"New looks"
(ft. bug infested bodies aka the collector, chromeskull, and lyn!)
Lyn’s ear twitched when the doorbell rang. It wasn’t some prank or a delivery she forgot about—she could feel it. This one was different.
She didn’t waste time. Her drawer was a disaster zone: crumpled clothes, old socks, shirts stained with ketchup or stretched beyond recognition. She dug through it anyway, grumbling under her breath as she tossed shirts with holes and random spaghetti straps aside. Her hand landed on a swimwear top—blue, slightly sparkly, just enough coverage to not get weird looks. Good enough.
Shorts were next. Slightly ripped, not too bad. She gave herself a once-over in the mirror, pulling a face as she adjusted the waistband. The string was half-untied. Oh well.
From the corner of her eye, she caught Asa looking up from his book, glasses halfway down his nose. He didn’t say anything, just scanned her outfit like a judgmental mannequin. Not mean, just... parental. Like he was mentally writing a checklist of everything she was wearing that didn’t meet his invisible “acceptable to be seen in public” standard.
Lyn spun in place and jumped, flashing a crooked grin. Too fast. She wobbled mid-air and stumbled back, catching herself on the dresser with a soft “ow.” Her head throbbed. She didn’t have time for that.
The doorbell rang again.
Her brain reset like a cartoon character, eyes wide as she dashed to the door and flung it open, her smile cranked up to full wattage, one hand tucked behind her back like she was hiding a secret.
“Hello, may you please sign this for me, ma’am?”
The delivery guy barely finished his sentence before she grabbed the paper and scribbled her signature like it was an autograph. He blinked. She bowed, her smile twitching from excitement.
“Have a rest a day of your rest, sir!”
Whatever that meant.
She shut the door with an awkward amount of force and immediately let everything drop. Her shoulders slumped, shorts loosened, underwear peeking just a bit as she darted back to her room, laughter already bubbling up out of her. Several voices—some hers, some not—echoed through the hallway. Asa stared at her closed door for a moment like a tired sitcom dad and sighed.
Lyn peeked out again after a minute, checking both ways like she was doing something illegal. She spotted the two guys out in the backyard, Jesse animatedly waving his laptop screen in Asa’s face. Probably bragging about another track he’d produced. He did everything—lyrics, samples, DJ sets—so it made sense. But when he got excited, he got loud, reckless even. Didn’t matter if they were in the studio or the kitchen.
She grinned and bolted back inside.
Her drawer barely survived the next attack. She yanked it open with so much force it nearly flew off the rails, half the contents spilling onto the floor. She didn’t care. She snatched what she needed, tugged it on, gave herself one final look in the mirror... and spun. Again.
Thwack. Back of her head hit the bedframe. She flopped onto the floor, groaning, dizzy and dazed. Still didn’t care.
She staggered to her feet, aimlessly bumping into the doorframe as she left her room. Her vision turned weird, like TV static buzzing in her eyes, but she kept moving.
All this for something dumb she bought off the internet?
Absolutely.
Outside, the planks creaked under her feet. She hit the grass with a dramatic flair, arms spread out like she was presenting herself to the heavens. Her eyes stayed closed, soaking in the moment.
No applause.
“Why do you look like a Chinese decoration?” Jesse used the robotic voice from his phone first.
“Isn’t that traditional Chinese headwear?” Asa added, genuinely unsure.
Lyn opened one eye.
No shock. No gasps. Just Jesse with his smug smirk, eyebrow raised, head tilted like he was watching a toddler do a dance for attention. Asa looked his usual unimpressed self, though he did add a mildly confused squint for variety.
“Are you going to some festival around here?” he asked after a pause.
Lyn didn’t answer. Her body trembled as she dropped into a ball on the grass, groaning into her knees and rolling away in silent embarrassment.
“Careful, there’s dog poop around,” Asa said, calm as ever.
Too late again.
A gross squish met her elbow. Her eyes flew open, and she shrieked, frantically rubbing her arm in the grass as Jesse cracked up behind her, completely losing it.
Two German Shepherds bounded over, tails wagging. One leaned in close to her face, sniffing curiously, then chomped on the bright red fake flower pinned in her hair.
“NO WAIT DON’T EAT THAT!”
“It’s fake, Lyn,” Jesse snorted.
“IT WAS STILL EXPENSIVE!”
Asa raised a brow. “Wasn’t it like two dollars for both?”
She gasped like he’d just insulted her entire personality.
“Two dollars and twenty-five cents!”
