After The Last Laugh gig, Vel and Trevor catch up after years of not seeing one another.
Setting: Orange District, Levity Landing then Trevor’s apartment.
Timeline: April x113
Followed by: Spite
Tags: #orange-district #crossfaction #velina #trevor #cooking #clowns
Setting: Orange District, Levity Landing then Trevor’s apartment.
Timeline: April x113
Followed by: Spite
Tags: #orange-district #crossfaction #velina #trevor #cooking #clowns
Trevor II
Backstage, The Last Laugh were all doing their pre-show ritual: who could tie the most balloon animals in the shortest amount of time to help calm the nerves. Trevor wasn't the only active performing Clown of the group, so it was a close race that the lead singer got 2nd place in, losing out to the tallest member of the group with the spooky clown makeup and the bass player, Boone who wone by one animal.
Trevor clapped the taller clown on the shoulder in good fun, before turning to the other two members. The shortest of the group, Afua who donned a pierrot clown aesthetic and was the main drummer/ sometimes keyboardist if Trevor wanted to play drums that night came in 3rd and the member who people dubbed ‘Minecraft Steve’ because of the box with pixel like face on it they perpetually wore on their head, this time painted in with a pixelated clown with a bright red square nose but was actually was called Amir came in last.
“Amir, you gotta let us blow the balloons for you first.” Afua giggled as she patted their arm as they all watched the limp balloon dangle from the rectangular slit in their cardboard mask wobble uselessly as they attempted to blow it up.
“Use the pump we got you atleast.” Boone said as she crossed her arms across her broad chest, the creepy smile painted on her lips spreading wider as she actually grinned.
Amir’s head began to rotate slowly and jerkily 30 then 90, 180 and then all the 360 degrees way around before they flopped their head to the side, cardboard bonking softly against their shoulder.
Trevor watched the guitarist sulk before taking the limp balloon from their lips and blow it up for them, handing it back to them which seemed to perk them up as their head rotated the whole 360 degrees back to its normal position and the air was filled with squeaking as they began to make it into a little weiner dog.
“Ok everyone. First, face check.” They 4 clowns all looked at each other's faces, seeing if they needed a touch up. Once touch ups were over, Trevor continued with the check list.
“Balloon check.” All three of the least tall clowns picked up their balloon animals and placed them in Boone’s arms.
“Jar check.” Trev picked up a large gallon plastic jar and tucked it under his arm.
“Dudes, dudettes, Amir. Let’s fucking do this!”
—
The lights were low in Leivity Landing when The Last Laugh came on stage, all of them seemed to not pay much attention to the audience as they set up. Balloon animals were placed around the stage, the plastic jar was set to one side and trays had been strategically placed on either side as well to catch whatever food may be generated during the show.
When everything was set up, Trevor finally stood in front of the mic grabbing it passively before speaking flatly, almost sounding bored as the lights came on.
“Hey, we’re The Last Laugh. People in the splash zone, get your ponchos ready. You’ve been warned.”
Velina
Vel bounced on her toes, poncho folded over her arms, hyped for the show. It had been ages since she’d been to Orange for a concert, despite how prolific they were, and she’d never been the guest of the headliner. It wasn’t the kind of big deal that would be obvious to the other concert goers in the splash zone, no extra special VIP status, but it was exciting to her to see her once-and-now-again friend shine.
When Trevor and his band took the stage, she cheered along with the rest. Despite her attempt to dress up, clown-esque attire and makeup cobbled together and agonized over for several nights, she was probably barely distinguishable from the others in the bright lights focused on The Last Laugh. But this was about Trevor, and she felt a renewed surge of excitement as they finished their setup and she threw the poncho on at his warning.
To her, Trevor had one of the most joyful Vibes she’d ever come across. To see it performed like this would be unforgettable.
TrevorII
The mohawked Clown then gave a nod to the rest of the band before the shrill chords of the guitars blasted through the speakers as Amir began to play, followed quickly by Afua’s speed drumming and Boone slick bass, creating a high energy, punchy opening to the first song of the act.
Trevor quickly transformed from his usual low-energy persona as the song started and his whole upper body began to bob to the beat before yelling into the mic, causing a large burst of confetti to rain down around him as he picked up the mic to skank around the stage, the trays started to be filled up with garlic bread of all kinds.
Indiscriminate, I'd rather be elite
I'll choose my own shit scene
Unsubstantiated rumors flown are true
I'm here for me, not you
---
The whole show was high energy from beginning to end, the stage was an utter mess of confetti, sauce, stray slices of pizza and garlic bread from Trevor, winding long limbs and elongated body parts of Amir and splatters of brightly glowing paint from Boone that seemed to drip off every surface, even the musicians.
The front of the crowd had not been spared, splattered in whatever didn't land on stage and trays of after-show pizza and garlic bread were being handed out. Trevor didn’t say goodbye to the crowd, just placed his mic back in the mic stand and went to grab his now full jar of layered sauces as Afua, white clown costume stained with sauce and paint as well skipped to the front of the stage, using all the liquid on the floors to spin and dance around, Vibe now finally materializing for the first time this whole show.
The Drummer reached down to one corner of the stage and almost as if it was covered in a layer of very large paper, began to tear a layer of film covering the whole stage, taking all the mess made with it and leaving the members The Last Laugh and the stage as clean as it was before they had performed. It was almost as if she was removing a clear celluloid sheet you’d use in traditional 2d animation and scrunched it up before waving to the crowd, following behind Amir whose head was dragging on the floor as his neck hadn’t returned to its normal length yet. Boone scooped it up as they all walked off-stage.
Trevor was on his phone, typing a text to tell Vel where he’d be in a few minutes, not aware that the rest of the bad were crowding him, looking over his shoulder as he typed. When he did realize though, he huffed and pressed his phone to his chest.
“What? She’s none of your business.” He frowned as he looked between them all but they only stepped closer.
“She’s just an old-school friend. You’re not meeting her.”
----
Trevor foot tapped in annoyance, confetti manifesting on his shoulders in piles as he waited at the end of the bar, closest to the exit as the rest of his band surrounded him, all in his space, poking and prodding him every time they saw someone come nearby, wondering if this was Trevor’s mystery friend.
Velina
The energy of the crowd was electrifying, and as the music kicked up and the sauce started flying, Vel pogoed along with the beat. Even her Vibe simmering hungrily under the surface couldn’t distract from the pure fun of the moment, the intense chaos of the various band vibes. And, of course, being heavily doused with a cacophony of sauces.
Vel did not get out unscathed. Even with the poncho, by the end of the concert she had streaks of aioli and pesto and enchilada and every other sauce across her leggings, splattered on her face, and a few dollops here and there in her hair. She looked like she’d just come out of a particularly violent and culinary paint ball fight, and enjoyed every second of it. She was just relieved none got in her eyes; she’d noticed what were probably veteran fans donning on swimming goggles so they never had to flinch at a particularly aggressive splash.
By the time they all cleaned up, Vel felt absolutely brimming with Vibeand surrounded by potential snacks. She tucked her hands into her poncho and made herself stand still, focused on the way the stage peeled away into pristine condition, not the people next to her who she could just reach out and tap…
She moved quickly away from the stepper who suddenly wavered on their feet, caught by a friend as they held their head. Stolen Vibe filled Vel up to the top, quieting the urge, her eyes shiny points of light easily lost in everyone else’s far more dramatic expressions. Her victim would be fine in a few seconds. Hopefully, they’d just brush it off as getting a little too over-excited without drinking enough water.
Vel was gone and out anyway, fishing into her pocket for a pack of makeup wipes and a mirror. Her phone buzzed; a text from Trevor. By the time she’d get to him, any signs she’d stolen Vibe should be gone.
--
“Trevor!” Vel called to him, waving as she cut through the crowd. Her poncho was folded, inside out and carefully creased to keep from dripping any gathered sauce, over her other arm, and she swept the unoccupied one out to invite him into a hug if he wanted it as she stepped into his space. “Oh my groove, it was, like, so fun and cool. This is your band? Hi!”
She’d clearly put some effort into giving her makeup a bit of a clown slant to it, though the little hearts on her cheeks were gone after she’d had to de-sauce herself. She’d missed a glob of honey mustard on her head, but otherwise, besides what decorated her leggings and boots, she was condiment free.
“This was awesome, thanks so much for, like, inviting me out.”
Trevor II
Trevor’s head turned when he heard his name called, bumping into Amir’s cardboard one a bit which caused him to shoo the Guitarist away as he got disentangled from the rest of the group to greet Vel properly. A hug was had that Trevor even bent down a little for, causing the other bandmates to make a quiet ‘ooooOOOooo’ sound making him stand up straight again.
“Glad you had a good time.” He said before pulling away, a slight grin on his face. “Because of course you had a good time.” He grinned broadened as he slung an arm around Boone, pointing a thumb up at the even taller-than-him scary clown who gave Vel a nod.
“That's Boone, bassist-” He then pointed at the smallest of the group who was sitting on a bar stool, drinking a very black looking drink.
“This is Afua, our drummer and sometimes keyboardist.” She gave Vel a little wave as he stepped over to the last member’s side.
“And this is Amir, lead guitarist.” He said as he slung an arm around Amir’s neck. The empty black cutouts when Amir’s eyes should have been stared in Vel’s direction, almost boring into her before he gave a wiggle and nodded his head very exaggeratedly in greetings.
“And all of you-” He stepped away to stand by Vel’s side, motioning at her with his hands. “This is Vel!... Ok, cool. See you later, dudes.”
There was a chorus of boos from the clowns as Trevor flipped them off and they flipped him off, but it all seemed in good fun.
Velina
She leaned into the hug, squeezing him tight but releasing the moment he pulled away. Maybe she flushed a little, too, at his bandmates' ribbing, but at least it was hard to tell under the faded remains of her red makeup.
"Hi, Boone, Afua, Amir!" Vel wasn't phased by people bigger than her, or a little strange, not in this setting. She'd certainly gotten used to a medley of affectations and persons over the years, and, as a DJ MeowMeow fan, she certainly couldn't fault anyone for the anonymity of a cardboard head. "Amazing show, I'll definitely be coming to more."
As Trevor introduced her and then flipped off his friends, Vel laughed, but didn't join in. She knew better than that.
"You sure you don't want to stick around? I don't know what you usually do after a concert, but, like, I don't mind hanging out."
Trevor II
Trevor blinked a little at the question, before looking away for a moment and then kind of shrugged his shoulder.
“You know… post-show stuff.” He said a little awkwardly though his band were happy enough to fill in the blanks.
“Get wasted.” Boone said simply, followed by Afua adding cheerfully. “Smoke Ivy and unwind or party hard.”
The two clowns looked at Amir as the box-headed clown’s head wobbled back before their angelic voice was finally heard.
“Stunts…Rowdy… Fighting….Talk about …the inherent loneliness we feel sometimes but how together we make each other feel whole.”
There was a moment when all the clowns were sombrely nodding in agreement before Trevor said:
“Haha, you just said we fill each other's holes.” There was another round of sombre nodding before the clowns all cracked up. Trevor looked back to Vel, a little grin on his face as he rolled his eyes a little.
“Sorry, its literally this but like with close-up magic all night. It's fine, they’ll live without me for one night, right clowns?” He said the last part to the rest of the group who all gave a little thumbs up or a nod of approval.
“We’ll just have to meet you again when there isn't a show, Vel.” Boone said as she stepped forward to give Trevor and her a fist bump.
“Yeah! We can talk about the existential dread that we all feel while doing each other's makeup.” Afua said jokingly, flashing the two of them a cute wave.
Amir didn't say anything but his head did rotate around 360 degrees before giving a nod and got to their feet to give Trevor a tight squeeze that Trevor took in stride.
“See? They’ll be fine, dude.”
Velina
“I don’t know if I could, like, keep up with all of you, but I could try. I’m pretty good at filling holes.” Their easy camaraderie and the presence of Trevor did give Vel a little boost of confidence to toss out an easy dirty joke. Most people either knew, or quickly learned about, her profession regardless.
She took a little step back to give them space for their goodbyes, returning Boone’s fistbump and Afua’s little wave. “I’ll hold you to it. Sounds fun!”
As they separated and stepped out, Vel let out a happy sigh, reaching as if to loop her arm in Trevor’s while they walked. “You four are so close. How long has the band been, like, together? How did you get together?”
She’d missed out so much on her friend’s life. She’d barely realized they were friends in school, considering the difficult time she’d had doing anything outside of classes. But Trevor had always been fun, and nice, and that counted for a lot in her limited bubble. Guilt squeezed at her heart briefly, a whisper of a reminder that she wasn’t supposed to get close to people.
But she’d violated that so many times since leaving Orange, it couldn’t hurt to ignore it again and try.
Trevor II
Trevor was tickled by Vel’s joke as were the rest of the clowns and once goodbyes were finished, they were off to Trevor’s place. He noticed Vel reach for his arm without touching him and it took a moment for him to understand what she wanted to do and tentatively gave his arm to her, not really used to people holding onto him that way.
“Well you know, I wasn’t always a Clown. Well, not fully.” He honked his nose with his free hand.
“I met Afua and Boone while doing my clown studies under kinda a master clown a bit after I dropped out of secondary school when I was about 16 and er, Amir… I don’t know, they just appeared one day when the rest of us thought about making a band with a guitar in hand like they were always meant to be there. I think it was try-outs maybe… about 6 years ago? I did a lot of drumming and stuff before that. My Vibe doesn’t, you know-” He made little confetti motions with his hand and then he made a big wet fart sound.
“When I drum. Not a lot of dudes appreciate getting sauced in their best outfits. So it's nice that I found a group as messy as me… Also if you need to wash anything professionally, I can pay for it or you can just clean it at mine. I have gotten pretty good at getting tomato stains out, unsurprisingly.” He honked his nose twice that time as he looked over to Vel.
“You got a feeling of what you’d want to cook? I stocked up before the show so I’m good to make anything.”
Velina
Vel slipped her arm in his as they walked and talked, cherishing the closeness. The sleeves, and their friendliness,and her recent feeding made it much more secure. It was nice to be close.
"Oh, so we left school about the same time? I didn't know." The year of Solar Flares, when she'd gotten so unstable she'd vanished from school before she'd fully, completely vanished. She didn't even know what her mothers' excuse had been for her absence.
"Right, I remember you doing percussion. I was always spinning, like, rifles and flags." Colorguard had been another activity she was allowed because she didn't touch anyone. She squeezed his arm reflexively, trying to anchor against the bad thoughts that kept reaching out to tinge the edges of her conversation.
"Oh, I can probably get it done, too, I'm, like, pretty practiced with other stains. Unless you're just trying to get me out of my leggings." Vel was, truly, just making a joke, as much as she did like Trevor. The crass joke he'd made before had apparently been a signal to open the floodgates of dirty humor. "Groove, I probably should have thought about what we might cook before I came out. Like, I make a lot of latin dishes at home, when I can get the stuff for it. I know your Vibe makes pizza, but, like, is that what you like on your downtime? Italian? Or what do you go for?"
Trevor II
“Yeah, I guess… Had a bit of a falling out with my parents.” That was an understatement, though his face and voice didn’t portray it as anything more than something basic.
“ And I moved out on my own…Mostly. A kid at school I knew back then’s Mom let me come over sometimes… Kinda was a lot going on at the time so I didn’t know you dropped out too.” He doesn’t know if Vel would know who Manny was, being he was in a class a few years below theirs so he doesn't mention him by name.
“Ah yeah, I remember. The flag stuff. Most I can twirl is pizza dough or a drumstick so that shit was tight.” Trevor’s gaze flickered to Vel as she squeezed his arm a bit, not thinking much of it as he continued walking at her pace, pulling a little face at her joke. He most definitely didn’t joke with her like that back in school so he let out a little snort as he bumped into her gently.
“Hey man, I can’t make you do anything. Now, could I slight of hand them off if you wanted?” He raised his free hand in front of the both of them, showing the back and front of it before with a flick of his wrist, a clown sticker was between his fingers before offering it to Vel. “Probably not…But seriously, if they are a pair you like…”
“Italian? Bruh.” He looked like he was about to roll his eyes but instead, he rolled his whole head before looking at her seriously. “I am the only certified clown and certified chef in my troupe. I trained under the many chefs of the island…. Of course, I can do Italian and surprisingly more.” He honked his nose a little as the tiniest grins spread across his painted lips.
“ Naw dude, you’re like the guest of honor. I always cook what I want. I got a pressure cooker if you want something that has to be slow-cooked done quickly too… What have you been craving this week?”
Velina
Vel had to shake off and shove down the irrational guilt that weaseled its way in when Trevor mentioned having to crash on a friend's couch. She hadn't been there for him then. She couldn't have been, even if she hadn't run away. But it hurt to hear he went through it.
"I guess we both had, like, some parent troubles, huh?" She could feel bad she hadn't known, too, or she could focus on the place they were in right now which, for all accounts, seemed pretty stable and happy. With a little laugh to lighten her own mood, she plucked the sticker from his hand. "Cute. I'm going to put this on my computer."
She paused just a moment to kick a leg up and look at her leggings. Oof. They were pretty splattered. "Alright, I'll take you up on it. We'll see how many different colors we can get out of it!"
The question of cooking, though, was dizzying in its scope. What did she pick? Something that would impress Trevor? Unlikely. She really did stick to her wheelhouse, even though she'd branched out into Noir, Dwight, and Renard's favorites at times. Her dining experience was pretty limited.
What did she want?
"...You're free to veto this, because it's, like, not even a real meal, and I can come up with something else. But, like, I dunno if you can get pork belly? Fried pork belly chicharrones with guacamole are so good, but I'm terrified of deep frying." And she usually couldn't get pork belly. Most of the meat Vel ate was fish, and whatever the Vendys in RD offered (she, like much of the island, did not ask where the meat came from).
Trevor II
“Ah, you too? Well, fuck em… Most of them, my twin is chill.” Trevor didn’t remember hearing too much about Vel’s family, just kinda loosely remembers never seeing her at any parties or being able to hang out outside of school, though that might of been because she was a good kid and he was everyone's problem at the time. He hadn’t see Vel as well when he split from school and home… Maybe she kept to the Northside of the Orange District while he kept to the South.
“Let me know if you want any other merch, I got some at mine.” He nodded towards the sticker before he waited a moment for Vel to tell him what she wanted.
“No Veoting. We are making Fried pork belly chicharrones.” The Clown nodded because the decision was made.
“Trinni helped restock not that long ago so I should have some Pork Belly I was gonna use for something else, but they can just help me make some more later.” He didn’t remember if Trinni and Vel ever spoke, they were in some of their classes and Trinni was wayyyyy more friendly and popular than he ever was so… Maybe?
“I can make some extra stuff too or we can have it with some leftovers, I’m super easy. And maybe we can get you over your hot oil fear.” Trevor winked without smiling before leading Vel across the street. “You allergic to anything? … Have you cooked before? I can… do everything if you haven't.”
Velina
“Ah, well, I guess.” That was her very spirited answer to the talk of parents. She’d rather just drop it.
"Ooh, more merch? Like, maybe a little clown plushie of you?" Vel would honestly cry if there was a cute little unsmiling plush clown in Trevor's likeness that she could hold, let alone have.
"What else were you going to use it for? Do you want to make that instead?" Despite the decision having been made, Vel was never one to let an opportunity to try and give someone else their way go by.
