Lydia Martin will punch you in the throat (immunetothebite) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-10-20 14:02:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, james, lydia martin |
Who: Lydia and James
What: Getting her hair done
When: Backdated to about a month ago
Where: James' place
Rating: G
Status: Complete
A girl had to look good for her first day of school. She couldn’t go back with summer hair, that would just be awful. That was why Lydia Martin was on her way to see James. She liked it when he did her hair, because he did a good job. Not to mention that he tended to create look that weren’t god awful.
She was waiting for him to get there and hoped that he could do something that was half way decent.
James had found a love of hair since he was a young teen. It wasn’t common for a boy, but he hadn’t let that distract him from a natural ability. He walked into the salon, waving at Lydia, who he had known for awhile. He had already been to the set for a morning call, and would go back after lunch. Between the shoots, he liked to spend his time here, talking to normal people outside the industry who didn’t have the diva complex.
“How have you been?” he asked, sweeping dark hair out of his face. He had been in a good mood lately, which added to his creativity. “More importantly, what are you looking for me to do? Cut, maybe some color?” James was well versed with all the new trends. He could make hair stand out with color or decorative touches. He knew his products as well, and how to apply them for effect. He could also cut and shape like any professional should, from simple to complicated.
“I definitely need a cut. I’m thinking maybe some coppery highlights? Since it’s getting to be fall, I want it to match.” Get in good before it really turned cold and she was left with some summery hair do. She trusted him to do what he thought was best. “I just want to look good for school. I’m definitely thinking maybe a bit shorter. Shoulder length this time maybe?” Why not? She hadn’t had it that short in ages.
“Ooooh coppery, love it.” James looked her hair over, deciding on a color scheme that could look fabulous. “Copper with some auburn,” he said, arching a brow. He nodded, picking up a brush. “You know I can make you look gorgeous.” He was already starting on the length, determining how much to take off the back. “Shoulder length would be perfect for the coloring and get rid of all the split ends. You need to come see me more often.”
“Let’s go wash, and you can tell me about life other than school. I work so much, I almost forget that there is life on the outside.” That wasn’t entirely true at the moment, as he was making an effort to make more friends and be a little more social on the outside. Still, finding time could be complicated.
She grinned slightly and nodded. “I do know, and I trust no one else with my hair but you.” Yeah she should come in more often but she wasn’t made of money. Lydia went over to the shampoo place and got in one of the chairs. “Life outside isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.” Maybe a nice new haircut would do her some good.
“Tell me about it,” James replied, tipping her hair back, running his hands through it while the water sprayed. His hands worked all on their own, strong, but not painful in the slightest. He made quick work on the wash, applying a light conditioner just to get it ready for the product. He left it in for a few minutes while he stepped over to mix the colors. “I really need to go out occasionally, but that requires meeting a great guy who isn’t attached. You know what they say. All the good men are taken.”
He looked over her hair as the conditioner was setting in. “If we mix these two colors in, it will be absolutely amazing.” He was actually as excited as she was just to see his finished product, and he hadn’t even gotten to the application yet.
She hummed happily to herself. There was something about feeling someone’s hands in her hair, massaging and shampooing that always relaxed her and put her to sleep nearly. “Oh god tell me about it. Every guy is attached.” And hers was even married. Not that he was hers. Or she was his or anything. “The last thing I want to be is some homewrecker. We’re completely gorgeous and fabulous, so how are we single?”
James turned the water back in, rinsing her hair, massaging the scalp as he went. He chuckled at her question. “I have no idea. I could blame my work, but I really can’t even do that. I’m an awkward mess when it comes to dating, especially if I am attracted to someone. All of a sudden, I can’t figure out what to say.” That was James in a nutshell. He could be very charming, but it was in a very awkward way that could take time to properly appreciate.
“How about you though? I don’t see you going the homewrecker route. You certainly deserve a man’s full attention.” He sat Lydia up, wrapping her hair in a towel. He moved around finishing the colors in his bowls. He was going to layer in the colors and use the auburn to compliment the copper. It would be sensational. “Have you met anyone on that network?”
“I think I have the opposite problem,” she confessed. “I tend to be too bossy and demanding and then no one wants to put up with me.” Not to mention that Lydia tended to take boys to bed instead of keeping them around. Except now she was lonely, and she didn’t quite know how to cure that. “Too bad we can’t trade. You can be confident for once, and I’ll be a mess.”
