Don't go lighting any candles (Seth)

[JENYFER SALAS-ORTIZ]

OUTFIT OF OOPS


Jeny sat in the living room, which she still found incredibly splendid, folding her and Guillermo's cloths. This had been done for a variety of reasons: She had little to do, she couldn't just keep letting Seth do the laundry as he would surly stumble upon her unmentionables, and the fact that she needed to start being useful or else Guillermo would want her out. The siblings had said little to each other, since the blow out, and not from a lack of trying on Jeny's part. Finally, she just decided to let him be, hoping he'd come around eventually.

As she folded, Jeny was surprised at the amount of pink clothing Guillermo seemed to have. It was odd, mostly because she could have sworn these things were white when she had seen him wear them. And he definitely didn't have a set of pink sheets.... Oh dear. Finding her red, cashmere sweater, Jeny's stomach dropped. Oh no! Oh no oh no! Jeny had messed up! AGAIN!

Okay, the best thing to do was to keep calm. There had to be a way to fix this.

Seth? Seth!

The way Guillermo had spoken of him, he was like some super guru when it came to cleaning. He'd know how to fix this! Flitting to his room, she knocked on his door anxiously, bouncing on the balls of her feet and clutching the pink sheets in her hands. "Seth! I need help. I think I jacked up the laundry." Jeny whimpered, hoping Seth would be able to fix this before Guillermo got home to see what she had done.

[SETH FOXWORTH]

Seth had spent the majority of the day scrubbing his walls. It wasn't that he was a neat freak, in his opinion. But, being a smoker, they would start to get a yellowish tinge. It was just unpleasant to look at. So, once again, the smell of bleach clung to Seth Foxworth as his music blared, though this time he had invested in a pair of rubber gloves. He had just finished the second wall, when he heard a swift knock on his door. Turning down his Mindless Self Indulgence, he heard Jeny's voice on the other side. "Seth! I need help. I think I jacked up the laundry."

Sighing, he opened the door, seeing her holding a pink sheet. Crossing his arms over his bare chest, he grinned in a humored way. "You didn't sort the laundry, did you?" Shaking his head, he grabbed his trusty bottle of clorox, bringing it to the living room. Sure enough, there was a pile of Guillermo's whites, all a faint, baby-doll, pink. "Niiiiiiice." He teased, laughing a little, as he picked up a once white button down. "Definitely Moe's color.""

Though Guillermo detested the name Moe, Seth still used it. Generally when his friend wasn't around. Guillermo was just a mouthful to say. Shooting a grin at Jeny, he gathered the stained clothing, plopping the bottle of bleach on top of it, and leading the way to the complex's laundry room. "Let's see what we can do."

[JENYFER SALAS-ORTIZ]

"You didn't sort the laundry, did you?" The fact that he already knew what she did wrong told Jeny that her mistake was an obvious one. She blushed as he moved past her, her brown eyes falling on a tattoo that spread across his left ribs. It was big. Bet it hurt. She decided to ask about it later. "Niiiiiiice. Definitely Moe's color."

Jeny pouted, finding his teasing unfair. Her Dad had always done the laundry, it wasn't her fault. "Sooo not funny." She grumbled, worry dampening her sense of humor. Perhaps when the cloths were fixed she would find her brother's wardrobe being dyed pink amusing. But at the moment, not at all.

The fact that he was smiling gave Jeny hope though, as he gathered the pink cloths. "Let's see what we can do." She flitted after him, grabbing the sack of quarters the the three roomies had collected for laundry.

"I have faith in you." Jeny's bubblegum voice rang through the halls, as the two headed for the creepy basement. Seriously, it was like a place where serial killers bred. Seth didn't seem worried though, so Jeny stuck close by him. "Apparently you're like the love child of the Pine-Sol lady and Mr. Clean." She flipped on the light, hoisting herself on the folding table that no one ever used, watching Seth closely. She would most certainly make this mistake again, so she might as well learn how to handle it. "So, where'd you learn how to be such an epic neat freak? You're parents super germaphobes or something?"

[SETH FOXWORTH]

Seth decided she was kind of cute, when indignant. Well, she was just kind of cute. He stood by his first assessment of her, that she was hot. It wasn't even worth denying at this point. But the more Seth got to know Jeny, the cuter she got. Like an angry kitten, or an annoyed puppy. Basically any animal in it's baby state. Everything about her seemed to scream out for protection, from her innocent brown eyes to her bubble gum pop voice. Of course, it would also have to be noted, that Seth had no aspirations of dating Jeny. She was Guillermo's little sister, and the two had FINALLY ceased any tensions as far as who wanted to date who.

