[Mason Warner]

Are We There Yet?

It had been a confusing phone call. Mason still wasn’t entirely sure what his parents were expecting from his visit. All he’d managed to say was that he’d been in an accident – he was okay, Mom, calm down – that had changed how he was going to be able to live his life and they, as a crucial part of his life, needed to know about it. Annie had taken over the phone at that point because Mom had worked herself up to the point of exclusively non-verbal responses. Mason insisted that they’d have to see for themselves (the irony was not lost on him) and that he wanted to come visit soon so they could finally understand. There’d been so, so many questions that he just didn’t know how to answer and Annie had eventually reluctantly agreed to hang up on the condition that he drove down ASAP or they would be tracking him down themselves. Mom was in the background, quietly lamenting ever moving away from the Bay Area.

That phone call was how Mason had found himself having to organise a last-minute trip down to Seal Beach. It wasn’t a long drive – maybe six hours – but he was facing the slight issue of not being able to drive his own car for fear of the inevitable widespread panic and confusion over a driverless car speeding down the interstate.

The only people who could help him were the other survivors of the crash. Considering the time frame, Mason was reluctant to push his problems onto any of them… but particularly those who were also in full-time employment. He could clear it with his boss with a simple email – make up some medical excuse if he had to – but not everyone was so flexible. Claire though, she had free time. With her generosity and endless offers of hospitality, the young art student seemed a pretty safe bet. They could make a mini road trip out of it!

Suddenly the journey was exciting rather than daunting and Mason felt himself smiling. He punched in her number. They’d have to stay the night – he just knew his parents would insist – which made things a little difficult but Mason could always take the couch. Maybe they could go to the beach or something too… use the trip as a brief escape from everything that was going on.

He knew she’d like that idea.

“Heyyy Paintbrush, it’s me, Mason. Are you free tomorrow? I could really use your help…”

ψ

[Deleted]

WORDS: 343

TAGS: Mason Warner

Radiohead played quietly in the background from her laptop on the kitchen counter that separated her living room. She was on the floor with a pencil in her mouth, back against the front of her couch, and erasing the perfect edges of a half-done form on the pad of paper in her lap. When her phone rang form the coffee table in front of her, she perked up and pulled the pencil from her mouth, picking it up and giving a look to the name on the front screen. Claire couldn't help but already smirk.

"Heyyy Paintbrush, it’s me, Mason."

"Hey," she chuckled a little at the fact she'd had him added in her phone since she got the replacement. Paintbrush? Really? He could do better.

"Are you free tomorrow? I could really use your help…"

"Uhhh, yeah, I'm free," her face scrunched with worry slight, sitting up and setting the pad of paper on the short table. "What's up?"

~*~*~

"I told you not to pick it up!" she walked out of the front of the apartment towards the parked car by the curb, suitcase rolling behind her. Her tone was scolding but amused, a smile on her face, and she lifted the suitcase into the trunk. "I get it, you're a gentleman, but floating luggage isn't a norm in the neighborhood." She shut the back, pulled the keys from her pocket, and opened the passenger door for him.

A road trip out of town to a home she didn't know. He'd gone into a little bit of detail. His mom and her partner had moved to a beach town and he needed to give them some closure on his... current state. That was fair. His was unique. "All set? Let's hit the gas station for some road snacks," she was all about the junk food now - anything with sugar. Reese's had become her recent addiction. "We can use my phone for directions out of town on the best way to get there if you put in the address." Claire sat in the driver's seat, shutting the door and waiting to see his somewhat-floating seat belt.

God, she was ready for this.. Was it selfish to think that his phone call had come at a really convenient time with a really convenient situation? Of course she wanted to help him, but damn if it wasn't what she needed. "Oh, and, most important part..." she reached to the center console between their seats and lifted the lid to display, oh yes, CD's. "I might be the only person in the world who still buys them," she huffed with a smile and waved a hand to display them. The entire collection was good, classic, 80's and 90's rock. The best of the best. Journey, ABBA, Chicago, Earth Wind and Fire, Queen. "You get first pick."

NOTES: Impromptu road trip? I'm game.
WEARING: Here.

＃ENY ADOXOGRAPHY

[Mason Warner]

Are We There Yet?

