Mob wondered if she was wearing enough perfume.
Tonight after work she was going to go to the movies and have dinner with Teru. It was a Friday night so mom and dad said that she could be home late. Tome offered to tell her parents that they would be having a sleepover but Mob didn't like to tell lies. Lies took away trust and trust was the corner stone of any relationship.
Master Reigen stopped lying to her and they were much better friends now. Well they had always been good friends but now they were even gooder friends. More good…better. Better friends. They were even better friends than before because they had honesty. Honesty was very important. Mob was always honest with everyone, unless she didn't have anything nice to say that is. Like how sometimes Sho smelled like a pet store, because he hung out at the pet store all day sometimes probably, or like how sometimes Tome could be kind of mean, but not on purpose.
If you didn't have anything nice to say then you shouldn't say anything at all. Best advice she had ever gotten.
She could have used some more good advice, honestly. She had no idea what she was supposed to do. Teru was going to pick her up from work and then they were going to go on a date together. A real date. With hand holding and everything. Not that she had never held hands before. They held hands when he walked her to work sometimes or when they hung out. Hand holding was nice.
Was kissing better?
Mob didn't know. The only person she ever kissed was Ritsu, which was not the same. There was a difference between kissing your little brother on the forehead and kissing your…was Teru her boyfriend? He never said that he was and she never asked….because it might have been one of those things that went without saying…..either way kissing your brother and kissing your boyfriend were two entirely different worlds of kissing. She loved Ritsu but not like how she felt about Teru, that would have been illegal and wrong. Also gross. That was the sort of thing that only happened in anime for a reason.
She wished that she had watched more anime to prepare for this, and read more manga. Shoujo manga, the kind she liked, not the kind Tome liked. Though it had been informative in the sense that it informed Mob that she had no idea what she was supposed to do. Also there was a lot of biting involved in…adult stuff…which did not look fun at all. Not that Mob was going to be doing any of that adult stuff.
She hadn't even kissed anyone yet.
That was why she really could have used some advice, some sage wisdom. Tome had some wisdom but it wasn't very sage. She just said that boys were dumb and you had to make all the moves or they'd never, ever, do anything and then complain that girls didn't like them. Rei agreed. She said that Go would have never gone out with her if she hadn't confessed to him, she saw the whole thing with her clairvoyance.
Teru had made the first move, though.
After the whole thing where they saved the world he had confessed to her. He took her hand and told her that she was the most amazing girl that he had ever met and that he liked her. After that came the hanging out and the hand holding. But he never asked her to be his girlfriend, not with words. He held her hand and told her that he liked her but he never said that she was his girlfriend.
And he still hadn't kissed her, either.
Not that she was complaining. She never thought that a boy could ever like her. She wasn't pretty and popular like Tsubomi, those were the types of girls who got boyfriends. She wasn't outspoken and self-assured like Tome was either. She was just Mob. She never thought that she would even have anything close to this. But she did. She was going on a date with Teru and it would be nice and he would hold her hand and everything, maybe even kiss her.
She watched the clock.
She had gotten made up for this. Well Rei made her up in the bathroom before she left. She even let Mob borrow her perfume. Mob wasn't sure how much was enough so she kept putting more on when she stopped being able to smell it. She resisted the urge to rub her eyes or touch her face. She couldn't mess up Rei's handiwork. She had gone home already. Everyone had, well not Master Reigen or Serizawa. They were in the back reorganizing the storage room.
And nothing else.
She didn't get why Rei shipped them so hard, or even how shipping real people worked. She understood shipping characters, Shinji Ikari and Rei Ayanami were so obviously meant for one another, but she didn't get shipping real people. Not that she minded. Master Reigen could like whoever she wanted, it was none of Mob's business who she liked and held hands with and probably kissed. She could kiss whoever she wanted to. She could be in there kissing Serizawa right now and Mob wouldn't even care.
Really she was happy for Master Reigen. Very happy. Serizawa was a nice person and Master Reigen deserved a nice person. She had said a bunch of times before that it was hard finding a good man. Mob didn't get it. There were men everywhere. There were men at the park and the train station and the shopping center and the Costco, why was it so hard to find a good one. She knew that boys could be kind of immature, why they liked fighting and drawing people's…parts…on anything and everything she did not know, but there were good ones. Ritsu was a good one, so was…ok maybe not Sho….but definitely Teru…but yeah a lot of boys could be so…well…like boys.
Maybe they didn't grow out of it. Maybe that was why Master Reigen had trouble finding a boyfriend.
