24. Brunettes

((This chapter is rated G))

((Skye: "I do know that much of this is out of character from what I've made our dear Gerard. Sorry!"))

Larc makes a huge change in order to show her loyalty to the part of Christine… But how will Vanessa act when she learns she's being demoted, in a sense?

A blonde and a brunette entered Quick-E-Mart at 12:18 PM.

Emmy wrinkled her nose. "When you said 'shopping', I assumed you meant touristy stuff – buying stuffed animals and other stuff," she said. Larc ignored her and wondered, "Where could it be, where could it be…?" Not used to being ignored, Emmy decided to give Larc the cold shoulder.

Of course, she only felt more rejected when Larc didn't notice that either…

Gerard sighed. He was standing there, in front of Vanessa's door. How did he expect to do this? It felt so wrong without Patrick there beside him. Carefully, slowly, he raised his hand to knock. There he stood, in front of Vanessa's door, his hand raised, ready to knock. But he didn't have the courage. He gulped. He didn't want to face the wrath of a sixteen-year-old. He had seen plenty of his female fans, and they were scary when they were happy.

Suddenly, the door opened. "Uhh, hello?" Gerard quickly dropped his hand to his side. "Vanessa," he said, bowing his head. "Oh, hi. Come in," said Vanessa cheerfully, stepping aside. Gerard walked in, feeling rather awkward. Maybe he should have asked Larc to come with… Or maybe even that strange Alex fellow that Vanessa seemed to have dumped Patrick for.

Vanessa asked, "So, Gerard… why are you here?" Gerard suddenly realized that he had just totally ignored Vanessa for what must have seemed like a very long time. "Vanessa," he repeated. The golden-haired teen raised an eyebrow. "Yes, Gerard?" she asked in a more questioning tone. "Uh…" Gerard ran his fingers through his hair. "Well, um, Vanessa…" He sighed and sat on her bed. He would have sat on Larc's, whom he was more comfortable with, but they weren't sharing a room here on land. "Yes?" Vanessa asked, sitting beside him.

"There is no easy way to say this…" mumbled Gerard, staring at the ground. Of course, it was perfectly legible. Vanessa raised her eyebrows. "Could you… play Meg, for just this one performance?" Gerard gave her a look that said "please don't murder me" now that his question was out in the open. Vanessa let out a sigh. "Geez, Gerard, you had me all worked up there! I thought you were going to ask something… important!" laughed Vanessa. Gerard also deflated in relief. Thank goodness. No anger. No fireballs, no eye gouging. "I guess you feel a bit more comfortable with Emmy, huh?" asked Vanessa cheerfully, standing again. Gerard paused. "Not exactly…"

"No, not this one either!" Larc released Emmy's hair, searching for another color. Emmy rubbed her head – the teen was getting impatient, therefore rather… rushed, shall we say? Suddenly, Larc grabbed a strip of Emmy's hair again and compared the colors.

"This is it!" she cried, holding up the small box. "That's all we came for?" asked Emmy. Larc nodded, heading off towards the checkout. Emmy sighed and rolled her eyes. Why Larc wanted to dye her hair the color of dark chocolate was beyond her.

At 12:48 PM, a brunette and a soon-to-be-brunette left Quick-E-Mart.