The I's Might Have It

by Nico-Stone Rupan


Four

Iconic Portrait peered up at the sign which read, "GOODIE TUNES: LAND OF BEATS". Underneath in smaller letters was, "Every kind of music you could want, and so much more!" Instead of the classic bell ring, the door let out a guitar riff when opened. Iconic gazed around the store. Displays of vinyl records and CDs took up most of the space. Along the walls there was a large assortment of guitars and other band equipment. However, there was no sight of his cousin.

"Lemon?" Iconic called out.

"Come on into the back, dude!" her voice responded.

Iconic followed it behind the counter into the storage area. Lemon Zest was currently on her knees, using a boxcutter to open up some fresh deliveries.

"Glad to see that they trust you with sharp objects," Iconic said with a teasing smirk.

Lemon grinned evilly as she held up the tool. "It was either I cut boxes or I cut bitches. The manager chose wisely."

They laughed. Iconic went over, squatting down to help remove the contents, which happened to be a load of the latest vinyl releases.

"So, what brings you here?" Lemon asked. "Finally got tired of hanging out with supermodels and wanted to pursue an exciting career in retail?"

"Not today, I haven't," Iconic chuckled. He then frowned. "But supermodels do have something to do with it, I guess... and Indigo..."

"What's happenin' with you two? I thought you were getting along fine."

"Well, we were but yesterday something went wrong somewhere. Indigo came to one of my shoots and seemed to get upset by something. Was it boredom? Was it something I did? Was it food poisoning from the finger sandwiches?" Iconic shook his head. "I don't know what."

"Hmm, I can't think of anytime I've seen Indigo upset over anything," Lemon admitted. "Angry at losing a mashed potato eating contest to me, yes, but upset-upset? That's a nope."

Iconic sighed. "There is one thing I can think of what's going on, but it's hard for me to face the reality of."

Lemon reached over and planted her hand on his shoulder. "Hey, you can tell me anything."

"I really wanted to, you know, start something with her. And I was hoping she wanted to start something with me. However, I think she's realizing that we're not compatible."

"How's that?"

"Well, for one, I can't compete with her. She easily beat the pants off me at skeeball. She probably wants somebody who could challenge her. And then there's her behavior at the shoot. Maybe she just wasn't into what I do for a living. Maybe there's nothing we have in common. Like we don't belong together."

Lemon gazed at her cousin. He was always a go-getter when it came to things growing up, not to mention his career. Indigo likewise with friendly competition and her professional sports. She couldn't see any logical reason why the two couldn't hit it off. And for all she knew, if she couldn't do anything to help then they could fall into the never ending cycle of inadequacy drama that was Sour Sweet and Second Person’s relationship! Lemon shuddered at the thought.

Lemon gazed at her crestfallen cousin. A smirk forming upon her lips, she then picked up a stack of vinyls.

"Hey, would you take this to the front for me?"

Iconic broke out of his thoughts. "Huh? Oh, of course."

He received the stack, turned to be on his way, but was then stuck in the back with sudden weight. Iconic tightly gripped his haul, desperately trying to balance his standing without dropping it. Legs wrapped around his waist with playful giggling directed straight into his ears.

"Lemon, what are you doing?"

Iconic rolled his eyes, yet couldn't contain a chuckle. He was brought back to the good old days when the two of them would play together. Piggyback rides were her favorite. However, he remembered her being lighter back then. He chose not to verbalize that observation.

"I hoped this would cheer you up," he heard whispered. "Don't worry about a thing with Indigo. Go with the flow. If things don't work then they don't work. If things do work... then rock on."

Iconic smiled. "Thanks, cousin. But, uh, mind getting off me now?"

"That would be a large nope!" Lemon laughed, slapping his shoulders. "Now onward piggy! Heeyah!"

Iconic sighed. He stumbled into the store area, struggling between his hold of the vinyls and his energetic cousin. He was relieved that there wasn't any customers at the moment to witness this. The sound of a guitar riff instantly destroyed that relief. He turned into the direction of the front entrance, only to cringe extra hard.

Indigo Zap starred at the two and broke out into snickers. "Wow, Lemon. Goodie Tune's service is getting rather personal these days, isn't it?"

"Piggybacks on special today only, Indy!" Lemon cheered. "Iconic will cover it."

"Not today, Lemon," Indigo said before directing her gaze to Iconic. "Hey."

"Hey," Iconic returned. "Uh, Lemon? Do you mind now?"

Without anymore to be said, his cousin released her hold on him and planted herself on the floor. She took the stack of vinyls from him to finally do her own job. Still, Lemon couldn't help to give one last wink for good luck as she walked off.

Iconic awkwardly stepped up to Indigo. "So..."

"So..." Indigo repeated. It was just as uncomfortable for her as for him. Likely even moreso. "I thought we could hang out?"

"Yeah, hang out," Iconic said, nodding. "Sounds great. Anywhere you got in mind?"

Indigo smiled sheepishly. "Not really."

"Ah. Well, we don't need anywhere to go. We can just go." Iconic smiled. "Just go with the flow and rock on."

