& * GOT ME ON MY KNEES !

“I just mean… faith. In myself, in people, in the world as a whole. Faith that good actions will be rewarded in time and that my actions can make a difference. There are a lot of things to have faith in. I guess I was thinking more faith in myself and faith in other people really. Sometimes you just have to wonder about things,” she said, shaking her head a little. She didn’t like to admit to her lack of trust in most people, but it was there and quite strong actually. “That’s… it’s very sweet of you but I don’t know if now is the time for that, love.”

she listens, nodding her acknowledgement. “well, yeah. i get that. it can shake sometimes and things can get kinda bad. but in the end it pays off cause you’re stronger than before, right?” layla ventures, hesitant. she feels pretty uncertain discussing this sort of thing with someone she doesn’t know too well, especially since the details of it were all so unclear. “i get that, don’t worry. i’m not trying to be a weirdo, i swear, i just.... - don’t really know how to help?”

Phoebe’s taste in movies wasn’t particularly wide - musicals, comedies, and romance were how far it went for her. Nothing else seemed to take her interest, really. Of course she had heard of and new the basics of a lot of superheros - Spiderman, Superman, Batman, even Deadpool, ( though he wasn’t exactly a hero, Phoebe kindly reminded herself ) they were all extremely hard to miss, but Hawkeye was definitely one she hadn’t heard before, or knew a thing about. “… that’s true. I just like to think Pawdrey’s not a total jerk, but sometimes I guess I just need to accept that he’s not going to love everyone… or really, anyone,”she said with a laugh, shrugging her shoulders. “… but he is cute. If you ever need a dog sitter, I totally volunteer.”

oh, deadpool. that movie release was exciting for layla, considering one of her favorite characters of all time finally was released to the mainstream.... - makes getting merchandise a lot easier, at any rate. she’s spent an embarrassing amount of money on comic book merch, since a lot of it she has to order from sites like etsy. worth it. “well, at any rate, at least he’s got a big personality, right?” she laughs along with the other easily. “just like people, though. i know a couple who i think pawdrey would majorly remind me of. oh! well, thanks. i don’t travel much - or... do much, really, so i don’t think i’ll be needing a sitter anytime soon. but i’ll definitely keep you in mind if i do!”

“Huh, you might be onto something. Though I’m still weary of potential robots. Maybe I should stop taking about robots at all.” she nodded, suddenly noticing the girl’s arms. “What’s with those? if you don’t mind me asking. Fight with a squid?” she questioned, laughing at the own joke. “Not born, but raised here. It’s amazing I still manage to find new people in town.”

“you know, it might be a voldemort-in-the-deathly-hallows sort of situation. anyone who says ‘robots’ too often is tracked in case they know too much,” she jokes. at the question about the stains on her arms, layla grins and shrugs openly. “nope, nothing so interesting. i’m an artist, and i had to meet a noon deadline, which means a ton of tracing was done this morning... - right? though you do look kind of familiar. did you go to town high school?”

“A big strong tough guy?  You remember who you’re talking to, right?” he asked with a raised eyebrow, gesturing at himself. His lack of manliness was something he was not the least bit ashamed of. In fact he almost took pride in it. “So you talk back with me a little. It will be fun and you can talk and work a the same time, it’s no biggie,” he urged, grinning at her and even fist pumping in success at her final question. “Spongebob? South Park? Adventure Time? I’m flexible.”

“you could be a big strong tough guy if you wanted,” she mutters, arms crossed over her chest. “..... - i’m not gonna be able to get anything done if we’re talking! i don’t even talk to theo when i’m in the zone, and he’s my roommate.” she sighs and shakes her head a little, though it’s clear she’s lost. “don’t fist pump, nerd. hanging out with me isn’t that exciting,” layla informs him. “i have to get my things from my place, then.”

