Beyond Evolution

Getting his hands on Sadie's phone had been a longer, more labor-intensive process than Hendrix had thought it would be at first. Even with all the time he spent with her, he'd never really noticed just how glued to her cell phone she was - she kept it in her pocket most of the time, she took it to class with her, he suspected she even took it into the bathroom with her when she showered sometimes. If she'd gone more than ten feet from it over the last week, he hadn't been around to see it, and since he'd been basically stalking her the whole time he doubted it had happened at all. Hendrix was patient, though; several years of Liddell prank wars had taught him the value of waiting for his moment, even if it took longer than he'd planned on. And he only needed a minute or two to put his plan into action, once he got the opportunity. It was Sunday night before he got his chance - she'd been texting while she made him watch zombie movies, half her attention on the cell phone display and the other half on his attempts to cover his eyes during the gut-munching bits, and she left the phone on the couch cushion when she got up to get a snack. Really, she should have known better.

Lightning-fast, he snatched the phone off the seat the second the back of her head disappeared past the door frame. He only had a few seconds before she'd be back, but changing a custom ringtone and getting back to the screen she'd had up when she left didn't take long - the real trick was putting the phone back exactly the way she'd left it. No, the real trick was acting innocent when she got back, acting like he hadn't done anything he wasn't supposed to do without acting like he was acting. Playing innocent without resorting to obvious puppy eyes was a skill he'd honed over the last few years, and he had it pretty much down by now. Not giving any sign of what he'd done during the rest of the movie wasn't even that hard - he had plenty of eyeball gouging and brain munching to distract him, and his squeaks of dismay as he watched the worst bits through his fingers weren't even part of the act. Once again, he needed to wait for his moment.

That moment came Monday morning, in a crowded room, when he called Sadie's phone from a safe enough distance that he could run for it if he needed to. He'd made sure to crank the volume up as high as it would go before replacing the phone, and that meant that when "I Kissed a Girl" started playing, everyone in the room could hear it. His only regret was not shelling out for a camera phone so he could capture the look on her face.

(narrative!)

The project should have been easy. It didn't need to be large, it wasn't in multiple pieces. Something simple would actually be preferable. A memorial for the garden. For the people who had died during the cure. It wasn't like Kevin didn't have inspiration. He'd been through it himself, he'd lost friends in it, he'd gained this weird connection from it, his powers were back. It was all there. But for some reason it was more difficult than any of his other pieces had been before, even the ones he'd done in college, the ones that were actually being graded and determining his worth (back when he still actually put some merit into what others thought of him).

He'd ordered King and Luce out of the studio, again, several hours ago. He wasn't exactly pleasant to work with, but they knew why that was and hadn't been trying to fight his moods. Which was probably a good thing all around. He was silent for the most part, not giving them orders for hours at a time at some junctures, ignoring them completely at points, and occasionally (like today) telling them to just get out after finding something wrong with what they were doing. Even if they were only doing what he'd told them to do. It wasn't them that he was frustrated with, much as his tone might disagree. It was himself. Why couldn't he get this right? Everything he thought to do, everything that he started working on, he ended up hating and tearing apart. And the stupid thing needed to be finished. It was like this big, hulking, metal elephant in the room for him, it was invading his thoughts and aggravating him even when it's lack of structure wasn't laughing directly in his face.

( He didn't even know how long he'd been sitting in the studio. )

((this would've made the news!))

Brian had been a bit scarce as of late. Finals had kicked his ass but with hard work and focus he had passed with flying colors. It had meant no time for Jaya, his sister, or anything else but he had apologized profusely for it. Then after his last day of class he and Vea got a surprise visit from their dad. It was his yearly visit where he would show up and spoil the hell out of them both. Since Vea had just met Vincent a few years back she was still unused to the treatment and did not ask for anything. But Brian had gotten a brilliant idea from his father's generosity and decided to take advantage of the old man. Its not like Vincent minded. All of his free ways with money were the result of guilt. Guilt with fact that he had taken Tag away from his mother after the brutal divorce settlement. And then guilt with the fact that he did not know about Vea for nineteen years. Vincent did not know any other way to let them know that he loved them, so he lavished them with monetary security.

Brian wasn't complaining. He'd been used to it for years. And he planned on being used to it for however long Vincent doled it out.

Walking toward Jaya's new room with flowers and a blindfold, Brian smiled. He loved coming to her with surprises. And since she loved being the recipient of attention, Brian knew she would reward him for his good behavior. It was just what he needed after spending weeks in what felt like solitary confinement. Even though Bry knew all his hard work would eventually pay off it was hard to convince himself to push through it all. But if he wanted to amount to anything he knew that he had to keep at it. His career choice was turning out to be an easier shot then he'd anticipated, but it called for more work then play. It was time for some play. He knocked on Jaya's door with a persistent rap of his knuckles and a stupid grin on his face. This was going to be perfect.