Lockjaw (Joshler)

52. Lice

***Trigger warnings for mentions of bugs, mentions of child neglect, mentions of self harm scars, panic attacks, and mentions of past suicidal thoughts.***

Start the song. It's Leader of the Landslide by the Lumineers.

It wasn't Josh's intention for his expression to display how surprised he was when Frangipane came into his cell with her dark hair free of the braids it had been in for so long. It was damp, surprisingly short, and far curlier than his had ever been. This was the first time it had ever occurred to him that he'd only ever seen her hair pulled back into a bun or braids, concealing its true length and texture.

He clearly hadn't hidden his emotions very well though because Frangipane pointed at him and told him tiredly, "One joke about my hair, and I'm out of here."

"There's nothing funny about it. I'm just wondering why it's wet in the middle of your shift," Josh replied honestly.

She huffed, finally giving in and plopping down into the metal folding chair that had been left beside his bed by Hoppus. Her boots immediately dropped themselves lightly onto Josh's stomach, allowing him to hold onto them with a loose grip.

"Half of gen pop was transferred back in from the other facility. Almost everyone who came back had lice, so I shaved about fifty heads today and then had to have another guard use lice shampoo on my head just in case. It's been a long day," Frangipane informed him.

Josh smiled slightly at that, already having years of experience with having his head shaved during lice outbreaks. "Did they change out your uniforms too?" He asked.

"Should they have?" Frangipane asked, looking a bit nervously down at her clothes.

Josh laughed, fiddling with one of her shoelaces as he predicted, "Yeah, I'm probably gonna have lice by tomorrow."

Frangipane instantly shot off the chair, her boot leaving Josh's hand as absolute guilt drenched her features. "Oh my god, Josh. I didn't even think about my uniform. I wouldn't have come in here if I'd realized there was even a chance I could-"

"Dude, it's fine. I've had lice a million times. You don't grow up in the prison system without getting your fair share of mental health issues, minor contagious illnesses, and lice. It's in the brochure," Josh reassured her jokingly. When she still looked like she was upset with herself, Josh added, "Plus, I was gonna have to shave my head again soon anyway. My hair's way too fucking long now."

"I'm sorry, Josh," she told him once again before sitting back down in the chair, not making any move to touch him this time.

"Please just act normal, and I'll let you check my hair before you leave. If I have lice, you can shave my head, and I won't be sad about it," Josh promised her. Once again, she seemed hesitant to expose him to the tiny little bugs he'd already been exposed to, so he added, "I'll tell you about my phone call with Tyler earlier and the possibility of you meeting him today."

For a moment, her excitement piqued, but then she was climbing onto his bed with anxiety on her face. "I can't meet him with my hair like this!" She exclaimed, making Josh snort.

"You look cute with your short little curly hair. I would definitely flirt with you about it if I hadn't talked to Tyler today," Josh reassured her, tagging the extra bit of information on at the end because he knew she'd be too interested in deciphering it to keep being self-conscious. He found her hand atop the covers and squeezed it instead of touching her wet hair as he added honestly, "Actually, just for the record, you're beautiful no matter what your hair is doing. You could shave your head and still be the prettiest girl I've ever met, which is saying something since I've never seen you wearing makeup or when you're dressed up or anything. You're just naturally like this, and that includes your curly hair, so don't worry about what anybody else is thinking about your hair right now."