Zero Burton

10.favorite fall / Halloween movie?“Oh, I think…Actually, I’ll pick a light-hearted one. It’s a little silly, though. Little Vampire?”

11.coffee or tea?“Coffee”

12. what are you going to be this year for halloween?“I’m not allowed to be a dog anymore so… maybe a reindeer?”

13. favorite fall / halloween tv show?“There’s an episode of the Muppets from the 70s with Vincent Price in it? I used to watch it with my dad…that’s probably my favorite.”

14. haunted houses or haunted corn maze?“Corn maze. Way scarier.”

She watched them for a moment before doing as they did and standing up. “What do you want to do? I’m all for seizing the moment, but I don’t have many ideas yet. You look like your mind’s moving quicker than mine.” It was adorable, inspiring even. “Give an idea a shot and who knows it might change our lives.”

Zero paused briefly, thinking over what Alice just said. “Well, I don’t know if I’d like to change my whole life. Maybe some of it.” Zero shook their head as though manually erasing the nearing philosophical questions from his mind.

“I almost thought about climbing a tree like your friend Cheshire, but I’m not really a fan of heights.” Zero remembered how early it was. “Maybe an empty playground?”

He was taken back at their words, a little surprised they didn’t mind waiting because he had been a bit of a klutz. It was nicer to talk with someone over fretting over the script however, Tae was grateful he met someone who wasn’t going to hold things against him today. He pulled his shoulder bag over to the front and shoved all the papers inside, planning on organizing them once he sat down– if they could get a seat. 

“It depends on the situation. There have been times where parts have gotten into my head a bit, especially when they tend to pull up my own insecurities. In a weird way sometimes– those characters help me out too,” he paused, lifting a hand to the back of his neck. “I, for some reason, never feel stage fright. Have you seen any of the plays or musicals in town the last few years? I’ve been in a few of them. I could get you tickets for one if you wanted to go.” 

Zero listened carefully to Taelim’s words, understanding a bit how facing your insecurities can help you, though mostly it just scared Zero. They wondered what sort of insecurities Taelim felt and chuckled when Taelim noted stage fright was not one of them.

“You’re...you mean it?” Zero had probably seen one play in their entire life and it back in Salem. “I’d love that!” they said, a beaming smile threatening to break through. Zero’s eyes flickered to the ground and back to Taelim. "Is there a dress code at these sort of things?” Zero's current attire consisted of work boots, heavy-duty jeans, and muted tees with a jacket. “I do have funeral suits too, or...”

“I can pay you though because I have the money, see?” Toulouse raised a brow, shaking the bill in his hand, “sure, go ahead and ask about the work here. Put me to the test.”

“I- alright.” Zero reached out and gingerly grabbed the bill in case Toulouse changed his mind. “This one,” they said, pointing a rather dark-looking portrait. “Do you have any insight into the mind of the artist? I thought it... it was beautiful so I was just wondering.”

Jenny smiled and nodded, “Yea it’s just so gorgeous out.” she said with a smile, “Relaxing in the park sounds so perfect.” she said with a soft smile to herself. She glanced over at Zero and followed their gaze to the group of people, “People watching is so fun.” she said with a smile. “I do it all the time, Parks and coffee shops are the best places to do it.” she said with a laugh. 

“Exactly,” they agreed. “Everyone’s so wrapped up with their surroundings they don't’ stop to notice much outside of themselves. In fact, I think at this point I’ve seen at least everyone in this town.” They paused, thinking about how that might have sounded. “Not in a stalk-y way. Sorry, I- yea.”

         ❝ DOG ,  again ??  w - well …  i mean ,  you seemed happy with that costume ,  zero .  besides ,  we all know that even though jack switches things up every year ,  he still loves that  skeleton  costume of his .  ❞  which she did not judge the event coordinator for .  sally’s biggest priority ,  however ,  was to help zero find a costume .  they were hardly the pickiest ,  &&  yet the redhead wanted to make sure they would enjoy their outfit  —  even if it they chose to be a dog again .  ❝  please ,  i’m not  that  great .  for me ??  um ,  you see …  i have been so busy with work that i haven’t even had the chance to work on my costume .  tress offered me a job with her  &&  the girls ,  so my schedule is fuller than ever !!  but …  if anything ,  i will just put on one of my  p a t c h w o r k  dresses ,  draw some stitches with makeup  &&  be a ragdoll .  barrel already calls me that anyway .  ❞

Zero could sense the mild disappointment in Sally’s reply, and that made them want to do a bit better this year.  “Not that great? Sally, you’re the best seamstress in this town! You could sew a crown for a king, even if that’s...not how crown’s work.” They lowered their head in acknowledgment of the mistake. Zero just wanted Sally to know she was a wonderful friend and person in general.

