Hanging Out With the Uncommon Cold

[Snick]

Esther had never felt so cold in her life. She had shown Makepeace where Maggie's old room was, across the hall from hers, then crawled into her sweats and into her bed. She had her own commode and sink, but the two bedrooms on that floor shared a huge claw-footed tub and shower between the two rooms. Right now the idea of filling it with hot water and sinking into it sounded wonderful, if she didn't have to get naked first. That was just too cold to think about. She could hear sounds of sneezing and coughing on other floors, so she surmised she wasn't the only one who had come here to hibernate while the cold passed through. Those floors had big deep tubs too, thank goodness.

"M-m-m-makepeace?" she asked through the thin walls, her teeth chattering. "Are you okay over there?" She snuggled deeper into the covers. "W-when you're ready. There's a deep tub here too. W-w-we can take turns."

---

Wearing pajamas, slippers, and a toga he'd made from blankets, Makepeace padded over to the door to Esther's room and knocked softly. "I'm still alive, more or less." he rasped, his throat sounding scratchy, like the voice of a two pack a day smoker. "I wonder if the lighthouse would consent to send us to one of those hot springs in Japan. Not the ones that have a transfiguration curse over them, either..." he was quiet for a few moments, then said, "Guess that's a no. How are you doing in there? Need some more blankets? The lighthouse pulled mine right out of the dryer." He said enticingly. "And maybe we can huddle together for warmth.."

---

Esther didn't want to move her cold aching joints from her blankets and doubted his cold aching joints would be warmer than hers, and he was her friend, not her boyfriend.

"Even though y-you're in Maggie's room, I d-d-doubt the rule's have changed. We'd have to sssnuggle in the h-hallway." There was no warm bed in the hallway either.

"Sssince you're up, you can use the tub f-first," she offered, from the cocoon of covers she was barely poking her head out from.

---

"I'll draw the bath so you can use it." he said in return. " Never been one for the long, soaking bath sort of thing, myself." he explained, getting the hot water started and looking over the bath salts and other additives on the shelves around the tub. "Would M'lady Black care to make use of a bubble bath or bath salts?" He asked in a stiff British accent "Or perhaps a body oil. This "lickable lotion" does seem quite intriguing." The smirk was evident in his voice. "Where is Miss Wasting Away Again in Margrytaville, anyways? Playing hide the salt-shaker With Jimmy Buffet?"

---

"Nothing but w-w-water--well, maybe the vanilla ssssalts. That isn't too strong." She stood, shivering harder as she got out from the covers and approached the door with her stiff joints.

"mm-Maggie left w-with a new bo-oyfriend. Ssome Mystery man." Or woman, she realized. Margryta had been rather vague.

---

"I hardly think M'lady will be able to tell with her nose frozen in the iceberg that sunk the Titanic." Makepeace responded in a droll, nasal British tone. "Perhaps some spirits of Eucalyptus to clear your nasal.... Oh, never mind, the bottle is full of bezoars. Weird place for it."

"So, Magrathea ran off with a love interest. Good for her..." Makepeace didn't dislike the girl, but always felt like she was putting him into some list of pro's and con's and trying a little too hard to come up with more cons than pro's. Maybe because he wasn't really interested in the things that mattered most to her. Which seemed to consist of herself, mostly. "I hope she's drinking fruity umbrella drinks while he, or she, eats sushi off of her naked body."

---

Esther shivered again. "Just hurry . . . . I only said v-vanill-l-la bec-cause I d-don't want to ssmell too ssstrong. Not because I will sssssssmell it." And how the heck did he know she had wondered if Maggie's lover had been male or female? That was creepy. Sometimes Makepeace was a little uncanny.
"F-from the l-little sshe did tell me. Her l-lover was jussst the sssort to do that."

---

"OK, that's one Black vanilla fizz, neat..." He said, tossing some vanilla-scented salts into the filling bath. The hot steam coming off the tap was making his nose defrost and run a little, and like any kid, he wiped it against the back of his hand, but he refrained from washing it off in the stream of Esther's bath water; walking to the sink to do so "Yeah, she always gave me weird vibes. Knew she was kind of a freak. Good for her; high school's the time to experiment. Or is that college? Any time you're out of your family's house, really. Or so I say when I try to corrupt the other keepers. If you tell Siobhan you don't see anything wrong with naked Hump Days, I think we might get her to go along with it. I've already ordered a few books on how nudism is healthy so I can corrupt Arwen."

---

Esther gave Makepeace a double take as she crept towards the tub. "Those icicles are c-corrupting your b-b-brain tisssue, you pervvv," She tried laughing, but she was too cold. "Ookay, sssshooo." She gestured for him to leave. She was not about to get naked in front of him, especially considering where his mind was. She could peel off her clothes after he was gone and the door was locked. Then sink into the hot tub.

"Thhhannk you."

