A Little Wicked

* ⟢

zeke huffed, covering the spot she punched. he would say it was a little rough to be playful.. but that’s only because he was so damn whiny about alice. she was truly the kryptonite to his batman or however that goes. “not avoid. just– not get noticed by.” he said returning a fake smile before he pulled his hoodie down. “glad to see your in such a great mood, alice. what’d you do? kick a puppy before you walked in here?”

☆

Alice pouted and batted her eyelashes a little. She never said she wasn’t dramatic. “Oh no, Zeke! Not get noticed by me? You know I could never miss you. And here I was about to offer to pay for your drink.” The red-head raised an eyebrow as she took a step closer to Zeke. If anything, she was petty enough to make herself harder to ignore. She decided she would stand in line with him instead. That would show him for trying to avoid her! “Oh god, no! I would never kick a puppy. They’re one of the only things that really like me and give me the attention I need, sweetie. Just happy to have a day off work. What has you so miserable? Lady troubles?” 

* ✶ ━

as long as the focus was on alice, yujin was having a splendid time. it was unlike herself to reveal much detail, and her acquaintance already knew more than she would like. so now that the roles were reversed, or alice was trying to reverse them… yujin recoiled. “well, i’m sure you’ll do fine. you might now have the exact experience required, but… it’s not difficult.” god, what child wasn’t taught to share? but she figured alice had everything handed to her, or at least demanded everything. “absolutely. for us, i mean. the second option is so final, but you can come back to humiliation time and time again.” prolonging the fun, that’s what she was all about. “absolutely not. i wouldn’t last a day.”

☆

Alice raised an eyebrow slightly as she noticed Yujin seemed to change up a little bit. “Are you sure it’s not difficult? I thought you of all people would jump at the chance to teach me a lesson,” Alice smirked. She was mostly just messing with her at this point. “That’s true. I’ll have to take the humiliation a little lightly at first though. I don’t want to scare my doctor away.” Alice let out an exaggerated sigh. “I don’t know how I bear it somedays, honestly. Someone is bound to get a coffee over their head someday.”

x

Chris was tempted to ask her to repeat herself as he recorded so he’d have something to show to certain people when they said he was less then sweet. But that seemed a little weird given how little time they’d known each other. He wriggles his eyebrows a little as her with a grin as one eye drops into a wink, “Now I can’t be telling you that. It might get back to my boss.” He mulled those words over for a while, did he consider himself a professional mischief maker? Huh, he’d never really thought about it before. “If someone would pay me for fucking up someone elses day, I think it would be my dream job.”

☆

* ✶ ━

yujin shrugged. this conversation was getting way too alice-centered for her taste, and she wasn’t that interested in reassuring the girl over and over again. she could take the advice or leave it, it meant nothing to her. but alice would be a worse enemy than she made a friend. “see! that’s interesting,” she replied with a wicked grin. “exactly right. why do things on your own, when you can share the fun?” she shook her head, taking a moment to think about her words while she took another sip of her coffee. “now, now. killing… i wouldn’t go that far, he’s relatively harmless. besides, wouldn’t it be better to utterly humiliate him in front of everyone he respects?” she shrugged. “you truly can’t.”

☆

Alice let out a quiet hum as she took another sip of her coffee. She felt bad talking about herself so much. She honestly didn’t notice it was something she did until her therapist pointed it out to her. Sharing the fun was definitely a newer concept to her. “You might have to school me a little on sharing the fun. I’m not quite used to it.” She forced a smile. “Oh you do have a point. Humiliation is way more satisfying than death or so I’ve heard.” Alice smirked as she stirred her coffee. “At least your work is bearable. You could be doing my job. It’s awful.”

* ✶ ━

even though yujin didn’t like alice much, she could see the value in her. and the last thing she’d recommend anyone do was change who they were to fit in. “good. or abandon the process entirely, not that i give a fuck. but it keeps people on their toes, and that’s hilarious to watch sometimes.” well, what could she say? even heartless bitches needed entertainment. “exactly. but i think it’s even funnier when they try to fight back and your argument just writes itself. digging themselves a hole with every word? i live for that, truly.” she grinned. hey, at least they got along in each other’s face. “oh, absolutely. i’m planning on calling the whole gang to take him down. models, dancers, figure skaters, we’ll all bond together to destroy him piece by piece. so start making a list.” she shrugged. “of course. he still thinks he’s a gentleman, after all.”

