The Roof, Tuesday Evening

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

Just hear those sleigh bells jingling, ring-ting-tingling toooooooooo . . .


The disgustingly cheerful sound of the Carpenters echoed off the walls of the stairwell as Katchoo marched up to the roof, looking ragefully purposeful, her radio held up above her head in both hands.

Come on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with youuuuuuuuuuuu!

The door to the roof slammed open, and Katchoo stomped to the edge.

Outside the snow is falling --

And the radio went flying off the roof, thrown with enough force to smash into a hapless tree.

"I'll give you falling, you frikking piece of (*@#&$)(@#$!"

Katchoo slumped down against the ground, back against the planter full of cranky plants (she'd taken to tending the damn things since she felt a kinship with them), and lit up a cigarette.

Stupid Christmas music.

[OOC: Had to. Open if you so desire!]

Comments

[minnesota-teen.livejournal.com]

Amber came up just for a moment after rehearsal. Why? Who knows. But anyway she was there just in time to see Katina throw a freaking fit with the radio.

Speechless for all of five seconds, Amber snapped, "What the hell did you do that for?"

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"Stupid ho-ho-ho jingle bells crap," Katchoo snarled, and only then did she get a look at who was there. "Oh. It's you."

[minnesota-teen.livejournal.com]

"Turning it off wouldn't have worked?" she asked, folding her arms across her chest. "And yeah. It's me."

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"It was being cheerful at me. It had to be stopped," Katchoo intoned darkly through a new cloud of smoke. "Here to choke on a Marlboro again?"

[minnesota-teen.livejournal.com]

"Wow. Bah humbug much?" she smirked. "Hey, shut up. It wasn't a Marlboro."

It probably was. Amber couldn't remember.

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"I can't stand all this fake cheer," Katchoo snapped, rolling her eyes. "It's a joke."

[minnesota-teen.livejournal.com]

"It's only fake if you make it fake," said optimistic Amber.

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"Yeeeeeeeah," Katchoo said, and let sparks fly as she flicked ash off the end of her cigarette. "Because I pull off real cheer so well."

[minnesota-teen.livejournal.com]

"No one said you had to be cheery. But destroying shit is just wrong," she said, ignoring the fact that she's thrown lots of shit in fits of rage before. Not to mention pull hair. Um.

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"But satisfying," Katchoo pointed out, utterly unmoved by this argument.

[minnesota-teen.livejournal.com]

"Were you unloved as a child?"

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"Are you Doctor Phil?" Katchoo retorted, and flinched briefly; it came a little too close to the truth.

[minnesota-teen.livejournal.com]

Amber was in a decent mood. She could totally be a shoulder. "Do you want me to be?"

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

Katchoo was not in a decent mood, big surprise there. "Do I look like I want you to be? Geez. Touchy-feely crap on top of the tinsel and dancing snowmen . . . what the hell did I do to deserve this?"

[minnesota-teen.livejournal.com]

"I think you could use a hug," she stated. "Not that I would ever even offer so don't say crap about that, but you need something. A good slap, a good lay, a good drunk. Something."

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"Been there, done that, needed a change of scenery," Katchoo answered flatly.

[minnesota-teen.livejournal.com]

"Let me guess: you can't go anywhere? Like for example home for the holidays?"

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

Katchoo just turned a look on her that should have said it all. By which "all" included "as if I would want to," and "I'd rather listen to the stupid Christmas music."

[minnesota-teen.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, oookay, I'm so wasting my breath here, aren't I?"

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

Katchoo gave her a small tight-lipped smile loaded with sarcasm. "Well, y'know, unless you get off on this stuff or something."

[minnesota-teen.livejournal.com]

"Geez, if I knew you any better I would totally kick that nasty attitude out of you."

Katina wasn't a ninja. She was almost sure of it.

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"Ha! Oh, bring it on, butch," Katchoo spat derisively.

[minnesota-teen.livejournal.com]

Amber blinked.

"Oh no you didn't just call me butch," she said, hands on hips.

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"Call you what I want. It's a free country," Katchoo drawled with a deliberately maddening smirk. "You wanna wear a tiara while you try, if that makes you feel any better?"