---

Makepeace was able to laugh, however, and chuckled huskily as he moved outside the bath room. "Oh, just get yourself defrosted, Esther. You, more than anybody else in this school should know that I talk a great game..." there were flower petals floating on the water, in a myriad different colors. "I'm not trying to corrupt the other keepers. I think the lighthouse chose me to protect them. Because I'm like a mean stray cat and there are some huge, fat, smelly rats running around."

[Snick]

As Esther undressed she looked closely at the petals, thinking back to herbology class . . . no, the book on flower meanings Ian had given her so long ago. Viscaria. What had they meant? Dance with me. She felt a hot tear burn through the frost on her cheek. He must have had them in his pocket. She sank into the hot water. Damn him for being so sentimental. But they already were friends again. So . . . She immersed her head and counted to twenty, thinking. Please don't go there, Makepeace . . . she thought as she rose from the steam.

So, why didn't she want to go there? She had one goal--become a professional ballet dancer. Friends were awesome. Being a friend was awesome. Being a girlfriend was complicated. It was why in her whole time in school she'd never dated the same boy more than twice. She had done some recreational kissing, but it was all in fun. She had dated boys in school on occasion, but most of the boys in school had assumed she had a steady boyfriend outside of Salem Institute, and she'd done nothing to discourage or encourage that assumption.

She'd never dated Makepeace. Their three year long silent feud had something to do with that. But deep down, she sensed that if she dated him, she wouldn't be able to keep it casual.

She sighed. Only one solution. Play stupid. Have no memory of what those petals were or what they meant. Right. She's a Black. Maybe it's a temporary stupidity from the ice in her brain, but she couldn't play stupid for long.

---

There was a thud outside the bathroom door, and then the sound of spells being fired off. "Esther!" Makepeace called from outside the door. It's uncle Walt! He Wants you to be his next princess..." Something twittered near the bottom crack of the door. "He has a cadre of woodland critters out here to help you take your bath! There're squirrels and bunnies... Deer... It's like a petting zoo out here. And he's going to make you craft a prom dress out of black velvet elvis paintings? Wait, what? Disney Princess living in a trailer park? huh? He's nuts, Esther! Stay hidden!" Things went quiet, save for tho occasional sizzle of a spell passing the door, and then Makepeace called out, "I think I know how to save you, Esther... but you have to do everything I tell you!"

---

"Okay, I'm listening, tell me what to do," she answered, enjoying the joke and glad that the bath had thawed the chattering in her teeth. "Wait, what if this cold has transported us to some alternate reality and I already am a Disney Princess?"

---

"Well, if you are, in fact a Disney Princess, then I can save you. But first, whatever you do... You must not break into song. If you break into song, that triggers the entrance of the main antagonist to grind you under their heel." He called to her with a smirk.

---

"Oh it's too late, baby, now it's too late," she sang. Then she added some more hot water, as her body temperature was already cooling this off. How come he wasn't stuttering? Did he have a mild version of this? Or maybe he was just too used to playing tough guy. As if. He was the most sentimental, easily wounded person she knew. He just wore a mask called Makepeace.

---

Makepeace leaned against the door for a moment, thinking, then sang back to her in an entreating voice. He remembered her stories of the things her chorale and glee club teachers drilled her on, including extemporaneous stuff, and decided to try and lure her into a medley. "There is freedom within... THere is freedom without... Try to catch the deluge in a paper cup." he sang back, wrappping the blanket toga around himself more tightly. He was shivering, but doing his best not to let it show, like a sick cat, hiding its illness from even its owners. "There's a battle ahead. Many battles are lost, but you'll never see the end of the road while you're traveling with me..."

---

It was about time for something from The Little Mermaid, considering where she was, but with the icicles in her brain, it wasn't coming easily... "Under the Sea" no. "Kiss the Girl" No, definitely NOT. "Les Poisson?" erm, no. "Part of Your World?" Wish I could be out of the sea, part of your world? Makepeace would see it as a come on. Maybe not Little Mermaid. She tried to think of a better Disney Princess. One who didn't end up with the prince. Were there any? Pocahontas. Okay . . . but singing about a singing grandmother tree didn't exactly work either . . . not when Disney's Pocahontas was so historically bogus.

Singing trees, huh? Okay, skip Disney all together. She went with a singing Clint Eastwood in his one, and only attempt, thank goodness, of being a singing cowboy. "I talk to the trees, but they don't listen to me. I talk to the stars. But they never hear me. The breeze hasn't time To stop and hear what I say. I talk to them all in vain." Let him try to place that one.

---

Instead of trying to pick up Esther's refrain, (wherever the hell it came from. was it the lullabye from Three Amigos? Makepeace couldn't place it ), Makepeace kept on singing the chorus from Crowded House's "Don't dream it's over." He knew, after all, that he couldn't hope to match Esther's knowledge of showtunes. "Hey now, hey now, don't dream it's over. Hey now, hey now, when the world comes innnnn... They come, they come, to build a wall between us.... But we know they won't wiiiinnnn..."

