Backstitch

Chapter 3

Lou's bottom lip poked out slightly in a pout as he glared at the bathroom mirror. Tentatively, he reached a hand up to brush back his hair. He eventually bunched it up in both hands and attempted to lift it up, similar to how it had been before. How had his hair even accomplished staying upright before? The blonde strands fell unceremoniously over his face when he moved his hands away. He tilted his head to move it, only succeeding in creating a small window where his hair naturally parted.

Nolan looked up from his sewing when a sigh came from the bathroom. Lou's reflection was frustrated, to say the least. The brunette smiled, eyes lowering back down to the partial tux laid out on the table. "It looks cute like that. Why don't you keep it?"

In response, there was a scoff, "I'm not going for cute," he wrinkled his nose at Nolan through his reflection in the mirror. "I need to look presentable. Neat, pristine, professional. Right now, I look like some long-haired beach boy with half a brain cell."

The analogy made Nolan laugh, "It's not that bad, Lou. Honestly, you can pull off any hairstyle. But if you want the professional look, I can ask Mandy to come over."

It's not that he had harsh feelings toward Mandy, per se. Lou's main concern was news spreading about him trying to regain some ounce of dignity. Nolan could preach all he wanted to about "everyone deserves a second chance," but all the other dolls would see nothing but Hades trying to climb his way back up to Mt. Olympus. Lou doubted the others would be as keen to hear his side of the story as Nolan was. "Couldn't you fix my hair?" he suggested coyly.

"I'm...more of a clothes expert than hair," Nolan shrugged, lifting up the dress shirt to see how it looked so far. Setting it back down, "I don't think Mandy would mind."

"You're so naïve," Lou muttered under his breath. It must be a part of Nolan's personality to believe the best in others. Lou would just as soon believe that everyone was out to see him suffer and let the brunette do the hard work of changing his mind.

When the fifth try proved fruitless, Lou gave a huff and surrendered. He let his bangs sweep disgracefully over his eye and sat down on the bench beside Nolan. The suit would not be a one-day task. That much could be seen from the white undershirt Nolan was restitching. Blue eyes watched curiously with every stitch that was sewed. "Why do you do it like that?" Lou took the shirt by its tail and rubbed a thumb across the fabric, surprised to feel how secure the thread was where it had been pulled taut.

"You wanna try?" Nolan offered the needle and thread to him. He set the shirt in Lou's lap to help him hold the needle properly. "It's called a backstitch. It's my favorite type to sew with since it forms the strongest bond. I already tied the knot at the end of the thread, so all you have to do is restitch the collar." Nolan took part of the collar in his fingers where it was torn, "Now, just push the needle through at the base of the tear." Lou carefully did so. "Good. Now, insert the needle a bit above that point, going down." Lou hovered the needle over the spot, glancing up at Nolan, who nodded in confirmation.

"Ow," Lou drew his hand back quickly, needle falling to his lap. He put his index finger to his mouth and glared down at the metal stick, "It stabbed me."

Nolan laughed softly, "Yeah, it does that to me too. It just takes practice. I can take it from here if you want."

To Nolan's pleasure, Lou adamantly shook his head and took hold of the needle again, "No, no. Far be it from me to give up on something as easy as this. I can get the hang of it." Lou followed the steps closely as the brunette instructed. It felt like ages, but the end of the collar had finally been reached, and Nolan severed the thread to the needle. "Ha! Look at that! It's perfect if I do say so myself." Lou gave a haughty smile to the doll.