Penguins & Nail Polish & Secrets oh my! (Juney)

[Amos Freeman]

Amos Freeman stood in front of his wardrobe. He was making a hard decision.

He only owned two pairs of pajama pants; one of them had penguins on, and the other was simple green and blue plaid. Neither of them matched his purple shirt. His only non-purple shirts, a white button-down and a blue longsleeve t-shirt, were either too fancy or too warm for summer.

He bit his lip and pulled out the penguin pants, sighing.

He normally slept in nothing but a pair of boxers, but he had decided to avoid that tonight because his best friend Juniper was going to come to his dorm for a sleepover and he didn’t want anyone to get… well, the wrong idea.

He tightened the drawstring around his waist, looked himself up and down in the full-length mirror on his dorm wall, and sighed. He looked a hot mess, but he was properly covered, at least. He gave his reflection a wry smile just as a gentle knock rang out.

He pulled the door open, popping his head over the edge.

“Hi,” he said.

[Juniper Birdsong]

Juniper, unlike Amos, had no difficulty in deciding on clothing. Being a girl, she always slept with a shirt on, so finding a matching top and bottom was easy. She went with a pale olive-green tanktop with matching pants, the top decorated with little bows she had added on herself. Her mass of curly hair had been tied back into a braid, but she expected it to come undone at some point in the evening just because she felt more relaxed when it was down.

Determining herself presentable (although really, she could look terrible and still feel fine around Amos, she knew he would never judge her), she grabbed a few board games, a blanket, a pillow, her stuffed owl, and, just for the heck of it, some nail polish and other beauty supplies. So what if Amos was a guy, they could still have fun doing silly things. She threw a flashlight and hairbrush into her bag, hesitating before she walked out of her door. Had she gotten everything? Well, she supposed, it wasn’t like she would have to make a long drive back home if she did – she was just going downstairs.

She hopped down the steps to the lower floor, humming to herself along the way. The halls were quiet for the most part, with only a few students still milling around before curfew. Locating the right door, she knocked, shifting from foot to foot until he opened the door. “Hi!” she repeated the greeting, leaping and hugging him as though she hadn’t seen him for days. “I’m sooo excited, ohmygosh. We’re going to have so much fun.” She plopped her belongings on the floor, and began pulling out the couple board games she had brought over. “I brought Scrabble, and Would You Rather, and some other stuff,” she told him. “What do you want to do first?”

[Amos Freeman]

Amos grinned, giving her a gentle pat on the back before releasing her and allowing her inside.

His room was a little messy; he spent most of his time sleeping or writing, so it didn’t really matter what it looked like to him. Now that Juney was also in it, he was slowly realizing the state of the place. It wasn’t very cheerful, like hers was, and he wasn’t sure it really expressed his personality, either. It was mostly a hodge-podge of thrift store furniture and stacks of previous editions of the Hammel Bugle. The only appliance he had was a single-serve coffeemaker his mom had bought him for Christmas. There was a small box of K-Cups behind it, which had been unceremoniously ripped open and was now nearly empty.

He slid some dirty laundry under the twin bed frame with his bare foot.

“Would You Rather sounds like fun,” he said, beaming. “Oh, and I have some snacks, but it’s just like… well, I have some veggie chips, fried green peas, and Triscuits. And there’s water in the corner. I mean, if you want anything. Or coffee, but I ran out of agave nectar earlier this week and I haven’t been to the store yet.”

[Juniper Birdsong]

Juniper glanced over the mess with hardly a second look. As long as he didn’t have dirty underwear thrown all over his bed and floor, she was fine. Actually, she found it cozy. She grabbed some of her things and found a place to settle atop of Amos’s pile of comforters, leaving room for him to fit his lanky form across from her. Even as she sat she began to pull apart her braid, suddenly aware of how tight her hair felt against her head.

“Oh! I brought some organic popcorn, if you want to throw it in the microwave,” she told him. “Veggie chips sound good too. I think I’ll stick to water or tea for now though; we can leave the coffee for when we’re starting to fall asleep,” she grinned. She was quite sure she, at least, wouldn’t be getting very much sleep tonight – it was hard to tell for Amos, he liked to sleep so much.

She grabbed the game in question and sat it between them. “Would You Rather it is,” she said dramatically. She picked up the first card, and declared,”Would you rather… Live to be 200 in Colonial times, or live a normal lifespan modern day?” She scratched her head. “That’s an interesting one to start with.”

[Amos Freeman]

“Oh cool,” Amos said, taking the pack of popcorn and squinting at the directions. “Okay, hold on a second. You can get the game out while I put it in.”

He snuck into the outer area, which contained the microwave he shared with his roommate, Avinea Jale. They didn’t talk much, and he didn’t know her quite as well as he probably should; she had her own friends and her own things to do, and he was usually asleep while they were doing it.

He waited until the bag was only popping every few seconds, then stopped the microwave and grabbed it carefully by the edge. He carried it back into his room, grabbed the half-full bag of veggie chips (he’d been munching on them the previous night while writing an article), balanced two bottles of water in his arms and carried it all back to the bed.

