Emma 🩷✨

//

Ace of hearts, move the six to the seven, ooh! Two of hearts…

It was a rainy day in Midtown, and gloomy weather usually meant no clients. Estrella was grateful—she could play as much solitaire as she wanted at the front desk. She liked slow days, especially because she was just the receptionist at the tattoo parlor. She used to be a hair stylist, until her latest arrest. The salon wasn’t a fan of criminal records, but the tattoo shop owner had plenty of her own, so it seemed like the best move. Besides, she was also an unlicensed body mod artist, so she fit right in. (And being one of the owner’s lovers certainly helped.)

Boss was out back, probably having a smoke. She had told the boss that that grape flavored crap would make her sick, and that she should smoke a cigarette like a normal person.

Estrella perks up when she hears the door, but it must have been the wind, since no one was there. Good, she didn’t have to deal with customers.

But, there had been something—just not a person. At first glance, there appeared to be a spider crawling on the desk. Then, at a closer look, Estrella noticed that it wasn’t a real bug; it was some kind of bug shaped robot. Before she could react, it crawls onto her arm, then uses a laser to scan her face.

This couldn’t be good—Estrella usually flew under the radar for any under city drama. Boss was usually the one in trouble, for stealing someone’s car or girl; both were pretty common for her. Estrella was about to crush the robot with a stapler, when the door opens, for real this time.

A fellow strobe rageon walks in. Similar to Estrella, he had yellow markings, and his color scheme matched the oranges of the robot. He carried himself with a smug confidence, that she immediately knew would piss off the boss.

“Hmm,” he starts, “‘The Bleak December…’ Interesting name for a tattoo shop.”

//

The shop was decorated with gothic furniture, and lots of art hung up on the walls. Some works were displayed in elegant frames, some were papers ripped out of sketchbooks and taped up.

Apollo looks down at the papers in his hands: a written address of the tattoo parlor he stood in, and a printed mugshot of a woman. The woman in the mugshot definitely wasn’t the woman at the counter, so he figured he should ask her.

Inconveniently, she was already glaring at him. Or maybe that was just her normal face; he couldn’t tell. She was a strobe, with dark brown skin and bright yellow markings. Her long hair in braids was a similar yellow, and she had two glowing star outlines under both of her eyes. Apollo was already intrigued; he had never seen a strobe with such intentional designs before.

As for her outfit, she had on a yellow bralette, accessorized with gold necklaces, and a few tattoos in between her strobe markings. Her labret piercing in the center of her bottom lip caught his eye, accompanied by her matching eyebrow piercings, and the chain across her nose that connected both of her nostril studs. She was cute, but Apollo had other interests. Besides, the giant lesbian flag on the wall suggested he wasn’t her type, either.

“You dropped something,” the woman says flatly, holding up the robotic bug on her hand.

“Yeah, sorry about that. Just precautions,” he shrugs.

“What do you want?”

“I’m looking for this lady. Does she own this place?”

He sets the mugshot on the desk, and slides it over to her. He knew she owned this place, and he knew exactly who she was: Raven.

The queen—or king, he had heard her called both—of automobiles all across Mount Rageous. If anyone ever mysteriously lost a vehicle, she was behind it. And if anyone ever unexpectedly pulled up in a fresh new ride, she was behind that, too. Based on what he had heard, she kept to herself and her crew, but she wasn’t to be taken lightly.

Both his parents had mentioned her a few times; a trade here, some gossip there. They seemed to regard her as not a threat, although he thought he heard Eros refer to her as some words he probably shouldn’t have been saying. She frequented some of the clubs he owned, and based on what Apollo had heard, she brought in lots of profit.

In the mugshot, Raven had long black hair in cornrows, and gray skin covered in tattoos. She was sticking out her tongue in between two fingers in a V, and her other hand was flipping off the camera.

“Aw, I remember that night,” the strobe woman reminisces, looking lovingly at the mugshot. “Yeah, she’s the boss. I’ll get her.”

Apollo expected her to go get Raven, but instead, she stays seated. She takes in a deep breath, then performs a screechy bird caw, directed towards the back of the shop.

A disembodied caw answers, accompanied by the sound of someone stumbling around. After a minute, the boss saunters into the lobby.

