Chapter 23: Style and Substance

On the very first day he arrived to live with them, Annie warned Joey that voices easily carry through the apartment. This morning was no exception. She could hear them clearly from her bathroom.

"Trish? Where's that Hyperion shirt?"

"Why?"

"I want to wear it today."

"¡Dios no lo quiera! Why would you wear that today?"

"It's cool!"

"Not for your first date with Lynne! Dress nicely. Put on a red shirt."

"I'm always wearing a red shirt."

"You look hot in red, stud. You'll knock her pants off with it."

Annie wrung a tissue in her fingers as she sat in front of her bathroom mirror, looking into her own eyes, listening in, and trying to keep herself from breaking. She strained, wiped her eye as a tear started, and did her best to keep her composure.

"Trish, I don't need to dress up for her. She's already seen me in gym shorts."

"You want her to get into those shorts? You dress up for her. I think you should wear a tie."

"I'm not wearing a tie to school!"

"Hold still. Let me get this on you."

The pain was unbearable. She could feel it deep inside in her body, down in her torso, down in her heart, bubbling, fighting, and shaking her diaphragm. She leaned forward on the counter and held her breath, pushing the anguish back down, holding it back, and trying to blot out his voice.

It had only been three days, three days after his tryst with Sarah that Joey moved on to the next girl. And it turned out that this was the one he really wanted from the beginning. And Annie knew who she was, and could see why he wanted her. Lynne Sullivan was completely gorgeous, a breathtaking beauty still in her early years of womanhood, still in her awkward years and yet she was as dazzling and stunning as a supermodel. Annie had seen her once, not really met her, but there were pictures of her on her CD cover. Dark, soulful eyes and a flawless face and full curves and shapely legs. "Her legs..." Annie looked down at her own legs. They were spindly thin appendages atrophied to near nothingness from years of paralysis. "Why does Lynne have to have such beautiful legs?"

And on top of her pure physical beauty, she was talented too. Lynne was unfairly musically gifted. Her voice was golden, and she played guitar and keyboard with a master's touch. Annie shuddered involuntarily, and she let out an accidental single sob. She strained, pushing back the torture. "Why does she have to be musical? Why does she have to be this siren?" She wiped her eyes clear as the tears leaked past her defences. "Why music?" Annie loved music, and she knew her own limitations. She couldn't carry a tune if it had handles and she knew why. The chair didn't give her the support for her diaphragm. She used to be able to sing, back when she could stand.

"I don't want to wear a tie! Everyone's going to make fun of me!"

"Only the jealous ones will. Put it on."

"We're just going to the movies. The others aren't going to dress up for this."

"Do they all stay at the dorms?"

"Yeah."

"They have their whole wardrobe with them. They'll see you in the tie, and they'll all dress up too. You want to see Lynne dress up for you?"

Silence.

"I'm wearing a tie."

"Yeah, I thought so."

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Just stop talking about her! Just get out! Just leave me alone! If you're going to leave me, just do it!"

Lynne lived at the school. Annie knew she was a student there for the same reason he was; She has powers. Annie didn't even know what Lynne's powers were, but whatever they were, they were more than what Annie could do.

"You ready, stud?"

"Just about."

"Get your books. ANNIE?"

She startled and looked in the mirror again. Her face was red and splotchy, and the tears stained her cheeks. She quickly wiped her face dry, but there was nothing she could do about her color. If she showed her face, they would know.

"YES?" she called out.

"WE'RE LEAVING!" Tricia called.

It was the signal for her to come out and get a hug and a kiss from them both, and she couldn't do it. "I um ... I CAN'T COME OUT!"

She could hear Tricia approaching closer to the bathroom. "You okay in there?"

"Yeah, I ... I'm just in the middle of something disgusting." It was a plausible enough lie. The paralysis did give her one useful advantage other than parking privileges; the bathroom was a pure sanctuary for her. The rule was clear that when she was in there she was not to be disturbed. "Have a good day, okay?"

"You too. I'll call you later."

"Annie?" Joey's voice made her heart jump. "Are you..."

"You have fun on your date, bubbala!" she interrupted. "Knock her socks off."

"Okay ... Thanks."

She heard them leave, heard the door close, and waited until she heard the elevator down the hallway chime as it arrived. Then she lay her head on the counter and started crying.

