Lacus could only stare speechless, eyes wide as she watched the blond young man leave and close the door behind him.
Dearka. Was he really Mir’s boyfriend? If so, did that mean the brunette was cheating on him? Why would she do that? She barely knew any of them, but surely this Dearka was more of a catch than Tolle.
He was better looking for a start. It was only a superficial judgement, but still. Dearka also seemed like he’d probably be more fun, more like Miriallia herself. Plus, his reaction at seeing the pinkette went better than expected. Sure, he may not have looked away, but at least he hadn’t tried anything. Especially considering the position in which he’d found her. That was something the pinkette couldn’t say about most guys she’d met lately.
On the other hand, she and Tolle may have simply gotten off on the wrong foot. Maybe her opinion of the man would be different if he ran a more professional and legitimate club, say, one without all the perverts and strippers. And of course, maybe if he hadn’t hit her. Sure, maybe her actions did deserve consequences, and running a business must be stressful, which Lacus’ bail surely didn’t help, but that hardly excused the way Tolle had spoken and acted.
If Miriallia hadn’t been there to calm him down, Lacus didn’t know what might have happened.
The pinkette shuddered at the thought, before pushing it from her mind. The honest truth was, Lacus didn’t know any of these people, not really. To pretend she did, or make judgements under the guise of familiarity was foolish to say the least.
The girl turned around and opened the other door. As Dearka had said, the door turned out to be a closet.
Lacus browsed the inventory within and was more surprised than impressed. There was a wide variety of shapes and colours from which she could choose, but nothing that the pinkette particularly wanted to wear, or that she thought would suit. In fact, most of the garments were more akin to costumes than clothes.
“Beggars can’t be choosers,” the girl sighed, searching for something, anything that was even remotely suitable. Eventually, she settled on the only sensible choice… well, the most sensible anyway. Miriallia’s wardrobe wasn’t exactly conservative. Perhaps it was fitting, considering what the brunette did for a living… whatever that might be.
Lacus felt more than a little awkward at borrowing the brunette’s clothes, but that was nothing when the next thought crossed her mind. Lacus still had no idea where Mir had hidden her underwear.
What should she do? She was taking the other girl’s clothing. That was enough of an intrusion without stealing her undergarments too. That would be too much, even without the question of whether they would fit her. Were they similar enough in size that… no. Lacus couldn’t borrow the other girl’s underwear, she wouldn’t even entertain the thought. But she couldn’t wear her clothes without it, could she? Did she… have a choice?
The thought sickened her. It was completely wrong, not to mention unhygienic. Still, there wasn’t much she could really do about that now. There weren’t many things happening in her life recently that didn’t turn her stomach a little.
She was taking a huge liberty, but what else could she do? Miriallia and Tolle were giving her a chance. If this worked out, if this job stuck, she’d pay the brunette back. She’d replace these soiled clothes. It was the least she could do.
Lacus dressed in her chosen items and looked at herself in the vanity mirror. She wore a white, cropped halter top and light blue skinny, low cut jeans with brown, thigh high boots. She covered her back and shoulders in a purple zip hoodie.
The clothes were a good fit, and the look did somewhat suit her, but Lacus wasn’t entirely comfortable with the way it showed off her midriff. The top exposed her navel while the jeans rode so low on her hips that they were practically obscene. If she were wearing underwear, it would probably be on full display.
The pinkette zipped up the long, purple hoodie to cover herself before she stepped away from the mirror.
Lacus turned back and shut the closet door before looking about the room once more.
The bedroom was actually quite bare and minimalist, as though the brunette didn’t actually spend a lot of time in here. Aside from the closet and vanity, there was a tall chest of drawers. On either side of the single bed sat a small end table. One was a regular table, and was adorned with a lamp and a clock. The other table seemed to open at the top, serving as a handy storage compartment. Lacus would never find out what was hidden inside however, because the lid, as it turned out, was locked.
On top of the chest-like table was a note and an outdated, but still functional mobile phone, her phone; and a sheet of white paper, upon which was neatly scrawled a note in slanted, elegant, joined up writing. Lacus pocketed her basic phone and picked up the note as she began to read.
Lacus,
Sorry, I didn’t mean to leave you behind, but you looked so peaceful, I didn’t want to disturb you. If I don’t make it back by morning, feel free to borrow some of my clothes and meet me back at the club.
Call me ;p
Lacus smiled at the emoticon Mir had used to sign off. She’d never seen somebody use one in a handwritten note before.
A couple of lines down the page was a series of numbers. A phone number? Lacus entered the number into her phone and pressed the green send key. The girl waited until her call was answered on the fourth ring.
“Hey, this is Mir.”
Lacus hesitated. What should she say? “Um… I got your note.”
“Lacus? I was waiting for you to call. What’s wrong, sleepy head? You just get up?” Was Miriallia making fun of her? “Hey, I’m sorry about bailing on you last night, especially after you made me promise not to leave you behind and everything.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“I guess I wasn’t thinking about it from your point of view. It won’t cause trouble, will it, you not getting home last night?”
Lacus’ eyes widened. She hadn’t even thought of that. Her friends, what could she say? What would they say? What would they think, especially—
That didn’t matter now. Lacus would deal with that problem when and if it arose. “…it should be okay.”
“Good. Hey listen, I’ve been talking to Tolle about giving you another shot. You’re free tonight, right?”
“Um, yeah.”
“Good. Can you come down now?”
“Sure.”
“Can you make your own way? I’m kinda busy, but I could swing by and pick you up.”
“I’m not sure. There’s someone here. I could maybe get a ride with them.” The line fell silent.
“You’ve got somebody there with you? What, are you squatting now?” Lacus’ eyes widened. She’d never do something like that. She certainly hadn’t meant to give that kind of impression. The voice on the other end sounded amused, but stil…”
“No! It’s nothing like that. He was already here when I woke up.”
“Who is he? Do you know?”
“He introduced himself as Dearka.”
“…. Shit.”
“What’s wrong?” Was Miriallia mad that Lacus knew about her other other half?
“I don’t have time for this right now. Dearka… what the hell is he even doing there?”
“I think he’s looking for you. He said he’s your boyfriend. Is that true?”
“He wishes,” Miriallia joked.
“What’s going on?”
“I wish I could tell you… I’d rather avoid him if I can help it, but… okay, see if you can get him to give you a ride and I’ll see you both when you get here. Just… Dearka’s full of shit, so don’t believe everything he tells you.”
“Is he really your boyfriend?”
“No. Well, kind of. Look, I dumped him months ago.”
“Does he know that?”
“I thought he did.”
“Sounds like he didn’t quite get the message.”
“Yeah, I guess not. I’ll deal with it when the two of you get here. See you then.”
“Yeah, see you.”
“Let me know if that blond lump gives you any trouble, okay,”
“Okay, I’ll see you later.”
“See ya.”
As the call ended, Lacus returned her phone to her pocket and left the room, walking slowly toward what she dearly hoped wouldn’t be an awkward conversation with Miriallia’s apparently ‘not’ boyfriend.
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