The Boards, Tuesday, All Day

[furnaceface]

Well, the new equipment had finally all arrived at the Boards, and it was safe to say that Jono was even a touch excited about it. Hardly 'a kid on Christmas morning' levels of excitement. He seldom had that much in him to spare, really. But he was at least nearly smiling a bit as he worked on getting the soundboard hooked up in the booth, and then proceeded to make his way up onto the catwalks to make certain that the lights and microphones were all connected properly, as well.

It was another Pearl Jam day, but if anyone asked, Jonothon was going to tell them that he was simply using their music in order to iron out the kinks in the system.

Wouldn't you?

[Open for visitors, or anyone who wants to ask about the poster in the window! OCD-freeeee today!]

Comments

[its-theclimb.livejournal.com]

Oh, look, there was a super-energetic teenage girl bouncing into the Boards.

"Hi!" Miley chirped. "I'm Miley. Are you Troy or Jono? I'm looking for Troy or Jono. I had some questions about the holiday showcase? Because I wanna be in it. And I had questions! For Troy. Or Jono! But Jono has that, um, fire thing. So are you Troy? Hi!"

[furnaceface]

You know, Jono hadn't actually expected her to be this chirpy when she wasn't a pony? And yet, here she was...

"Actually, Jono had that fire thing," he corrected, a wry smile pulling at his lips even as he checked to be certain that the collar of his coat was turned up over the bottom of his face. "So, no, I'm not Troy. Hullo, Miley, luv."

[its-theclimb.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that pony weekend had maybe even been a low point in her general chirpiness.

"Oh! So you're Jono!" Yes, Miley. That was the point. "Cool! Good for you! Yeah, the squirrels' notes and stuff for the radio were all, like, 'Hey, Jono works here now,' but I totally didn't hear that your fire thing was gone. That's awesome! Good for you!"

She was imagining a cosmetic procedure. Oh, LA.

[furnaceface]

"Er... thank you?"

There had been a cosmetic procedure!

It hadn't lasted.

"So, you're here to ask about the Holiday Showcase? Auditions aren't until th'weekend. Hell, we haven't even entirely finished renovations in here just yet. But I'll do what I can to answer your questions, luv."

[its-theclimb.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, but how'd you... you know, do that?" she asked, far too eager to be concerned with the holiday showcase right now. "There's a guy in LA, I always forget his name, but he's supposed to be really great with, like, plastic-y procedures and that kinda thing. Um, what's his name... Dr. Ferrier, I think it is? Did you go to him?"

[furnaceface]

Jono wrinkled his nose a little. Oh, Miley. Were you certain you wanted an answer to this one?

"I was kidnapped by an ancient cult looking to reincarnate an evil mutant god, and they pumped massive amounts of his blood into my body while I was in a coma, because I'm descended from him."

... Sometimes, the truth was absurd enough that it wasn't entirely necessary to come up with a good lie.

"So. Showcase?"

[its-theclimb.livejournal.com]

Staring. Staaaaaaring.

"Showcase," she agreed, gratefully seizing the proferred segue. "So, um..." Huh. "You know, I totally can't remember my questions now."

Nice, Miley. Nice.

[furnaceface]

"They must've been important, then," Jono replied, crossing his arms over his chest. "Questions about what you need for the audition itself, perhaps? Or about th'show?"

[its-theclimb.livejournal.com]

"Yes! Both of those! That's totally the kind of thing I would ask!" That attention span of hers got her into trouble a lot was going to get her into trouble someday.

"So... what do I need for the audition?" she asked, skipping forward to lean over the front of the counter.

[furnaceface]

"Well... what do you want to do for th'showcase? We're not expecting anybody to have their numbers fully rehearsed or anything just yet, but if you want to sing, or dance, or arrange a skit or something, you'll want to at least have some material prepared so that you can demonstrate your talents, luv."

For the record, he'd never auditioned anyone for something like this in his life. But he was the musical director, so help him, and that was how he was going to go about this.

