I recognized his eyes as soon as he walked through the door. I froze. I couldn’t do this right now.

“Shannon, take off the mask.”

“Why? This is _awesome!_ I look exactly like you! It’s unbelievable!”

I made a low, deep growl and clutched my hair with both hands, tugging fiercely. The pain distracted me from the irritation I felt over being dismissed. I straightened and stared at her without saying another word. Shannon gave an angry snort of her own and did as I asked. Matt/Shannon became simply Shannon again.

“You’re never going to get over this irrational fear if you don’t take chances,” she griped. She tossed the silicone mask at me carelessly. I managed to catch it before it bounced off me and hit the floor. I gazed at it. Dangling limply, the eye holes now shapeless and empty, it could have been modeled after anybody. Except maybe it reflected the inner me, usually kept well hidden. Maybe that was why I hated looking at it. Damn.

Epiphany revealed, examined and rejected, I tossed the mask onto the floor after all.