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 Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 8:44 pm
Gazing blearily at the fashionably-attired mannequins in the center of the store, Gray tried to decide if he would look good in what they were wearing. Shopping was one of those things he tended to put off until it was absolutely necessary, but his parents had wired him enough money to buy a tux (as if he was going to wear it on more than one occasion, honestly, but they were sure he would need it in the future) and then some, so he was expected to spend it.
It wouldn't have been so much of a trial except he had no fashion sense when it came to everyday clothing, and he didn't really care two shakes what he wore when he wasn't A) in school or B) fire spinning.
Sighing, he scratched the back of his head, tipping his chin back to get a better look at the displayed outfits. It wouldn't be too bad to just go pick up all the pieces of one, would it? He'd always keep them together so he remembered what matched what, and he'd have another full outfit to wear... somewhere. Maybe when Alease wanted to go the movies or something? Yeah, that'd make sense.
Still, which one? The mannequins had very different personal styles going on. He frowned a little, dropping his hand, and sighed.
Shopping.. was not Grayson's favorite activity in the least.
Turning, he scanned the floor for an associate, hoping to get some advice on how to dress his two-toned self, but saw none. There was a girl, one who went to his school if he wasn't entirely mistaken, though she was in a lower grade than him. He was pretty sure he'd seen her around, though.
Lips tipping upward into a smile, he lifted his hand, hoping to catch her attention with the gesture. "Hey. Could I ask you a favor?"
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Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 9:05 pm
Fallon went shopping every week on Tuesday and Thursday from 3:00pm to 5:00pm.
It was 4:15pm.
It was Thursday.
Therefore, Fallon was shopping.
She carried a blue shopping bag in one hand, and a pale green purse was slung over her other shoulder. Dressed in a pair of skinny black pants, a long tunic-style blouse, and a cardigan, Fallon looked like she might work at the store. It was a high-end department store, and it stocked some of Fallon's favorite structured dresses. She had been on her way there when a familiar voice called for her attention. Turning her head, she picked Grayson out. It wasn't that difficult, what with the oddly colored hair and all.
Tapping painted nails against the hot apple cider she had picked up from a nearby cafe, Fallon picked through the aisles, stopping just as she reached Grayson. "Good afternoon, Grayson. Doing some shopping?" It was the common start of many occasions of small talk, and if there was one thing Fallon believed in, it was societal scripts. He said he needed a favor and so the dark-haired girl waited for him to voice it, sipping on her cider and smiling pleasantly.
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Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2009 9:38 am
Grayson was relieved when she approached, and the closer she got, the more he was reaffirmed in the idea that she was familiar. It wasn't until she was standing just beside him and spoke, however, that he recognized her fully. Fallon, that was her name. A nice enough girl, and she cooked like an angel on top of it. Though he usually took his meals in the dining hall, not being a picky man by any means, he could still appreciate truly fine cuisine when it made its way into his mouth.
Recognition made him smile, and he half-turned, gesturing to the mannequins. She was nice enough, and probably wouldn't laugh at him for his dilemma. If she did, he wouldn't mind too much... but hopefully at least she'd help him out.
"I'm trying to find some new clothes, and I was wondering which of these would look better on me. Shopping is a necessary evil, apparently, and I'm having some trouble. You're well dressed, so do you think you could help me out?"
If she said no, he'd simply bumble along until he found a salesperson. They got paid to help indecisive people like him, right? But he'd much rather get the opinion of someone near his own age, even if she did dress more like an adult than many of his peers.
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Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2009 12:53 pm
If Fallon had it her way, she would be able to design the appearance, personality, and actions of every single person that she knew. The world was a big doll house, and in her mind, Fallon was holding the Barbies. Grayson's offer was hardly a favor; it was a privilege. She would make him look better than he ever had. Of course, he would be in her preferred style of dress, but that was really for the best anyway. Taking a final sip of her cider, she crossed to the nearest trashcan and pitched it, folding her hands together in front of her chest. Her eyes glanced up to the mannequins, lips pursing together. "Those? No. Not those." Shaking her head, she marched in the opposite direction, picking back to another area of the store.