☆

“I am pretty good at keeping on my own toes,” Alice smirked. “You might be right about that. Maybe a little more self-control and I can catch people by surprise. Now that sounds like fun!” She really did want to be a better person, but that took time. Why couldn’t she have a little fun with it while she was practicing? “I do love to watch people squirm. That sort of thing is more fun to do with friends sometimes too.” Alice let out a loud laugh as she ran a hand through her hair. “Keep me on the top of that list. Or maybe the bottom. I might just kill him before anyone else gets a chance to do anything. At least the other brother is somewhat of a gentleman. I mean you can’t win them all, right?” Alice could definitely win them all but that was besides the point.

* ✶ ━

yujin didn’t exactly call alice a friend, but she certainly was closer with the girl than most people. closer than acquaintance, too, but she figured that in order to be actual friends, she’d had to like the other person. and alice simply wasn’t likeable. “oh, well. it might be part of your charm. i wouldn’t change so quickly,” she answered, quickly followed up by a sip of coffee. “i’ll drink to that. to all the stupid fuckers in the world who give us a chance to prove them wrong.” she lifted her cup, then wrapped her hands around it to warm them up. “it’s torture, let me tell you. but i have my eye on the prize, and once i take over or start my own business, i’m going to make his life an absolute hell.” she wasn’t even joking. the shit she took from that man… where was her nobel peace prize? “depends on what he feels like. he prefers to spend his lunch breaks with me.”

☆

A smile spread across Alice’s face as the rare compliment from Yujin sunk in. “You think? I guess I’ll make the process a little bit slower then,” she smirked. Alice raised her cup slightly as she went to take a sip. “I do love when I don’t have to fight to prove people wrong and they just let me. It makes my life so much easier.” Alice let out a laugh and nodded her head. “Well you let me know if I can join you on that journey to make his life hell when the time comes. I would love to use my powers to make grown men cry for good for once.” She really did want to work on being a better person but she would make an exception for Felipe. “Does he at least pay for your food and respect your personal space?”

* ✶ ━

yujin might despise alice at times, but she was never going to kick her when she was down and couldn’t handle it. and she wasn’t going to deny her some self-love either. “as you should,” she smiled, and for a change, it came close to being genuine. “well, sometimes people don’t understand you unless you’re harsh with them. so i wouldn’t blame you… just don’t snap. stand your ground like you always do, but i don’t see the need to sugarcoat things in front of people who are supposed to be professionals.” she shrugged, warming her hands around her coffee cup. “honestly? i pretend he’s someone else and think of everything i can achieve once i’m done with him. it helps a lot, but it’s not great, no.” she shook her head, annoyed already now that the conversation turned to the moreno brothers. “hadrian is honestly not that bad. he leaves me alone most of the time.”

☆

Alice didn’t have many friends and it had taken her a lot to consider Yujin something even close to a friend, but still she was grateful for her. Sometimes. "I think the line between snapping and being harsh runs a little thin with me. I’ll work on it,” she replied sarcastically. “You’re right about that though. If you’re a professional, you should be able to take constructive criticism.” Alice nodded her head. Did she ever snap at someone who told them she made their coffee wrong? Absolutely, but she was not a professional. Alice didn’t know how Yujin put up with Felipe. Honestly, she would probably hurl him out a window. “That’s something I can understand. I think you’re worth so much more than working under someone like him.” The red-head wrinkled her nose in disgust before she took a sip of coffee. “At least he leaves you alone. That’s more than most people can ask with a job like that.”

her comment makes him laugh – out loud. it’s a short laugh, and doesn’t last very long, but there is volume, that’s for sure. “that’s very true.” henry looks at alice when he speaks, then turning the top half of his body back towards the art on display. he’s looking at it all – eyes roaming between piece and piece – and then the suggestion peaks interest. “sure!” it comes out a little… too eager. “I mean, sure. I’m curious.” henry lightly chuckles a little awkwardly then clears his throat as there becomes a small silence after he finishes talking. “is it just down there?” he asks, curiously, pointing down a short hallway. his neck cranes a little to take a look at the various doors lined up nearby one another down the small space. some are a crack open, others completely shut. if he wasn’t already curious about the paintings and alice’s artwork – which he was – then henry definitely was now. slowly, but surely, his interest and attention was being drawn by what could be. maybe the unknown, and finding out what the was, really captured the man – maybe it was something he couldn’t not think about or focus on.

