{SF} Frying

[François Laffont]

“I’d like to say I would know if one is, but it isn’t always that easy,” Franck replied. He didn’t think he had a friend who liked him more than a friend should like him though. One or two might have been attracted, it was not something you had much control on, but he didn’t think any of his friends would try to win a date over his boyfriend in the hope for a romantic evening. “In a way though, if I can’t get a girl t win, maybe a friend would be best. If the auctions go as crazy as some did last year, I know they won’t be able to afford it and they’ll be pissed about it,” he said out loud even though Franck was mostly speaking to himself. They might accept it better. Mostly because he had few guy friends.

“I agree.” Sure, the introductions were unique to say the least but they didn’t need all that wow factor. It was a little too much and Franck didn’t doubt he was the only one who thought so. He smiled, rather amused by Elsa’s choice of words. “You had a bad experience? I bet I would have too but I think I’m getting so used to Frank now that I’m more resistant.” He laughed a little more at that. He still refused to take his shirt of and oil his chest. But he danced a little to her choice of music, even if it wouldn’t have been his. You had to trust Frank to exaggerate with those she loved.

Franck would have to say that the fried Oreo did look kind of good but it was still weird to think that someone once thought about frying an Oreo and then commercialized it. “I’m not really surprised about that,” he said as Elsa claimed she didn’t know much about fried food. She didn’t strike him as someone who enjoyed a lot of fried food. Not that he thought she was on a diet. More that she was careful what she ate, kind of like him.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

"One would think it's easier for you than most," Elsa offered, raising her brows. It was almost comforting to know that Franck, who could literally feel other people's feelings, couldn't always pick up on details like that. Elsa knew what it was like, being a mind-reader herself. It didn't always work to the advantage when you were dealing with other people. As for the rest.

Elsa couldn't help but roll her eyes, especially as Franck continued. "You're worried about the auction, yet you're literally talking about your best friend, who happens to be one of the richest people in the entire city," Elsa pointed out. "The girl has more money than my family, that's for sure, and probably more than the Banks. I don't know if she tops out the Conners, but that hardly matters. The point is that if you really want a friend to bail you out of the auction, you only have to look to the bouncing ball of glitter and blonde that is your best friend."

Elsa spoke with a good deal of authority on the matter. She also wasn't entirely certain someone could build up a tolerance, though it seemed that quite a few people in Elsa's circle had: Erika, Ellen, Franck, even Vera. Strange how the annoyingly perky blonde got around.

But they had the fried things to consider. "Everyone has to spoil themselves some time," Elsa pointed out. She would have continued, but someone else had stepped forward: a young man who wanted a deep fried Snickers. They did have and Elsa was soon pulling one out. "I'm not even sure how this works," she admitted, handing the bar toward her poor friend.

[François Laffont]

Franck shrugged at her comment. “I can tell that someone is in love but it doesn’t mean I will make the connection between the feeling and the fact they are with me,” he explained. Besides, it was so easy to miss on that when you were so certain it was not there. And there was also how strongly one felt. Just like not everyone could handle the same amount of pain, the way one felt might mean they loved a lot while it meant little to another. It really depended on the ability for the person to feel. Sometimes, Franck was curious to know what it would be like next to a sociopath, since they could not feel the same way. Would he be able to perceive love despite the fact they claimed such people weren’t able of that? It was only a thought though, for Franck would probably be too scared to stand next to a sociopath to really want to try that.

He chuckled softly when she reminded him of Frank, who was both a girl and a friend, and turned out to also be one of the richest person at school. “I guess I can ask her. She’ll be up for it for sure. But she might also not get it’s just in case of an emergency. You know how she is...” Franck said, preferring not to add more as it might not be kind and he could not bring himself to speak ill of anyone, let alone his best friend. Plus, if he asked her to buy him for his boyfriend, he could just picture her say it out loud and bring out vampires and glitter and all that stuff she loved to talk about in her frankfictions. And something about this didn’t feel quite right. Even if it was to stop something that might happen, it pretty much meant the auction would be rigged and that seemed wrong. He could not do that.

“You were not tempted to see if you’d fetch a nice price? You figured you suffered enough already?” Franck said, trying to remain on the subject but bring some humor into it and also not let it shine on him.

