A Token of Appreciation || Tape Face One-Shot ||

A Token of Appreciation

[ A/N: This one shot is sort of AUish, which is where the character of Tape Face is not a character, and is a person. ]

It was rather easy to fall into the wonderful world of Tape Face. His simplistic hand gestures becoming a language, and his odd way of making his friends laugh. Or friend, rather. Florence was Tape Face's only friend. And nobody could understand why, either. Not even Tape Face. She was simply gorgeous. Pale skin, short brown hair, and a delicate facial structure but with a glint of determination in her eyes. She spoke with elegance, and stood proud. Why she chose to be around Tape Face was a mystery. He was odd, and everyone knew that. He never spoke, his lips and the majority of the bottom half of his face being covered with a thick strip of black tape. His hair was slicked to one side, with the back spiked up in an edgy manner. He wore a simple striped shirt and a jacket, that was almost too big for him. He stood rather awkwardly, and his large eyes often freaked out anyone who look him in the face. Expect for her. She almost tumbled into his life, with her falling on top of him in her mad rush to catch the town's bus. They had been friends ever since, not that any of the townsfolk had approved. And Tape Face could understand it.

If Florence knew of her friend's thoughts, she would probably be upset. Florence had a fondness for the odd boy she had befriended, and ignored the stares of the people when they were together.

The boy in question was currently bent over what appeared like a notepad, his hand supporting his cheek, as his mind appeared to wander, within his little shed-like home. On his bed, Florence lay, her fingers wrapped around a rather battered book, with no title visible. The comfortable silence filled the small house, with the occasional sound of Tape Face's pencil marking paper and Florence's graceful turn of paper with her finger tips, fluttering around the room. A suddenly nasal sigh filled the room and Florence looked up to see Tape Face looking rather disgruntled.

"You okay, T?" The English lady said with a small frown, shifting from her laying down position to gaze upon the grunge-looking male. Tape Face jumped slightly, a quirk of his, and he twisted to quickly glance at her, then down at his book, his wide eyes looking almost alarmed. He quickly moved to cover a single page with his arm and, with his eyebrows moving upwards. He nodded erratically, before he swiftly turned and moving to rip the page from his previous notebook.
"Hey! Don't do that! You'll damage the spine!" Florence said, moving to her feet. The Boy with Tape on his Face instantly paused, his eyes looking more panicked by the passing second as they froze onto the page in question.
"You never rip your comedy ideas out... what's the matter? Let me see, it can't be that bad." Florence said as she moved closer to his cluttered desk.

This statement unfroze Tape Face and he quickly moved to throw his arms upon the open pages, his black-rimmed eyes moving to stare at her in an almost pleading manner. Instantly, Florence frowned, and took a step back. "T, what's the matter? Can't I see?" She said, her feature giving away a hint of upset, which was almost well-concealed by the British lady. Tape Face's fingers dug into the pages. And his gaze flickered to the day-dream doodle he had only just realised he'd done. Underneath his thin fingers was a small image of him, dancing with a lady, with features similar to Florence's, in a red dress, almost exactly like the one Florence was wearing today. The connotation of the picture wasn't friendship at all. It was pure romance. Tape Face felt his face and the tips of his ears heat up, and he merely glanced back at her, then down in shame. Tape Face felt awful. He always shared his work with Florence. Not letting her see almost felt like a betrayal. Florence appeared to dislike the suddenly tense atmosphere and she soon lowered her own gaze. "Don't worry, Tape Face... I won't force you to let me see." She said gingerly, her words sincere, with an undertone of badly-hidden disappointment.

