my fault(s) // samuel

[SAMUEL JOHN HAYES]

Sam laughed, "I'll take that as a challenge!" He called back to her as she got the tea. He knew she was kidding, but it couldn't be too hard to scare people away, right? But thankfully for business, Caim came back rather quickly and gave him a large mug of tea. He nodded his head in thanks and took a sip. It was good, warm, citrus, hint of sweet... A little rum would have made it fantastic. And she was right, this would make excellent iced tea too.

Sam chuckled, "Yeah get a pumpkin, but I mean like some fake webbing, or a fake head too." He said gesturing while trying not to spill his tea everywhere. He liked Halloween and didn't understand why people didn't go big. He did his grandmother's house and yard every year and he went all out. And of course, he always went to the festival.

He was a bit sad for her that she wouldn't be out having much fun on Halloween. "Oh come on, theres gotta be someone you ca chill with. Itd be a waste if you didn't go bob for apples and dance and drink yourself silly while hopped on on sugar." he pointed out with false severity in his vice.

At the mention of the love of his life he laughed, "Don't you let her hear that," Chloe had a fear of marriage and the idea of forever. "But Chloe and I are going together. We're coordinating. I'm dressing up as a cop and she's a convict, which is comical considering her brother. Not that we figured that out before hand." Sam ran his fingers through his tousled hair and shrugged.

"I would invite you to come with us, but if her outfit is slutty... " He trailed off. Key wasn't stupid. New loves were all over each other. And he'd hate to make Key a third wheel. "Maybe you could meet up with us though, if you wanted." The festival did go on for a few days, hopefully Chloe wouldn't mind.

[CAIM VENUS HYSSOP]

Fake webbing? Fake head? "Ah, you mean stereotypical "witch" stuff." Key mused with a teasing smile. Real witches had no use for that sort of stuff, of course, but they also were not actually offended by the perception either. It was a silly idea, really. Key preferred celebrating the autumn month and Samhain with botanical accents. Bushels of hay out front, ornamental corn, jack-o-lanterns inside and out. All the typical Halloween stuff was mostly done for the kids.

Key shrugged. "It's no big deal. I'm here most of the day during the festival. Giving out candy to kids and slices of pumpkin pie and glasses of apple cider to customers." The festival, after all, was a great tourist attraction. And tourism always brought in great business. "I might end up babysitting some younger cousins, but I will take your advice and go out at night. Drink myself silly while hopped on sugar." That actually sounded really fun, but only with other people - by herself that may seen like psychotic loner behavior.

At the idea of Chloe dressing up as a convict, Key frowned a little and looked over concerned. "Would Mason mind? I mean ..." Key shifted uncomfortably. "Wouldn't that be, like, rubbing it in?" People were still talking, and Key thought of poor Mason trying to get away from that image. And his own sister was going to dress up like a con. Caim didn't know Chloe, and Sam's account was obviously biased. Key wondered momentarily what kind of relationship Mason had with his sister. Was she sensitive to his position? What if she was dismissive of it?

At such a though, Key suddenly felt guilty for avoiding him. What if there was no one in his life that cared about him like she did? her behavior was selfish then! She should be a better friend and check up on him!

At the invitation, Key smiled but shook her head. "Thanks, but don't trouble yourself. I'd kinda feel like a kid tagging along with you older lovebirds." Taking a sip of her tea, Key tried to change the conversation. No need to dwell on her lack of social life. "I want to dye my hair blonde - kinda the way it is in the summer, but a bit lighter. You're blonde, what do you think?"

[SAMUEL JOHN HAYES]

Sam laughed. "Just typical halloween stuff. " he responded, sticking out his tongue. "And humans are quite happy with our generalizations, so humor me and just nod." he said. Sam had never minded the magic in his midst, though growing up it had confused him, but he had grown to like it. He was curious if his grandmother had some gift too and that's part of why she ended up in this town from Sweden but he never asked.

"Good because Halloween is for fun, not work," Sam informed her, though he loved kids so babysitting would hardly be work.