“Okay,” he said with some small sense of accomplishment. He offered her a water. “Um…” he pondered the question, folding his legs into a pretzel position on top of his comforters. “When was the Colonial period? Like, settlement to the Declaration of Independence?” He grabbed a handful of popcorn and munched thoughtfully.

“Modern times, I guess,” he decided after a pause. “I mean, it would have been cool to see all the printing presses and stuff, and Benjamin Franklin, I guess, he was a really good writer, but… yeah, modern times.”

He swallowed the popcorn and grabbed a few more pieces, pulling out the next card with his other hand.

“Would you rather be blind with amazing musical ability or deaf with amazing artistic ability?” He read from the card.

[Juniper Birdsong]

Juniper gave an appreciative sniff as Amos came back into the room. "That smells amazing," she said, taking a water bottle and reaching her hand into the bag of veggie chips. She took a few and threw them in her mouth, listening to Amos's answer. She switched to the popcorn after a few seconds.

"Modern times are good," she agreed. "And can you imagine living to be 200? I mean, would you just get to a certain appearance and stop growing old? Or would you continue to age until you were like, a mummy?" It was amusing to think about. She took a sip of water. Popcorn and veggie chips were dry.

"Hmmmm that's a tough one," she mused. "I love drawing and making things, but I love being able to hear. And I do like singing," she added,"Even though I'm not that good. Then again, I think I would go crazy if I couldn't see the wind, so... Deaf with amazing artistic ability. I guess. That's haaard," she laughed. Eager to change the subject, she picked up another card.

"Would you rather be resistant to cold and impossible to freeze to death, or resistant to heat and impossible to burn to death?" she asked, taking another bite of popcorn and tossing a kernel at him with a mischievous grin.

[Amos Freeman]

“I don’t even want to imagine being 200,” Amos said, laughing. “Not at all. I think it would be, um, pretty boring, to be honest. Especially in Colonial times – I mean, I dunno, what is there to do for 200 years back then?” He tried to imagine his life without internet and gave a small frown.

He fished a veggie chip out of the bag, munching it casually and pondering her answer. He nodded.

“I think you’re pretty good at singing,” he offered kindly. “But yeah, I think I’d rather be deaf, too. Then again, if I was deaf, I could just borrow an animal that wasn’t and then… well… I guess I’m kind of an exception.”

He scratched his nose absentmindedly. His acne problem had gotten better with age, but he still broke out every now and then, and it was torture to attempt to keep his hands off of his face. He was suffering from one such breakout.

“Cold resistant,” he said immediately, not even pondering the question. “Definitely.” He patted the bedding they were sitting on. “It would have saved me a lot of money on comforters.”

The kernel rolled into the folds of the comforter, and he chased after it with his fingers for a few moments before coming up empty and giving up the chase. He pulled out another card, licking some salt off of his little finger.

“Would you rather be featured on the show Bridezillas, or be featured on the show What Not to Wear?”

Amos smirked.

[Juniper Birdsong]

"Horse riding? Um... Wearing wigs and funny hats? Yeah, that's about all," Juniper said. She wrinkled her nose. Modern times were good.

She smiled at his compliment. He was so kind. "I think everyone can sing Disney music well," she replied, popping in another few kernels. She pouted at him. "Aww, that's not fair. I can't borrow an animal's hearing," she pretended to sulk. "Maybe I could manipulate the wind somehow..." she trailed off, pondering.

She flopped backwards at the mention of his comforters, sighing at the softness of the multiple layers of bedding. "I dunno, I always get so hot," she replied. But, to each their own. "You could go to Antarctica, live with the penguins," she suggested. A grin crossed her face. "You'd fit right in with your hat."

Her eyes widened at his question. "Oh gosh," she breathed. "Well, I do have some very specific things I want to plan for my wedding, but... I don't think I would ever act horrible enough to be a Bridezilla." She thought for a moment. "I know some of the clothing I make isn't really what a lot of people would consider 'fashionable'. So, What Not to Wear." She nodded. Fashion was overrated.

She fished our another card. She glanced at it, and let out a bubble of laughter. "Would you rather go on a magic carpet ride with Jasmine, or take Cinderella to the ball?" she asked, grabbing another handful of chips and eating them as she shifted to a more comfortable position.

[Amos Freeman]

“Penguin hats are much better,” said Amos with mock solemnity. “I think I’ll stay here.”

“You’d figure out something,” he grinned, picking out a large carrot veggie chip and savoring it. “I heard that, um, land is really cheap in Antarctica. I’ll just build a small house and live out the rest of my days in relative peace. If you were cold-resistant, you could come too,” he offered, chuckling a bit. “I don’t think we’d have a problem with getting hot there, much.”

He nodded at her assertion, putting the card face down into the pile they’d started.

“Yeah, me too. I don’t see why it’s such a big deal to everybody; I mean, as long as I show up, you’d think people would be, um, glad to begin with.”

He pondered this for a moment, scrunching up his nose and sighing.

“Jasmine, but only if I don’t have to kiss her,” he decided, nodding. “I dunno. I don’t, like, have to kiss her, right? This is a G-rated movie we’re talking about.”

