June 8: Wait, love? What? Who: Day and Tilly Where: Phone, then Tilly's house When: Afternoon
Since it was still fairly early, and his chat with Lacy the night before had reminded him that he hadn't talked to Tilly in a while, once Day got out of the shower and had tried his hair out, he went in search of his cell phone. He flopped down on his bed with it, punched Tilly's speed-dial button, and waited for her to pick up.
Tilly had spent her day happily bouncing around her house, more specifically her room, packing up for the greatest camping trip in history. Or so she would make it. When the music of Shiny Toy Guns started sounding from the depths of the pile of things on her bed, meaning Day was calling her, Tilly dropped the things she was holding - a t-shirt and a pair of flip flops - and went on the hard quest of retrieving her cell phone from the bowels of confusion itself. Once she finally got to it, Tilly threw herself on the little bed space that wasn't crawling with 'stuff' and answered the phone. After most of the song had played. "Hello dearest! Where have you been? I missed you!" She said excitedly. Tilly was nothing if not happy at the moment.
That made Day grin, tucking one hand behind his head and staring up at the little glow-in-the-dark stars above his bed. "I've been getting filmed in movies, fawned over at parties, meeting a certain couple vampires again, and playing in the rain with my fellow air elementals." That was a pretty succinct description of his past few days. "Where have you been?"
"Wow, you've been busy. I must get the details. Wait. Oh my God! You saw that actress again? I told you didn't I? How was it?" Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy. That was Tilly's one word for the day. No, wait. There was also happy. And there was really no way to tell Day what she'd been up to without mentioning the other word that came to Tilly's mind instantly. "Me? Oh...Not much. I've been..." She took a deep breath, and then exhaled equally deeply. "In love." Fingers crossed.
Any answer to any of her questions Day might've had went quite out of his head when she said "in love". He very nearly dropped the phone, in fact. "In love?" he repeated blankly when he'd gotten the phone back in place again. "Did I hear you right and you said 'in love'?" Because surely he hadn't heard her right. How could anyone be in love in-- in less than a week? How?
Tilly pulled the phone away from her ear as she heard the rattling sounds of Day possibly dropping the phone. "Oh, jesus..." With a heavy sigh, Tilly put the phone back in place as well, pinching the bridge of her nose at the same time. "Yes, Day. 'Tis love. Not that I have a definition of it, but judging from observing others and pop culture, I think that's what you call it." Many forms of love in the world. Tilly knew this very well.
And now she was annoyed at him. Day could tell, and he throttled down his impulse to exclaim and flail and tell her she could not possibly be in love after just a week of knowing a guy. But the trouble with that was, it left him with no idea what to say back. Don't abandon me or maybe Does that mean you really think I'm deficient now?, or even What's it like? came to mind, but of course he couldn't say any of those. Not even to his best friend. " ... okay," he said lamely.
Tilly wasn't annoyed before. But she was now. "Okay? Well, that sure is a change from the usual what are you thinking and how do you know? and whatever else I really thought you were going to say. My powers must be running out." She couldn't explain how she knew she felt it, but she did, and according to the billions of love songs running around, love wasn't supposed to be logical or easy to explain. It made people do crazy things, wonderful things, dangerous things. It wasn't science, it was love - therefore, not logical. And good thing too, if you asked Tilly. So whatever questions Day might have, Tilly would try to answer them, but he better go in with the full knowledge that love was definitely not supposed to be logical.
"I didn't want to make you angry," Day answered meekly-- and yes, he was perfectly capable of being meek when he wanted to be, or on the rare occasion that he felt like he couldn't be confident-- and tried not to sound as miserable as he felt. His attempt as not ruffling feathers only appeared to ruffle them more. He couldn't help but feel that this Very Special Boy of hers was going to be the one thing that separated them, and he just couldn't shake the fear. They'd always been together in that... not seriously dating way. And now they weren't. Because she was in love.
"I'm not angry, Day, I'm disappointed. Wow, that was a parent thing to say." Tilly sighed again. "I just...I wish you would be happy for me, or at least I wish I could understand why you can't be. No, wait, no I don't. I just think as my best friend, you ought to be happy for me when I tell you I am in love, and he's in love with me, and I feel great about it. What is the problem, Day?" She had sounded progressively harsher, but by the time her question came along, Tilly simply sounded confused. Worst of all, she was sad.
