OOC: In which you witness my horrid sense of humor. A none too exciting story of Effie and Otto being friends. Italics for flashbacks 'cause I'm fancy.
Mornings were always good for thinking, and Effie’s had started out well enough. She couldn’t explain it, but she’d slept in. She’d shrugged it off. It was probably nothing, and as far as she knew she had nothing planned for the early morning. The evening guaranteed a social gathering, but it wasn’t something she needed fuss over so relatively early. She could afford a little extra shuteye and dreaming. Still, she was up now, and that meant it was time to get ready for the day, a weekend mercifully. It wasn’t that she hated school or anything, but it could just be so tiring. She needed a break every so often, and the weekend was just what she needed.
Get up. Get clean. Get dressed.
Effie sighed and she went through her closet, searched through her drawers. What to wear? What to wear? More specifically, which corset? A lady had to look her best, and Effie had a soft spot for a shapely figure in a pretty package, wrapped up like a present. Perhaps it was a silly association, but it made her happy, and that was more than enough for her. Besides, ones corset had to at least match somewhat what they wore on top of it. To do otherwise was…well, unthinkable really. She stood in front of her mirror, admiring it on her, but she could it was still a bit too loose, pinching in a way she was not accustomed to.
“Drat,” she sighed, moving to tighten it. Corsets were lovely, but they were also such a pain in many a way. There were stylists to help with such things, but Effie rather liked the idea of doing this herself. She could get pampered any time. Weekend mornings gave her time to herself, and time to think. Still, the darn thing didn’t want to tighten the way she wanted it to. She was so focused on lacing it up properly that she didn’t hear her door opening.
“You make the ugliest faces when you’re frustrated,” came an all too familiar voice. Effie jumped, moving her hands to cover herself despite the fact that nothing was exposed…well, nothing all that important.
“Otto! Don’t sneak up on my like that. Haven’t you heard of knocking?”
“Heard of it. Decided it wasn’t for me. Don’t be such a prude, Pinkie,” Otto teased, eyes focused on her face. They wavered so little that it only made the girl feel more self-conscious rather than less. It just wasn’t normal for someone to be so focused. She had never liked it much, and she had figured that time would let her get used to his stare. That wasn’t so. In fact, it had almost got worse. Years only added intensity to the look.
“Mom…I don’t want to play with him.”
“It has nothing to do with wanting to, dear. Try and make friends. You might find you like him.”
“Oh, but mother…he looks funny."
“I’m not decent,” she explained as if this would deter the young man, but both she and Otto knew that would be pointless. He was stubborn, and so was she. Very little could be done to deter the other from their way of thinking.
Rolling his eyes and shaking his head, Otto smiled. “Oh, dearest, darling, Effie…you know full well our parents would absolutely leap for joy if we were to be willingly ‘not decent’ around each other.” He stuck his tongue out and widened his smile, looking back at her, challenge quite obvious in his stare.
“Who let you in?” Effie asked, turning away from him to continue adjusting the stubborn garment. What did it matter anyway? Otto had not motives to harm her, and she had started to assume the young man hadn’t the capacity for compulsive, emotional, behavior if he ever felt anything at all.
“Your corset. I could do it for you,” Otto offered, voice taking on the sincerity that Effie had become accustomed to picking up on. Still, she wasn’t ready to forgive him just yet.
“What do you know about lacing up a corset right?” she asked, eyeing him carefully, her arms still crossed over her chest, covering herself and attempting to look bigger. Not that if made much difference since she wasn’t wearing her heels, and Otto towered over her regardless. “You’re far too skinny to need one, dear."
Otto pouted, and it really shouldn’t have been possible for him to do that so effectively. “I resent that. I have a delightfully curvy figure,” he said with as straight a face as Effie had ever seen on him as he gestured to his torso with all the enthusiasm of a rock. “It’s just something I know, alright. Do you want my help or not?”
Effie pursed her lips and studied him for a second. Otto was a pain. She knew it. He knew it. Yet, despite it all he was her friend wasn’t he? A bit off kilter with the occasional thousand mile stare, but he could be trusted…well, for the most part anyway. “Alright, but if you try anything I’m going to punch you in the nose.” She could hear him scoff as she turned back around, but to her surprise he didn’t say anything else. Laces were pulled and tightened as he worked quietly. It was strange, the quietness. Unsettling but comforting.
“Don’t you have stylists who are supposed to do this for you, Eff?” he finally asked, decided the silence had persisted long enough. It would be him to break the silence.
“I do, but I’m not in the mood for that much attention. I can take care of things myself. Don’t you have stylists, Otto? Certainly you must have some sort of team to give you such and artfully, disheveled look.”
“How do you walk around with your hair like that?”
“Just let me fix it. Do something with it.”
“Quit fussing over me, Pinkie. I can take care of myself.”
“Yeah right. You need someone to take care of you, and it may a well be me.”
“Happily no,” Otto said, no small amount of pride in his voice. “I’ve scared them all away. I’m far too charming for them. They can’t keep up with me, and that intimidates them. It’s a damn shame.”
The pair fell into silence again having formed some kind of agreement to not look into each other’s eyes.
“There you go. All laced up like a fancy boot,” he grinned, moving back and looking at the girl through the mirror once he was finished. “You’re a very lovely girl."
Despite herself Effie blushed, enjoying the compliment and the fact that he actually sounded like he meant it. “Well, thank you, Otto.”
“Don’t mention it. After all, how hard is it to look good when you’re all of…gosh, are you twelve now?” And like that the boy’s smirk was back. She wanted to be annoyed with his flippancy, his inability to be consistently serious in that moment. Still, it was better than his oppressively frank alternative. She could deal with his bad jokes for the time being.