Still, he did get a little kick out of it, when she gushed at him. "I have faith in you." She smelled like cotton candy. That was weird, he wondered if she had it in some sort of perfume or something. Or if that was just how she smelled. "Apparently you're like the love child of the Pine-Sol lady and Mr. Clean." Well, that was a bit of an exaggeration. Having a healthy interest in clean air vents was completely normal. Jeny hoisted herself up on the folding table as Seth started the washing machine, adding a generous amount of bleach. "So, where'd you learn how to be such an epic neat freak? You're parents super germaphobes or something?"

He laughed at this. "Hardly. My Dad worked too much to really care how the house looked, and my Ma... well... she's complicated." Seth shrugged, not wanting to get into that. "Naw, I've just never liked dirt... but it got worse when I went to juvie. If you're the stinky guy in the cell, bad things happen to you, so you learn to be the cleanest of the bunch." Seth explained, as he put the cloths in evenly, one by one. "See, everyone gets a job in jail. You got your law guy, who helps people prepare for parole. You got your coffee guy, sells coffee. Some guys tutor, other guys stash food to sell. I did laundry, shined shoes, mended shit. I am the king of ironing." There was a certain amount of pride to this, as he said it. That had, after all, how he had stayed off from anyone's shit list without joining a gang.

[JENYFER SALAS-ORTIZ]

"Hardly. My Dad worked too much to really care how the house looked, and my Ma... well... she's complicated." Jeny cocked her head slightly, as he grazed over his Mother. "Naw, I've just never liked dirt... but it got worse when I went to juvie. If you're the stinky guy in the cell, bad things happen to you, so you learn to be the cleanest of the bunch." Oh. That was right. Seth had been in jail for awhile. Something about stealing a car or something. She wondered how he could speak so casually about something, that sounded so terrifying.

"Sounds scary." She said, bringing her knees up. Poor Seth, it must be hard for him, with a record and all. It was probably why he didn't have a job, or he didn't go to school.

Jeny watched him load the cloths, as he explained how prison trade worked. "See, everyone gets a job in jail. You got your law guy, who helps people prepare for parole. You got your coffee guy, sells coffee. Some guys tutor, other guys stash food to sell. I did laundry, shined shoes, mended shit. I am the king of ironing." Jeny grinned at the pride in his voice. He was truly the king of clean.

"And some guys do tattoo's?" She inquired, poking his rib gently. It didn't look bad, but some parts were darker than others, and a light scaring could be seen through the ink. All and all, it looked pretty intricate. "Did it hurt? I bet it hurt. How long did it take?" Jeny was one of those strikingly annoying people who had always thought about tattoo's, but were too petrified to get one. Guillermo had one, she knew, a J on his back for the home town of Juarez. Jeny thought it was stupid, but too each there own she supposed. Next thing she'd know was that he was getting a rose drawn on his left cheek, and she wasn't talking about his face.

[SETH FOXWORTH]

"Sounds scary." Jeny replied, her voice nervous and sympathetic. Oh, it had been. There was no feeling quite like your first night locked up, knowing the next day you would have to face your new peers. Peers who were much bigger than a stout thirteen year old, stronger too. And angrier, couldn't forget angrier.

Still, Seth shrugged, closing the lid of the washing machine. "You get use to it, after a while. Head down, eyes up. That's the basic principal..." He hoisted himself up next to her, never leaving laundry alone, as she poked his tattoo.

Oh, that.

"And some guys do tattoo's?" Seth nodded, a wistful smile on his face. His old roommate, Chewbacca. His name hadn't really been Chewbacca, the guy had just been a beast. Tall and hairy. Seth couldn't remember for the life of him, the guys real name. "Did it hurt? I bet it hurt. How long did it take?" He loved her curious voice. It was so innocent and sweet, unable to contain herself to one question at a time.

"You would bet right." Seth laughed. "Course, most of it was done with a sharpened paperclip jimmy rigged to an electric toothbrush..." Seth tried to remember how long it took, rubbing his chin. "I'd say it took about a year. They wanted to do something smaller, but I insisted on this monstrosity, just because I wanted to show how tough I was." Laughng at his own stupidity, he shifted to face Jeny, holding his hand out. "You know how to play slaps?"