Both of the names she said, though, made Zero’s ears perk up. “You’re working with Tress?” Working at the cemetery gave Zero knowledge of Hades and the women who helped him in the most suspicious of ways. “And that’s alright? You’re not involved in any shady business?”

Jenny smiled at the stranger and nodded towards the seat as she clutched the pile close to her so it wouldn’t fall off her lap and make a mess everywhere. She smiled at the person next to her and nodded at their question. “Yea, I just had some homework to do and I figured I’d get it done but also enjoy the beautiful weather.” she said with a shrug. “What has you out and about?” she asked curiously. 

“It is pretty nice,” Zero acknowledged. It wasn’t too sunny. Fall was pretty moving in, and Zero was quite ready for it. “Just got off work, so I’m trying to relax a bit before I head home.”

Their eyes followed a group of college students running by, joking around with one another. “And there are so many people out, it’s a good day to people-watch,” Zero mused aloud. “I think half of Carthay passes through this park on any given day.”

Shock and Lock where at home. A place Barrel didn’t feel like being at this point in time. So, he’d taken to the streets. Probably not a place he would really be either. Head whipping around at the sound of a voice, Barrel lifted a brow seeing Zero. Sliding to a stop, he popped his board up into his hand. “Uh, just hanging out, I guess?” He said with a bit of a shrug. “What are you doing out here?” 

Zero flinched as the skateboard popped up. They didn’t know why they were so nervous, so they tried to push that down and interact like a normal person. “I live here... don’t you know where Jack lives?” Zero walked closer, still keeping an amiable distance. “You didn’t run over the flowers, did you? On your wheel board?” they asked, trying to peek behind Barrel.

“I try to be– you never know what people are going through, sometimes being nice can help their day a little bit,” Tae said, with a tilt of his head to the side when Zero said he wasn’t that nice. Curiousness folded a gentle line between his eyes exposing he high disagreed but wouldn’t say anything on it more. He stood up, pressing the messed up pile to his chest and glanced around to double check he had gotten them all. A larger guy shouldered past them to move up in line, Tae taking a step to the side so he wasn’t run over. It drew his attention further up to see that the line was even longer than before he got there. 

“Oh man,” it was impossible to hide the desperation from his face for the coffee he so really needed. “I– really picked a bad time to do that.” He peered over to Zero. “Sorry, this place is too hectic– looks like we will have to wait…”

Zero stood up with a little second’s delay behind Taelim. When the larger man pushed past, Zero stood up a little taller and puffed out their chest, already ready to defend Taelim. However, the actor didn’t seem to take it too seriously, so they backed down.

“It’s no problem. Plus, waiting isn’t too bad if you have company,” Zero noted. They shifted back into the line with a few pardon-me’s until someone let the pair back in. “I don’t know much about acting, but it sounds hard. To be so many different people and not forget yourself. Or having that many people looking at you?”

Alice could understand that. Mornings were awful in truth, but she was always happy to see another sunrise. “I find solitude in my smile. I know I’m going to want to sleep in later, but moments like this are worth seeing the morning start.”

Zero’s mind tried to process the words Alice was saying, a content smile ever growing. “Okay...yea, okay!” Zero stood up and dusted off the butt of their jeans, speckled in dirt and leaves. They weren’t totally sold on this sunrise thing, but they did know the power of a smile. “Let’s do something then. The day’s begun, the world’s an oyster and all that.”

Looking up, Zero spotted Barrel on his skateboard riding back and forth and doing tricks. They stopped in their place about 10 yards away from the Selick. “Hey!” Zero shouted if rather timidly. “What’re you doing out here?”