The topic then turned towards fried food. “Oh sure but-“ But someone was here and Franck chose to leave it at that for now. Especially since he was trying to understand how you could, or even should, fry a Snickers bar. He tried something, placed it in the paper towel and plate offered at their disposal. “Not sure either,” he admitted as he handed it over. So where was he? Oh right. But. “But I don’t eat a lot of fried food myself. Maybe except for the occasional French fries. Did you know they were actually Belgian? Least, that’s what I heard.”

[Elsa Bellefonte]

To someone else, Franck's explanation of how hard it was to attach the feeling to the person wouldn't have made that much sense. Surely you could just tell, especially if it was someone you cared very much for yourself. However, Elsa had been there. She'd been there more than most: she had an identical twin, after all. So she simply nodded along with it, taking Franck's offered explanation at its entire face value.

She also had to laugh as Franck explained that his best friend could get out of control. This did make him branch off into wondering about whether Elsa would go up herself. She pointed warningly at him, but offered no other explanation. Of all the people around, Franck knew most just how complicated Elsa's love life happened to be. So yet again, something to just leave for later.

After all: they had snickers to fry. "Maybe if you battered it?" she offered, looking at the various batters. "Something sweet with a fair amount of sugar," she said, pointing, "and quit distracting with talk of your French roots," she replied, giving him another amused look.

She actually moved over to help slightly, fluffing out the batter and getting some sugar around. They only had the one customer for the moment: it was just a local fair after all. So now Elsa could demonstrate her uncanny knack at blackening everything she attempted to cook.

[François Laffont]

Franck didn’t like trying to explain what his power was exactly, how it worked and how hard certain things were. A part of this was because he hated to sound like he was complaining but there was also the fact that he simply never knew how to explain it right. He thought he did a good job right now though. Oh sure, some might argue that it should be easy if one felt a sudden rush of love or lust in your presence but feelings were never that simple. And trying to explain that was complicated. It went beyond the language barrier. At this point, Franck should have enough vocabulary to say anything he wanted to say. He just wasn’t sure how you could define an emotion through words. It was something you felt, not something you could explain. Besides, when you are so certain that something cannot be there, it’s hard to see that it actually is. People always saw what they wanted to see, not what was.

He would not blame Elsa for passing out on being up for auction. No doubt people would bid on her, but it might not be the ones she wanted and if her love life was complicated right now, this could either shed some light on it or make it even worse. Either way, there certainly was an easier way for her to sort things out. And there was something that required to be a bit of a show off, the kind of attitude you were used to see more on her twin sister than her.

“Yes. Maybe something like what I used for the Oreo,” he said as she suggested something for the fried Snickers. Why couldn’t they just enjoy the chocolate bar the way it was? But it was not that kind of food truck. They did tell people, in quite an clear and obvious way, that they would fry anything they wanted.

He laughed softly as she was amused by his random new topic of conversation. “But someone has to say something to make it more amusing around here otherwise we’ll just take bets on which one of us will look like they took a bath in the oil first,” he replied. He knew she was maybe not the one you expected to joke the most around but he knew it was not against her to have a good laugh every now and then. “Plus, what’s the point of having French roots if you cannot come out with random bits of trivia?”

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa nodded: yes, what they'd used on the earlier Oreo should work to some degree here. Elsa moved to gather up the sugar to put on top of it, wondering if she should add something else. It did occur to her to check with the customer, but a quick mental brush showed that the person was standing there, watching and wondering if there was something seriously wrong with the two of them.

Franck's comment drew Elsa back into the truck, and she gave him a wry look. "I'm fairly certain I win that contest," she said dryly, pointing at herself. She'd started at about that rate, and it didn't look as though she'd be getting any better, even with putting Franck next to the fryer. "Also, I would assume that there's the benefit of French roots. and aren't the French supposed to be fabulous lovers?"

She had to grin at that, loving to throw another teasing barb in there. In fact: "You're dating a twin yourself now, aren't you? One of those Emory boys," and no, Elsa couldn't tell them apart. She barely could if she read their minds, and she certainly wasn't going to be doing that any time soon.

[François Laffont]

Franck tried his best not to pay attention to any customer they might get. Some people were patient and understanding but there were also really obnoxious ones and he didn’t want to take the risk of picking that up. He preferred to focus on the task at hand and Elsa’s feelings. Their conversation might seem odd to the passersby but Franck needed to interact with Elsa. He couldn’t just stand here with her and remain silent for the whole time he’d stick around. That didn’t seem right.