“If you want to make more things, I like it with, like, guacamole to dip in. A little spicy with some fat jalapeños, if you’re up for that!” Couldn’t assume his spice tolerance, though he was probably far better than her. Years of Vendy Bars had degraded her stomach’s iron-clad lining, but it was coming back.
“No allergies. And I’ve not trained under any chefs or anything, but I cook all the time, when I’ve got time.” Vel would be the first to admit her knowledge of cuisine was limited. Her family had mostly made Latin dishes growing up, rarely eating out, so if it wasn’t what her mother made or what they served in the cafeteria, or the island’s ubiquitous seafood, she didn’t know much about it. It was only in the last few years that she’d started getting enough cash to make food and not just squeak by.
But, confidence was key and she wasn’t going to sit around while he did all the work. “So, as long as you’re helping me with the hot oil, I can do, like, whatever else you need! Probably!”
Trevor II
“We don’t have plushes, no…. But I could talk to the group about it?” Trevor never thought about having a tiny version of his band before…Would people just put them on their shelves or their beds with their presumed other stuffed toys?... Was Vel into stuffed toys?
“We have more like t-shirts, stickers, posters, clown noses, coasters, clown collars, knuckle dusters. You know. Normal merch stuff.”
The mention of Jalapeños however got the gears turning in his mind…
“Deep fried Jalapeno poppers, yeah. With some dips? Yeah! And as long as you don't burn water, you are lightyears ahead of my roomie so-“ there was a small huff of laughter that escaped the clown despite his expression barely changing.
“Yeah, naw that's all good. Oh-“ he jutted his chin towards the block of flats across the street, this one painted with a black and orange motif, decorated with greenery like most of the district.
“I live over there. Come one.” Living so close to some of the metal venues he frequented meant if he left something at home, he’d be back at the gig in less than a few minutes. Trevor led Vel into the foyer, to the elevator and soon enough, they were entering an open space living room, decorated relatively neutrally orange and green, though there were small affectations of his and Iggy’s about the place.
“Leave your shoes by the door… If you wanna take your leggings off to wash em, I have some leg warmers if you want? They're in my room…I’ll get changed too, gig clothes for cooking feels… gross…”
Velina
"I mean, if it's, like, weird to think of a little plush version of you, don't worry about it! I just think it'd be cute." Vel lit up at the list of other options, though. "Clown noses and collars sound fun! How do you put a clown nose on so it sticks? And what's a knuckle duster...?"
She continued the chatter as he led her across the street. "I can make some good salsa and guacamole, and we could probably also just do some, like, sour cream? Or, like, a ranch...I bet you know how to do some really fancy sauces that don't come in bottles and tubs, though." The apartment was nice, though Vel had to contend with her boots, first, just as she got in the door, before she could take a closer look.
"Leg warmers sound fun. If they're really cute, you'll have to, like, make sure I don't steal them. Take your time, though." She waved him off to his room. "I know the first thing I do when I'm done at the Luxe is get all my makeup off. I'll just be out here, pantsless, rooting through your things."
A joke, of course; she was still wearing a little black dress that had cleanly survived the concert thanks to the poncho that she set by her boots, and her leggings on top of it. Free of dirty boots and hosiery, she did step further into the space, her first interest in the plants, and the decor. Which would be Trevor's, and which his roommate's?
Trevor II
“I wouldn't say it's weird… Just what if someone sticks needles in it? Or stabs mini me… would I feel it?” Trevor grimaced, grabbing where his shirt stretched over his stomach before his hand moved to his clown nose, squeezed it and pulled of his own nose, uncovered by white paint on the tip.
“This one clips on, but you can get ones that glue on too…” He paused. “Knuckle dusters…You put em on your fists to punch people harder. We got some in clown print and pastels if you want some.” He grinned a little before putting his nose back on with a honk.
“I can just sing some sauces too, free of charge. And of course they are cute, they’re Tiffany’s.” He rolled his eyes and tutted a little in jest, not remembering to say who Tiffany was… Maybe it would be better just to show her one day…
“Just make sure not to flash my roomie by accident. Help yourself to the fridge. All drinks are fair game. Remote’s on the coffee. I won't be long.” Trevor said as he was already tugging off his battle vest and unclasping one of his spiked bracelets before disappearing through a door to the right.
---
The living room had a subtle blend of Iggy’s gaming décor with gaming systems around the TV, replica objects from games and other nerdy things tucked away neatly on shelves and Trevor’s haphazardly placed clown memorabilia from a little clown reading lamp by the soft to a clown-themed rug between the kitchen and the living room.
Most of the clown-themed stuff was in the kitchen however from little cute clown salt and pepper shakers, towels and plates. What was most common was a plethora of clown shaped post-it notes around the kitchen, all in bubble-like writing telling an ‘Iggy’ not to touch certain things or instructions on how to use the microwave.
---
Trevor sped through his usual routine as quickly as possible, jumped in a hot shower and blasted himself with hot water and washed off his makeup in record time. He looked at himself in the mirror, a few acne scars here and there on his freckled skin, cheeks and forehead blotchy with redness where he scrubbed too hard, his near non-existent eyebrows barely there…
Ugh, he wanted to paint his face again. Vel hadn’t seen him without makeup recently and he wasnt … comfortable without it unless it was with Manny or Moreno or something…But that would take too long.
He stepped out, dressed in plaid baggy pants and a black band shirt with balloons and sparkles with his band’s name on it, hair now tied back in a loose ponytail. He compromised on the makeup, putting a bit of black eyeshadow around his eyes so he didn’t look so naked and had a mask covering his nose and mouth.
“They may be a little bit big, they gotta fit around my calves-” Trevor said slowly as he held up a pair of pastel multi-coloured leg warmers for Vel as he made his way back into the main room, decorated with hearts and pompoms.
May 18, 2024
Velina
"Ooh, I see," she leaned in and up on her toes when he took off his nose, curious. But at the mention of the knuckle dusters, she lit up further. "Oh, that's such a cool idea. I've been learning to punch lately; might be fun to try one?"
Wait, who was Tiffany?
"I'll try not to flash your roomie at all," Vel reassured him, letting him go as she started to explore.
Looking through the apartment, she didn't touch much. It seemed a little too transgressive as a first time guest (especially as she didn't know the roommate; was that Tiffany?) to go picking things up and moving them around. She did gently touch the leaves of some of the herbs in their planters, but that was just habit from her own.
By the time Trevor got out of the shower and back to her, she was reading all the sticky notes in the kitchen, holding one from near the stove she had accidentally knocked off but seemed to have lost its stickiness from time or heat or steam exposure regardless. She turned, looking somewhat guilty mixed in with how amused she was at all of the instructions.
"Iggy must have a lot of trouble in here?" She prompted, wiggling the little bit of post-it in her hand. If Iggy was the roommate, maybe Tiffany was a girlfriend. "Sorry, this one won't re-stick."
The mask was...a concern, only in that she suddenly felt like she was imposing. To her, masks usually meant someone wasn't feeling well. Besides 'Dito shenanigans, anyway.
She offered him the sticky note in exchange for the leg warmers, so concerned about his health that she completely missed how these were supposed to fit his calves but supposedly belonged to Tiffany. "I think it'll be fine, just a little slouchy--or I an put 'em up by my thighs, that'll really stretch them out." She bent to slip them on, but couldn't help looking up at him again, at the mask.
"Are you feeling okay?"
Trevor II
“No probs. You don’t know the half of it.” Trevor snorted as he took the post-it from Vel’s hand, placing it on the island, his gaze sliding off her as she slipped on his legwarmers.
“The amount of fires he caused when he first moved in. They guy could burn air if he could… Probably has.” Trevor huffed as he looked back to Vel, shoulders rolling a bit. “Iggy is allowed in the fridge and in the microwave and that's it, even with supervision. The notes are more as a reminder than anything- Oh.”
Trevor slipped his hand into his pant’s pocket and placed a pastel orange set of knucledusters on the island in front of Vel on the kitchen island, detailed with a party theme of balloons and confetti in other pastel colours as well as the band’s name.
“We didn’t make a load of these, but you can have them. Limited edition.”He drawled as he scratched a little under his mask…
“Huh? Yeah, I'm fine? Oh-” He pointed to his mask and then shrugged. “Er, not got my face on so…” He really should have gotten better at making up excuses about his mask stuff by now, but he could usually just glared at people or ignore questions about it…
“I didn’t want to dazzle you.” he deflected as he made his way over to the fridge and started pulling out ingredients including the fabled pork belly.
“I need your vision as good as possible if we’re cooking with oil.”
Velina
"Yeah, I need to see the oil fountaining at me and, like, regret all my choices." Vel switched to teasing, dropping the mask conversation. She was pretty good at making people feel comfortable, if she said so herself, and part of that was not prying into things that people deliberately changed the subject on.
Instead, she went over to pick up the knuckle dusters. She was becoming a cacophany of color, the pastel leg warmers and soft orange knuckle dusters showing up starkly against her usual black and reds. Vel didn't seem to mind, turning the clown-branded weapon over for careful scrutiny.
"Wow, limited edition...this is really cool. I'm not going to, like, ask if you're sure, because I want it." And it'd probably get annoying if she kept double-checking his generosity.
As he began to pull food out from the fridge, she realized she was still wearing gloves and sleeves. She stripped those off, leaving them out of the way with the knuckle duster. She fished out a hairtie from her dress pocket, pulled her hair back (oh, she'd not noticed the honey mustard in her hair until it had dried...eugh...she'd wash it out later) and went to go scrub her hands.
"Alright, all ready to do whatever you're looking for, Chef Trevor." She dried her hands off on a clown-towel, beaming at him. "I'm going to, like, 'yes, chef' you the whole time."
Trevor II
“Anyone can have an oil disaster.” Trevor casually lifted his shirt a bit, showing off some of his freckled skin as he pointed to a splodge of discolouration on his right side.
“Added something a little too wet one time and it spat right at me. My fault for frying without a shirt.” He let the shirt fall as he shrugged before nodding his head towards the window. “We have shirts on so we’re ahead of the curve this time.” There was an exhale of a laugh there as he watched Vel with the knuckle dusters.
They suited her.
He gave a nod, not even thinking about taking them back unless she hit her with them, but she didn't seem like the kind of person to do that. Trevor also noted as she took off more clothes, he could set those to soak once the pork belly was boiling on the stove.
“Ok, first off.” He opened up a drawer and pulled out an apron for Vel to wear. Her main clothes were clean from the poncho, no need to get them all messy too. He then grabbed a pot from one of the lower drawers before filling his electric kettle with water and setting it to boil.
“The beginning bit is pretty easy. Slice me a few onions into halves, cut just the top of a head of garlic and I’ll slice up the pork belly.” He hummed as he snapped on a pair of gloves and placed the slab of pork belly onto a large chopping board.
“Do you ever think ‘huh, how do they make like marbling and junk in Vendy meat?’” Trevor said as he began slicing. “Like, my twin made this meat, which you know. Vibe food, but Vendies… It's like… 3d printed or-? Do.. do they have secret pens under the island, you think?”
Velina
Vel frowned at the scar in sympathy and worry, as if it was fresh and not clearly years old and no longer painful. “Oh, honey, that must have hurt like hell.”
It also did not really alleviate any of her fears…but, it was old enough that, probably, he had learned from it and they weren’t about to have a terrifying fountain of oil cannoned in their faces. Still, she accepted the apron and mentally considered putting her sleeves back on.
“I can do that, easy.” Chopping vegetables in half was not a skill where she might feel concerned to be behind Trevor in ability, at least so long as they weren’t trying to go real fast and real little. In half? Tops off? She’d got it handled.
At his question about the meat, though, Vel laughed in surprise.
“Groove, I try not to think about it too much. I mean, like, how does the Vendy make anything? Where’s the packaging or the ready made meals come from?” She looked over at the pork from Trini and was a bit relieved to be having the conversation while not eating the actual subjects of it. “I guess someone could, like, take pictures of different marbling and look for patterns? But, then, like, I don’t know what non-Vendy or Vibe meat is supposed to look like. Would have to go through old intranet footage I guess.”
The onions and garlic were ready. The ease at which the knives went through the vegetables reminded Vel, guiltily, that she really should sharpen her own sometime.
“This is sounding like a four-to-six-hour video essay by a food vlogger, though. I don’t know how you’d figure it out. And I don’t know how you’d, like, go underground and check without running into…” Morris Dancers. Actually Vel didn’t want to bring them up. “Problems. Ah, do you mostly eat Vibe food?”
A clumsy subject change.
Trevor II
Trevor shrugged causally, glad he didn't show her the gnarlier burn on his other side. Sure the oil hurt but almost getting burnt from the outside was a lot more memorable in his mind.
The casual chopping was soothing to the Clown, finding himself only looking over once or twice at what Vel was doing, giving little nods of approval at her work, not that she needed it. He moved over to the stove, switching it on with his one clean hand before pouring in the boiling water then when to wash his hands.
“Some of my teachers are old as balls so they were born on the mainland and old enough to remember what meat was like.” Trevor huffed as he lathered up his hands, making sure to clean them properly. “And they are even debating about it. Like I think some of it is like… Cloned? Lab grown?... I-” He paused as he turned away, looking maybe the tiniest bit embarrassed as he shook off his hands and began to open the cupboards to pull out some herbs and seasoning.
“I used to think little robot chefs lived in the Vendies and made all the premade meals as a kid… I mean, there are bots… I don’t know.” he pouted a little under his mask as he motioned for Vel to bring over all her chopped goods to add to the water.
The clown pulled a creeped out face at the mention of the underground, not forgetting his little … excursion there not too long ago. He full body shuddered, shaking his head, trying not to think about it as he gently dropped the chopped ingredients into the boiling water, perking up a little at the new question.
“It depends on where I source my food from. Like Trinni can make anything except Pizzas. They suck at those, but sometimes I like to go to the ‘farmer’s’ market to pick up stuff that people grew, some with their Vibe but mostly they grow in the gardens.” Treveor began, sounding a little more animated as he grabbed the pork belly and slid them in slowly into the pot.
“Then there is the stuff you can harvest yourself- Trinni isn't alway here so sometimes I buy Vendy Meat, sometimes I go ask or trade with this buff dude who sells like, fresh sushi and junk for fresh fish. I meal prep for my roomie and my friend a bit too. Iggy is terrible at cooking but Manny is like… lazy?” He kind of tilted his head back and forth for a moment, debating if that was the right word or not.
“Hmm, he needs… encouragement to eat more healthily. Same with this one girl, Ayrin. tall as a house bus she only eats take out… Like, don't get me wrong, my pizzas are certified healthier than a lot of things despite them being, you know… Pizza. But she eats so much of it- Shit, wait. What was the question-”
“Oh, yeah and nah. Can't really avoid eating Vibe food when you are kinda surrounded by it…Like my next door neighbour makes Tacos with his vibe. I'm kinda drowning in it. And er, you? You feel weird eating people's Vibe to a degree?” he rambled, ears turning a little red as he got embarrassed about talking so much about food.
Velina
“Ohmygosh…little Vendy chefs would be so cute.” Vel’s voice bent mystified as she brought over her ingredients, dumbfounded she’d never thought about it before. “Oh, can you imagine, if you could watch? Like, little robots chopping ingredients, stirring a pot, pouring it into portions, sealing it up, every one of them at one stop on a conveyor belt…I’d love that.”
Vel scrubbed the smell of onions off her hands while Trevor went into detail about sources of food, and the faults of his friends’ eating habits. She wasn’t sure if she knew Iggy, and while the name Manny was familiar, it was hard to know if it was the same kid two years younger than them; had Trevor and Manny ever hanged out that she knew?
Ha…how would she know? She was barely allowed out of the house.
Ayrin, though. She knew Ayrin, especially from that description. “Ayrin’s my friend! Groove, I try to load her up with food, too, whenever she visits. I knew she wasn’t eating right.” The accusation was laced with fondness for the ice queen, Vel half-laughing through it. “I’m glad I’m not the only one making sure she gets her veggies.”
She didn’t get to enjoy Trevor’s cute embarrassment much as he continued, however, as his attempt to include her in the conversation was like a sucker punch to the gut. One would think that having an entire monologue preceding it about Vibe Food would clue her in to the focus of the conversation, but the brain did not always operate on pure logic. It only took him asking about “eating people’s Vibe” to flash a well-ingrained jolt of anxiety into her gut.
It took her a second to answer, just a beat too long while she righted the tram back on track.
“Oh, um, no, I don’t have a problem with Vibe Food.” She was supposed to be a better actress than this. “Sorry, I heard you wrong at first and I was, like, trying to catch up. I think your Vibe is really cool, actually. Like, being able to feed the people around you and make something that everyone enjoys? That’s amazing.”
Hopefully he would just think the stumble was Vibe envy (which, of course, she did have). All anyone ever knew about her Vibe growing up was that it hurt her to use.
Trevor II
Trevor didn’t expect Vel to go into depth about the little Vendy Chefs idea and couldn't help but grin a little. “I wanted to peel off one of the front covers to see if that's how it worked but Vendies are important so I didnt.” Trevor had done a lot of dumb stuff in their lifetime but they hadn’t done that at the very least.
“ Oh shit, you know Ayrin too. Small island.” He joked as he stirred the pot before leaving it to simmer for a few minutes. “I don't think she notices with how small I make em, but I’m also glad too.” His eyes closed a little as he smiled to himself before grabbing the chopping boards to wash them up.
The sound of running and bubbling water filled the room as there was a lull in the conversation which Trevor would usually welcome but it was right after the question about Vibe food…
Trevor opened his mouth to say ‘Don’t worry about it.’ But Vel beat him to the punch, head tilting to look at her from the corner of his eye, almost non existent eyebrows quirking up at the sudden compliments about his Vibe…
“... Okay…” He seemed to stall himself, mirroring Vel’s silence. He hadn’t really gotten many compliments like that from anyone apart from his Twin, who he knew was just doing it because of how their parents treated him mostly… Vel didn’t know about that part though…
“Sorry, didn’t mean to make you feel … uncomfortable?” He wasn't the best at reading people he wasn’t in contact with very frequently so he wasn’t sure if he understood what just happened.
“Er, Boss-Man eats people's Vibe AND Vibe food if that makes you feel less weird about it? And he’s like rad and junk so...” He poked out his tongue, but forgot he had a mask on and made an ugh sound as he pulled the mask down to wash his mouth out with water.
“Um-” He pulled it back up quickly before turning to scoop the scum off the surface of the boiling meat. “Once I’m done here, we can start on the Jalapenos…”
Velina
She could feel how she'd made things awkward like a pit of anxiety opening in her stomach. It was so stupid. They hadn't even been talking about things like vibepires, and yet immediately she'd jumped to the worst, most fearful conclusion. Vel would never be rid of it.
"No, I'm not uncomfortable. Sorry, I'm just, like, kind of an airhead," she lied, but it was the kind of lying she was good at. The kind to put people at ease, with a light tone of voice through a 'genuine' smile.
The comment about 'Boss-Man' did pique her interest. Paying too much attention to Orange news and UG spectacle often made her feel homesick and depressed, and so she didn't quite understand how Steven's Vibe worked, or even really what had happened to him. Mostly, she knew what he looked likeso she knew who might kill her one day for being what she was.
But he…ate Vibe?
"He really eats Vibe? Like, what do you mean?" Vel leaned back against the counter, putting her all into being nonchalant about the whole thing. The mention of the jalapeños at least sparked a way out of the conversation as well, back to focusing on him.