The morning of Friday, October 9th, 2009 was a beautiful, golden autumn day with sunlight playfully streaming through the fiery trees and birds singing and chirping and squirrels chasing and digging and dogs barking, and Joey just soaked in the colors and songs and life as he rode to school. Everything was beautiful, and everything was exciting, for today was the day, and he just couldn't wait.

Tricia was right. The tie was a huge hit and the only people who teased him about were the one who were jealous of him. He got a couple wolf-whistles and lots of compliments. Lynne loved it. When she saw him dressed up for her, the first thing she did was she lick her lips.

English class was different. With Joey and Lynne officially a couple, and Jeff and Sarah officially together, he and Jeff switched their normal seats so they could sit with their respective women, an arrangement that proved to be academically disastrous for all four concerned. Sarah fidgeted and squirmed and giggled throughout class, whispering to Jeff and constantly demanding his attention. Joey tried to be attentive to his work, but Lynne was just too close and distracting. Her sweet scent and knowing smiles intoxicated him, and he kept sneaking glances at her gorgeous hair and her curvy body. She would catch him looking at her and admiring her, and would grin approvingly.

His simple presence seemed to keep her distracted, for even though he wasn't saying anything to her, she could only manage to write a couple words at a time when taking notes. Her jottings were disjointed and scattered about her notebook; half thoughts and half words spilled randomly on the page, nothing like the clean and prolific prose that Sarah composed. When it came time to do the grammar exercises, she would stare blankly at the page for long periods of time, her attention lost to some unknown diversion. She only managed to finish half of the exercises, and turned in half-finished work with a look of shame.

"I can help you with that," Joey offered to her. English wasn't his strongest suit, but even he managed to finish the assignment.

She gave him a sweet smile in return. "I understand it. I just don't like doing the work."

After English class was Science, and then History. Joey didn't see Lynne or Jeff for some time, since they took different classes sometimes. Simon, still attempting to get in on their date, seriously considered Raquel's suggestion to ask Kaelyn out, but decided against it on the grounds of allergies. "Claws and fangs tend to make me break out in blood," he explained.

He saw Lynne again in Ranged Powers class, where once again Jeff managed to impress everyone with awesome feats of telekinetic strength. He could lift heavy objects easily, but only one at a time, as opposed to Lynne who could easily levitate a dozen small objects simultaneously, juggling and weaving them around each other. Mr. Burgess, their Ranged Powers instructor, had Jeff work on multiple items and Lynne on heavier items, with each showing little progress. Joey's own progress wasn't that spectacular, but it was measurable. He managed to push his power almost a meter further than before his detention, but still couldn't make the final connection to Simon. He thought maybe he would have better luck with Sarah, seeing as he had been much more intimate with her than Simon, but wisely decided to not bring up the idea.

One odd thought that crept into his mind during class was the realization that his experience with Sarah must have increased his power range, that exploring her body, her mind, and her spirit had enhanced his powers. He seemed to recall someone telling him that was the secret to his ability, but try as he might, he couldn't remember who had said that to him.

Maybe he dreamt it.

The lunchroom was noisy as always, and was filling with students. "I shouldn't have worn this," Joey said to Lynne as he carried his tray to the table. "Something is going to spill on me. It always does."

"Nothing is going to spill on you," Lynne declared. "And you should dress up like this more often. You look nice. I like the tie."

"You think? I don't like them. I don't understand ties. It's hard to breathe in them."

She scrunched her nose at him as she set her tray on the table. Simon sat there perusing his food. "Just think of it as something for a girl to grab onto. Like a leash," she said.

Joey put his tray down opposite her on the table. "But why would I want to wear a leash?"

For an answer, Lynne reached out, grabbed his tie, and pulled him towards her. As Joey stumbled and leaned on the table for balance, his face stopped within an inch of her beautiful lips. She stared at him, stared deep into his soul with her dark, mysterious eyes, and Joey's heart skipped a beat as he could feel her breath on his cheek.

"Understand now?" she whispered.

Joey nodded. "Uh-huh."

She smirked at him. "Good!" And she released him and casually sat down. "Hi Simon."

Simon only briefly glanced up from his food at Lynne. "Hi. Sorry. Busy here." Then he resumed prodding his lunch with his fork.

Joey tried to recompose himself, and he sat down next to Simon. "What have you got there?"

"Working on something," he answered, studying his food.

Joey gave Lynne a confused shrug and smile, and she grinned back at him. Sarah and Jeff then arrived with their food and sat down with them. "What do you think?" Sarah asked Jeff as she pulled on one long violet-streaked strand of hair. "Should I try green?"