It had been a surprise when Claire first snatched her bag away but that soon faded as a deep, flushing embarrassment took its place. “Oh right, invisible, yeah…” It had just been Mason’s first instinct to do the heavy lifting – he hadn’t meant to be dumb. Fortunately the slight-framed girl seemed more than capable of handling her own suitcase and so Mason was able to feel a little less guilty about it, focusing more on not getting in her way as she manoeuvred round the car to open the door for him.

“Looks like you’re the gentlemanly one in this scenario,” he teased as he took his seat. “Thank you.”

Mason sat up a little straighter in his seat at the mention of road snacks, his imagination filling with images of brightly coloured wrappers and endless bags of crisps. She was definitely being more thoughtful about this trip than he was. Normally he would just drive until his stomach complained, and then he’d have to drive a little longer until he could find something to satisfy the hunger pangs. Starting the journey with food already in position was such a simple, genius idea that Mason was slightly ashamed that he hadn’t thought of it himself.

“Do you think they’ll have pretzels? I’ll eat anything but I really fancy a pretzel right now…” He sighed longingly.

Mason pulled out the crumpled piece of paper that had his parents’ address on it. At least that was one thing he had come prepared with. Remembering things like addresses and phone numbers was just not a thing that Mason’s memory could handle. It preferred to hold onto things like obscure soccer statistics and quotes from TV shows – clearly a mind honed for conversations in the pub.

“Oh wow, fossils…” he breathed, looking up from the CD collection with an impish grin. “This is the kind of music that Mom and Annie always played when I was growing up. I, uh, can’t not play Queen first. Sorry, that’s just how things work.” He perused the albums before carefully making his choice. “I gotta say, Etch-a-sketch, I’m pleasantly surprised. I thought it might be a load of indie stuff I’ve never heard of. This is pretty cool.”

He couldn’t think of a way to make his seatbelt look natural so decided to just leave it. Cars often had weird quirks – a dodgy seatbelt stuck in position wasn’t going to raise eyebrows, right? Just before settling into his seat, Mason turned to face Claire, extending his palm towards her in an invitation for a high five.

Oh, right.

He cleared his throat. “Woo, road trip! High five!! To your left… Up a bit… Ye- no, YEAH!”

ψ

[Deleted]

WORDS: 343

TAGS: Mason Warner

"I've been practicing my chivalry, miss," she teased - some of the natural, hidden sass coming out - and rolled her eyes as she started the car. Thank God for insurance... They'd let her take it as a rental until she could get hers replaced with one of equivalent value. Hey, she'd take a 2016-Anything any day of the week. It didn't suck.

"You fancy a pretzel... " she snickered at his wording and shook her head. "I'm sure they'll be able to fulfill all your pretzel needs." It didn't take too long to get to the nearest one, just a few streets away, and she parked a bit off to the side so people wouldn't look weirdly at her conversing with the empty passenger seat. 

"Oh wow, fossils…" "Rude. Not fossils, thank you. Ancient, valuable relics," she advised with a lifted finger and nodded in agreement at his choice of first-pick. Indeed, Queen was a no-brainer "I gotta say, Etch-a-sketch, I’m pleasantly surprised. I thought it might be a load of indie stuff I’ve never heard of. This is pretty cool." "I'm full of unimportant and mediocre surprises," she huffed, a grin on her face, and opened the driver's door. "We'll go in, just keep your hand on my shoulder or something so I can tell where you are and what you want."

It took a little bit, but eventually Claire left with a plastic bag of sodas, beef jerky, and pretzels. Perfect road snacks. As soon as they sat back inside the car, she started it with a pleased look on her face. Mission accomplished. "Woo, road trip! High five!!" "Heheh, alright, yeah. Oh I-...don't-..."

"To your left…"
"Okay, I still-..."
"Up a bit… Ye- no, YEAH!"
"There!"

They made contact and she let out a decently hearty laugh, louder than she had in a long time, and had to shake her head to make herself stop. "You're weird." She left it at that. It was more of a compliment and observance than an insult, a fresh smile still on her face, and she reversed the car to send them towards the highway. The interstate... wasn't a good plan yet. Not at least until they got further out of the city. Thinking about it made her tense a bit, but the second she flipped then knob to turn Queen's 'Bicycle' up, she rolled the windows down and took a healthy chomp off of a slice of beef jerky.

Yeah... this trip was going to be good. 

NOTES: Relaxing.
WEARING: Here.

＃ENY ADOXOGRAPHY

[Mason Warner]

Are We There Yet?