He made to pull out another card, then stopped, remembering something important.

“Oh, right – time out for a minute. I didn’t get to tell you earlier; I, uh,” he grabbed another handful of popcorn, chewing in order to give himself time to think. “I came out to my mom earlier today. On the phone.”

[Juniper Birdsong]

"Okay, after our roadtrip across the country, we'll figure out how to become cold resistant and buy some land in Antarctica. We'll live with the penguins for the rest of our lives. You could mind borrow them, and I could.... Um... Blow the skuas away from their babies." She nodded, taking a few of the last kernels of popcorn. They had gone through it fast. "Sound like a plan?" She giggled. "Only, we might have to start eating fish." She grimaced at the thought. Ew.

Juniper thought about it. "No, I don't think you would have to kiss her," she replied. "I mean, he didn't kiss her until AFTER the magic carpet ride scene, so you could just run away right afterwards. Flying on a magic carpet would be cooool." She thought for another moment, and a wicked grin crossed her face. "We should try it sometime," she said slyly. "If I can get the wind blowing hard enough...." She wiggled her eyebrows. It probably wasn't possible, but hey, how would you know until you tried? She had managed the air scooter, hadn't she?

She blinked as he paused in the game. "Oh, alright." She sat back and listened. What he said made her let out a small, involuntary gasp. She covered her mouth. "Oh my goodness," she said. That was totally unexpected. "How did it go?" He didn't look terribly distraught or depressed, but it was hard to tell with him. She leaned forward and put her hands in her lap, prepared to leap-hug him if he looked like he needed it.

[Amos Freeman]

“Deal,” said Amos, smirking. “I’d shake on it, but my hands are covered in grease and salt and… um, we can pinky shake on it.” He wiggled his pinky at hers, touching the tips and bobbing them up and down comically. “There. That’s solemn, you know, that’s like… if you thought a pinky swear was intense, the pinky shake is like ten times more intense.”

“Oh, yeah, you’re right,” he mused. He shook the popcorn bag; there were two pitiful puffs left, and several unpopped kernels. He bit his lip, taking one of the two and popping it into his mouth. “Last one’s yours. This stuff is fantastic.” He licked his fingers again, sighing heavily.

“Can we just ride a magic carpet or air scooter or whatever to somewhere else and never come back?” He mumbled offhandedly. “I just… like… my mom was totally cool with it. She was like, ‘do whatever makes you happy, I’ll love you no matter what.’ Which is awesome, and I’m super lucky, but I feel like…” he trailed off, continuing the sentence with his gently waving hands.

He couldn’t talk to anybody else the way he talked to Juney.

“I was talking to Dr. Neville about stuff, and I just don’t want to, you know, have sex with anybody. And that’s all anybody wants, it seems like, you know? Romeo and his friends and then Cam, who will pretty much jump anything that moves. It probably doesn’t even have to move, just, like, twitch a bit.”

He furrowed his eyebrows, pulling out another veggie chip and munching thoughtfully.

“It’s like it’s okay to be gay, or whatever, but if you don’t want to have gay sex, you’re a bad gay, or something. Am I a bad gay?” He asked with a hint of sarcasm.

[Juniper Birdsong]

Juniper giggled, holding out her pinky and giving his a 'shake'. "Oh wow, even more intense than a pinky swear? That's, like, super intense," she said with mock seriousness. "I'm holding you to your word. If you break it, I'll... I'll have to... shave your head." She locked her gaze onto him for a span of a few seconds, before breaking down into giggles once more.

She glanced into the bowl, gingerly picking up the last popped kernel. She studied it for a moment, then threw it up above her head, concentrating on the air underneath it so that it hovered for a brief second before falling into her open mouth. She grinned. "I love popcorn," she agreed, swallowing.

She listened as he spoke, fidgeting slightly with her fingers as she watched him. She wasn't an expert on coming out, obviously, but this was a big deal, and she hoped he would deal with it okay. She loved him with all her heart, and if he was struggling, she always made a point to make him feel better in any way she could. She did feel a little out of her league though. How was she supposed to respond to his questions?

"Okay, first of all," she took both of his hands into her own. "I will always love you, no matter what. I wouldn't care if you are attracted to... Penguins. I'll always be here for you. Secondly, there is no such thing as a 'bad' anything when it comes to sexuality. You know what you do and don't want from a relationship, and if sex isn't something you are interested in, then no one should force you to feel like you should. Cam and Romeo are... Well, they're filled with raging teenage hormones that I don't want to be anywhere near, and they can do whatever they want as long as it doesn't involve us. Which, by the way, if Romeo is pressuring you to do anything, please tell me." She knew he wouldn't go to an adult with these sorts of things, so if nothing else, she would do the tattling herself. "Honestly, I'm not completely against the idea of having sex, but it's not something I'm jumping at the chance to do. We're all different - and though it does seem like the majority of the population runs on sex and hooking up, that doesn't mean we have to conform to society." She squeezed his hands. "Does that make sense?" She hoped she knew what she was talking about.