The great pet-store adventure! (Julien and Matt)

[Anthy Blacksmith]

It was a stupid idea. It really was. And now that Anthy was holed up in the closet of the pet store, she was even more aware of it. She was breathing a bit quickly from how quickly she had rushed in, and hoped rather strongly that no one had seen her. She was pretty sure that no one had. But now what? This closet didn't look overly dusty so she was pretty sure it was commonly used. Okay, okay she just needed to calm down. She just needed to breathe. Breathe and think. A slow breath in through the nose and a soft one out the mouth.

Anthy gave a small swallow then lifted up the hem of her hoodie so to gain access to the pockets of her shorts and pulled out her cellphone. She just needed to talk to someone, right? So she could calm down? Yeah, that might do it. But who to call? It wasn't so much that the list was very long, it was more of her having trouble deciding on who might be able to help her the most.

This really had been a stupid act for her. But she hadn't thought of what she would do exactly if she started feeling the glow coming on. And with how unusual it was for it to happen on her legs for some reason, she had been lulled into a false sense of security, she supposed. Earlier on, before she had even come into town, Anthy had thought about the fact that not being brave enough to come into town had gotten in the way of a couple of plans that her new friends had brought up. And though she had been worried about something like this happening, she had wanted to try to get over her nervousness and thought that if there were any accidents, it would be better if she was alone rather than getting her friend or friends into a mess with her.

Anthy sighed and leaned against one of the walls of the closet, looking at her cellphone. Biting her lip a bit hard, she closed her eyes and let her thumb to the picking on who she would call. A soft bubble pop sound came and she opened her eyes to look at the screen. It was Matt's number that was being dialed. She was almost worried he might not pick up, but luck was on her side this time.

"Matt! S-s-sorry for calling like this but.... But I think I did something a little stupid and now I'm... I'm kind of.... well... glowing in a pet store closet..." She said as quickly as she could while trying to keep her voice down.

Her eyes widened when her attention was brought to the door. Oh no.... Oh no...

"Oh no... I think someone's at the door...." She nearly whispered into the phone.

---

Words: 476
Time: Noonish hour.
Outfit: khaki girl shorts, tan short sleeve hoodie with a monkey on the back, white long sleeve shirt underneath, white socks, tan and white sneakers.

[Julien Duval]

It wasn't as if Julien really had anything to do, so why not spend the afternoon at the pet store? He was fairly sure his landlord didn't even allow pets, and while he'd always wanted a cat or a golden retriever around, it just wasn't the time. He was more so here for some sort of entertainment, as if some cute looking puppies would save him from his boredom. He held his video camera firmly in his hands, and his Nikon camera was in his camera bag which hung over his shoulder. He was panning around the pet store, looking at the different pets for sale and yearning to take them all away, mostly because he was sure they'd be happier with owners, rather than in a cage. He could relate. Sometimes he felt like he was in a cage. The french guy in America. Most people couldn't see past his accent.

There was a girl in the store, but she was the only other one. It wasn't too busy, after all, most other people probably had something more exciting to do, so at least he could relate to her on that level. He'd been mulling over at least saying hello to her, but he was afraid that she might not like having a camera in her face.

He'd sworn he'd almost seen a sort of light...a glow from the corner of the view of his camera and he was sure it wasn't a glare or an effect and so he'd spun around to try and see what was happening, away from the bird he was currently observing just in time to hear a door shut. The girl was no where to be seen.

Well, this was interesting. Most people would either turn back to what they were doing without a care, or try and see what she was up to, to tease her. Julien was neither of those people. He just found what had happened simply interesting, something to upset his boring ritualistic day. The only other door besides the one to the back room was a closet off to the side and he was almost sure she didn't work here. He walked over to it and knocked softly, hearing a muffled voice from inside. "Are you alright?" he asked.

[Anthy Blacksmith]

There came a knock and Anthy almost dropped her phone, only managing to keep from loosening her grip at the last second. Her eyes widened and she held her breath briefly. A voice came soon after the knocking and Anthy could have sworn her heart had leaped into her throat and started racing around in there like a maniac. An almost audible swallow came from the girl and she felt a little light headed.