“Miss Mason has a ring to it…” he mused, a chuckle ruining the suggestion that he was seriously considering it.

This was a very different Claire than usual. She seemed a lot more confident and a lot happier now that she wasn’t in the context of powers and mysteries and a big old group of strangers with powers and mysteries of their own. He supposed this was a glimpse of the real Claire, the one he’d gotten flashes of previously but never really managed to get to stick around for long. It was nice to see her open up more. Clearly she had a much sassier, almost devilish side to her.

“Yeah, yeah,” he sighed, raising his hands. “I may be going through a bit of a British TV phase right now, someone at the bar brought in a load of old boxsets. And, oi!” Mason slipped into an abomination of an attempt at a Cockney accent. “Wot’s wrong wiv a bit of pretzel fulfilment?”

His stomach rumbled softly in agreement.

Thankfully the gas station was well-stocked in snacks and Mason actually had to hold back from just telling Claire to clear out the entire aisle. They’d settled on a variety of fizzy drinks, some beef jerky and – most importantly – Mason’s beloved pretzels.

Their clumsy attempt to high-five could have been awkward if Claire had been someone else, but instead she let out a victorious "Yeah!" as their palms finally smacked together with a rather satisfying clap before bursting into laughter. She looked so sweet when she let her seriousness melt away, and the infectious laugh had Mason giggling too.

Weird?! How rude. “Takes one to know one, Mona Claire-sa.”

Okay, that one wasn’t a real attempt. And honestly, it was only proving her point. It even sounded slightly Jar Jar Binks which was really not the impression Mason usually liked to make.

For someone who had only recently been in a devastating car crash, Claire was remarkably calm about the whole idea of the trip. Clearly she wasn’t going to let one incident turn into a fear of driving, no matter how big the incident. It was actually really brave. Mason hadn’t even thought about it until the signs for the bigger roads began showing up and he was hit with the briefest of flashbacks. Go Claire.

“Bicycle race!” he said happily. “I WANT TO RIDE MY BICYCLE, I WANT TO RIDE MY BIIIKE!”

He was ever so slightly delightfully off-key. Mason turned to Claire with an expectant expression. Surely she couldn’t resist singing along.

ψ

[Deleted]

WORDS: 341

TAGS: Mason Warner

She kept away from the large interstate entrances and stuck to smaller highways. It was hard to start, but once she was on and cruising down the lane, she was able to ease down into a shallow place of comfort. The interstate would have to wait until they got out of town where it was less jammed and crowded. Mason's singing earned a wide grin on her face. His carefree attitude was endearing. She was definitely guilty of belting along with songs while driving.

She swallowed her chunk of beef jerky and gathered up some courage. Surely if he was singing freely he didn't mind? Claire was far from gifted in the vocal music scene... but who cared? It was fun. A quick breath entered her lungs and she started timid at first, but quickly got lost in the pure fun of the music. "I don't wanna be a candidate
for Vietnam or Watergate
'cause all I want to do is
-! Bicycle! Bicycle! Bicy-" her voice cracked awkwardly at how loud she'd been singing, eyes exploding wide open and jaw clamping shut under her embarrassment's lock and key.

It took a second, but finally she slid her eyes ever so slightly over to be able to Mason in her peripheral vision. Of course... his face held zero judgement. Or maybe one-hundred percent judgement in the most teasing of ways. It destroyed any sense of shame she had and, from his rare disarm, she let out a trill of laughter that tickled her so much she had to cover her mouth with a hand. Then, right back to singing. Who cared? Not them.

While merging onto a thinner part of the highway, Claire thinned her eyes and looked ahead at someone along the shoulder beside a motorcycle propped up on its kickstand. Their thumb was up and shoulders were a bit drooped, backside leaning on the bike's cushioned seat from the side. "Break down out here? That sucks..." she scrunched her mouth.

NOTES: Oh well!
WEARING: Here.

＃ENY ADOXOGRAPHY

[Mason Warner]

Are We There Yet?

There was a solid line of music where Mason was stunned into delighted silence before he could shake himself back into his performance. Claire’s quiet, gentle singing gradually developed into something almost level on enthusiasm with Mason’s own shameless belting. It was obvious that neither of them were exactly naturals, but there were some odd moments were they actually accidentally harmonised quite nicely. If Mason were so inclined to pick up on such a thing, which he wasn’t, he’d have probably requested they give themselves a quick round of applause.