She shook her head. “I’m not. Which is why I’m staying completely out of the way. That’s definitely not my thing.” Not to mention he was old enough to be her dad. Sort of. She sighed and laid back. “Nope. Just Stiles’ friends who he’s introduced to me. And my brother has a thing for my best friend, and vice versa. So it’s pretty much just me by myself.”
“Oh, being the mess is no fun at all,” he laughed as he mixed. He had to admit, the conversations were one of the best parts of his job. He liked talking to people. “I lie though. It isn’t that bad. It has charm. Part of my lack of social life is my work schedule, which is like a complete train wreck.”
He finished mixing and returned to Lydia, rinsing the conditioner from her hair. “We don’t know the same people. I have seen that Stiles around once. He seems nice. What is his friend like? Anything interesting there?” James could admit that he found a lot of people interesting, but it was actually taking that next step past interest, before relationship that terrified him. First kisses were awkward, and possible rejection was always a possibility. That made him so nervous that he usually missed opportunities.
“You’re damn right that it’s no fun being a mess.” If she could stop then she probably would. Though recently she’d been completely behaving herself. “You should carve out some time to hang out and get to know people. That’s what that internet thing is for.” Not to mention that they were in California so there was always tons of people to meet.
“Stiles is a good guy. A bit of a spaz, but he means well. He’s got a big heart. His friend.. no, I mean they’re all nice. I should hang out with them and make them my friends. Stiles has a crush on this guy. I work for the guy’s uncle. It’s all kind of a mess. I haven’t really found anyone that calls to me though. Boys my age would rather.. go for the girl who isn’t scary. I’m scary I think.”
“You are not scary,” James grinned, finishing the rinse. He picked her head up, wrapping her hair in a warm towel. “Now let’s go color you.” He led her to his chair and pushed the table of color next to him. “You have seen me, right? My hair is naturally crazy. My clothing choices sometimes are not quite what I pictured at first, but it’s all good. Actually once I say the word stylist, people just nod and go about their business.”
He combed through her hair, making sure it was smooth when he started the coloring process, as it would be split into sections. “That might be a little awkward, but maybe you could push your friends together. Is the guy Stiles likes interested in him?” He liked playing a matchmaker of sorts. It was fun, and he was happy for happy people.
“I don’t know if I’d agree with you about that. Not like scary scary, but in a I’m intimidating kind of way.” Though maybe she was just a giant brat. She didn’t really know what it was. She got up and followed him over to his chair. “Yeah that’s true. I’m trusting you to do what you think is best.” He always knew how to make her look good.
Settling back in the chair, she tried not to nod her head. “It’s slightly awkward, but yeah. I feel like I can do that. Push everyone together and then just.. be alone.” With everyone else hooking up. That sounded marvelous. “I.. don’t know. He’s really grumpy. I’m not sure he is. He’s older.”
James chuckled, dipping a brush into the coloring. Color was applied just like paint to a canvas. He took a line of damp hair and brushed over it, folding tinfoil around it. He moved to the next strand. “You are not going to be alone,” he told her, shaking his head as he colored. “You are gorgeous and strong. Sometimes it takes awhile. I can tell you all about that.”
“What do you want to do after school is over?” He didn’t have much of an idea himself when he had finished. Luckily he had known someone who had pointed him towards the school of hair design. It really had been the perfect solution, and it didn’t take very long.
“I guess it doesn’t help that every guy I tend to be attracted to is older than me, and I’m not exactly legal.” And there was the fact that one was married, but whatever. Lydia wasn’t a homewrecker. “It just seems like everyone is hooking up and not me and that’s ridiculous because look at me.” She sighed a bit.
“I’m going right to college and getting my masters and doctorate in Math. I’m not sure which exact field I want to be in though.” She’d figure that out later on.
“You are gorgeous,” James reaffirmed. “If I was interested in women, I’d definitely look. I get it though, I do.” He continued to paint on the color as he talked. “I tend to look at guys who are taken, or don’t seen to be quite sure. There is one, and I’d like to just ask him out, like on a date. He is so handsome, and those muscles are just right. I’m just not quite that forward.” It was becoming a true dilemma for him, almost like choosing the appropriate shirt color to bring out his eyes and skin tone.
