Trix Harper

“This is New York, most things are put above a human body. But thanks for not mentioning it.” They say sarcastically, but there’s no malice in their tone. Rue seldom took things personally and there wasn’t any harm except for maybe the rats would burrow into the plastic cups. “Not going to lie, none of the hot coffee got on you which means less trouble for me. It could’ve been worse.” They look at the blonde. “Right. No young adult has twenty dollars on them anymore.” Replying with jest, Rue found themselves more entertained than irritated. “If you got hit by a Porsche and lived think of how you could sue the Hell out of them. Then you like to roll into strangers in the middle of the sidewalk for fun? It’s not my first choice for a hobby but you do you.”

“I hate that you’re not wrong.” Trix laughed, both loving New York and hating it. Though, only locals were allowed to hate New York, everyone else was an idiot. “That would’ve been ugly.” Trix grimaced dramatically, mouthing the word yikes. “Well when you put it that way...might fuck around and toss myself into the street on a prayer.” she joked, “You must be some sort of genius.” she added with a smile, being friendly. “I only run into strangers on the sidewalk on purpose sometimes, if they’re cute or if they’re an asshole. Skating is my hobby, running into people and crashing into the ground is just a side effect. But all our virtues have vices.” Trix tilted her head, hoping she’d used those words correctly because honestly? She wasn’t fucking sure. “You look familiar, like I’ve definitely seen you around once or twice. That weird? Whatever.”

Rey had spent all afternoon and at that point all night at work, her partner had had some sort of emergency and as Rey was the one in charge and would never think of neglecting her job, she’d taken on twice the responsibility. There was a funeral happening early the next day and everything had to be perfect and ready. She understood when you were dealing with grief the last thing you wanted to do was have to deal with a million other details, that was what Rey’s exact job was. It was about eleven when she finally managed to change her clothes and get out of the building, she headed to the only spot she knew would be open, Rose Diner. 

Due to the late nights and the fact that she wasn’t too keen on bars, she often found herself there. Ordering the same exact thing that she always did which first began with a rather large glass of orange juice. As she sat at her table, Rey looked around to realize for once the place wasn’t completely packed. “You should try getting the burger with mac and cheese in it. They’ll do that if you ask, it’s the best thing here.” She recommended to the person sitting nearest to her. It was uncharacteristic of her to speak to someone she didn’t know but she also desperately wanted to get her mind off of the past nine hours. 

Trix had picked up the late shift when another waitress called out only an hour beforehand, for the third time. Though she groaned about it, she took the double and knew it would give her leverage the next time she herself was late for a shift (which was bound to happen). Having worked at Rose Diner since she was a teenager, she often felt like she could get away with anything, but she knew she had to prove her worth once in a while to make that possible. Bored with her head balanced on her wrist considering how empty the place was, she noticed someone that came into the diner quite often and made her way over to start conversation. “You know, I started that burger.” Trix bragged just above a whisper, before leaning against the inner side of the diner counter. “What can I say, I might just be a savior to us all.” she joked. 

Harley was minding his own business, waiting for the cross walk signal to change, when suddenly something was colliding with him. He lost his balance, and stumbled back a couple steps before looking to see what had just happened. A blonde with roller skates was on the ground, laughing. As she commented on his build, he laughed and offered her a hand up. “Sorry. I’ll try to work out less, just in case you run into me again. Are you okay?”

“Me? Okay? Never been better, totally downright thriving. My ass and the ground? America’s favorite couple.” Trix joked in ramble fashion as she grabbed the stranger’s hand and pulled herself up, sliding a little before finding her balance. She smacked her hands together to rub the dirt from the sidewalk off of them before looking back up at the man, “You okay?” she asked out of obligation since he’d been so polite, “I mean, ya barely flinched but I feel like I gotta ask so you don’t sue me or something.” she laughed.

Estrella should have known that something to this effect would happen when she’d seen that the girl was paying absolutely no attention to what she was doing. That was why she had tried to step out of her way but that only resulted in their two bodies colliding and an audible gasp escaping from her lips when she realized the other had fallen down. “Oh, goodness. I’m sorry.” The words left her mouth before she could take in what she was saying. “I’d hope so, I work out enough for it.” Estrella laughed, offering her hand to help her up. 

“Sorry? Trix looked up as her face softened, honestly surprised considering most people she ran into on accident always had some choice words (and sorry was scarcely one of them). “Oh...thanks.” Trix grinned, nodding and grabbing the hand stretched toward her before hopping to balance on her skates while squatting, and slowly rising up. “Sorry about that, I get a little distracted.” she said honestly, “You took it like a champ though!” Trix added as if it made the situation better. Trix laughed at Estrella’s comment, “Yeah you definitely look like you work out.” 

