Before Sam, Joanie wouldn't have given a damn about how her hair looked. Her shirt would've been thrown on regardless of wrinkles, and she wouldn't have bothered to brush her teeth before going out. Now, there seemed to be a thousand things to consider before she set foot out of her apartment. Joanie had always paid attention to every physical flaw on her body, but now she actually wanted to do something about them all.
It was this desire to actually look like a human being that lead to her standing in her bathroom with a brush in one hand and lipstick in the other, staring in the mirror intently enough to set her reflection on fire. She had wrestled her hair into submission, grudgingly allowing it to fall in dark waves around her shoulders. A dust of eye shadow here, a bit of lipstick there, and she looked presentable.
With ten minutes to go, she glanced from her watch to her reflection. Twisting a strand of hair around her finger, she idly wondered how Sam would react if she showed up with a completely different hair color. The idea made her laugh, enough to dare it. Sliding her fingers back through her hair, she opened her mouth to begin the chant when a knock at her door silenced her.
Who the hell was that?
Tensing, she cautiously stepped out of the bathroom. Luther was still at work, and really, who else would be visiting her? She had told Sam she'd be up at his place, so it wasn't him. And Russell rarely left his apartment, it seemed. So who was it? As she walked to the door, she picked up her modified Taser on the way. It was small and light, with a cartridge pre-loaded.
Zeph bounded at her side as she rested her hand on the doorknob. After turning him pink, Joanie realized that it would be much funnier to simply change his color randomly when she was bored than return him to his natural red. At the moment, he was black with random patches of neon green, blue, and yellow. He was a blaze of nonsense as he darted from the door to the couch, tail erect and eyes alert. For a moment, she wondered if he knew something.
Holding the Taser firmly, she took a deep breath and opened the door. Her eyes widened in surprise and relief as it was none other than Sam, holding a magnificent red rose. "Sam?" she choked in surprise, letting out a nervous laugh of relief. "You almost gave me a heart attack!" Her gaze dropped to the Taser at her side, and with an awkward cough she hid it behind her back. "I didn't expect you, I thought...I was going up to your place."