Consumer Science 101

[theworst]

Date & Time: March 4th, late evening/early morning
Location: in one of the stores getting supplies (read: hair care products)
Characters: Jeff Winger (bedheaded) & Britta Perry (theworst)
Summary: Narrowly 'escaping' the Masked after being chipped.
Warnings: Not sure yet, but we shall See

Britta stood in the aisle, debating between two different holding foams. Her free hand went up to rub at the spot where the chip was inserted earlier before quickly removing it and letting it linger between the two products. This was what she had snuck out for, she wasn't going to Britta it now. She internally told herself to focus. This was important. This was what had finally pushed both her and Jeff over the cabin fever edge.

Anyway, once she had everything they needed she could sneak home and if she could get in quietly enough Jeff wouldn't even know she was gone. She would tell him the hair care fairy had visited. Either that or she would tell Jeff in the morning and gloat at her victory - minus the whole telling him about being chipped part. She could figure out how to handle that on her own, somehow.

Comments

[theworst]

"Cash, huh? I can't tell if that's a step up or a step down from being called a whore," Britta said nonchalantly, pushing herself up and following after him.

Britta stood by the elevator next to Jeff, sticking her gun into the back of her pants. Her face twisted as she stared at the elevator numbers and waited for it to reach their floor. It was good to at least have something she could tell herself she was pissed at Jeff about, since that diverted any guilt or obligation to come clean - at least for now.

[bedheaded]

He tucked away his own weapon. "It's a step up. It means you're partnered with me." When they got to their apartment, he threw off his jacket, frowned a little, and then said, "I'm going to take the bathroom for a second." Without waiting for a reply, he did as he promised. There he threw off his shirt and tried to use the mirror look at his back. He eventually resorted to using a pocket mirror, but he couldn't get any good sense of it.

Oh God. He was pretty sure there was a mark there. What if it scarred? What if it was there forever?

[theworst]

"Are you sure you don't have it the other way around?" Britta kept her jacket on and went into her bedroom without responding, slamming the door shut and locking it for good measure. She threw her jacket on her bed and her gun on top of that. She rummaged through her stuff until she found a hair tie and a hand mirror. She threw her hair up in a sloppy bun, and then moved over to the mirror on her wall. Using the hand mirror, she tried to get a look at her back, contorting to try to get the best angle. Her free hand reached back to try to touch the spot.

Oh God. There was a mark, which might scar. Weren't these people supposed to be high-tech? Shouldn't they have super stealth technology so no one would even know they were chipped? She had never so much as gotten a tattoo or a piercing, yet now she was marked, probably for life. Just great. She put the mirror back down on her dresser before heading to the bed, shoving her jacket and gun onto the floor. She flopped onto her bed, covering her face with her pillow as she considered her options. She did wear her hair down most of the time anyway.

[bedheaded]

Maybe it wasn't as bad as he thought. He walked out into the sitting room. "Hey, Britta. Would you come out here a second?" He was going to tell her anyway. He might as well use her for a second opinion.

[theworst]

Britta sat up in bed as she heard Jeff calling her. She stared at the door, frowning as she debated not going out. Finally she pulled off her boots and got out of bed. She made sure to pull her hair down before she padded out into the main room, her arms wrapped around herself as she stared up at Jeff.

"What's up?"

[bedheaded]

"So, I got chipped." And he waited for the reaction. He figured he should get it before going on.

[theworst]

Britta stared up at Jeff, her arms falling to her side. She wasn't sure what to say, so she looked down instead, holding her hands in front of her.

Finally she looked back up at him, wringing her hands. "Are you okay?" She maintained her distance, despite thinking maybe this is the part where she should go forward. "You're not going to get that cleansing thing they talked about before, right?"

[bedheaded]

"I am not hugely eager to keep this in my back, but more importantly, I want to know if there's a mark." He said it all matter-of-factly, in the same level tone he used to talk non-hostile witnesses into giving the statements he wanted from them. "Would you mind checking my back to see how much of a mark there is?"

[theworst]

Britta was curious about markings too, as she still wasn't able to get a good look at her own back. She nodded, grabbing his arm and dragging him over to the sofa.

"Stay there."

