Screaming Color

Roman flushes slightly at the praise, flag of pale pink lifting in his cheeks. “I’ve never really…thought about getting a pet, before,” he admits, smiling as he watches Tom’s elevator butt lift into the air. “But there were these fliers at the library, and I just, um, went in. And then I saw him.” He smiles again as Tom Bombadill flops over, seemingly happy to have two people paying attention to him at the same time. “They…they were advertising for younger kittens, but I saw him and he, um, he wouldn’t take his eyes off me. So I couldn’t just leave him.” He listens intently as she advises him, nodding slightly to let her know that he’s listening. “Do you, um…do you recommend any other toys?” he says. “I think he likes, um, those wand toys? But I worry the feathers will come off and he’ll…he’ll eat them.”

"I'm glad you did. I'm glad you gave this guy a good home. Now you're both happy." Tabby said simply. While she would never begrudge someone if animals weren't their thing, it always made her smile when someone became a pet owner. It was obvious to her how much Roman really cared about Tom. "Cats can be silly little creatures, I'd recommend a ball of tin foil just as soon as a fancy toy. They love cardboard boxes and tunnels and places they can hide. But if you're interested in wand toys but nervous about the feathers, they sell some with crinkly toys at the end. So if it snaps, the pieces are way too big to eat. Do you know if he was feral before? Or the people you got him from had him from an indoor litter? Because unless he's already hunted and eaten bird, I doubt the plain feathers would interest him."

“A  rainbow  gradient  would  really  hit  during  pride,”  Shreya  hummed,  “but,  trust,  it  would  slay  throughout  the  year  too.  Just  saying…  missed  opportunity.”  She  studied  the  rhinestones  for  a  moment,  “But  you're  probably  right.  It  would  be  soooo  much  work.  Hours  and  hours.”  Probably  too  long  to  be  worth  it.  Shreya  ran  her  fingers  over  the  already  stuck  rhinestones,  “Are  you  using  glue?  Or  holding  onto  the  hope  that  the  adhesive  on  the  back  is  strong  enough?”  Here  she  was  acting  like  an  engineer  or  something  –  as  if  she  knew  a  single  thing  about  cars  or  glue. 

"Ooh definitely! Maybe if I had a silver car, so the colors would show up better. But since my car's paint is on the darker side, I figured choosing a similar color for the rhinestones made the most sense." Tabby said, putting a mental pin in the idea of a rainbow car. Maybe for their next one, whenever that would be. "Nope, I'm using glue. Industrial strength stuff. These don't even have an adhesive backing, they're just plain rhinestones. That's what all the videos showed, so that's what I'm doing. And if they fall off, I'll either glue it back on or let it go. I'm not exactly driving a Rolls Royce, you know?"

“Unfortunately, some kids are scared of dogsDanny gets a little too excited when people come over, so he’s usually in my bedroom to avoid him jumping on people.” He had to start doing that after his dog tackled a ten-year-old to the ground last summer. “I actually do have one adult student! But most of the time, it’s kids ages 8-12. It’s not through the school, just a side hustle I have.”

"That's true, the little things. Danny's a bigger dog too, so even though he's nice and friendly, I imagine it could be scary for a kid. Especially if they're the same size." Tabby said, gently petting the dog in question, who was happily laying on the warm pavement. "That's cool though! It at least gives you something different. You can curse if you need to!"

"Oh sure! Though you can come by whenever and see them. I'm always adding more stuff to the car." Margot had an infinity to doodle and often times found herself adding small flowers to her car or little cat ears on the back pocket of her jeans. "Ooh outside lunch is always a plus of a happy work day. I've been good as well. I bought myself a Nespresso maker as a birthday present a few weeks ago and it's everything I dreamed it would be. Then I started re-watching Gilmore Girls for the 1,000th time."

"Good to know. One day you'll roll up and you'll be in a completely different car, all decked out. I'll have to go on a journey to find you inside it." Tabby watched as the clouds moved across the sky, making Margot's hair look lighter in the newly revealed sunshine. It was very pretty. "That sounds awesome, I'm very happy for you. I still have my old Keurig but I'm not the biggest coffee drinker so it works. But I'm glad it's everything you wanted." They said sincerely. "Huh, you know I've never watched that show. It's on my list but my list of things to watch is very long."

