[Annie/Russel] - Today I made you a mix tape

[pianistofraielin]

Who: Russel & Annie
When: Feb. 14, Friday
Where: LCHS
What: Russel gives Annie a mix tape to expand her musical horizons and neglects to consider how that sort of thing will be taken on Valentine's Day.



Russel had finished his mix tape for Annie the night before, and he could barely contain his excitement. As soon as classes let out for lunch, the first thing he did was track her down to hand it over to her.

To call it a "mix tape" was a bit misleading. For one thing, it was on a CD-R, not a cassette tape.

For another, it was actually...on seven CD-Rs.

Over nine hours of music, organized by genre, and each CD case had painstakingly written notes along with it, containing a track listing, the artist and year of release for each track, and the album or greater body of work the track was pulled from, if applicable. They were categorized fairly broadly: Classical, Country, Rock, Jazz, Electronic, Soul, and Blues. There were no repeat artists, and not a single 21st century release date to be seen. The songs were arranged on each CD to flow neatly into each other, creating a smooth listening experience instead of the jarring mess you usually got on compilation albums. (That would be the reason it was organized by genre instead of by decade.)

He'd obviously put a lot of thought and effort into it, but that was mostly because he was a music nerd who loved sharing his interest with new people. He would've done the same for any of his friends.

But when you hand a girl a stack of CDs that you obviously toiled over on Valentine's Day, the whole thing takes on a completely different context. To which Russel was, of course, perfectly oblivious at the moment.

Comments

[pianistofraielin]

When Russel ditched Annie in the hallway, he did not run to the nurse's office. He ran to the boy's bathroom.

It was safe there, you see. And he could clean himself up and hide the evidence before anybody else saw.

The bleeding had stopped by the time he got to a sink, but there was still enough blood on his hands and face to make it pretty obvious he'd just suffered a severe nosebleed. That, or to make someone suspect he'd just murdered a person.

[abhero]

Tending to yourself in a public bathroom always carried a certain amount of risk. True, there weren’t any girls around but fellow male students could come in any minute.

And Russel was about to realize just how false the sense of security was, because thirty seconds after he ran in, the door banged open to show Emil.

Who was staring because Russel looked like he just escaped a crime scene.

“Dude. What the fuck happened to you?” He stepped closer to take a better look at the damage, and smirked. “Don’t tell me you got rejected this badly on Valentine’s day.”

[pianistofraielin]

"Gah!" He jumped, spinning to face the source of the voice. As soon as he saw Emil, surprise melted away in favour of outrage. "What are you doing here!" (Russel it's a public restroom, what do you think he's doing here.)

[abhero]

The downside of coming closer to point and laugh, was that Russel’s act of spinning flung some blood droplets in Emil’s direction. Gross.

“Ew!” He stepped back. “Don’t bleed on me, that’s disgusting. And I’m here to take a piss, the hell you think I’m doing here.” He crossed his arms, annoyed. “So a girl punched you in the face on Valentine’s, don’t take it out on me.”

[pianistofraielin]

Super gross. But you know what, Russel didn't feel the least bit bad about it, because this guy!!!!

"THAT'S NOT WHAT HAPPENED AT ALL! It was spontaneous and I definitely did not get punched in the face by a girl." Russel could you maybe try talking like a normal person so that people might actually believe the things you say.

[abhero]

“Relax man, don’t get your panties in a twist,” Emil said, enjoying how easy it was to get this guy riled up. But if he really didn’t get punched in the face by a girl…

Ah. Of course! Really, Emil shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions.

“Oh I see. You got punched in the face by a guy,” he nodded. That’s why there was much blood, only a guy could’ve done that damage. A strong guy. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed. Overtaken by the romantic atmosphere of this day, you spontaneously confessed to one of your teammates in the locker room. Unfortunately, he freaked out and punched you. That’s why you ran all the way here to wash the blood off.”

He gave Russel a grin, proud of his brilliant deduction. “Don’t worry, there’s still hope. Maybe he punched you because he’s confused and can’t deal with his feelings. Maybe he’ll come around once he cools down!”

[pianistofraielin]

Well, it was a logical conclusion. But the idea was so far from Russel's mind that it was shocking to hear. Horror melted into disgust. "S-stop making up ridiculous theories! I just told you what happened!"