[JENYFER SALAS-ORTIZ]

"You would bet right. Course, most of it was done with a sharpened paperclip jimmy rigged to an electric toothbrush... I'd say it took about a year. They wanted to do something smaller, but I insisted on this monstrosity, just because I wanted to show how tough I was." Jeny's eyes widened, horrified at what he was describing. A PAPER CLIP? She wondered how they disinfected it, but before she could ask, he held his hands out to her. "You know how to play slaps?"

Jeny grinned, putting her palms over his, flinching them back as he moved. "So, riddle me this Seth." Jeny asked, giggling as she put her hands back over his. "How are you single? I mean, Guillermo was a total jerks to girls, and they couldn't get enough of him. You are not only NOT a jerk," She laughed as he landed a stinging little slap on top of her hand, positioning hers under his. "But you also clean and do laundry, and aren't too bad on the eyes..." She tried to strike, but failed, scrunching her nose at his quickness.

She knew the lack of schooling and lack of a job didn't help, but he really was a nice guy. Even Guillermo couldn't help but like him, and Seth had been after his precious Rose. She tried again, watching him dart away, and Jeny looked at him pouting slightly. "Okay, you're totally cheating." Perhaps he was still secretly hung up on Rose? If so, he was hiding it well, becoming a super advocate for Guillermo and hers reuniting or whatever. "Actually, on that note, how did you get over Rose so quick? I mean, you went from beating my bro's face in, to practically becoming his campaign manager. What hell dude?" Jeny grinned testingly, hoping she wasn't being a nosy parker.

[SETH FOXWORTH]

Seth smiled a crooked grin as Jeny put her hands over his, his eyes matching the smile as he psyched her, sending her into a surge of giggles. "So, riddle me this Seth." He looked up, wondering if she knew she had quoted a batman villain there. "How are you single? I mean, Guillermo was a total jerks to girls, and they couldn't get enough of him. You are not only NOT a jerk," Seth took the opportunity to surprise her, his fingers tingling a little from the impact. Accepting defeat, she took the bottom. "But you also clean and do laundry, and aren't too bad on the eyes..."

Her brown eyes were focused on getting him back as he answered, his eyebrows raising. "Because girls love Jerks. Don't deny it, they totally do." Seth informed her, pulling his hands back. "Like my buddy No-Good says, Bitches love guys who show no love to the bitches. Though I should point out, I do have a date with this real nice girl coming up. So it's not like I'm a date-tard or anything." Seth shrugged, dodging her again.

Her heart face pouted in frustration. "Okay, you're totally cheating."

"Am not." He denied, laughing. "I just got skills."

Seeming to ignore him, she went back to the prior topic. "Actually, on that note, how did you get over Rose so quick? I mean, you went from beating my bro's face in, to practically becoming his campaign manager. What hell dude?" It was a fair question, and a good observation. He was only gone, for what?, two, two and a half weeks.

"Guess I just figured out it wasn't meant to be. 'Sides, I dunno if it was really me being in love with her, so much as me never exploring other options." Seth shrugged again, though this time a bit sheepishly. He held his hand still, letting her make contact, watching in amusement at the victory washed over her. "He makes her happy, anyway, that's all I really want for her." Seth's pale blue eyes lingered up to Jeny, as he positioned himself on the bottom. "On the subject of Rose, any particular reason you're convinced she's the anti-christ?"

[JENYFER SALAS-ORTIZ]

"Because girls love Jerks. Don't deny it, they totally do. Like my buddy No-Good says, Bitches love guys who show no love to the bitches." Jeny rolled her eyes at this often true misconception. She did not like jerks. She liked nice guys, like Seth. "Though I should point out, I do have a date with this real nice girl coming up. So it's not like I'm a date-tard or anything." Jeny's doe brown eyes looked up at him, a smile playing on her lips.

"Oooh la la. What's her name, Romeo?" Jeny teased, making a kissy face at him. It was good that he had met a nice girl. Seth should totally go out with a nice girl.

He had no aversion to her nosy questions, answering them lightly, like he had been expecting them all along. "Guess I just figured out it wasn't meant to be. 'Sides, I dunno if it was really me being in love with her, so much as me never exploring other options." Jeny snickersnorted a little, glad that at least one guy in her life was checking out options other than Rose. "He makes her happy, anyway, that's all I really want for her."

