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“Hey, wasn’t expecting you to be here!”

Melody took her foot off the sewing machine pedal and turned around to see Jamie leaning casually against one of the mannequins, one arm draped over its headless shoulders like some sort of pimp wannabe walking down the street. “Seriously? Get off that!” She got up from her seat and shooed him away from her current project and ushered him over to the couch.

“What?” He sounded almost offended and in the most dramatic way held the back of his hand against his forehead and with his other hand reached out to the human torso shaped pin cushion “farewell my love!”

“Good God,” Try as she might to keep herself from laughing, Melody let out an undignified snort and shook her head at his shitty performance. “Sometimes I have to wonder how the hell you got hired.”

“What can I say? Handsome looks and a charming smile goes a long way.” Jamie flopped over onto the two-seater couch and slung his feet over the armrest. “So, are you going to tell me why you’re here on your day off?”

Melody sighed, “We’re a week and a half away from the start of our next play and a few weeks after that is the haunted theater event. There were several outfits in need of repair so I figured I’d come in.” No big deal, plus she could use the overtime with the holidays just around the corner. “That and I spoke with Emily last week. She has a friend that has an event going on this weekend and asked if I could help style his hair.” She turned around to look at the clock. “Should be here in the next fifteen to twenty minutes I’m guessing.”

“Cool cool. You have fun with that.” He knew full well that she was highly capable of some pretty intricate hairstyles especially when they did A Midsummer Night's Dream performance a few years ago. Some of the fey styles were pretty amazing. “Well- I’m going to take off then, you have fun.” Jamie sat up and made a motion similar to tipping his had in her direction then got up to leave.

He retreated away from the workstations, around the curtains and disassembled stage sets to the stairs that lead to the seating area towards the theater lobby. It was there he saw someone that appeared to be kind of lost. “Hi there! Looking for someone?”

“Ah, yeah. She just mentioned someone was coming to see her.” Jamie brought his hands up to his mouth and drew in a deep breath then yelled loudly. “MELZ! YOUR GUEST IS HERE!” He smiled almost triumphantly when the sound of something clamoring to the floor in the back echoed through the theater.

It took all her effort to not go out there and just lay into her co-worker for being such a nuisance. Instead, she pursed her lips into a thin line and drew in a calming breath in a feeble attempt to settled her nerves a bit.

I’m going to kill him… she vowed. Come first showing he may, or may not, have a nice size hole in the crotch of his pants from a weak seam for being a pain in the a**.

While he expected to hear her swearing Jamie knew when she appeared on stage that she was trying to be good and bite her tongue to save face which was a pity really because he was actively trying to get her flustered. “You could have just brought him back…” Melody gave him an annoyed look that promised retribution the next time she saw him.

He smirked in response and waved his hand dismissively. “Could have, should have, but didn’t.” Jamie clapped a hand on Torrey’s shoulder and smiled at the very handsome young man then turned back to Melody. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t.”

“Which is absolutely nothing…” She quipped back and rolled her eye. The guy was shameless sometimes. “Just get going will ya?” Melody sighed and shook her head then literally pushed him out the entry doors.

Walking back to the lobby where she had left her guest she reached a hand out to him in greeting. “You must be Torrey. My name is Melody, or Melz, either or is fine.”

Melody blinked back in surprise and felt a little bit of a blush rise up on her cheeks. I have no idea what he just said… But move over Legolas...

Emily had warned that her friend was very much into Tolkin lore and languages but kind of neglected to mention that he both looked, and sounded like an elven prince that just walked right off the screen. A part of her felt glad that Emily wasn’t there if only because she knew her friend would have been primed and waiting with a cellphone camera out just waiting for her surprised reaction.

“Thank you,” She replied once she was able to remember how to speak again. Great first impression Mel, way to go. Had she been alone right now, Melody would have just facepalmed so hard at herself for how awkward she felt and sounded. “Why don’t you follow me to the back, I have a station set up.” Melody turned around and motioned for him to come along with a wave of her hand.

“I take it she was able to forward you some of the wedding photos from this past summer?” Hazarding a glance over her shoulder, she allowed herself a brief second to take in his gorgeously designed outfit. The detail work was simply stunning and a part of her wanted to look at it more closely if only to get an idea on how to improve some of her own designs. “Was there a particular design you leaned more towards or did you bring a photo with you?”

Melody knew these hallways like the back of her own hand and as such, she wasn’t too concerned with watching where she was going as she swiped her fingers over the screen. While she was definitely trying to remain professional, internally she was swooning over some of the photos in the album he shared.

“I don’t know who your photographer is, but some of these look like you belong in the movie. If I didn’t know any better I’d be inclined to ask which character you were cast as.” Minimal effects needed when your subject was quite literally the living embodiment of elven royalty.

Some people could be the most talented designers when creating their outfits but the moment someone holds a camera in their face they become a derpy mess with awkward smiles. Which is one reason she rarely, if ever, shared photos of some of her earlier outfits from when she was in high school. Cosplay was still a relatively new concept as were some of the conventions but over time she had grown in her crafts and turned what use to be a hobby into a career.

For a moment she paused to zoom in on one of his portraits so she could see some of the more finer braids to get a better idea of styles Torrey leaned towards. “It looks like you tend to lean more towards the finer braids rather than the thicker Daenerys Targaryen ones.” Less Viking or conqueror and more precise or regal. “I think I have a pretty good idea of what to do.”