[abhero]

“Yeah, it was spontaneous and not because you got beaten up by a girl. Fits what I said perfectly.” Maybe Russel was just shy about it. Or maybe it really was a random nosebleed, Emil honestly didn’t mind. “Don’t make that face, hero of love, it’s unbecoming."

[pianistofraielin]

"Don't throw that name around like it's shameful, hero of justice!" he shot back, slamming a fist against the sink counter (and leaving a bloody smear behind). "For your information I gave a girl a mix tape today and she accepted it!"

This was a gross misrepresentation of what had happened but he was too angry about Emil's dumb smug face to care.

[abhero]

“I’m not saying that name like it’s shameful, I’m saying it like it’s silly,” he replied, knitting his fingers behind his head. The angrier Russel became, the more amused Emil looked.

That last bit earned a raised eyebrow. “You gave her a tape? You do realize it's 2014."

[pianistofraielin]

SCREW YOU EMIL YOU JUST HAVE NO TASTE IN HEROING NAMES. Russel gave a derisive huff and turned back to the sink to finish washing up.

"'Mix tape' is just a name! Obviously it was a CD." HE'S NOT STUPID, OKAY.

[abhero]

Emil was about to say that no one’s using CDs these days either, when a familiar sensation washed over him, the one he learned to identify as an Echo. It wasn’t a memory this time, at least not a specific one - it was knowledge. The nosebleed, the girl story…suddenly it just all made sense.

He now knew without a shadow of doubt that he had a secret weapon against Russel.

And he was eager to test it.

“You know, this blood’s gonna ruin your shirt,” he said conversationally, the mocking tone gone. “I heard coke’s good for removing stains, lemme check it out for you…” he pulled his phone out and messed with it for a moment. “Found it - look.”

Emil held the phone up to Russel’s face - but there were no laundry tips on the screen.

No, it was a photo of a bikini model.

[pianistofraielin]

He grabbed a few paper towels and soaked them to clean his face off and scrub the blood from between his fingers. He made a low frustrated noise, somewhere between a growl and a sigh, when Emil started talking again. Why couldn't this guy just go away?!

Oh, but maybe he was actually trying to be helpful this time? Russel decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, dropping the bloody paper towels in the sink and turning to look at what Emil had pulled up on his phone.

That...was not laundry advice.

Russel gave the phone a baffled stare, which rose to giving Emil a baffled stare. "What the hell is your problem?"

...wait.

Confusion, then realization flitted across his face. He touched his fingers to the space just below his nose. No. What? No! He pulled his hand away and looked down to confirm--yup, that was blood.

He froze, staring down at it. Hadn't it stopped?! WHY WAS IT BLEEDING AGAIN, WHAT WAS HAPPENING

[abhero]

This guy will never go away, Russel. You’re stuck with him from now on. Let that sink in while you enjoy the delightful sound that is Emil laughing his ass off, ringing beautifully in the bathroom’s acoustics.

It wasn’t a fountain of blood like the Echo made him believe, but it was still damn good. A more modest stream was better, anyway - a puddle of blood would invite trouble and the potato gun deal was quite enough for now.

“You’re the one with the problem,” he breathed between bursts of laughter. “Oh my God, I can't believe it worked! Sexy girls really make you bleed!”

[pianistofraielin]

And Emil standing there laughing triggered another Echo. Third one today. HE WAS STARTING TO GET REALLY SICK OF ECHOES.

Everything fell into place with that memory. Winning fights by flipping skirts, showing him a bikini model just to watch him bleed, the thing with Annie, somehow?!?

He was turning into an anime character, what the fuck.

It was not funny. It was horrifying. The amount of blood he'd lost just from handing Annie a mix tape--and why had that triggered one anyway?!

"Sh--shut up." It was low, forceful, but wavering. He lifted his head to stare at Emil. "Shut up!" he repeated, shouting now, but he wasn't angry so much as terrified. "Stop laughing, it's not--fucking--funny! You do know people can bleed to death, right, you stupid fucking asshole?!"