"Troy might hand you some script or something to read off of, perhaps, but considering this showcase is entirely about th'talents and traditions of th'people of Fandom, I wouldn't worry so much about that."

[its-theclimb.livejournal.com]

"I was thinking I'd sing something," she said thoughtfully, tilting her head. "Ooh, or maybe do a dance. Like, you know in meta for Mean Girls when they sing that Christmas song at the showcase? I could totally do that. But I'd need more people. Like Caroline and Juliet, ooh, or that guy from Rock Band that one time. He could totally sing. Or I could do a skit from Indiana Joannie (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjCx5RH8i88). I totally love that movie. What do you think?"

Assuming he was able to get a word in, of course.

[furnaceface]

"Well, I haven't seen th'film," Jono noted, raising an eyebrow, "though somehow I doubt it's a holiday story."

He could be horribly wrong?

"But if you can gather up a group in time for the audition, that would be wonderful. For dancing, or singing, or... skits from Indiana Joannie. Whichever pleases yer little heart, Sunbeam."

[its-theclimb.livejournal.com]

"Oh. It's themed. Right." Way to crush her hopes and dreams, Jono. "I'll come up with something! Hey, I could always sing a Hannah Montana song..."

Because those were extra-special-subtle.

[glacial_queen]

Karla had heard from Raven that Jono was back but hadn't sought him out right away. She knew Jono; knew he'd want to find his metaphorical feet before seeing too many people all at once. New people, people who hadn't known him before were one thing. People from his past, who could compare his new face to his old?

Yeah, she figured he'd want a few days to adjust to the island before being bombarded with that.

But hearing Pearl Jam coming from the theater drew her in like an ant and a line of sugar. "Kiss kiss," she called quietly from the doorway. "Up for a visit from your favorite witchling?"

[furnaceface]

"Now, there is a greeting I haven't heard in a while," came a voice from above. Somebody was still up there, adjusting the boom mics. "Hang on for a minute, I'll be right down, luv."

He didn't sound... excited to see her, really. But then, it took him a bit to get excited about anything, these days. And she was on that list of people who hadn't seem him yet.

... Actually, he might have sounded half-terrified. But either way, he was making his way down from the catwalks, now.

[glacial_queen]

Karla watched him descend, keeping her expressions neutral with a side of unsurprised. Raven had told her enough to prepare her and even though she didn't remember that weird weekend when they were all older, there was something inside of her that clanged with recognition upon seeing him.

Deciding Jono would appreciate blunt honesty over...anything else, she didn't try to steal quick, coy looks at him. Instead her eyes traveled over him, slowly and steadily, taking in not only his face but the new fullness of his chest and the new...thereness...he had.

That was totally a word. Shut up.

And then, inspection over, she was leaning forward, arms open. "Missed you," she said. "Even if it hasn't been as long for me. Island just doesn't feel the same without you."

[furnaceface]

"Less good music playing around here, I imagine," Jonothon replied, his mouth... a little dry, after such a raw, open inspection like that.

He hadn't been certain, really, how he'd been expecting her to react. But he wouldn't deny, if asked, that he'd been tempted to just book it back up into the rafters again. And now her arms were open, and there was that part that wanted to give her that hug, because she was family, damn it, and it was perfectly normal to do. And there was that part that wanted to take a step back. He was dirty. Nobody should want to touch him. Nobody should trust him that far...

Instead of hugging her back, he reached out to rest a hand on her shoulder. It was... it was something.

"Missed you too, luv."

[glacial_queen]

"No one to teach me to sing guitar songs properly," she agreed, dropping her arms but bringing her hand up to clasp his.

And then, never loathe to let the elephant in the room go unacknowledged for long, she said, "I have seen you. I've taken a good, long look. I'm not afraid of you. I don't pity you or hate you or shy away from you. You're different. You've changed. There are shadows in your eyes that come from more than just what's been done to you. I care about these things--but only because I care about you. I'm not going to turn away. Not because of what you look like--and not because of whatever it is you've done. I promise."