After a moment of chewing on his lip, Day finally went with the honest answer, "Because I don't want to you lose you while you go somewhere without me." Whether that was a physical somewhere, an emotional somewhere, whatever. It was still someplace he couldn't go, that he couldn't share, and he was sure she would look down on him for that. "Well, and because I think it's far too fast and far too soon and he's nowhere near good enough for you, but that's largely beside the point, to be honest."
In all honesty Tilly didn't know what to say for the longest time, so she stayed silent, mulling over what Day had said. It didn't make sense but for the sake of their years long friendship she would try to understand. When she finally spoke, it was without her usual sing-song sweet voice she had for everyone under the sun. She just sounded mature.
"Day, you're not going to lose me. What we have, what we share...It's never going away. Not for me, and I certainly hope not for you. Although to be honest it's like you're making this huge effort towards it." She paused, closing her eyes, and sighed yet again.
"I don't think I need to remind you in a few years you'll go somewhere I can't go, too. You're going off to do your thing, and I'll be here doing mine, and did I ever think I'd lose you over it? No, because I trust you. I trust you with all my heart, because I know you since we were practically babies. I keep imagining us having wild conversations at totally inappropriate hours over the phone, wherever we are, however old we might be. Do you honestly think just because I am in love with Hawk this is somehow going to change the fact that I love you? I believe in many kinds of love for many people, trust me when I say my heart is big enough for the both of you, however different each kind of love may be." Tilly didn't want him to know and she hoped he didn't notice, but somewhere along the way she had started shedding a tear or two, and now she had paused to dry them off her cheeks.
"And he is good enough for me. If I say he is. And I do. And I am not going to waste my time trying to explain this to you, because I think it's useless to explain how I feel unless you're in love with him too, which I don't think you are and it would be weird if you were. You don't see what I see and that's fine, but I am not a child, and my brain is functioning very well. So at least I think you owe it to me to trust me on that one."
Hurt, not at all pleased to be lectured so long and with so many words that he couldn't get a word in edgewise, Day finally asked once she'd finished, "If you can't help how you feel about this boy of yours, then why should I have to justify how I feel? I do worry about this, and things you've said and done, and that I've said and done, the fact that we can't seem to understand each for the first time ever... I feel it gives me reason to. I don't understand how anyone can fall in love in less than a week-- when you've only known someone for a week. You don't understand how I can be unhappy that you are happy doing something I can't do and don't think I can ever do."
And that was the closest he was coming to admitting how much her words the previous week, his interpretation of them, had really hurt and unsettled him-- and even then, it probably wasn't enough to make it clear to her what was really going on. But he just couldn't open up that much. He was feeling too vulnerable already, and his natural response to vulnerability was to withdraw, to hide further so no one could see it. Even with Tilly. "Even if you love me differently than you love him," he finished miserably, "if we can't understand each other and accept each other when things aren't happy and perfect, then what's to become of us?"
"Is it that we can't understand each other because I've finally went and done something without telling you or asking you about it first? There I was, trying to reassure you nothing you feared was going to happen, opening my heart up to you, and you just keep insisting on the notion that my having a boyfriend is destroying us somehow. I just wanted you to be happy because I'm happy, but if you can't even do that, then you're the one feeding the problems, not me, and certainly not Hawk. He has no idea he's working so hard to make you miserable, Day. And hey, I don't understand it either, it just happened, and I'm not going to apologize to you for falling in love. And if that is what this whole thing boils down to, Day, that you're mad that you don't think you can ever fall romantically in love but I can, then you're just being selfish. It's so not like it's a requirement for being a person, I don't see the problem in being different. We've been different our whole lives." And if he had ever gotten the notion she thought differently, he had no reason to think that anymore.
"Day, come on! I've been trying to share my happiness with you like we always used to do and you keep trying to make me feel awful about it, which I can't really do but I end up feeling guilty somehow anyway. That's the one problem I have with you right now. You keep trying to push me away and make me feel awful for having someone in my life that, if it's meant to be, will never go away. If you're not willing to try and let it go for the sake of what we have, then why should I?" And yes, Tilly was now crying, for the first time in...years perhaps. Trying very hard not to make Day notice - far be it from her to pull that kind of cheap shot with him - but very much crying.
