With the dust starting to cloud around the group, Eli passes out some protective glasses and masks, grinning at his sister's question. "You wanna know really bad, don't you?" His eyes dance along with his teasing tone, knowing that all three of the others were dying to know just what he was planning.
Interrupted for a moment, he turns and ambles back out to Ryan's car, bringing back with him a rolled up poster.
Alec tosses Ryan a rag as requested, though his eyes bounce back to Eli, curious as to what the poster was for.
Eli slips the rubber bands off and unrolls the poster to reveal the artwork of Hello Kitty. He would use the poster as his guide and paint the design freehand. It wouldn't be hard. "I'm thinking... right on the hood. With flowers down both sides." He looks up to see the others' reactions. "I got stencils for the flowers so someone can help with those. And... the base will be pink."
Dani's eyes crack open to find the living room filled with a dim glow. Morning. It was early yet, but her body was used to getting up early to go to Mom and Pop's. She wouldn't be today though. Her eyes burned and she felt as if she'd been run over by a dump truck.
The night had been long. Every time she'd finally fallen asleep, her dreams had eventually turned into nightmares that brought her a fresh supply of tears as she'd shook from fright. But every time, she had found herself still in Dalton's arms as he coaxed her through the night hours. He had never left her - still on the couch with her even now.
Swallowing, it feels like Dani had bricks in her throat. Her eyes were on fire and even the dim light made them hurt even more. Even though she was exhausted, she didn't want to sleep anymore... she wanted a break from the shadowy dreams.
Knowing that she would probably wake Dalton, but being careful anyway, Dani slides over him to get off the couch. Shuffling slowly down the hallway, she aims for the bathroom to splash some cold water on her face and rinse her mouth. She runs her wet hands through her hair a couple times too, though looking in the mirror, it was obvious that it didn't matter much what she did. She looked about as terrible as she felt with her eyes so puffy and dark.
After a few moments, she makes her way back into the living room to ease down on the end of the couch, sitting with her hands in her lap. Dalton needed to go to work. Which meant she needed to go home. She found she had no motivation though. It was amazing what one small discovery could do to her mind and soul. She was no different than she had been two days ago. But she felt different. Marred. Broken.
Bending forward, she leans on her knees and rests her face in her hands. She didn't even know how to begin the day.
"Morning, Jenny."
Jenny looks up and smiles as she sees Justin leaning on her desk. "Good morning. Here for Scott, I assume."
"Mm-hmm. Is he up today."
"He is. Took a little doing to get him out of bed, but I got a slice of toast and half a glass of orange juice in him before he went outside."
"Good. He go out to wait for me?"
"That's what I gather." Jenny gives him a little smirk. "If I were him, I'd be out there on time every day from now on just so I don't get dragged out there."
Justin's mouth curls into a grin. "Me too. Thanks." Leaving the greeting area, Justin heads out through the other door, looking off to where he and Scott usually met. Sure enough, he saw a slouched figure sitting on the bench. But Justin doesn't go to him yet. Instead, he turns and goes back to the parking lot, easing down to sit on the curb and wait for Sapphire. They would go to Scott together this morning.
Picking up a pebble to roll between his fingers, he looks up to the gathering clouds in the sky. A slight breeze blew, and the weather looked far from menacing, but perhaps some rain would come later. If only he could predict Scott like he could the weather. He really had no idea how Scott would react to seeing his sister. Justin was going out on a limb with this one, even if he portrayed confidence to Sapphire. He loved a challenge, and if Scott reacted poorly, he'd have something to work on. He just didn't want Sapphire getting caught in the crossfire. She'd been through enough and if anything happened, Justin would be to blame.
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