He gave her a sheepish smile. "Its probably mean of us, but Mason loves his sister... which is also why we plan to get out before he sees her costume, which she has informed me includes a short dress, which would make Mason way madder than her dressing up as a jail bird." He laughed. That was his assumption of the guy so far anyway. Protective older brother type.

Caim's question was random but Sam didn't care about that and so he looked at her nodded before sipping his tea. "Go for it. Blondes have more fun." he winked. But he was sure it would look good on her.

[CAIM VENUS HYSSOP]

Key chuckled, but also humored him and nodded. Maybe just for him she'll buy some cheap Halloween decorations and put them up. Nothing with glitter, though. Because glitter was the devil and once inside, it spread everywhere and could never be cleaned up. "Kids are work." Key said, lightly kicking his foot. "I don't know what you're talking about." Key loved kids and they made her really happy, but she was also a worrier. Anytime she was around kids, she was paranoid they'd put a number of potentially dangerous things in their mouths. There was a whole bunch of things in the apothecary that were not meant to be ingested.


Key nodded at his explanation. It was probably tough for Chloe, too, having to live with all the talk and gossip. Key wondered if her costume choice was deliberate. A sort of rebellion. But Key couldn't know for certain, so everything was speculation. She did look wistful and muse aloud, "It sounds tough - being an older brother. Specially if your little sister is cute AND dating." Now she definitely needed to see Mason. Give him a hug or something.

His confirmation of her hair color choice was a nice, though Key had more or less already made up her mind. He just solidified the decision. She chuckled and looked over at him teasingly, "Are you speaking from experience? Is that your official blonde testimonial?" She was noticing how completely adorable Sam was, especially when he was winking or teasing. He probably would make a really fun older brother. Key only had an older sister - an absentee older sister - and she suspected having an older brother was a completely different experience.

[SAMUEL JOHN HAYES]

"It is tough, and I should know. I have two younger sisters," Sam said with a chuckle, but his face dropped for a fraction of a second. His sisters. He hadn't gotten to grow up with them, and he only saw them on holidays. He knew stuff about them only from their facebook pages generally speaking. they were so much closer to each other than they were to him. Probably it was better than them hating him though, but somehow occasionally loving and often indifferent hurt more.

He was so used to being the light hearted funny guy that emotions likes these always threw him off guard and he found himself shaking his head slightly, as if that would erase his far away family from his mind.

Maybe Caim would become his stand in sister, if they kept hanging out like this.

Thankfully, she had a funny question for him. "That's my official testament," He agreed with a smile. "I'll even help you dye it, if you need an extra set of hands." He said. Of course, he was a natural blonde, but he had done some tip frosting as a teenager. It had been a terrible look, but it had been the eighties.

[CAIM VENUS HYSSOP]

"Oh." Key frowned as well - she didn't know that Sam had sisters. As far she knew, he lived with his grandmother, and the rest of his history was a mystery to her. Key's mom probably knew mom - she was a woman who got to know everyone she came across very well. Key looked down awkwardly at her drink, trying to think of something to say. Obviously she also had experience with loss. After a moment, she was about to say We're all missing someone, huh? But then the conversation turned back to her hair, and it just seemed easier to go that way for now.

Key smiled and then looked at him dubiously. "You have experience dying hair? Odd." Key poked his bicep. "You look like a manly, decently built, scruffy fellow." Caim raised her eyebrows sarcastically. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

[SAMUEL JOHN HAYES]

Sam just sighed and shrugged. "My parents and sister live in LA, its a long story." He said. He didn't want to bother with his family drama. His family wasn't really broken, just odd. And he hated to bring up anything that would make others sad--and himself.

She laughed as she poked him. "Well, I think I helped my sister once, and held a girlfriends hair once... and I frosted my tips as a teenager." he admitted with a laugh. "The photos are terrible, but I was a product of my era. Backstreet boys and all that..." He was 27, so by the time the boy bands got big in the 90s, he'd been old enough to notice, sort of. Not even Timberlake really pulled that look off.

"And I'm not that manly, my grandmother gave me a Snuggie last christmas."

[CAIM VENUS HYSSOP]

Key nodded. It felt like it must've been a long story. Family drama a tendency of being long and complicated. Even though Key could simply say that her sister abandoned her, she would feel the need to explain the situation more. There was history and personality and all these factors that tied into the whole story.