She got onto the sofa, standing on the arm of the sofa so she could get a good view of his back. She put a hand on one of Jeff's shoulders to maintain her balance as she checked.

And there it was, a mark. She wondered if that's what her back looked like. Maybe she'd gotten a more precise Masked guy and he was better at leaving things scar-free. It was possible.

"Watch out," she said as she nudged Jeff forward. She jumped off of the sofa and landed on the floor beside Jeff.

"Yeah, there's a mark. Sorry."

She would say it could be worse, but well, any mark was bad.

"I told you you shouldn't have come after me."

[bedheaded]

Jeff didn't bother hiding the exhale of annoyance. "Great." He dropped onto the couch, which didn't set him at much below Britta. "At least it makes my choice for me. No worry about surgery scars when there's already something there. Do you think that magic might be better? It still sounds completely ridiculous, but if there's a chance, no reason not to go for it."

[theworst]

Britta shrugged and sat down on the sofa, too.

"If it's magic, they might be able to get rid of the scar entirely."

[bedheaded]

"It's worth trying." Still, it wasn't completely awful. They had hair gel now.

[theworst]

Britta awkwardly patted him on the back. "Did you need anything else?" She got back up to her feet, pointing towards her door. She really just wanted to make her exit.

[bedheaded]

Jeff looked at her, really looked at her, and then also got to his feet. "As a matter of fact, yes." She was no longer being treated quite like a witness. "How long were you gone?"

[theworst]

"How long was I gone?" Britta said as if it was the most ridiculous question ever. She took a few steps backwards as she said it. "What do I look like, Inspector Spacetime? I wasn't staring at a watch the entire time. Jeez. Better question, how long were you gone?"

[bedheaded]

"Please keep your responses to answering only what has been asked. Where did you go while you were out?"

[theworst]

Britta huffed, pointing a finger at Jeff while taking another step backwards. A few more steps and she could make a break for it and lock herself into her room.

"What is this? Are you putting me on trial, because if you are I strongly object and I will give my responses any damn way I please."

[bedheaded]

It was a few quicker steps and Jeff was between Britta and her bedroom door. "Please answer the question, Ms Perry. It will look very bad for you if you don't."

[theworst]

Britta lifted her chin, mustering all of her defiance. "Not as bad as it all ready looks for you. Whatever you're trying to intimidate me into doing or saying isn't going to happen, so just give up all ready, Winger."

Britta's eyes darted to the side, spotting Jeff's room. She looked up at Jeff before running for his room. If she couldn't have her room she would take Jeff's. Problem solved. Dilemma deleted.

[bedheaded]

Britta was fast, but Jeff had longer legs and was stronger. He let her into his room but followed after, blocking all exit. "Admit it. You were chipped."

[theworst]

Britta moved so she was standing on the other side of his bed, using it as a buffer between her and Jeff. "So what if I may have been allegedly chipped. You can't prove anything. How about you spend less time trying to invade my privacy and more time worrying about the fact that you're literally trapping a woman in your room against her will."

[bedheaded]

"Oh, please. You went out there, and you got chipped, and you weren't going to tell me. Were you even going to get it removed, or were you going to walk around like that in this Brave New World?"

Jeff was pretty sure there weren't chips in A Brave New World but it was the fastest dystopia he could come up with.

[theworst]

"I would've figured something out myself. I don't see why I need to tell you anything."

Britta twisted her face as her eyes darted to the side. She looked back at Jeff pointedly.

"That is if you're even right with your stupid theory."

She wasn't quite sure why she was still holding onto this denial, but perhaps feeling trapped made her cling to it even more.

[bedheaded]

He turned around and walked out of the room. With a little more anger than might be justified, he grabbed his shirt and pulled it back on, not looking at Britta.

Good job, Winger. Way to be the hero.

[theworst]

Britta stared after Jeff, unable to really enjoy what may have possibly been her victory. She wasn't sure what to do. Did she stay here? Did she go to her room? Did she go after Jeff?

She finally settled for crawling into his bed, but leaving the door open. She wasn't quite brave enough to chase after him, so whenever he decided to come back she could talk to him then.

She really had Britta'd this time, and she wasn't even sure why. She should have told him when he told her, or when he finally caught on, but instead she was stupid and stubborn. She really was the worst.