Fix You ~Completed~

Act Twenty-Seven

"Cinnamon Roll!" was what we were greeted by as Gale dragged Eddie and me inside of the café. Standing behind the counter was Jimmy and Jimmy alone. On two stools in front of him were Alto and the boy with the Bon Jovi t-shirt I sometimes saw hanging around them. If I remembered right, he was also in drama. "Lyric, have you met Cinnamon Roll yet?"

"Alto is Cinnamon Roll, what are you talking about?" the Bon Jovi kid- Lyric, I guess- sassed back at Jimmy, his arms crossed in front of him. Whipping around on the stool, he gave me a once over. "I didn't realize you were the scamp Eddie and Gale took in."

The look Eddie shot Lyric wasn't the friendliest. "He isn't a scamp."

"He calls all short, cute people a scamp," Alto informed Eddie, gesturing to three milkshakes that were set out on the counter. Without hesitation, Gale bolted and took one. "He calls me a scamp."

Lyric sipped on his own milkshake. Through the plastic, I could see it was strawberry flavored ice cream. "How do you do, Clementine?" he said, giving me a bow.

I rubbed the back of my neck nervously, hating that I was being forced to correct someone. "It's just Clem actually," I whispered, moving closer to Eddie. Ever so gently, he drew me into his side and set his arm around my shoulders. I felt safe when he hugged me like that.

This interaction had every boy in the room, save for Gale, getting wide-eyed. "Holy shit!" Jimmy squealed excitedly. "Clem, you left the crap-bag for Eddie? Oh my good golly, I am so fricking proud of you!"

Wait, what?

For some reason, Lyric looked impressed. "I didn't realize you went that way, Eddie. Good job defeating jock stereotypes."

My friend let me scamper out of his grip, hands tucked deep in my hoodie pockets and stammer, "We aren't dating!"

"And I'm bisexual, Lyric." I shot Eddie a look, letting him know that wasn't exactly helping. He took note of that and sighed apologetically. "Clemmy and I are just buddies. Close buddies."

Gale slurped loudly from his milkshake. "You kidding me? You guys are always touching. Eddie and I have been best bros since we were in preschool and he's never been this affectionate towards me. I like hugs too, Eddie, and cuddles, and kisses."

A gasp came from Alto. The blonde, who made had two or three inches on me, leaped off his stool. "Kisses?" he pressed, hands against his cheeks.

"On the forehead!" I said quickly, stepping back when Alto came towards me. In his hands was the milkshake. "I'm okay. Thank you for the offer."

"You're too thin, sweet boy," Jimmy informed me. "I made yours extra awesome. It has caramel and cinnamon in it. Alto tested the flavor out for me yesterday and said it was the best thing he's ever tasted."

Lyric huffed, "He's biased."

I hesitantly accepted the milkshake and thanked the boys. Eddie took his as well and smoothed back my hair. "Ready to give Clemmy a trim?" he asked Jimmy, catching on I was in a hurry to get the hell out of here.

With a chuckle, Jimmy lead our troupe out of the café once he closed up and we were brought to one of the dorm buildings. "This is our humble abode! We tried talking Lyric into letting us do it as his place since he has hardwood floorings, but he wouldn't give in," Jimmy said as he unlocked the door to his and Alto's dorm. The boy in the red coat ushered us inside and dramatically referenced to a single chair set up in the middle of the room.

Alexander Hamilton, Roxie Hart, The Phantom of the Opera, and Evan Hansen all stared at us from the walls as Jimmy prepped me in the chair. An old blanket was placed in front of me and another was on the floor to catch my blonde locks.

Hesitantly, I glanced at Jimmy as he started spraying my hair with something. "J-Jimmy?" I spoke up, realizing something quite suddenly. "Can you n-not cut it too short?"

"Why?"

I dropped my eyes. "I-I don't want Kyla to get mad," I whispered. If it was too close a cut, he might not like it. He might not like me if I have short hair. "Can you keep it longer?"

With a sigh, Jimmy set his hands on my shoulder. I could feel the cold metal of a pair of scissors through my hoodie. "I will leave it as long as I physically can, Clem, but I need to fix this up. Can't promise you anything," he admitted, giving me a quick squeeze. I swallowed my whimper. "You okay?"

"Yeah," I stammered. "I, um, just have a bruise there."

Jimmy's hands flew off me in an instant. "So sorry, sweetie," he murmured. His hand went to the back of my head and started combing through the choppy strands. "How did your hair get so messed up?"

"I cut it myself," I said.

"Why?" As he said this, I heard the first snip! Across the room, Alto was showing Gale photos from their play rehearsals while Lyric played on his phone and Eddie sat on the edge of one of the boys' beds watching Jimmy cut my hair. Uneasy, I smiled at him. Eddie returned it. "Clem?"

"Oh, sorry," I apologized. Without realizing it, I had dozed, forgetting to answer his question. "It's just hard for me to l-let a stranger get close to me. I think the last time I got a proper trim was in middle school when my mom took me."

"Jesus! Middle school? Clem, you little cupcake!"

"Now he's a cupcake?" was Lyric's less-than-impressed groan. I giggled, listening to Jimmy drag the sheers across my thin mane and snip more off.

A few moments of silence went between the boy with the pink tipped hair and I. Alto and Gale were chattering like mad about some musical where a boy digests a computer to become popular and Eddie had struck up a conversation with Lyric finally about the pointlessness of New Year's Resolutions.

I swayed my legs back and forth, thinking about my own New Year's Resolutions. What would be a good idea for me?

Before I could come up with anything good, Jimmy spoke up in a soft whisper, "Kyla doesn't give you money to do things, does he?"

Halting my actions, I responded, "Not really."

"Do you get an allowance?"

"No."

"Does he forbid you to get a job?"

"Yes. He says he wants to provide for us. I think it makes him feel good about himself."

"He's compensating," Lyric called out. At the same time, Jimmy and Eddie hissed his name. Confused, he scoffed, "What?"

Innocently, I looked at Lyric. "What does that mean?"

"It means he has a tiny-"

"A tiny regard for human life. He doesn't give a shit about anyone but himself and Clem is too good for him," Jimmy muttered bitterly, dragging his hand along my hairline. It felt so cold. I could tell Jimmy had cut a great deal off. "I'm done. Wanna check yourself out in the mirror?"

The blanket was removed from on top of me and I walked numbly over to the mirror hanging on the wall. Along its frame were pictures of the theater boys performing on stage and posing next to two women I recognized as teachers from the school. I wondered if one of them was Jimmy's poor mom.

"Oh my god, you look so fabulous, Lem!" Gale exclaimed. I tried to hide my blush as I met my own eyes in the mirror.

I didn't know what to say. "Jimmy," I stammered, lifting my hand to touch the soft fluff that was my hair. It wasn't cut to my ears; Jimmy had been kind and let it hang smoothly past. For the first time in so long, I actually kind of appeared normal. Without that messy nest on top of my head, I came off as much healthier. I smiled. "I-I haven't looked this good in years."

"Aw, cupcake!" Jimmy cooed, rushing over to pull me into a hug. "You always look good."

It was so kind of him to lie for me.

When Jimmy spun me out so he could show me off to the others and mortify me, I finally noticed how Eddie was gaping at me. His eyes were soft and his cheeks appeared as though someone had rubbed rose petals against them.

I gave him a shy wave.

All Eddie said was, "Beautiful."