“Yeah! If you’re into DIY punk, you should totally come with me sometime!” Dottie was pretty forward when it came to making new friends, a fault that her mother always warned her would come back to bite her. It hadn’t yet, so she chose to embrace her sociable nature. “I’m twenty-one, and if you’re old you definitely don’t look it.” Dot gave a reassuring nod as she tucked the rest of her stack into her tote, carefully avoiding pinning Whiskers beneath it (she refused to leave the house without the rodent, probably a result of some unresolved abandonment issues). “Oh, I’m looking to start a band. Know anyone?”

“For real? That’s cool of you considering we don’t know each other. I’m Trix!” she said enthusiastically, holding her hand out for a handshake. “Damn, you look younger! I feel like that’s a compliment though, no one wants to look old. Oh, you think so?” Trix tilted her head bashfully, though giving Dottie a theatrical wink. “What can I say, I’ve got the skin of a baby’s ass, or whatever the saying is.” Trix’s eyebrows perked up, genuinely intrigued by Dottie’s search, “A band? Are you a musician? That’s pretty fucking rad. God, I wish. I can’t play anything, though I feel like I’d be good at the drums? You know, if someone taught me, I feel like I’d shred it.” Trix nodded to convince mostly herself.

Chandler heard the ‘fuck’ before he felt himself crashing to the ground. “The fuck?” He asked himself, before sitting up and realizing some dumbass had run into him on her skates. And she was complaining about her ass? He looked down at his skinned forearm and sighed. “Are you fucking blind? Watch where you’re going next time!”

Trix’s voice was originally playful, and she hadn’t expected such a malicious reply from the stranger, so when Chandler cursed back at her she was taken aback. Her eyebrows narrowed and her gaze fixed on his forearm. “Oh, don’t be such a fucking wuss.” she spit back at him, balancing on her arms stretched behind her as she sat on the ground with one knee bent upward. “Maybe you should watch where you’re standing, you big fat baby.” she squinted her eyes at him, blowing her tongue out like a child before sighing, “It’s just a little scrape, too bad a band-aid won’t fix your crap attitude.” 

“Too soon to tell. I might be sure after the first date,” Zoe teased. It was harmless flirting! That wasn’t criminal! At least, that’s what Zoe was feeding herself to ward off the awareness that she shouldn’t be flirting with strangers. Or anyone who wasn’t her boyfriend, really. “Ugh, fine. Keep me guessing. If you’re not careful, I’ll write a song about you, mystery girl in red skates.” Being a musician was great, because it meant that Zoe could spin this encounter into something profitable later if she’d gotten nothing else out of it. Very intentionally sweeping her hair over to one shoulder, she continued to preen from the girl’s praise. “You’re so pretty. I could say the same about you,” she responded with equal earnest. “Rock and roll? That’s a tier under ‘punk rock’ but, by Courtney Love, I’ll take it.” Her eyes, which haven’t left the other, held her question before she verbally asked it. “Who are you? I’m Zoe Levin, babe, and you’ll wanna remember me.” Oh, fuck. That didn’t sound good. “Yikes. How hard did’ja hit your head? Will you even remember your name?” She wanted to ask, will you even remember me, but it didn’t feel like the time to ask about herself when the other girl potentially had amnesia.

“Ha!” Trix laughed, surprised and caught off guard by how forward the other girl was, but Trix was into it. “Guess we’ll have to set it up and find out.” she shrugged, but figuratively rolled the ball slowly back in the other girl’s court. “Okay, I would literally die if you wrote a song about me. That’s got the be like, the most dramatic, cliché, and yet sexiest thing ever? Is that basic of me?” she laughed. “Let me know whatever I have to do to get a song out of you, I’ll do it.” Trix said softly, tilting her chin up at the end, almost like they were sharing the very secrets she had just promised to hide, dare in her voice. She pursed her lips into a smile and rolled her eyes when Zoe called her pretty, "I go by Trix, I prefer it. And I’m not worried about forgetting you.” Trix gave Zoe a quick once over before she started giggling, “Oh god, no, I’m totally fine. I’m just a fool and forgot where exactly I was headed. But honestly, guess it’s just not important now. Oops.” she shrugged while laughing, slowly swinging the earbuds in her hand as the cord wrapped around her finger. “Where were you headed, Zoe?”

