(no subject)

[butterflyfactor]

It was the first time since her arrival that Layla had been in a crowded place and not had anyone ask about or comment on her tattoo. The lace and feather butterfly mask she wore covered it completely. It added to her general feeling of well being- not the anonymity, because no one there knew or cared who she was regardless of her garb- because she did, she felt good. A pleasant buzz ran through her. She hadn't been drinking. She didn't dare, because she wasn't prepared for the sort of lack of control that came with booze, but not just observing the crowd but being part of it was pleasantly novel.

Potentially overwhelming, as well. She slipped out of it and down the hall, finding a few strands of silver and blue beads pushed into her hands by other party goers, and absently wound them around her fingers as she stepped outside the compound doors. The party had already spilled outside- Mardi Gras wasn't the sort of even that contained itself easily or well- and she watched the dancing and drinking from her place leaning against the wall, a little farther out of the light than anyone else.

Comments

[howmanylives]

"Contrary to popular belief," he said, "I'm not an idiot."

No, I'm just really good at acting like one.

[butterflyfactor.livejournal.com]

"I never went in for what was popular," Layla said, ducking under his arm in a neat little spin.

[howmanylives]

There's a quote you see sometimes -- what's popular isn't always right and what's right isn't always popular. Whether this -- whatever it is between us that's got me acting on every impulse I've been trying to ignore since she showed up -- is right is very much up in the air, but its popularity, or lack thereof, isn't. I was the only one who ever really liked Layla.

"I went for it all," he replied, pulling her back in close. "Maybe that was my mistake."

[butterflyfactor.livejournal.com]

"I think most people would," she said quietly, looking up at him, "given the opportunity."

[howmanylives]

"Most people are idiots," he said with a grim little smile.

[butterflyfactor.livejournal.com]

"There's something appealing to people about the road not taken," she countered, not smiling, dancing closer to him than she had been, and knowing it.

"Or having the option to take it, at least. Everyone who isn't you doesn't know what that's like. But the grass is always greener, right?"

[howmanylives]

"The grass is always greener," he agreed, one eyebrow arched. At some point they'd slipped into a serious conversation, and though he took a moment's pause to run over their past few exchanges, he was unsure as to when that had happened, or whether or not he even minded.

Uncertainty isn't anything new. It's something I fight against every day, not knowing whether another option would've been better when I could have easily found out back home. Of course, I say easy like it wouldn't have cost me anything, but that's not the case -- no, it's just the explanation for why most people are idiots. Something's always gotta give, but without the experience to know that firsthand, a life like mine seems like a godsend when, in reality, it's anything but.

"Does it appeal to you?"

[butterflyfactor.livejournal.com]

"No," she answered simply. If she looked for a moment like she was going to elaborate, maybe it was just the light from the tiki torches flickering. She glanced off, casually, easily, somewhere over his shoulder.

"No point."

[howmanylives]

"Why not?" he asked, trying to catch her gaze. "Even though you're obviously not most people, you must've wondered what it was like. Everyone does."

[butterflyfactor.livejournal.com]

"No, Jamie," she said, looking back at him evenly, letting him catch her gaze, steady as it was.

"I never wondered. Not once since I was thirteen. Not for a second."

[howmanylives]

"Right, because you know stuff," he said, though there was an obvious tone of disbelief to his voice. It wasn't a satisfactory answer, but that -- just like uncertainty -- was nothing new to him. They'd tread this territory long before, and while he was normally willing to shrug it off, he wanted something different that night.

"What about now?"

[butterflyfactor.livejournal.com]

"What about now?" she asked, eyebrows lifting slightly.

[howmanylives]

"The road not taken," he clarified. "Do you wonder about it now?"

[butterflyfactor.livejournal.com]

"Here? Not really. I haven't not taken that many roads. As for back home, no," Layla said, shaking her head a little and shrugging, barely.

"Being here doesn't make anything there any different."

[howmanylives]

That we know of. And considering how little we do, I wouldn't be so quick to say that being here doesn't make anything there any different.

He nodded, then said, "Fair enough."

[butterflyfactor.livejournal.com]

"That was easy," she said wryly, lips sliding up on one side.

[howmanylives]

"I have no reason not to believe you," he replied, guiding them through the tempo change to a slower song. "I ask you the same question a year from now, and you give me the same answer? Then I might."

[butterflyfactor.livejournal.com]

"So ask me in a year," Layla said, slowing with him, swaying languidly whichever way he moved them.

[howmanylives]

"If I remember," he said with a smirk. He wasn't so far gone for that to be a legitimate concern, but the night was still young.

[butterflyfactor.livejournal.com]

That's probably the most optimistic 'if' we could ask for.

"Well, if you remember, I'll answer."

[howmanylives]

Never one to be entirely comfortable with silence, Jamie nevertheless stopped talking for the moment, the conversation having reached a natural lull. Withdrawing his hand from hers, he encircled her waist with his arms, letting his hands settle low against her back -- nothing too inappropriate, but perhaps a little more presumptuous than how he'd been holding her before.

[butterflyfactor.livejournal.com]

Layla let her arms fold between them, fanning her fingers out across his chest. Forget that middle school arms around the neck business. She liked to think they were at least one step beyond that.

[howmanylives]

"Not that it doesn't add to the whole mystique, but I'm glad we never wore masks," Jamie said thoughtfully, casting a quick glance down to her hands before returning his attention to her face. "Literal ones, I mean."

[butterflyfactor.livejournal.com]

"Why?" she asked, smiling a little.

"Too retro?"

[howmanylives]

"Nah, too unwieldy," he replied, shaking his head. "Y'see... I'd kinda like to kiss you right now, but I'd probably just end up with a feather in my eye for all my efforts."