"pink  is  perfect,"  she  assures  tabby,  happily  taking  the  glass  and  clinking  her  glass  against  tabby's.  takes  a  hearty  sip  right  after,  nodding  at  the  pleasant  medium  bodied  taste.  "to  girl's  night  !"  she  laughs,  glad  that  the  two  were  already  settling  into  a  comfortable  rhythm  for  the  night.  she  always  worried  with  new  friends,  but  should've  expected  that  she  wouldn't  have  to  with  someone  already  so  similar  to  herself.  "i  think  they  all  mesh  together  really  well,"  eyes  wander  around  the  room,  still  taking  everything  in.  thought  back  to  the  days  she'd  had  a  roommate  of  their  own,  nearly  shuddering  because  they  were  not  able  to  mesh  their  tastes  nearly  as  well  as  tabby  and  vada  had.  "i  need  to  use  etsy  more  !  i'm  so  much  more  of  an  in  person  shopper,  i  need  to  have  my  hands  on  what  i  want  right  when  i  want  it,"  she's  an  impatient  woman,  but  at  least  she  knows  this  about  herself.  antique  shops  and  estate  sales  had  always  been  her  alley  for  that  very  reason.  eyes  widen  slightly  at  the  charcuterie  board,  before  she  falls  into  a  fit  of  giggles.  sure  enough,  it  exactly  remembered  the  's'  she'd  spent  so  much  time  of  her  adolesence  perfecting.  "okay,  that's  literally  PERFECT,"  following  tabby  to  the  living  room,  already  making  herself  comfortable  on  the  couch  and  pulling  one  of  their  couch  pillows  onto  her  lap.  "what's  the  best  find  you've  gotten  so  far  ?"

The sound of clinking glass makes Tabby light up, bubbly in her happiness, just like the wine. She corks the bottle so it won't go flat as they drink and hands it to Ofeliya so she can grab the board. Yowler is in his tank down the hall and Flora is dozing in her pet bed. "Thanks! I'm always looking for something fun. I wouldn't be surprised if the people at Home Goods know me by name. I say I'm going to just browse but I always end up bringing something home. Vada really puts up with a lot." Tabby laughed, shaking her head at herself. "But I do know what you mean. Sometimes the only way to do it, is in person. For household essentials or stuff you already know is fine, online works. But I think going into the store and trying stuff on or feeling the material. Seeing how big it actually is." Tabby hands Ofeliya a tiny fork, so she can start grabbing things from the board. Truthfully Tabby doesn't care if she used her hands, but some people are a little more cautious about germs and she wants to be accommodating. Friendship takes time and consideration. "On Etsy? Oh, well I found this seller who makes movie accurate jewelry. I bought this brooch that looks just like the one Sarah wears in Labyrinth. I love it so much and it's so beautiful, even by itself."

“hey, you sound like my agent.” although she hadn’t said cute, she’d said marketable. but it’s all the same to todd’s ego, anyway. tabby seems nervous to say it, but he’s hoping the easy way he takes the compliment makes her more comfortable. “no, you’re right. no one’s immune. I wouldn’t call this a fresh start for me, though. I have a little history with this place, and I came here because of that. if I wanted a fresh start, I would’ve gone to europe or something.” he’d wanted to be closer to the good memories, the last bit of blind hope. then he’d fucked it all up, so maybe a fresh start would be a good idea for him. “oh, you’d know, would you?” he asks instead, grin wide. “and how would you happen to know that?” from what little he knows about tabby, he wouldn’t be surprised if she trawls around ‘haunted’ sites in search of ghosts and ghouls in her free time. he’s never been into all that. even in his reading, he tends to lean away from the paranormal. he does love ghostbusters, though. he could imagine tabby having the uniform hung up in her closet. he shifts his weight again as they amble, more fidgety than usual. “I mean, it’s still actual water, it’s just in a tank.” probably not what she meant, but he’s said it now. “fucking cold water, too, by the way. and that’s very sweet of you, but you don’t need to do that. actually, it’s probably better if you don’t. I have a bit of a reputation.” he can laugh about it, but it’d eat him alive if tabby got dragged into any of his mess. “hey, and I hope you do, you deserve that happiness. despite popular belief, I actually think everyone deserves that kind of pure, all consuming love. if that’s want they want, obviously.”