[furnaceface]

"You and everybody else here, it seems," Jono replied, his hand falling to his side a heartbeat later. "I'm tired. I don't deserve whatever friendship anybody offers. I'm not... whoever I was. Not after all that. I know what it really means to be a monster, now. If you're fine with maintaining a friendship with that, then..."

He shrugged. He didn't know what to say. Wanted to tell her that she was better off without. That everyone was better off without. Hell, that he was better off without, that he could feel whatever had been put inside of him, creeping through his chest, like it was waiting for the perfect opportunity to rear its ugly head and make him whatever it was that he never wanted to be all over again.

"Thank you."

He didn't think she'd let him get very far with the rest of it, anyhow.

[glacial_queen]

She wouldn't. Not in the least.

"I have a different definition of monster than you do," Karla said, thinking back to Jaenelle's destruction of the Jhinka. "If you want to talk about what happened--what you did--I'll listen. Not even as a friend, if you'd prefer. But as a neutral Black Widow. I can do that." She gave him a fleeting smile. "Hard to believe, I know, but sometimes I can put aside 'Karla' and be something else."

[furnaceface]

"I might take you up on that," Jono replied, quietly. "I might not. If I talk to you as a healer, Karla, I expect those words to stay with th'healer. Raven's angry enough as it is, and I just... I don't want trouble. There's enough of that around already."

[glacial_queen]

Karla's face went dark for a moment, then she sighed and shook her head. It wasn't like he could know. She didn't often act in either capacity here in Fandom. "Anything you to me as a Black Widow stays in the strictest of confidence," she said. "It's one of the first things we agree to when we join the Hourglass. I've sworn it on my Jewels. And I'll do it again if you'd prefer."

[furnaceface]

"And you wouldn't act on it? You wouldn't hold that in and find reasons to be angry about it?" He pushed his hands into the pockets of his coat. But not before reaching up and adjusting his collar, self-consciously covering the bottom half of his face with it. "I think I'd rather talk to you as a friend, if I talk at all. I've had enough neutral ears listening to my problems to last me about a lifetime."

They hadn't been all that neutral.

Jono's trust for healers and doctors was at a brand new low.

[glacial_queen]

"If you talked to me as a Healer or a Black Widow, then, no. I wouldn't act upon what's told to me in confidence. I'd still be angry about it--" assuming she was angry was a good bet, really "--but it would only be in private. It wouldn't be appropriate for you to see my reaction, and since it's confidential, no one else would get to see it, either."

Or if they saw a reaction, they wouldn't get to know anything about the cause, no matter how much they badgered. They wouldn't even get to know that Karla had been talking to Jono.

"If you want to talk to a friend, I'm always here for you," she promised. "I'm your friend first and foremost; caste would only play into it if it made you more comfortable." She swallowed, then, and made the offer her pride wanted to deny, but her good sense said was necessary. "If--for any reason--you don't want to talk it over with me, that's fine, too. Ben has seen some dark and ugly things. Possibly darker than you think. I think he would talk to you if you'd prefer. And Ender, too. He, at least, won't judge or overreact. And it may help to talk to someone a few paces removed from the situation, instead of someone close."

[furnaceface]

The corner of Jono's mouth twitched a little, from behind that flipped-up collar of his.

"It might," he allowed, softly. "Ben has... been there for me through some difficult times, before."

Ender... was a name, so far as Jono was concerned. A face he might have seen in passing. Ben had been stupid videos and Thor helmets that actually flew and a silent, understanding presence, back when he'd needed one the most.

"As have you," he added. "I'm sorry, Karla. I just..." He exhaled, taking a few steps back and sinking into one of the old theatre seats. "I need friends. Not doctors. I could write a list of reasons for that from this past year alone. Ones that were too many paces removed. Ones that weren't half as removed as they let on. At least if I talk to you as a friend, I know who it is I'm talking to."