[abhero]

Eventually, Emil's laughter dwindled into snickering and then faded away completely. It was a good laugh. He wasn't impressed with Russel yelling at him - people yelled at him all the time - but he was making a good point. This ah, condition might make it hard for him to leave his house... or use the internet. Or watch TV. Heck, maybe even read certain books.

"You look fine to me," he remarked. He sounded pretty unsympathetic, but in fact he was watching Russel closely. "You feeling bad or something?"

It was genuine concern. It was a silly prank, Emil didn't want to hurt him. Surely his past self wouldn't have done it constantly if it was really dangerous...?

[pianistofraielin]

Shit. Shit! Why him, why this? He snatched another handful of paper towels out of the dispenser, shoving them at his nose to try to staunch the bleeding, or at least keep it from dripping all over himself. He sank into a crouch, trying to conserve energy so he could divert it all to keeping himself from freaking out.

It wasn't really working, because jesus christ he was freaking out.

"How do you think I feel?!" It was practically screamed, his voice shaking. He forced himself to take a few deep breaths, his head sinking between his knees. He couldn't lose it like this, not in front of this jackass. The guy probably wouldn't care even if he did end up making Russel bleed to death.

[abhero]

Emil actually stepped toward Russel when he sank, hands slightly raised like he didn’t know what to do with them. Now he started to panic - did he really make this guy lose enough blood to pass out? Was this what so many authority figures warned him about, you only thinks it’s funny until someone gets seriously hurt?!

“Jesus man, calm the fuck down!” Emil tried to cover his own impending freak out with annoyance. What if Russel really gets sick, he’ll have to carry him to the nurse’s office and explain things and oh God does purposely inducing a nosebleed count as assault? Is it criminal?! “Stop being a drama queen, you’re not gonna die.” If he had the energy to scream, it meant he wasn't about to black out, right?

Right??

He just kept… standing there like an idiot, unsure how to act.

[pianistofraielin]

"I can't calm down, oh my god, do you even understand what this means?!" While he was still obviously freaking out, he was thankfully not shouting anymore, and significantly less shrill. The nosebleed had stopped by this point, but he wasn't about to check and risk pouring blood all over the bathroom floor.

[abhero]

So Russel wasn’t going to pass out. Whew. Emil could go on and be an asshole without feeling guilty.

“Yeah, it means you can’t go to the beach anymore and have to be really careful looking at ads and stuff. Also parties are gonna get complicated.” And he probably wasn’t going to get any from girls his entire life, but that Emil kept for himself. “You should really be thanking me for helping you figuring the reason out, you know.”

[pianistofraielin]

He let out a low, frustrated whine, because Emil was right. If he hadn't intentionally triggered that nosebleed, who knew how long it would've taken Russel to figure out the cause? Maybe he'd have ended up hospitalized by the end of the school day, or worse.

But it wasn't like he'd done it intending to be helpful. He'd just been acting like an asshole, again, and the more Russel thought about that, the angrier it made him. "Like hell I'll thank your for that!" He paused to cautiously check whether his nose was still bleeding and made an effort to wipe the blood from his face. "The fact that it was useful was just luck on your part!"

[abhero]

Emil rolled his eyes. Hmph! No appreciation.

“So? Doesn’t make it any less helpful. The greatest discoveries were made by accident. I bet if you were the boss of the guy who discovered penicillin you wouldn’t even listen to him and just scold him for not doing the dishes.”

[pianistofraielin]

"Ugh." He pushed himself up, grabbing the nearest sink ledge to help himself to his feet.

"Don't act like that's anywhere near the same thing!" he shot back, throwing the bloody towels at Emil, just because he knew it was gross and would probably piss him off. He turned away, leaning over the sink to wash his face again.

[abhero]

Emil stepped back with a small yelp - EW! It definitely pissed him off. He wanted nothing more than making Russel bleed again as revenge, but he was worried he'd really lose enough blood to pass out.

Foiled by his own kindness. Emil took a moment to admire himself, he was practically a saint...

He looked around, grabbed an empty soda can someone left on the sink and tossed it (saintly) at Russel's head.

[pianistofraielin]

"Ow!" He cringed, hand going to the back of his head where the can had hit him. With a low growl, his head whipped up, fixing Emil in a furious glare. "What the fuck is your problem!!"