"I... I'm..."

At first it only came out as a bit of a squeak. Anthy gave another swallow and quickly used her free hand to tug her large hoodie down as she moved to sit down against the wall. She was hoping that the somewhat thick fabric would block the light coming off of her legs.

"I'm a-a-alright. Th-thank you." She said through the door, wishing that she was better able to talk with more confidence in situations like this.

"S-sorry Matt, I'm.... Im going to have to tuck you away.. I need both hands...." She whispered into the phone before quickly tucking it in her hoodie pocket and using her newly freed hand to help with the covering of her legs.

Calm. She needed to calm down...

"I'm okay I'm just... um.... I'm... uh....."

She tried to quickly think of an excuse to be hiding in the closet.

"I just had a wardrobe mal... malfunction!"

That would do good, right? She thought it might? Anthy hadn't been able to think of anything else on the spot and she was horrible at lying. But technically it wasn't lying? As, she was wearing the glow? No, that was too fat of a stretch and she felt a bit ashamed of herself.

[Matt Davis]

Matt was just walking out of the store with a small bag that held a few different things, including a discreet belt pouch and a bottle of Pepper Spray. He was looking over the instructions, and ingredients to see if it had actually contained pepper, before he felt the vibration in his pocket.

Matt picked up the phone and smiled brightly as he saw the blonde haired girl holding onto his guitar. He lifted it up and answered with a swipe.

“Hey Moonbeam, what’s-...” She spoke rapidly, almost shouting out his name. He listened while his brows shifted in confusion. “...Wait, y’re where?”

When she said someone was at the door, his eyes went wide. It sounded like a horror movie… Or worse. He knew what it sounded like. He had heard about hazings before, seen them in the news. He hadn’t participated or anything, but he had heard about people going into the wrong neighborhood ‘stupidly’. Could someone be trying to get to Anthy?

“Anthy! Wh- Are you alright? I’m comin’, jus’ don’t open the door! I’ll be right there!” He held the phone closer to his ear and ran towards his bike. He was pretty glad that he had just bought something to help fend off mutant-haters… Well, other...mutant haters. He hopped on his bike, removed the chain, and flew towards where he remembered the Pet Store being.

The phone was pinned to his ear as he rode towards her. “Both hands? Anthy, I’m comin’! Are you alright?... Anthy? Are people trying to get you?” All he heard now as the muffled sounds as the words filtered through his hoodie. He rode. Hard.

[Julien Duval]

She'd said she was alright and yet she was still hiding in a closet, which didn't seem very alright to Julien. And so he lingered by the door as she'd said it was a wardrobe malfunction. What exactly did that mean? "If it makes you feel any better...my pants ripped in public once," he offered lamely to her, trying to get her to come out. Everybody had embarassing moments. Julien had one almost every single day. He knew that the door probably couldn't lock without a key and so he had a feeling he could open it if he wanted to, but he also really didn't want to startle her, although he wanted to help her as well.

"Maybe I can help," he told her. "Well, if I knew what was wrong."

[Anthy Blacksmith]

Anthy tried breathing slowly to calm herself down even while the guy spoke to her through the door about having ripped his pants in public, trying to make her feel better about her own made up wardrobe malfunction. That was nice of him to do.... telling her about his embarrassing situation.... but she was still nervous about him opening the door or something. He wouldn't, right?... Right?

She quickly shut her eyes and tried to force that thought out of her head. The glowing had intensified for a moment and she needed it to go the other direction,. She needed it to stop. But as she heard him comment about being able to possibly help if he knew what was wrong, she felt herself getting more nervous.

"I'm.... I'm almost done f-f-fixing it now.." She said, hoping beyond hope that she actually was.

"I... I appreciate the offer, really... I just.... I'm just..."

Just what? Anthy had lost track of what she had been about to say due to the distraction of feeling her skin getting hotter. She took a couple of deep breaths and finally felt her skin cooling down again. Anthy opened her eyes and blinked a couple of times, a bit surprised that she had managed to get some kind of control.

