That wasn't supposed to happen.

Shit. Shit shit shit.

"Hi, uh. My name is Sparkle," and ugh, he felt like he wanted to vomit just spitting out his last name, too, but he kind of had to in this case. "Dr. Lecter suggested I call you. Yeah. Dr. Hannibal Lecter. He said you're probably the best lawyer for... a couple of cases I have, I guess. Yeah. Yeah, I can talk right now, sure. So..."

It was not a short phone call.

Dr. Lecter had picked a good lawyer for the job, for sure.

But by the time Sparkle had hung up the phone again, he was looking a little green. That was fine. This was fine. It was all going to go super well, and...

If anybody needed him, he was going to just be burying his face in a pillow and screaming himself hoarse.

Sparkle Vs. The Criminal Justice System was off to an excellent start.

[OOC: Open! Probably not happy! But open! TW: Both threads contain some talk of child abuse/grooming.]

Comments

[biotic_psychotic]

Jack hadn't yet left for the picnic. She heard the scream and something snapped.

Because she knew that sort of scream.

Didn't bother with the stairs, she just slid down the railing, hopped off at the end and planted herself outside Sparkle's door. A fist hammered against it and she snarled, "Sparkle!"

Probably sounded furious and she was, but it wasn't at him. It was at that noise. That animal-in-a-trap sort of screaming.

[myownface]

Sparkle froze. Fell dead silent and just sat there with wide eyes staring at the door for what felt like forever, if forever could be condensed into only a few seconds.

Considered just not opening the door. Maybe he didn't hear her. Maybe he was too busy being loud to hear... a snarl and a heavy pounding on the door. Sure.

He stared at the pillow in his arms. It was frustratingly unhelpful right then.

So he pulled in another breath.

Good day for breathing.

And made his way to the door.

"... Does this require pants? Because I don't want to pants today."

He was wearing comfortable around the house clothes. So. Boxer shorts. They had rubber ducks on them.

[biotic_psychotic]

That was a hell of a question. What the fuck did she even do with a question like that?

"I don't fucking care if you have pants on or if you're naked but for a pair of underwear on your goddamn head," she settled on finally, "but you're going upstairs if I have to throw you into Lift and haul you along like a fucking balloon so if it'd be weird for you to not have pants on moving through the halls then you're gonna wanna pants."

Maybe.. try to sound less like a pissed off mama lion? "You're screaming. And Atton's not bellowing at you so that means the fucker ain't home yet. Which means you're alone in your apartment and you're screaming and no. 'Snot happening. You can come sit upstairs in my apartment and get fed and enough alcohol poured into you that you can't scream."

She cared, really.

No.

Really.

[myownface]

Sparkle stood there on the other side of the door in silence for a moment, and then reached and opened the door slightly, muttering, "I'll get some pants, then," as he turned to walk away. To head to his room. Remedy the rubber ducky situation.

Look longingly at his pillow, because he could totally just be screaming into it some more right now...

[biotic_psychotic]

Jack poked the door with a finger, opening it still further. Didn't go inside. She lounged against the door frame with her arms crossed over her chest and waited for him to come back.

[myownface]

When Sparkle made his way back, he had, in fact, accomplished pants. He'd also accomplished an old t-shirt with the sleeves ripped off.

And kohl. And spiked hair.

It had seemed like a day for it.

"So," he said, hands shoved into his pockets, posture a little less open than usual. "Someone was talking about doing some day drinking, huh?"

[biotic_psychotic]

"Yeah," Jack drawled, and she didn't miss the makeup change, "I'm pouring enough alcohol into you that you tell me what the fuck's going on with you and you puke all over Atton when he comes home tomorrow."

Goals.

She nodded at the stairs, "Up you go."

[myownface]

"He might come home today," Sparkle mumbled. "Maybe he's coming home right now. Or maybe he's just sleeping really hard. Maybe I'll get to puke on him tonight, instead."

... Lucky Atton.

Still, Sparkle was shuffling toward the door, eyes on the stairs, mind drifting in about a hundred directions at once.

[biotic_psychotic]

"He wouldn't have slept through that," Jack told the back of his head, following him up the stairs, "and I'd have heard him. Just remember to be the little spoon when the puking starts so he can keep you from rolling onto your stomach in it."

You're welcome.

"You wouldn't be getting all this caring and compassion from me if he were here but he's not, so you're stuck with me for now," Jack said, "You worry me and you get what you get. Which right now is enough booze to swim in and as many calories as I can stuff into you. And talking."

[myownface]

"Talking?" Well, that came out of Sparkle sounding a little more small than he'd wanted it to. He bit the inside of his cheek for a moment.