"I'm not mad that you're 'in love'!" Day exclaimed with a groan. "I'm not mad at all! And I'm not trying to make you feel guilty or awful or whatever you're feeling-- I'm just trying to explain why I feel awful and afraid and whatever I'm feeling." And just like Christian, she wasn't getting it, she was acting like he was the bad guy, when she'd all but said--
God. This was just a mess. Maybe he should never attach himself to anyone, because it was always just this big... mess. He sighed and sat up, wanting to cry, himself, but he had too much self control to do so when any other living being could possibly know about it. "Never mind, Tilly," he said quietly. "I'm a jerk and I'm messed up and lacking something basic, and I can't fix it. You can fall in love and be happy. And I can only be a jerk who can't be happy for you." Because he was afraid and no one seemed to think that was allowed. The amazing and popular Day Danui was never afraid, never needed to be reassured, never felt insecure. Because, of course, he never told anyone about it.
Tilly didn't answer right away. Instead, she sat quietly trying to piece everything in her head, because this was much too important. "So...You're mad that you haven't been in love thus far?" She asked in a very low voice, sniveling away for lack of tissues just now.
"You're not a jerk! You're not a jerk, you're Day, you're my Day and my Day isn't a jerk. Or messed up. In what way could you possibly be messed up? Things don't happen for people all at the same time, Day things don't even happen for different cultures all at the same time! Just because you haven't felt those butterflies, or what I say is love, doesn't mean anything. I like to think at least 65% of what we see in movies is based on truth. And the truth is, sometimes people spend a large chunk of their lives without feeling that way until suddenly someone comes along and they do. Sometimes, people never do, and they're still every bit as whole as anybody else. You don't need fixing. I just wish Chris and I didn't somehow contribute for how you're feeling right now with our own happiness." Taking a deep breath, Tilly got up off the bed and pushed her hair behind her back.
"I can't do this anymore. You're going to have to come over, and I'm going to have to talk to you face to face. I can't do this. And I can't get out of the house, before you ask." She was just not going to tell him the reason why.
Then why had she said he couldn't possibly understand love? Understand relationships? It made no sense, and he had trouble believing that there really was nothing wrong with completely not liking sex or butterflies or whatever. Especially after a week of fretting over it and getting the idea stuck in it head. Day sighed tiredly and rubbed at his forehead as she talked, wishing all this had never happened, and stupid Hawk had never come to Scarlet Oak, and nothing had ever changed. Because he didn't like this change, at all.
Maybe if he went over, they could just change the subject and hug and just stop talking about all this. "I'll come over," he said. "We'll talk when I get there." Or not, if he was lucky.
"Okay." She said and hung up the phone. Then, Tilly just sat there, slightly lost for words and actions, still trying to dry up her tears without a tissue. How come suddenly things weren't as simple and pleasant as they had always been? As they had been the day before? The sheer thought of Day being somehow unhappy, because of her or not, was enough to make Tilly deflate completely, and even what had happened the night before couldn't help it.
After a few minutes Tilly came downstairs, glad nobody had noticed her there, and went to sit outside on the porch waiting for Day. Hopefully, he wouldn't take long. And if he thought he could somehow charm her into changing the subject, he was painfully mistaken. Tilly wouldn't let go until they were able to reach some sort of understanding.
It didn't take long, at all. Day merely plopped a hat onto his currently-unruly hair, grabbed a coat in case he needed it-- unlikely, but it behooved him to be prepared-- and stepped into some sandals before trotting down the stairs and out to his car. Which, he decided as he got in, needed a good wash after yesterday's rain.
Inconsequentials. How he loved them. They kept the mind occupied quite handily.
Breaking the speed limit by about ten miles per hour the whole way, and rolling through a couple stop signs, Day finally parked on the curb at Tilly's house, tucked the glasses into a pocket as always, and got out. The hat wasn't doing as good a job as he'd like keeping his hair from trying to blow around in a localized wind, but at least it kept it out of his face. And there was Tilly, waiting on the porch. Without his glasses, he couldn't make out her expression, but he did at least great her with a smile. A slightly lop-sided one, but still a smile.
Tilly tried for a smile, but couldn't quite make it. She did motion for him to sit next to her, while she kept sitting with her legs pressed against her torso and her chin on top of her knees, while her arms hugged her legs. And thus she stayed, without looking at Day a lot, but enough that she had noticed his hat. That would just make his hair flat, while she liked it better unruly, like hers sometimes. But that didn't matter, and why should Day even care what she thought about his hair?