He smiled as he looked up at her head. “And unlike you, I can still run away,” he pointed out. After all, she was the one trapped in here. Sure, there was the fact it was now Franck who worked in front of the fryer, but the space was too small here for Elsa not to be affected. “I’m not sure I’ll want to eat anything fried for a week after that,” he let out. He just imagined his father when he’d get back home and the smell the oil would have surrounded him with. They would need long and warm showers after this.

It was very much like Elsa to throw that kind of comment at him. It knew it was for jest but she also did that because she knew how he was reacting to such comments. She always had a dryer sense of humour. Because he doubted she meant lover as in the guy reciting poetry to you and sending you roses. Besides, if Franck had been that kind of lover, he certainly wouldn’t have ended up with that kind of boyfriend. “You’re starting to sound like Frank. You realise that last year she auctioned me as the French sex god, or love god but that meant the same, and I... well....” No need to add for her to get. But he still did. “I couldn’t make the French proud with the fabulous lover part.”

She then talked of his boyfriend and he nodded. “Yes. Jasper. Only Jasper, mind you.” She might not be able to tell them apart, but it was easy for him. “And I think it’s done,” he said, pulling out the Snickers bar from the boiling oil. It had a golden crust so he figured it was fine. If not, that person needed to learn to appreciate Snicker bars in their original format.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Still run away, the words echoed for Elsa for a few moments. Sometimes she did consider it. Except she was the Bellefonte who actually lived up to the name. Erika had traded it away, become a Conner. Alexis had simply tarnished it. Abel did... whatever it was that Abel did with it. Meanwhile Elsa was left to pick up the slack, to be the true Bellefonte.

Who apparently got to stand in a fry-truck and have her hair saturated by grease. "You're not the only one," she mumbled in agreement with Franck's assessment. She leaned over slightly to look, her nose again curling up at the smell and the sight of it. "I'm going to end up taking an hour long hot shower after this," Elsa mumbled, before moving around to get things ready, having noticed that the coating looked nearly done.

The comparison to Frank had Elsa letting out a dry laugh of her own. She wasn't quite sure how to take it, but: "And that's precisely why we're not letting her run things this year," and possibly ever again. Elsa doubted that though: the bubbly blonde had a way of pulling the world around her, which Elsa supposed did make at least some sense.

The twins comment yielded some fruit. "I did say one," she said, raising her brows. "I just assumed that it wasn't a European relationship," she smiled and held out the little cardboard tray for the bar, ready to take it and deliver it to their customer in exchange for money.

[François Laffont]

He didn’t expect his little joke about the fact he could leave this frying hellhole would bring so many thoughts and emotions out of Elsa. But he could just feel it, the change in her as they kept bubbling up to the surface, just not piercing through to show on her face. It never did. Not with Elsa. Not unless you really pushed it too far.

“Oh yes, I’m totally with you,” he let out before he realised how that might sound, especially for the customer if they could hear. “Well, you know what I mean...” Because it was not like he would actually take that hour long shower with her. He supposed he could. If he wanted to be awkward and see body parts he had never seen before and never wanted to see. Or touch. In fact, it was best not to think about it at all.

As sweet as Frank was, there were times when her enthusiasm might be too much. He was always wrapped up in it when around her. He just couldn’t help, with his power but also his personality. But he too could see why some would rather have her on a leash. “I don’t even want to know what her auction will look like,” he simply added. No doubt it will be very Frank. There was not even an adjective invented to describe her.

“Yes. You did,” he agreed. He had a little chuckle though. “No one seem to know which one. Even my father feared I might be dating the two or they were playing me and switching. People don’t seem to realise I have a perfect way of telling them apart. One obviously likes me more.” And it was not like he would even dig into them to find that out. He had no control over his power. This was one of those times he actually enjoyed his power and how intrusive it might be.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

The thought of Frank's auction made Elsa smile, and the expression had some edge to it. "I'll be supervising her auction personally," she promised, adding a nod. "You wouldn't believe the complaints we had about glitter and body oil after last year... actually," she raised a brow and shot Franck a quick look, "you of all people would likely believe all too well," as they both could recall quite acutely what had happened to him.

Elsa went forward then, dealing with their bit of money and looking out to see if there were any other customers coming. No one seemed all that interested, which suited Elsa just fine, though she figured they should at least stay visible, in case someone did. Franck's comment had Elsa smiling and looking back.

"I would think I would understand the perils of identical twin dating," she drawled, smiling ironically. "I'd warn you about jealousy or their attempting to play you, but I'm not certain the twins are the kind to really get all that jealous of one another, and their games always struck me as being the sort that you'd think through. I do have to admit to some surprise of your ending up with one but, well," Elsa met Franck's eyes. "If anyone here understands people and emotions, it's you."

