Stitch and Bicker (Calerie)

[Roger Vandelay]

Roger loved their Stitch 'n' Bitch sessions. Essentially, the three of them - he, Callie, and Val - got together in the costume room when it was just them - on a weekday when none of them had classes, for instance - and gossiped. He lived on gossip, and frankly as a minor there wasn't much else to entertain him around town, so the juicier the better. Most of it was about people the three of them knew, which meant fellow House workers, and the particularly fun part of that was that there was always a slight possibility that one of their subjects might walk in at any moment. To Roger, it was almost better than sex.

Roger had gotten there first, as he had legitimate work to do before that weekend's performances, completing Cynthia's ridiculous list of demands for that week's wardrobe. The extra benefit enjoyed by Callie and Val was that they got to see the costumes ahead of time, which meant no (sometimes unpleasant) surprises come showtime. Roger's benefit was that he had company while he worked, which could be dreadfully boring alone.

The shapeshifter was standing behind the sewing table, running a costume under the machine to make some alterations. It was the dress Cynthia would be wearing on Friday night, so this was one he actually had to concentrate on. It was a rather lovely black dress, to which he was sewing some black feathers and other decorative additions. There was a cup of Starbucks coffee sitting beside the machine, and two more cups on the opposite side of the table for Val and Cal when they arrived (they took turns bringing the Joe).

[Calliope Gallo]

Admittedly, Callie wasn't a gossip-savvy girl. It was a difficult thing to get into for someone as optimistic as herself - when they said something about someone she knew, she'd often interject with a compliment to offset the negativity. That didn't mean she didn't have a share of negative things to say. But compared to everyone else at the House and their ability to cut into people, Callie was using safety scissors.

But she loved the company, so she always went.

Arm in arm with her best friend and dance partner, Callie walked the familiar path to the costume department. She prayed to whoever was listening that Roger wouldn't bring up their recent conversation; the last thing she needed was to be hyper-embarrassed in front of her best friend, who had always seemed to be a little harsh with Lucah. And she never did find out what Chester was talking about when it came to Val and Lucah. Whenever people came up to ask her about how she felt about 'the incident', she didn't have an answer.

Before she opened the door, she knocked. "Helllooo~" She sung out, because by now she was well aware that simply walking in was a surprise. She didn't want to walk in on him feeling anyone up - much less her boyfriend. But when she got the all clear, she swung the door open and detached herself from her friend's arm to give him the standard cheek-kiss greeting.

[Valerie Danner]

Walking to work had become one of Valerie's favourite things to do, which wasn't something everyone could say about their day. Callie most definitely made it worth it. The bubbly dancer had become one of the reasons why Valerie didn't think too much about Spencer being away.

Making a beeline to the costume department with her, Valerie was all smiles and greeted Roger with the same greeting her blonde dancing partner had given.

"Give me my java." She reached out to grab one cup and went to the empty couch opposite of Roger's work station, pulling Callie down with her. "Is that the dress for Friday night?" She asked, jerking her head towards the dress as she took a sip from her cup.

[Roger Vandelay]

"C'min!" Roger called from the other side of the door. He got that it was a courtesy to check before entering, but personally he didn't care. The way he saw it, all of the performers saw each other half-naked all the time, whether it was onstage in their skimpy outfits or backstage doing a quick-change between numbers, and the fittings were really nothing compared to that. Didn't they all change in the same room, anyway?

"Get it, girl," he said to Val as his friend reached for one of the cups. "S'not for you," he said, holding the dress close to his chest protectively, though he wagered Val already knew this. "But I'm sure Madame will look mahhhvalous in it," he added, putting on his best impression of Cynthia's faux-French accent. He loved her for giving him the opportunity to do costumes and putting a lot more faith in him than most people would, but the woman was a crazy person.

"Cal," he said now, turning his attention towards the other girl as the two dancers sat down. "Last semester at Hammel is starting up. I'm unprepared for the real world." What on earth he was going to do after was beyond him. He'd applied to the University of Vermont and a couple other places, but he couldn't imagine who would ever want him. As it was, he was mostly just applying to gain access to college boys.

[Calliope Gallo]

Callie adored these times with her friends, even if the nature was a little questionable. She curled her fingers around the cup allocated to her before she sat down beside her friend.

She watched the exchange between the two about the dress. She pursed her lips in its direction, as if judging it to the best of her ability. But aftet a moment her face broke out into smile. "It's perfect, Rogie. She's gonna look amazing." She added. He deserved to know everything he made was amazing.

"Do you know if you're graduating?" Callie asked curiously. The process, as far as she knew, was a little tentative. Personally, she wasn't graduating. And she was incredibly relieved by the fact. "Classes and training, I mean."