☆

Alice smirked as she crossed her arms in front of herself. She could still be bitter about not being able to skate anymore but making jokes about it made it hurt a little less sometimes. “Unfortunately, I wasn’t exactly known for my brains,“ she rolled her eyes and shrugged her shoulders. Her smirk turned into a genuine smile as she nodded her head and motioned down the short hallway. “Sure is! First door on the left.” Alice stepped around Henry quickly and made her way down the hall. Her hand stopped on the doorknob. “Before I show you, I suppose I should warn you. Sometimes I have some really dark nightmares...I end up painting them or...I guess how I feel about them? A therapist I had a while ago suggested it and I sort of never stopped. Just a warning,” she shrugged again as she opened the door.

it’s always beautiful seeing people smile, somethings that the dead can’t do, something so beautifully alive that gives mackenzie hope - as small as that may be. “you’re welcome, i’m excited to spend time with you today.” mackenzie spoke softly, looking at the other with warmth. 

there’s a pause after the offer, before mack grabs a chunk and takes a bite; watching as their lip gloss stays on the remaining candy floss and starts to melt a little bit. it’s like the video of the raccoon dropping the candy floss in the puddle and watching it disappear, something so simple yet so entrancing. mack loved this stuff, watching it all with a soft wonder. “oh yes! those things are beautiful, the natural preservation of them is wonderous! i’m certain they’d have it…” mack bounced a little, looking over at her. “we should follow the usual route but just walk faster through the boring bits, i don’t think there are any kind of shortcuts to the sharks…” they smiled, as they started to walk towards the entrance.

☆

Alice hadn’t spent the day with someone doing something so painfully normal in a really long time. It surprisingly felt nice. “Oh. Thank you,” she let out a small laugh. 

Alice pulled out another small piece of cotton candy for herself and allowed herself to let out a small, happy sigh at the taste of pure sugar. “Aren’t they though? I know some people think they’re creepy but I know I went to an aquarium when I was a kid that had those and little starfish in a touch tank. It was cool as hell,” she smirked a little bit. “Yes I think that sounds good! I feel like we’ll avoid most of the little kids and stuff since they’ll probably flock to the little clownfish and shit.” She agreed as she began to follow her date.

x

“Yeah, no, you seem to pretty to be a Karen,” he mused and also a little too scary. He didn’t know why, it was just a vibe he was getting. Chris liked to think he was good at picking up on vibes. He grins a little, turning to glance at her, “Oh man you’ve definitely never had me as your postman then. Their for sure be more complaints in my file. I fuck up a lot.” Maybe he shouldn’t be quite so proud of that fact. Hesitating for a moment he skips into step next to her, shoving both his hands into his jacket’s pockets to keep them warm and safe. “Just the answer I like to hear,” he grins again, eyebrows going up a little. “Chris. Alice suits you better then Karen.”

☆

“Aw well isn’t that sweet,” Alice laughed. She was honest about that. Not many people would think that being told you’re not a Karen was a sweet compliment or a compliment at all, but Alice did. “Do you count it as a fuck up or do you do it on purpose?” She was just being honest. Alice liked chaos so she couldn’t blame the guy if he favored it a little too much too. “So you like to make mischief then? Professionally, I mean.”

as the woman spoke, mackenie just smiled, shaking her head. “alice is beautiful, it’s nice and short, you don’t need a nickname.” they smiled, head falling to the side a little as they spoke. they were getting more comfortable with the other, and somewhere as neutral as the aquarium allowed them to breathe a little easier. 

at the mention of sugar, mackenzie beamed a smile and nodded their head. “ah i would love some, thank you- i haven’t had cotton candy in forever, but i remember how fun it is.” they grinned, before thinking about alice’s words. “oh totally, i’d love it if we could stop so i can take photos of the preserved animals, but other than that you can lead the way!” they grinned, rocking on the balls of their feet. was it macabre to want to see the intricacies of preserving squid? slightly, but mac was never one for normalcy.

☆

Alice smiled a little more genuinely this time. “Oh really? Thanks that’s...sweet.” She let out a quiet laugh. Maybe an aquarium wouldn’t be so bad after all. It was definitely a more neutral place than anywhere else she could think of. There was less pressure and that was actually nice for one.