"Actually, I was wondering about something, like, where does your Vibe draw the line on sauce? Does it have to be a, like, traditional sauce, or can you make up your own sauce in your head? When does something stop being a sauce, or condiment, I guess, and when does it become...I don't know, like a dip? Does guacamole count?"
If the question about Boss-Man got lost in talking about Trevor's Vibe, that'd still be fine with her. Anything to make things less weird than where she'd tripped them up into.
Trevor II
Trevor watched Vel from the corner of his eye as he finished cleaning up the scum and rinsed off the sieve before setting it aside to dry.
Was Vel an airhead? From the few conversations they’ve had recently, she didn't really seem like that…He didn’t want to pry though, it was meant to be a chill hangout, not pick at things that may lead to something sad or bad.
“Er, yeah. The Rizz just kinda grabs people's Vibe and just munches on it from what I can tell. Like one dude I know, total weenie but… maybe a little cooler now, Xavier. I saw Steven just take some electricity off him one time and pop it in his mouth…” He 100% latched onto a question about his Boss, UG pride shining through.
“He had that cool fight with that, shrimp-fuck boy leader of FM and just bit through his light whips like they were candy! And that cheatin’ muther funker lil bitch tried to kill him and then he turned into a gloopy skeleton! Just fucking sucked up all that light and -phchooo!!- “ Trevor paused pulling things out of the fridge to pretend he was powering up, clearly excited talking about fights as a little bit of confetti popped into existence.
Trevor plopped down all the things they needed for the Jalapeno poppers on the counter before turning back to Vel, barely-there eyebrows raising at the sudden change in the topic that left his brain stalling for a moment.
“Errr, I… Hm…So usually my Vibe kind of latches onto people in a sense and I can … feel? What they like most. Like it's not like mind reading or like being an empath, I don't feel like your current emotions or anything. It's just like ‘That's your favourite and I know it's your favourite so it makes it … It’s not just sauces though, it's like dips, you know? To dip your garlic bread or pizza in…” He had mostly made peace with his goofy Vibe but having to explain it felt…like pointing out how goofy it was which made him feel kind of dumb for pointing out how dumb it was.
“It's stupid but yeah. If someone's favourite dip was Guac, I could make some… If I don't have that person near me though, it's kind of a randomiser kind of deal. I would have to keep rolling the sauce n’ dip roulette till I hit the right one so it's just kind of easier to just make it from scratch.” He pulled a pair of disposable gloves out of one of the drawers and handed them to Vel.
“If you could cut these longways and de-seed them, that would be rad.”
Velina
The little pause Trevor needed to switch gears was good for Vel, too, because processing what he'd said about the UG leader's Vibe was taking a good amount of her own brain power.
The leader of a faction was a vibepire?
...No, that didn't make any sense. It had to be different. It had to be he only ate things that came from Vibe, like all output of Vibe was as food to him as Trevor's pizzas. That was different from sucking the Vibe right through someone's skin, or from a bloody wound, like she did. That was the difference, and even little differences were important. As different as a surgeon's scalpel was to a knife in the dark.
Groove, Trevor was talking and she wasn't paying enough attention. She jumped her train of thought back on the right track in time to mentally recover the bulk of what he had said, and to catch the rest of it.
"...It's not stupid." It was hard to see what he was so self-conscious about to her. If she took more than a moment to think about it, about how he'd left home the same time she had, about any of the little context clues he was dropping, she might have pieced it together. But it was difficult to be empathetic when self-deprecating and envious...
"I don't know, like, I love making food for people. If I could dance or sing with them and make them something I know they'd love to eat, I think I'd be set for life." Vel agreeably slipped on the gloves, beginning her work on the peppers with enough ease that it was clear this was something she did often. "Groove, gloves are smart. One time I chopped a couple peppers that were just, like, volatile, I guess, and I ended up keeping my fingers in a cup of milk for, like, an hour. It was the only thing that made the burning stop."
Backstage, The Last Laugh were all doing their pre-show ritual: who could tie the most balloon animals in the shortest amount of time to help calm the nerves. Trevor wasn't the only active performing Clown of the group, so it was a close race that the lead singer got 2nd place in, losing out to the tallest member of the group with the spooky clown makeup and the bass player, Boone who wone by one animal.
Trevor clapped the taller clown on the shoulder in good fun, before turning to the other two members. The shortest of the group, Afua who donned a pierrot clown aesthetic and was the main drummer/ sometimes keyboardist if Trevor wanted to play drums that night came in 3rd and the member who people dubbed ‘Minecraft Steve’ because of the box with pixel like face on it they perpetually wore on their head, this time painted in with a pixelated clown with a bright red square nose but was actually was called Amir came in last.
“Amir, you gotta let us blow the balloons for you first.” Afua giggled as she patted their arm as they all watched the limp balloon dangle from the rectangular slit in their cardboard mask wobble uselessly as they attempted to blow it up.
“Use the pump we got you atleast.” Boone said as she crossed her arms across her broad chest, the creepy smile painted on her lips spreading wider as she actually grinned.
Amir’s head began to rotate slowly and jerkily 30 then 90, 180 and then all the 360 degrees way around before they flopped their head to the side, cardboard bonking softly against their shoulder.
Trevor watched the guitarist sulk before taking the limp balloon from their lips and blow it up for them, handing it back to them which seemed to perk them up as their head rotated the whole 360 degrees back to its normal position and the air was filled with squeaking as they began to make it into a little weiner dog.
“Ok everyone. First, face check.” They 4 clowns all looked at each other's faces, seeing if they needed a touch up. Once touch ups were over, Trevor continued with the check list.
“Balloon check.” All three of the least tall clowns picked up their balloon animals and placed them in Boone’s arms.
“Jar check.” Trev picked up a large gallon plastic jar and tucked it under his arm.
“Dudes, dudettes, Amir. Let’s fucking do this!”
—
The lights were low in Leivity Landing when The Last Laugh came on stage, all of them seemed to not pay much attention to the audience as they set up. Balloon animals were placed around the stage, the plastic jar was set to one side and trays had been strategically placed on either side as well to catch whatever food may be generated during the show.
When everything was set up, Trevor finally stood in front of the mic grabbing it passively before speaking flatly, almost sounding bored as the lights came on.
“Hey, we’re The Last Laugh. People in the splash zone, get your ponchos ready. You’ve been warned.”
Velina
Vel bounced on her toes, poncho folded over her arms, hyped for the show. It had been ages since she’d been to Orange for a concert, despite how prolific they were, and she’d never been the guest of the headliner. It wasn’t the kind of big deal that would be obvious to the other concert goers in the splash zone, no extra special VIP status, but it was exciting to her to see her once-and-now-again friend shine.
When Trevor and his band took the stage, she cheered along with the rest. Despite her attempt to dress up, clown-esque attire and makeup cobbled together and agonized over for several nights, she was probably barely distinguishable from the others in the bright lights focused on The Last Laugh. But this was about Trevor, and she felt a renewed surge of excitement as they finished their setup and she threw the poncho on at his warning.
To her, Trevor had one of the most joyful Vibes she’d ever come across. To see it performed like this would be unforgettable.
TrevorII
The mohawked Clown then gave a nod to the rest of the band before the shrill chords of the guitars blasted through the speakers as Amir began to play, followed quickly by Afua’s speed drumming and Boone slick bass, creating a high energy, punchy opening to the first song of the act.
Trevor quickly transformed from his usual low-energy persona as the song started and his whole upper body began to bob to the beat before yelling into the mic, causing a large burst of confetti to rain down around him as he picked up the mic to skank around the stage, the trays started to be filled up with garlic bread of all kinds.
Indiscriminate, I'd rather be elite
I'll choose my own shit scene
Unsubstantiated rumors flown are true
I'm here for me, not you
---
The whole show was high energy from beginning to end, the stage was an utter mess of confetti, sauce, stray slices of pizza and garlic bread from Trevor, winding long limbs and elongated body parts of Amir and splatters of brightly glowing paint from Boone that seemed to drip off every surface, even the musicians.
The front of the crowd had not been spared, splattered in whatever didn't land on stage and trays of after-show pizza and garlic bread were being handed out. Trevor didn’t say goodbye to the crowd, just placed his mic back in the mic stand and went to grab his now full jar of layered sauces as Afua, white clown costume stained with sauce and paint as well skipped to the front of the stage, using all the liquid on the floors to spin and dance around, Vibe now finally materializing for the first time this whole show.
The Drummer reached down to one corner of the stage and almost as if it was covered in a layer of very large paper, began to tear a layer of film covering the whole stage, taking all the mess made with it and leaving the members The Last Laugh and the stage as clean as it was before they had performed. It was almost as if she was removing a clear celluloid sheet you’d use in traditional 2d animation and scrunched it up before waving to the crowd, following behind Amir whose head was dragging on the floor as his neck hadn’t returned to its normal length yet. Boone scooped it up as they all walked off-stage.
Trevor was on his phone, typing a text to tell Vel where he’d be in a few minutes, not aware that the rest of the bad were crowding him, looking over his shoulder as he typed. When he did realize though, he huffed and pressed his phone to his chest.
“What? She’s none of your business.” He frowned as he looked between them all but they only stepped closer.
“She’s just an old-school friend. You’re not meeting her.”
----
Trevor foot tapped in annoyance, confetti manifesting on his shoulders in piles as he waited at the end of the bar, closest to the exit as the rest of his band surrounded him, all in his space, poking and prodding him every time they saw someone come nearby, wondering if this was Trevor’s mystery friend.
Velina
The energy of the crowd was electrifying, and as the music kicked up and the sauce started flying, Vel pogoed along with the beat. Even her Vibe simmering hungrily under the surface couldn’t distract from the pure fun of the moment, the intense chaos of the various band vibes. And, of course, being heavily doused with a cacophony of sauces.
Vel did not get out unscathed. Even with the poncho, by the end of the concert she had streaks of aioli and pesto and enchilada and every other sauce across her leggings, splattered on her face, and a few dollops here and there in her hair. She looked like she’d just come out of a particularly violent and culinary paint ball fight, and enjoyed every second of it. She was just relieved none got in her eyes; she’d noticed what were probably veteran fans donning on swimming goggles so they never had to flinch at a particularly aggressive splash.
By the time they all cleaned up, Vel felt absolutely brimming with Vibe
She moved quickly away from the stepper who suddenly wavered on their feet, caught by a friend as they held their head. Stolen Vibe filled Vel up to the top, quieting the urge, her eyes shiny points of light easily lost in everyone else’s far more dramatic expressions. Her victim would be fine in a few seconds. Hopefully, they’d just brush it off as getting a little too over-excited without drinking enough water.
Vel was gone and out anyway, fishing into her pocket for a pack of makeup wipes and a mirror. Her phone buzzed; a text from Trevor. By the time she’d get to him, any signs she’d stolen Vibe should be gone.
--
“Trevor!” Vel called to him, waving as she cut through the crowd. Her poncho was folded, inside out and carefully creased to keep from dripping any gathered sauce, over her other arm, and she swept the unoccupied one out to invite him into a hug if he wanted it as she stepped into his space. “Oh my groove, it was, like, so fun and cool. This is your band? Hi!”
She’d clearly put some effort into giving her makeup a bit of a clown slant to it, though the little hearts on her cheeks were gone after she’d had to de-sauce herself. She’d missed a glob of honey mustard on her head, but otherwise, besides what decorated her leggings and boots, she was condiment free.
“This was awesome, thanks so much for, like, inviting me out.”
Trevor II
Trevor’s head turned when he heard his name called, bumping into Amir’s cardboard one a bit which caused him to shoo the Guitarist away as he got disentangled from the rest of the group to greet Vel properly. A hug was had that Trevor even bent down a little for, causing the other bandmates to make a quiet ‘ooooOOOooo’ sound making him stand up straight again.
“Glad you had a good time.” He said before pulling away, a slight grin on his face. “Because of course you had a good time.” He grinned broadened as he slung an arm around Boone, pointing a thumb up at the even taller-than-him scary clown who gave Vel a nod.
“That's Boone, bassist-” He then pointed at the smallest of the group who was sitting on a bar stool, drinking a very black looking drink.
“This is Afua, our drummer and sometimes keyboardist.” She gave Vel a little wave as he stepped over to the last member’s side.
“And this is Amir, lead guitarist.” He said as he slung an arm around Amir’s neck. The empty black cutouts when Amir’s eyes should have been stared in Vel’s direction, almost boring into her before he gave a wiggle and nodded his head very exaggeratedly in greetings.
“And all of you-” He stepped away to stand by Vel’s side, motioning at her with his hands. “This is Vel!... Ok, cool. See you later, dudes.”
There was a chorus of boos from the clowns as Trevor flipped them off and they flipped him off, but it all seemed in good fun.
Velina
She leaned into the hug, squeezing him tight but releasing the moment he pulled away. Maybe she flushed a little, too, at his bandmates' ribbing, but at least it was hard to tell under the faded remains of her red makeup.
"Hi, Boone, Afua, Amir!" Vel wasn't phased by people bigger than her, or a little strange, not in this setting. She'd certainly gotten used to a medley of affectations and persons over the years, and, as a DJ MeowMeow fan, she certainly couldn't fault anyone for the anonymity of a cardboard head. "Amazing show, I'll definitely be coming to more."
As Trevor introduced her and then flipped off his friends, Vel laughed, but didn't join in. She knew better than that.
"You sure you don't want to stick around? I don't know what you usually do after a concert, but, like, I don't mind hanging out."
Trevor II
Trevor blinked a little at the question, before looking away for a moment and then kind of shrugged his shoulder.
“You know… post-show stuff.” He said a little awkwardly though his band were happy enough to fill in the blanks.
“Get wasted.” Boone said simply, followed by Afua adding cheerfully. “Smoke Ivy and unwind or party hard.”
The two clowns looked at Amir as the box-headed clown’s head wobbled back before their angelic voice was finally heard.
“Stunts…Rowdy… Fighting….Talk about …the inherent loneliness we feel sometimes but how together we make each other feel whole.”
There was a moment when all the clowns were sombrely nodding in agreement before Trevor said:
“Haha, you just said we fill each other's holes.” There was another round of sombre nodding before the clowns all cracked up. Trevor looked back to Vel, a little grin on his face as he rolled his eyes a little.
“Sorry, its literally this but like with close-up magic all night. It's fine, they’ll live without me for one night, right clowns?” He said the last part to the rest of the group who all gave a little thumbs up or a nod of approval.
“We’ll just have to meet you again when there isn't a show, Vel.” Boone said as she stepped forward to give Trevor and her a fist bump.
“Yeah! We can talk about the existential dread that we all feel while doing each other's makeup.” Afua said jokingly, flashing the two of them a cute wave.
Amir didn't say anything but his head did rotate around 360 degrees before giving a nod and got to their feet to give Trevor a tight squeeze that Trevor took in stride.
“See? They’ll be fine, dude.”
Velina
“I don’t know if I could, like, keep up with all of you, but I could try. I’m pretty good at filling holes.” Their easy camaraderie and the presence of Trevor did give Vel a little boost of confidence to toss out an easy dirty joke. Most people either knew, or quickly learned about, her profession regardless.
She took a little step back to give them space for their goodbyes, returning Boone’s fistbump and Afua’s little wave. “I’ll hold you to it. Sounds fun!”
As they separated and stepped out, Vel let out a happy sigh, reaching as if to loop her arm in Trevor’s while they walked. “You four are so close. How long has the band been, like, together? How did you get together?”
She’d missed out so much on her friend’s life. She’d barely realized they were friends in school, considering the difficult time she’d had doing anything outside of classes. But Trevor had always been fun, and nice, and that counted for a lot in her limited bubble. Guilt squeezed at her heart briefly, a whisper of a reminder that she wasn’t supposed to get close to people.
But she’d violated that so many times since leaving Orange, it couldn’t hurt to ignore it again and try.
Trevor II
Trevor was tickled by Vel’s joke as were the rest of the clowns and once goodbyes were finished, they were off to Trevor’s place. He noticed Vel reach for his arm without touching him and it took a moment for him to understand what she wanted to do and tentatively gave his arm to her, not really used to people holding onto him that way.
“Well you know, I wasn’t always a Clown. Well, not fully.” He honked his nose with his free hand.
“I met Afua and Boone while doing my clown studies under kinda a master clown a bit after I dropped out of secondary school when I was about 16 and er, Amir… I don’t know, they just appeared one day when the rest of us thought about making a band with a guitar in hand like they were always meant to be there. I think it was try-outs maybe… about 6 years ago? I did a lot of drumming and stuff before that. My Vibe doesn’t, you know-” He made little confetti motions with his hand and then he made a big wet fart sound.
“When I drum. Not a lot of dudes appreciate getting sauced in their best outfits. So it's nice that I found a group as messy as me… Also if you need to wash anything professionally, I can pay for it or you can just clean it at mine. I have gotten pretty good at getting tomato stains out, unsurprisingly.” He honked his nose twice that time as he looked over to Vel.
“You got a feeling of what you’d want to cook? I stocked up before the show so I’m good to make anything.”
Velina
Vel slipped her arm in his as they walked and talked, cherishing the closeness. The sleeves, and their friendliness,
"Oh, so we left school about the same time? I didn't know." The year of Solar Flares, when she'd gotten so unstable she'd vanished from school before she'd fully, completely vanished. She didn't even know what her mothers' excuse had been for her absence.
"Right, I remember you doing percussion. I was always spinning, like, rifles and flags." Colorguard had been another activity she was allowed because she didn't touch anyone. She squeezed his arm reflexively, trying to anchor against the bad thoughts that kept reaching out to tinge the edges of her conversation.
"Oh, I can probably get it done, too, I'm, like, pretty practiced with other stains. Unless you're just trying to get me out of my leggings." Vel was, truly, just making a joke, as much as she did like Trevor. The crass joke he'd made before had apparently been a signal to open the floodgates of dirty humor. "Groove, I probably should have thought about what we might cook before I came out. Like, I make a lot of latin dishes at home, when I can get the stuff for it. I know your Vibe makes pizza, but, like, is that what you like on your downtime? Italian? Or what do you go for?"
Trevor II
“Yeah, I guess… Had a bit of a falling out with my parents.” That was an understatement, though his face and voice didn’t portray it as anything more than something basic.
“ And I moved out on my own…Mostly. A kid at school I knew back then’s Mom let me come over sometimes… Kinda was a lot going on at the time so I didn’t know you dropped out too.” He doesn’t know if Vel would know who Manny was, being he was in a class a few years below theirs so he doesn't mention him by name.
“Ah yeah, I remember. The flag stuff. Most I can twirl is pizza dough or a drumstick so that shit was tight.” Trevor’s gaze flickered to Vel as she squeezed his arm a bit, not thinking much of it as he continued walking at her pace, pulling a little face at her joke. He most definitely didn’t joke with her like that back in school so he let out a little snort as he bumped into her gently.
“Hey man, I can’t make you do anything. Now, could I slight of hand them off if you wanted?” He raised his free hand in front of the both of them, showing the back and front of it before with a flick of his wrist, a clown sticker was between his fingers before offering it to Vel. “Probably not…But seriously, if they are a pair you like…”
“Italian? Bruh.” He looked like he was about to roll his eyes but instead, he rolled his whole head before looking at her seriously. “I am the only certified clown and certified chef in my troupe. I trained under the many chefs of the island…. Of course, I can do Italian and surprisingly more.” He honked his nose a little as the tiniest grins spread across his painted lips.