She didn't glance to see if Grayson was following. If he wanted her help, she assumed he would. "Are you looking for anything in particular, Grayson?" Heading toward the higher end of the store, she paused in front of a stand of vests, some casual and some formal. "And do you have a price range?" It was an unexpected diversion, but Fallon had finished purchasing the things that she intended to get anyway. This was a pleasant change of pace, and one that she could handle. One hand fingered the material of each vest, finger tracing over the buttons and counting silently.
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Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2009 9:42 pm
Smiling gratefully, Grayson followed her without a word, hands tucked lazily into his pockets, shoulders dipped into a slight slouch. Though it wasn't his favorite pastime by any means, Fallon looked like she meant business, and that probably meant his entire evening wouldn't be wasted hemming and hawing over something to wear. That was excellent.
Leaning back a little, he surveyed the immediate area, noting that it was a lot dressier than he was inclined to go. Well... there was prom coming up. He and Benny would probably go to dinner, so he ought to look like for that. Actually, this was all working out very well, and she didn't even know the occasion yet.
"I don't really have anything in mind. Something nice to wear for dinner, maybe." Extracting a hand from his pocket, he offered her a crumpled up slip. On it was his bank balance - not modest by any means, especially thanks to his parents wiring him some funds earlier that day. "My prom date's pretty hyped up about the whole thing, so I might as well look nice. And this is my balance, though I'd like to save some of it for food and costume."
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Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2009 1:37 pm
Fallon glanced down at the back slip, never touching it. Its wrinkles and crinkles were offensive to behold. She pursed her lips. "So, you are looking for your tuxedo for prom? Or you are just shopping in general?" she asked, shifting her weight to one hip. Grayson wasn't being entirely clear, and she wanted to be certain of what he meant before she proceeded with her help.
Her hands trailed from one article of clothing to another, appraising the texture and quality of the fabric. "You could always purchase several separates. Tuxedo quality vests can often be made more casual with a dark jean and a light jacket." Slipping to the other side of the display, Fallon continued her slow search, waiting for further guidance from Grayson. "Who is your prom date?" she asked. Fallon had no plans on going to prom. Not unless she could bring the prettiest girl in the school with her.
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Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2009 9:10 am
Stuffing the slip back into his pocket, not disturbed in the least by its crumpled state, nor by the slight crinkling noise it made when he walked, Grayson smiled again. Fallon was clearly much more adept at this whole shopping thing that he was, especially considering she already had helpful suggestions he hadn't ever thought about.
Gray was, on his down time, a very jeans and tee shirt kind of fellow. He didn't think he owned anything that could be classified as a jacket, except for his costume wear, and he didn't take that out unless there was a show. He had a coat, of course, for winter, but he didn't think that was what she meant.
"Right now, just shopping in general. Probably for something nice to wear to dinner, maybe two outfits, just so I have something to wear if we go on a date or, you know. Anything like that."
It had been a while since Grayson had dated, actually. Of course, he and Benny weren't dating, per se, but Gray considered himself off the market until the point where Benny informed him that they were not, in fact, seeing one another, so it all amounted to the same thing in the end.
Almost as an afterthought, he added, "Oh, and I'm going with Benny. Benson Beldon."
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Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2009 2:52 pm
Fallon didn't ask Grayson what his preferred style was because she didn't care. She knew what would look best, according to her tastes, and that was all she planned to show him. Nodding three times, she scooped up a few different vests, moving toward the racks of shirts. "I know of him, but I've never met him," she said, fingers sorting through the nearest rack. Fallon preferred a pageboy, professor aesthetic when it came to dressing men. Grayson would look absolutely precious in it. Now... that hair. "You know what would look really nice?" she said, a feigned smile spreading across her mouth. "A haircut, a nice haircut to impress Benson." She nodded as if to prime Grayson for the proper response, pulling a white button-up off a rack and draping it over an arm.
She'd love to see Grayson in a nice, muted blue. As soon as the thought crossed her mind, Fallon was off, eyes searching for the color that had just passed through her head. "Have you and Benson been together long?" she asked. Fallon didn't try to hear the gossip of others. Anything that she knew had been directly told to her by someone else; she never sought it out. However, the relationship between Grayson and Benson had slipped past her radar. They could've been dating for years and Fallon might just not have ever noticed. Boys very rarely registered on her radar... at all.