Melody handed him back his phone then opened one of the dressing room doors. With her foot, she moved the door stopper in the way in case he felt apprehensive about being alone with her in a closed-off. There were still stagehands wandering around the back area but they knew not to bother her unless it was an emergency.

“No pressure…” Melody laughed somewhat teasingly. Thankfully Emily had kind of warned her ahead of time and so she came prepared with her professional tools and a special tool that looked similar to a large plastic big eye needle used for threading hair through a braid more easily.

The pictures he shared at least gave her a pretty good idea of what kind of style he typically gravitated towards. With hair as long as his, her fingers were going to be tired after this but as long as he was happy with the design in the end, then the pains would be worth it and so she escorted him across the room to her work station.

It was clear that the mirror that was mounted on the wall had at one point been a prop used on stage but rather than tossing it she repurposed it instead. On the desk, there was an assortment of accessories including two simple wire wrapped headpieces, some golden ivy pins and a few really thin delicate chains with what looked like crystal beads hanging on the ends. They weren’t real but in the right light, it looked like they could be.

“I wasn’t sure if you were going to bring anything so I raided our stash to give you a few additional options.” Melody pulled the seat out from under the desk; it was more of an ergonomic desk chair on a swivel base rather than a professional salon quality seat but it was all she had access to for now at least. If business kept up she may need to consider renting space from the local hairdresser so she could have a more professional place to meet clients.

His compliment brought a true smile to her face and while he back was currently towards her, she knew he could see it in the mirror's reflection. “I appreciate the vote of confidence. It makes me feel a lot better about my work.” Hearing that from a friend made it somewhat easy to handwave as them simply being nice or just telling her what she wanted to hear because they were tired of looking at photos, but coming from a complete stranger it oddly enough held more merit.

Melody combed her fingers through his hair if only to get a feel for the texture she was going to be working with. So not fair… she thought as the silken strands slid through her fingers. Times like this she actually wished her hair wasn’t so wavy.

It took a second for her to register that Torrey had asked her a question and after a moment's hesitation she responded. “I’ve always had a passion for the performing arts and so I got a degree in Theater with an emphasis on set design. However, around that same time, I started going to more conventions and from them, I developed a bit of a passion for fashion illustration and design after going to a few cosplay panels and seeing some of the unique costumes people were building using various materials.” It was several years later that people started using EVA foam or Worbla to make armor but once those were introduced it became a bit of a game-changer for some of the outfits they wore here. More lightweight than metal and easier to move in several of the performers were actually grateful for the change in material.

“What about you?” Melody reached for one of the combs with a metal handle, the tip was rounded but it allowed to make very clean parts. “You mentioned that you were still unpacking. Did you just get back from a recent trip or were you going to school out of state?” An odd time to be coming back to Destiny if that was the case but it wasn’t unheard of for students to complete their degrees in the Fall or Winter quarters either.

With deft hands, Melody sectioned off the top section of hair about a half in above his ears. She carefully twisted it then clipped it to the top of his head for a moment while she quickly braided the rest of his hair to keep it out of the way temporarily while she worked on the weave.

It was nice to know that he understood how both her hobby and work related to one another. For a time she had considered entering the cosplay competitions but to actually be able to have a shot at winning, or even placing, it would require a team and that was just something she didn’t have. Melody had experience with painting and sewing as well as resin casting. She dabbled in other crafts such as wire wrapping for metal accessories but anything pertaining to LED lights a skill she did not yet possess.

Using the end of the comb she parted his hair so that some sections could be woven into the main weave with the pull hairpin or braided so that they framed his face. The rest was then braided until the end reached his shoulder blades before tying the ends with a clear elastic band.

Growing up with three older brothers Melody was pretty well versed in the male language of ‘I’d rather not talk about it’ especially when answers were kept vague but offered enough to keep the conversation moving. They were still strangers and she understood that there were topics that should be avoided for now to keep the atmosphere feeling light.

“Sounds like you have a lot going on in your life right now. Hopefully, your friends will help get your mind off things so you can relax and have fun.” Had they been friends before this initial introduction Melody would have likely nudged him or something as a playful apology for broaching what she took to be a sensitive topic. But they were neither here nor there, at least not yet.

“So, do you have any big plans before the end of the year.” Moving back to Destiny this late in the year was pretty significant and unpacking would take time unless he had help but there was still a chance he had something else to look forward to between now and December.

“Honestly, as long as you hold on to your long-term goal I don’t see anything wrong with being a bit spontaneous with your free time.” With the main braid done Melody worked on the four micro-braids, two on each side, before pulling the big eye need out of the cup with a few of her other combs.

“I admit, I really admire anyone who has a passion for teaching. We’ve had a few interns over the last few years but I could never get up in front of a full class of students.” That was one reason as to why she preferred to work backstage rather than on it. Anxiety played no part in it but she wasn’t entirely sure she had the ability to inspire people the same way her performing arts professor had encouraged her to pursue her passion. “All the power to you, I’m sure you’ll be great at it.”

Melody continued to pull locks of hair through the main braid, weaving it so it went from something basic into a more complex design that had the illusion of there being six to eight strands. When done she tied the end off with a clear band, “Is it ok if I use hairspray to keep it in place or would you prefer I didn’t.” With hair like his, she wouldn’t be at all surprised if nothing more than high-end shampoo and conditioner were used; hell she had to actually wonder if a blowdryer had ever even touched it since there was no heat damage or split ends that she could see, then again it was a bit dimmer in here than a normal salon or studio would typically be.