“ Naw dude, you’re like the guest of honor. I always cook what I want. I got a pressure cooker if you want something that has to be slow-cooked done quickly too… What have you been craving this week?”
Velina
Vel had to shake off and shove down the irrational guilt that weaseled its way in when Trevor mentioned having to crash on a friend's couch. She hadn't been there for him then. She couldn't have been, even if she hadn't run away. But it hurt to hear he went through it.
"I guess we both had, like, some parent troubles, huh?" She could feel bad she hadn't known, too, or she could focus on the place they were in right now which, for all accounts, seemed pretty stable and happy. With a little laugh to lighten her own mood, she plucked the sticker from his hand. "Cute. I'm going to put this on my computer."
She paused just a moment to kick a leg up and look at her leggings. Oof. They were pretty splattered. "Alright, I'll take you up on it. We'll see how many different colors we can get out of it!"
The question of cooking, though, was dizzying in its scope. What did she pick? Something that would impress Trevor? Unlikely. She really did stick to her wheelhouse, even though she'd branched out into Noir, Dwight, and Renard's favorites at times. Her dining experience was pretty limited.
What did she want?
"...You're free to veto this, because it's, like, not even a real meal, and I can come up with something else. But, like, I dunno if you can get pork belly? Fried pork belly chicharrones with guacamole are so good, but I'm terrified of deep frying." And she usually couldn't get pork belly. Most of the meat Vel ate was fish, and whatever the Vendys in RD offered (she, like much of the island, did not ask where the meat came from).
Trevor II
“Ah, you too? Well, fuck em… Most of them, my twin is chill.” Trevor didn’t remember hearing too much about Vel’s family, just kinda loosely remembers never seeing her at any parties or being able to hang out outside of school, though that might of been because she was a good kid and he was everyone's problem at the time. He hadn’t see Vel as well when he split from school and home… Maybe she kept to the Northside of the Orange District while he kept to the South.
“Let me know if you want any other merch, I got some at mine.” He nodded towards the sticker before he waited a moment for Vel to tell him what she wanted.
“No Veoting. We are making Fried pork belly chicharrones.” The Clown nodded because the decision was made.
“Trinni helped restock not that long ago so I should have some Pork Belly I was gonna use for something else, but they can just help me make some more later.” He didn’t remember if Trinni and Vel ever spoke, they were in some of their classes and Trinni was wayyyyy more friendly and popular than he ever was so… Maybe?
“I can make some extra stuff too or we can have it with some leftovers, I’m super easy. And maybe we can get you over your hot oil fear.” Trevor winked without smiling before leading Vel across the street. “You allergic to anything? … Have you cooked before? I can… do everything if you haven't.”
Velina
“Ah, well, I guess.” That was her very spirited answer to the talk of parents. She’d rather just drop it.
"Ooh, more merch? Like, maybe a little clown plushie of you?" Vel would honestly cry if there was a cute little unsmiling plush clown in Trevor's likeness that she could hold, let alone have.
"What else were you going to use it for? Do you want to make that instead?" Despite the decision having been made, Vel was never one to let an opportunity to try and give someone else their way go by.
“If you want to make more things, I like it with, like, guacamole to dip in. A little spicy with some fat jalapeños, if you’re up for that!” Couldn’t assume his spice tolerance, though he was probably far better than her. Years of Vendy Bars had degraded her stomach’s iron-clad lining, but it was coming back.
“No allergies. And I’ve not trained under any chefs or anything, but I cook all the time, when I’ve got time.” Vel would be the first to admit her knowledge of cuisine was limited. Her family had mostly made Latin dishes growing up, rarely eating out, so if it wasn’t what her mother made or what they served in the cafeteria, or the island’s ubiquitous seafood, she didn’t know much about it. It was only in the last few years that she’d started getting enough cash to make food and not just squeak by.
But, confidence was key and she wasn’t going to sit around while he did all the work. “So, as long as you’re helping me with the hot oil, I can do, like, whatever else you need! Probably!”
Trevor II
“We don’t have plushes, no…. But I could talk to the group about it?” Trevor never thought about having a tiny version of his band before…Would people just put them on their shelves or their beds with their presumed other stuffed toys?... Was Vel into stuffed toys?
“We have more like t-shirts, stickers, posters, clown noses, coasters, clown collars, knuckle dusters. You know. Normal merch stuff.”
The mention of Jalapeños however got the gears turning in his mind…
“Deep fried Jalapeno poppers, yeah. With some dips? Yeah! And as long as you don't burn water, you are lightyears ahead of my roomie so-“ there was a small huff of laughter that escaped the clown despite his expression barely changing.
“Yeah, naw that's all good. Oh-“ he jutted his chin towards the block of flats across the street, this one painted with a black and orange motif, decorated with greenery like most of the district.
“I live over there. Come one.” Living so close to some of the metal venues he frequented meant if he left something at home, he’d be back at the gig in less than a few minutes. Trevor led Vel into the foyer, to the elevator and soon enough, they were entering an open space living room, decorated relatively neutrally orange and green, though there were small affectations of his and Iggy’s about the place.
“Leave your shoes by the door… If you wanna take your leggings off to wash em, I have some leg warmers if you want? They're in my room…I’ll get changed too, gig clothes for cooking feels… gross…”
Velina
"I mean, if it's, like, weird to think of a little plush version of you, don't worry about it! I just think it'd be cute." Vel lit up at the list of other options, though. "Clown noses and collars sound fun! How do you put a clown nose on so it sticks? And what's a knuckle duster...?"
She continued the chatter as he led her across the street. "I can make some good salsa and guacamole, and we could probably also just do some, like, sour cream? Or, like, a ranch...I bet you know how to do some really fancy sauces that don't come in bottles and tubs, though." The apartment was nice, though Vel had to contend with her boots, first, just as she got in the door, before she could take a closer look.
"Leg warmers sound fun. If they're really cute, you'll have to, like, make sure I don't steal them. Take your time, though." She waved him off to his room. "I know the first thing I do when I'm done at the Luxe is get all my makeup off. I'll just be out here, pantsless, rooting through your things."
A joke, of course; she was still wearing a little black dress that had cleanly survived the concert thanks to the poncho that she set by her boots, and her leggings on top of it. Free of dirty boots and hosiery, she did step further into the space, her first interest in the plants, and the decor. Which would be Trevor's, and which his roommate's?
Trevor II
“I wouldn't say it's weird… Just what if someone sticks needles in it? Or stabs mini me… would I feel it?” Trevor grimaced, grabbing where his shirt stretched over his stomach before his hand moved to his clown nose, squeezed it and pulled of his own nose, uncovered by white paint on the tip.
“This one clips on, but you can get ones that glue on too…” He paused. “Knuckle dusters…You put em on your fists to punch people harder. We got some in clown print and pastels if you want some.” He grinned a little before putting his nose back on with a honk.
“I can just sing some sauces too, free of charge. And of course they are cute, they’re Tiffany’s.” He rolled his eyes and tutted a little in jest, not remembering to say who Tiffany was… Maybe it would be better just to show her one day…
“Just make sure not to flash my roomie by accident. Help yourself to the fridge. All drinks are fair game. Remote’s on the coffee. I won't be long.” Trevor said as he was already tugging off his battle vest and unclasping one of his spiked bracelets before disappearing through a door to the right.
---
The living room had a subtle blend of Iggy’s gaming décor with gaming systems around the TV, replica objects from games and other nerdy things tucked away neatly on shelves and Trevor’s haphazardly placed clown memorabilia from a little clown reading lamp by the soft to a clown-themed rug between the kitchen and the living room.
Most of the clown-themed stuff was in the kitchen however from little cute clown salt and pepper shakers, towels and plates. What was most common was a plethora of clown shaped post-it notes around the kitchen, all in bubble-like writing telling an ‘Iggy’ not to touch certain things or instructions on how to use the microwave.
---
Trevor sped through his usual routine as quickly as possible, jumped in a hot shower and blasted himself with hot water and washed off his makeup in record time. He looked at himself in the mirror, a few acne scars here and there on his freckled skin, cheeks and forehead blotchy with redness where he scrubbed too hard, his near non-existent eyebrows barely there…
Ugh, he wanted to paint his face again. Vel hadn’t seen him without makeup recently and he wasnt … comfortable without it unless it was with Manny or Moreno or something…But that would take too long.
He stepped out, dressed in plaid baggy pants and a black band shirt with balloons and sparkles with his band’s name on it, hair now tied back in a loose ponytail. He compromised on the makeup, putting a bit of black eyeshadow around his eyes so he didn’t look so naked and had a mask covering his nose and mouth.
“They may be a little bit big, they gotta fit around my calves-” Trevor said slowly as he held up a pair of pastel multi-coloured leg warmers for Vel as he made his way back into the main room, decorated with hearts and pompoms.
May 18, 2024
Velina
"Ooh, I see," she leaned in and up on her toes when he took off his nose, curious. But at the mention of the knuckle dusters, she lit up further. "Oh, that's such a cool idea. I've been learning to punch lately; might be fun to try one?"
Wait, who was Tiffany?
"I'll try not to flash your roomie at all," Vel reassured him, letting him go as she started to explore.
Looking through the apartment, she didn't touch much. It seemed a little too transgressive as a first time guest (especially as she didn't know the roommate; was that Tiffany?) to go picking things up and moving them around. She did gently touch the leaves of some of the herbs in their planters, but that was just habit from her own.
By the time Trevor got out of the shower and back to her, she was reading all the sticky notes in the kitchen, holding one from near the stove she had accidentally knocked off but seemed to have lost its stickiness from time or heat or steam exposure regardless. She turned, looking somewhat guilty mixed in with how amused she was at all of the instructions.
"Iggy must have a lot of trouble in here?" She prompted, wiggling the little bit of post-it in her hand. If Iggy was the roommate, maybe Tiffany was a girlfriend. "Sorry, this one won't re-stick."
The mask was...a concern, only in that she suddenly felt like she was imposing. To her, masks usually meant someone wasn't feeling well. Besides 'Dito shenanigans, anyway.
She offered him the sticky note in exchange for the leg warmers, so concerned about his health that she completely missed how these were supposed to fit his calves but supposedly belonged to Tiffany. "I think it'll be fine, just a little slouchy--or I an put 'em up by my thighs, that'll really stretch them out." She bent to slip them on, but couldn't help looking up at him again, at the mask.
"Are you feeling okay?"
Trevor II
“No probs. You don’t know the half of it.” Trevor snorted as he took the post-it from Vel’s hand, placing it on the island, his gaze sliding off her as she slipped on his legwarmers.
“The amount of fires he caused when he first moved in. They guy could burn air if he could… Probably has.” Trevor huffed as he looked back to Vel, shoulders rolling a bit. “Iggy is allowed in the fridge and in the microwave and that's it, even with supervision. The notes are more as a reminder than anything- Oh.”
Trevor slipped his hand into his pant’s pocket and placed a pastel orange set of knucledusters on the island in front of Vel on the kitchen island, detailed with a party theme of balloons and confetti in other pastel colours as well as the band’s name.
“We didn’t make a load of these, but you can have them. Limited edition.”He drawled as he scratched a little under his mask…
“Huh? Yeah, I'm fine? Oh-” He pointed to his mask and then shrugged. “Er, not got my face on so…” He really should have gotten better at making up excuses about his mask stuff by now, but he could usually just glared at people or ignore questions about it…
“I didn’t want to dazzle you.” he deflected as he made his way over to the fridge and started pulling out ingredients including the fabled pork belly.
“I need your vision as good as possible if we’re cooking with oil.”
Velina
"Yeah, I need to see the oil fountaining at me and, like, regret all my choices." Vel switched to teasing, dropping the mask conversation. She was pretty good at making people feel comfortable, if she said so herself, and part of that was not prying into things that people deliberately changed the subject on.
Instead, she went over to pick up the knuckle dusters. She was becoming a cacophany of color, the pastel leg warmers and soft orange knuckle dusters showing up starkly against her usual black and reds. Vel didn't seem to mind, turning the clown-branded weapon over for careful scrutiny.
"Wow, limited edition...this is really cool. I'm not going to, like, ask if you're sure, because I want it." And it'd probably get annoying if she kept double-checking his generosity.
As he began to pull food out from the fridge, she realized she was still wearing gloves and sleeves. She stripped those off, leaving them out of the way with the knuckle duster. She fished out a hairtie from her dress pocket, pulled her hair back (oh, she'd not noticed the honey mustard in her hair until it had dried...eugh...she'd wash it out later) and went to go scrub her hands.
"Alright, all ready to do whatever you're looking for, Chef Trevor." She dried her hands off on a clown-towel, beaming at him. "I'm going to, like, 'yes, chef' you the whole time."
Trevor II
“Anyone can have an oil disaster.” Trevor casually lifted his shirt a bit, showing off some of his freckled skin as he pointed to a splodge of discolouration on his right side.
“Added something a little too wet one time and it spat right at me. My fault for frying without a shirt.” He let the shirt fall as he shrugged before nodding his head towards the window. “We have shirts on so we’re ahead of the curve this time.” There was an exhale of a laugh there as he watched Vel with the knuckle dusters.
They suited her.
He gave a nod, not even thinking about taking them back unless she hit her with them, but she didn't seem like the kind of person to do that. Trevor also noted as she took off more clothes, he could set those to soak once the pork belly was boiling on the stove.
“Ok, first off.” He opened up a drawer and pulled out an apron for Vel to wear. Her main clothes were clean from the poncho, no need to get them all messy too. He then grabbed a pot from one of the lower drawers before filling his electric kettle with water and setting it to boil.
“The beginning bit is pretty easy. Slice me a few onions into halves, cut just the top of a head of garlic and I’ll slice up the pork belly.” He hummed as he snapped on a pair of gloves and placed the slab of pork belly onto a large chopping board.
“Do you ever think ‘huh, how do they make like marbling and junk in Vendy meat?’” Trevor said as he began slicing. “Like, my twin made this meat, which you know. Vibe food, but Vendies… It's like… 3d printed or-? Do.. do they have secret pens under the island, you think?”
Velina
Vel frowned at the scar in sympathy and worry, as if it was fresh and not clearly years old and no longer painful. “Oh, honey, that must have hurt like hell.”
It also did not really alleviate any of her fears…but, it was old enough that, probably, he had learned from it and they weren’t about to have a terrifying fountain of oil cannoned in their faces. Still, she accepted the apron and mentally considered putting her sleeves back on.
“I can do that, easy.” Chopping vegetables in half was not a skill where she might feel concerned to be behind Trevor in ability, at least so long as they weren’t trying to go real fast and real little. In half? Tops off? She’d got it handled.
At his question about the meat, though, Vel laughed in surprise.
“Groove, I try not to think about it too much. I mean, like, how does the Vendy make anything? Where’s the packaging or the ready made meals come from?” She looked over at the pork from Trini and was a bit relieved to be having the conversation while not eating the actual subjects of it. “I guess someone could, like, take pictures of different marbling and look for patterns? But, then, like, I don’t know what non-Vendy or Vibe meat is supposed to look like. Would have to go through old intranet footage I guess.”
The onions and garlic were ready. The ease at which the knives went through the vegetables reminded Vel, guiltily, that she really should sharpen her own sometime.
“This is sounding like a four-to-six-hour video essay by a food vlogger, though. I don’t know how you’d figure it out. And I don’t know how you’d, like, go underground and check without running into…” Morris Dancers. Actually Vel didn’t want to bring them up. “Problems. Ah, do you mostly eat Vibe food?”
A clumsy subject change.
Trevor II
Trevor shrugged causally, glad he didn't show her the gnarlier burn on his other side. Sure the oil hurt but almost getting burnt from the outside was a lot more memorable in his mind.
The casual chopping was soothing to the Clown, finding himself only looking over once or twice at what Vel was doing, giving little nods of approval at her work, not that she needed it. He moved over to the stove, switching it on with his one clean hand before pouring in the boiling water then when to wash his hands.
“Some of my teachers are old as balls so they were born on the mainland and old enough to remember what meat was like.” Trevor huffed as he lathered up his hands, making sure to clean them properly. “And they are even debating about it. Like I think some of it is like… Cloned? Lab grown?... I-” He paused as he turned away, looking maybe the tiniest bit embarrassed as he shook off his hands and began to open the cupboards to pull out some herbs and seasoning.
“I used to think little robot chefs lived in the Vendies and made all the premade meals as a kid… I mean, there are bots… I don’t know.” he pouted a little under his mask as he motioned for Vel to bring over all her chopped goods to add to the water.
The clown pulled a creeped out face at the mention of the underground, not forgetting his little … excursion there not too long ago. He full body shuddered, shaking his head, trying not to think about it as he gently dropped the chopped ingredients into the boiling water, perking up a little at the new question.
“It depends on where I source my food from. Like Trinni can make anything except Pizzas. They suck at those, but sometimes I like to go to the ‘farmer’s’ market to pick up stuff that people grew, some with their Vibe but mostly they grow in the gardens.” Treveor began, sounding a little more animated as he grabbed the pork belly and slid them in slowly into the pot.
“Then there is the stuff you can harvest yourself- Trinni isn't alway here so sometimes I buy Vendy Meat, sometimes I go ask or trade with this buff dude who sells like, fresh sushi and junk for fresh fish. I meal prep for my roomie and my friend a bit too. Iggy is terrible at cooking but Manny is like… lazy?” He kind of tilted his head back and forth for a moment, debating if that was the right word or not.
“Hmm, he needs… encouragement to eat more healthily. Same with this one girl, Ayrin. tall as a house bus she only eats take out… Like, don't get me wrong, my pizzas are certified healthier than a lot of things despite them being, you know… Pizza. But she eats so much of it- Shit, wait. What was the question-”
“Oh, yeah and nah. Can't really avoid eating Vibe food when you are kinda surrounded by it…Like my next door neighbour makes Tacos with his vibe. I'm kinda drowning in it. And er, you? You feel weird eating people's Vibe to a degree?” he rambled, ears turning a little red as he got embarrassed about talking so much about food.
Velina
“Ohmygosh…little Vendy chefs would be so cute.” Vel’s voice bent mystified as she brought over her ingredients, dumbfounded she’d never thought about it before. “Oh, can you imagine, if you could watch? Like, little robots chopping ingredients, stirring a pot, pouring it into portions, sealing it up, every one of them at one stop on a conveyor belt…I’d love that.”
Vel scrubbed the smell of onions off her hands while Trevor went into detail about sources of food, and the faults of his friends’ eating habits. She wasn’t sure if she knew Iggy, and while the name Manny was familiar, it was hard to know if it was the same kid two years younger than them; had Trevor and Manny ever hanged out that she knew?
Ha…how would she know? She was barely allowed out of the house.
Ayrin, though. She knew Ayrin, especially from that description. “Ayrin’s my friend! Groove, I try to load her up with food, too, whenever she visits. I knew she wasn’t eating right.” The accusation was laced with fondness for the ice queen, Vel half-laughing through it. “I’m glad I’m not the only one making sure she gets her veggies.”
She didn’t get to enjoy Trevor’s cute embarrassment much as he continued, however, as his attempt to include her in the conversation was like a sucker punch to the gut. One would think that having an entire monologue preceding it about Vibe Food would clue her in to the focus of the conversation, but the brain did not always operate on pure logic. It only took him asking about “eating people’s Vibe” to flash a well-ingrained jolt of anxiety into her gut.