Jeff winced. "No. The violet's good. It matches your eyes. Don't go with green. It'll clash." He studied her pretty face. "You can try yellow or blue. That would compliment nicely."

"But I like green," Sarah said.

"Green is okay for Christmas or St. Patrick's Day, but normally it'll work against your natural coloring."

"I don't HAVE any natural coloring. I'm albino."

Joey gave Jeff a curious stare. "How did you get so fashion conscious?"

Jeff startled, and opened his mouth to answer. "Well..." he paused. "It's not being fashion conscious, I think. It's just simple mathematics." He turned his eyes to Sarah. "Violet eyes, pinkish hues from visible blood vessels in the skin, this gives a basis for a starting color. Use violet and pinks to match, and go a hundred and twenty degrees either way on the color wheel to blue and yellow to complement. And DON'T go a hundred eighty degrees to green. That clashes. Frame with white, black, or shades of gray."

Joey blinked and turned to Lynne for confirmation. She nodded, chewing her food. He turned to Simon, who while still poking at his lunch, raised an eyebrow at Jeff. Joey shrugged. "Whatever, 'dude'," he said, stressing the second word a little skeptically.

"You're an artist," Jeff said. "Don't you know how to match colors? Didn't you learn that in art classes?"

"I never took any art classes," he answered, taking a bite. "And I do most of my work in pencil or pen."

Jeff frowned. Lynne looked a little surprised as well. "Oh," he said, and he thought about it. "So I'm confused. Is color-matching supposed to be a girl thing and not a guy thing?"

Sarah and Joey answered simultaneously with a "No" and a "Yes." Simon broke the tie, muttering "Yes" without raising his eyes from his food.

"Why?" asked Lynne.

Joey thought about it and shrugged. "I don't know. Guys just don't really think about color coordination. I know I don't."

"Yes you do," Lynne said. "I've noticed. You've never worn clashing colors. Ever. You always wear complimentary colors. I like it."

Joey squinted at Lynne. "Ever? What do you mean?"

"You always dress with complementing colors. You dress stylishly."

He scrutinized her. "Have you been like, keeping track of what I wear?"

"No," she said defensively. "I just notice these things. You don't ever wear cheap T-shirts and jeans to school. You've got those red shirts, the gray one, a couple blues, a green, and brown. And you've got blue, gray, brown, and tan khaki's. You never wear the two blues, the two grays, or the two browns together. Never wear the green and tan together. You always complement nicely."

Joey blinked at her for a moment, processing this. "I think now would be a good time in our relationship for you to tell me that you've been stalking me."

"I'm not stalking you!" she said, laughing.

"You've memorized all of my clothes! My entire wardrobe!"

"That's not stalking! That's just paying attention. You probably know all of my clothes by now."

"No I don't!"

She leaned in accusingly. "Yes you do. You've seen this top before."

Joey took the moment to glance down at her chest, admiring the shapes more than the colors. "Well, yeah, but I can't rattle off everything you own. I don't pay attention to fashion."

"You have fashion sense!" she declared.

"I don't!"

"Yes you do!" she sing-songed.

"No he doesn't," Simon sing-songed back, hardly looking up from his lunch. "And before you two get into a fight before your first date, let me explain what's going on." He looked up at them. "Lynne, until three months ago, Joey never even wore matching socks. He only wore things that he could get for free, things that were donated, and things that wouldn't be stolen by other desperate people. He dressed sloppily to not attract attention, and to blend into the crowd. He wore bulky clothes to keep warm and to hide things when he stole them."

"Hey!" Joey said.

"And nobody blames you for what you did to survive!" Simon said, continuing. "Joey's fashion sense is towards utility and camouflage, the exact opposite of what you experience. What you see is Tricia's and Annie's fashion sense. Joey does not pick out his clothes. Joey is not allowed to leave the house without looking suave. If he tries, he is tackled and dragged back inside kicking and screaming by two abusive and domineering women, and is forced to dress in a manly ensemble."

Sarah just started giggling at Simon's explanation, and Lynne pouted at Joey. "Aw, you poor dear! Do you need sympathy and a pair of sweatpants?"

Simon continued. "He has been forced and battered into a life of elegant swankiness by two stylish women."

"Not true!" Joey interjected. "Three actually. You forgot Matilda."

Sarah shrieked in panic at the sound of her name, and slapped Joey's arm, grabbing his attention. "Aaack! Did you tell her?" she said, pointing to Lynne.

"Tell her what?"