The red-head smirked as she held the bag out. “There you go, help yourself!” Mackenzie’s new excitement seemed like it was going to be infectious. Her eyebrows raised slightly in thought before she nodded her head. “Oh sure. That actually sounds pretty cool. I wonder if they have those horseshoe crabs here. You know, the things that are as old as the dinosaurs. We should see about those too. They look pretty cool.” Alice added. At least they didn’t say something about being excited to see some small silly fish. 

speaking with alice in the waiting room of the physical therapy office always felt like almost as though it was a whirlwind of a conversation for henry. in the way that alice typically did more of the talking, not that the man minded. he was more of a listener anyway. the last time the two were together somehow they’d gotten on the topic of alice’s past in figure skating as well as her newfound art. henry, being curious, had wanted to see and now here he was. knocking at the woman’s front door. henry stood there, waiting, for a minute or two before the panelling flew backwards, making him lean his neck back in surprise while eyebrows raise at the same time. nonetheless, the brunet smiles and nods a small nod before making his way into the house. “not too bad,” he says, walking more slowly – mostly because of the man’s typical walking movements but also because of his interest in the pieces of work displayed before him. “it wasn’t too terribly hard to find.” henry pauses, looking at one of the canvases. “you’re really good,” he says, though his eyes never leave the strokes he’s eyeing; too interested to look away. “you know that?”

Alice stepped to the side to make more room to allow her friend to enter without too much difficulty. It was probably shitty of her, but she couldn’t stop the thought that she could be so much worse off from crossing her mind as she closed the door behind him. “Oh good. I got lost myself a few times when I first moved here. Then again, my whole career involved spinning in circles so directions might not be my strong suit.” She let out a little laugh as she stepped up beside him. “You think so? I mean, I tend to do exceptionally well at most things I do but this...I’m never sure if I’m doing the right thing, you know?” Alice frowned slightly as she turned to face Henry. “I keep the prettier paintings out here, though. I don’t want to scare away any of my guests!” She half-joked. “I keep the ones that I paint for more therapeutic purposes in the extra bedroom if you’d like to see those too,” she added. Honestly, she found that she wanted his opinion on the piece she’d been working on for a few weeks but she didn’t want to force him to see that shit if he didn’t really want to. 

* ✶ ━

yujin couldn’t help the smirk that played on her lips. “exactly, and don’t you let anyone forget it.” except her, because she couldn’t give less of a shit, but she put up with it for the sake of… well, what? friendship? more like someone to vent to who understood. “i mean, that’s completely true. like as a professional you can’t ghost someone, especially not for petty reasons like that. i granted, i’ve seen you angry and you can be terrifying if you want to be! but if they’re not prepared to deal with that they should’ve gone into a different profession.” but the topic shifted back to yujin, and she visibly got more excited. “well, definitely stay away from felipe moreno. and his brother, for that matter, but felipe’s the disgusting creep of the trio.”

☆

“Oh you know I won’t, darling. I haven’t let anyone forget it yet!” She didn’t plan on letting people forget about her or her opinions at all, in fact. Once she could get back on the ice, she planned on shoving her opinions about certain things right down a certain someone’s throat. Figuratively, of course. At least Yujin seemed to get that. “Right. I wouldn’t want to be unprofessional even though that’s not something I really have to worry about. I suppose I can try to voice my...displeasure with them in a kinder way. I might have to really practice some self control for a little bit, though.” She laughed as she blew on her coffee to cool it before she took a sip. “Felipe Moreno is already on my shit list. I don’t know how you can bear to work for a man who won’t even take the time to get both sides of the story. Now that’s someone that I’d like to give a piece of my mind.” The red-head almost snarled as she took another sip of her coffee. “Oh! I think I met the other one! He has some lovely little dogs I got to pet.”

love wasn’t common to them, as mackenzie only really dealt with the effects of it. scorned lovers, tragic deaths, and a legitimately broken heart for one old man. the whole valentines day thing never appealed to them, finding it rather annoying- all that sugar and expectation. almost every year they spent it hard at work, but when they got an invitation to a lupercalia celebration, who were they to say no… 

the easy part was getting there, the harder part was actually knowing who they were supposed to meet. someone named alice… that wasn’t exactly much to go on, so they just stood there looking like a fish out of water until someone tapped them on the shoulder.

“oh! you surprised me- i uh, yes! i’m mackenzie, you can call me mac if you prefer… you must be alice, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” they smiled, thankful they had worn a large coat that almost swallowed them up- like a shield for their own awkardness. 

☆

Alice felt a little more at ease now that she had been able to meet up with her date. She was pleasantly surprised. At least they were good looking even if they did seem a little shy. “Oh well, then I guess I’ll call you Mac!” She flashed Mackenzie a bright smile. “But yes, I’m Alice. I’m afraid I don’t have any nicknames for you to call me,” she joked. 

The red-head glanced around awkwardly for a moment before she held up the bag in her hand. “I would shake your hand, but my fingers are probably sticky. I got some cotton candy and other stuff if you want any.” She might as well be nice. “I figured we could speed through most of the small fish and get to the cool stuff! You know, sharks. Jellyfish. I mean, if you’re alright with that.”