It must have been a bit since the mugshot. Her long hair was free and wild, and she had a heart outline on her left cheek, and two ravens tattooed on her right. She was in an oversized anime t-shirt, and her baggy jean shorts were sagged so low he could see the waistband of her boxers. Her face was decorated with silver piercings, along with a stretched septum and black gauges in her ears. Her shirt hung off her shoulder, showing off a tattoo of a wing down her upper arm.

The voice that came out of her lips wasn’t at all what he expected. It was twangy and feminine, with a thick accent that must have been from somewhere south.

“Howdy!” she greets with a big smile. “Estrella, are you bein’ nice to the customers?”

“Not really,” Apollo answers for her. “I caught her taking a stapler to my property.”

“Well, I’m sure she had a good reason for that,” Raven shrugs. “What can I do for ya? My flash designs are over there,” she points to a board in the seating area, “and I can whip somethin’ up if you want a custom, uhh, I also do piercings but I’m pretty new at it so don’t sue me if it goes horribly wrong, and you can ask about Estrella’s services if you promise not to tell the cops.”

Apollo had only come here for business, but now he was curious. “What… ‘services’? And trust me, I don’t want anything to do with the cops either.”

“Body modification,” the woman at the counter speaks up. “I did these myself.”

Estrella points to the glowing stars under her eyes. She contorts her face, and the lights in her face flicker with each adjustment. When she relaxes her face, the left star glitches and shocks her, making her flinch.

“Ow,” she reacts, unfazed. “I also do split tongues, teeth sharpening, you name it.”

“She did my coin slot!” Raven tucks her hair behind her left ear to show off the stretched cartilage, which was styled with stacked silver hoops. “It hurt real bad!”

“Uhh, I’ll pass,” Apollo responds. “I’m just gonna stick with normal piercings, thanks.”

“Aw, can’t handle it?” Raven teases. “Says the guy with only one face piercing.”

She was cocky, Apollo could already tell. Luckily, so was he—working with this lady was gonna be interesting.

“Not true,” he shoots back. His piercings probably didn’t hurt as much as some of Raven’s, but he had to stand up for his pride. He sticks out his tongue, and points out the stud in its center with an ‘ah’ sound.

“Nice try,” Raven smirks. “But I got ya beat.” She sticks out her tongue, showing off three silver studs arranged in a triangle.

Apollo’s first thought was of the week-long diet of only soup he had to go on when he had his done, and how Raven must have gone through that at least three times. He had to admit, he was impressed, and a little scared of her dedication.

“Okay, okay, fine,” he concedes. “Anyways, I’m not here as a client. My name’s Apollo Rios. I’m here for… your other job.”

//

Crap, who did I piss off now… Raven thinks to herself.

“Oh great, whose husband is mad at me now?!” Her cheerful demeanor drops at the thought of men being angry at her, which seemed to always be the case lately. “Is this about Irene?! ‘Cause it ain’t my fault her husband can’t treat a woman right!”

To Raven’s relief, Apollo only seemed confused at her rant.

“Huh? Who’s Irene?” he asks. “And why are all these husbands mad at you?”

“Irene’s my lawyer,” she answers, and hands him a business card from the counter. “Actually, here’s her card. She’s real good. And she’s goin’ through a divorce right now, so she needs all the money she can get.”

“…Is the divorce because of you?” he asks, arching his eyebrow.

“That’s what her husband says,” she seethes. “But it’s really his fault for bein’ such a huge ass to her for ten years. She says our affair was the best thing that ever happened to her.”

“Okay, that’s definitely not what I’m here about.”

“Good.”

Raven crosses her arms, putting up her defenses. If one of her lovers was in trouble, she wasn’t about to let this guy get to them. And if she herself was in trouble, then she’d get it settled one way or another.

“I was actually sent to ask for a favor,” Apollo continues.

“You’re one of those lead mafia guys, right? What kinda favor?”

“I guess you could say that,” he flaunts. “The auction. Me and my people are gonna be there, and we want a deal.”