[Valerie Danner]

Valerie growled when Roger pulled the dress close to him. Narrowing her eyes playfully at him, she scrutinised the dress and had to agree with Callie. "It's true though...that dress is hella fine." She grinned.

She took a sip of her coffee and let Callie and Roger talk. She'd gone through graduation. It had been harrowing and stupid, since she had to do it alone.

She also wanted to ask Roger if he already sent out applications but that could wait.

[Roger Vandelay]

Roger put the dress back down on the table, marveling at his creation. "Yeah, I know..." he agreed vainly, almost distantly like he was so caught up in his own work. He spent extra time on Cynthia's wardrobe, as he knew how closely she scrutinized it, even more so than the dancers' outfits. So he took pride in the work he did for her. Honestly, though, she looked good in just about anything, so the shapeshifter could only take partial credit for her appearance. How did this woman not wrinkle??

He looked up at Callie's question. "Yeah," he said with a nod. "You?" If it wasn't for the fact that he wasn't technically a high school senior yet, he probably could have graduated last year based on his control over his ability. It was clear to anyone who knew him that he knew how to shift whenever he wanted, to whoever he wanted. Graduating at seventeen wasn't kosher, though.

He took his coffee, moving over to the couch and wriggling himself in between the two girls. "Val," he whined, before taking another sip. "What's college like?" He had submitted a couple of applications, just to local schools - it wasn't like he'd get into anything better - but wasn't so sure how much he wanted to go.

[Calliope Gallo]

Callie laughed to herself when Roger actually agreed to the statement. She knew he would, but he deserved to. He worked hard and should have been proud of the things he created.

"No." She replied lightly. "Not yet."

Hopefully it'd only be another year. Her brothers were lucky to get out as quickly as they did, she supposed, but Callie was too nostalgic to wish she could leave Hammel before she was really ready.

Callie shifted over when he sat between them, frowning a touch before realising she was doing it. She let them talk about college. All she knew was that UVM's campus was tricky to manoeuvre through.

[Valerie Danner]

Valerie laughed at Roger's self-compliment. He deserved it, the dress really was amazing.

She moved a little to accommodate Roger's presence before casually draping her leg over his and leaning back on the couch, letting her hair fall behind the furniture.

"Greenview is boring." Valerie admitted. "I mean the classes are okay. They actually have a good curriculum. It's just that nothing happens. At least nothing exciting."

She had originally wanted to join a few of the clubs but they were so dead, she decided to wait until someone good just happened to come along and make things happen. She supposed she could have been that person but she'd probably run it to the ground and just do a lot of parties.

"You thinking of staying here?"

[Roger Vandelay]

"Oh," Roger said, not wanting to say too much more about Callie's staying at Hammel for another year. He didn't have an opinion on it one way or the other, but he wasn't sure whether Callie was happy to be staying or if she wanted out, so he wouldn't ask and risk embarrassing her. "Well you get to keep coming here, then," he said, figuring that was a good thing because it was fun there and they got paid. "I mean, I'm hoping to, too, but it depends."

He smiled as Val placed her leg over his. Any straight man would be digging this, but he was really just a kid at heart who liked the physical affection. "I applied to Vermont," he replied. "But... IDK, we'll see what happens." He wasn't so sure he wanted to go to college, but he also wasn't so sure he wanted to be that guy who never went to college. He might just have to grin and bear it. Couldn't he just work at the House forever.

"Ugh, this is bringing down my mood," he said, taking a sip of coffee (between him and nobody else, his was more milk than anything else; he hated coffee but liked holding the cup). "Let's dish. How are your love lives?" He leaned back on the couch with a bit of a purr. "As you both know, I don't have one, so entertain me."

[Calliope Gallo]

Callie offered him a smile. "I don't mind staying for another year." She pointed out. Sure, it was a little painful to watch her friends graduate without her, but she understood she had a unique - potentially dangerous - ability. One that still gave her grief from time to time.

She wasn't surprised at the way he shifted the subject. She purposefully turned her gaze away from him and down to the cup in her hands. She really didn't want to go first. "You guys know everything already, so." She said simply, glancing at Val for a half second to ensure she wasn't serving I-hate-your-boyfriend face.

[Valerie Danner]

The hesitance she heard in Roger's voice made her smile sympathetically. "I'm sure it'll be fine." She shrugged, shaking her leg to get a rise out of him.

Callie's response to the topic made Valerie smile. At least she wouldn't leave any time soon. Selfish as it was, Valerie was glad Callie decided to stay. She didn't want another best friend leaving.

The change of subject was what they were there for but one look at Callie's face almost made the brunette halt. Her I-hate-your-boyfriend face had to be put away for the moment. She could just gush about Noah. Maybe tell them about the significant moment of their relationship. Should she?

"Well, I found out that Noah fathered a bunch of mutant spider babies." She started with a chuckle.