When Jessie Met Ashley...
Jan. 30th, 2024 12:40 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xp_chameleon posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
xp_logsIt was platonic love at first sight. (Backdated to January 28)
"Beeeeeeeeeeeeee.... cause you're so smart, a stand up bro, I'll think about your offer, let you know."
Jessie paused outside the door of the suite she had been directed to. She was going to knock like a civilized person, but there was absolutely no way that would be heard over the music. Next best thing, then.
"Being young and female doesn't mean that I'm an easy mark-"
She took a deep breath and threw the door open to sing along. "I've been swimming with piranhas, I don't need a shark!"
In Ashley's defense, she was one hundred percent aware she was getting a suitemate.
She'd agreed it was a great idea. Built in friend, they told her the girl's name, Jessie, and that she was in college too, and that no, she would one hundred percent not mind the pride flag bathroom rug, or the pride potholders, or the pride cookie jar.
Zadye Sam was enthusiastic.Her Dad said 'he's a little confused, but he got the spirit' and Ashley had stared at her father like he was one hundred percent so weird. Because he was.
She'd just gotten caught up in cleaning, because the little kitchenette was a wreck and "Alexa play my vocal warmup playlist' had given her Les Mis - skip, too sad, and Spring Awakening, okay, good music to clean to, and then The Prom - the stage version, thank you very much, and then Beetlejuice, and she was scrubbing ketchup off a counter doing double duty as Lydie and BJ, daydreaming of a gender swapped version because Beetlejuice was absolutely a role she wanted to play like she needed oxygen, and then there was a person in the doorway, and Ashley scrambled back a step, made eye contact.
and kept singing.
The other girl was a far better singer, and Jessie was laughing too hard to really continue, so she stopped to enjoy the impromptu show while looking around the suite. Were there three-hundred and forty-two Pride flags? No. Were there So Many that it made Jessie's queer little heart happy? Yes.
Ashley didn't finish the song, mostly because it did feel a little rude, even if the other girl was laughing, and also because she also started giggling, and Beetlejuice didn't giggle. She instead took the silicon-tipped stylus that was next to the phone and used it to pause the music, and then looked around at the half-full little dishwasher and the trash bag she hadn't taken out and said "Shit. Um. Sorry about the mess, also hi, I'm Ashley, are you Jessie? Because it would be so weird if you weren't."
"I hope people around here don't just randomly burst into other people's apartments and start singing," Jessie said, looking over her shoulder at the hall. "I guess these aren't really apartments, huh? Bigger than anything I could find in the city though, damn. Wait, you asked a question. I'm Jessie, yes. Nice to meet you!"
"I don't know, this place is so weird, they might." Ashley said. "I met Dazzler. Like the actual one. Like, retired from music sorta kinda sorta like, Dazzler. Actually Dazzler." Her voice crept up into a higher pitch until she forced it back down to normal, and it seemed like it was a struggle. "There's a basement room where I can't break anything, and someone painted whales on all the weight equipment." She'd been there once, saw a set of weights rated for "Shamu The Whale Not The Cat" and never gone back because a weight room was what? A place where she'd have to acknowledge being able to lift the fridge to get her earbud out from under it. No, thank you.
"Wait wait wait, back up. The famous Dazzler?" Jessie asked, surprised. "I don't think I've ever listened to her music, but famous people live here? Weird. Okay, hang on, I need to just..." She waved her hand vaguely and dropped her bag, going back over Ashley's points. "Okay, famous singer, got it. Whales on weights. Do they weigh as much as whales? Are people really that strong here?"
Ashley shook her head tightly, and frowned. "Like ... really really strong." Her voice dropped to almost a whisper. "I can pick up a car, it's why the fridge looks so weird." The fridge had a metal door, a regular handle, and a latch on one side. She reached over and flipped the latch and the door popped open. "I'm here for powers, because I used to just be really durable and now I'm also really strong and it is so. so. so. so so so so so so annoying." The tempo of her 'so's, had sped up, almost no pause between each. "Also because it's free, and oh my gee-dash-dee, I think my mom almost cried when she found out how much money this was saving me even with having to kind of pay off the broken stuff in my dorm." She paused. "Also yeah, the Dazzler, but I think she's the only really for reals famous person here and she's in disguise a lot. Oh, there's a retired reality guy, my parents liked his shows, Arthur Centino. He has a really cute dog. Alison has some cool wigs, and also what do you do? I mean with your powers? Because it has to be better than mine."