As the boss of all vehicle-related theft and illegalities in the city, auctions were a huge part of Raven’s job, and one of her favorites. Under Rageons would pay good money for the kinds of cars she dealt in, especially if they were taken from up in Mount Rageous. Celebrities’ cars were the most sought after, with one of Kid Ritz’s cars getting Raven enough money for a whole new apartment.

A big auction was coming up, which meant Raven was about to become a lot more relevant for a bit. She had acquired a mix of vintage cars, luxury limousines, and everything in between, and was expecting a huge turnout. (And hopefully the event would bring in some cute girls, too.)

“Yeah, I’ll be there,” Raven offers. “I’ll be the oneinthetuxedotalkin’realfastlikethis. Whatcha want?”

“I need one of those cars. Well, not me. Do you know the Mistress?”

Estrella groans from the counter. “Oh no, here we go…”

Raven knew the Mistress alright—or at least knew of her. She had had a run in with her goons about a year ago; something about Raven stealing her underlings. Raven didn’t really care if her crew had other business or bosses, but she had kept better track of who she got involved with since then.

As for the Mistress herself, Raven had seen her a few times, usually an auction or a club. Mistress always had bodyguards around, so Raven had never gotten the chance to talk to her. But that didn’t stop her from having eyes for her, even from all the way across the room.

“OHH, that gorgeous scary lady?” Raven perks up. “You’re one of her people? Oh my god, she’s so fine,” she sighs dreamily. “Gotcha. I’ll do anythin’ she wants, uhh, for a kiss.”

“Rave, we talked about this,” Estrella scolds. “Kissing hot older women isn’t worth getting mixed up in some mafia mess, babe.”

“Says you,” Raven refutes. “I think kissing hot older women is totally worth it. This guy agrees. Right?”

//

“Uhm…”

Apollo cringes, but of course Raven wouldn’t know she was talking about his mother.

“Not really my thing,” he shrugs.

“You’re missin’ out,” Raven tells him. “I bet I could rock her world. Is she into girls?”

Apollo had only ever seen Mistress with guys, and he didn’t know her preferences, and he didn’t want to. Raven did share quite a few similarities with what he knew to be her type, though.

“She does like guys with tattoos…” he contemplates aloud, eyeing her ink.

“Sweet! I’m one of those things,” Raven cheers. “And the guy part, uhh, I’m butch so close enough. Anyways. So she wants a trade?”

“Yeah. She’s had her eye on that red Thunderbird convertible. Any way you could set it aside?”

“Mm, that’s a nice one. Mayyyybee… It depends. I rented out the ballroom from that Vaughn guy and I have people settin’ up now, but I can probably move stuff around. Hang on, I have a binder with all the info,” she turns to Estrella, “Babe, could you be a dear and find that for me?”

Estrella lets out a dramatic sigh, then schleps to the back of the shop.

Oh great, of course she has business with Vaughn, Apollo silently sighs. Actually… she didn’t say anything other than renting a venue. It didn’t seem like that would be an issue, at least he hoped so.

“Sit down! Relax!” Raven urges, leading him to the lounge chairs in the waiting area. “While she finds that binder—I actually have no idea where it is, good luck Estrella!—can you tell me if this ad looks good? It’s for my lawyer. It’s still, um, in the works.”

While Raven takes out her phone, Apollo flips through the portfolio on a coffee table. There were all sorts of styles, and each picture of a finished tattoo was marked with a date and location. There were way more than just Midtown; apparently, she had tattooed in all the districts, and even Mount Rageous.

Eventually, a phone is shoved in his face. The clip opens with a woman behind a desk, in a professional looking office. She had indigo skin with a mix of blue and purple hair done into a bun, half moon glasses, and the edges of a neck tattoo peeking out from her suit.

“Hi, I’m Irene Lavish,” she begins. “Did you know that you have rights? The Constitution says you do. And so do I.”

“CUT!” a twangy voice yells from off camera. “That one’s taken!”

Another take starts:

“Hello, my name is Irene Lavish. Have you been injured in an accident? Good. You deserve it. Wait, no, I mean, uh, you deserve compensation-”

“CUT!”

And another:

“Hi, I’m Irene Lavish. Do you know what to do when your piece of shit husband walks in on you having an affair with your client and your client ends up hitting him with a lamp and knocking him out and now you all have to go to court? That’s right, you call me, and I’ll help-”

“CUT! Too personal!”