"Yeah, why don't you tell her that..." Jeny said, her voice sounding as though it was meant to be a joke, but the bitterness so thick it clouded it.

His next question surprised her, though she still managed to get his hand. "On the subject of Rose, any particular reason you're convinced she's the anti-christ?" He put his hands beneath hers, though she pulled hers away, annoyed.

"That's an exaggeration, don't you think?" Jeny said, crossing her arms. "I don't think she's the anti-christ, I don't even hate her." Her voice had an incredibly princessy so-there-ness to it. "I just highly dislike her, and find her to be an uber manipulative soul eater who sucks the life out of guys unfortunate enough to fall in love with her." Hrm, even to her that sounded a lot like hate.

[SETH FOXWORTH]

Seth blushed as Jeny made kissy noises at him, teasing him about his upcoming date. "Oooh la la. What's her name, Romeo?" Rolling his eyes, he grinned nonetheless.

"Mallory. She's a friend of Rose's, I met her after the accident." He barely remembered the meeting, other than her scolding him about punching Guillermo in the face. "And before you ask, yes, she's gorgeous. Way out of my league, actually, And bright, and tough. A little spoiled, but I actually kind of dig that in a chick." He still wondered why Mallory agreed to go on the date with him, was still stunned that she had come on to him. He was no Brad Pitt after all.

As Jeny scoffed about Rose, he thought about the girl's first meeting. Jeny seemed pretty determined from the get-go not to like Rose, it seemed a little unfair. She pulled her hands away, annoyed with his observation of her less than genial disposition to Rose. "That's an exaggeration, don't you think?" He raised his eyebrow, not really thinking so, but not wanting to disagree aloud. "I don't think she's the anti-christ, I don't even hate her. I just highly dislike her, and find her to be an uber manipulative soul eater who sucks the life out of guys unfortunate enough to fall in love with her." Gosh, they really were just alike, Jeny and Rose. Both were hard headed, both played semantics like it was no one else's game. Both were temperamental, indulged, always had to be right, hard headed...

"You've really done a fantastic job convincing me you don't hate her." Seth joked, chuckling a little, digging his cigarettes out of his pants pocket. "C'mon, she's no that bad Jen. Hard headed, sure. Complicated? Absolutely. But she has a reason for everything she does, even if we don't quite get it. And she makes Guillermo happy." Seth didn't want to tell her what the should be important here, but someone should. As long as they were happy, what difference did it make to anyone else.

[JENYFER SALAS-ORTIZ]

"Mallory.She's a friend of Rose's, I met her after the accident. And before you ask, yes, she's gorgeous. Way out of my league, actually, And bright, and tough. A little spoiled, but I actually kind of dig that in a chick." Seth explained, a little whimsy in his voice as he did so.

Jeny grinned, twisting her waist length brown hair around her finger. "Well, in my opinion, there are two kinds of guys in the world. Ones who think that no girl is out of there league. Charmers like my Dear Brother for instance. And then there are the guys who think EVERY girl is out of there league. Those are what we girls-who-don't-like-jerks call the nice ones." Jeny giggled, punching Seth playfully in the arm. "Still, this Mallory sounds a little too good to be true, so spill. What's wrong with her?" She smirked, waiting for the answer that she's 'too perfect' or something along them lines.

She couldn't help but grin as he teased her point of view on Rose. "You've really done a fantastic job convincing me you don't hate her." But the smile faded, as she watched him pull a cigarette out of his pocket, trying to convince her about how Rose wasn't 'so bad'. "C'mon, she's no that bad Jen. Hard headed, sure. Complicated? Absolutely. But she has a reason for everything she does, even if we don't quite get it. And she makes Guillermo happy." She took his pack out of his hands, grabbing a cigarette for herself. Not because she smoked, or anything like that. More just to try it out.

"You mean when she's not driving him to insanity, or at the very least, tears." Jeny answered, scathingly. "Thanks, but I think that goes a little beyond 'hard-headed' and 'complicated'. More in the realms of 'bat-shit-crazy' and 'in-need-of-some-serious-therapy-to-deal-with-those-intimacy-issues'." She put the cigarette to her lips, waiting expectantly for Seth to light it for her, a little nervous that she would do it wrong. But how could she, right. You just inhale.