Glancing up at him, she sighed. She had to wait for him to speak first, even though she knew he would probably take advantage of that and change the subject.
He did sit, and he put his arms around her, too, pulling her a little so she could lean on his side. "Are you okay?" he asked first. Since that was really what he cared about, at the moment. That and not making them both cry by getting into things he had no idea how to explain. Even if he wanted to say more than he'd ever said before about how he felt, what he feared and worried about, he still wasn't sure he had the words for it.
Tilly leaned on him but didn't answer right away. No, she wasn't, not one bit, but did it matter? They had had their first sort of fight, she didn't care how she was, she wanted things back the way they were before. "No, I'm not. Are you?" Better to be honest, in any case. Somehow she thought maybe it would make Day do the same.
"I haven't been 'all right' since you told me I couldn't possibly 'get' the concept of love," Day admitted. And yes, that was honest, and he wasn't blaming her, but her words had quite simply been the catalyst for a lot of self-doubt and uncomfortable introspection and generally unpleasant conclusions.
Oh. So that's what it was. Closing her eyes, Tilly bit her bottom lip as tears started flowing down her cheeks again slowly. She had never thought of herself as insensitive, but apparently she was, because although she remembered the conversation, she didn't remember saying it like that. But Day wouldn't lie. Maybe she had said it wrong, maybe she had meant one thing and said another. She was quite sure she hadn't meant the way it sounded, because it sounded horrible even to her, now. "I don't think I meant it like that." She said slowly, gasping lightly between words. "I didn't. I meant nobody gets it until they're in the middle of it. Like I am now. I didn't before, either. Not that type of love. You know what I mean." She looked down at her feet. "I think."
He was paraphrasing, it was true, but it seemed close enough to what she said that his conclusion felt sound, to him. Hearing her cry was not helping his own emotional state, though, but he still wasn't giving in. He rubbed her shoulders as he held her. "Which means I never will understand it. I don't think I'm ever going to get in the middle of a feeling like that. I don't honestly want to. The only people I've cared about enough to even consider submitting to something like that for are you and my brother." And maybe that ex-girlfriend Missy, but that still didn't seem anywhere close to how incredibly caught up Tilly was getting. And it had taken him a couple months to even get to a point where he'd consider sex, much less love. The idea of getting to love in a week? It just seemed insane to him... and yet apparently not to Tilly.
"So what do we do, if you have this feeling I can't ever share?" he asked. "That I'll never understand and quite likely resent for coming between us?" He had to be honest. He knew he would resent this feeling of hers. It wasn't entirely why he had a problem with Hawk, but it was certainly influencing it.
"I remember you said you didn't get romance, or crushes, and I suppose I assumed you didn't get romantic love, either. I'm sorry." Tilly took her arms from around her legs and rubbed her face. "I don't think it's wrong, or that it's a bad thing. It's pretty much your choice if you want to open up to feeling like that or not...And I guess I do. It feels great." She smiled. "I know sometimes it ends badly, but this? It feels right, you know? But it's not like I somehow think you're missing some vital part of you. People get their happiness out of completely different things. Plus, if you were incapable of love, we wouldn't be such good friends, would we? Well at least I like to think you love me, even if apparently I am a bitch and don't deserve it."
She then turned to him, sighing. It was not like she had done anything to hurt him on purpose, and quite frankly, in the same way he didn't understand how it could happen so fast for her, she didn't understand why he had to resent her for that. "All I can do is promise you whatever happens I'll always be here like I've always been. Having a boyfriend or not, being in love or not, it's not going to change anything. It doesn't have to come between us, Day. You're my best friend, I never meant to hurt you. You know that, right?"
"You're not a bitch," Day corrected her immediately. Even at his most hurt, he'd not thought that. "And you do deserve it. Even if you had felt that way, it was how you felt, and I was the one certain there was something wrong with me." One could love and resent someone at the same time; Day was really quite good at it. "I know perfectly well you never meant anything badly, just as I hope you know I never meant to make you upset or unhappy, either."
He brushed back her hair, and continued in a slightly lighter tone, "Just because I think you're insane--" Which was said mostly as a tease, rather than a serious insult. "--doesn't mean I care for you any less, or am angry with you. And if you're going to be head over heels, at least let me be the rational one and keep an eye on things. I'm not saying you have to get rid of him, or change how you feel, nor am I saying I hate your-- I hate Hawk, because I don't. But if you're not going to be cautious, at least let me be cautious. After all, I can't change who I am, careful and over-thinking, any more than you can change how you are, spontaneous and emotional." He'd never thought they were the same, he just thought they had that one thing in common, so that he wasn't entirely alone in being so abnormal....