If this lawyer could mostly keep Raven out of jail, Apollo knew exactly who he’d call if he needed that kind of help. Her ads needed work, but something about Raven’s enthusiasm told him her lawyer was no joke.

“It’s definitely a start,” Apollo comments. “It’s very well lit.”

“Thank you! All camera work and stagin’ done by me,” Raven flaunts. “I saw you lookin’ through my portfolio; anythin’ ya like?”

“You work in Mount Rageous? I mean, duh, your auto ring, but also as an artist?”

“Oh, yeah! They love me up there. I was up there last Pride, and I got to meet Kid Ritz,” she flips to a page in the booklet. It was a light purple wrist, with a fresh tattoo of two rainbows: one was pink, purple, and blue; the other was blue, pink, and white.

“He was super chill,” she reminisces. “We bonded over how hard it is to get an official name change. And I’m cis, I just wanted a cooler name—that sucks he had to go through all that paperwork just ‘cause he’s a guy. Then we got high and he started cryin’ about likin’ some famous pretty boy that went to jail. Then I stole his car!”

Apollo had only known Raven for a few minutes, but he already knew her well enough that he didn’t expect that story to end any other way.

“He’s rich, he has, like, ten,” Raven adds with a shrug. “I don’t think he cared that much.”

A few minutes later, Estrella comes back with the binder. She joins them in the lounge area, and hands it to Raven.

Raven flips through it, while Apollo tries to discreetly look over her shoulder. He knew his parents didn’t like how unpredictable and mysterious Raven was, so any information he could get on her might be valuable.

Apparently, he wasn’t discreet enough, when Raven slams the binder shut.

“Sooo, that car she wants is already at the venue, but I can mark it reserved and get one of my girls to move it,” she tells him. “But before I do that. What do I get?”

“What do you want for it?” he asks in response.

“Your mom,” she answers, as if the response was automatic. “Sorry, couldn’t resist. Hm, what do I want…”

If only Raven knew…

//

What did she want? Money, always, but she had an opportunity to ask for something else. She kind of had everything she wanted, though.

Eventually, Raven had basically circled back to her original request for a trade. Only now, she had a revised idea.

“Hm, lemme meet the Mistress,” she answers. “She’s the one who wants the car—I’ll talk about it with her.”

Beside her, Estrella sighs and shakes her head disapprovingly. Raven could feel her cheeks go warm, but she didn’t really care—her crush on Mistress was already pretty obvious.

“Gotcha,” Apollo replies. “I can get you a meeting. I can’t promise anything more than that, though.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll handle anythin’ else,” Raven responds with a wink, which makes Apollo shudder. “Chill, I just wanna see if she’s interested. Business or otherwise, whatever. I’m very charismatic with women. Right, Estrella?”

“Ugh,” Estrella groans, covering her face to hide her blush. “Yeah… sometimes. I guess.”

“Exactly!” Raven cheers. “Also,” she turns back to Apollo, “Bring all your people to the auction! After the actual auction, we’re gonna have dancin’ and drinks and stuff. And jazz. It’s basically gonna be a huge party. Black tie, very fancy ballroom, all that. …Oh, and if you see anyone you got issues with, take it outside ‘cause I ain’t payin’ for no property damage.”

“Noted,” he nods. “Cool, we’ll be there. Eros is gonna be there, too. You know him?”

“Yeah, I’ve met him,” she frowns. From their few brief interactions at clubs, she regarded him to be mostly unpleasant. “You can tell him my name’s Raven, not a word that rhymes with bike.”

“Yikes, sorry about that,” Apollo apologizes. His eyes soften—Raven could tell he was sincere, and he didn’t approve of Eros’s behavior. “Yeah, he can be a real jerk.”

“Don’t worry, I can handle jerks,” Raven assures. “Sorry you have to deal with him. So, see ya Saturday?”

“Mhm. We’ll be there.”

“And the Mistress…” she adds with a dreamy sigh.

“Yeah, she’ll definitely be there,” Apollo confirms with a strained voice.

“Perfect. Dress your best! Oh, and the band’ll be takin’ song requests. And uh, one of my bouncers is really mean so don’t take it personally.”