Mom said that Master Reigen was a Christmas cake and that was why she liked taking care of other people's kids, because she didn't have any of her own and probably wouldn't ever. That was so sad. Mob didn't want to be replaced but she didn't want Master Reigen to die alone without anyone to love her and stuff. Master Reigen just said, when Mob told her what mom said, that there was no such thing as Christmas cake and that she did just fine when it came to guys.
Then she laughed when Mob came in the next day with a Costco Christmas cake.
Then they had cake.
And it was good.
Maybe she and Teru could have cake. He did like going to places that only had cake and coffee and tea and sandwiches. But those were lunch places. He probably wanted to go to a dinner place now. Was dinner before or after the movie? Or maybe during, if they went to dinner theatre. The place that served food during the movie that her family went to once, not the place where they served dinner and you saw a play. Plays were boring, movies were fun. Especially romantic action movies. Or romantic action anime movies. Or romantic action anime movies with mechs but the mechs were actually clones of angels and-
Maybe they could just stay inside and watch EVA.
Not that Mob should watch EVA, because it was for boys mom had said. Mom said that Mob needed to make more of an effort to be more like the other girls. Mob knew she was weird. Maybe that was why Teru still hadn't kissed her or told her that she was his girlfriend or even tried to do…not that Mob was ready to do…well she thought about it a lot but thinking about it was not the same as being ready to…well she had no idea if she would even like it when it happened…she still wasn't sure what exactly there ever was to do…but either way he still hadn't even kissed her and that was because she was weird and stuff.
Maybe the makeup would help.
Rei did know a lot about this kind of stuff. She wore makeup all the time, and from fancy brands too. Rei said that the fancy stuff was better than the drugstore stuff. Not that Mob had ever worn any makeup before. Mom had said that she was too young but she had been younger then, twelve, but now she was older. Besides, Rei wore makeup and she was thirteen. Maybe the makeup would help, and the perfume too. Mob smelled herself. She needed more, she couldn't smell it anymore.
"….where any of this stuff even came from. I mean, what in the hell am I going to do with all of this?" Mob heard the storeroom door open. Serizawa came out first carrying a big box with his powers, then Master Reigen came out with a new year's hat from two years ago on.
"Hey Mob, you want some party favors…oh my God, did a flower shop explode?" asked Reigen as it hit her, the smell of artificial flowers with notes of…was that cotton candy?
"It smells so…nice in here." Said Serizawa trying his best to be nice. It smelled kind of like the inside of his mom's purse. Like flowers and candy. It was…well Mob seemed to like it so he'd be nice.
"Thank you. Rei let me borrow her perfume. She made it herself using three different kinds of perfume." Said Mob. Reigen pulled her blouse up over her nose and motioned for Serizawa to open a window.
"Mob, that's body spray, not perfume…." Said Reigen. She decided to choose her words carefully after that as she got a good look at Mob. That was…well she had been thorough with the makeup…could have used a paler shade of…everything….though...
"Oh. I'm sorry. Rei just called it perfume." Said Mob as Serizawa opened the windows. Mob pulled her shirt up and smelled herself. Well now she could smell it. It was kind of strong…but that was good right? That meant that it would last a while.
"Well you smell nice and you look very pretty." Said Serizawa. He didn't know much about women, he hadn't been working around them for very long, but he knew that they liked to look pretty. That was why they dressed so nice and did their hair and wore makeup and stuff. Well most of them. Minegishi didn't care about any of that but Minegishi was Minegishi.
"Thanks. Rei did my makeup." Said Mob. She just wished that she had thought to bring something to change into. She was still in just her school uniform, not that she had that many fancy things to wear at home….but anything would have been better than her school uniform.
"I can see that….hey Serizawa? You can head out now, we'll finished the store room later. Oh! And feel free to take as many party favors as you want. I have no idea why I have these or what I'm supposed to do with them." Said Reigen as she pulled a noise maker from several New Year's eves ago.
"You can cross out the year and use them for this New Year's Eve." Said Mob after Serizawa said his goodbyes and left. Master Reigen was leaning over her desk and digging through her bag. Mob held her in place with her powers so she wouldn't fall or break the heel off of her shoe again. Her underdress was showing and her stocking had a rip in it. Mob tugged down her skirt but didn't know what to do about the stocking.
She was so glad that she didn't have to wear stockings. They seemed like much more trouble than they were worth.