"Yeah, dorms are so expensive. And like, I know the stereotype about paying two-k a month for a coffin in NYC, but aren't dorms basically coffins? Especially singles, I had a single because sometimes cis people are weird about rooming with trans people - oh bt-dubbs if that bothers you let me know now so I don't get settled - and I think coffins have more room than that thing did. But the room was bigger than my car at least which is what I was living in... anyway." Jessie waved a hand as if to chase the thoughts off. "I change things. Like things about myself. Sometimes it just happens, I think because I really like something about a person - like I copied Terry's hair when I met her because it's so pretty, but also I can change things on my own, like my hair and eye colors, and some facial features, I think I can do my fingernails? I've been testing it." She held up her nails to examine them critically. "I think claws would be cool."
"Oh, not bothered. Um, if you're doing HRT injections I might look the other way but that's needles, not your gender." Ashley pulled a pride-flag oven-mitt from off the top of the fridge. "My feminism will be inclusive or it will be bullshit." She said, a little rote. "I want that on a t-shirt so bad. Have you met Madin? They're cool, they have the my pronouns are they/them or fuck/off and I wanna get them that on a t-shirt because how badass is that, right?
"Just pills, don't worry. I wouldn't be able to do injections, I have to close my eyes when I get my flu shot." She grimaced at the mere thought of that. "I haven't met Madin yet, no, but they sound really cool. I have a shirt that says nobody knows I'm trans, which I think is hilarious."
"I had to get vaccines on sugar cubes and like, a couple of times up my nose." Ashley said, nodding. "That's a great shirt. Are you at NYU or like, Empire, or are you at Columbia or..." She looked up at the ceiling. "There are so. many colleges here, I can't remember all of them. I had the money for Empire, and the theatre program is pretty great, but wow, I'd have killed for Vassar or AMDA or something." She paused. "And wow I bet shapeshifting saves you a ton of money on manipedis. And hair dye, ugh my roots are so bad." They were not, it was a hint of brassy orange under the near black brunette. "If mine was orange like Terry I would be a lot happier but it's like orange the fruit color. Gross."
"I got some pretty sweet scholarships for NYU, so that's where I ended up." Jessie examined her nails, sighing. "Well I can grow them and make them shorter, but I can't like, make them different colors. Yet. I'm hoping it's something I can learn. But yeah, so much money saved on hair dye. It's incredible. So you do theatre at Empire?" She tilted her head, looking Ashley up and down for a moment, frowning thoughtfully. "Wait, were you in the fall production last semester?"
"Little Shoppe?" Ashley nodded as she spoke. "I was, I did Aubrey some nights, and Seymour but a girl the other ones. I wish I could've had green hair for that, it would've saved me so much time." She pointed at her hair. "So much green hair wax, four shows a week. It looked amazing, but so much work! ' She turned around a few times in a circle, and huffed at the kitchen. "I promise I will clean this up, but this is the first time I've actually been able to cook. Oh, we should do manis though, maybe it's just practice and you need to see more fun colors before you can make them?"
"I knew it!" Jessie bounced a little. "I knew I recognized you, you were so amazing! Oh, this is going to be awesome. Seriously, don't worry about the mess, it's fine, it's cool. Why don't we clean it up together and break out the nail stuff?"
Ashley kept nodding as she started to shovel leftover potatoes into a container. She stopped once the potatoes were off the sheet pan and into a plastic container - and shut her eyes and her hands and shoulders and face went very still while she carefully and very slowly snapped it shut. "You're full of great ideas. And if you want you can be full of potatoes and cookies, I made way too much food.' She pointed at a bag of cookies on the counter. "And ordered a lot of cookies. Cookies, manis, celebrating, I'm into it."