[François Laffont]

“Good luck with that,” Franck said with a nod as Elsa assured she’d be handling Frank’s auction. Sure, Elsa might have the firm hand required to handle such a thing but it was Frank. There was no guarantee as to what might happen in the end and he doubted Elsa would be prepared to everything. It would get out of hand at some point, no doubt about it. He chuckled at she teased him again, for sure. “Well, I did manage to avoid the body oil,” he reminded her. Dancing on Frank’s music? Sure, that was doable, but the baby oil was the one step too far for him. Luckily, it was Franck. He could make Frank drop one of her ‘brilliant’ ideas if it didn’t work for him.

Of course, she would understand about twins. He didn’t mean to bring out Felix or anything like that when saying this. “Yes, but you and Erika actually have very different personalities and styles, it makes it easier. Sometimes, I get the feeling they think they’re just one person in two bodies,” he admitted. It was kind of odd to end up sharing to Elsa. He never thought she’d be the one he’d open to when it came to his love life. That seemed to be more her sister’s domain. But it came out naturally.

In a way, he was almost grateful to what Elsa said to him. “You realise you’re the first of my friends telling me that? And I mean telling, because I can tell some are thinking like you. They just look at me and say ‘as long as you’re happy’, figuring I don’t understand it means they wouldn’t have picked him for me. It’s kind of... nice, that you don’t mind saying it straight to my face. You still agree it’s my choice,” he told her. He understood that his friends only tried to be nice and respectful but for someone like him, it just felt hypocritical. And this was not something you wanted to call your friends. “You know, he’s really trying. I was sure, when we started dating, that it would last a month at most, that we’d sleep together and he would break up. But he’s really making an effort. Besides...” and now he was attempting to lighten the mood a little, if not for her at least for him. “If I can survive Frank, I can handle the two of them.”

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Yes, Elsa was definitely... looking forward to her interactions with Frank Cox and whatever show she brought along with her. Elsa had no problems imagining Franck going along with things, nor did her imagination feel all that stretched to imagine the.. body oil. If anything, that just made almost too much sense.

Fortunately for their mental landscapes, the conversation had shifted to a discussion over twins. Elsa had to flash a thankful smile as Franck pointed out that she and Erika were quite distinct. The bit about one person in two bodies had Elsa more curious though. "That happens sometimes..." she ventured, not quite wanting to suggest that it might be the case in this circumstance. She only knew the Emory twins in passing; they hadn't exactly sat down and had coffee (which didn't always work in Elsa's favor anyway, as her disastrous attempt to bond with Evelyn Conner had demonstrated all too clearly).

What came next, however, genuinely surprised Elsa. First being outright called Franck's friend, which she had always assumed but didn't think had actually been said aloud. there was that continuation, that statement of how he appreciated her saying it to his face. Then, to her almost shock, Franck... opened up to her. Elsa almost felt like just staring at her friend, wondering how the hell she'd managed to open this particular Pandora's box. "Sometimes it's like that," Elsa agreed, smiling. "You think that perhaps the relationship's going to be temporary, or that everyone else just expects it to fail, but despite yourself, you end up falling a little more for the other person and being almost shocked when it happens in reverse," she looked over at him, smiling wanly, "and I'm certain that even the twins are no match for Frank, so you should be perfectly fine."

[François Laffont]

It was funny. Had Franck pointed out to Casper and Jasper that they were very different and easily recognizable by him, they’d be disappointed. It was like you couldn’t say such a thing to twins. Or, at the very least, this set. Because Elsa was actually pleased by the fact she was different from her sister. They had distinct personalities. It was not Twin A and Twin B, it was Elsa and Erika. One could not so easily replace the other. “Yes, but their condition is different than yours. I mean, it has been just the two of them for so long, I guess it makes sense when you look at it that way.” Franck didn't want to speak ill of the boys and he had the feeling he might not be all that kind if he tried to justify their behavior. Not that he’d be insulting, but there was no point in pitying them and where they came from. They might not even like it if he shared too much with someone else. Somehow, he doubted they talked to a lot of people about the way they lived in the past.