It took her a second to answer, just a beat too long while she righted the tram back on track.
“Oh, um, no, I don’t have a problem with Vibe Food.” She was supposed to be a better actress than this. “Sorry, I heard you wrong at first and I was, like, trying to catch up. I think your Vibe is really cool, actually. Like, being able to feed the people around you and make something that everyone enjoys? That’s amazing.”
Hopefully he would just think the stumble was Vibe envy (which, of course, she did have). All anyone ever knew about her Vibe growing up was that it hurt her to use.
Trevor II
Trevor didn’t expect Vel to go into depth about the little Vendy Chefs idea and couldn't help but grin a little. “I wanted to peel off one of the front covers to see if that's how it worked but Vendies are important so I didnt.” Trevor had done a lot of dumb stuff in their lifetime but they hadn’t done that at the very least.
“ Oh shit, you know Ayrin too. Small island.” He joked as he stirred the pot before leaving it to simmer for a few minutes. “I don't think she notices with how small I make em, but I’m also glad too.” His eyes closed a little as he smiled to himself before grabbing the chopping boards to wash them up.
The sound of running and bubbling water filled the room as there was a lull in the conversation which Trevor would usually welcome but it was right after the question about Vibe food…
Trevor opened his mouth to say ‘Don’t worry about it.’ But Vel beat him to the punch, head tilting to look at her from the corner of his eye, almost non existent eyebrows quirking up at the sudden compliments about his Vibe…
“... Okay…” He seemed to stall himself, mirroring Vel’s silence. He hadn’t really gotten many compliments like that from anyone apart from his Twin, who he knew was just doing it because of how their parents treated him mostly… Vel didn’t know about that part though…
“Sorry, didn’t mean to make you feel … uncomfortable?” He wasn't the best at reading people he wasn’t in contact with very frequently so he wasn’t sure if he understood what just happened.
“Er, Boss-Man eats people's Vibe AND Vibe food if that makes you feel less weird about it? And he’s like rad and junk so...” He poked out his tongue, but forgot he had a mask on and made an ugh sound as he pulled the mask down to wash his mouth out with water.
“Um-” He pulled it back up quickly before turning to scoop the scum off the surface of the boiling meat. “Once I’m done here, we can start on the Jalapenos…”
Velina
She could feel how she'd made things awkward like a pit of anxiety opening in her stomach. It was so stupid. They hadn't even been talking about things like vibepires, and yet immediately she'd jumped to the worst, most fearful conclusion. Vel would never be rid of it.
"No, I'm not uncomfortable. Sorry, I'm just, like, kind of an airhead," she lied, but it was the kind of lying she was good at. The kind to put people at ease, with a light tone of voice through a 'genuine' smile.
The comment about 'Boss-Man' did pique her interest. Paying too much attention to Orange news and UG spectacle often made her feel homesick and depressed, and so she didn't quite understand how Steven's Vibe worked, or even really what had happened to him. Mostly, she knew what he looked like
But he…ate Vibe?
"He really eats Vibe? Like, what do you mean?" Vel leaned back against the counter, putting her all into being nonchalant about the whole thing. The mention of the jalapeños at least sparked a way out of the conversation as well, back to focusing on him.
"Actually, I was wondering about something, like, where does your Vibe draw the line on sauce? Does it have to be a, like, traditional sauce, or can you make up your own sauce in your head? When does something stop being a sauce, or condiment, I guess, and when does it become...I don't know, like a dip? Does guacamole count?"
If the question about Boss-Man got lost in talking about Trevor's Vibe, that'd still be fine with her. Anything to make things less weird than where she'd tripped them up into.
Trevor II
Trevor watched Vel from the corner of his eye as he finished cleaning up the scum and rinsed off the sieve before setting it aside to dry.
Was Vel an airhead? From the few conversations they’ve had recently, she didn't really seem like that…He didn’t want to pry though, it was meant to be a chill hangout, not pick at things that may lead to something sad or bad.
“Er, yeah. The Rizz just kinda grabs people's Vibe and just munches on it from what I can tell. Like one dude I know, total weenie but… maybe a little cooler now, Xavier. I saw Steven just take some electricity off him one time and pop it in his mouth…” He 100% latched onto a question about his Boss, UG pride shining through.
“He had that cool fight with that, shrimp-fuck boy leader of FM and just bit through his light whips like they were candy! And that cheatin’ muther funker lil bitch tried to kill him and then he turned into a gloopy skeleton! Just fucking sucked up all that light and -phchooo!!- “ Trevor paused pulling things out of the fridge to pretend he was powering up, clearly excited talking about fights as a little bit of confetti popped into existence.
Trevor plopped down all the things they needed for the Jalapeno poppers on the counter before turning back to Vel, barely-there eyebrows raising at the sudden change in the topic that left his brain stalling for a moment.
“Errr, I… Hm…So usually my Vibe kind of latches onto people in a sense and I can … feel? What they like most. Like it's not like mind reading or like being an empath, I don't feel like your current emotions or anything. It's just like ‘That's your favourite and I know it's your favourite so it makes it … It’s not just sauces though, it's like dips, you know? To dip your garlic bread or pizza in…” He had mostly made peace with his goofy Vibe but having to explain it felt…like pointing out how goofy it was which made him feel kind of dumb for pointing out how dumb it was.
“It's stupid but yeah. If someone's favourite dip was Guac, I could make some… If I don't have that person near me though, it's kind of a randomiser kind of deal. I would have to keep rolling the sauce n’ dip roulette till I hit the right one so it's just kind of easier to just make it from scratch.” He pulled a pair of disposable gloves out of one of the drawers and handed them to Vel.
“If you could cut these longways and de-seed them, that would be rad.”
Velina
The little pause Trevor needed to switch gears was good for Vel, too, because processing what he'd said about the UG leader's Vibe was taking a good amount of her own brain power.
The leader of a faction was a vibepire?
...No, that didn't make any sense. It had to be different. It had to be he only ate things that came from Vibe, like all output of Vibe was as food to him as Trevor's pizzas. That was different from sucking the Vibe right through someone's skin, or from a bloody wound, like she did. That was the difference, and even little differences were important. As different as a surgeon's scalpel was to a knife in the dark.
Groove, Trevor was talking and she wasn't paying enough attention. She jumped her train of thought back on the right track in time to mentally recover the bulk of what he had said, and to catch the rest of it.
"...It's not stupid." It was hard to see what he was so self-conscious about to her. If she took more than a moment to think about it, about how he'd left home the same time she had, about any of the little context clues he was dropping, she might have pieced it together. But it was difficult to be empathetic when self-deprecating and envious...
"I don't know, like, I love making food for people. If I could dance or sing with them and make them something I know they'd love to eat, I think I'd be set for life." Vel agreeably slipped on the gloves, beginning her work on the peppers with enough ease that it was clear this was something she did often. "Groove, gloves are smart. One time I chopped a couple peppers that were just, like, volatile, I guess, and I ended up keeping my fingers in a cup of milk for, like, an hour. It was the only thing that made the burning stop."
Trevor II
Trevor listened silently as he measured and weighed out the ingredients for the popper filling, expression blank for most of it as he diced up some pre-cooked bacon rashers he’d made for a different dish.
“People get bored of Pizza.” He said flatly as he rhythmically chop, chop, chopped the bacon before he moved on to the chives- “And it's fine that it's stupid because it IS stupid. But if it wasn’t stupid, I’d be someone else, you know?” There was no heat to his voice as he peered over at Vel as she worked, his eyes closing slightly as if he was smiling.
“How many Punk Clowns, you know?” He looked back at his chopping board and with a nod, he scraped all the contents into a bowl and began to fold it in.
“The Vibe may of lead, but it doesn’t make the Clown nor the Punk. I make the Clown and this Clown says-” He goes to honk where his clown nose would be but remembered he wasn't wearing one right now so he just makes a ha-honk nose with his mouth. “My Vibe is a joke, but a delicious one thanks to all my hard work learning how to cook without my Vibe.”
With that, Trevor turned his attention fully to Vel as he placed the bowl next to her, watching her chop a little.
“Yeah, you don’t wanna know how I learnt gloves were the only way to handle them.” He paused and then pointed down to his junk.
“Doesn’t matter how much you wash your hands either just afterwards too. Lesson learnt. So-” he clapped hsi hands together as he checked the timer before setting up the breading station.
“We just gotta fill up these bad boys with the filling, then dip, bread and then they’ll be ready to fry after the pork is done.”
Velina
"You're the only punk clown I know." Vel wasn't sure if his band counted--either as punk or as 'knowing them' from a handful of minutes and brief introductions. 'Punk' was also one of those things where she considered herself a poor judge, whether it was the ethos or the aesthetic.
If the Vibe informed the person...maybe it didn't lead, but it certainly changed everything. Who would she have been with any other Vibe? She wished she could find out.
But she had to stop dwelling on her Vibe envy. It was going to ruin the night.
The last pepper cleaned, she turned in time to see Trevor continue explaining the gloves--and his unfortunate mixing of sensitive areas and capsaicin. She almost covered her mouth with her gloves, horrified and also about to bark a laugh, when she realized she was about to repeat the horrors on her own face and restrained herself. Not from the laugh, however.
"Oh, Groove, Trevor, that's awful. I'd have died." When you had sex as a profession, plenty of accidents could occur--but she'd yet to pepper herself or her partner.
"So your Vibe got better from learning cooking?" Vel started on the filling, one pepper at a time. "Like, you know more sauces and what goes in them so your Vibe can make it? Or...what do you mean?"
Trevor II
Trevor huffed a little as Vel laughed at his pain, he didn’t mind though, it was a silly story and a life lesson learnt. He doesn't tell her it happened more than once though cus two times, shame on him and he didn’t want to admit more fault.
He watched her fill the Jalapenos, directing her if she overstuffed too much, head tilting to the side in thought at the question.
“Er, well… during the time when our district had no power and everyone was starving, I was young but I could make Pizzas with my Vibe but… I only really made like Magarita’s but like not even the kind of good ones with like the good bases. People ate em cus what you gonna do, not eat? But like, I couldn’t understand what people actually wanted cus I hadn’t had it before…” He rubbed the back of his neck as he looked towards the boiling pot.
“If I dont know what a lemon is, what it taste like, how am I meant to make lemon pie? So, after you know, everyone got bored of my Pizzas once the power was back, I went to learn more about flavours and cooking and as my palette evolved, so did my Vibe….I don’t know.” He shrugged as he pushed himself off the counter and grabbed a pair of glove to put on and start breading some of the stuffed peppers Vel had made.
“I can make sauces that I’ve never made before now with my Vibe, but like when I go in the Za Zone, I have the base fundamentals of sauce making under my belt, so making something new isn't too hard.”
“Like is your Vibe not convoluted like mine?” He hummed as he placed a coated pepper to the side and started on the next. “I don’t think I’ve seen you use yours but you know, Vibe can be really dumb or super simple. Do you just have to do the thing and your Vibe just goes? Or do you got to learn deep philosophy to get the Vibe juices flowing?”
Velina
She remembered when it was so hard to get food, but in a vague way--she had been four or five years old. That Trevor had all that pressure put on him as practically a toddler was so unfair. It was a small wonder he didn't also resent his Vibe, that he'd decided to lean into it, instead.
"What's the Za Zone?" She could kind of guess, based on how he spoke about it, but every Vibe was so unique that she didn't want to make assumptions. "I don't know, all of that sounds, like, really amazing. I mean, not having to make food for a whole district as a child, practically a baby, but--you know. Being able to understand your Vibe like that."
Trevor was too sweet, to continue trying to pull information about her into the conversation. And now she had two options: tell him she didn't want to talk about it, which was a mood killer and would likely only pique his interest, or tell him the half-truth, which would also kill the mood but at least tell him enough to make him let it go.
"No, my Vibe's pretty simple." Vel stuffed the last pepper, moving them so they were easier for him to grab and batter. "It's just...ah, bad for me. I know a lot of people thought I was jamdeaf when we were growing up, 'cause I never used it."
She didn't peel the gloves off, simply tugging and fidgeting at them while she explained. "I can build Vibe and pass it off to people. Just dance a bit, then touch your skin with mine, and you get a little boost. So, like, even if you'd been completely still for hours, you'd have the energy to make a pizza or some sauce.
"Problem is, the Vibe leaves really...violently. Cuts me up." She shrugged, like this wasn't a big deal. Old news. Not weird or aberrant or freakish or pitiable, just kind of whatever! "Literally opens old wounds or makes new ones. So...I don't use it."
She flashed him a smile and tried to move on. "Sorry, ah, what else should I do to help with dinner? Should I keep the gloves?"
Trevor II
“Er…” Trevor paused as he seemed to gather how to explain the Za Zone so it didn't sound like bullshit, but that was going to be hard.
“It’s like a space between, like a mindscape? I can see people's… issues and make a Pizza out of them to try and fix those issues.”Yeah, that sounded still kinda goofy, but it was the long and short of it. He kind of shrugged at the ‘baby’ comment, his attention solely on breading these peppers.
“It's whatever, man. We were just a small part in a large collective of people working together.” He says a little dismissively, not wanting to share that it was his and his twin’s love of learning and performing the sibling's dances and songs in the High School Musical franchise that was why he even knew how to use his Vibe even an ounce as a kid.
Trevor's gaze did shift to Vel when she spoke about her Vibe. He wasn’t proud enough to say he never experienced intense Vibe envy his whole life because despite how much Vel was hyping up his Vibe, imagine having something actually useful in a fight and not something you have to improvise using.
“Oh….”
“Oh…”
“Ow.”
“... Sounds pretty metal though. A bleeding heart kind of Vibe.” That kinda sounded like Vel, unnecessarily soft-hearted. “I hope the wounds don’t cut too deep.” He says as he peeled off his glove before offering a hand out to Vel to help take off hers.
“Naw, it should be fine now. Just gotta let the meat boil a little more… I’ll get started on soaking your stockings.” He nodded as slid past and took out a few things from under the sink, including a small wash bowl and an unlabelled jar of white power.
“You thirsty? We got drinks in the fridge or I can make you something?
Velina
"People's issues...? Like...you can do psychotherapy with pizza?" Vel really had to hope that was not what he meant, or she might have to put some distance between them. His pizza couldn't fix what was wrong with her. "I mean, like, you can get a full rundown of their traumas and whatnot?"
Like what she'd just admitted to him. At least he wasn't pressing too hard.
"It depends. I haven't done that in, like, years, though. It's not worth it." She decided against telling him about being put in a Vendy during the Flares.
She held out her hands so he could get her gloves, even if they'd suddenly become a security blanket against the bad feelings. She didn't have enough Vibe to be a danger to him right now, so it was fine. And they were covered in pepper juice and cheese filling, anyway.
"Yeah, I could drink something. You sure you don't want me to make it?" She motioned to the white powder, which she assumed was for whatever he planned to do with her stockings. "I don't drink much, but I've been, like, behind the bar a couple times. We fill in where we gotta at the Luxe."
Trevor II
“Oh, no. Like you got the shits? Your eyes itchy and dry? Been stabbed? You eat one of my personal Za’s and surprisingly, it’ll fix you right up. I’m like a low budget Dr Vendy but with quality Za.” He flashed a thumbs up and the least emotive wink ever.
“Like it doesn’t cure people of long term things like chronic pain but can help alleviate stuff like that for a bit, but yeah….TMI but I…” He paused for a moment... Vel seemed good with the goofy lewd jokes. He pulled off her gloves and tossed them in the trash before continuing.
“Well, Tiffany was at a rave and there was this really aggressive chick who was into me cus-” He brought his hands under his chin and posed cutely. The effect would have been effective if he was Tiffany right now.
“Stuff happened-” He made a vague ‘polishing the pearl’ motion before speeding up, then mimed throwing his hands up in exasperation.
“Nothing, she said she’d always been like that. I ask if I could try something. One pizza later and- it only lasted an hour but-” He shrugged while he laid out a kitchen towel with the stockings on top. “I thought I was going to die with how much she was a biter and she kinda feels like lowkey she’s maybe stalking Tiffany afterwards? When she sees me like this, she thinks I’m like a cousin or something but it's a temporary to instant fix kinda situational Vibe…You’ve gotta eat it though which is hard if you are bleeding out or something so-” He trailed off as he wet a cloth and dabbed away at the food stains with care before scooping tiny amounts of the white powder to cover each blotch of stain.
“Well, if you do use your Vibe again, I’ll make you a Pizza to heal you right up.” he smiled lightly before moving over to the fridge.
“We don’t have to drink alcohol. Er, I got juice, made some lemonade the other day, soda. Iggy has some anime drinks or something- Bubble tea or some shit. ”
Velina
She laughed. "I think the last thing on my mind when I have the shits is, like, the desire to shove pizza in my mouth, but I'm glad to know it's an option. I'll make sure to call you for an express delivery." Vel truly relaxed into the open atmosphere that lent itself to a bit of vulgarity, a bit of lewdness.
The story with Tiffany, though, gave her pause. Not because of the subject matter, but because she was having to use context clues to piece together who was being talked about. It sounded like Tiffany was not Trevor, but then it did, and with his cute pose it definitely did, and the rest clicked into place with enough time for her to catch up with the actual point of the tale.
"Wow. Orgasm pizza? I think I'd get a little bitey, too." Despite the joke, there was one part of the story that concerned her, specifically. "But she's stalking Tiffany? Like...are you scared about what could happen there? Is she dangerous?"
Unfortunately for Trevor's other offers, this was a subject Vel wasn't going to be able to drop easily.
Trevor II
“Hey. What can I say? Emptying your stomach makes you hunger and my Pizzas are -Hm.” Trevor gave a humble shrug. “I’m the Clown you want to call when you want something delicate and light while being hot and heavy.”
Trevor huffed as at Vel’s naming convention for the Pizza, not correcting her because, to some people, the Pizza they needed was sometimes better than sex in the moment where things ailed them.
“Oh-” He stalled for a moment, a little surprised with Vel’s concern. “ Dude, it's fine. It’s like a tiny bit annoying but like not something to worry about. They’re not like hounding me every day or like knows where I live or anything. She just sometimes turns up at my stall and asks for the cute girl clown and maybe gets a pizza.”
“Like if I had any trouble, the orange district sticks together and deals with that kind of bullshit.” He tried to reassure her, flashing her a thumbs up before taking the jug of homemade lemonade and placed it on the counter top before popping open the freezer to take out some frozen berries.
“Like she isn't a rival from FM or something so- It's all good.” He hummed before pouring them both of them a glass, dropping a few berries in for decoration and slid the glass over to Vel.
“You, er… Have any problems with stuff like that? If you do, just let me know, yeah?”
Velina
"I'm glad it's not a real problem. And that you have, like, options if it becomes one." Vel accepted the be-berried lemonade with a soft smile and a little sigh of relief. Of course Trevor could take care of himself, and Tiffany. She'd been gone for twelve years, and he'd done fine without her.
"I haven't. Not anything serious like a stalker. I have had a few problems with uninformed or lied to partners of clients, but we've got good security at the Luxe and that's usually the only place they know to find me." She leaned back against the counter, swirling her drink a bit while she thought. "There's a whole network of sex workers across the island that give good heads up on bad clients.
"So, I do okay. I mean, the worst things that happen tend to be more accidental or embarrassing than, like, dangerous. Buuuuuuut--" she smiled, leaning towards him while exaggerating batting her eyes., "Now I know someone else I can call if I have a problem."