Didn't like that. Didn't know what to do with it. Wasn't so sure he wanted to really face any of it just yet already. "Could handle some swimming. Summer's almost over."

[biotic_psychotic]

"No actual swimming with ethanol onboard," Jack told him, "Bad plan. You'll wind up with saltwater in your stomach and that'll make you yack for sure." Yes I had to, shut up.

"Talking," she said firmly while pushing her door open and gesturing him inside, "You've looked like a prey animal for awhile now and I want to know why you feel that way." She.. didn't know how else to put it. "I'm bad at this. I'm real fucking bad at it, Sparkle, but this is me trying to be your friend and not.. you know.. me."

[myownface]

Sparkle looked at her quietly for a moment as he slipped through the door. And then hiked up a shoulder a little. So he was wearing it on his sleeve a little. Shit, he'd have to work on that.

Was going to probably look like hell for a while to come, and that just made him feel tired, now.

Or like crying. Crying a lot.

"Yeah, I know," he replied, biting the inside of his cheek. "Guess I can't plead 'Fandom' anymore, huh?"

The reality-hopping had been a nice, convenient excuse, at least.

[biotic_psychotic]

She shut the door. Didn't lock it, she never locked the door when she was home. Wasn't worth the effort, anyone coming through that door was either someone she'd like to see or would be a new wall coating moments later.

Went to the kitchen and hauled out booze and juice. Cheese, salami type meats, olives, cherries, things like that. Picky foods. Things he could fidget with. They were summarily slid onto the counter.

"You could," she said slowly, "If that's the bullshit you want to spread, you could. You'd have to make the story good and thick for me to buy it because I was here this summer too, most of it. And if you want me to believe the bullshit, I could probably pretend to do that too. If that's what you need me to do, I could probably do it. But that might not be the best thing for you to want me to do."

[suitably_heroic]

"Ow," Atton called down the hall.

Laconically, not seriously.

... He was worried.

[myownface]

Sparkle answered that with another scream.

Also into the pillow.

And then he threw the pillow against the wall.

He was fine!

[suitably_heroic]

Yeah, he'd had a feeling.

Atton sighed. "We still have a security deposit on this place, you know," he said, padding into the living room.

Well, technically he had a security deposit, but those distinctions were fuzzy after space knew how many years.

[myownface]

"I'm not gonna break the place with a pillow," Sparkle replied, all out of scream and sinking hard and fast into 'sulk' instead. "I don't use pillows to break places."

He just burned them down.

[suitably_heroic]

"It's just a casual reminder," Atton said, ever so casually dropping his ass down on the sofa. "So... that either went very well, or very bad."

[myownface]

"I think it kinda just went," Sparkle said, after a long pause, sort of sitting there and staring at... things. Just stuff. Not really feeling like falling into focus on anything just yet. "He'll take my case. Cases? He'll do the lawyering thing and he seems like he really knows his shit and I stand a pretty good chance of getting off with, like, community service if I take this his way."

[suitably_heroic]

"And you feel like someone just punched you in the face."

Pause.

"Not listening in on purpose, I swear."

[myownface]

"I feel like someone just punched me in the face," Sparkle agreed. And swallowed. And glanced Atton's way. "He said it'd be easier to get me off the hook for the arson and even to build a case that I had reason to fear for my own safety if I went to prison if we go after Lewis first."

And Sparkle sure as hell wanted to stick it to Lew. But he'd sort of, in his head, had the order of operations in reverse.

[suitably_heroic]

"I guess it makes sense," Atton said. "Prove that guy was an asshole who ruined your life at every turn first, then work from there."

He met Sparkle's gaze. "It's smart, actually."

[myownface]

"I hate it," Sparkle said, staring back at Atton with eyes that had gone just slightly too wide. He didn't want to be this terrified, knew he'd be safe, if not okay, but he kind of wanted to fetch his pillow and do some more screaming. "I fucking hate it, I'm going to have to see him again. If I do this, if I nail his ass to the fucking wall I'm going to have to go there and stand up and talk about being a fucking victim and I'm going to have to look at him and listen to him and..."

And.

It was Lewis.

Lewis had broken his fucking heart.

But he'd broken his fucking head first.

[suitably_heroic]

"And claw a few parts of yourself back from wherever in space he left them," Atton said, voice mild. But only because it usually was - a flat dry drawl. "If you're ready for that."

[myownface]

"I just want this to go away," Sparkle said, sounding more than a little plaintive. "I want to know that asshole isn't out there having unconsummated love affairs with other fucking stupid kids who just wanted someone to approve of them. And..."

He gave a tired sigh.

"... And I want to claw a few parts of myself back from wherever in space he left them," he acknowledged, quietly.