The silence, which was ever-present on Tape Face's end, suddenly was very present to him, and as his eyes flickered up to his friend, he wished, very much, for it to go away. "I should actually be going, though. Freddy needs his walk and feed. I'll... see you tomorrow, T! I'll pop over and we can get some lunch." Florence said, and though her disheartened tone was still pleasant, she had a strong look of resolve on her features, as if to rush over the suddenly awkward episode. Tape Face could only watch as she moved to grab her book, his heart racing in an unnatural manner. His puppy-like eyes were almost distraught. His mind was screaming to simply grasp her hand and not let her leave. But his deer-in-headlights moment was almost preventing him from moving. His eyes followed her as she moved towards the door. And within a second she was gone. Tape Face was left alone without the sound of pages being turned or that pretty voice.

Florence was saddened. Maybe she shouldn't have left so soon. She felt guilty for pushing herself on Tape Face and acting so rashly. But her legs kept moving, into an unfortunate weather change. Rain started to patter around her, and was soon making her hair cling to her face, and the bottom of her dress stick to her legs. She crossed her arms, hunched over them, half of her cold, the other half almost hugging herself. Her sadness wasn't in what had happened with Tape Face, but rather how she left him. He looked unhappy. Almost lost in a way. She hadn't seen him look like that in a long time. Guilt clawed at her, and she tightened her arms together, the small clatter of shoes against wet pavement sounding around the sound of the rain.

If her shoes weren't making such a noise, and he rain wasn't tumbling around her, she might have heard the thundering running before a sudden hand grasped her shoulder. Florence shrieked, and turned to face her attacker, only for her brown to meet startled green, the familiar face of her best friend making her startle herself. "Tape Face?" She managed to question, ignoring the adrenaline rush not only from surprise but to see the eyeliner-loving man. Tape Face's hands moved erratically, almost as if he was trying to speak one thousand miles an hour. "Woah! T! Calm down!" Florence managed to speak out, her hands moving to grasp his forearms, stilling then to his side. His chest was heaving, from the run she could tell, and his eyes were wider than usual, in an erratic expression. Finally, he appeared to nearly slump against her hands, his head ducking down as he then appeared to finally collect himself.

In his hand, which was balled into a fist, he opened it. Inside was a scrunched up ball of paper. Florence stared at the offered material, before she gazed at the man who appeared to be nervously peeking at her from his eyelashes. "Oh Tape Face... you don't have to give me this if you don't want to." She said with a small look of complete reassurance. But Tape Face only jutted his hand towards her more. She relinquished her grip on his arms and slowly, her fingers moved to the now slightly-damp ball of paper. She picked it up and slowly unraveled it, and amongst the messy notes of performance ideas was a small sketch. Of him. And her. Her lips parted, and her eyes went wide, staring at the image in a rather shocked manner. After a second or two, she managed to lower the paper, to see Tape Face staring at the ground, his body language tense and ready to accept whatever punishment would come his way.

"Oh, Tape Face..."

He flinched. He had ended it. He had destroyed his only friendship. He knew it wouldn't last, not with a girl like her. How could he be so stupi-.

Delicate fingers moved to his chin, and his watering gaze was brought to hers, which held a spark in them he never noticed until now. Then, gingerly, Florence moved her hand to his right cheek, and lifted her other to his left, caressing his pale face. Tape Face went rigid, as slowly, the distance closed between them, and a pressure on his taped lips occurred.

Florence pressed her lips to where his would have been if she could see them. She could feel his body tense, and his cheeks felt hotter under her hands, but then, arms slowly moved to her waist, then curled around her, and as Florence let her eyes open slightly, all she saw was his black-rimmed eyes flutter closed, as the two shared something that wasn't a normal kiss, but it would be for them.

Slowly, they retracted, and both appeared almost dazed. Florence slowly smiled, but it paused, as Tape Face lifted his fingers to the edge of his black tape, and the sound of something peeling off skin could be heard in the night. Florence watched as a mouth was revealed to the man she was embracing. Not a word was spoken, as the two finally joined lips together once more, with Florence savouring the feel of Tape Face's mouth against hers. His hands moved to her back as he held her close, her own hands moving to the back of his head and his shoulder.

Oh yes. It was very easy to fall into the world of Tape Face.