Everything is Perfect

Confrontation

"There's really more to it?" Hugo questioned, pulling his pants on. "I thought I saw all of your lab already."

"Yeah, but it's... well," Varian bit his lip as he slipped a shirt over his body, "I keep the rest tucked away for a reason."

"I see. Can you tell me why this is so urgent?"

"Uh yeah." He swallowed. I'm... really doing this? His fingers found each other and wrung together. I'm showing him?

"Hey."

He looked up as soon as a hand touched his face, and it would have startled him were the gesture not so gentle. 

"Var, are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah." Putting his hand on top of Hugo's he leaned into the touch. "I think maybe I should warn you. Um," stepping away, he put his arms around himself, "when you mentioned I had some equipment and chemicals missing, and I said my experiment wasn't complete... well, I lied. I mean, it isn't complete but there's a lot more to it than what you saw before. It's not exactly... legal what I'm doing."

"What do you mean?"

He paused then heaved a sigh. "It's sort of the whole reason I went to jail in the first place."

"What?"

Unable to look at him, Varian talked to his dresser. "After I was expelled from PPU, I lost my purpose, my reason for existing. I thought, if I could prove myself to my father and everyone else who deemed me a failure, then maybe I had a chance. I needed something big. Something life changing that would draw attention and show everyone that I'm someone to take seriously. Well," he took a breath, "there happens to be a big global issue with waste disposal management right now. I made up plans and began working on a chemical solution that gets rid of waste without releasing toxic emissions. The only thing is, to create such a thing, equipment and materials are needed that your average person doesn't exactly have access to. You can probably see where this is going."

"Wait... don't tell me you were caught?"

"Yeah. After I burned through one of my bedroom's entire walls at my father's house, authorities were called, since the solution spread down through the foundation and dissolved an important waterline. Once they found the source, it didn't take long for them to find all of my equipment."

"Your solution ate through the foundation?"

"My solution has burned through so many things... It just eats up everything it touches. It ate up my hair, actually. That's why I have this." Finally turning his head back to him, Varian touched the teal in his hair.

"Your hair stripe? You don't dye it?"

"Nope. The hair follicles were completely destroyed so I got a transplant. Despite my dad's protests, I picked this color 'cause, I mean, it's my favorite color, why not?"

He opened his mouth then closed it. "So, let me get this straight. You were put in jail because you made a solution that literally destroys everything and everyone it touches and now... don't tell me you're continuing where you left off in our laundry room?"

"Uh..."

"Var."

"I mean..."

"Var."

Their eyes met. "Well, when you put it like that..."

"Do you realize how much danger and risk that puts on not just yourself, but everyone living in this apartment complex? I mean, is the solution even stored correctly?"

"Yes! Hugo don't worry!" He put his hands up reassuringly. "Nothing is being destroyed this time. I'm not making the same mistake as last time. I took extra precautions, okay."