"I just.... get embarrassed easily...." She said before slowly standing up.

"I..... I think I've... j-just about got it sorted out." She said somewhat softly before leaning back against the wall with a sigh.

Could she be sure enough about the control to step out though? She.. she didn't want to open the door but it might have been worse on her if the guy opened it instead. So, trying to keep her breathing steady, she grasped the doorknob and slowly opened the door up before stepping out while trying not to explode into another fit of glowing.

[Julien Duval]

"Okay," Julien said as her muffled voice came from the closet again. "I totally get that. I get embarrassed easily too. The key is to just laugh it off. It helps...almost makes you believe that it's funny." Maybe his advice only worked for him and he wasn't so good at giving advice, but there it was. Take it or leave it.

He understood what it was like to be shy, to just wanna hide. He'd hid behind his camera for years as a younger child and he'd started to branch out since he found himself in a foreign territory. Literally... In Vermont when he'd lived in France all of his life. A whole different country. He thought he heard the door unlatch and the blonde girl stepped out. "You alright?"

[Anthy Blacksmith]

Laugh it off?... Oh she wished she could laugh this off... But, if she thought about it, would it be so hard to? Maybe she should think of it as kind of funny that she could impersonate a glow-worm? Anthy bit her lip. Well, she managed to get the light under control for now.... so there was something...

She kind of fidgeted with her hands a little once she was out of the pet store closet, not quite making eye contact just yet so she wouldn't have to worry about a shy-splosion happening. When he asked her if she was alright though, she slowly moved her eyes to his face before nodding a little.

"I'm.... I'm alright.... Th-thank you." She replied before smiling a little timidly.

"I.... I managed to get it sorted out." She added.

[Matt Davis]

Matt was filled with a new sort of fear. Something he didn’t really know he was too worried about. Sure he imagined himself being burned at a stake when he found out he might be a freak. When he was taken to Vermont he was pretty certain that he’d be experimented on. He hadn’t thought about his friends going through that, though.

As he rode down the road Matt tried to think of other things it could be. A pet store. No, there was no reason a hazing would occur near a pet store! Surly that was a silly thought. His mind kept retreating back to that, however. The worst… It was all he could think about. He considered how to stop it, or what would happen if they found out he was also a mutant. Would they be staked to a cross and burned together? It didn’t matter. He had to go.

He crossed roads as soon as he could, timing how he moved through cars and over sidewalks rather than abiding by any of the rules, though he tried to keep to the road as best as he could. When he saw the pet store ahead he turned toward it but continued to ride.

There was no large crowd with pitchforks and torches… That was a good first sign. Matt squeezed on both the brakes and came to a screeching halt just beside of the door. He swung his leg over and propped it against the building before racing inside.

“Anthy!?” He called out while moving through, grabbing the attention of the customers and most likely most of the animals near the entrance.

[Julien Duval]

"That's good," Julien said when she was standing in front of him. "I'm glad." He felt awkward standing there now in front of her. She looked uncomfortable, and honestly, so was he. He'd felt like he'd invaded her space somehow. And yet he also felt like he could relate to feeling out of place, so he wanted to talk to her, he just didn't know how to start conversation or if she wanted a conversation. At least she was looking him in the face though.

"So, uh...buying a pet?" he asked lamely, just as he heard someone yelling and he turned to see a blonde guy running through the store like a madman on a mission.

[Anthy Blacksmith]

He almost seemed as unsettled as she was, and Anthy hoped she hadn't been the cause of it. As he told her that he was glad that she had managed to get things sorted out, the blonde offered a small smile to try to make things less awkward. She tried to think of something to say, but he was already speaking up, asking if she was here to buy a pet.

No sooner had he asked that, Anthy's attention was snatched away as she heard Matt's voice calling her name. Oh no! She had forgotten him in her pocket! But she couldn't very well call him right now, could she? Anthy tried to think of something to do quickly, so he wouldn't have to be searching for her for long. Quickly, she raised her hand and waved it.

"I'm.. I'm over here." She said, hopefully loud enough for him to have heard her.

