Time: 14:37. Location: 1994 Toyota Camry.
Jeanne sat in the front of the old Toyota, playing with her fingers and giving nervous sighs as they passed by every familiar landmark in existence to Metroville. Who's car was she in right now, by chance?
Well, it was none other than Voyd's car. The masked woman's grip on the steering wheel was nearly a death grip, her knuckles probably turning white under her gloves. Thinking back on this decision, it was incredibly reckless of her to bring a total stranger into her home.
But they drove in total silence, which Jeanne wasn't exactly comfortable with.
"Where exactly are we going?"
Voyd cleared her throat a little and rubbed at her cheek with her left hand. "My apartment. It's in the city, close to my school."
A little smile graced Jeanne's lips as she looked out the window and admired the city that they entered into, her eyes sparkling slightly as she did. The sun was high up in the sky right now and as the time went on, the crisp autumn air got a little more chilly and crisp in her scent, her eyes sliding closed as the rolled down window let the cool breeze into the car and her hair ruffled in the wind.
As it whipped at her face slightly, Voyd briefly took her eyes off of the road to look at her, and her breath hitched in her throat as she saw how her blonde hair shined in the light, even if it was slightly greasy and frizzy, she still looked quite beautiful.
But her eyes immediately went back to the road as they slowly came to a stop at the light. Jeanne leaned on the door and hummed happily to a tune playing in her head.
After a few more left turns, the car came to a slow halt in front of a pretty nice apartment complex.
"I'm on the second floor. Ready to go?" Voyd opened up her driver's side door.
Jeanne immediately responded by opening up her own door and stepping outside, stretching her back and looking up at the pretty complex in front of her, made out of light stone and each level had a balcony, not a fire escape.
Voyd did a spin around Jeanne as she had a bag slung over her shoulder, her hair whipping into her face as she walked backwards towards the front door.
"Come on, let's go!" She walked backwards up the stairs without even glancing at the steps and Jeanne smiled, following her up the stairs and towards the front door. Voyd pulled it open and held it for Jeanne who stepped inside, her worn out sneakers scuffing the shiny marble floor underneath her.
The lobby was completely empty at the moment, which Voyd was pretty happy about. She didn't really want the concierge knowing that she was a superhero that fought alongside the greatest of the greatest.
As they entered into the elevator, Voyd pressed the button with a shiny black 2 on it and it quickly brought them both up to the second floor. Voyd stepped out first and pulled a keycard from her bag and pressed it against the lock on the door. A clicking sound could be heard and she carefully pushed the door open.
Jeanne stepped inside the apartment that smelled of ink, lavender, and rich coffee. The lights were brighter than they were in her apartment and the curtains were rainbow colored, which painted the white walls with various colors that were very aesthetically pleasing. On the kitchen table were several opened notebooks and papers along with a t shirt, a piece of cardboard inside of it and it shined a little, showing that the art on the front was homemade and fresh. In deep red ink was something that Jeanne couldn't help but find cute. Two joined Venus Symbols that wound together, which was the symbol of the Lesbians.
On the walls were various posters from different bands that she's never heard of and several awards in shiny golden plaques. And what she found the most pretty was the Dream Catcher that was woven in the shape of a peace sign and the feathers draped from the tapestry like design were all the colors of the rainbow.
Voyd placed the bag down on the couch in the living room which was covered with what looked like a handmade quilt of baby foxes, bunnies, and raccoons. It looked like a baby blanket but large enough for a teenager to curl up in comfortably.
Voyd took notice of how Jeanne stood there awkwardly and then looked over to the hallway.
"Hey, um... not to be rude but you look like... You could use a shower?" She stuttered a little and Jeanne immediately began to nod at the idea of finally getting clean.
Without a word, Voyd jumped up and went into a room and came back with a large deep green towel and handed it to her carefully. Jeanne gripped the soft towel in her hands and offered the super a very happy smile and she took an educated guess on where the bathroom was. When she stepped inside and flipped on the switch, she saw a dirty pair of jeans on the floor near a laundry basket that didn't quite make it inside. On the wall next to the sink was a night light in the shape of a cloud that was switched off.
Jeanne laid her towel down on top of the toilet seat and pulled back the teal shower curtain, twisting the knobs in various directions until the water was at a good temperature and she quickly stripped out of the clothes she wore and jumped inside, attempting to keep her hand away from the water as to not injure it any further or cause herself pain.