Holding true to his promise, he pursed his lips but didn’t speak on the topic. “That’s a good philosophy to live by. I can definitely say some of the best experiences came from free things.” His eyes drifted to the corner. Of course he meant right now but he hadn’t thought that far in advance. Still new and not knowing the area well he’d resorted to getting a daily coffee from the bodega directly beneath his apartment. Throw in a bagel and it was a good deal for $3. “Sure,” Finn had to admire the bit of spontaneity, despite the coffee still in his hand, which he had finally loosen his grip from. “Is it a local thing or some chain?” 

“This?” He held up the piece. A bit of a splurge buy a few years ago. There were plenty of other mirrorless cameras on the market, but who can resist the vintage style. “A Fujifulm X-A7. You know, if I wasn’t the one you ran into, I probably would have been taking photos of it. Do you skate often? ”

“Oh, true, like sex. Oh, and swimming!” Trix shrugged enthusiastically, her attention already shifting to getting to the coffee shop. She skated backwards slowly, leading the way for the pair while also facing him. “I know what you’re thinking.” she teased, “This probably isn’t the best idea given I just rammed into someone a few minutes ago but-” she said, turning in a full circle and tucking her legs one behind the other to move backwards in a rhythm, “I trust you’ll tell me if someone is behind me.” she laughed. “Between you and me, I kind of like the stress of anything-can-happen.” 

“Local, duh.” Trix said as if it would be obvious, cocking an eyebrow at the man whose name she hadn’t yet bothered to ask for, “You not from here, huh?” Trix’s eyes lit up and she dropped her mouth into an ‘O’ from excitement, “Wow, that’s pretty wicked. So, are you like a camera-camera guy or just one of those hipsters that carries one around to look cool and artsy?” There was a bit of sass in her voice as she teased him, but she stopped abruptly when she almost passed the storefront. “Ooof!” she let out, feeling her body hit the air around her. Bowing dramatically she reached her arm out for him, “After you, good sir.” she grinned. Stepping forward with her skates afterward, hand pressed on the door, her mind came back to her, “I skate any chance I get. Can ya tell?” 

A short chuckle escaped as he shook his head. “I’ll plead the fifth on that one.” He wasn’t rich by any means but he was far from struggling. He managed his finances well and lived relatively meagerly to save up cash for projects. A lot of camping. His apartment in Crown Heights was an exception. “I can afford to buy you a pack of ice and a coffee to make up for the fall though.” 

“That’s what a rich person would say.” Trix grinned, but took his hand anyway for the ease of rising off the ground with some balance support. She shrugged, “Sounds good to me. I don’t pass up free things.” And that was the truth, spending most of her adulthood working to contribute to her family’s livelihood, and blowing the rest of her cash on stupid irresponsible purchases, she wasn’t one to turn down any idea. She placed one earbud back into her ear comfortably as she balanced on her skates, “You meant now, right? Bean Brew is around the corner and if I never see you again I’ll never get that free coffee. I'll pass on the ice pack though, I've taken worse falls.” she said while pointing her thumb behind her, an air of humor always at home in her voice. “What’s that?” she added, nodding in the direction of the camera he carried. 

Dot giggled at the comment, she was sure some would argue that she’d in fact, explode into pink confetti if burst. Dorothy scrambled to her feet, dusting off her knees before holding a hand out to the stranger. “Oh, I’m okay. I mosh every weekend, this was nothing. Promise.” She shrugged off the soreness of her knees, and instead focused on getting her on her feet quickly so she could recover the few want ads that didn’t fly into the curbside sludge. “I’m Dottie, by the way. You’re pretty good at that skating thing.”

“Right on!” Trix yelled out when Dottie reached out a hand to her, grabbing it and shooting herself up. “Mosh? Like at a show? God, I haven’t gone to a show in forever. It’s been like two whole weeks.” Trix laughed, “You’re a bit young? Or...am I a bit old? Oh...oh no.” Trix pondered, hand resting to her chin as she spaced out at the concept. “Let’s not discuss.” she joked, nodding at Dottie. “You think so? Pretty good at falling on my ass.” she smacked her own bottom carelessly. “You should see me in the rink.” Trix said as she moved around in a slow circle, playing with her foot work to show off to Dottie. “What’re these?” she asked, attention span short, reaching down to grab some of the papers Dottie had dropped. 

She wasn’t and she shouldn’t. But. "I’m not saying I’m not, but…” Zoe trailed off coyly, pulling the other girl to her feet — or, well, to her skates. The bewilderment at the girl’s forwardness passed after a fraction of a second. “Is busting your ass how you pick up girls? I mean, if that’s what they’re into, rights. I won’t kink-shame.” At the attention drawn to her hair, she gives her hair a flip, a ripple flowing through the curtain of red. “I know, right? All natural ginger, baby!” It was a scientific fact that her red hair was her best feature. “It says ‘I was born to be seen.’ Except by skaters, obviously, but I’m not mad. Where are you dashing off to?”