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Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2009 3:08 pm
Luckily for the both of them, Grayson didn't particularly aspire to contradict anything Fallon had to say as far as clothing choices went. He put himself completely at her mercy, and was very content to trail along behind her, piping up whenever necessary. This sort of arrangement really worked for him, mostly because it catered entirely to his laziness.
"He's a fun guy. I like him," he added, which should have been obvious. They were going to prom, after all. But sometimes, you never know.
His eyebrows shot up at the mention of cutting his hair, and he unconsciously lifted a hand to finger his side ponytail. "No, I think I'll keep my hair just as is. Changing my clothes is one thing, but Benny likes me just how I am at the moment, so it'll be fine."
Grayson very firmly believed in being accepted and liked for who you were, not who you could make yourself appear to be. He'd be the same guy if he dressed up nicely for dinner - that was a compliment and a matter of respect to the person you were dining with - but he wouldn't be dressing like that all the time. Cutting his hair was something different. If Benny asked him to, he'd think about it, but probably say no. After all, it was his hair.
And besides, they weren't even technically dating. "No, he just asked me to prom recently. We aren't even dating, I don't think. Well, we're kind of trial-running it."
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Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2009 3:27 pm
Fallon agreed with Grayson -- to a point. He would still be the same person regardless of how he dressed or how he wore his hair. So why not look better? She had no intention of arguing with him, and so she simply shrugged and went back to the racks of clothing, selecting a sweater vest in the shade of blue she had sought out originally. Hm. Prom. Fallon really hadn't given it much thought. She wasn't even sure that she would go. It was a rite of passage, and Fallon did enjoy rules, rites, and manners -- but was it worth the stress?
The idea hung in the back of her head as she wove deeper in to the store, not looking back to see if Grayson followed her. "What size pants do you wear?" she asked. Tops could be eyeballed, but Fallon was not as good at guessing pants sizes, especially for boys' pants. She could just check the tag on his pants, but she wouldn't do it unless he asked her to. Adjusting her own bags on her arm, Fallon moved toward the selection of jackets, nodding along with Grayson.
She didn't have much to say, but she recognized it was her turn to speak. So she did. "Sounds nice," she said, prompting him to continue the conversation if he'd like. Fallon was busy looking for things to make Grayson more presentable.
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Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2009 6:39 pm
The pants question baffled him. It had been so long since Grayson had purchased a pair for himself - often he got mail from his parents with clothing included, but he rarely, if ever, shopped - that he had no idea. He stood there a moment, confusion on his face, before he lifted his shoulders in a helpless shrug.
"I actually don't know. I could run into the bathroom and look." He pursed his lips, not really relishing the idea of getting undressed only to get dressed again. He wondered if Fallon would make him try on clothes. "Or you could look for me, if you don't mind."
Grayson couldn't care in the least. He wasn't easily embarrassed, though in his experience, girls were. He figured giving her the option was better than not. The worst thing she could do, he guessed, was call him a pervert and get security on him. That would suck, but there wasn't much he could about it.
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Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2009 5:43 am
Crossing back over to Grayson, Fallon passed the armload of clothes to him. "Please hold these," she said and then disappeared to his backside. Being OCD did not make Fallon a germophobe. She liked tidiness and order, which often translated to cleanliness, but she was not paralyzed by the act of touching a door knob or having someone sneeze within a few feet of her. Lifting up Grayson's shirt with one hand, she bent the waist of his pants, read the number, and then let everything fall back in to place. "Right," she said, flashing him a smile and heading back to the rack. She didn't bother to tell him what it was. If he didn't know already, then Fallon assumed he didn't care to know at all.
After a few more stops to different racks, Fallon spun on her pump and canted her head to one side. "Ready to go try on? You won't know if you love it until you see the full package." She smiled, a bit more genuinely, and then began to trail toward the dressing room. This was her favorite part -- playing dress-up. It was like Grayson really was her doll.
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