"Excellent." Jessie started toward her new room to drop off her stuff and see if she could find the few nail supplies she had brought with her to college. "Let's go, then."
"Beeeeeeeeeeeeee.... cause you're so smart, a stand up bro, I'll think about your offer, let you know."
Jessie paused outside the door of the suite she had been directed to. She was going to knock like a civilized person, but there was absolutely no way that would be heard over the music. Next best thing, then.
"Being young and female doesn't mean that I'm an easy mark-"
She took a deep breath and threw the door open to sing along. "I've been swimming with piranhas, I don't need a shark!"
In Ashley's defense, she was one hundred percent aware she was getting a suitemate.
She'd agreed it was a great idea. Built in friend, they told her the girl's name, Jessie, and that she was in college too, and that no, she would one hundred percent not mind the pride flag bathroom rug, or the pride potholders, or the pride cookie jar.
Zadye Sam was enthusiastic.Her Dad said 'he's a little confused, but he got the spirit' and Ashley had stared at her father like he was one hundred percent so weird. Because he was.
She'd just gotten caught up in cleaning, because the little kitchenette was a wreck and "Alexa play my vocal warmup playlist' had given her Les Mis - skip, too sad, and Spring Awakening, okay, good music to clean to, and then The Prom - the stage version, thank you very much, and then Beetlejuice, and she was scrubbing ketchup off a counter doing double duty as Lydie and BJ, daydreaming of a gender swapped version because Beetlejuice was absolutely a role she wanted to play like she needed oxygen, and then there was a person in the doorway, and Ashley scrambled back a step, made eye contact.
and kept singing.
The other girl was a far better singer, and Jessie was laughing too hard to really continue, so she stopped to enjoy the impromptu show while looking around the suite. Were there three-hundred and forty-two Pride flags? No. Were there So Many that it made Jessie's queer little heart happy? Yes.
Ashley didn't finish the song, mostly because it did feel a little rude, even if the other girl was laughing, and also because she also started giggling, and Beetlejuice didn't giggle. She instead took the silicon-tipped stylus that was next to the phone and used it to pause the music, and then looked around at the half-full little dishwasher and the trash bag she hadn't taken out and said "Shit. Um. Sorry about the mess, also hi, I'm Ashley, are you Jessie? Because it would be so weird if you weren't."
"I hope people around here don't just randomly burst into other people's apartments and start singing," Jessie said, looking over her shoulder at the hall. "I guess these aren't really apartments, huh? Bigger than anything I could find in the city though, damn. Wait, you asked a question. I'm Jessie, yes. Nice to meet you!"
"I don't know, this place is so weird, they might." Ashley said. "I met Dazzler. Like the actual one. Like, retired from music sorta kinda sorta like, Dazzler. Actually Dazzler." Her voice crept up into a higher pitch until she forced it back down to normal, and it seemed like it was a struggle. "There's a basement room where I can't break anything, and someone painted whales on all the weight equipment." She'd been there once, saw a set of weights rated for "Shamu The Whale Not The Cat" and never gone back because a weight room was what? A place where she'd have to acknowledge being able to lift the fridge to get her earbud out from under it. No, thank you.
"Wait wait wait, back up. The famous Dazzler?" Jessie asked, surprised. "I don't think I've ever listened to her music, but famous people live here? Weird. Okay, hang on, I need to just..." She waved her hand vaguely and dropped her bag, going back over Ashley's points. "Okay, famous singer, got it. Whales on weights. Do they weigh as much as whales? Are people really that strong here?"
Ashley shook her head tightly, and frowned. "Like ... really really strong." Her voice dropped to almost a whisper. "I can pick up a car, it's why the fridge looks so weird." The fridge had a metal door, a regular handle, and a latch on one side. She reached over and flipped the latch and the door popped open. "I'm here for powers, because I used to just be really durable and now I'm also really strong and it is so. so. so. so so so so so so annoying." The tempo of her 'so's, had sped up, almost no pause between each. "Also because it's free, and oh my gee-dash-dee, I think my mom almost cried when she found out how much money this was saving me even with having to kind of pay off the broken stuff in my dorm." She paused. "Also yeah, the Dazzler, but I think she's the only really for reals famous person here and she's in disguise a lot. Oh, there's a retired reality guy, my parents liked his shows, Arthur Centino. He has a really cute dog. Alison has some cool wigs, and also what do you do? I mean with your powers? Because it has to be better than mine."