It was endearing thinking of Sam as a helpful older brother type and as a doting boyfriend. Key realized that she totally could've liked him had she not already been in love and he taken. She did admire him - he was the decent and sweet kind of guy that came so rarely. She was thinking it was odd the way life worked out - looking retrospectively, it seemed like it could've gone many different ways. In theory. His last statement about frosting his tips made her laugh. "Oh my gods, you so would've been my sister's type back then." Key had been a tad too young and tomboyish to appreciate boy bands the way her sister.

She put a supportive hand on Sam's shoulder, "Listen dude, snuggies don't make you less of a man. They are super comfortable and everything can enjoy them without feeling the hate."

[SAMUEL JOHN HAYES]

Sam laughed. "And I was desperate, it could have been ugly. I went to private school out of town though, so I was with girls who thought I was an idiot." That was the truth. Being a class clown and a kid from a weird town hadn't exactly gained him friends or girls in those days. But he still could have known her sister in passing. He never saw another Hyssop around but maybe it was another long story so he didn't ask.

"Good to know." He said with a mock serious nod in her direction. Sam cracked her a smile and chuckled. Honestly, his snuggie was a fabulous gift and he used it far more than he would like to admit. And he was glad to know that liking luxuries didn't make him too unmanly.

Sam ruffled her hair lightly, "Okay kiddo, are we doing your hair or what?" He asked before taking a swig of hot tea, making a face before he managed to swallow it. "I forgot that was hot." He said with a chuckle.

[CAIM VENUS HYSSOP]

“Ah. Private school. Lame.” Key said, mockingly dismissive. “Should've gone to school here. It's a riot.” Students literally turning into animals and psychics gossiping over who liked who. It was high school drama times a million, where revenge may've well taken on the form of a curse. Looking back, it was hard to say how anyone manage to survive.

Key rolled her eyes when he ruffled her hair. She would tolerate being called “kiddo” this time, but if he kept it up she'd have to tell him that she hated petnames. They were the sort of things that relatives forced on her during awkward family reunions. “We don't have to do it now, but if you're so eager.” she retorted playfully, getting up. The store actually sold hair dye – organic, herbal, and slightly magical, of course. It was far better and healthier for hair, and it smelled like flowers. Key grabbed one of the boxes labeled light honey blonde and turned back to Sam, just in time to see him make a face. She winced sympathetically. “If you burned the inside of your moth, we do have a soothing mouth rinse for that.” she offered, sitting back down. Setting the box before them, Key explained. “Kay, so it's very straightforward. I just have to smooth the paste through my hair. You can make sure it's evenly distributed.”

Key wondered idly what Chloe would think if Key and Sam started spending more time. Some girls were sensitive with that kind of stuff. And Key also wondered if it would make it any better if Chloe knew Key liked Mason.

[SAMUEL JOHN HAYES]

Sam laughed and shook his head, "I'm manly remember?" He said with a wink. But really, so far his throat was okay but he would be sure to tell her if the feeling changed. Nothing was worse than burning the roof of your mouth.

"And yeah, private school was lame." He said with a nod. Sam had never thought of how school would have gone if everyone had powers... he probably would have felt worse and been more disliked, so he figured it was all for the best in the end. Of course, that's why he'd been sent here, so his grandmother could pay for the education that his parents couldn't afford then. Or even now probably. They expected so much of him....

"I think I can handle that," He said with a nod as she explained the hair dye. Sam waited and watched her get to work, but he hated silence so he figured he'd change the subject.

"So blondie, anybody you got your eye on?" he asked wiggling his eyebrows. He was already giving hair advice and drinking tea, if that didn't relegate him to gal pal he wasn't sure what did. So he might as well ask about boys... or girls if she swung that way. Sam wouldn't presume to know.