Trevor II
“That’s good to hear. I … don't really fucks with any of the other factions but like keeping connected in that regard is… smart.” Trevor had led a colourful life, fuck about and found out a few too many times but to have like a secret network of people keeping people safe was cool…At least work-wise.
The UG clown nodded, imagining for a moment if he was someone to get offended about someone he was with paying to have sex with someone else… They better be paying them right… Was there a sex worker Union? … Was selling nude photos sex work?
Many tangentially connected thoughts and questions were unsaid as Trevor blinked as Vel leaned close.
“Uh, Ayrin would be maybe my first call for help too if I didn’t have you know-” He vaguely motioned about. “Friends … Not that Ayrin isn't a friend.” He added way too quickly. He was sure Ayrin would have his back in a fight, but to call her to come help him out… made him feel…shy.
“Anyway.” He leaned to Vel, fluttering his eyelids back. “ Anytime. Or if you need something lifted, I’m pretty strong under all this padding.” He chuckled before flashing her a thumbs-up.
“You ready to have the least traumatising time frying some delicious food?”
Velina
"Ayrin's great. I'd call her, too, but she's also, like--I adore her, don't get me wrong, but she's intense. I've seen some of her throwdowns." Vel took one last sip of her lemonade before setting it aside. "I'll hit you up the next time I've overdone it at the farmer's market for sure. I can return the favor by...well. I'm not sure? I'm cute, at least."
Vel didn't have a lot to offer, in her mind.
"When you say 'least traumatizing' I feel like we're jinxed. Someone's ending up in a Vendy with a fun new scar." She joing him by the pork belly in its pot, keeping her hands to herself for the moment. Ready to be told what to do.
"Or maybe we just have to believe it to make it real. We're, like, manifesting the perfect deep fry." She gave him a little nudge. "That's probably the nicer way to look at it."
Trevor II
Trevor made a confused face behind his mask, though it was quite noticeable with the way his eyes narrowed.
“Brah, you won't owe me anything. Friends help out friends, dumbass.” he mumbled the last bit more to himself though it was probably loud enough for Vel to hear, especially with her standing right next to him. He kissed his teeth at the joke and another one at the nudge though he bumped back into her in a friendly manner..
“Nah, dude. We got-” He opened one of the lower cupboards, bending over to pull out a pot with a normal glass lid and a mesh-like lid. “Protection. Plus anyway, things get crazy if you put something that is too wet with water in hot oil. We’ll make sure the pork is dry before we put it in.”
He placed down the pot onto the stove, then grabbed a pair of clown-themed oven mitts, ready to grab the pork off the cooker. In a few motions and stepping around Vel, he drained the pork off before placing it on a clean chopping board.
“Pat em dry well for me with the teal dishcloth on the side… please.” He hummed before he pulled out a very silly-looking straw, plopped it into his drink and tucked the straw under his mask to take a sip of lemonade, small curls of confetti and small shapes appeared around his head as he appreciated the taste.It was a wonder why there weren’t stray bits of confetti around the kitchen.
“It’s good to not be complacent in the kitchen though, so I’ll give you that… What is your fave dip btw? Is it guac? If not, I have some in the fridge.”
Velina
"Okay, maybe I won't, like, owe you, but friends also do nice things for friends who help them out." Vel laughed. "Like passing around the same twenty, right? Maybe I could bake you something..."
From watching copious amounts of old cooking shows when she couldn't sleep, it had sunk in to her that 'baking' and 'cooking' were considered radically different disciplines, and maybe, with Trevor being a chef, she could fill a need.
Then again, he made pizzas. He probably knew his way around a dough better than her.
"Yes, chef," Vel took her place with the meat, grabbing the cloth and taking care to get each piece as dry as possible. After all, this was about their mutual safety. Had to do it right. "I'm good at taking care of meat--
"Oh, I love guac. I have no idea what my favorite sauce is? Or dip? That's so difficult..." Vel's face screwed up in contemplation. "Have you ever had someone with multiple favorites and it just comes out weird?"
Trevor II
“Well if you want to bake me something, I’m not gonna turn that down.” Trevor drawled as he went to prepare the oil on the stove, eyeballing how much was needed in the pot before attaching a little thermometer to measure the heat.
The was another huff escaped Trevor at the meat joke before adding. “ Well, you haven’t seen me handle jerk meat yet. Maybe next time.” There was a monotonous heh heh heh from the clown as he actually started to plan making Vel some maybe Jerk pork or chicken in exchange for the baked goods.
“I can… see? If you want… Make you some sauce…” He still found it a little weird how into his vibe Vel was, maybe because he’d hadnt been asked so many questions in rapid succession before…
“I think its mor elike ‘what is your fave in the moment? Like what you are craving most… Its er… only a hmm… Singing vibe? So its pretty useles- …simple. Doesn’t matter how much Vibe I’ve built up, it's always just the one at a time. Also… what’s like, your fave thing to bake? No allergies here either so… I’ll eat anything you want to make.”
Velina
"Oh, that makes sense. People change so much...still, it's a bit like being psychic, right? Digging into things maybe someone doesn't even know themself to find their favorite." Vel bounced on her heels as she dried the pork, very focused on making sure to wick away all the moisture so they didn't have a tragedy.
"What I like to bake..." That was a tough one. "I bake a lot of things--I think the things I bake the most are, like, fruit or veggie breads? Those things are so easy and hard to mess up and I'm always buying way more bananas or zucchini than I can actually eat at once, so they same me a lot of heartache. But are they my favorite..."
She thought about making buñuelos with Noir, or lemon pies for Dwight (she was still figuring out how to do a good meringue). Snickerdoodles for Max were fun, and she'd been trying to figure out how to stuff them with caramel. There was pan de muerto, focaccia, bolillos, cupcakes, conchas, tres leches cake--
"Groove, I'm so bad at being decisive. But, like, you know what I haven't done in a while?" She checked her handiwork, then looked back at Trevor. "Sugar cookies. The kind that you cut out and then ice.
"My mom...she showed me how you could add a little meringue powder to buttercream, so it would get a little stiff, but still soft on the inside. Tasted so much better than royal icing." She shrugged; Trevor probably knew that trick already. "But, like, we'd all get together and ice them as a family. Different shapes and colors with lots of sprinkles and stuff. It'd be fun to do that with friends sometime."
Max didn't like icing, though, and so she hadn't really thought about it recently...
Trevor II
“Yeah, like a Vibe empath but for dips and Pizza only.” ‘So useless if you need to get information out of someone or sense if they want to kill you’ Trevor doesn't say aloud, though he doesn't expect Vel to say it either.
“I’m good with sugar cookies. I don't really bake much unless it is bread-based.” He said before he pressed his lips together behind his mask as Vel spoke of the family activity. Damn, he can't even really remember doing anything fun with his whole family, most of those holes are filled with memories of cooking with Manny’s ma and fam, Moreno and training to be a chef, his twin or his band…
“If you make the cookies… we can ice 'em together or something…” He said slowly as he took the tray of dried meat away from her, only making eye contact for a moment before looking away a little embarrassed, red tinting his ears a little. He set the tray next to the cooker, checking the temperature of the oil.
“Or you could do it with Ayrin or your friends or whatever…” He added before picking up the first strip of pork belly.
“So water is the thing that makes it spit like crazy, but when you place em in, always place em away from you so if any oil does splash from the drop, it doesn't go towards you.” Trevor shifted gears as he began placing a few strips in, meat sizzling as it made contact with the oil before offering one to Vel to do herself.
Velina
"Do you think I'd bring up the cookies and not want to ice them with you?" Vel teased him, even seeing him embarrassed. "I could do it with you and Ayrin, right? It's always better with lots of cookies and sprinkles and icing. We could make a little party of it or something. Bring even more friends, or just us..."
She was already planning ahead. Sugar cookies were simple, and maybe a little plain, but being able to get together with people was what made it fun. Ending up with hands coated in accidental dollops of icing, ugly little sugar cookie monstrosities, sprinkles and little candies everywhere...It was just fun.
With the explanation and demonstration, Vel stepped up to take her turn. She grabbed a deep, steeling breath, and then tried to mimic how Trevor had put the strip in--and then her nerve failed as it started to sizzle, the last bit slipping from her fingers a bit too soon and making a small splash.
She yelped and jumped back, nearly into Trevor, but it had, of course, splashed away from her. Just as he'd said.
"Ha, oh, groove. Sorry! I can do better." It was her turn to be embarrassed, cheeks darkening.
Trevor II
“They are your cookies, your party. Invite who you want.” Trevor said with a shrug, still recovering from being embarrassed by being a little stoic. “I’ll come regardless.”
He watched as Vel began dropping the pork in oil, giving her enough space so she didn’t feel like he was crowding her with his big self and leaned against the island. All seemed to be going when when Vel suddenly jumped and Trevor pushed away from the counter to check on her, if she got burnt but it seemed to be more of a scare than anything.
A little snrkt escaped Trevor as he did his best not to laugh, which was pretty easy for the performer, though he did grin that could be heard in his voice as he looked down at her.
“You’re doing great. Just try again. Getting burned happens but the pain will pass and I’ll pay for a Vendy, so take a breath and try again.”
Velina
"If we have to go to a Vendy, then, like, we won't get to eat the chicharrónes! I'm hungry." Vel laughed through the embarrassment. It was good Trevor was there, or she might have lost her nerve otherwise--unless she could get gloves and a welding mask, or call for Noir.
"Okay, I'll just...get this, and we'll not have any issues." Vel grabbed another one, and took the breath Trevor recommended. The dip into the oil went smooth, the hiss and sizzle familiar, and she let it slide in almost to her fingers before she dropped it. No splash!
"Ha! I did it!" Vel crowed, turning to Trevor with a bright grin and a fist pump. She had to play it up to shake out the nerves.
Trevor II
Trevor smirked beneath the mask as Vel succeeded in not to freak out this time, going to give her a high-five but remembered his hands were still covered in raw pork so he just offered her a thumbs up instead.
“Nice.” He said as he stepped next to her and began to place the other pieces in at a steady rate, fingers barely twitching if they got spat on, leaving the last strip for her to do.
“ You can do the honours then we just let it fry for a bit, turn the heat up then fry them again.” The clown nodded as he went to wash his hands before setting the timer.
Velina
She would have given him a high five. She had porky hands, too, but instead Vel flashed him a thumbs up in return. "Thanks, you're not so bad yourself."
Given the task of the final piece of pig, she once more tried to mimic him. The little spits of oil on her fingers elicited a squeak and a drop of the meat, but no major burns appeared, no fountain or splash to worry about. They were in the clear.
"We did it!" Vel joined him at the sink, waiting her turn to wash her hands clean. "You've made a pro out of me, chef. Thanks for, like, walking me through it. Still don't think I can do it without you."
Trevor II
Trevor did his best not to roll his eyes at the compliment and praise. Hearing so many in one day was looping him from being embarrassed back to his grumpy self.
“We’re not out of the woods yet. Still got the poppers to fry… I could air fry them though while these are frying…” He pondered for a moment before taking the poppers to the air fryer that was tucked next to the microwave.
After a few moments, Trevor had the two dishes frying simultaneously and looking pretty proud of himself.
“You wanna watch something while we eat or do you wanna eat on the balcony?… Well, more of a fire escape but its pretty nice out tonight.”
Velina
"Ooh, air fryer...I've been thinking about getting one, but I wanted to splurge on, like, a stand mixer first." Vel watched over his shoulder (on tip-toes, to the side) as he loaded up the contraption and set it to go. Easy enough! And far less scary than a pot of boiling oil.
"The balcony sounds nice...watching something is fun, but I like hanging out with you and just talking. I feel like I missed so much. Like..." she leaned on the counter and took a drink, trying to figure out how to phrase what she wanted to say without coming off as too sad.
"Like, okay, I think I knew you a little better than most people I knew growing up, but, I only knew you in school, right? During classes and lunch and whatever. And I didn't talk much, then." Vel sighed, poking at a bit of oil on her apron. "I didn't really get a chance to get to know you. But I've been enjoying it, now."
Trevor II
“When’s your birthday? I can get you one if you want.” Trevor had enough connections with enough cooks and abuelas that he’d probably be able to get a refurbished one pretty easily if he did a few favours.
“Balcony/ firescape it is then… We gotta cut through my room so…just ignore the mess…” It wasn't like his room was a bomb site, but it was messy compared to the living room and kitchen. Trevor thought for a minute about Vel in school… he mostly remembered her being nice but quiet… He had been quiet and rude to most… a trouble starter who’d been in more than enough fights to warrant hours of detention…
“Not much has changed, if I’m being honest…Apart from the clown stuff and that stuff was there already… You know, Circus parents and all… But yeah, we don't got to fit it all into one night, dude.”
Velina
"My birthday's in May. You don't have to do that, though! If I stopped buying stuffed animals for like, five minutes, I'd probably be able to get both." Vel was running out of room for them, too, but she couldn't bear the thought of vacuum-sealing them for storage. Squishing their darling little faces, sucking the fluff flat...she'd cry.
"I can close my eyes and you can lead me, if you'd feel better." Vel laughed at the idea--trying to ferry hot food, cold drinks, and her blind-by-choice self across several thresholds. Probably would be more dangerous than the deep fryer crackling in the kitchen currently. "I don't have any room to judge, though. I mean, I use a green screen when I stream so people don't see my room. And I don't have to pick up my clean laundry pile."
Not unless she was filming on the bed.
"I'm not gonna try and siphon your whole life story from you tonight, yeah, I just mean--I like talking. I like, like, hearing about my friends." She shrugged with a smile. "But I don't mind just eating in the quiet and enjoying the time, either."
Trevor II
Trevor rolled his eyes a little before letting out a huff. “Fine, you can look but don't memorise, ok? I literally cant remember what I left lying about last so don’t judge.” Unlike Vel, Trevor did shoot Vel a disappointed look at the mention of her messy room.
“I’m gonna have to tell your fans about that.” Trevor said somberly as he took out his phone and began typing away at something. “Imagine how disappointed they’d be in finding out you are a messy bessy.” He said flatly, though there was a hint of a smile in his voice as he mimed typing out a message. Trevor paused mid type, before exhaling what could have been a little huff of amusement.
“You’ve already gotten me to talk more than I would in an average week, so expecting more? Sheeze~” He teased as the message was finally sent, Vel’s phone pinging with an alert. “Exposed you~”
For all the typing Trevor was doing, the text message led to a Stepbook message… It was a single clown emoji in the post.
Velina
"Nooo, don't expose me to the intranet--" Vel laughed as she made little feints at grabbing his phone away. Despite his seriousness, she didn't honestly believe he would go through with it.
When she got the little ping she checked and barked a laugh. "Groove, I'm done for. Canceled. Like, I'll be fully mobbed offline. They'll boo me if I try to get on stage..."
Tapping her phone against her hand, she shook her head. "But, really, if you had posted it--people would want pictures. You'll just have to, like, come over sometime to get some evidence." A smooth segue into asking him for a followup friend date, as always.
"I promise to not make you talk to the whole time if you don't want to."
Trevor II
Trevor easily pulled the phone out of Vel’s reach range, smirking a little which turned into a full-blown grin as Vel checked the message.
“ Has that ever happened before? Has someone been booed off the stage you worked at? He asked jokingly before his eyes narrowed with mock suspicion.
“Kinda weird you want me to get evidence… Is this some kind of exposure play? I can’t believe you’d use me like this for your pleasure~” He said in the flattest tone as he wiped a fake tear in his eye, before huffing a laugh as he turned to begin taking the now crisped pork out of the oil.
“As long as I’m not in your …gaming streams? I’m fine with whatever… “ He had only caught a fraction of a stream while waiting for someone at a bar so he wasn't exactly sure what she streamed… One day he’ll have to watch one while cooking or something.
“Ok, just need to drain off the oil, can you grab the Guac from the fridge? It should be labelled. I’m gonna start plating stuff.”
Velina
"I mean, like, drunk Ditos get rowdy and heckle a bit, or they'll laugh at you if you mess up, but booed off the stage? Then they wouldn't get to see the rest of the show." Vel tucked her phone away again, actually giving it some thought. "I mean, even when I was new I was still getting tips. Appreciating the art of poledancing often comes secondary to the stripping. Nobody's so offended I didn't do a perfect Marion Amber that they don't wait for the bra to come off."
As Trevor deadpanned, she gave a little snort of a laugh. "Who's saying it would be just my pleasure? Do I come off that selfish to you?"
Dutifully, she went to the fridge to get the guac out, only having to spend a moment hunting for the green. As she did, she continued from her little teasing joke.
"Especially if you're not playing games badly with me--does that mean you're angling to be, like, on the cam streams? I can help you set up an OnlyDance account."
It was only half-teasing. If Trevor did want to get into OnlyDance, she'd be more than happy to help him like others had helped her.
Trevor II
Trevor nodded though he kept his eyes on his work as he was dealing with hot oil and it would of been very … uncool for him to burn himself at the very end of it al Better to be booed then to have things thrown at you, he guessed. Being hit with a bottle from an angry crowd member hurt like a mother- He snorted, pausing in plating before throwing Vel a bemused look.
He finished plating up the poppers and pork nicely on a tray before stepping to Vel to take the guac from her, very much in her personal space before saying:
“I’m a luxury only a few can afford.” He teased as he stepped away to place the guac and a few extra bits they might need on the loaded tray like more lemonade before hefting it up on his open palm and began to make his way through the living room to one for the closed doors.
“ Anyway, I used to do more one-to-one transactions when I was younger. Less of a footprint.” He said with a laugh before he opened his bedroom door. A waft of soft vanilla cake batter mixed with the smell of stillness hit him as he pushed through, revealing a pretty loudly decorated room. The bright orange and brown almost tiger-striped wallpaper was covered with a mixture of posters of bands Island Born and offshore, cutesy clown prints and shelves filled with little clowns, magic and circus knick-knacks and photos of his friends and twin.
On one wall, there was a table covered with accessory trees full of different kinds of spiked paraphernalia and jewellery as well as a few wigs that seemed to be partly worked on. The bed was big and unmade, its canopy draped down and over the bed like a big top tent. He moved a few small piles of clothes out of the way with a foot before reaching his window.
“Can you-” He nodded towards the window for Vel to open for him to go out to the fire escape.
Velina
"I believe it," Vel agreed as she followed him through the living room, bemused and a little guilty he was doing all the heavy lifting and the majority of the cooking.
"I wouldn't even know how to set something with 'less footprint' up. But I think that ship has, like, sailed, considering how very, very public I am right now." Her tone shifted to the distracted as she took in his bedroom, roving over the posters (a little jealously, admittedly; all that paper was hard to come by) and circus paraphernalia. "How do you get your room to smell like cake?"
As he asked for help, she ducked ahead to unlatch and open it for him with a little bow after and a sweep of the hand. "Your exit. Want me to hold that for you?" She had two hands out for the platter, confident she wouldn't drop it. Turned out she was stronger than she thought, or so she'd found out doing boxing with Max.
Trevor II
“It’s your brand, nothing to be ashamed of and hide it.”
“Vibe.” Trevor said shortly about the smell, he didn't want to admit he hadn't changed his sheets in a while. he didn't think someone would be in his room tonight and under all the pizza aroma and sweat that clung to him after a hard day's work would after a shower reveal his natural Vibe-enhanced scent was …sweet. Good job, Vibe Gods for making this man feel even more of a joke.
