Blake wakes up bright and early. He looks over his calendar and notices a note scribbled in for three weeks from today. 'Have the talk with Luce.’ Well, I guess I did it early. Better to get it out of the way, I guess. After confirming that there isn't anything written on today's spot, he gets around for work. He's especially glad that neither of his jobs have much of a dress code as he throws on a comfortable outfit. Grabbing an apple and one of his drinks, Blake sneaks out the door before anyone else is up.

He starts the drive to Hot Topic. Since it's Saturday, their busiest day, he is grateful to have an early morning shift while the crowds are still minimum. By the time he arrives, his apple is only a core and the bottle is empty. Time to bring home the bacon….. Now I want bacon. Oh, maybe I should actually pick up some after work.

Blake opens the store and everything is quiet for the first hour. Then two high schoolers walk in. There's something really familiar about them, but he doesn't remember ever seeing them. He watches them browse the store while he tries to figure out why they feel so familiar. The dark haired one leisurely follows his energetic companion who is practically bouncing from one display to another. It's pretty obvious that the calmer one is paying more attention to his friend than the products, but on closer observation one can tell the hyper guy is also quite focused on him too. He keeps turning to ask the quiet boy his opinion.

“Check this out, Viv, they've got a huge pin selection. Maybe we should get matching pins.”

“I guess…. If you want to…” The two of them search through the bins but don't seem to find any they both like. From what Blake can gather, the light haired one is drawn to the royal looking ones while 'Viv’ prefers something less flashy. Even with the store's amazing collection, finding something that overlaps would be hard in those bins.

“Excuse me, perhaps I can help. I noticed you guys are having difficulty find a suitable set to buy. I have some exclusive sets behind the counter that aren't in the bins if you want to look at them.” 'Viv’ gives a non-committal shrug and the royal-lover brightly nods.

“Sure, we'd love to have a look.”

Blake leads them to the counter and starts taking out the pin sets kept behind it. There is a bunch of different styles, from bubbly 'Bee Happy’ to dark emo nightmare style pins. Finally he comes to the ones he's really looking for. “These ones are my favorites” He shows off two pins.

The first one is a black cloud with two lightning bolts shooting out of it. The other is a crown with seven roses, one for each color of the rainbow, woven into the top of the crown. The only thing the two pins seem to have in common is the words 'Drama Magnet’ printed on both, scratched in purple on the cloud and in flowing red on the crown. The two teens seem to be interested, but are still hesitant. Blake can guess why. They definitely wanted a couple's set but neither want to say so.

“These also have a secret to them,” he whispers conspiratorially. He then proceeds to set the crown near the top of the cloud. The two pins snap towards each other, making it look like the cloud is wearing the crown. “They're attracted to each other.”

***

It has been five days since Dewi's scheduled time home has overlapped with any of his roommates’ for more than a few minutes. He is pretty disappointed about not getting to hang out with them. Unfortunately for his social life, though luckily for his wallet, his jobs are at an increased point. But, starting this afternoon, it should be slowing back down for a few days and Dewi is looking forward to just zoning out to some Disney movies after this last job.

“Babe, you look ravishing in those clothes.” Enter Dewi's current number one reason for wanting to be home already. This staff member won't take no for an answer…. It might be time to play his trump card.

“Thanks, I'll have to make sure to wear it on my next date.”

“Maybe I could take you out on that date.”

“Oh, sorry but I'm dating someone right now. I couldn't possibly cheat on them. Only the lowest of people do that to someone else, especially when they love them as much as I do.”

Thankfully the flirty staff member drops it before Dewi has to give anymore personal information. He hates mixing work with social life. He tries to keep his personal life as private at work as is possible in their career field.

With the now more professional atmosphere, the model job goes by surprisingly fast. On the drive back to the office to pick up Dewi's car, he keeps looking in the mirror. His manager who is driving finally asks him about it.

“I was just thinking about what you said last week. You know, about red suiting me. I wouldn't go full crimson, but maybe some accenting color might look nice.”

“You should totally try it… but why the change? Do you have someone you want to impress?”

Dewi becomes defensive and avoids his manager's glances. “It doesn't matter.”

“Wait, is what you told that staff member earlier true? Are you really dating someone?”

“That's none of your business… It won't affect my work so you don't have to worry about it.”

“So there is someone.”

“I said it's none of your business.” The rest of the trip is traveled in an uncomfortable silence. Dewi does spend the time wondering how a certain person will react to his new hair, once he makes the change, of course.

****

Satoshi comes home to Blake watching Disney's Princess and the Frog and Dewi passed out on a beanbag. “Should we do something about him?”

“I've tried but every time I start moving him, he wakes up and says he's still watching the movie before falling back to sleep a few minutes later. I already gave up.”

“I see. That does seem to be the best course of action. Are there plans for dinner tonight?” It has already become standard that on nights Luce is home he cooks for everyone and those home eat together. In exchange, the others keep the food stocked. On evenings where he works, though, meals become a free-for-all.

“Luce left spaghetti and meatballs in the fridge for us. Dewi and I already ate so help yourself.”

Satoshi serves himself up a plate of spaghetti and reheats it in the microwave. Sitting down with his food and a glass of milk, he digs into his dinner. A few bites in he stops eating to voice a thought he has.

“You know, your brother would make a great wife…”

“I know, right? It's his dream job, but he'd need a husband I approve of.” Satoshi doesn't know if Blake is being serious or not so he doesn't respond. He just goes back to enjoying his dinner.

Soon Princess and the Frog finishes. Blake gets up and walks over to Dewi before poking him with his foot. “Yo, Dew, movie's over. Go to bed already.” Dewi's sleepy voice comes out in a whine.

“Noooo….. let's watch another.”

“You aren't even watching them at this point.”

“But I haven't been able to hang with you guys for days…… I'm tired of being alone.”

“At this point, you're just plain tired. Get some sleep, we can hang out tomorrow.”

“Okay, you promise?”

“Tomorrow’s a rare day off for me, so sure. Hey, Satoshi, you got any time free tomorrow to commit to hang with this fool?”

“Well I don't have classes until afternoon and my shift at the bookstore isn't until after that, so I guess I've got some time in the morning.”

“See? We'll hang out with you tomorrow morning, so go to bed already.” Dewi begrudgingly gets up and walks to his room. That's when Satoshi notices his roommate's hair.

“Did he….?”

“Dye his hair tips bright red? Yeah, he said a coworker suggested it and he figured he'd see how it looks.”

“I would think it would be a problem with him being a model. What if it conflicts with his clients’ image?”

“That's what I thought too, but quote, 'that’s what wigs are for.’” Blake emphasizes Dewi's words with air quotes. Suddenly a phone rings. Blake looks down at his own and seems confused as he answers it. “Hello?” Whatever he hears from the other side of the phone causes his good mood to disappear. All Satoshi can hear are some vaguely loud noises. “What? Where are you right now?” Blake starts walking to his room. “Let me just grab some stuff and I'll come get you… No, don't do anything. I will be there soon.” He comes back from his room with his bag. He takes out his keys as he ends the call. “I've got to go pick up Luce. You can hold down the fort while I'm gone, right?” Blake doesn't wait for an answer before running out the door.