"About what's-his-name." She mimed a camera, clicking her tongue.

Joey slapped his forehead. "Oh, god. I forgot." He looked at Lynne apologetically. "Sorry."

"What?" Lynne asked, suddenly very concerned.

Joey groaned and rubbed his face, carefully composing what he had to say. "There ... MAY be ... probably WILL be ... a photographer following us."

Lynne just stared at him, stunned and blinking. Jeff stared at him too.

"I forgot about him," he confessed. "Look. Matilda, she's our publicist, and for weeks she's wanted to get pictures of me dating. So she might, she probably will, send her photographer to tail us. I hope that doesn't bother you."

Lynne just continued to stare at him, her eyes wide, and her jaw dropped open in surprise.

"Look, it's not like he is going to be sitting at the table with us, or following us all night long, or anything like that. He's just going to take a few candid pictures. From a distance." He tried to interpret her face. "It's just for publicity."

"Publicity..." Lynne said, saying the word carefully. "I'm going to be in publicity shots?"

Joey's spine went cold. "Um, if it bothers you, I can call Matilda and ask her to back off." He glanced at Sarah for a moment. "She kind of owes me a favor, but I don't know if she'll do it. She's kind of hard to control."

Lynne was still processing this. "I'm being used in publicity?"

"I'm sorry! I swear! I'm not trying to use you for publicity! I just keep forgetting about her."

Lynne suddenly reached next to her, pulled her bag out onto her lap, and started sternly digging through it. Joey could only see a severe expression of determination on her face, one that did not look good. He swallowed nervously. "Look, I'm sorry! I'll call her and tell her to leave us alone!" She didn't look up, but just kept digging through the mess in her bag. He momentarily glanced at Sarah, who also looked a bit worried. "I swear, I didn't ask you out just to get publicity shots."

"If it helps," Simon interjected. "Joey did turn down a date with Dakota Fanning to ask you out."

Jeff shot Joey a strange glance, but Lynne didn't respond. She just kept digging, finally found what she was looking for, and pulled out a small case. She opened the case, pulled out a business card, and handed it to Joey.

"Here," she said. "This is all of my contact information. My website, cell phone number, email address, Twitter, Facebook, and my CDBaby page."

Joey blinked at the card, and took it. "Jeff and Lynne Sullivan, Singers/Songwriters, Guitar, Bass, Keyboard, Drums, Flute, Multi-track loop improv, Vocals, Beatbox. All styles" A list of contact information followed. "Can you make sure she at least gets the website?" she asked. "She can get all of the other information there too."

He just stared at her for a moment, baffled by her reaction. "You're okay with this?" he asked.

"Okay? With free publicity? Hell yeah!" She grinned and bounced excitedly on the bench. "It's going to boost my sales!"

Joey just continued to stare at her with disbelief. Her face suddenly dropped with concern. "Um ... I hope you don't think I only said 'yes' just to get free publicity," she said. "I didn't know that you had a publicist, and I really did want to, um ... You know."

"Um, no. I wasn't thinking that."

He stared into her dark eyes, and she gave him a curious look. "So you really turned down a date with Dakota Fanning? For me?"

He nodded.

She smiled. "Wow."

For a long moment, Joey and Lynne just looked at each other, just looked into each other's eyes, and he just drank in her beauty and marveled at her. He was learning more about her with each encounter. Lynne seemed to wear her physical beauty like a thick shell on her, covering up all the interesting parts of her personality. But he was starting to see those sides now. There was a confidence, an inner strength that defied expectations, and some unexpected desires. And as much as Joey wanted to simply taste and play with her body, he also really wanted to get to know her.

The moment stretched on, with Simon, Sarah, and Jeff all watching them stare at each other. They waited until it started to get awkward, and Sarah looked at the others. She didn't get Jeff's attention, but she silently mouthed to Simon "What do we do now?"

"WELL!" Simon blurted out, startling everyone. "If you two aren't going to go off to a privacy room and suck face, I have an announcement to make! I've finally come to a decision!" He stabbed his food and lifted a large brown patty awkwardly on his fork. "This... , " he declared solemnly, milking the moment, " ... is some kind of meat."

Everyone gave him a puzzled look.

"It took a long time to identify," he said, soliciting a couple grins. " ... and I admit that I was thrown off a bit by the smell, and the texture, and the color, and, well, everything. But I stand by my deduction! This strange substance was once a live animal. Now it is dead, and has been turned into something simulating lunch."