He’d closed his eyes, enjoying their somewhat tuneless soundtrack, when Claire’s voice suddenly broke and she froze. Mason looked across at her, worried that she’d close in on herself and he’d be left to continue the show solo.

She peeked over at him and, to his joy, burst into a little fit of laughter.

Mason softly counted them back in. “…Two, three, four!”

They continued to power through the CD, only stopping in their singing to take a hard-earned snack break. A lull in the current song was filled by Claire’s observation, and Mason immediately paid attention to the figure on the hard shoulder. A lone biker with their thumb stuck out. They looked a little dejected. Who likes a breakdown? Especially, as Claire noted, out here.

“We’ve gotta help them! They need us, look!” He turned to Claire with pleading eyes – not that she could see them. “C’mon, I’ll lie super flat and pretend I’m not here.”

Mason sucked in his stomach as much as he could, pushing his head back against the headrest. “See? Totally invisible.”

It wasn’t how he’d imagined his introduction to playing a hero would be, but he couldn’t deny that there was a strong part of him desperate to take on the role. Checking up on a stranded biker, maybe even giving them a ride, definitely counted as hero work, right?

Claire Elliot

317 words

ψ

[Deleted]

live fast, die young

N/A

422w

The throttle went out somehow. She knew her bike was due for a tuneup but it wasn't like she hadn't taken good care of it. Hell, the thing was practically her child - the one thing she wouldn't sell. But, it was old for its make and model... so its stock parts were bound to start breaking down. She frowned deeply at the cell phone that had run out of data and had zero service this far outside of the city.

But it still had battery, and that meant music.

As unlucky as the day had been, she stood at the side of the road with a thumb in the air and headphones on her ears, foot tapping to the beat and humming along happily. Things weren't so bad. Could definitely be worse. It was obvious she wasn't exactly expecting anyone to pull over because it took her a second to actually see them coming up, causing her to jump and pull her backpack tight over a shoulder before jogging up to the girl in the car who pointed over her shoulder to the back seat. Understandable safety in this day and age.

Cory opened the back door, tossed her backpack in, and plopped down with a happy sigh. "Thanks, been out there for like two hours! I just need a payphone, so the next gas station is just fine," she clicked on her seat belt and leaned back comfortably. "Nice car!" 'Uh, thanks,' the seemingly tense woman in the front seat answered, watching Cory a couple times in the rear view mirror. "The only thing scary about me is my appetite, I promise," a smile lifted on Cory's face to try and ease the awkward tension. 'Good to know,' Claire offered a small smile of her own and spent the rest of the drive in silence while Cory drummed with her hands on her own lap to Queen still playing.

The gas station was a decent amount of miles away and she propped the door open, sat a foot down on the pavement, and pulled herself out of the car with the backpack on. "Thanks lady, see ya invisible dude!" As the door shut and the girl walked casually away towards the payphone, Claire went wide-eyed and just stared towards Mason for a few, long seconds with the classic 'that just happened' face.

'So... moving on?' and  as normally as she could, Claire pulled out of the parking lot and headed back onto the interstate. 

Mason Warner

(Interlude.)

♡

[Mason Warner]

Are We There Yet?

Stay verrrry still.

Stop breathing so much.

Well – no – keep breathing, just quieter.

I am definitely not an invisible man… This seatbelt is just pulled across because… um… Claire’s weird like that. Yup. Total weirdo. Please don’t sit on me.

Luckily Claire motioned towards the back seat and the stranded biker followed her lead, dumping her backpack before settling herself down happily, immediately leaning back to make herself at home. Mason relaxed a little now that he knew she was behind him and couldn’t see his seat, turning his head to inspect their temporary road trip buddy more thoroughly. She looked tough – her somewhat pouty face set with a worldliness that didn’t quite match her youth. She didn’t seem threatening though, especially once she started joking about that very fact, but Claire understandably kept the conversation to a minimum.

Mason had to remind himself more than once not to resume his karaoke session, satisfying himself with the softest of taps with his feet. He wished he could help himself to some more snacks, but he knew that he couldn’t do it without making noise. He reassured himself with the thought that the next gas station was probably just around the bend, and kept reassuring himself with that thought until they’d finally arrived.

The girl jumped out, singing her goodbyes as she went to seek out a payphone.