“Yeah thanks, dude.” Trevor hummed as he handed the tray over to Vel before ducking down low to step out onto the fire escape, the edges lined with planters filled with homegrown herbs and unfolded the little patio chairs and small table before reaching out for the tray and placing it on the table. He then turned back to Vel, one hand out to her, the other hovering to make sure she didn't bash her head on the window as he and many others had done before but super nonchalantly as if he wasn’t doing that.
Velina
It was good his hand was there, because Vel was far too busy with getting through the window while contemplating cake-scented Vibe to pay much attention. When her head brushed his hand she flinched as if she had hit the window, not expecting it, then laughed.
"Thanks! This is, like, a cute fire-escape." She took her seat by the tray, honestly starving but waiting for Trevor before she dug in like a feral creature. Probably needed a few more seconds to cool, considering the oil it had come out of...
"I'm glad you invited me to the concert. And back here." She knew she'd been a little over-grateful, but on the balcony, out with the city lights and soft sounds floating by, all the plants and what few stars that managed to poke through, she felt it worth repeating. "Anytime I get to know somebody, like, for real, it's just...it's nice."
Trevor II
There was a small huff as Trevor waited for Vel to fully stand up, making sure no more of her would hit the frame before taking a seat and motioning Vel to sit down too. His fingers had begun to hook into the sides of his mask, ready to pull it down when Vel spoke, his hand frozen in place.
It was more of that genuine openness he wasn’t exactly used to, especially with everyone sober or so early on in a friendship. He opened his mouth, about to say something., closed it and then unhooked his mask, his rough and freckled skin and large teeth now visible ungraced by clown makeup for Vel to see in the glow of the night city lights before he lent over and grabbed a piece of pork between his fingers, seemingly unperturbed by the hotness of the oil and placed it on a serving plate.
“It’s whatever, dude… Friend stuff. Get used to it.” He said as he sneered, tongue out showing off his little clown-coloured piercing set in the middle of it and snorted, “This is the nicest you’re gonna get outta me so get used to it.” And with a dip and a big chomp, Trevor took a big bite out of the pork, burning his tongue a little as he blew out hot air to help cool his mouth. After a few exhales, Trevor chewed and swallowed.
“Hot but good….Have some and tell me about what you've been up to, dude. I’ve been talking for hours’” He rolled his eyes before smirking as he took a sip of his drink, nodding his head towards the food.
Velina
Vel gave a little laugh as Trevor downplayed her genuine sentiment, eyes crinkling up in the corners.
"Okay, okay, sure. You're a real sweetheart to put up with me, like, forcing conversation out of you after you sang up on stage for forever," she agreed, plucking up a couple of the chicharrónes onto a plate. They were luckily starting to cool--but when she bit into one, she got a bit of fat and oil down her chin.
"Mmph! Ahh, fuck. That's so good. Shit, where's--" she used the corner of the apron she was still wearing as a napkin. "Groove, it's probably good I'm too, like, worried about oil to make these all the time. That's so good."
They should have tapped them together in a little cheers. Maybe next time.
"What I've been up to?" She dipped the unbitten end into the guac and scooped, holding it so she could talk. "You sure? I could talk for, like, hours--"
Maybe not that long. But it was a nice night, with a good friend, and delicious food. So they'd certainly be out there a while. Long enough to learn about Vel's different jobs, and a few funny client stories (graciously anonymized), long enough to run out of friend pork belly and dips and lemonade.
A wonderful evening for a rekindled friendship.
END
Trevor listened silently as he measured and weighed out the ingredients for the popper filling, expression blank for most of it as he diced up some pre-cooked bacon rashers he’d made for a different dish.
“People get bored of Pizza.” He said flatly as he rhythmically chop, chop, chopped the bacon before he moved on to the chives- “And it's fine that it's stupid because it IS stupid. But if it wasn’t stupid, I’d be someone else, you know?” There was no heat to his voice as he peered over at Vel as she worked, his eyes closing slightly as if he was smiling.
“How many Punk Clowns, you know?” He looked back at his chopping board and with a nod, he scraped all the contents into a bowl and began to fold it in.
“The Vibe may of lead, but it doesn’t make the Clown nor the Punk. I make the Clown and this Clown says-” He goes to honk where his clown nose would be but remembered he wasn't wearing one right now so he just makes a ha-honk nose with his mouth. “My Vibe is a joke, but a delicious one thanks to all my hard work learning how to cook without my Vibe.”
With that, Trevor turned his attention fully to Vel as he placed the bowl next to her, watching her chop a little.
“Yeah, you don’t wanna know how I learnt gloves were the only way to handle them.” He paused and then pointed down to his junk.
“Doesn’t matter how much you wash your hands either just afterwards too. Lesson learnt. So-” he clapped hsi hands together as he checked the timer before setting up the breading station.
“We just gotta fill up these bad boys with the filling, then dip, bread and then they’ll be ready to fry after the pork is done.”
Velina
"You're the only punk clown I know." Vel wasn't sure if his band counted--either as punk or as 'knowing them' from a handful of minutes and brief introductions. 'Punk' was also one of those things where she considered herself a poor judge, whether it was the ethos or the aesthetic.
If the Vibe informed the person...maybe it didn't lead, but it certainly changed everything. Who would she have been with any other Vibe? She wished she could find out.
But she had to stop dwelling on her Vibe envy. It was going to ruin the night.
The last pepper cleaned, she turned in time to see Trevor continue explaining the gloves--and his unfortunate mixing of sensitive areas and capsaicin. She almost covered her mouth with her gloves, horrified and also about to bark a laugh, when she realized she was about to repeat the horrors on her own face and restrained herself. Not from the laugh, however.
"Oh, Groove, Trevor, that's awful. I'd have died." When you had sex as a profession, plenty of accidents could occur--but she'd yet to pepper herself or her partner.
"So your Vibe got better from learning cooking?" Vel started on the filling, one pepper at a time. "Like, you know more sauces and what goes in them so your Vibe can make it? Or...what do you mean?"
Trevor II
Trevor huffed a little as Vel laughed at his pain, he didn’t mind though, it was a silly story and a life lesson learnt. He doesn't tell her it happened more than once though cus two times, shame on him and he didn’t want to admit more fault.
He watched her fill the Jalapenos, directing her if she overstuffed too much, head tilting to the side in thought at the question.
“Er, well… during the time when our district had no power and everyone was starving, I was young but I could make Pizzas with my Vibe but… I only really made like Magarita’s but like not even the kind of good ones with like the good bases. People ate em cus what you gonna do, not eat? But like, I couldn’t understand what people actually wanted cus I hadn’t had it before…” He rubbed the back of his neck as he looked towards the boiling pot.
“If I dont know what a lemon is, what it taste like, how am I meant to make lemon pie? So, after you know, everyone got bored of my Pizzas once the power was back, I went to learn more about flavours and cooking and as my palette evolved, so did my Vibe….I don’t know.” He shrugged as he pushed himself off the counter and grabbed a pair of glove to put on and start breading some of the stuffed peppers Vel had made.
“I can make sauces that I’ve never made before now with my Vibe, but like when I go in the Za Zone, I have the base fundamentals of sauce making under my belt, so making something new isn't too hard.”
“Like is your Vibe not convoluted like mine?” He hummed as he placed a coated pepper to the side and started on the next. “I don’t think I’ve seen you use yours but you know, Vibe can be really dumb or super simple. Do you just have to do the thing and your Vibe just goes? Or do you got to learn deep philosophy to get the Vibe juices flowing?”
Velina
She remembered when it was so hard to get food, but in a vague way--she had been four or five years old. That Trevor had all that pressure put on him as practically a toddler was so unfair. It was a small wonder he didn't also resent his Vibe, that he'd decided to lean into it, instead.
"What's the Za Zone?" She could kind of guess, based on how he spoke about it, but every Vibe was so unique that she didn't want to make assumptions. "I don't know, all of that sounds, like, really amazing. I mean, not having to make food for a whole district as a child, practically a baby, but--you know. Being able to understand your Vibe like that."
Trevor was too sweet, to continue trying to pull information about her into the conversation. And now she had two options: tell him she didn't want to talk about it, which was a mood killer and would likely only pique his interest, or tell him the half-truth, which would also kill the mood but at least tell him enough to make him let it go.
"No, my Vibe's pretty simple." Vel stuffed the last pepper, moving them so they were easier for him to grab and batter. "It's just...ah, bad for me. I know a lot of people thought I was jamdeaf when we were growing up, 'cause I never used it."
She didn't peel the gloves off, simply tugging and fidgeting at them while she explained. "I can build Vibe and pass it off to people. Just dance a bit, then touch your skin with mine, and you get a little boost. So, like, even if you'd been completely still for hours, you'd have the energy to make a pizza or some sauce.
"Problem is, the Vibe leaves really...violently. Cuts me up." She shrugged, like this wasn't a big deal. Old news. Not weird or aberrant or freakish or pitiable, just kind of whatever! "Literally opens old wounds or makes new ones. So...I don't use it."
She flashed him a smile and tried to move on. "Sorry, ah, what else should I do to help with dinner? Should I keep the gloves?"
Trevor II
“Er…” Trevor paused as he seemed to gather how to explain the Za Zone so it didn't sound like bullshit, but that was going to be hard.
“It’s like a space between, like a mindscape? I can see people's… issues and make a Pizza out of them to try and fix those issues.”Yeah, that sounded still kinda goofy, but it was the long and short of it. He kind of shrugged at the ‘baby’ comment, his attention solely on breading these peppers.
“It's whatever, man. We were just a small part in a large collective of people working together.” He says a little dismissively, not wanting to share that it was his and his twin’s love of learning and performing the sibling's dances and songs in the High School Musical franchise that was why he even knew how to use his Vibe even an ounce as a kid.
Trevor's gaze did shift to Vel when she spoke about her Vibe. He wasn’t proud enough to say he never experienced intense Vibe envy his whole life because despite how much Vel was hyping up his Vibe, imagine having something actually useful in a fight and not something you have to improvise using.
“Oh….”
“Oh…”
“Ow.”
“... Sounds pretty metal though. A bleeding heart kind of Vibe.” That kinda sounded like Vel, unnecessarily soft-hearted. “I hope the wounds don’t cut too deep.” He says as he peeled off his glove before offering a hand out to Vel to help take off hers.
“Naw, it should be fine now. Just gotta let the meat boil a little more… I’ll get started on soaking your stockings.” He nodded as slid past and took out a few things from under the sink, including a small wash bowl and an unlabelled jar of white power.
“You thirsty? We got drinks in the fridge or I can make you something?
Velina
"People's issues...? Like...you can do psychotherapy with pizza?" Vel really had to hope that was not what he meant, or she might have to put some distance between them. His pizza couldn't fix what was wrong with her. "I mean, like, you can get a full rundown of their traumas and whatnot?"
Like what she'd just admitted to him. At least he wasn't pressing too hard.
"It depends. I haven't done that in, like, years, though. It's not worth it." She decided against telling him about being put in a Vendy during the Flares.
She held out her hands so he could get her gloves, even if they'd suddenly become a security blanket against the bad feelings. She didn't have enough Vibe to be a danger to him right now, so it was fine. And they were covered in pepper juice and cheese filling, anyway.
"Yeah, I could drink something. You sure you don't want me to make it?" She motioned to the white powder, which she assumed was for whatever he planned to do with her stockings. "I don't drink much, but I've been, like, behind the bar a couple times. We fill in where we gotta at the Luxe."
Trevor II
“Oh, no. Like you got the shits? Your eyes itchy and dry? Been stabbed? You eat one of my personal Za’s and surprisingly, it’ll fix you right up. I’m like a low budget Dr Vendy but with quality Za.” He flashed a thumbs up and the least emotive wink ever.
“Like it doesn’t cure people of long term things like chronic pain but can help alleviate stuff like that for a bit, but yeah….TMI but I…” He paused for a moment... Vel seemed good with the goofy lewd jokes. He pulled off her gloves and tossed them in the trash before continuing.
“Well, Tiffany was at a rave and there was this really aggressive chick who was into me cus-” He brought his hands under his chin and posed cutely. The effect would have been effective if he was Tiffany right now.
“Stuff happened-” He made a vague ‘polishing the pearl’ motion before speeding up, then mimed throwing his hands up in exasperation.
“Nothing, she said she’d always been like that. I ask if I could try something. One pizza later and- it only lasted an hour but-” He shrugged while he laid out a kitchen towel with the stockings on top. “I thought I was going to die with how much she was a biter and she kinda feels like lowkey she’s maybe stalking Tiffany afterwards? When she sees me like this, she thinks I’m like a cousin or something but it's a temporary to instant fix kinda situational Vibe…You’ve gotta eat it though which is hard if you are bleeding out or something so-” He trailed off as he wet a cloth and dabbed away at the food stains with care before scooping tiny amounts of the white powder to cover each blotch of stain.
“Well, if you do use your Vibe again, I’ll make you a Pizza to heal you right up.” he smiled lightly before moving over to the fridge.
“We don’t have to drink alcohol. Er, I got juice, made some lemonade the other day, soda. Iggy has some anime drinks or something- Bubble tea or some shit. ”
Velina
She laughed. "I think the last thing on my mind when I have the shits is, like, the desire to shove pizza in my mouth, but I'm glad to know it's an option. I'll make sure to call you for an express delivery." Vel truly relaxed into the open atmosphere that lent itself to a bit of vulgarity, a bit of lewdness.
The story with Tiffany, though, gave her pause. Not because of the subject matter, but because she was having to use context clues to piece together who was being talked about. It sounded like Tiffany was not Trevor, but then it did, and with his cute pose it definitely did, and the rest clicked into place with enough time for her to catch up with the actual point of the tale.
"Wow. Orgasm pizza? I think I'd get a little bitey, too." Despite the joke, there was one part of the story that concerned her, specifically. "But she's stalking Tiffany? Like...are you scared about what could happen there? Is she dangerous?"
Unfortunately for Trevor's other offers, this was a subject Vel wasn't going to be able to drop easily.
Trevor II
“Hey. What can I say? Emptying your stomach makes you hunger and my Pizzas are -Hm.” Trevor gave a humble shrug. “I’m the Clown you want to call when you want something delicate and light while being hot and heavy.”
Trevor huffed as at Vel’s naming convention for the Pizza, not correcting her because, to some people, the Pizza they needed was sometimes better than sex in the moment where things ailed them.
“Oh-” He stalled for a moment, a little surprised with Vel’s concern. “ Dude, it's fine. It’s like a tiny bit annoying but like not something to worry about. They’re not like hounding me every day or like knows where I live or anything. She just sometimes turns up at my stall and asks for the cute girl clown and maybe gets a pizza.”
“Like if I had any trouble, the orange district sticks together and deals with that kind of bullshit.” He tried to reassure her, flashing her a thumbs up before taking the jug of homemade lemonade and placed it on the counter top before popping open the freezer to take out some frozen berries.
“Like she isn't a rival from FM or something so- It's all good.” He hummed before pouring them both of them a glass, dropping a few berries in for decoration and slid the glass over to Vel.
“You, er… Have any problems with stuff like that? If you do, just let me know, yeah?”
Velina
"I'm glad it's not a real problem. And that you have, like, options if it becomes one." Vel accepted the be-berried lemonade with a soft smile and a little sigh of relief. Of course Trevor could take care of himself, and Tiffany. She'd been gone for twelve years, and he'd done fine without her.
"I haven't. Not anything serious like a stalker. I have had a few problems with uninformed or lied to partners of clients, but we've got good security at the Luxe and that's usually the only place they know to find me." She leaned back against the counter, swirling her drink a bit while she thought. "There's a whole network of sex workers across the island that give good heads up on bad clients.
"So, I do okay. I mean, the worst things that happen tend to be more accidental or embarrassing than, like, dangerous. Buuuuuuut--" she smiled, leaning towards him while exaggerating batting her eyes., "Now I know someone else I can call if I have a problem."
Trevor II
“That’s good to hear. I … don't really fucks with any of the other factions but like keeping connected in that regard is… smart.” Trevor had led a colourful life, fuck about and found out a few too many times but to have like a secret network of people keeping people safe was cool…At least work-wise.
The UG clown nodded, imagining for a moment if he was someone to get offended about someone he was with paying to have sex with someone else… They better be paying them right… Was there a sex worker Union? … Was selling nude photos sex work?
Many tangentially connected thoughts and questions were unsaid as Trevor blinked as Vel leaned close.
“Uh, Ayrin would be maybe my first call for help too if I didn’t have you know-” He vaguely motioned about. “Friends … Not that Ayrin isn't a friend.” He added way too quickly. He was sure Ayrin would have his back in a fight, but to call her to come help him out… made him feel…shy.
“Anyway.” He leaned to Vel, fluttering his eyelids back. “ Anytime. Or if you need something lifted, I’m pretty strong under all this padding.” He chuckled before flashing her a thumbs-up.
“You ready to have the least traumatising time frying some delicious food?”
Velina
"Ayrin's great. I'd call her, too, but she's also, like--I adore her, don't get me wrong, but she's intense. I've seen some of her throwdowns." Vel took one last sip of her lemonade before setting it aside. "I'll hit you up the next time I've overdone it at the farmer's market for sure. I can return the favor by...well. I'm not sure? I'm cute, at least."
Vel didn't have a lot to offer, in her mind.
"When you say 'least traumatizing' I feel like we're jinxed. Someone's ending up in a Vendy with a fun new scar." She joing him by the pork belly in its pot, keeping her hands to herself for the moment. Ready to be told what to do.
"Or maybe we just have to believe it to make it real. We're, like, manifesting the perfect deep fry." She gave him a little nudge. "That's probably the nicer way to look at it."
Trevor II
Trevor made a confused face behind his mask, though it was quite noticeable with the way his eyes narrowed.
“Brah, you won't owe me anything. Friends help out friends, dumbass.” he mumbled the last bit more to himself though it was probably loud enough for Vel to hear, especially with her standing right next to him. He kissed his teeth at the joke and another one at the nudge though he bumped back into her in a friendly manner..
“Nah, dude. We got-” He opened one of the lower cupboards, bending over to pull out a pot with a normal glass lid and a mesh-like lid. “Protection. Plus anyway, things get crazy if you put something that is too wet with water in hot oil. We’ll make sure the pork is dry before we put it in.”
He placed down the pot onto the stove, then grabbed a pair of clown-themed oven mitts, ready to grab the pork off the cooker. In a few motions and stepping around Vel, he drained the pork off before placing it on a clean chopping board.
“Pat em dry well for me with the teal dishcloth on the side… please.” He hummed before he pulled out a very silly-looking straw, plopped it into his drink and tucked the straw under his mask to take a sip of lemonade, small curls of confetti and small shapes appeared around his head as he appreciated the taste.
“It’s good to not be complacent in the kitchen though, so I’ll give you that… What is your fave dip btw? Is it guac? If not, I have some in the fridge.”
Velina
"Okay, maybe I won't, like, owe you, but friends also do nice things for friends who help them out." Vel laughed. "Like passing around the same twenty, right? Maybe I could bake you something..."
From watching copious amounts of old cooking shows when she couldn't sleep, it had sunk in to her that 'baking' and 'cooking' were considered radically different disciplines, and maybe, with Trevor being a chef, she could fill a need.
Then again, he made pizzas. He probably knew his way around a dough better than her.