Or at least, she hoped he had caught sight of her waving... If not, then this could get more awkward as she would likely end up in the closet again from her power acting out from her nervousness... She looked back to the guy in front of her.

"I... I'm Anthy by the way... N-nice to meet you..." She stammered softly.

"And... and yeah I.... I came here to look at some possibly hamsters..."

[Matt Davis]

Matt skid to a stop when he heard the meek little voice of Anthy and saw the hand pop up over one of the isles. He rushed over to her and slowed down when he turned the corner to see her chatting with another guy.

His eyes were wide and he was panting some. It was a hard ride and his nerves didn’t make it easier for him to breathe or think. He scanned her up and down, and then the other boy as if trying to make heads or tails of the situation.

“... No mob?” He asked with panted out words before he even thought it. There was no fire or...hateful screams or… anything. It was just Anthy, this guy, some confused looking dogs, a slew of critters, and the open door of the closet. Why was he called?!

He slipped the mace back into his pocket, hoping nobody saw it while relaxing some and trying to show some hint of composure, though it looked far from natural.

“What-...ah….what’s happening?”

[Julien Duval]

And then the girl was calling to the frantically running guy and the confusion completely sunk into Julien, making him feel more awkward than he had as of late.

"I'm Julien," he told her, figuring he could at least offer his name in return during this strange interaction as a blonde came running towards them. "Hamsters are adorable." Lame. Lame. Lame!

The blonde guy skidded to a stop, looking wild-eyed and panicked as if there was an emergency and he'd ran miles to get there only to find two people awkwardly engaging in conversation like humans. "Mob?" he asked. "What's he talking about?" He looked at the girl who had introduced herself as Anthy. His confusion still sounded better in French, he hoped.

He saw the guy slip something into his pocket, but he couldn't make out what. "What's happening is a good question," he agreed. "What is happening?"

[Anthy Blacksmith]

He was over to them in the matter of a few seconds, out of breath, and looking flustered. Anthy bit her lip and gave him an embarrassed look as he asked about a mob and could only imagine what might have been going through his head earlier. She felt so bad for making him worry so much.

No, she had to not think about that.... She couldn't get worked up again, not right then. She had no idea on what excuse she could make if she had to run into the closet again and in front of the recently introduced Julien at that. She hadn't had the chance to answer him just yet as Matt was asking what was happening.

Now she had to quickly decide on which to answer first without seeming too awkward and not flashing while at it. She could feel a sweat trying to start..... Or was it just her skin warming up in preparation.... Oh she hoped it wasn't the latter. And now Julien was asking her what was going on too, possibly freeing her from needing to make a comment to his comment about hamsters but the moment was still not the most fluent.

"I.... I had... I had a wardrobe malfunction...." She replied before looking to Matt.

"Y-you know I don't really.... make light of... well, wardrobe.. problems. So-sorry about that... I guess I just got... worked up over the thought of... of someone seeing me.." Anthy said, having looked back to Julien while she spoke.

Would Matt have picked it up? Would he know she was talking about the fact that she had a powers slip?

[Matt Davis]

So there was no mob? No zombie attack? Nothing. Well that was both misleading and anticlimactic. His eyes were moving quickly to look over everyone there. A wardrobe malfunction? He was called for a wardrobe malfunction? She didn’t tell him to grab her a shirt, or pants or...bra or something. He was quite thankful of that really.

It took Matt a few moments before he realized what she was saying. Make -light- of the situation. Ohhh. Light. She had been glowing. His eyes moved over her, scanning her, and checking her out for a second before nodding his understanding.

“Right…. Okay, well… You have it then? Good. Good. Yeah, I can understand whatchya mean… Well, iffin y’have another, just...let me know. An’ make sure y’tell me a bit more...on the phone, please.” He gave her an open mouth smile as he let out the last of the harsh pants.

Matt took hold of his breathing with a deep, calming breath. His stance relaxed some while he looked between these two. Anthy and now Julien. He cleared his throat, finding it dry from the ride over.

“I’m-a… I’m Matt.” Matt stepped forward and offered a hand to Julien.