"I don't think there is, but whatever you say." She shrugged. Tilly was past insisting on convincing him of her viewpoint. She even snickered when he called her insane even if on the inside, it was starting to feel a bit much. Then, he went and implied she wasn't cautious. "What? What do you mean, you're the cautious one? It's not even your relationship. And I'm cautious. Trust me on that." She was nothing if not cautious otherwise things might have gone very differently the night before. "Look, Day, I hope you're not implying you're somehow going to be watching us, making sure I don't do something insane, like, I don't know, go on a walk. I don't need you to be the guardian of my virtue and integrity, I need you to be my friend. And most of all, I still need you to trust me, which obviously you don't." It was useless. Tilly shook her head and sighed, looking away. Completely useless. Might as well end it there and pretend this had never happened.
Falling in love in a week was the opposite of cautious, to Day. It really, really was. And he blinked at her. He just didn't get why she was so upset about this. "I'm not a stalker, Tilly. No, I'm not going to follow you around or spy on you or anything. I'm just saying, don't jump down my throat when I question whether you're too overcome with this 'in love' thing to think about how fast you're going and how frightening it looks, to someone on the outside. You're happy, you're in love, I get that. I don't understand how you can be there so fast, and I don't want you to think I'm intentionally trying to hurt you or bring you down when I say that."
See? Honesty was definitely not the best policy here. He should never have said anything, just agreed with her to keep her happy. Probably never have even said anything about the lacking thing. All he'd done was make her think he didn't trust her-- it wasn't her he didn't trust. It was just her judgment wherever her Very Special Boy was concerned.
Probably, to everyone but the two involved, it was pretty weird. Even Tilly got that. But why should she deny it? She hadn't even said it first, he had. And she knew he meant it, and she knew he needed to be happy while she already was, and she knew she felt it too. It wasn't hurting her, it was giving her energy boosts and plenty of happiness to go around. If only Day understood that. She put her hands on his lap and looked into his eyes.
"Look. I know how this looks. I really do. And like I said I had no idea what all this was before I was smack in the middle of it. But you know what? It's been doing me good. It's like a pick-me-up a thousand times stronger than ice cream. And you know I love my ice cream." She smiled. Hopefully this would help. "But Day, my head is still all here. I'm still every bit the person I was before, it's not PTSD. My dreams are here, my projects are underway, my friends are still my friends and I am still thankful for everything I have, every single day. It's not like suddenly only Hawk matters. I couldn't live like that." She looked at him with a hopeful look. "You can worry. Thank God you do, actually; I worry about you too except you don't even let me ask. But just don't do it in a way that looks like I am committing some sort of crime!" She begged.
That wasn't terribly reassuring, since he didn't think the happy-fluffy-hormonal "in love" feelings were anywhere near what love should be, but at this point, Day was willing to lie and pretend it was. "I didn't realize I was doing it in a way that looked like you were committing a crime," he answered dryly. "That wasn't my intent." He sighed, putting his hands on hers in his lap. "Just promise me you won't hop in his van and drive away for weeks on end, all right? I just need that promise that I'm not going to lose you to some fantastic, life-long or even summer-long road trip."
There were also the comfortable silences and the notion that they would always be there for each other, and plenty of other things; but to Tilly those all fit it on the notion of happiness she was trying to express. If Day didn't think it was real, well...At least she and Hawk did. "Now you know." She said just as dryly. "Not at the moment, no, but if I ever do I'll come back and I can't be away for much longer than a week. Like I keep saying, Day, my life is here. My whole life. And it's a pretty big life. Plus, is it really fair of you to ask me to promise you that, when in about two years you're going to have to go away to further your education?" She asked with a sideways smile. "What if I made you promise you wouldn't?"
Perhaps they simply had different definitions of love. Tilly's might have been emotional, the feeling of being happy and in love; Day's, being completely uninterested in sex and hormones, was more of a time-dependent, commitment-based, long-term fondness thing. And he was having trouble reconciling "one week" with "long term". "Then I wouldn't leave," Day said simply, shrugging. "Christian is pretty adamant about my not going anywhere, too, and your two's opinions are what matter most to me. And how do you know I'll be going somewhere in two years? I really am expecting Chris to wind up at University of Michigan, too, because it simply makes the most sense. So that's at least four years here." And if Christian didn't want to transfer, and was still as attached to him, he could continue his studies in the masters programs here, even if they weren't optimal.