"Good thinking Mob, good thinking….where in the hell is my….how do I have so much crap in here…" muttered Reigen as she dug around for her makeup bag. The comprehensive one, not the on the quick one. The one with the makeup remover because she could not let Mob go around looking like that.
Not that Mob looked any better than Reigen did herself when she first tried makeup. The raccoon eye was in and Reigen may have taken it a bit too far…but she would not let Mob get teased like she had been. Nope. The kid did not deserve that.
"What are you looking for, Master?" asked Mob
"…what even is some of this…oh, um, my good makeup bag, Mob…." Said Reigen
"Oh. But you look nice, Master." Said Mob
"Not for me for…this had better not be the wrong bag….for you….yes!" said Reigen. The inner secret pocket. Always check the inner secret pocket….not that she ever did. Well now she knew where she had put her emergency comprehensive makeup bag, with concealer and foundation to hide the evidence of rough nights.
Because she was living in a society and had to keep up with certain standards of appearance.
And for some strange reason even men her age turned into leeches the minute you got them alone.
'But I'm already wearing makeup. I don't think that I can wear anymore. Rei said that it was important that I didn't touch my face or disturb it in any way." said Mob. Rei knew what she was talking about. She always looked nice when she wore makeup, which was often, because she spent a lot of time watching videos to learn how to do it.
"Mob…you look nice…but…um…" said Reigen searching for a nice way to say that maybe, just maybe, Rei wasn't an expert in the field of makeup, being thirteen and all.
"You and Rei have totally different coloring and features!" said Reigen landing on something that, hopefully, wouldn't crush Mob's fragile self-esteem.
"Oh. Right. Because her hair is red and mine is black…and I'm paler than her…and my face is rounder…and-" said Mob
"Right, you look totally different from her. She only has experience doing her own makeup, not yours, so let me, um, maybe help you tone it down a little." Said Reigen looking Mob up and down. Nobody needed that much blush…or eyeliner…or eye shadow….or lip liner….or lip gloss….and what color even was that foundation….or was that bronzer? Was Rei seriously using bronzer as foundation…?
This was why it was best to get these blunders over with during adolescence.
"Tone it down?" asked Mob
"Because you're a lot paler than Rei is, Mob." Said Reigen as she motioned for Mob to follow her to the bathroom.
"That's because I don't take UV damage, Sho said so. That's why he's so pale, too, he said." Said Mob as she followed Master Reigen into the bathroom. She clicked the light on and began to lay out the stuff from her makeup bag. She occasionally held something up and either nodded and shook her head no.
"You know what? Your skin is pretty damn clear and pretty damn pale, you don't even NEED foundation." Said Reigen putting all of her various foundations away. She didn't even have anything that came close to being pale enough to be something that Mob would wear and not look like she spent too long staring at the sun.
"Oh. But Rei said that I did. She said that I needed a primer, then the first layer of foundation, then the concealer, then another layer of-" said Mob. Master Reigen shook her head and sat Mob down on the toilet lid. She took out a bottle of something clear and the poured it onto some folded up toilet paper.
"Well Rei's a different person than you are. You're pale and your skin is clear, you don't need foundation or concealer." Said Reigen as she began to undo Rei's handiwork. Wow, Mob hadn't been exaggerating. No wonder Rei's skin was so…like that. Reigen just thought that it was a side effect of being thirteen. Well the makeup was worn to hide the blemishes but the blemishes just got worse with the makeup so more makeup was needed and it just became an endless cycle.
"Oh. I thought that I did….doesn't everyone? Rei said that unless you were doing your whole face it would be pointless." Said Mob
"Mob, nobody NEEDS makeup. It's just…nice to wear sometimes…why are you even wearing makeup? And body spray?" asked Reigen
"…..Teru and I are going on a date tonight and I thought that if I looked…pretty….like the kinds of girls that he could go out with….that maybe he would…um….he still hasn't called me his girlfriend yet…I mean he said that he liked me and I told him that I like him…and we hold hands…but he hasn't even um…" said Mob as Master Reigen wiped away all of Rei's hard work. When the paper got oversaturated Master Reigen got to the counter to wet some more.
"Well I'd ask him to either make you his official girlfriend or take a hike. If you want commitment then you've got to ask for it." Said Reigen after a moment. Mob would not go through what she went through. She thought that Mob and Haystack were an official couple…but then again she had no idea how the kids were measuring that these days. When she was a kid when the hand holding started then that was it.
Who the hell knew with kids these days?
"I just…but I can't ask…" said Mob
"Why the hell not?" asked Reigen getting back to work.