“Got it, thanks,” he nods, and starts making his way to the door. “See you there!”

“Later!” She smiles and waves, then turns back to Estrella once he had left. “Babe, are you hearin’ what I’m hearin’?”

“That you’re gonna get wrapped up in some scheme with the Mistress and probably end up in trouble? Yeah, I heard,” she responds sarcastically.

“Worth it.” She crawls over the couch to Estrella, and sprawls over her in a lazy snuggle. She traces over her strobe markings, in an attempt to distract her lover from worrying about her.

“You got a plan?”

“I’m gonna seduce her while respecting her boundaries, of course,” Raven schemes.

“Good luck,” Estrella responds dryly. “I heard that lady’s got issues.”

“I can fix her!”

“You could probably make her worse.”

Raven had to admit, her lover was probably right. But she lived for the thrill, and she hoped this auction would be the most thrilling one yet.

//

Flashing lights. Loud music. Pretty dresses. All things Velvet loved, but she wasn’t enjoying herself one bit in the back of the gym, with no one to keep her company but her brother.

No one had complimented her short gold dress, or extravagant hair, or makeup, or anything she had done to try and make herself stand out. She thought her junior homecoming might be different, but that was a stupid thought. Just the same old nothing.

At this point, she wasn’t even surprised no one had asked her to the dance. Well, someone did—her brother—in a kind attempt to make her feel better. She had smiled and accepted, but it only made her feel worse. It only reminded her that no one else would ever want to be with them. He was a nobody, too, taking his nobody sister to this boring dance.

As if to mock her, the DJ chose a love song next: Enchanted by Taylor Swift. Velvet could barely watch, but she couldn’t take her eyes away as all the couples paired up. Listening to the lyrics only made her more upset, knowing no one would ever feel that way about her.

“Hey, pretty girl.”

Velvet looks away from the scene to see her brother, holding out his hand to her. She rolls her eyes.

“Very funny, Veneer,” she sighs, taking her gaze back to the couples on the dance floor.

“How do you know my name?” Veneer responds with shock. “I’ve never seen you around before.”

She wasn’t sure what he was doing, but it sure was a stupid attempt to make her feel not miserable. Just a reminder that he was the only one who thought she was pretty.

Veneer didn’t seem to care, smiling up at her with his statement green lipstick. He takes her hand from her crossed arms, and tenderly kisses the back of it.

“You’re so beautiful, I’m almost nervous to ask,” he starts, still playing pretend, “but would you do me the honor of a dance?”

“Fine,” she huffs.

She lets him lead her to the dance floor, then lead in the dance, their fingers intertwined. She could already hear the rumors: those loser twins, dancing with each other because no one else would ask them.

Veneer keeps smiling, and she smiles back, but it was fake. She kept it to herself that they had ended up next to her crush, dancing with her new girlfriend.

Her name was Juliet, just like Romeo and Juliet. Velvet wished she could talk to her through her window, and stare at her through the fish tank, and kiss her passionately in her pool. But that was all a lost fantasy.

She hadn’t bothered learning the girlfriend’s name. Velvet didn’t know anything about her, other than she hated her almost as much as she hated herself.

She tries to focus on her brother, but it was impossible with all the happy couples surrounding them. Deep down, she knew Veneer was feeling the same way, and he was trying to distract himself as well as her.

Just as Velvet thought it couldn’t get worse, the song ends. She freezes in her spot, and watches through watery eyes as that atrocious beautiful disgusting gorgeous bitch takes Juliet into her arms, and kisses her lips.

One wasn’t enough. Juliet kisses her back, then again, and again, like they were the only two people in the world. But they weren’t, Velvet was right there.

She felt everything and nothing. She must have been crying, though, when she hears her brother’s voice, back to normal.

“Velvet, what’s wrong- oh…”

He trails off when he figures out the answer, turning his head to where she was looking.

She could finally feel the hot tears running down her face, witnessing a kiss between lovers. Velvet was nearly seventeen, and she had never experienced something like that, and at this point she didn’t think she ever would.