"Huh. I wouldn't want to condition you like that, even if I missed you horribly and had to call you every day with the most random five minute calls ever." But that was just her, and apparently Tilly was wrong all around in her personal views these days. "I assumed it was two years, how should I know? Two, four, six." She shrugged.
At the same time, Day was a bit obsessive about his connections to certain people, so he probably wasn't the most normal person in the world when it came to those people and their requests of him, either. "College is four years undergraduate, then either three or six post-graduate," he told her, sounding vaguely amused at how she had paid so little attention to college that she didn't know that. "Depending on whether I go for a masters or all the way to a PhD. So you'll at least have me for four."
"Okay then. By then I do expect to have my shop, so help me God and the angels. If I find a job. When I come back from camping I'm going to start looking. Do you know of something not boring?" Yes, she had changed the subject as well. She was excited about her shop almost as much as everything else - this was her life's work, hopefully. "So four years, huh? That sounds good." Provided it wasn't only four years and then goodbye forever.
Given the obsessive about connections to certain people thing, Day was definitely not the "goodbye forever" type. "Something not-boring?" he chuckled, glad for the subject change. That had just plain been too heavy for him, thank you very much. "My idea of not boring and yours might be two different things, but if I was going to work anywhere, it'd be Nevermore or maybe Many Paths." He liked those supernatural shops. "Or possibly a clothing story," he added with a laugh. "That might actually be a good idea for you, finding a clothes store to work in, so you can learn the ins and outs of the floor and inventory business."
Neither was Tilly, Scarlet Oak was home, and you don't just abandon home for anything. "Yes! You know I can't, like, do call-center stuff. I have to be doing something the least bit exciting." And suddenly Day had all the right ideas. "Oh, I'd love that! You think if I go in and ask for a job even inexperienced they might consider me?" As for clothing stores, well. Tilly didn't really frequent them. "Hmm, clothing stores. I don't really go to them, but I could try. Yeah, next Friday I'm handing out resumes here and there. Fingers crossed."
"You probably ought to at least visit some clothes stores," Day told her, amused. "So you know what they're like, and what to do or not to do. If you're going to be running one, I mean. But jobs like that, simple retail stuff-- I'm sure you don't really need experience. At Nevermore and Many Paths, they'd probably be most pleased that you have experience with the supernatural, and clothes stores-- well, I doubt they care where you've worked before, as long as your schedule's flexible."
"Yes, deary I know. Which probably means I should work at one, otherwise it will definitely look like industrial espionage if I just randomly walk in, hide in the dressing booths and listen to their retail world secrets." She joked. She still liked the idea of Nevermore a lot more. But oh, well. "With a notebook! And a pocket recorder!"
Day snickered. "I'd help. I could shop, and bring you things. Or I could make you invisible-- I think." He hadn't tried that yet, but it was a glamour ability. His father could do it.
Tilly was prepared to laugh, until he told her something she didn't know about his power. "Wait. What?" That, even if it ended up not helping her in her endeavors through industrial espionage, was probably the coolest thing ever. "How, how come I didn't know about this?!"
Snickering again, pleased to have surprised her, Day said, "Because I'm not sure I'm good enough to do it yet? My father can, not that he really does, but he can. I haven't ever tried it yet."
Tilly nearly bounced off her seat. "Well then what's stopping you! Try it! You have a very willing guinea pig here. Go ahead. Make me disappear!" Oh they could make a fortune out of this...Perhaps. If people didn't know about these powers.
Well, cheering Tilly up and getting on a wholly new subject was a good thing, even if Day wasn't certain he could pull it off. It was trickier than any other glamour he'd ever tried. "Mmm. All right. Hold still and let me concentrate."
"I'm so scared." She blurted out before swallowing hard and sitting still for the longest time, looking at Day while wondering if she would feel any different if he succeeded. Hopefully it would wear off, too.
"Don't be scared. This can't possibly hurt you. And if it works--" Which he doubted. "--you know my glamours don't last long." He frowned, concentrating on what was behind Tilly, willing that to show through. And after a long pause, it did-- just barely, making her look a little see-through. Then it flickered out, and she was "solid" again. "Damn. Here, I need something smaller." Looking around, he pulled off a shoe. That, maybe he could manage.