“Eighteen,” Effie corrected coolly, not one to give into his teasing so easily.
“Oh right, damn…and that makes me…”
“I think you mean to say learned,” Otto replied, leaning back on his heels. “If I remember correctly you always thought I was smart.”
“That book’s bigger than my head!”
“Don’t exaggerate, Eff. It’s not that big.”
“I can’t read books that big yet.”
“Could you read it to me?”
“You’re just older. Now, I’m old too, and I know you’re an idiot.”
“You just shower me with compliments don’t you?” Otto replied lightly, his tone becoming less combative with an extra edge of self-pity. Effie didn’t know whether she wanted to tease him more or comfort him. Otto was dramatic, and playing into his games was more often than not a good way to get frustrated. “Go on, Eff. Make a joke about my nose, or my height, or-“
“The fact that you’ve gone so long without sleeping that you look more like Charon than usual?"
“Oh, are you? I couldn’t tell. Must have missed all the skull-dark circles around your eyes.”
“Are you ever going to tire of teasing me about that? I have a condition.”
“Your only condition is your stubbornness…”
Otto wrinkled his nose, eyes half closed and skeptical. “Ah yes…of course. Comparing me to a figure of death. Very clever. Very new. I have never heard that before.”
“I wasn’t expecting to see you until later,” the girl shrugged, changing the subject and walking to her closet, blocking Otto’s gaze with the door, not that he was looking. He’d taken up residence by her window, staring out at the late morning sky. “Well, aren’t you going to say something?”
“I figured we could maybe go out and grab some lunch or something. You don’t have anything planned with Marie do you?”
“Not today. Thank you. I am getting a bit hungry,” she replied, stepping back out and going back to her mirror to apply her make-up.
“Good. I had no back up plan if you declined,” Otto grinned, turning to face her. “I’m not in the mood to be alone today. Surprising isn’t it? Otto the loner wants some company. Inform the masses.”
“Well, if I have one duty it’s to make sure you don’t do stupid things by yourself,” Effie replied, checking herself in the mirror, admiring her work.
“Goodness, you smell like a bar. Otto, have you been drinking?”
“Oooh…just a little. Makes me all giggly you know? Just a little…”
“I could set your breath on fire.”
“Ah, but that’s what I’m supposed to be like isn’t it? Drunk and cheerful and pleasant! Ain’t that right? Everything but myself, right?”
“Otto, cut that out. You’re starting to shout.”
“I’m sorry…oh, Effie…I’m not feeling so good.”
“Come on. I think we should get you to bed.”
Otto shook his head. “You never let me have any fun.”
“I don’t think you know what fun is, dear.”
“Hm…that may very well be true. But I do know that I enjoy your company,” Otto shrugged. The sincerity had returned to the voice, and he was looking at her again, but this time he was not staring so intently. Effie turned and offered him a smile. “Do you think I’m lying?”
Effie nodded, taking a step toward her door before realizing that Otto had managed to catch up with her. She felt his hand brush up against hers, and she felt her face flush a bit, merely reactionary. “Excuse me, what are you doing?” she asked, arching her brow and looking over at him, the heels she now sported making the field more even.
“Pandering to the audience,” he replied, taking her hand lightly, the gesture more childlike than romantic. She met his eyes, glaring a bit, but he had a childish smile to match, so she decided not to challenge it, returning the gesture with a small squeeze. She noticed her mother quietly observing from the bottom of the stairs, and silently agreed to the little charade.
“Perhaps this will hold her over long enough to give me peace for a week or so.”
“Glad you’re finally getting up to speed.”
“Don’t you get it, fluff for brains?”
“Your mom and dad and my mom and dad want us to share cooties.”
The pair descended the stairs, Effie taking care to stand tall in her new shoes and enjoying on some level her friend’s presence. They stopped as they passed her mother, and both offered a smile. However, Otto pushed it further and planted a kiss on Effies cheek, making it all to obvious to her that he had done it not out of affection but out of his usual antagonism. Her mother made some sort of entirely happy noise, and Effie felt her face go beet red under her layers of make-up.
Effie waited until they were out the door and her mother could no longer see them to slap him.
“What was that for?” she snapped more surprised than actually irritated.
“Trying to get you the ‘or so’ bit you mentioned,” Otto practically whined, touching his cheek lightly.
“I could punch you for that. Couldn’t you have asked first?”
“It had to look spontaneous. At least you didn’t call me a name this time,” Otto replied, still rubbing his cheek and letting go of her hand. “I was only joking.”
“I do not call people names. A lady does not do such things,” she shrugged, walking on with confidence, Otto hanging back for a few seconds before catching up with her.
“I remember differently,” he said simply, looking ahead.
“Thank you, darling. Your input, as usual, is much appreciated.”
“I don’t know how I can stand you half the time! You’re just such a brute sometimes!”
“I thought that’s how you liked your men.”
“Whatever. So tell me, where exactly are we going?” Effie asked.
Otto didn’t respond right away, his face going thoughtful for a moment or two. “I don’t know really. I’m in the mood for a little adventure. I say we head in any direction and see where it takes us. To hell with set plans. We’ve never stuck them have we, darling?”
Effie rolled her eyes, a common occurrence in Otto presence but nodded. It was as good an option as any, and she knew enough about her companion to know he wouldn’t get them into trouble. Not too much anyway. That just about summed up everything about them. Between competing and parental expectations Effie could best describe the friendship, the rivalry, as not too much. And in a world of excess it was a very nice thing to have indeed.
“What are we, Eff? What on Earth even are we?”
“You know very well what I mean.”
“You don’t have to get upset.”
“Friends. I think we’re friends.”
“Oh…I can live with that.”