"Yeah, dorms are so expensive. And like, I know the stereotype about paying two-k a month for a coffin in NYC, but aren't dorms basically coffins? Especially singles, I had a single because sometimes cis people are weird about rooming with trans people - oh bt-dubbs if that bothers you let me know now so I don't get settled - and I think coffins have more room than that thing did. But the room was bigger than my car at least which is what I was living in... anyway." Jessie waved a hand as if to chase the thoughts off. "I change things. Like things about myself. Sometimes it just happens, I think because I really like something about a person - like I copied Terry's hair when I met her because it's so pretty, but also I can change things on my own, like my hair and eye colors, and some facial features, I think I can do my fingernails? I've been testing it." She held up her nails to examine them critically. "I think claws would be cool."
"Oh, not bothered. Um, if you're doing HRT injections I might look the other way but that's needles, not your gender." Ashley pulled a pride-flag oven-mitt from off the top of the fridge. "My feminism will be inclusive or it will be bullshit." She said, a little rote. "I want that on a t-shirt so bad. Have you met Madin? They're cool, they have the my pronouns are they/them or fuck/off and I wanna get them that on a t-shirt because how badass is that, right?
"Just pills, don't worry. I wouldn't be able to do injections, I have to close my eyes when I get my flu shot." She grimaced at the mere thought of that. "I haven't met Madin yet, no, but they sound really cool. I have a shirt that says nobody knows I'm trans, which I think is hilarious."
"I had to get vaccines on sugar cubes and like, a couple of times up my nose." Ashley said, nodding. "That's a great shirt. Are you at NYU or like, Empire, or are you at Columbia or..." She looked up at the ceiling. "There are so. many colleges here, I can't remember all of them. I had the money for Empire, and the theatre program is pretty great, but wow, I'd have killed for Vassar or AMDA or something." She paused. "And wow I bet shapeshifting saves you a ton of money on manipedis. And hair dye, ugh my roots are so bad." They were not, it was a hint of brassy orange under the near black brunette. "If mine was orange like Terry I would be a lot happier but it's like orange the fruit color. Gross."
"I got some pretty sweet scholarships for NYU, so that's where I ended up." Jessie examined her nails, sighing. "Well I can grow them and make them shorter, but I can't like, make them different colors. Yet. I'm hoping it's something I can learn. But yeah, so much money saved on hair dye. It's incredible. So you do theatre at Empire?" She tilted her head, looking Ashley up and down for a moment, frowning thoughtfully. "Wait, were you in the fall production last semester?"
"Little Shoppe?" Ashley nodded as she spoke. "I was, I did Aubrey some nights, and Seymour but a girl the other ones. I wish I could've had green hair for that, it would've saved me so much time." She pointed at her hair. "So much green hair wax, four shows a week. It looked amazing, but so much work! ' She turned around a few times in a circle, and huffed at the kitchen. "I promise I will clean this up, but this is the first time I've actually been able to cook. Oh, we should do manis though, maybe it's just practice and you need to see more fun colors before you can make them?"
"I knew it!" Jessie bounced a little. "I knew I recognized you, you were so amazing! Oh, this is going to be awesome. Seriously, don't worry about the mess, it's fine, it's cool. Why don't we clean it up together and break out the nail stuff?"
Ashley kept nodding as she started to shovel leftover potatoes into a container. She stopped once the potatoes were off the sheet pan and into a plastic container - and shut her eyes and her hands and shoulders and face went very still while she carefully and very slowly snapped it shut. "You're full of great ideas. And if you want you can be full of potatoes and cookies, I made way too much food.' She pointed at a bag of cookies on the counter. "And ordered a lot of cookies. Cookies, manis, celebrating, I'm into it."
"Excellent." Jessie started toward her new room to drop off her stuff and see if she could find the few nail supplies she had brought with her to college. "Let's go, then."
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