carl sat cross-legged on the bathroom floor, a box of hair dye between them, his hands already gloved up and speckled with dye. “you sure about this?” he asked, eyebrow raised as he glanced at her reflection in the mirror.
“positive,” she said, grinning as she tilted her head back to meet his eyes. “besides, you’re the one who said it’d look cool.”
“i said maybe,” he shot back, smirking. “but, hey, your funeral if it turns out bad.”
he shook the bottle, a faint hiss as the dye mixed, the faint chemical smell quickly filling the room. he nudged her forward gently, motioning for her to lean over the sink. “all right, stay still. if you mess this up, don’t blame me.”
she rolled her eyes, but obeyed, the cool dye touching her scalp making her shiver. carl worked with surprising focus, his hands moving carefully through her hair. his tongue poked out slightly as he concentrated, and every now and then he’d mutter something under his breath about how this “better not turn out streaky.”
“this is kinda weirdly therapeutic,” he admitted after a while, his voice softer. “like… i don’t know, it’s just chill.”
she smiled, even though he couldn’t see it. “you’re a natural, grimes. ever thought about doing this full-time?”
he laughed, shaking his head. “yeah, no thanks. imagine the pressure. one bad dye job and someone’s crying in my chair. i’ll leave this to the pros.”
as he finished up, he wiped a streak of dye from her ear with a damp cloth, his touch gentler than he let on. “all right, that’s it. now we wait.”
she turned to face him, catching the glint of pride in his eyes. “you’re acting like you just painted the mona lisa or something,” she teased.
“i mean, it’s kinda close,” he joked, leaning back against the wall. “just don’t freak out when you see it.”
“moment of truth,” he said, smirking as he handed her a towel.
she leaned toward the mirror, eyes widening as she saw the vibrant color for the first time. carl watched her reaction, his smirk softening into a satisfied smile.