He sighed with relief and turned to Claire with a smile. “Well, she seemed ni-”

Mason frowned.

“What’s that face for? She’s gone now, so I can… Oh, wait, she… she noticed me?” He moved around, craning his neck to try and spot the hitch-hiker. No luck. “She definitely said invisible dude, but she didn’t seem, like, weirded out…” He widened his eyes, mirroring Claire. “You reckon she’s one of those powered kids?!? I bet she is!” Mason felt strangely excited. “What are the odds?”

He nodded quickly. “Yup, okay, moving on. Wanna switch things up? I think I spotted a Bowie CD in your collection. My moms love Bowie.”

He couldn’t wait for the tension to melt away again so that Claire could be herself once more. Mason liked having a duet partner, and he got the feeling she was actually enjoying herself on this trip. Maybe it was wishful thinking, or maybe this road trip really was going to do them both some good. Just the small matter of introducing his new condition to his parents first…

Claire Elliot

406 words

ψ

[Deleted]

WORDS: 396

TAGS: Mason Warner

'What were the odds' indeed. Claire gave slow nods while still looking between where he was and the girl already embarrassingly trying to explain herself to someone on the payphone. Or maybe she was just looking through Mason. Who knew? It had come to a point now where things had gotten so insane and out-of-this-world weird that there was nothing to do anymore but just let it roll off her shoulder and accept it. She had an invisible guy in her car that she was taking on a road trip and had just picked up a super-powered hitchhiker. It sounded like the title of a bad album.

"Bowie is my boy," she joked, grinning at his next choice and going to pluck the CD out. It did catch her more off-guard than she would've liked to admit to herself when the mention of his mother was pluralized. Claire had no issue with it in the least, it just wasn't something she'd ever encountered personally before. A part of her was thankful she knew now before they opened the front door for her to awkwardly stand and stare while putting things together.

In a way, it made total sense. Mason, for all intensive purposes, was a complete teddy bear. Which... really wasn't a bad thing at all and was actually kind of nice. Warming up to him had seemed more natural than most. 'Funny how car crashes can bring people together,' she rolled her eyes to herself while switching lanes to pass a slower car during the drive - David Bowie gracing the atmosphere of the cab of the car.

~*~*~*~

"This street?" she inquired, leaning herself forward a bit towards the steering wheel to get a better look at the name on the sign. "Wow, it's really nice out here." The beach was so close and so much less cluttered than the city. It actually looked peaceful for once instead of a place you were afraid to go in case you stepped on a random piece of tourist debris with a bare foot. Claire turned the car where Mason directed and parked it against the curb on a side street. After killing the engine she sat there for a few collective seconds and turned towards his direction with an encouraging and understanding face. "...Alright. Are you ready?"

NOTES: Home sweet home.
WEARING: Here.

＃ENY ADOXOGRAPHY

[Mason Warner]

Are We There Yet?

It was always weird not to get a sense of homecoming as they pulled up to his parents' house. It fit them perfectly, but as a couple; a garden so low maintenance that even his mother couldn’t kill it and a gentle artsy vibe with its splashes of colour in the windows and on the front door. It was close to plenty of good fishing spots for Annie and the neighbourhood was definitely tailored towards an older age group, but not so old that the surrounding houses had actually all been converted into nursing homes, and there was at least one park nearby. The whole area was relaxed and sunny – definitely not the noisy, cramped city living that Mason was used to.

Still, he liked visiting them here. It was like going on holiday – complete with free food and drink. All they were missing was a pool.

“Yeah, it’s this one with the bright-coloured door,” he explained, feeling suddenly nervous. “My mom – Laura, sorry, I should have already told you that – painted it. My other mom is Annie. She’s the one who doesn’t look like me,” he added helpfully.

He reached for his seatbelt buckle when Claire suddenly broke the little composure he had.

“No… No, I’m not ready.”

Mason took a deep breath.

“I’m doing the right thing, right? Better than waiting until I can figure out how to make myself visible again; that could be years from now. I can’t just… not see them until then. Right?” He frowned. “I’m sure it’ll worry them but I think avoiding them would be worse in the long run. I mean maybe I’m just being selfish and looking for somebody to tell me everything’s gonna be alright, but then I can’t just keep them in the dark, can I? That’s worse… probably.”

He realised he was babbling and stopped himself.