Everyone else was in love, and here Velvet was, watching the girl she loved kiss someone else. It broke her heart, but she couldn’t look away. Always a witness, never experiencing it. She would never experience it. Maybe she should just end her own misery-

“Let’s get out of here.”

Veneer takes her out of her spiral and the dance floor, practically dragging her out of the gym while she tried to control her tears. Being away from the couples didn’t help one bit; she still knew what was going on in there.

Hand in his, he takes her past the cafeteria, past the bathrooms where the cool kids were getting drunk, past the courtyard with even more couples talking. He doesn’t say anything, just guides her to the back door to the parking lot.

“What are you doing?” Velvet finally asks him.

“We’re gonna dance. Just us,” he answers, looking around before he opened the door. It was safe, of course, not even the teachers bothered to look at them.

The parking lot was dark and quiet, the opposite of the gym. Veneer seemed determined to make this their own dance floor, though, taking out his phone and looking for a song.

“I don’t want to dance anymore,” Velvet complains. “I don’t want to dance ever again.”

“That’s too bad,” Veneer refutes. “Just one dance, then I’ll drive us home. Please?”

“Okay.”

Fine, she’d dance if it meant she could go home. Being outside was a little better than being surrounded by couples, but she still felt miserable. She couldn’t even see the stars, they were covered by clouds.

Seeing Veneer’s car gave her an ounce of relief. Even when they got home, though, she’d still have to be embarrassed.

For the past few weeks, she had moved into her brother’s room. She had made plenty of excuses, like her room was too cold, he was scared of the dark, his room was closer to the bathroom. But they both know it was so he could keep an eye on her. She might’ve done something stupid by now if he hadn’t been there at night to calm her down.

Just one dance. Hopefully less than three minutes, depending on what song he picked. Just one dance, then she could go home.

The music was much quieter than the music in the gym, but Velvet recognized it immediately. One of their favorite songs: Love Like You by Rebecca Sugar.

She rests her hands on his shoulders, swaying with him in their own slow dance. When she looks up at the sky, it kisses her with a single drop of rain.

Of course it had to rain. Just another thing to make her miserable.

“It’s raining,” Velvet points out, even more drops falling onto her.

“That’s okay.”

Despite the rain, Veneer keeps leading her in the dance, and she had no choice but to go along. It his suit and tie, he looked happy, but the sadness was there in his eyes. It hadn’t left since… She couldn’t remember.

At the bridge, something changed.

The music soared over the falling rain, while her brother spun her all around the parking lot. By the bridge, it was pouring rain, and Velvet and Veneer were the only people in the world. He catches her in a dip, and she realized the stars weren’t in the sky, because they were in his eyes.

For a moment, maybe only having her brother wasn’t so bad. Maybe she’d survive until they graduated, and then they could move to the big city and leave all this behind.

He smiles, and she smiles back, and it was real. The rain was messing up her hair, but for the first time in her life she didn’t care. It wasn’t like anyone was watching her.

At the next crescendo, Veneer lifts her off the ground and spins her around. It felt like flying.

Up in the air, Velvet wasn’t sure if the water on her face was rain or tears. That wasn’t her problem. She just spreads her arms like wings, letting the rain ruin the outfit she had worked so hard on.

She couldn’t remember the last time she had really laughed. But she laughs now, laughs and laughs in the face of the crying sky. She was crying, too, but it was a good cry for once.

When Veneer puts her down, she saw he was laughing and crying just the same as her. As much as she wanted to finish the dance, she couldn’t stop herself from throwing her arms around him, hugging him tight in their rain soaked outfits.

They stay hugging until the song ends, then some after that, until their laughs and sobs overpowered the rain. Maybe… No. They would get out of here. They would make it.

“I love you so much,” she sobs, or laughs, they sounded the same at this point.

“I love you too!” He squeezes her tighter, and she could hear the smile in his voice. “I love you more than anything!”

“I’m cold as fuck,” she changes the subject, finally noticing how freezing the rain was in her short thin-strap dress.

“Oh! Here you go,” Veneer offers.

He takes off his coat, then puts it over her like the gentleman he was. If more people were like her brother, maybe Velvet wouldn’t feel so depressed. At least she had her brother, and that was the best thing she could ask for.

“You still wanna go home?” He asks.

