The elevator chimes were a death knell in the sterile hallway. Vee’s feet slapped against the linoleum, her breath coming in shallow hitches. She reached the call button, her hand shaking so violently she nearly missed.
"Why do you get to go back up?"
The voice was a jagged distortion of Glisten’s vanity. He pulled himself out of the shadows, his frame warped and elongated, his mirror-like skin cracked into a thousand sharp, leaking shards. He wasn't looking for comfort; he was looking for her light.
"Glisten, please," Vee whispered, her eyes wide as she backed into the closing space. "The machines are finished. I have to go."
"They love you, Vee," he rasped, his cracked face twitching as he lunged forward, trailing black ink. "I see it on every screen. The spotlight... it’s always on you. If I can’t have it, I’ll take yours. I’ll be you."
"You were always enough, Glisten!" she cried, the elevator doors beginning to slide shut.
Memories flared in the static between them: Glisten pushing his way to the front of the stage, the bitter silence when the cameras stayed on Vee, and the way he used to obsessively polish his reflection while muttering her lines.
"I was never enough for them!" He threw himself at the threshold, his fingers too long and sharp clawing at the floor to stop her. "Don't leave me down here where it’s dark! If you go, I’m just a broken mirror. Stay! Give me the spotlight! Give me the eyes! Vee, please... don't let me be invisible again!"
The doors groaned, pushing against his distorted limbs. He wasn't just begging for her to stay; he was begging for her life, his voice breaking into a guttural, envious sob as the light from the elevator car began to fade.
"I’m the star," he choked out, his eyes weeping dark ichor. "Vee, tell them I’m the star..."
The doors clicked shut, severing his final scream and leaving Vee in a silence that tasted like copper and regret.
I love writing short stories like this. I love writing Glisten's and Vee's relationship with each other. For those who don't play or know the lore of DW = pink sentences: Glisten green sentences: Vee ^^ enjoy this little treat.