She used her left hand to wash her hair with the peppermint scented shampoo and conditioner and a generic soap bar for her skin. Once her hair was clean and soft, finally, she rubbed the bar of soap up and down her skin and worked it into a lather as best as she could with one hand and quickly, the soap washed down her skin, the water becoming murky black with the ashes from the fire.
A sigh of relief rumbled from her chest and she leaned back, standing in the water for a little longer and not wanting to leave the comfort of the spray on her skin. While relaxing, Jeanne took a few moments to reflect on her situation.
As of now, Jeanne has no permanent home, her car is in impound, her parents want nothing to do with her, she has no possessions besides one lonely photograph, and is currently taking a shower in a Superhero's apartment.
And the superhero in question was in the process of removing the suit that she wore when they met. Once the leotard was off, Voyd rubbed at her tensed skin and pulled off the boots on her feet, resting them next to her closet as she folded up the suit and placed it in a box at the bottom of her closet.
As soon as the mask was off of her face and put down on the dresser across the room, she wasn't Voyd any longer. She was back to being Karen, an ordinary college student with funky teal hair. She reached for the package of wipes on her desk and removed the magenta lipstick quickly.
After a few seconds of taking notice of herself in the mirror, she remembered that Jeanne would definitely need a change of clothes and she should get dressed herself.
Karen removed her undergarments and tossed them into the laundry basket at the corner of her room and replaced them with a pair of simple black panties and a matching sports bra, tugging a tank top over her head and pulling on a pair of baggy teal sweatpants. After a few minutes of thinking, she decided to lend Jeanne her red plaid pajama pants and a matching black long sleeved shirt and white ultra padding socks. It was then that a bright blush sparked across her cheeks and she realized that Jeanne would need to borrow her underwear as well.
Karen trekked down the hallway towards the bathroom door and slowly opened it up and without looking through the door, she laid the clothes at the foot of the door and closed it quickly, her knees shaking a little as she moved from the bathroom, sitting down on the couch and picking up the dark tan acoustic guitar resting on the glass door of the balcony. Karen twisted the tuning pegs with her fingertips and picked at the chord until it was at the right tune she wanted and strummed at the strings experimentally and reached for the pick that rested on the coffee table.
Her fingers moved over the frets like it was second nature and played a familiar song, humming softly as she attempted to kill time.
After a few minutes of playing the guitar, she heard the water stop and a high pitched squeak from the one in the bathroom. Karen was gonna jump up to find out what was wrong but decided against it because a few seconds later, she heard the door open and out walked a very clean Jeanne with the towel wrapped around her head and her hair inside of it, the clothes hugging to her body tightly. She was clearly not the same size as Karen was but they fit her so nicely that Karen could say goodbye to those clothes.
"Thank you so much! These are extremely comfy," Jeanne rubbed at her clothed arms and then took notice of Karen's outfit and blushed faintly.
"Out of your costume, I see... I don't suppose... I could know your real name?"
The girl gave a little smile and rested the guitar back to where it was and straightened upwards. Without a second to spare, she held out her hand for Jeanne.
"My name is Karen. Last name...? Uh, best not to say. I'd like to keep a small amount of anonymity?"
Jeanne decided that was fair. Karen has gone above and beyond for someone she doesn't even know and it was quite heartwarming knowing that someone as important as her would sacrifice her own space for Jeanne.
Jeanne's thoughts were suddenly cut short when she heard a high pitched beeping sound from the other room and Karen immediately stood up.
"Sorry, I almost forgot something. You can sit down, I mean, this is technically your place too now, right?" She showed Jeanne her white teeth nervously again before rushing to the fridge and removing a paper bag that was labeled with a giant black R on the front written in sharpie. She trekked down the other hallway to the room on the end and the beeping silenced.
"Aw, did you miss me Fluffy? It's dinner time, isn't it?" Jeanne couldn't help her curiosity and began to follow Karen to the room.
Inside of the room was a huge recording studio, complete with soundproof foam, a high tech computer with 2 monitors, and a large drumset in the middle that was the same colors of her hair. But what made Karen very interested was the giant tank on the far side of the room that had a large heat lamp overtop of it and from the glass, she could make out a long spotted tail; actually, that's all it was. It was a huge tail- Karen owns a snake!