“Just tell them you’re my friend, and that I’m fine except for the uh… invisibility. I don’t want to scare them by just having my voice appear out of nowhere.”

Mason laughed suddenly.

“Well, hey, this is definitely the first time a girl’s ever introduced me to my own parents.” He grinned. “Makes a change.”

With that, he undid his seatbelt and waited patiently for Claire to come and open the door for him.

Claire Elliot

383 words

ψ

[Deleted]

WORDS: 473

TAGS: Mason Warner

Got it, Laura was the biological mother and Annie was either step-mom or mom. She logged the info for herself to try and remember, not wanting to make an absolute fool of herself at his home. The most important thing to her was to do right by him here. Nothing less than perfect would do. He deserved it, needed it especially now, and she wouldn't let him down.

A frown pulled down at her lips when he admitted his lack of preparedness. "That's okay, There's no rush. We can wait as long as you need to." Then, as almost expected, he let loose with a small monologue of all his pent-up fears. Sure he'd been his happy-go-lucky self the whole way down, but it wasn't healthy to keep those kinds of things in and she was almost relieved to hear him babble on. This was a big deal... no one should have to feel like they were alone to face it.

"It would be worse," she agreed, reaching a hand over to set where she thought his shoulder would be. Thankfully, she'd guessed correctly. "I think this is the right thing to do. They're your parents. It's scary, but... this way, you won't have to be the only one to worry about it. You'll have family to support you." It suddenly occurred to her how much of a hypocrite she was. Though he was hours and hours away, her father still remained in the dark. The guilt would be painful later, but it was easy to focus on Mason now. With a small laugh at his jest, she shook her head in response to how easy it was for him to brighten the situation and stepped out of the car to open his door.

~*~*~

Well that hadn't gone nearly as awkwardly as she thought it would. Annie and Laura were lovely people and doted heavily on Claire once they were a bit more comfortable with what on earth was going on; asking her if she wanted any specific kind of food or drink, making up a bed for her, etcetera. She could definitely see in Laura where Mason's constant smile came from - in both expression and tone.

"I feel like I'm some celebrity guest," she joked to Mason, setting her bags down in the guest room that had been all cleaned and made-up for her. She turned to him, took a breath, and smirked. "You did good. I know it was hard. But now you can feel less guilty scaring the living hell out of them for fun." her serious congratulation turned joke quickly, a habit she'd gotten used to from warming up to him, and she shrugged playfully before continuing to unpack a few things on the foot of the bed.

NOTES: Moving on~
WEARING: Here.

＃ENY ADOXOGRAPHY

[Mason Warner]

Are We There Yet?

It had been bizarre to stand back and let Claire introduce himself to his parents, especially when they stared straight through him in an effort to look for their son. It hurt more than he’d thought it would – there was no sudden smile lighting in his mom’s eyes, no broad beam from Annie, just confused, searching expressions. Then the expressions had shifted as Claire explained the situation a little further. Not sad, but definitely concerned, and Mason had watched as they joined hands to give each other a reassuring squeeze.

They’d all gone inside before the awkward attempts to hug him began, arms comically out-stretched until they collided with him, and then suddenly everything was fine. They made all the right soothing noises, all the affirmations he’d needed to hear, and Mason knew that there should have never been a reason to doubt coming here.

It had been a little embarrassing to explain that no, Claire was not his girlfriend, but it was great to see his parents accept her with open arms and rather tearfully thank her for going through the trouble of bringing Mason down.

“You can have the guest room,” Annie had insisted, thereby dumping Mason on the sofa bed (which was fine, it was super comfy). His mom had then run around to tidy up the room and make it more presentable. Clearly she had higher standards for guests than she did family. She even lit a couple of scented candles. Luxury!

Claire seemed grateful, flattered even, and Mason was glad to see that she hadn’t retreated back into her shell in the face of his rather enthusiastic parents.

“It wasn’t so bad,” he said, grinning lightly as he joined in with the unpacking. He was mostly doing it to be helpful, of course, but he would be lying if it wasn’t partly an exercise in making Claire think her clothes were floating across the room.

“And hey, would I ever use my powers for such a thing?”

He held the clothing aloft, a teasing smirk firmly in place. It was a fun power, once you forgot about the more isolating aspects of it. You just had to get creative with it.

“How are you feeling, Picture Book?” he asked suddenly, feeling a little like the focus had been too much on him lately. “Not too tired from the trip? We should go exploring – it’s real nice around here.”