"Because…girls don't ask boys to-" said Mob
"Who told you that?" asked Reigen
"My mom. She says that boys don't like girls who are forward like that." Said Mob. Reigen bit back what she was going to say. Right. No matter her opinion on Mob's mother she had to be nice.
"Your mom is…from a different time. What is she? Forty?" asked Reigen
"Forty one." said Mob
"Well then she's about my mom's age. My mom's forty nine, almost fifty. It was a different time back then, Mob, and the rules have gotten a more relaxed since she was dating. There's nothing wrong with telling this guy that you want commitment. Don't just wait around for him to decide to ask you. You've got to try and go for what you want, and have this conversation early. There's nothing worse than not being on the same page and finding out years after the fact, believe me." Said Reigen
"Did that happen to you?" asked Mob
"Yeah….back in university…but that's a story I'll tell you when you're older." Said Reigen as she finished. She was not going to tell Mob that story, not when she was fourteen and had a world of promise in front of her. She did not need to know just how south adult relationships could go.
"I'm not little anymore." Said Mob. She hated that. When an adult said that they would tell you something when you got older they meant that they thought that you were still a baby and would probably never tell you.
"I know you aren't little anymore but there are some things that you just aren't ready to hear about, ok? You're just starting on one of the most amazingly…everything….parts of life and you don't need my mistakes hanging over your head." Said Reigen as she motioned for Mob to close her eyes. OK, time for a sensible amount of eye makeup….in a more natural shade. Hot pink seldom looked nice…
"Because of….adult stuff?" asked Mob whispering that last part. Reigen smiled. Despite the makeup she was still such a kid.
"Yes…some of what you're thinking of and some of…just the more adult parts of being in a relationship. It's not just about sharing your body with someone. You share your life, too, and that's the hard part." Said Reigen
"Do you mean like getting married? I'm too young to get married, Master, and I don't even….I don't even know if Teru would want to marry me….he still hasn't even kissed me…" said Mob as she felt something brushing across her eyelid.
"Have you tried asking him?" asked Reigen. Part of her wanted to tell Mob that she was way too young to even be thinking about that kind of stuff. Part of her wanted to take Mob to the park like she had back when Mob was eleven and see who could swing the highest or climb the play structure the fastest or…well anything. But Mob was growing up and it was useless to try and stop her. Detrimental, even. Mob was growing up whether Reigen liked it or not.
"I…I don't know if I could. What if he says no? Or what if…what if he says yes and…then I'm bad at it and he says that he wants to go back to one of the other girls that he used to go out with because I'm so terrible at it…" said Mob
"Well then he can drink a cup of Drain-O." said Reigen as she got out her least clumpy mascara. She wanted to tell Mob that it would be fine, that she was catastrophizing, but Reigen knew how badly these things could go, especially at that age. Not that she saw Haystack doing something like that. The kid had almost died for Mob, twice now, one did not just do that for someone.
"….that's dangerous, Master. You could die." Said Mob. That was not a nice thought at all, Teru dying. She never wanted to worry about any of her friends dying ever again.
"Sorry. I'm sorry. It's just…I don't think that he'd treat you like that but anyone that would is not worth your time. Besides, first kisses are always awkward, and I doubt that he's an expert anyway. You're both fourteen, how much experience could the two of you possibly have?" said Reigen
"Tome-" said Mob
"Tome is an entirely different person than you are. If anything that girl is moving way too fast…not that I have any room to throw stones." Said Reigen
"Because that's dangerous." Said Mob
"It's a figure of speech. I mean that I have no room to lecture her, or any of you, for doing the same things that I was doing at your age. That would make me a hypocrite. I'm a lot of things but I'm not a hypocrite. Now hold still." Said Reigen as she got out her best blush brush. Blush, not rouge, because Mob was still only fourteen.
"That tickles." Said Mob
"Hang on, I'm trying to blend this. Always blend it into your skin, don't just go over with the brush a couple times in a circle. Always make it look natural." Said Reigen
"I will. If I ever wear makeup again I will. You're good at this, Master, but you don't need to wear makeup. You're really pretty." Said Mob
"Thanks, Mob, I appreciate it. Nobody really needs makeup but it's just…nice to wear. It's nice to feel pretty, I guess, especially on days when I don't look my best." Said Reigen
"But you always look really pretty. That's why Serizawa's always staring at you." Said Mob softly. She felt something brushing her eyebrows and tried to hold still.