[CAIM VENUS HYSSOP]

Key had considered going about the whole distribution of hair dye systematically, but midway through she thought To hell with it all[i/] and just dumped the paste on her head. It had hydrating properties, so it spread through her hair like any creamy conditioner. Key ran her fingers through her hair, and then had to wipe them on a paper towel that she held under the counter. Key looked at Sam and moved her head around so he could see if she missed any parts. Then she looked up suddenly at his question and tried not to blush. “No.” she said far too quickly.

But then her resolve crumbled and she signed, sagging her shoulders. “Yes.” she said, audibly miserable. She was surprised in herself that she was willing to admit aloud – to actually tell someone. But Key missed confiding in people. Before her life went to ruins, she had a mom and an older sister, and a ton of friends at school. Her life had been nothing if not gossip and womenly advice. Sometimes, Key, her mom, and her sister would all stay up late drinking sangria, talking men, and watching old romantic dramas. Some people might find it weird to talk love with parents and siblings, but it was actually great and Key missed it. “But he doesn't like me … well actually, it's more that he can't possibly like me.” Key's scalp was starting to tingle, but all that meant was that it was working. Another fifteen minutes and she'd be a whole new person.

[SAMUEL JOHN HAYES]

Sam got up to look at her hair, but it looked like it had gotten everywhere, though he couldn't be sure without pawing through her hair and that felt rude. And anyway, she had just fessed up to crushing. "What do you mean can't possibly? You're cute, good company..." He was taken but that didn't mean he couldn't see she was a good catch.

Sam moved so she could see his confused face. "I mean, really now Key." He said shaking his head with a smile. He took another sip of tea with a smile. She looked sad all of a sudden, or maybe it had just taken him this long to notice it.

She needed a date, that would make anyone happy. "Ask him to the halloween thing." He suggested. That way she wouldn't have to be alone or babysitting or anything like that. "He'd have to be an idiot not to say yes."

[CAIM VENUS HYSSOP]

Key was appreciating Sam's encouragement immensely. She didn't realize how badly she needed and wanted it. And his compliments and obvious sincerity almost made her want to cry – that warm fuzzy feeling was swelling in her chest, and since she'd been sad so often, the good feeling almost hurt. Key avoided his eyes out of embarrassment but he moved so she'd have to look at him. She managed a small, heartbreakingly grateful smile. "I mean, really now Key." She looked away a bit because she was actually tearing up.

She almost laughed at the idea of asking out massive, dangerous looking Mason. Could he even take her seriously? “He's older. Much older.” Key retorted. She pointed at Sam. “He's even older than you.” Sam couldn't say that wasn't a troubling point. “And I don't know ...” Key shrugged and looked around the store. “No one would approve. People think he's dangerous – he's got the whole bad boy vibe.” Although Mason was certainly not a “boy”. Key was being purposefully vague because she didn't want to give away that it was him, but there were lots of bikers in the small town and dangerous folk came and went – Sam would certainly know the type she was talking about. “And he's really hot." Key struggled to form into words how attractive Mason was. She failed. "Like really, really, really hot. Like he probably has sexy Daisy Duke kinds of women throwing themselves at him. Real, sexy ladies – like the kinds that probably … wash cars in bikinis, or something. How could he even take me seriously?” Key hadn't realized she had so many concerns to rant about.

[SAMUEL JOHN HAYES]

Sam smiled at her softly as he noticed she was tearing up a little but he didn't ask any questions. Maybe she just loved this guy so much that even the smallest idea of possibility was too much. or maybe she really did need a friend. He hug her if he wasn't worried about getting dye all over his clothes...

He raised his eyebrows lightly as he listened to her description. Bad boy, big, hot...At the comment of girls in bikinis washing cars he just laughed and shook his head. "I'm pretty sure those kinds of girls don't live here, or even exist." He said with a smile. Sam was pretty sure that they were purely in the movies, or in LA.

"Maybe he likes younger girls who have some brains and other things on their mind but sex?" Sam said with a shrug. "I mean, he's a guy, he'll want sex on your mind, but generally speaking you can't be an idiot to get a guy. We aren't that shallow and dumb over the age like 25." He said with a chuckle.

"But either way, don't you owe it to yourself to try?" Sam said seriously, looking at her gently. Caim always seemed so stuck whenever he came to see her. "We can go on double dates." he added with a teasing wink.