Groovy Tunes, Saturday

[furnaceface]

So, the great thing about owning both a business and the apartment upstairs from it was theoretically that, when in a brief fit of nerve one decided to go to work for a day with only a t-shirt between his flames and the rest of the world, it was easy to chicken out and just run upstairs to grab spare wrappings or a turtleneck or something to take care of the rest of it. Or, at least, that was what Jono had told himself before making his way in to the Groovy Tunes and realizing that most of his clothing was already at Hannibal's, these days.

What hadn't he moved yet? His winter gear, mostly, since he hadn't had any need of it thus far. He wasn't resorting to actually pulling any of it on just yet, but he did happen to have a scarf close at hand while he perused order forms and listened to Pearl Jam.

First sign of anybody actually coming into the store he'd probably vanish behind the counter for a few moments to throw it on. Wearing scarves inside in October wasn't that strange, was it? It was seasonal!

This whole 'being less afraid to show his face in public around the island' thing was still very much a work in progress.

[OOC: Open, and my brain is only slightly full of gauze today! Progress!]

Comments

[nuclear_snide]

Oh, look - someone was coming in! Although the first sign Jono would get would be Bob being there.

He wandered in, paid exactly no attention to Jono's flames, and came to peer over his shoulder. "Anything interesting?"

[furnaceface]

Congratulations, Bob. You were pretty much the only person on the island who could sneak up on Jono effectively enough to make him jump a little.

At least you were one of the relatively few he wasn't terribly concerned about hiding from.

//Depends on how you feel about Blur or City and Colour,// Jono mused, glancing sideways over his shoulder at Bob once he'd managed to sort of re-gain his dignity. //The Decemberists, Tom Jones,// he tilted his head. //Zombies?//

Shrug?

[nuclear_snide]

"I'm not terribly fond of zombies," Bob said. "Unless this is the ones in the club?"

[furnaceface]

//Eeehm, no,// Jono replied, shaking his head a little. //They're a rock band. From England? From back in the sixties, though they've been active off and on since.//

There was a pause, and then Jono waved a hand, making his way into the shelving to pick out one of their albums.

//I suppose listing titles wouldn't do much good for you, hm? Care to give them a listen?//

[nuclear_snide]

"If you want." Bob shrugged. "I haven't got a particular preference."

[furnaceface]

//Well, you'd asked,// Jono decided, poking through a few CDs before surfacing with their Best of the 60s album. //This is what happens when you ask me about music while I'm standing in my element.//

So suck it up, Bob. Jono was going to make his way back to the stereo to put it on anyway.

He was turning off Pearl Jam for this.

[nuclear_snide]

Bob would be sure to be properly...completely clueless.

He listened to the new music for about half a minute and shrugged. "Seems...unobjectionable."f

[furnaceface]

//The hordes of screaming young ladies that attended their concerts back in the sixties certainly seemed to think so,// Jono replied easily, shrugging and leaning back against the counter. //I suppose I should be flattered or something, knowing you're clearly not here for the music.//

[nuclear_snide]

"Was hoping you might be reading something a little more interesting than lists," Bob confessed.

[furnaceface]

//Order forms,// Jono replied. //Going over stock that's scheduled to be in, and then looking at what I should be putting on order for later. That said, of course I've got a novel on the go. Who the hell do you think I am, Bob?//

The only reason he wasn't still spending his Sundays in the school library was that he'd graduated years ago and his Sundays were otherwise spoken for, these days.

[nuclear_snide]

"Do I have to answer that?" Bob asked, smirking.

[furnaceface]

Jono's answering eyeroll, there...

//Now I'm half curious what you'd answer with. Bearing in mind that your answer'll influence whether or not I feel like reading aloud today.//

No, it probably wouldn't.

[nuclear_snide]

"A generous and giving person?" Bob tried.

[bluhblahbluh.livejournal.com]

It was late when Drac finally made up his mind to stop in at the Groovy Tunes.

"Hello? Jonothon?" Or was today one of the student employees' shifts? Maybe he should have called ahead...

[furnaceface]

//Hey, Dracula,// Jono greeted, peering up from behind the counter. He had another hour or so to go before heading back to Hannibal's to pack for the school trip, and in that time he'd hoped to at least make certain everything was in proper working order to last the time he'd be away.

Fortunately, music shops were fairly straightforward.

//Heads-up, it's a fire day. I can cover it if it bothers you.//

[bluhblahbluh.livejournal.com]

Drac was a little startled at the flames, yes. It had been a while since he'd seen his friend without the wrappings.

"Can you control them?" Which was a stupid question, so he clarified. "I mean, of course, will it trouble you to keep them close to you or is that why you wear the wrappings."

[furnaceface]

//It's what the wrappings are for, sort of,// Jono replied, scratching awkwardly at the back of his neck. //They're harmless. It isn't even real fire, technically. It just looks that way. It's really only dangerous once I decide I need for it to be. The wrappings are mostly just because people find the look of me unsettling, generally.//

Which was a far cry from his high school days, when he was fear personified and prone to flattening buildings and scorching his own sheets when he slept at night.

//Here, I've got a scarf...//

[bluhblahbluh.livejournal.com]

Drac raised a hand to stop him. "I'm not afraid of fire as much as I am being burned to death," he smiled wryly. "And I know you wouldn't do that. At least I hope you aren't upset enough with me for that."

[furnaceface]

Jono's hand paused just shy of the scarf, and he looked at Drac warily for a moment, considering that statement before shrugging and putting his hands into his pockets instead.

//I haven't exactly been given a reason to be,// he agreed. //Actually, I rather enjoy your company. Lighting you on fire is rather detrimental to that.//

[bluhblahbluh.livejournal.com]

"As I yours," Drac would blush at the compliment if he could, honest. "And it would definitely crimp my style."

"So what makes today different? Why is today 'fire day'?"

[furnaceface]

//It's less that it's 'fire day,' and more that it's 'giving a spirited attempt at being myself in places where I should be able to be comfortable with it' day,// Jono explained. //I'd been giving it a try at Hannibal's place these past few weeks, and I thought... that's been going well enough, random singing day aside. Maybe I could give it a go here?//

Since he owned the place. And technically lived here, at least on all the paperwork.

//I've started teaching mutant children back in my New York part time,// he explained, after a brief pause. //And many of them don't have the option of looking human. What does it say to them if I cover up the one piece of me that sets me apart, too? I don't want them thinking that their differences are something to be ashamed of.//

[bluhblahbluh.livejournal.com]

"Oh!" Why this was a coincidence! "Didn't you mention before that humans and mutants didn't get along in your world? That's changed, then?"

[furnaceface]

Dare to dream, Drac.

//Wouldn't that be nice? No, unfortunately it hasn't changed. But I still don't want the students thinking that there should be ashamed of what they are.//

All because he hated his own face.

[bluhblahbluh.livejournal.com]

"Oh." That time Drac didn't sound so excited. "That's what I was attempting to teach Raven. She was deeply upset at her natural appearance."

"Having to keep separate with no support is very different from my world," Drac admitted. "Monsters always had other monsters."

[furnaceface]

//Whereas mutants generally have human parents,// Jono replied, brow furrowing a little. //It's... harder to reinforce a positive image to a child who has been thrown away by his own family simply for being different. Hell, even those families that are friendly to mutants... often don't accept the ones that remind them that something aside from humanity is just a stone's throw away at a glance.//

Take his own, for example.

Jono didn't talk about his own.