Jeanne stepped into the room and looked over Karen's shoulder as she pushed the lid off the tank carefully and reached for a pair of tongs underneath it and opened up the paper bag, removing a large dead rat from inside of it and holding it out for the adorable Hog-Nosed snake inside of the tank. It flicked it's tongue a little before it snapped at the dead rodent and curled around it immediately, preparing itself for a large meal. Karen smiled and slowly pulled the lid back but not before refilling the large water dish inside of the tank carefully and moving the heat lamp in a perfect position so the snake could get a full blast of the comfortable heat but could also relax in the shade of the little tunnel in the tank.
"There ya go, Fluffy..." There was a comforting moment of silence as Karen observed her pet carefully. But when she turned around, she wasn't expecting Jeanne to be standing there watching her and let out a shriek of surprise, her hands going to her chest and heaving a sigh of stress.
The scream made Jeanne jump backwards and she visibly flinched. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you... I just... Wanted to know who Fluffy was... He's adorable!"
"Y-You like snakes? That's... unusual..." Karen pressed her lips together in a line and adjusted the front of her shirt a little.
"I used to have a pet bearded dragon, actually. I find reptiles to be the best animal companions... They don't get fur everywhere." Jeanne said with a nervous giggle as she gently rubbed at her uninjured wrist, watching the snake consume it's meal but then shivered a little at the barbaric scene, even if the rat was already dead.
So she turned her attention back towards Karen who gave a crooked grin of happiness before stepping towards the door, turning off the light to the room so the heat lamp was the only thing that illuminated the room.
That was her signal to turn around and Jeanne did exactly that, stepping out of the room quickly and out of Karen's way. Karen stepped passed Jeanne and headed for the kitchen, looking at the shirt on the table and blushing deeply, knowing Jeanne saw that and she just left it out in the open...
"Hey Voy- I mean, Karen," Jeanne corrected herself, sporting an embarrassed smile. "Can I use your phone? I need to call a few people... Just to let them know what's happening."
"Oh, yeah, sure thing!" Karen grabbed the phone from the reciever and handed it to Jeanne who immediately began to dial numbers into the pad and awkward elevator music could be heard from the other line before a high pitched voice was heard on the other line.
"Hey Yaz, it's Jeanne... I know, you probably heard, huh? Yeah, apartment's no more. But I'm staying with a friend until we can figure out a permanent solution and- Hey, I do too have friends!"
Karen attempted to stifle a giggle from her throat and covered her mouth a little as she couldn't hide her grin at the silly situation.
"Look, I'm just saying that I may need a little time to figure things out... I'm not exactly within walking distance from work anymore... Yeah I know, I'm trying to get my car out of impound, don't worry. I just need a few more days to work things through, okay? Fix my schedule for next week? Off all this week? Perfect! Thank you, Yaz. I'll see you soon, okay? Bye bye."
Jeanne hung up the phone and gripped it in her hands a little harshly that the plastic made a small crackling noise in protest so she immediately stopped herself and looked at Karen with a nervous giggle.
"Heh... Okay, next call." She attempted to run from the awkward situation and punched in a few new numbers and chatted away with whoever was on the other line.
Karen began to busy herself by trying to fix up the look of her apartment. An empty Chinese take out box and several empty cans of diet Coke littered the surface, not to mention the dirty dishes she hasn't taken care of in three days.
It wasn't until she heard Jeanne talking in a different language that she stopped freaking out about the mess and looked over to see Jeanne leaning against the island in the kitchen and speaking in... French?
"Je sais que vous avez dit que c'était une ville dangereuse... Non, je ne vais pas la maison!"
Karen couldn't understand what was being said but it sure sounded aggressive. The girl chattered away in the other language before a very angry "Au Revoir!" Could be heard and Karen flinched as Jeanne put down the phone a little too harshly, making the small table with the receiver shake slightly.
"Uh... Bad talk?"
"You have no idea. Fils de pute, why must my mother control every aspect of my very existence... Oh, whatever. She's in Avignon and I'm here." A haphazard shrug rolled off Jeanne's shoulders and she let out a little sigh of frustration.
In all honesty, Karen didn't know what to do... This was quite awkward, to be honest. Here is a stranger who she has never met until last night, standing in her house, wearing her clothes, and cursing in French. Sounds insane, doesn't it?
But a thought crossed Karen's mind and she immediately decided to follow her instincts on this one because it would benefit them both.
"I have an idea! Let's order something to eat. You have to be hungry, right?" Karen lifted up the phone from the receiver again and started typing in a number before looking back at Jeanne to ask her something.
"How do you feel about Italian?"
"Oh my gosh, Italian sounds so good right now!"