Right, their dance was over. She was actually sad it was, but she definitely didn’t want to go back in that building.

“Yeah, I think so.” She takes his hand, leading him to the car.

She takes out the keys from his coat. Before handing them to him, she takes a moment to admire a little picture of her and Veneer on some vacation, attached to a keychain. They couldn’t have been older than five, and the light was still in their eyes. Once the picture was obscured by raindrops and tears, she hands him the keys, then gets in the passenger seat.

Just as Veneer reaches to start the car, she stops him. She puts a hand over his, and connects their fingers, taking their hands to the armrest. He doesn’t comment, just sits there in silence with her.

She mostly looked down at the ground these days. But something compelled her to look up, through the moonroof, towards the sky. It was completely dark except for the lights illuminating the parking lot. The rain poured onto the moonroof, and if she tried, she could make out shapes in the drops. One figuration of raindrops made two stars, side by side.

Her ears rang, lingering from the loud music in the gym. She didn’t want to think about that place, so she takes her focus back to the rain. It was its own kind of music, pattering against the metal of the car. If love had a sound, this was it.

Her gold lipstick tasted bad, metallic. Velvet didn’t know why she even put it on, no one had any interest in her lips. But if she focused enough, she could still taste the chocolate chip cookie her brother forced her to take in the cafeteria. She barely felt hungry anymore, but right now, all she wanted was another one. And, for the first time in all her teenage years, she remembered how much she loved chocolate.

She had tried a new perfume, and in this moment, it was her new favorite. It was lemony with a hint of sweetness, and now she wanted to wear it every day until it ran out, and then she’d buy a new one. It mixed with her brother’s cologne on his coat, vanilla and some kind of citrus. She wished she could mix them together, but figured that would waste the nice bottles they came in.

Being touch starved was rough for a girl like Velvet, who craved physical affection more than anything. Veneer always made sure to hug her and hold her hand when she needed it, but usually something was missing.

Not tonight.

His hand, slippery from the rain, was still warm in hers. Her rings pressed against his fingers, and she looked forward to taking them off so they could hold hands again. If she really felt for it, she could feel his pulse.

While it was her main focus, his hand wasn’t the only thing she could feel. Her strapless bra dug into her sides. Veneer’s jacket fit her perfectly, keeping her warm after the cold rain. Her gold heels were uncomfortable as hell. She could feel her own pulse, still beating, even after everything.

She looks over to the reason it still was.

“Vels?”

“Hm?” She meets his eyes with a soft smile.

“You okay to go? I want to beat the traffic.”

“Yeah. Let’s go home.”

Veneer starts the car and drives them out of the parking lot. Once they were on the road, he switches to driving with one hand, and uses his other to hold Velvet’s. She squeezes, and he squeezes back.

He had turned on the radio, the volume just loud enough for Velvet to hear it mixed with the rain. She didn’t know the song, but she liked the singer’s voice. At a stoplight, she kicks off her uncomfortable shoes.

She stares out the window as they drive past the suburbs she hated so much. Through the rain, she could almost see it: them driving through the city, past all the bright lights, away from all of this nothingness.

Less than two years, then they’d be out of here. After tonight, they were one day closer.

//

Veneer pulls up to the driveway, greeted by the average sized middle class house he couldn’t wait to move out of. His hand was still in his sister’s.

He was about to talk, but stops himself when he notices Velvet fast asleep in the passenger seat. With a sigh of relief, he turns off the car.

As quietly as possible, Veneer walks around to the other side. He picks her up out of the seat, making sure her head rested on his shoulder. Her bag and shoes were still in the car, but they could deal with that tomorrow.

Trying his best to shield her from the rain, he carries his sleeping sister through the front door. Only one light was on, meaning their parents were asleep. Thank goodness, he didn’t feel like explaining why they were home early and soaking wet.

He carries her up the stairs to his room, then gently lays her on her side of his bed. Too tired for anything else, he changes into the nearest sweatpants and t-shirt, then lazily wipes off his makeup. He wasn’t sure why he put so much effort into his appearance for the dance, maybe some fantasy that a cute guy would approach him.

But that’s all it was. A fantasy.