Franck did blink out of surprise but he was not sure if that came from him or her. He could sense he shocked her. He didn’t think it had anything to do with the friend part of his comment. He assumed it was a given. But talking of his relationship, to Elsa no less, that sure was surprising, even to him. At the same time though, he could understand why it seemed so easy. Most of his friends were emotionally driven, kind of like him. Elsa was different, more practical. While Erika would tell him not to care so long s he loved the guy and Frank... he really didn’t want to think what Frank would say, Elsa could be rational and think of a situation without the emotions getting in the way. There was also the fact that he felt she would not judge him or at least not in a way he should be ashamed of. Opening up to her seemed so natural that he realised he did only after. And despite the surprise it caused him, he actually felt good about it. It was right to do that.

He smiled back at her. Somehow, she understood. This was not a relationship initially meant to last yet, for some reason, it did. “I was okay with it not lasting long. I just wanted someone, you know? But I just... I don’t want to let go of him now and I don’t like when people imply that I should. I get that not everyone can agree with this but when it’s your life, I think you have the right to do what you want. Even if that might be a mistake. That’s how you learn. Besides, it’s not like he’s that bad for me.” He looked away as he said that. He did understand people’s concern and suddenly realised he might have acted like that himself in the past. It was wrong. He should have known better. He did now so he wouldn’t do it again. He smiled when she pointed out they couldn’t be worse than Frank. “They are a different kind of crazy but they’re kind of high maintenance too. They’re more physical but I can handle that... that came out wrong.” And Franck laughed at this and shook his head as he calmed down. He then eyed towards her. “Sorry if I unloaded on you like that. It kind of feels good though.”

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa again wondered if it wasn't more than "just the two of them for so long." Not that she again couldn't understand that, despite what Franck assured. Sometimes she felt closer to Erika than anyone else, felt closer to her sister than anyone could really hope to be. There was a jealousy toward all the outsiders who broke that up, something that Elsa didn't think she'd ever fully get over. Perhaps Erika didn't feel it, but there were just times when Elsa truly felt like other people were pulling her sister away, and it bothered her on a core, foundational level.

And somehow she found herself being Franck's bent ear. She saw the smile back, and, well, she sort of understood. no, not sort of: Elsa fully understood. She understood wanting someone. She understood not believing it would be permanent. She understood everyone telling her that she was making a mistake. She understood wanting to own that.

"It's fine," she said, her voice almost distant. "I, well, I'm actually flattered that you'd come to me with this." She paused for a moment, looking out at the utter lack of crowd of people gathered. "I felt that way about Felix, sometimes. The whole, 'this isn't good for you' business. I've had my closest friends tell me that," she smiled sadly, taking a deep breath and looking to Franck. "At the end of the day, mistake or not, it's our choice? At least you prove that it can actually work out."

[François Laffont]

Franck supposed it was a twin thing. You had this person, who looked exactly like you, who lived more of less the same life, more or less at the same time. Still, even if Elsa and Erika would be what Franck could consider close, it was nothing compared to Casper and Jasper. The girls were close but also distinct. It was not ‘the twins’, it was Elsa and Erika. The boys however... It wasn’t always easy either. Franck understood and usually included Casper in pretty much everything they did, minus the obvious. Still, he sometimes wished he could have Jasper all for himself and more than just because the two wanted to sleep together.

Could Elsa understand what he was talking about? Erika would, for sure. Somehow, he thought she might as well. He’d just been single for a while, turned down not that long ago by someone he had a crush on, it was natural that he wanted to feel a bit of love from someone, even if he didn’t think it would last very long. Somehow, it was that very thing that made it work. Knowing it was not meant to last. For a moment, he thought about phrasing it out loud but he probably said enough to Elsa already. He didn’t need to add to it when she clearly was not prepared for this.

He had a little somewhat amused smile as she assured him it was quite alright. “I suppose it’s not the kind of things you hear a lot. Well, maybe from your sister...” Franck heard quite a few things too from Erika. Her love life had been for a while even more melodramatic than an afternoon soap. Maybe it was why Erika seemed like the natural choice to talk of these things. “I know I let my emotions, and that of others, take the best of me sometimes. I think more with my heart and not enough with my head. It’s kind of nice to talk to someone who’s the other way around,” he told her to explain why it came out like that. “It was not insult,” he added quickly before she thought that he just said she had no feelings. Because he knew she did. She then shared too, about Felix. “I thought it was good for you,” he said after she was done. His tone was neutral but he knew it required a little more explaining. “Things had been hard on you when he showed up again. You needed him at the time or at least someone to show you that you could get through the hellhole you felt like you fell into. That’s what really mattered in the end, not how long it was going to last or if he really was the best for that. He helped you at that so I guess he was.”