[SETH FOXWORTH]

"Well, in my opinion, there are two kinds of guys in the world. Ones who think that no girl is out of there league. Charmers like my Dear Brother for instance. And then there are the guys who think EVERY girl is out of there league. Those are what we girls-who-don't-like-jerks call the nice ones." Seth laughed at the assessment, trying to think of a girl he'd consider in his league. He found himself quite surprised at the fact that he couldn't think of anyone. Hrm, maybe there was something to that little tidbit of wisdom.

Chuckling, he shrugged in acceptance. "I suppose I'm categorized as the latter?" It felt kind of good, that he was the kind that Jeny herself liked. Not that there was any chance of that happening.

Jeny continued her assessment of the situation. "Still, this Mallory sounds a little too good to be true, so spill. What's wrong with her?"

Blushing, Seth looked down at his feet, shrugging a little. "Nothing, unless you count the fact that she is well off, so her parents probably wouldn't be too keen on her dating the poster child for New York's version of white trash... or the fact that she's... well... more experienced than me. But really, who isn't." Not that he thought Mallory to be a ho, in any sense. But the confidence that dripped off from her when she came on too him... well, she obviously knew what she was doing. And, from what Seth had gathered, her and Guillermo had been 'intimate' at one point. There was something really intimidating about following up after a guy who actually knew what the hell he was doing.

Jeny was not receptive to his response on the Rose situation, which was of no shock to Seth. He hadn't foreseen her too be. What really surprised him was that she grabbed one of his cigarette's, since, as far as he knew, she did not smoke. "You mean when she's not driving him to insanity, or at the very least, tears. Thanks, but I think that goes a little beyond 'hard-headed' and 'complicated'. More in the realms of 'bat-shit-crazy' and 'in-need-of-some-serious-therapy-to-deal-with-those-intimacy-issues'." He lit hers first, closing the door to the laundry room, before lighting his own, laughing a little.

"What a coincidence. Your brother's exact fetish just so happens to be 'bat-shit-crazy' and 'in-need-of-some-serious-therapy-to-deal-with-those-intimacy-issues'." Seth inhaled his cigarette, watching Jeny closely as she handled hers. He wondered if it would make her puke, like when he had his first smoke. "I mean, that's his exact idea of hawwwwwt." Seth laughed richly, nudging Jeny before checking the washer, which was on it's last spin cycle.

[JENYFER SALAS-ORTIZ]

"I suppose I'm categorized as the latter?" She nodded her head in the affirmative, grinning at him widely. He seemed to accept this easily enough, as he went on to say what was wrong with Mallory. "Nothing, unless you count the fact that she is well off, so her parents probably wouldn't be too keen on her dating the poster child for New York's version of white trash... or the fact that she's... well... more experienced than me. But really, who isn't."

She couldn't help but giggle. She had asked what was wrong with the girl, and he instead answers with issues he finds within himself. It was kind of sweet, really. But his admission did give her a a bit of information that was a bit more surprising than it should have been. Was Seth a Virgin? It would make sense, seeing as how he went to juvie so young. But, then again, people had sex younger and younger these days. "So... that could mean a whole lot of things. Like, exactly how experienced are you?" Her natural curiosity got the better of her, as she asked the INCREDIBLY personal question, with little qualms at all.

He lit her cigarette, and she inhaled, sending her into a coughing fit. It tasted awful, and her entire throat burned in discomfort. But she got a hold of herself, aware of Seth watching her closely, as if waiting for a third arm to appear. She held the cigarette delicately, as if it was no big deal, dreading the next hit she'd have to take.

"What a coincidence. Your brother's exact fetish just so happens to be 'bat-shit-crazy' and 'in-need-of-some-serious-therapy-to-deal-with-those-intimacy-issues'." Had they been talking about someone who WASN'T her brother, Jeny would have laughed. Instead she scrunched her face, as if Seth had just said something really disgusting. Which, he kind of did. She was well aware of Guillermo's sexual status, though she wished she wasn't. It really didn't need to be put in her face, especially as it was being thrown in there with Rose. Gross. Seriously. "I mean, that's his exact idea of hawwwwwt."

"Gross." She moaned, pressing the cigarette to her pink lips carefully, taking a smaller hit. It went down easier than the first one.