"Toddy baby, just listen ta me! I'm gonna make ya a big star!" Tabby joked, taking her voice sound like an old timey gangster, miming holding a cigar. "Well then, I hope you get whatever you came to Cider Point for. Although, I wouldn't take Europe off the list either. It's very easy to forget your troubles when you're lying on a beach in Cannes. Or drinking an Aperol Spritz in Italy. Truthfully I don't know what those taste like, I've heard they're not that great. I've never been to Europe. I've been to a bunch of places across the US. And I've been to Montreal! That was fun!" She said, going on on a mini tangent. Then she pulled out her phone, opening the YouTube page. "Oh, I'm on a YouTube show. Me and Jackie, and Rory. We go around and ghost hunt, but we also talk about other supernatural things and like, the history of cool places around the town and state. We had this lull because Jackie moved away and I was in med school, but now we're back and the new videos are doing really good." She still hadn't been possessed but a girl can dream. But then again, that would also require her to believe in possession which she really didn't. It hurt that Todd thought so poorly of himself. That even joking about helping him with a dunk tank made him turn away. What had he even done? Who had he hurt? It seemed to Tabby, that some of it might be self-inflicted, but it wasn't her place to say that. "Yeah, they do. I do and so do you. Just two people who deserve to find someone who cares about them. Small world, isn't it?"" She half sang, her voice quiet.

tabby starts listing off every reason the sun still shines on them every morning and nora has always loved that about them. it’s easy for her to say I’m good! and move on, small talk never her forte, but tabby’s long explanations remind her to enjoy the little things. like your favourite home cooked meal, a crush, finding a great deal. it gives nora the confidence to share her own, “actually, I found this beautiful book in the damaged books sale at the library last weekend. I’m going to rebind it.” she laughs, airy and light. “it’ll ruin the paintwork underneath, but it’ll improve the look and you’ll hopefully never see the old paint, so it’s more than a worthy sacrifice.” nora has a hard time not thinking about the full process, rather than just the final product. “I’m sure she feels pretty in this universe, too.” she considers getting tabby something cute to hang from their rear view mirror soon, to match the car’s new look. a mental note is made to look when she gets home later. “well, those are all valid reasons not to go.” nora doesn’t know what else to say. “it’s sweet that you stayed home just in case your friend needed you.”

"That sounds amazing Nora! I can't wait to see it! Book binding looks like such a cool thing to do. I've always wanted to do it for some fanfics I've read, but I don't know the first thing. I'll have to see how yours turns out and then maybe I'll try it out. Bother you for advice." They said, pointing her pen at Nora. Truthfully, secretly, they always hoped that one of their fanfics would be amazing or popular enough to have someone bind it because they were such a big fan. But sadly no such luck. "Thank you! I try to always remind her how beautiful and powerful she is. She hasn't failed me yet. Just a few popped tires over the years, but those were my fault. Sometimes I just don't see curbs, you know?" Tabby took a sip from her water bottle, finishing half of a row. "Yeah, we ended up having a little sleepover, it was really nice actually. I like doing stuff like that. When it's dark and people are sleepy, you're not afraid to be honest."

owen's hands automatically fly out, hovering over her shoulders as she screams. his eyes widen, head shakes, and an apology pours out before he can think twice. “shit, man, i'm so sorry. i really didn't mean to scare you, i thought you saw me comin'.” and as much as the apology was automatic, so was the smile that curved his lips, but only once she's noticeably settled. “liar is a little strong, don't you think?” he's being pedantic, and he knows it, but words meant something to owen. “everyone's entitled to their own opinion. i think it's great you enjoyed the book. someone's gotta pay his bills, right?” keeps hit tone light and throws in a chuckle so she knows he's mostly joking. “i'm just happy to hear he's nice to somebody.” 

"No no, it's okay. I'm sorry, damn! I shouldn't have screamed like that. I just was so hyper focused, you know? But I'm okay, promise." Tabby said, feeling very embarrassed. Thankfully he didn't seem to be offended. "Well, I tend to be dramatic, so maybe. But also, the main character doesn't die at the end of the book, so that is a lie. You thinking a subplot is weird is your opinion and you're allowed to have it, rightfully so. But like, telling someone the end of a book they're looking at is kind of a jerky thing to do. Even if you're lying because then you might scare them into not reading it at all. I mean, I don't like Ayn Rand, but I'm not going to tell someone not to read her books if they really want to. I'll judge them absolutely because her ideology is rancid. Also, this is a library? I haven't paid him at all? I mean, the library did, because they bought copies of the book for use, but like, I didn't. I mean, I guess I kind of do because I do pay taxes for the town, which funds the library and public utilities. But that's getting a bit too pedantic, don't you think?" She took a breath and blinked. "I'm so sorry, what were we talking about?"

"Oh no, don't tell me that..." Once they broke the facade, Nick sighed in relief. "Yeah, no, no beagle, just my Husky. You already knew that though... Wait, are you talking about Snoopy?" Now this conversation was just getting silly.

"Yeah, like in the cartoons! Snoopy is always dancing around Schroeder when he plays the piano. But if I was a kid learning, I'd be okay with a husky substitute. Yours is a very cute one after all." They pointed out, eating a few more gummies before crumpling up the package. "Do you teach adults too? Or just kids in like, a school sanctioned thing?"