All Vice. No Virtue.

He took her hand and helped her up for the second time that night, making sure the girl wouldn’t stumble. “Coffee, huh? I do appreciate a good cup of coffee.” He gestured for her to walk a little bit ahead of him. “There’s a good place down the corner.”

"All coffee places are good places," Nova muttered, eyes wandering. "Your hand is warm," she told the man, rubbing the top of his knuckles. His hand was soft for a guy, not bony and calloused like hers and all her friends. "What do you do?" she asked.

"True, but I don’t think that makes it any better," he said, raising an eyebrow. "Somewhere warmer, I don’t know. I was only taking a walk, to be honest. Hot chocolate? Are you the type? What do you feel like doing?"

"Coffee," she muttered, holding her hand up so he would help her stand. "I'm...the coffee type. Hot chocolate is just chocolate milk from the microwave if it's not the good kind. I like...coffee."

"You sure? There are more comfortable places to lean on," he said. "Warmer too. It’s a cold night." He looked around for a moment, noticing the lack of general traffic around the area. "Why are you out here anyway?"

"It's not that cold," she remarked. "There's been colder." She sighed, and she was reminded of the way the cold winter air burned in her lungs so she looked up. "Where do you wanna go?" 

He stopped walking when she slid down the wall, not sure whether to help her up again or to just stay there. “Are you alright? I mean, is that comfortable?” he asked. “Funny, why not June then? There are many songs with months in their titles though.”

"Not that my mom would have liked. But I'm fine," she said, her voice in that faraway place again. Her mother had always called it "that goddamn castle in the clouds," and Nova hadn't found out what it meant until she was 15. By then, it was too late to ask her mother anything except "Where are the cigarettes." 

Itch || Open

Itch || Nova & Lexy

Lexy started to walk backwards. “Just remember that I tried to help when your life goes down the toilet.”

Nova spat on Lexy's shoes and shook her head. "Fuck you," she said, glaring at her. "Fuck you and fuck your fucking savior act. And while you're at it, fuck yourself." 

I Hate Hospitals | Nova and Adam

Reconnect || Abel and Nova

Itch || Nova & Lexy

"I’m not pretending. You’re the one who came crying to me about how you didn’t want to be like her. Yet, here you are doing the exact same thing she did. You have everything going for you, why would you want to throw that all away for drugs?"

"Go away, Lexy," Nova demanded. She released Lexy's wrist with a shove and a grunt. All she wanted was some fucking smack, but goddamn Lexy... God, Nova hated Lexy. Her fucking perfect life and pretty face. The way she got to be so naive for so long. "Get the fuck away from me."

Itch || Nova & Lexy

"Wow, so you can tell me all about my life, but I can’t say anything about yours. That just makes a ton of sense. Nova, stop. Why can’t you just tell me? Do you want to end up like your mom?"

Nova gripped lexy's wrist and pulled her close. "Listen up, princess," she spat. "Don't you ever pretend to know half of what I've been through. Who I am. Who my godforsaken mother was. Becuase we're not you. We didn't get luck and pretty blonde hair handed to us. We built and earned everything we've had. And it hasn't always been silver spoons and clean needles. So fuck off already."

Itch || Nova & Lexy

"We’re not dating. He just does the same thing you’re doing right now. Changing the conversation so you don’t have to answer a stupid question. And I’m not a slut."

Nova scoffed. "Yeah, Lexy. And I'm a girl scout. This is a fun game. Now, I'm Napolean's reanimated corpse. You win. Bye."

Itch || Nova & Lexy

"It has nothing to with him. Why is it so hard to just answer the stupid question?"

"Then why'd you bring him up? Ugh, please don't tell me you're dating. God, Lexy, you're like a demon slut from hell."