“How many heroes exist?” Levi raised an eyebrow, not realizing how large the world got. “Still crazy,” he finally encouraged, flashing her an overly kind smile. After hearing that he could see himself as a superhero, he definitely didn’t want to say anything to upset the girl. “Oh, phew,” he said, wiping his brow as if he’d actually been concerned by the cost. “… can you actually charge a thousand for something? I say do it. I wish I was talented. I’d do the stuff in my free time. Quick money,” he said, snapping his fingers. “… I’m a greedy bitch, however, but… lips sealed,” he promised.

“too many to count,” she informs him sheepishly, smile still in place. “lots of em will probably never make it onto the big screen, which means they’ll stay pretty anonymous. like... squirrel girl, for example. even though she kinda got more popular after anna kendrick expressed interest....” she trails off, not wanting to ramble the way she usually tends to when she’s talking about comics. “uhm, i don’t know, actually. if i did want to charge that much, it wouldn’t be for something drawn in the comic style,” she admits. “it’d likely be a commission piece that i painted. once i did a mural in someone’s living room for eight hundred, though. that was fun. a greedy bitch? i dunno, you seem pretty nice to me, so i’ll just have to take you at your word.”

He looked up at her with a small laugh, though one that lacked any real humor. This was always something of a sore spot for him. “I’ve been trying since I was seventeen and I haven’t gotten any better. I’m not sure why I even bothered to try again.” Of course he did know why but he wasn’t about to admit that, especially not to a stranger. “Some things you need to have some degree of natural talent if you ever want to make a living out of it and that’s not something I’ve got.”

Chris giggled at the words herself, shaking her head. “Then again I suppose they have a point that sometimes things that seem really far fetched are the truth. Maybe that just means they’ll be better prepared for those kinds of things,” she offered, smiling a bit and looking as though she was joking. “Oh, I remember that, I just haven’t kept up on trends these last couple of years. I…. don’t really like having my picture taken so I avoid it.”

"or the apocalypse,” she points out jokingly. “have you seen that movie zombieland? one of the main character’s rules for survival is ‘always check the back seat’. so i figure i might as well get in the habit of it while there aren’t any zombies around, right?” layla laughs, nose scrunching slightly. “well, that’s understandable!” a thought to the general effect of witness protection program flits through her mind, but she doesn’t voice it, cause - how fucking stupid do you have to be? especially if the other is in the witness protection program. “honestly, there’ve only been a couple of trends over the years and i really dont think many have been flattering, so you haven’t been missing out on much.”

“That does not sound like a fun life. If I’m going to start bleeding profusely, I want to at least know why,” he responded, looking over at her without moving his head from where it was. Carefully he grabbed the tissues, wincing as he pulled the one away from his face and replaced it. “It’ll be fine. Somehow my nose magically hasn’t been broken any of these times. I have plenty of shirts, it’s not big deal,” he said, casually waving his free hand without a care.

“well, no, i can’t imagine getting nosebleeds is fun.” she gives him a vaguely amused look before disappearing and coming back with one of the older towels from her linen closet. holding it out to him, she gives him a contemplative frown. “well, still. here. it couldn’t feel good to do that,” she gestures at the discarded bloody tissue. “you wanna tell me what exactly you did that got you punched in the nose?”

“I don’t see why it would. Hearin’ it almost every day is a goddamn blessing, Layla… you’ve got me on my knees,” he sang mockingly, leaning forward to make sure no one else around heard him. He was starting to feel a little more relaxed around her. He was concerned for the conversation about why he had abandoned her and the rest of their friends, but for now, they could just feel normal again. Or the closest to normal as Angelo could get, now. “… cut what out?” There was real confusion on his face at her words. “Cut out being honest? ‘Cause… fine. You sucked. You were crazy ugly, I barely wanted to talk to you fuckin’ ever. Is that what you wanna hear?” He lowered his chin, squinting suspiciously. “It… it worked? I don’t think I did. I actually hated you that whole time,” he went on, before lifting his coffee to his lips with a roll of his eyes. “Jacob Chambers was, and still is, a giant fuckin’ prick. Now he’s just a sadder one. I mean, can I talk? Not really, but… still. Fuck him.”

