On that artificial cliffhanger, I think I’m going to leave off this session for the night and go grab something to eat. We’ll find out what Taylor just saw next time.

Which will be… Wednesday, I guess. See you then!

(Chrono link for part 1 of chapter 7.5)

I wasn’t the sort of girl Brian would be attracted to.  I knew that.

I don’t think you know shit about that, Taylor. This just looks like your lack of self-confidence speaking, which has been known to repeatedly make you unfavorably compare yourself to every other girl and ignore the idea that maybe, just maybe, guys look for more than just appearance.

I could settle for just his presence and friendship.  I could enjoy it if there happened to be casual body contact between us, even if it was a bit pervy.

Heh.

Our brief conversation had let me relax and start to enjoy the possibility of an evening in Brian’s company, but what I saw next was a bucket of cold water in the face.

Hopefully not literally.

Actually, what am I saying. Whatever this is is probably worse than a literal bucket of cold water.

…hm. Besides options like Empire mooks causing havoc in the streets, there’s also the possibility that they just arrived outside the apartment and Aisha is there. That would be very fitting for the cold water analogy, what with the associations between cold water and something ruining the sexual mood.

Granted, Empire mooks causing havoc in the streets would probably do that too.

I felt my ears warming up in the telltale sign of an incoming blush and looked away, distracting myself with an exhaustive investigation of a brown paper bag by the side of the road.

Smooth.

If I kept on that particular line of thinking about Brian’s better qualities, I was guaranteed to wind up saying or doing something to embarrass myself.

I can’t say I’d object to that, as long as it didn’t have negative long-term consequences. Unlike some friends of mine, I’m not bothered by second-hand embarrassment and can find that kind of scene rather funny and adorable if it’s done right. 🙂

I’m a sucker for humorous trainwrecks.

The bus arrived and we climbed on.  I flashed my school ID, while Brian paid with tickets.  I found an empty seat, and Brian stood next to me, holding the pole.  He was close enough to me that his leg pressed against my arm.  Even though I could have moved my arm away, I left it where it was.

Taylor does seem to be getting more comfortable with the contact, even if it does get her more flustered – whenever she thinks about it too much – than it would before Tangle 6.2.

“Yeah?  I’d owe you.”

“Gives us something to talk about while I’m staying over, too.”

Good, something to fill the time with. 🙂

“I don’t think we’ll lack for conversation topics,” he smiled at me.  That boyish smile that I’d noticed on day one.

😀

I think we’ve fairly solidly determined that Taylor likes when the boys – especially Brian – smile at her like this, haven’t we?

If I was being honest, I would even say it was tied with his voice for the thing I liked most about him, aesthetically.  It was maybe unfair to think so, but I generally saw the vast majority of teenage boys as awkward people that combined the traits of a child and an adult in the most unfortunate ways possible.

That’s… a fair assessment, in a lot of cases.

Brian was the opposite, and it was his voice and his smile that really nailed the effect.

Ah, yes, I can see that being the case – he’s very mature both physically and mentally, but he’s still got that playful, boyish vibe.

“After I was first introduced to the others, I did that a lot.  The guys complained about it, and my sister’s mentioned it too.  I take charge, make calls.”

Hm. This ties in with the conversation about how Brian might be able to handle Rachel better, in that it provides a reason for him to not want to take an official leadership role. It seems he’s naturally inclined to take charge (which is why he’s the de facto leader), but is trying to respect the others’ opinions and keep that down. As such, he might not want to take on official leadership because he’s worried it’ll enable him to become an overly controlling ass.

“Really, it’s cool.  It makes sense, given…” I paused, keeping the civilians that were in earshot in mind.  “…the situation, and I like your apartment, so I don’t mind staying there.”

Yeah, Taylor’s on board with this. Not particularly surprising, really.

“Yeah?”

“Definitely.  Hell, I’d have you decorate my apartment when I got a place of my own.”

Hehe.

He chuckled, “I’ll do that for you if you make me that outfit we talked about before.”

The costume.  I’d almost forgotten.

Sounds like a fair trade to me!

“Thanks for reminding me about that.  It sort of slipped my mind.”

“Considering it?”

“Yeah.  Maybe.  It’s a big job, but I guess I have more free time now, and, uh, yeah.  That’s pretty much it.  I could maybe do it, sure.”  

It would be pretty cool to have the team entirely outfitted with Taylor’s handiwork. Or, uh, spideriwork.

Obviously, I couldn’t and wouldn’t mention the fact that my decision to ally myself with the Undersiders for real was a factor.

Oh yeah, that. It seems like she’s deciding to keep that under wraps, at least for now.

He seemed to be deep in thought, and there was good cause for that, so I didn’t bother him as we walked to the bus stop.

“Am I being paranoid?” he asked me, as we arrived.

I don’t think so. The Empire coming after the Undersiders is a realistic threat at this point.

“I’m not the person to ask.  As far as I’m concerned, when you’re talking about capes, you can’t take too many precautions.  Especially with a group as influential as Empire Eighty Eight.”

I’m fairly sure Taylor would say that about pretty much anything, really. And

she

still wonders why people say she’s cautious?

“I’ll rephrase the question then.  Do you think the others will think I’m being paranoid?”

“Honestly?  Probably.”

Quite possibly Alec, at least. Lisa… is a bit harder to tell, and Rachel…?? I actually kinda feel like Rachel would agree the threat is there, even if she didn’t agree with the measures taken against it.

“Ready?” I asked Brian.

He nodded.  He’d pulled off the leather jacket and had it in a gym bag with his helmet.  He was wearing a guy’s tank top, beige, leaving his arms and shoulders exposed.  His skin glittered with the tiniest droplets of sweat, from wearing a jacket in the warm weather.

Maybe it’s not the weather that’s hot after all, eh, Taylor? 😉

I pulled my eyes away before my attention could draw notice.  I told Lisa, “We’ll see you guys later.”

“No, no, I need to stop looking before I start looking and people start looking at me.”

“Have fun,” she grinned.

Oh, Lisa sure knows what’s up here. ;3

Brian led the way outside, and again, I paused at the door’s threshold to collect some more bugs under my clothing and in my bag while I could still be discreet about it.  It wasn’t a lot, but it was something.

Probably a good idea to make this a habit. Taylor has found herself with too few bugs a little too often recently.

I hurried out of the bathroom, grabbed enough tops, underwear and socks to last me a few days.  I rolled them up to make them compact, and stashed them in my backpack around the armor for my costume, my weapons, the rest of my utility compartment stuff, two books and six hundred bucks in cash.  I slung the bag over one shoulder.  Heavy, but manageable. 

The moment she gets back into the living room, Alec stops a timer.

I left my room to rejoin Brian, tying my damp hair into a loose ponytail with an elastic while I walked.  I paused for just a second to extend one leg, toe down to touch the ground, so a collection of beetles, roaches and spiders could crawl up my leg.  They settled between my costume and my clothes.

Heh. Welcome aboard!

I could deal with bugs being on me, so long as they weren’t directly on my skin.

Yeah, that’s very understandable.