"Awww." Tilly pouted, slightly disappointed. Then again, make 5'7" of a person disappear must not be easy at all. She turned her attention to Day's shoe instead, and watched him try again.
That, after a moment of intense concentration, Day did manage to make vanish. "Ha!" he crowded excitedly. "I did it!"
Then it flickered back and he made a wry face at himself. "I guess I still have a lot to learn."
"Oh my God!" Tilly yelped before covering her grin with both her hands. Day had actually made something disappear. Hugging his side, Tilly didn't even care it flickered back not long after. "So cool!"
Feeling much better now, Day hugged her shoulders back and grinned. "I'll have to practice so I can be of use in your industrial espionage. Or just to freak people out. Maybe we could walk around without any feet!" Feet in invisible shoes wouldn't be there, right? Right!
Tilly burst out laughing at the notion. Now there was the Day she knew and loved very much. "Please do it, I don't care if you can help me, but I want to walk around without feet before I die!"
"I'll let you know when it's ready," Day chuckled, rubbing her far shoulder happily. "It'll be my next project."
"Great. If you need any volunteer feet, mine would be happy to oblige!" She suggested with a grin.
"I," Day said contentedly, "will definitely keep that in mind. For now, though... want to watch a movie, or something?" He still had another couple hours before Chrissy would be expecting him, he was sure.
"Yes! Take your pick." Tilly said, standing on her feet. "Oh, by the way, you never told me how your recent meeting with the actress went." She was curious, of course.
Day stood up, too, brushing his clothes back in order. "Well, actually. She liked my music. I was waiting around for Katie's party, and she happened to be touching up her makeup in the parking lot at the park." And she'd said she knew his weaknesses, but still wouldn't tell them to anyone. It made him nervous, but at the same time he wanted to know more.
"Oh?" She paused, waiting for more, and got disappointed when he wasn't spilling it. "That couldn't have been all." She remarked suspiciously.
"Well." Day scratched his head, thinking of what he could say. "We talked about her movies, including the one that's coming out. She asked who all I'd told that we'd met, and wondered if she'd get into the tabloids. Corrupting innocent youth, or something like that." He chuckled. "She told me the places she liked to travel to, and I told her I hadn't traveled much." He wrinkled his nose.
That was boring. Somehow Tilly expected a vampire talking to an Elemental would have a more...otherworldly air about it. But apparently not. "Well I imagine she would have to worry. And given you've told everybody you know..." She smirked.
"I have a feeling she could tell, even though I only said a few friends," Day chuckled. "She did say she liked me, though. And thought I'd do well." Because he hid his weaknesses and feelings well. "And." He flushed a little, with a confused expression. "She liked my glasses. I don't understand that one."
Tilly laughed at that, nodding. "She knows you better than you think. And oh, getting compliments from a beautiful actress, nicely done!" Snickering, Tilly shook her head at what he said next, pinching the tip of his nose lightly. "You're the only one who doesn't understand that one."
"They make me look like a geek," Day complained lightly, wandering over to the family's DVD selection and scanning for an appropriate title. "Popular guys don't wear glasses." And as far as he could tell, it was true. Glasses, no matter how smart or stupid the person, still made the majority of people think "geek".
"You must not have gotten the memo that geek is the new jock. Glasses are lovely, makes you look smart and interesting. You're stuck in the 90s, Day dearest." She retorted, slumping down on the couch waiting for him to choose a movie.
Day made a face at her, plucked out an adventure-comedy-- he had to admit now and then he liked a little Pirates of the Caribbean, and today seemed like a good day for it-- and went to put it in. "Along with my taste in music, I suppose." He pressed play and flopped down onto the couch next to her, putting an arm around her shoulders. "All right, Johnny Depp and Kiera Knightley, here we come."
"Which is also cool. You're the bees knees and you don't even know it." Tilly told him with an eyeroll. She bent her legs under her and got comfortable, grinning. "Yay! Good choice, I haven't watched Pirates in ages!" Johnny Depp in eyeliner was always very nice.
"Me, neither, and I think we could both use a few good laughs." Day hugged her shoulders, shifted to rest his head against hers. After pretty much their first real fight ever, it was definitely relaxing time.