“Sad.” Trix shrugged, not super butt hurt if the red head wasn’t hitting on her, but she wouldn’t have minded. Trix nodded at Zoe, “Depends, is it working?” a soft smirk pursed onto the blond’s lips. She waved her hand, “Besides, if I tell you all my pick up secrets, what’s the point?” Trix would be a liar if she said she’d never used her skates to sneak a date. Though that wasn’t what had happened moments prior, she wouldn’t of been upset if it ended in her favor. “It’s really so pretty! Like I could spot you in a crowd, hands down. It’s really rock & roll, too.” she complimented the girl, genuinely and not out of flirting. “Uh,” Trix put her hands to her hips and let out a raspberry, “I seem to have forgotten. That...can’t be good.” she laughed. 

Rue lets out an ‘oof’ as their bodies collide but recovers quickly as they watch the other fall to the ground. The real victim of this accident was the tray of coffees that they had been carrying as they were on their way to work and was feeling generous enough to give Rob and the rest of them something to help them get through the day. They watch as the liquid runs along the sidewalk. “Dammit.” They mutter under their breath. “Tell that to my mocha latte. You can live with a little bruise on your tailbone.” Rue leans down, outstretching their hand to help the other up. “It serves you right for skating on the sidewalk. You ever think there’s a bike lane for a reason?”

“Oooh......fuck.” Trix’s eyes trailed to the side at the awkwardness of the coffee dripping down the sidewalk. She was surprised the stranger reached a hand out to her, and she grabbed it quickly before the offer expired, rising to balance herself on her skates. “Thanks. I won’t say anything about you putting coffee above a human body,” she said, doing just that, “but uh, wow, that really sucks. Yikes.” Trix grimaced, swaying forward and back on their skates. “I would offer to pay for it but like, I won’t. I mean, I can’t. You know, money is tight.” she shrugged and then laughed, “Oh, you think I trust New York drivers not to end my life? Rather a person than a Porsche.” 

“Woah, woah, woah. Are you alright?” He hadn’t even seen her crash into him, just felt the thump and subconsciously gripped his coffee tighter barely managing to save it. “Fuck–Sorry.” Realizing he’d only made the effort to save his drink rather than the person who’d fallen to the ground, he reached out a hand. “Anything broken?” 

Trix looked up at the man she’d crashed into, his hand gripping his coffee for dear life. She looked at the hand he reached out to her and cocked an eyebrow before she considered taking it, “Depends, are you rich?”

Dot was in her usual state of being, a stack of “musicians wanted” ads in her arms and her hearing obscured by bulky headphones blasting Mozart–– as mentioned by her professor, she’d be learning the arrangement in the fall and it was best to get a good head start. She was halfway done fastening her ad onto a lamp post when a stranger (on wheels??) collided with her small frame, sending them both to the ground. “Holy––!” she gasped, her hands instantly clasping over her mouth as she watched the sky rain fluorescent pink construction paper. “Are you okay? You aren’t hurt, are you?” 

Trix barely saw the girl on the floor near her, looking up to bright pink paper in the sky like magic, she grinned. “It’s like I popped you and confetti came out!” Trix leaned forward to tighten the laces on her skates, choosing to stay on the ground where she was in talking level with the other blonde. “Don’t worry about me, I eat cement as a hobby. You don’t put on skates without expecting to dive at some point.” she said in reference to falling, a scrape always making a home on her knee. She looked at her hands to see reddening scratches on her palms from trying to catch herself. “Are you good? Took it like a fighter.” she finally looked over and smiled, reaching her leg out to nudge Dottie’s leg. 

Zoe was an adult. She should not have thought it was peak comedy when someone ate shit. And yet…. “I’ve seen worse asses,” she giggled as she extended a hand. “Me? Brick? You’re no fairy yourself.”

Trix was relieved the stranger laughed too instead of yelling at her (which she expected from good ol’ New York). When the other girl commented, she tilted her head to the side and scoffed, “Are you...hitting on me? That’s cheesy.” she shrugged with a grin, “I mean cool if you are, and too bad if you aren't, this would be a top tier Rom-Com Meet Cute.” she reached out to grab the girl’s extended hand, sliding as she balanced herself on her skates to rise. “Oh, see now that’s a compliment. God, your hair is so red. Is it naturally that color? It’s so fucking bright. Damn, I love it.” 

hi it’s your girl toon, ready to give you love!!!