"Really? I thought it was just an esper thing….not that I care. He can stare if he wants to, I doubt he knows many women anyway." Said Reigen as she got out her eyebrow brush and worked on Mob's eyebrows. Just a bit, just enough to shape them a little better. She tried not to think about what Mob had just said.
Because she had noticed him staring.
And maybe she occasionally stared back.
"He doesn't. It was only boys in the Ultimate Five, he said, and Minegishi. I asked him and he said that they were his only friends. He still talks to some of them, he said." Said Mob
"Yeah, the tech guy and the plant…person." Said Reigen absently as she turned around and dug around for her soft pink lip liner.
"Hatori and Minegishi. He told you about them?" asked Mob
"Yeah, we talk to each other sometimes. What, did you think we just stared at the wall until you guys came in?" asked Reigen as she found it. She tested it on her forearm. Hmm…could use a sharpening…
"…what else do you talk about?" asked Mob
"Life, mostly. Nothing too deep. Why?" asked Reigen as she got it to the optimal level of sharpness. Too dull and the lines were crappy. Too sharp and the lines were too thin.
"Um….because…Rei and Tome think that you like him!" said Mob quickly. Reigen dropped the lip liner. It rolled across the counter and into the sink.
How obvious was she?
The kids weren't just teasing, they had actually picked up on-!
Ok, stay calm. He would have said something if he was uncomfortable….no he wouldn't. This was Serizawa. You could walk right up to him and spit in his face and he'd still say nothing to you.
"Mob…there are different ways that a person can like another-" said Reigen
"Do you like-like him?" asked Mob. She just needed to know. That way she could…she didn't know what, exactly, she would do with this information but she knew that she would certainly do…something….
Put her mind at ease.
"Mob…it doesn't matter how I feel about him. I barely know him and he…he's not in a good place right now. These things become more complicated when you're an adult. I don't know what the future will bring but for now he and I are just friends, ok? You don't have anything to worry about, and I know that you're worried. Nothing, not even a guy, will ever come between us. Ok?" said Reigen
"…but what if you get married?" asked Mob
"I didn't even know that I was engaged." Said Reigen
"No, I mean what if someone wants to marry you? And then you say yes? And then he tells you that you have to stop working and that you have to take care of the baby? And then you have a bunch of babies and you don't have time to…to be my friend anymore…and then-" said Mob. She felt a hand on her shoulder. She opened her eyes.
"Mob, there are so many things wrong with what you just said I don't even know where to begin." Said Reigen
"Oh." Said Mob
"First of all nobody tells me to do anything. If some guy thinks that he can just order me around like that well then he's got another thing coming. Second of all I did not build this business up just to throw it away for some guy. Third of all I don't even know if I want a child let alone multiple children. Finally none of that could ever, ever, ever happen because I will never stop being your friend. Mob, that's a promise, ok?" said Reigen. Mob nodded.
"Ok. I won't stop being your friend either. Ever if Teru asks me to marry him and we have four babies and they'd be named Shigeo and Takako and Shoko and Ritsuko I'd still be your friend. I'd just bring the babies to work." Said Mob
"Spirits and Such daycare….I like it." Said Reigen with a laugh. Mob smiled, too, because that would be nice. Babies were so cute.
"But not now, ok? Don't get ahead of yourself. You just stick to hand holding and maybe kissing. I'm not going to forbid you from…I don't have that kind of power anyway…but just be careful and be safe. You know what I mean by safe, right Mob?" asked Reigen because, yeah, kids were super impulsive and Mob was too young to even think about such things but this was still a normal, natural process…but Reigen was not ready to open up a daycare center just yet.
"Master! I'm not even…I don't even want to….I don't even know how to-" said Mob shaking her head. Reigen bopped her on the top of her head.
"Ok, ok, sorry to freak you out. Now hold still and stop talking, I've got to finish up or you'll never get out of here." Said Reigen. Mob nodded and sat up straight. She felt something drawing on the outside of her lips, and then something waxy. After that feeling passes a piece of paper was put between her lips.
"Ok, now do this. If you don't blot you'll get it all over your teeth. Believe me, I know." said Reigen smacking her lips together. Mob imitated her. She was the one who knew what she was doing.
"Now go get 'em!" said Reigen as she finished. Mob said her goodbyes and practically ran out the door.
Reigen wished her the best in her romantic endeavors. Mob would do well, she was Mob. For all of her awkwardness she was still a better kid than Reigen had been at that age. Yeah, Mob would do just fine.
And if not, well, they'd cross that bridge when they came to it.