“You are also smart, and believe me, that is crazy good, and can be a little intimidating. I passed addition and subtraction, and fractions are cake, but those complex equations give me a scrambled brain.” It was odd that he was good at chemistry, but there was a lot of chemistry involved in what he did. He had to have his mixtures correct or disaster in the form of chemical burns was a possibility.
“Thanks. It just goes to show that I can only pull gay guys.” She said with a small smirk. She was glad that she wasn’t the only one though. “I’m sorry. Maybe you could write him an email or something?” Lydia was pretty bad at trying to figure out how to talk to men in general. “I can’t exactly have the guy that I want. So.. yeah. At least you can ask him out.” She shrugged some.
James looked in the mirror, spinning the chair around to show Lydia the layers of foil on her hair. All they had to do now was wait, and then rinse, and her hair would be ready for fall in grand style. “I’m shy, and I like guys to ask me out,” he confessed. “And this guy. I don’t even know. I like them to make the first move and I’m always nervous and talking like I have completely lost my mind. He did invite me to a barbecue with some friends, so that is a good sign, right?”
Lydia nodded her head approvingly and let him go on doing what he did best. She smiled at him. “Oh dear.. well I mean that’s the thing. If you wait, then you never get the guy. Because he’s probably waiting for you to ask him out instead.” She shrugged some. “That’s a good sign yeah, but now you have to show him a sign. It can’t be all one sided you know.”
“I guess you are right. I can’t help if I’m more of a princess than a prince sometimes.” He laughed and shook his head. “UGH, this is going to be so hard.” He put a hand on his forehead dramatically. Since they were waiting for her hair, he no longer had something to keep his hands busy. “So, what do you think I should do? I don’t want it to be too much. I mean, what if I scare him away? My best friend seems to think that I think way too much.”
She laughed a little at him. “You have to work at it! Trust me.” Though she didn’t know why he would, it wasn’t like she had a great track record. “I think you should just ask him out like a normal person.”
“Girl, girl, girl,” he sighed, coming back to her hair after the color had been on long enough. “I would get all tongue tied and start talking like a complete idiot.” He was absolutely certain about that. He just wasn’t sure how to even approach a man and ask for a date, especially this one, but he wanted to. “Ok, I’m going to try it. I mean, he is really good looking, and pretty cool. What’s the worst that could happen? You know what that is - someone else could ask him, and then I wouldn’t have any chance at all.”
He brought Lydia back to the rinse basin. He pulled the foil out and rinsed her hair, making sure it was clean. He put a bit of conditioner in it and rinsed again before wrapping head back in a towel to inspect the final product.
“That’s better than never saying anything at all. And that cute and confused thing works on some guys.” At least she figured it did. Lydia hardly minced her words or did that herself, but she supposed that it worked. “Good. If you need to practice, just practice on me. Show me how you’d ask him out. And you’re right, the worst that could happen is he could say no and then you just move on to the next.”
That’s how she usually felt anyway. She moved with him to the other station and let him rinse out her hair. She felt so much better.
He considered that practice would help, but the minute he actually tried it, he got red and started laughing. “Ohhhhh no. I can’t even. I see my face in the mirror and it’s over. I can do this. I mean - yeah. I can do this.” Giving himself a pep talk was much easier.
He turned the water on and began rinsing. Some of the color bled into the basin, but that was natural. It would look fantastic when it came out. He hummed a bit as he worked, watching the water run, applying a bit of moisturizer. He kept going until the water ran clear and picked her up again. “You are done. Want to go see it?”
“Yes. You can do this. I’ll coach you and help you.” Lydia had every confidence in him. “We’ll figure it out. Don’t you worry.” She might not be able to help herself out in the dating department, but she could help out her friend. She had no doubts.
“Of course I do!” she sat up and let him turn her towards a mirror. “It’s perfect. As usual. You’re the best dear.”
“Don’t think I am not going to be on the look out for someone who is very smart and can keep up with your math,” James grinned. “I am looking for just that. You deserve someone like that who isn’t boring. That might be the real challenge.”
He inspected the strands, the way they covered each other and the colors blended into a seamless fall look. Perfect. “You are ready to kill it,” he agreed, bouncing a little as he inspected his work. “I am the best in the biz. Even if I get to do wardrobe, I’ll still do hair.” His ego wasn’t really that big, but compliments made him proud. “I mean it, anytime.”