Once he was done getting ready, he figured he should at least take Velvet’s makeup off and get her a dry jacket. Careful not to wake her, he trades out his coat for a zip up hoodie that had been lying on the floor. He takes off her jewelry as well, making sure they were laid out nicely on his bedside table.

He then gets out a makeup wipe, and tries to remove as much as he could while sitting beside her. She had put on quite a bit, and she looked beautiful as ever. With or without makeup, he loved looking at her, especially her smile. He saw less and less of it lately.

Despite what he thought was a delicate touch, her eyes start to flutter open.

“Hi, sleepyhead,” he whispers, taking off the last of her blush.

“Hey…” She groans, sounding just as sleepy as she looked.

She swats his hand away, then changes her mind, and holds it instead. It seemed like she was about to fall asleep again, when she suddenly sits up, her eyes wide.

“I am not sleeping in this bra,” she declares.

“Good idea,” he agrees, though he was glad he couldn’t relate.

“I know you’re gay and my brother, but,” she finishes her sentence by standing up and throwing a blanket over him, sending him into darkness. “And I’m stealing your pajamas!”

That was fine by him. He stole her clothes plenty, though it wasn’t as fun now that she didn’t get mad. Still, it was one of his ways to be closer to her.

After a minute, she pulls the blanket off of him. She had changed into a set of hot pink satin pajamas—they fit her perfectly. They were one of his favorites, but he would gladly lend them to her whenever if it would make her happy.

She sits down next to him on the edge of the bed. Without a word, she wraps her arms around him in a tight hug. Her head fit perfectly in his shoulder, like he was made to hold her.

“I’m proud of us,” Veneer whispers into the hug.

“Why? We’re total losers,” Velvet disagrees, squeezing him tighter.

“But we’re gonna make it. In two years, we’ll be done, and we won’t be losers anymore,” he reminds her.

He had managed to do the complete opposite of his goal, when he hears Velvet sniffle. He understood, though—it had been a rough night for her. For them both. She needed this.

“I’m right here, I gotcha,” he comforts, gently rubbing her back.

“I know,” she lets out a quiet sob. “I know.”

He holds her through the tears, just as he had countless times.

//

A million thoughts raced through Velvet’s head, sadness flooding back the more she thought about everyone and everything. At least she had a shoulder to cry on, the one person who was there for her.

She had cried plenty that night, but of course her stupid brain had to make her cry again. If only she could be anyone else. But then she wouldn’t have her brother, and she decided that was even worse.

She knew what to do: in hope of blocking out the thoughts, she takes her focus to the rain. It tapped against the window, reminding her that it was okay, even if it was raining.

Velvet focuses on Veneer’s hand on her back: up, down, up, down. She breathes with it, in on the up, out on the down. Veneer breathes with her, until the tears were done.

“I love you,” he tells her, brushing off the last of her tears. “I love you, just the way you are.”

“That’s,” she takes a deep breath, then snickers, “That’s so cheesy.”

“I mean it!” He laughs with her, and flicks her on the arm.

“Yeah, yeah,” she accepts with a playful eye roll. “I love you too.”

“Can I tuck you in?”

She nods, and makes herself comfortable in his sheets. Veneer stands on her side, bringing the blankets up to her shoulders. Once she was tucked in, he leans down and presses a soft kiss to her forehead.

He smiles at her, and she smiles back. Before he moved, she takes his face in her hands, and kisses his forehead next. She already knew it was his favorite.

Veneer lays down beside her, and she quickly wraps her arms around his shoulders. He hugs her close, just as he had the past few nights. Something felt different about this time, though. It was less like she needed him, and more like she wanted him to hold her.

She tried not to think about the after parties she wasn’t invited to, or Juliet spending the night with her girlfriend that should’ve been Velvet. Instead, she was right where she needed to be: in the warm embrace of the person who loved her more than anything.

Her head rested next to his heart, the gentle pulse starting to put her to sleep. She feels a kiss on the top of her head, so she gives him one last squeeze in the hug. She didn’t need to say anything else; her touch was her language.

It couldn’t possibly get worse, so it had to get better, right? Something had to change, they just had to get out of this awful place.

For now, it was raining, and that was okay. The rain would stop eventually.