"Yes, chef," Vel took her place with the meat, grabbing the cloth and taking care to get each piece as dry as possible. After all, this was about their mutual safety. Had to do it right. "I'm good at taking care of meat--
"Oh, I love guac. I have no idea what my favorite sauce is? Or dip? That's so difficult..." Vel's face screwed up in contemplation. "Have you ever had someone with multiple favorites and it just comes out weird?"
Trevor II
“Well if you want to bake me something, I’m not gonna turn that down.” Trevor drawled as he went to prepare the oil on the stove, eyeballing how much was needed in the pot before attaching a little thermometer to measure the heat.
The was another huff escaped Trevor at the meat joke before adding. “ Well, you haven’t seen me handle jerk meat yet. Maybe next time.” There was a monotonous heh heh heh from the clown as he actually started to plan making Vel some maybe Jerk pork or chicken in exchange for the baked goods.
“I can… see? If you want… Make you some sauce…” He still found it a little weird how into his vibe Vel was, maybe because he’d hadnt been asked so many questions in rapid succession before…
“I think its mor elike ‘what is your fave in the moment? Like what you are craving most… Its er… only a hmm… Singing vibe? So its pretty useles- …simple. Doesn’t matter how much Vibe I’ve built up, it's always just the one at a time. Also… what’s like, your fave thing to bake? No allergies here either so… I’ll eat anything you want to make.”
Velina
"Oh, that makes sense. People change so much...still, it's a bit like being psychic, right? Digging into things maybe someone doesn't even know themself to find their favorite." Vel bounced on her heels as she dried the pork, very focused on making sure to wick away all the moisture so they didn't have a tragedy.
"What I like to bake..." That was a tough one. "I bake a lot of things--I think the things I bake the most are, like, fruit or veggie breads? Those things are so easy and hard to mess up and I'm always buying way more bananas or zucchini than I can actually eat at once, so they same me a lot of heartache. But are they my favorite..."
She thought about making buñuelos with Noir, or lemon pies for Dwight (she was still figuring out how to do a good meringue). Snickerdoodles for Max were fun, and she'd been trying to figure out how to stuff them with caramel. There was pan de muerto, focaccia, bolillos, cupcakes, conchas, tres leches cake--
"Groove, I'm so bad at being decisive. But, like, you know what I haven't done in a while?" She checked her handiwork, then looked back at Trevor. "Sugar cookies. The kind that you cut out and then ice.
"My mom...she showed me how you could add a little meringue powder to buttercream, so it would get a little stiff, but still soft on the inside. Tasted so much better than royal icing." She shrugged; Trevor probably knew that trick already. "But, like, we'd all get together and ice them as a family. Different shapes and colors with lots of sprinkles and stuff. It'd be fun to do that with friends sometime."
Max didn't like icing, though, and so she hadn't really thought about it recently...
Trevor II
“Yeah, like a Vibe empath but for dips and Pizza only.” ‘So useless if you need to get information out of someone or sense if they want to kill you’ Trevor doesn't say aloud, though he doesn't expect Vel to say it either.
“I’m good with sugar cookies. I don't really bake much unless it is bread-based.” He said before he pressed his lips together behind his mask as Vel spoke of the family activity. Damn, he can't even really remember doing anything fun with his whole family, most of those holes are filled with memories of cooking with Manny’s ma and fam, Moreno and training to be a chef, his twin or his band…
“If you make the cookies… we can ice 'em together or something…” He said slowly as he took the tray of dried meat away from her, only making eye contact for a moment before looking away a little embarrassed, red tinting his ears a little. He set the tray next to the cooker, checking the temperature of the oil.
“Or you could do it with Ayrin or your friends or whatever…” He added before picking up the first strip of pork belly.
“So water is the thing that makes it spit like crazy, but when you place em in, always place em away from you so if any oil does splash from the drop, it doesn't go towards you.” Trevor shifted gears as he began placing a few strips in, meat sizzling as it made contact with the oil before offering one to Vel to do herself.
Velina
"Do you think I'd bring up the cookies and not want to ice them with you?" Vel teased him, even seeing him embarrassed. "I could do it with you and Ayrin, right? It's always better with lots of cookies and sprinkles and icing. We could make a little party of it or something. Bring even more friends, or just us..."
She was already planning ahead. Sugar cookies were simple, and maybe a little plain, but being able to get together with people was what made it fun. Ending up with hands coated in accidental dollops of icing, ugly little sugar cookie monstrosities, sprinkles and little candies everywhere...It was just fun.
With the explanation and demonstration, Vel stepped up to take her turn. She grabbed a deep, steeling breath, and then tried to mimic how Trevor had put the strip in--and then her nerve failed as it started to sizzle, the last bit slipping from her fingers a bit too soon and making a small splash.
She yelped and jumped back, nearly into Trevor, but it had, of course, splashed away from her. Just as he'd said.
"Ha, oh, groove. Sorry! I can do better." It was her turn to be embarrassed, cheeks darkening.
Trevor II
“They are your cookies, your party. Invite who you want.” Trevor said with a shrug, still recovering from being embarrassed by being a little stoic. “I’ll come regardless.”
He watched as Vel began dropping the pork in oil, giving her enough space so she didn’t feel like he was crowding her with his big self and leaned against the island. All seemed to be going when when Vel suddenly jumped and Trevor pushed away from the counter to check on her, if she got burnt but it seemed to be more of a scare than anything.
A little snrkt escaped Trevor as he did his best not to laugh, which was pretty easy for the performer, though he did grin that could be heard in his voice as he looked down at her.
“You’re doing great. Just try again. Getting burned happens but the pain will pass and I’ll pay for a Vendy, so take a breath and try again.”
Velina
"If we have to go to a Vendy, then, like, we won't get to eat the chicharrónes! I'm hungry." Vel laughed through the embarrassment. It was good Trevor was there, or she might have lost her nerve otherwise--unless she could get gloves and a welding mask, or call for Noir.
"Okay, I'll just...get this, and we'll not have any issues." Vel grabbed another one, and took the breath Trevor recommended. The dip into the oil went smooth, the hiss and sizzle familiar, and she let it slide in almost to her fingers before she dropped it. No splash!
"Ha! I did it!" Vel crowed, turning to Trevor with a bright grin and a fist pump. She had to play it up to shake out the nerves.
Trevor II
Trevor smirked beneath the mask as Vel succeeded in not to freak out this time, going to give her a high-five but remembered his hands were still covered in raw pork so he just offered her a thumbs up instead.
“Nice.” He said as he stepped next to her and began to place the other pieces in at a steady rate, fingers barely twitching if they got spat on, leaving the last strip for her to do.
“ You can do the honours then we just let it fry for a bit, turn the heat up then fry them again.” The clown nodded as he went to wash his hands before setting the timer.
Velina
She would have given him a high five. She had porky hands, too, but instead Vel flashed him a thumbs up in return. "Thanks, you're not so bad yourself."
Given the task of the final piece of pig, she once more tried to mimic him. The little spits of oil on her fingers elicited a squeak and a drop of the meat, but no major burns appeared, no fountain or splash to worry about. They were in the clear.
"We did it!" Vel joined him at the sink, waiting her turn to wash her hands clean. "You've made a pro out of me, chef. Thanks for, like, walking me through it. Still don't think I can do it without you."
Trevor II
Trevor did his best not to roll his eyes at the compliment and praise. Hearing so many in one day was looping him from being embarrassed back to his grumpy self.
“We’re not out of the woods yet. Still got the poppers to fry… I could air fry them though while these are frying…” He pondered for a moment before taking the poppers to the air fryer that was tucked next to the microwave.
After a few moments, Trevor had the two dishes frying simultaneously and looking pretty proud of himself.
“You wanna watch something while we eat or do you wanna eat on the balcony?… Well, more of a fire escape but its pretty nice out tonight.”
Velina
"Ooh, air fryer...I've been thinking about getting one, but I wanted to splurge on, like, a stand mixer first." Vel watched over his shoulder (on tip-toes, to the side) as he loaded up the contraption and set it to go. Easy enough! And far less scary than a pot of boiling oil.
"The balcony sounds nice...watching something is fun, but I like hanging out with you and just talking. I feel like I missed so much. Like..." she leaned on the counter and took a drink, trying to figure out how to phrase what she wanted to say without coming off as too sad.
"Like, okay, I think I knew you a little better than most people I knew growing up, but, I only knew you in school, right? During classes and lunch and whatever. And I didn't talk much, then." Vel sighed, poking at a bit of oil on her apron. "I didn't really get a chance to get to know you. But I've been enjoying it, now."
Trevor II
“When’s your birthday? I can get you one if you want.” Trevor had enough connections with enough cooks and abuelas that he’d probably be able to get a refurbished one pretty easily if he did a few favours.
“Balcony/ firescape it is then… We gotta cut through my room so…just ignore the mess…” It wasn't like his room was a bomb site, but it was messy compared to the living room and kitchen. Trevor thought for a minute about Vel in school… he mostly remembered her being nice but quiet… He had been quiet and rude to most… a trouble starter who’d been in more than enough fights to warrant hours of detention…
“Not much has changed, if I’m being honest…Apart from the clown stuff and that stuff was there already… You know, Circus parents and all… But yeah, we don't got to fit it all into one night, dude.”
Velina
"My birthday's in May. You don't have to do that, though! If I stopped buying stuffed animals for like, five minutes, I'd probably be able to get both." Vel was running out of room for them, too, but she couldn't bear the thought of vacuum-sealing them for storage. Squishing their darling little faces, sucking the fluff flat...she'd cry.
"I can close my eyes and you can lead me, if you'd feel better." Vel laughed at the idea--trying to ferry hot food, cold drinks, and her blind-by-choice self across several thresholds. Probably would be more dangerous than the deep fryer crackling in the kitchen currently. "I don't have any room to judge, though. I mean, I use a green screen when I stream so people don't see my room. And I don't have to pick up my clean laundry pile."
Not unless she was filming on the bed.
"I'm not gonna try and siphon your whole life story from you tonight, yeah, I just mean--I like talking. I like, like, hearing about my friends." She shrugged with a smile. "But I don't mind just eating in the quiet and enjoying the time, either."
Trevor II
Trevor rolled his eyes a little before letting out a huff. “Fine, you can look but don't memorise, ok? I literally cant remember what I left lying about last so don’t judge.” Unlike Vel, Trevor did shoot Vel a disappointed look at the mention of her messy room.
“I’m gonna have to tell your fans about that.” Trevor said somberly as he took out his phone and began typing away at something. “Imagine how disappointed they’d be in finding out you are a messy bessy.” He said flatly, though there was a hint of a smile in his voice as he mimed typing out a message. Trevor paused mid type, before exhaling what could have been a little huff of amusement.
“You’ve already gotten me to talk more than I would in an average week, so expecting more? Sheeze~” He teased as the message was finally sent, Vel’s phone pinging with an alert. “Exposed you~”
For all the typing Trevor was doing, the text message led to a Stepbook message… It was a single clown emoji in the post.
Velina
"Nooo, don't expose me to the intranet--" Vel laughed as she made little feints at grabbing his phone away. Despite his seriousness, she didn't honestly believe he would go through with it.
When she got the little ping she checked and barked a laugh. "Groove, I'm done for. Canceled. Like, I'll be fully mobbed offline. They'll boo me if I try to get on stage..."
Tapping her phone against her hand, she shook her head. "But, really, if you had posted it--people would want pictures. You'll just have to, like, come over sometime to get some evidence." A smooth segue into asking him for a followup friend date, as always.
"I promise to not make you talk to the whole time if you don't want to."
Trevor II
Trevor easily pulled the phone out of Vel’s reach range, smirking a little which turned into a full-blown grin as Vel checked the message.
“ Has that ever happened before? Has someone been booed off the stage you worked at? He asked jokingly before his eyes narrowed with mock suspicion.
“Kinda weird you want me to get evidence… Is this some kind of exposure play? I can’t believe you’d use me like this for your pleasure~” He said in the flattest tone as he wiped a fake tear in his eye, before huffing a laugh as he turned to begin taking the now crisped pork out of the oil.
“As long as I’m not in your …gaming streams? I’m fine with whatever… “ He had only caught a fraction of a stream while waiting for someone at a bar so he wasn't exactly sure what she streamed… One day he’ll have to watch one while cooking or something.
“Ok, just need to drain off the oil, can you grab the Guac from the fridge? It should be labelled. I’m gonna start plating stuff.”
Velina
"I mean, like, drunk Ditos get rowdy and heckle a bit, or they'll laugh at you if you mess up, but booed off the stage? Then they wouldn't get to see the rest of the show." Vel tucked her phone away again, actually giving it some thought. "I mean, even when I was new I was still getting tips. Appreciating the art of poledancing often comes secondary to the stripping. Nobody's so offended I didn't do a perfect Marion Amber that they don't wait for the bra to come off."
As Trevor deadpanned, she gave a little snort of a laugh. "Who's saying it would be just my pleasure? Do I come off that selfish to you?"
Dutifully, she went to the fridge to get the guac out, only having to spend a moment hunting for the green. As she did, she continued from her little teasing joke.
"Especially if you're not playing games badly with me--does that mean you're angling to be, like, on the cam streams? I can help you set up an OnlyDance account."
It was only half-teasing. If Trevor did want to get into OnlyDance, she'd be more than happy to help him like others had helped her.
Trevor II
Trevor nodded though he kept his eyes on his work as he was dealing with hot oil and it would of been very … uncool for him to burn himself at the very end of it al Better to be booed then to have things thrown at you, he guessed. Being hit with a bottle from an angry crowd member hurt like a mother- He snorted, pausing in plating before throwing Vel a bemused look.
He finished plating up the poppers and pork nicely on a tray before stepping to Vel to take the guac from her, very much in her personal space before saying:
“I’m a luxury only a few can afford.” He teased as he stepped away to place the guac and a few extra bits they might need on the loaded tray like more lemonade before hefting it up on his open palm and began to make his way through the living room to one for the closed doors.
“ Anyway, I used to do more one-to-one transactions when I was younger. Less of a footprint.” He said with a laugh before he opened his bedroom door. A waft of soft vanilla cake batter mixed with the smell of stillness hit him as he pushed through, revealing a pretty loudly decorated room. The bright orange and brown almost tiger-striped wallpaper was covered with a mixture of posters of bands Island Born and offshore, cutesy clown prints and shelves filled with little clowns, magic and circus knick-knacks and photos of his friends and twin.
On one wall, there was a table covered with accessory trees full of different kinds of spiked paraphernalia and jewellery as well as a few wigs that seemed to be partly worked on. The bed was big and unmade, its canopy draped down and over the bed like a big top tent. He moved a few small piles of clothes out of the way with a foot before reaching his window.
“Can you-” He nodded towards the window for Vel to open for him to go out to the fire escape.
Velina
"I believe it," Vel agreed as she followed him through the living room, bemused and a little guilty he was doing all the heavy lifting and the majority of the cooking.
"I wouldn't even know how to set something with 'less footprint' up. But I think that ship has, like, sailed, considering how very, very public I am right now." Her tone shifted to the distracted as she took in his bedroom, roving over the posters (a little jealously, admittedly; all that paper was hard to come by) and circus paraphernalia. "How do you get your room to smell like cake?"
As he asked for help, she ducked ahead to unlatch and open it for him with a little bow after and a sweep of the hand. "Your exit. Want me to hold that for you?" She had two hands out for the platter, confident she wouldn't drop it. Turned out she was stronger than she thought, or so she'd found out doing boxing with Max.
Trevor II
“It’s your brand, nothing to be ashamed of and hide it.”
“Vibe.” Trevor said shortly about the smell, he didn't want to admit he hadn't changed his sheets in a while. he didn't think someone would be in his room tonight and under all the pizza aroma and sweat that clung to him after a hard day's work would after a shower reveal his natural Vibe-enhanced scent was …sweet. Good job, Vibe Gods for making this man feel even more of a joke.
“Yeah thanks, dude.” Trevor hummed as he handed the tray over to Vel before ducking down low to step out onto the fire escape, the edges lined with planters filled with homegrown herbs and unfolded the little patio chairs and small table before reaching out for the tray and placing it on the table. He then turned back to Vel, one hand out to her, the other hovering to make sure she didn't bash her head on the window as he and many others had done before but super nonchalantly as if he wasn’t doing that.
Velina
It was good his hand was there, because Vel was far too busy with getting through the window while contemplating cake-scented Vibe to pay much attention. When her head brushed his hand she flinched as if she had hit the window, not expecting it, then laughed.
"Thanks! This is, like, a cute fire-escape." She took her seat by the tray, honestly starving but waiting for Trevor before she dug in like a feral creature. Probably needed a few more seconds to cool, considering the oil it had come out of...
"I'm glad you invited me to the concert. And back here." She knew she'd been a little over-grateful, but on the balcony, out with the city lights and soft sounds floating by, all the plants and what few stars that managed to poke through, she felt it worth repeating. "Anytime I get to know somebody, like, for real, it's just...it's nice."
Trevor II
There was a small huff as Trevor waited for Vel to fully stand up, making sure no more of her would hit the frame before taking a seat and motioning Vel to sit down too. His fingers had begun to hook into the sides of his mask, ready to pull it down when Vel spoke, his hand frozen in place.
It was more of that genuine openness he wasn’t exactly used to, especially with everyone sober or so early on in a friendship. He opened his mouth, about to say something., closed it and then unhooked his mask, his rough and freckled skin and large teeth now visible ungraced by clown makeup for Vel to see in the glow of the night city lights before he lent over and grabbed a piece of pork between his fingers, seemingly unperturbed by the hotness of the oil and placed it on a serving plate.
“It’s whatever, dude… Friend stuff. Get used to it.” He said as he sneered, tongue out showing off his little clown-coloured piercing set in the middle of it and snorted, “This is the nicest you’re gonna get outta me so get used to it.” And with a dip and a big chomp, Trevor took a big bite out of the pork, burning his tongue a little as he blew out hot air to help cool his mouth. After a few exhales, Trevor chewed and swallowed.
“Hot but good….Have some and tell me about what you've been up to, dude. I’ve been talking for hours’” He rolled his eyes before smirking as he took a sip of his drink, nodding his head towards the food.
Velina
Vel gave a little laugh as Trevor downplayed her genuine sentiment, eyes crinkling up in the corners.
"Okay, okay, sure. You're a real sweetheart to put up with me, like, forcing conversation out of you after you sang up on stage for forever," she agreed, plucking up a couple of the chicharrónes onto a plate. They were luckily starting to cool--but when she bit into one, she got a bit of fat and oil down her chin.
"Mmph! Ahh, fuck. That's so good. Shit, where's--" she used the corner of the apron she was still wearing as a napkin. "Groove, it's probably good I'm too, like, worried about oil to make these all the time. That's so good."
They should have tapped them together in a little cheers. Maybe next time.
"What I've been up to?" She dipped the unbitten end into the guac and scooped, holding it so she could talk. "You sure? I could talk for, like, hours--"
Maybe not that long. But it was a nice night, with a good friend, and delicious food. So they'd certainly be out there a while. Long enough to learn about Vel's different jobs, and a few funny client stories (graciously anonymized), long enough to run out of friend pork belly and dips and lemonade.
A wonderful evening for a rekindled friendship.
END
Moderators: AJ_89 Steven (played by Robo-Craig) QnQ Hide Miyagawa (played by Monoclejack)