Indigo cracked a smile as well. "Yeah, I probably do need to get you as far away from Lemon's influence as possible."

Ignoring the pinkish bird being shot at her from across the store, Indigo led Iconic out to her fifty-five Harley.

"Got an extra helmet," Indigo hinted.

"Then let's ride."

Indigo was about to mount, before she paused. She then turned to him. "Can you drive?"

Iconic was taken a bit aback. "It's been a while, but yeah."

Indigo stared straight into his eye. "She's yours, then."

Iconic mounted and firmly gripped the handles. It felt so right. Indigo settled in from behind and wrapped her arms around him. That felt even more right. Much preferable than his cousin, too.

The Harley roared to life. They pulled out on their way. Road become highway. City become countryside. There was no destination. There was no track of time. There was just them, the wind, and the occasional pothole to swerve. Iconic eventually heard the voice of Indigo directing him to an upcoming turn. He complied.

The road led them to the side of a lake. Iconic parked next to an old fishing dock. Didn't appear to be too rotted to tread upon. They reached the edge and looked out. The water was calm and serene. Such perfection. Indigo sat down and removed her sneakers and socks. A content sigh escaped her lips as her bare feet met the water. Iconic shrugged and decided to join her. Off went his genuine moccasins and socks and in went his own feet.

"You handled the Harley great," Indigo finally said. "How about I let you try my motocross bike next?"

"I think I'll pass on that one," Iconic laughed. "I wouldn't be as great as you on it, anyway."

Indigo gave him a look. "You don't have to be as great as me, you know."

"Yeah, I know," Iconic lied.

Indigo hesitated a moment, before finally uttering, "Iconic? Can I ask you a question?"

"You just did," Iconic said teasingly. "But if you really want, I'll let you ask another."

"Have you ever dated any of the models you work with?"

Iconic laughed and shook his head. "I think the fashion world has enough drama as is."

"That's good," Indigo muttered, barely audible.

Suddenly, she felt an arm wrap around her shoulder. Indigo's cheeks instantly tinted red. She looked over to see Iconic's warm smile.

"Indigo, would you like see my editing room?"

****************

The ride back over to Iconic’s studio didn't take too long. The entire way a ball of nerves began forming in Indigo’s stomach. She wasn’t sure exactly what it was that she was feeling. Iconic had invited her into the editing room of the studio, and she wasn’t sure why she agreed. Looking at him it began to strike her just how opposite the two of them were in so many ways. Iconic practically lived in the same kind of fashion world that Sunny did. It was a little different, but she wasn’t too sure that she actually fit in with Iconic. She watched as he brought up the photos, and as he worked she didn’t hear the words he had been saying before.

“Okay, so Primrose certainly didn’t listen when her manager told her not to do any cosmetic surgery. That line isn’t too noticeable, so just a little editing.”

She watched as he found the line, one she hadn’t even noticed, and began using the editing software to make it disappear. It still felt weird, but seeing that flaw made her feel a little better. As she watched he touched up on almost all of the models, all of them except for Starlight Glimmer. He sat there for a moment, shook his head, and groaned.

“Starlight, you would be a great model, certainly suited for the runway, if you’d just make sure that your skirt went down another two inches.”

He began the process of layering on another small layer on Starlight’s skirt, making it look natural, keeping it as realistic as possible, and at the same time covering up what Starlight had unintentionally (or possibly intentionally?) been showing. He finished, looked at her, and he could see how Indigo looked a little uncomfortable. He began to shut down the editing software, and then Indigo saw something else come up. There was photos of the Motocross. The pictures looked sharp, but not unnaturally so.

One of the pictures he brought up was one of her. Her hair sticking to her forehead from sweat. She could see that he actually zoomed in enough to catch her smile, and from what she could see the picture was amazingly clear. She wanted to groan. The difference between her and those girls that were in here earlier was clear enough without this example. Instead of saying anything he simply stayed on the photo.

“I can’t improve this.”

She wanted to turn around and leave. He just admitted it. She was hopeless. She wasn’t some high fashion model that flittered around in fancy clothes. She was an athlete. She began to move toward the door when he saw him lean in closer.

“It’s already perfect.”

She stopped. There was no way she heard him right. She watched as he looked at the picture. It was the same way he had been looking at the other models that had been in the room with him, but unlike them he wasn’t going over what she could have done differently. Instead he was actually studying her. He turned toward her, his expression was the same, and he motioned for her to come closer. She did, and he pointed at the picture.

“The lighting here is perfect, it captures the essence of the picture perfectly. There’s nothing unnatural about the setting, you, or the motorcycle. Everything came together to make one of the best photos I’ve ever taken. I honestly almost didn’t want to share this one.” He smiled. “But then I think that it would be wrong to hide something as perfect as this photo from the world.”

Something else filled Indigo, a sort of joy she had never really felt before, and before reason could ever take hold she acted on it. She leaned over and kissed Iconic. It wasn't a friendly kiss, but it was filled with as much passion and promise as she could give.