[minnesota-teen.livejournal.com]

"Hey, how'd you know I was an American teen beauty princess?"

Amber might have missed the sarcasm there, yah.

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

Considering Katchoo's tendency to wield sarcasm with all the subtlety of a poleaxe, that was impressive.

She snorted again (how she had intact nasal passages any more was a minor miracle) and gave Amber a disinterested stare. "Just seem like the type," she answered. It had been a guess -- she was pretty good at reading people -- but having it confirmed made her roll her eyes a little.

[not_in_the_book]

Ronan found himself craving a cigarette again, and while part of him worried that this was becoming a habit (and one he'd just as soon break), nonetheless he made his way up to the roof.

He ignored Katina at first, instead stepping up to the edge of the roof. Looking over, he spotted the remains of the radio lying beside the unfortunate tree. "Your handiwork?" he said, his smile evident in his voice even if Katina chose not to look in his direction, as he pulled out his packet of cigarettes and tapped one out.

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"My greatest frikkin' masterpiece," Katchoo answered, then paused. "Stop smiling, Irish."

As far as she went, it was kind of a cordial greeting. By anyone-but-Francine standards anyway.

[not_in_the_book]

"Make me, Katina," he retorted, lighting his cigarette the way he always did -- no lighter required. He turned to face her. "I take it the radio did something offensive, then?"

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"Christmas carols. All frikkin' day," Katchoo informed him. Sure, she could have changed the station, but pssht, details.

[not_in_the_book]

"Then I'm glad I've not turned mine on at all today," Ronan replied. "For I'd rather choose my Christmas songs myself. Punk rock ones come to mind."

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

Katchoo snorted, more an amused sound than a derisive one. "That I could maybe go for. Bonus points if they're bitching about the crazy shoppers or something."

[not_in_the_book]

Ronan pulled his iPod out of his pocket and tossed it to Katina, earbuds and all. "A Santa Cause," he said. "On that. Have a listen."

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

After a few seconds of listening, Katchoo nodded cautiously. "Not damn bad," she had to agree. "Punk's a little rougher than I'm starting to like, but I'll take that over bells and choirs any day."

[not_in_the_book]

"Try track sixteen," Ronan said, laughing a bit. "There are some... inventive songs on there."

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

Katchoo had to fumble a bit with the iPod; she'd never had the money for anything like this, and by the time she was living with Darcy she'd been . . . otherwise occupied too often to care. She did manage to locate track sixteen eventually, though, and listened about five lines in before --

Yes, that was Katchoo laughing.

[not_in_the_book]

"That has to be my favourite song on the album," Ronan said, with a grin. "I think you can see why."

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"Now that's not your typical family Christmas carol," Katchoo said, smirking. "I definitely approve. Maybe I oughta -- nah, sending a copy of that to Francine's mom as a Christmas card would be evil. Plus she doesn't know I'm here."

[not_in_the_book]

"Did Francine's father come out?" Ronan asked. "Because that would be utterly cruel, Katina. Completely and utterly cruel.

"I love it."

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"What, him?" Katchoo snorted. "No frikkin' way. But Francine's mom is all Stepford-wife proper and easily scandalized. It'd be like fish in a barrel," she mused.

And sighed. "Tempting, but nah. Far as she knows, her daughter's free of my evil corrupting influence for good. If she knew I was here she'd pull Francine out so fast she'd leave skid marks all the way back to Houston."

[not_in_the_book]

"Best not let her know, then," Ronan said. He paused a moment. "D'you know anyone who might... forward it on for you? Or even, y'know, if you could get to somewhere else to send it from..."

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"God, Irish, you're evil." Katchoo exhaled a thin stream of smoke up into the air. "Keep that up, I might actually almost like you."

Which was to say that she actually kind of did.

[not_in_the_book]

"Not only am I evil," he retorted, "I can teleport. Vast distances."

He blew out smoke to match hers, tapping his cigarette to ash it. "You want to?"

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"Your pickup lines need work," Katchoo shot back at him, but mildly. Aw hell, why not?

"Where to?"