Questions & Answers

[Markise Sterling]

The way Quinn said it sounded like she'd gotten uncomfortable and the guy had just stopped, but it didn't sound right. Not if he'd offered to show her at some point. Markise looked at Quinn suspiciously, but he wasn't going to outright call her a liar. As much as he might apply some of the rules he had for his sister to Quinn as well, she wasn't his sister, so he didn't feel like it was his right to push. "How long have you known him, anyway?" he asked.

[Quinn Ashwinder]

Quinn had to think about it for a minute, "he was the first person I met when I came to Hogwarts. I told him things that I never told anyone else, and he's in my house." She'd known him for a while, just not known him until recently. "We starting talking today, about things," she would never reveal to anyone that someone else had problems, as she hoped that other people wouldn't talk about her social awkwardness.

[Markise Sterling]

Markise's brows drew together again. "What kind of things?" he asked. It sounded like they'd known each other for a while, at least. And if they'd talked like that, it meant they were close, didn't it? Markise's guard on Quinn's behalf had calmed a bit with her reassurances, but he still wasn't entirely convinced that she just didn't know what was going on. She'd asked him what sex was, for chrissake. How much could she have understood about anything that had happened?

[Quinn Ashwinder]

Quinn looked down away from Markise for a moment, "things that Lyric doesn't want other people to know, not that he told me as much, just the way he was talking about it. I don't think he wants anyone knowing, but I just got it." Quinn looked back up at Markise with a smile, "I think he really needs a friend, but he doesn't know how to keep one, and I seem to have the opposite problem, I just can't make them."

[Markise Sterling]

So Lyric was a loner with a tortured past or something. Markise stood for another few moments before he said, "All right. I'll help you find something to wear for him. What's he like? What kind of music does he like and stuff?" It didn't for a moment occur to him that she might not know, since they'd been sharing deep dark secrets since September.

[Quinn Ashwinder]

Quinn blinked at that wondering, it hadn't seemed that important to her at the time when she'd been talking to him, what had been important was what she could see in his eyes, and that he'd talked to her. "I'm not sure what kind of music he likes," she thought helplessly, "but I do know that's he's really quiet most of the time." She smiled as she thought about the cloud of smoke and stupid combat boots. "He's got really long hair, and it's spiked out over his head, but when I met him he was wearing it down. And he was wearing these unlaced combat boots earlier too."

[Markise Sterling]

It struck Markise as strange that Quinn would be into a guy like that, but he couldn't very well fault her for it. He'd been hot for Dare forever, and he was very hot for Ariel's tattoos. Plus, there had been Robbie, hadn't there? He swept his hand through his hair again as he thought about what kinds of casual clothes he had, and what guys like that wanted to see. He'd throw out Dare's taste entirely, considering Michael's love of flannel, but he'd seen them going out before, and Michael definitely dressed up on those nights.

"Have you worn your jeans much?" he asked. "Because I think you need another pair." He gave her a quick look-over. She had the figure to pull it off. The question was whether she'd be comfortable enough to wear it, or if he'd have to try a few times. Well, the store was open for a few more hours, so he had plenty of time to find out.

[Quinn Ashwinder]

Quinn nodded, "I really like them." She blushed as she thought about how she could see her butt in them and she liked that, it felt liberating to know that she looked good in the clothes Markise had picked out for her. "They make me feel...more feminine somehow." Not that she wanted to wear short pants or anything like that, but she would like to try and be more adventurous. "I feel...more confident in them," she said as an afterthought.

[Jory Addison]

Jory hadn't known what to do after his....talk, for lack of a better word, with Lyric. He certainly couldn't go to Layne, and he refused to go to Eros. It had taken him a couple of days to realize that Markise was possibly his best bet, and he had intended to spend some of his Christmas money at Markise's shop, anyway. He came in, the bell ringing lightly as the door opened and closed. When he saw Markise was already with someone, he dropped his eyes and tried to find something he could focus on until the girl was gone.

[Markise Sterling]

Markise had to think to recall where everything was in the new setup of the shop, especially since they'd been gone so long, or he would have looked up immediately at the sound of the door chimes. Rather, he continued gathering the last pieces of the outfit he'd decided would especially flattered Quinn.

The outfit he'd chosen hinted at the wildness she'd described, while keeping with the pale shades she seemed to favor. If she could handle wearing it, it would definitely get his attention, as well as any straight male she walked past. Skinny jeans were a must; Quinn was so very thin that she needed something that would show what curves she had. White skinny jeans kept them softer looking, and a white belt with silver studs emphasized her waist and the curve of her hips where it rested. He just hoped the top wasn't too much.

The top was a modern throwback to the days of corsets, a soft pink that followed the the slight curve of the torso, with wide shoulder straps. It laced down the front, ending with a perfect bow that would rest where the shirt's hem met the waist of the jeans. She wasn't busty; this would visually add a little. There were accessories, of course, but Markise wanted to see if he could get her in the clothes before he went into all of that.

As he pulled his wand to send the clothes floating along to the dressing room, a minute or so after the bells had chimed, he glanced over to see who had walked in. His eyes paused, widened, then diverted. If Jory had been looking at him, there would have been questions. As it was, he began shuffling Quinn toward the dressing room, giving her what instructions and confidence boosters he could, then secretly hoping she'd refuse to come out for a few minutes.

"The part that laces goes in the front," he said, "but there's a hidden zipper on the side, so don't worry about it. And you don't need to wear a bra with that one." He sincerely hoped the sh~ didn't hit the fan in the middle of his shop.

[Quinn Ashwinder]

Quinn loved the look of the things as the floated by her into the dressing room, but she really wasn't sure about how it would look on her. She took a deep breath, and nodded, "I can do that." She slipped into the dressing room and started with the pants, putting them on and secretly preening at how well they fit, like a second skin.

[Jory Addison]

Jory glanced up as the girl disappeared into the dressing room and watched the door for a moment before his eyes found Markise. He raised up an unsure hand to give a little wave. He wasn't sure if he could start talking right away, or if he should just wait until the girl was gone, however long that would take. He wanted to talk, but not in front of someone he didn't know.

[Markise Sterling]

"I'll be right back," Markise called to Quinn, then headed across the shop, trying to think of what the hell he could say while Quinn was still here. There were things he thought Jory should know if he was still into this Lyric guy, but mostly things he thought Jory would be happier not knowing. Some things that were both.

He forced as genuine-looking a smile as he could and waited as long as he could before he finally spoke, purposefully avoiding using Jory's name. "Hey, what brings you here?" he asked. Where was Ariel to save him? "Haven't seen you in a while." Only once.

[Jory Addison]

"Yeah, I know, I've been meaning to come since I got back from the holiday," Jory said with a small smile that didn't meet his eyes. "I have some money from Christmas so I thought where better to spend it?" He could get something from here, and he knew Markise would be able to find something that looked good, even if he didn't have anyone to show it off to. He wanted to talk, too, but he didn't say anything, though his eyes darted to the occupied dressing room.

[Markise Sterling]

It was easy to tell what Jory was nervous about, though he couldn't possibly know how right he was to be nervous. Markise couldn't bring himself to tell Jory to relax and not worry about Quinn overhearing. "Well, I'm glad you made it," he said, forcing as much friendliness into his b.s. as possible. He wished that Jory had come just an hour later! "So, what are you looking for?" he asked, then lowered his voice so Quinn wouldn't hear. "And how is everything?" Would he even mention Lyric this time? The guy had been a near-obsession of Jory's that day they'd met.