This trip was a getaway for the both of them and Mason was determined to help Claire feel even a little of the happiness that returning to his mothers had brought him.

Claire Elliot

435 words

ψ

[Deleted]

WORDS: 468

TAGS: Mason Warner

Watching the few folded clothes levitate from her bag to the bed made her shake her head with a knowing smirk. "Such a show-off," she teased under her breath, unpacking the rest of her things and setting her empty bag to the floor. Claire took the short stacks of clothes to the small chest of drawers provided and set them in the top drawer. An extra pair of boots found their new place just beside the chest on the floor.

"You? Take advantage of invisibility? Noooo, never," a small chuckle left her after the sarcastic reply and she turned towards his direction with arms above her head to stretch the stiff joints from being still for so long. "Exploring?" as if they were both children, Claire's repeat of the word was actually unquestionably intrigued. An honest smile grew on her face. "Yea, sure."

~*~*~*~ 

The suburban area was so much cleaner than anything back in the city. It was quiet and calm now that the evening had set in. Claire was definitely a city girl - needing the art, the life - but this was as perfect of a getaway as she could imagine. They didn't have to keep their voices super down since they were a few of the only ones walking around save for a couple of people heading in and out of gas stations or small stores as they walked down the roads. She imagined (well, she hoped) that it was nice for him to be able to talk out in the open.

They talked about little things. She learned a little more about his mothers after complimenting how nice they'd been and then a small bit about Claire's current situation; finishing her last bit of arts school, her home back in Chicago. "Go Cubbies," she mused once with a small fist halfway in the air. That was when she caught sight of the small, lit, asphalt court across the street. It made her nostalgic, stopping her walk for a second just to look, and then her eyes were drawn to a spherical shadow in the grass nearby a hoop.

"No way," Claire jogged across the empty street and picked up he ball someone had left before hopping to the court a foot away and giving it a good bounce or two. "Do you shoot?" she asked with a newfound enthusiasm over her shoulder a little, feeling the grip of the ball and the amount of air. What were the chances that someone had forgotten their ball tonight? She'd make sure to leave it in the same spot. Holding it seemed to give her a different life - a lighter, brighter life - because it was just her. And she didn't care that Mason saw. Actually... it felt nice.

NOTES: B-ball and bonding.
WEARING: Here.

＃ENY ADOXOGRAPHY

[Mason Warner]

Are We There Yet?

Meandering their way through the quiet neighbourhood that his parents had made their home, Mason was actually feeling the most relaxed and happy that he could remember not just in weeks, but in months. Claire was blossoming into an absolute delight of a conversation partner and Mason was beginning to understand why he was feeling particularly connected to her – at the end of the day, they were surprisingly similar souls.

“Not a converted Giants fan then?” he teased during their Chicago discussion.

Once everything was a little more settled – their powers figured out, their ambitious new lifestyles figured out, their post-accident living situations figured out – Mason would have to beg Claire to take him on a tour of Chicago. Specifically all the major sporting grounds, but he’d be happy to explore the more cultural aspects that he was sure the art student enjoyed. She obviously knew what she was talking about when it came to art.

He watched in amusement as Claire excitedly pursued an abandoned ball in the grass, her playfulness contrasting a little with the black clothing, studs and piercings that the girl was sporting. Although, as he thought about it, maybe her appearance was playful. It was definitely an alternative style but she obviously had fun with it, brightening the gloom of an all-black ensemble.

Mason crossed the road and stood before her, watching as she gave the ball a few test bounces.

“I’ve always been pretty solidly average,” he admitted, grinning. “So don’t pull out any pro trick shots because I won’t be able to follow, however-!”

Using his invisibility to his advantage, Mason snatched at the ball and dribbled it deftly away from her to the other side of the court. He couldn’t tell if the ball was visible or not – he guessed it was so long as it was out of his hands – but the area wasn’t very well lit so his invisible-man shenanigans were probably safe to enjoy.

“As you can see, I have other tricks up my sleeve.”

He bounced the ball in a slow, taunting manner before throwing it towards the hoop. The distance from where he was standing was ridiculous and he wasn’t remotely surprised when the ball clashed against the backboard and spun off in a completely different direction.

Mason rubbed the back of his neck. “I uh, didn’t claim to know how to use them…”

Claire Elliot

397 words

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