---

Esther was tired of this game, and her water was cold. But she would keep being a good sport. As she climbed out of her now tepid water, she sang, "Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got.
Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot.
Wouldn't you like to get away?
Sometimes you want to go

Where everybody knows your name,
and they're always glad you came.
You wanna be where you can see,
our troubles are all the same
You wanna be where everybody knows
Your name.

You wanna go where people know,
people are all the same,
You wanna go where everybody knows
your name."

Finishing toweling herself off, then drying her hair and putting her sweats back on. She pulled the plug on the tub and opened the door. Already feeling the chill coming back, she looked at Makepeace, who looked like shit. "May I get the tub ready for you now?"

---

"Nah, that's alright." Makepeace responded. Inspired by her choice of songs, he chose a more recent one to respond with; something she'd surely have heard on the radio, as it was pretty big. "And even though the moment passed me by, I still can't turn away.
Cuz all the dreams you never thought you'd lose, got tossed along the way.
And letters that you never meant to send, Got lost or thrown away." He sang, drawing ever closer to her, his eyes seeking hers as he sang a song written by someone he'd never met, but who had managed to capture a little bit of what it meant to be him.
"And now we're grown-up orphans that never knew their names;We don't belong to no one, That's a shame. But you could hide beside me, Maybe for a while, and I won't tell no one your name...
And I won't tell 'em your name."

[Snick]

Esther was still in retreat mode, not wanting their friendship to move beyond that. She grasped at that word name and slipped into America's "Horse with No Name," "You see I've been through the desert on a horse with no name, It felt good to be out of the rain. In the desert you can remember your name 'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain La, la,, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la . . .. .The ocean is a desert with it's life underground And a perfect disguise above Under the cities lies a heart made of stone But the humans will give no love .''

She stepped back, retreating towards her bedroom door, and sneezed. "I have to go back to b-bed. S-stay my friend, Makepeace. I'll be there for you." She felt like Jerry in a Tom and Jerry cartoon. That mouse always got away. And they were best friends, right? She opened her bedroom door, and without bothering to pull it closed behind her, dove for her bed and burrowed under the covers. (which she immediately decided she could use a half dozen more of) She hoped she didn't hurt Makepeace, but all she could give him right now was friendship. A full on relationship just wasn't part of her career plan.

---

A minute later, something molten hot settled around her; one of those promised hot-out-of-the-dryer blankets, lofted from the open doorway and guided by levitation spells to wreathe her in warmth that seemed to want to settle down into her bones. Sure, Makepeace had been Playful and flirtatious in his attempt to seduce her over. but at heart, he wasn't just some would-be beau. He cared about her, about helping her past this strange sickness, "So, is it just me, or does this illness seem a little... camp?" He asked as he tied the last of the blankets around himself

---

"I've n-never heard of it before now. I think sssomeone invented it. I mmay not be a Dissney Princssesss, but thisss illnesss could be out of one of his daytime sit coms for kids or B movies. " She shivered down into the warmed covers. "Thhank you. It's mmagical mmade and mm mmmanufactured. "

---

"If you were a Disney Princess, I would save you with a kiss. And an incantation. For I know the one thing Walt Disney despises. Deedle deedle, bubba bubba deedle deedle dum. Vhat do you have to say to that. Princess Shiksa?"

---

Esther laughed in spite of herself. "What is th-the one thing that Uncle Walt despissses, ffine ff-friend in nnneed of a y-yarmulke?"

---

"I actually have two packed away among my things. Because you just never know when you might need a yarmulke." Makepeace responded somewhat enigmatically. "Are you going to sleep now, my dear friend, or would you like for me to sit up with you for a while?"

---

"I nneed to know that you are taken care of. I nn-nneed nneed to see you are warm and safe too." Too bad he couldn't just move Maggie's bed into the hallway so they could talk easier.

When were they going to be around with hot soup and pepper up potion and all the other things they would need to be taken care of? Did the school know there were sick people in here? What if everyone was sick? How long would this last?

---

"I am warm, Esther. And about as safe as anyone can get when they're inside a legacy building they're not a member of, and flirting with the member that the betas hold most dear." He said with a chuckle. He wasn't worried about getting his ass kicked... the Betas were more likely to put those old-world hexing skills to use -- The things they learned when they were Queefingdores fighting their arch-rivals the Blitherings

---

"If I go to sleep, I might forget how cold I am. But you go to sleep too. But I am n - n - not anyone's most dear." Esther did her best to find a warm place in the covers. She hoped the elves would arrive soon with pepper-up potion, and lots of it. And maybe some heated blankets. And take better care of Makepeace because he was only pretending not to be as sick as she was . . . she was soon dreaming of being with Superman in his crystal ice cave. But why hadn't she at least brought a sweater?