“stop!” she exclaims, though it’s coupled with a giggle - this is the sort of cadence she knows. knew, at least. the way things used to be comfortable and light and just.... generally alright. feels like something’s looming, though. it’s easy enough to ignore as long as the conversation keeps going. nose wrinkles slightly, “come on, now you’re just being dramatic. really, it’s not that big of a deal. i’m all about honesty, you know that.” except when it comes to her family, the nagging thought in the bag of her head persists. “i’m not lookin for anyone to lie to me and tell me i was cute when i wasn’t. i know i wasn’t. but i’m sorta alright now and that’s more important than what i looked like when i was a kid,” she shrugs. “you’re right, though. jacob chambers was a dick. i almost modeled one of the villains in the series i’m illustrating after him, but i kinda chickened out at the last second ..... - also i didn’t want to immortalize his big dumb face like that.”

“You know what I mean,” he said, gesturing around vaguely. Angelo had his own plans - ones that involved going to college, so there was a part… a very small one, that was jealous she had gotten there, at least. He raised an eyebrow as she sent on to explain her ventures into music, nodding his head slowly. “That’s… good. Yeah,” he said simply.He would have wondered why he didn’t go on to do anything positive with his own talents in music, but there was always that voice ringing in the back of his head, quickly reminding him that it wasn’t good in the first place. Only one person had ever liked anything he liked, and that had been out of pity. His mood slipped down, a little more reserved. “… I wouldn’t recommend it,” he said eventually. “Seriously. Not good for your health or… your anything. You come out of there feeling like you lost two years of your life. Which is good news for me since I’m there every damn day, but…” He shook his head. “Not safe.”

"i guess,” she relents, “but i don’t really think it counts as further. people’s lives go different ways and at different paces. just the way it is.” she’s starting to feel a little.... disheartened, almost. his replies are so short, and he’s not offering up too much about himself. layla’s an open book, really, and almost always has been. she loves to talk and chat, and she knows angelo isn’t like that but she also thought that - given their history - he’d maybe be a little warmer. a hand runs through her hair awkwardly, her smile looking a little forced. “hey, don’t sweat it! i can take a hint.” a glance to her watch, too quick for her to actually tell the time. “i should probably get going, actually. i’ve got..... stuff to do.”

“Does your nose just spontaneously start gushing blood? Because in that case I’d be a little concerned about your health. I don’t know why everyone thinks I should be riddled with health problems, I’m fit as a fiddle,” he grumbled, shaking his head though immediately regretting that decision as she grabbed the table for support. “Yeah, yeah I know. But it’s more comfortable this way. And looks less like a horror show.”

“That’s true. We were born with all that crazy stuff, but I’m sure I’ll struggle when robots turn into our servants or hologram calls become a thing somewhere in 2050″ she joked, briefly wondering if such thing existed. “She should know. Believe me I’ve thought her a hundred times before. But for some reason she just can’t get it through her head. Of course, everytime I lose patience with her, she reminds me she taught me everything I know. It gets pretty tense” she giggled,, shaking the girl’s hand. “Oh, I’m Madi. Old or new in town?”

“What a minute, but can that be legit, though?  Like, it sounds really crazy, but we have self driving cars these days.  I wouldn’t put it past them to come up with something like that, your mom might be right!”

“… depends on the bills really,” was all Zoey replied with, looking away and shrugging. Her situation was rough as far as money went and it didn’t help that she was trying to support other people with it as well. “I’d rather save up anyway. I’d rather have money in the bank than some small shit that’s not going to last long anyway,” she decided, shaking her head. “A dog?” she asked, if only to help make conversation.

“Exactly,” she agreed, smiling brightly at the other. “I’m glad you think so. The guys are fantastic. They can do things with cars I didn’t even think were possible out side of the movies. Oh, I just help out where I can. I was just annoying and refused to leave unless they taught me how to do things.” She giggled, shaking her head. “Holy Roller? I like it. I had a hand here and there but I was focusing on other things in the shop mostly. You’re our last pick up today.”