You Might Not Believe In Me

This is the "Master" from Kink, right? I got your number at the office. Do you ever do apprenticeships?

You've been MIA. What's up?

Who: Callum and Juniper, with a touch of Joslyn
What: They once said 'I love you'
Where: A human club
When: Night


A nightclub, on a Friday evening, a group of friends, and a cold drink taking up residence in your hand. This is the perfect night, right? There isn't anything you would change. Not the setting, not the company, not the top shelf liquor, and most certainly not the new shoes you'd bought earlier in the week. The shoes were hurting her feet, but not because they were new, or because they were heeled, or even because she had been paraded all around the club in them. They hurt, simply because her feet were aching, no matter how she laid them. Spending excess hours in toe shoes would do that to a person, but it was a requirement of her new role in the companies ballet. The lead. The first starring part she had had, in the whole span of her time there. It couldn't have come at a worse time, but, it was the only thing that seemed to be going right in her life, so she wasn't going to complain, not when she knew her instructor was viscous enough to recast, just out of spite. Jun had worked far too hard for that to happen, especially when it was growing closer, and closer to the show. Still, her feet hurt, her drink hadn't been mixed as perfectly as she would have liked, and the company was still foreign, even if she had known them for years. That same bond wasn't there, not like it had been with Eden, or Callum, or even Shannon. But where were they now? Far out of the picture, that's where.

So, it wasn't completely true, she would catch glimpses of Eden in the house every once in a while, but it didn't seem as though they had much to say to one another. Jun hadn't been able to simply run away, as she normally did when things got rough, she was ashamed of what she had done, of herself, and that kept her away from those she cared most for. That, and the belief that they likely didn't wish to speak to her, and for that she wouldn't blame them. Them being not only Eden, but Cal. After the night Shannon had been taken, they had stopped speaking, and so the relationship they officially started such a short time before ended. Crashed, and burned, before it even got up off the ground. Who was this girl, the one who normally bounced back from relationships, as though it was nothing, sitting here still in mourning. It hadn't mattered that she kept repeating in her own head that it wouldn't last, that it would end like all the others had. It was still a huge disappointment that it had. For once, just once, it would have been nice to be wrong. Especially with Cal, everything had seemed so perfectly suited for the two of them, and they'd been happy, he had been happy, it had been a huge contrast to how he had been when they first met. Now, she couldn't imagine he wore a face any where near that. Still, it was a face she would have liked to see again, if she didn't think he'd tell her to fuck right off.... she missed him.

"Sorry, what?" It was impossible to tell who was speaking to how in their booth. So many dancers crammed into the circular couch, all talking at the same time, all shifting their drinks around in their hands, the ice clinking against the glass. "I said are you ready for next month? You've been working really hard lately, I've never seen you so dedicated." "Well, she is single now, she has spare energy." There were a few laughs among the group, and Jun was able to muster a weak smile. "I'll be ready in a month, won't claim to be before then, because fuck knows I could use some improvement. We all could, right?" There wasn't a person there that couldn't benefit from some fine tuning, but her comment hadn't been well received, as many of her friends looked down, and focused on their drinks. "I need a topper," Okay, so no she didn't, but she did need a reason to get up, and walk away from that table for a minute. Moving to the bar, she flagged down the tender, the one who pretended to speak very little English, but she knew better. "Okay, so, I'd like this refreshed, and this time, more gin, and less ice. It waters it down, and makes it taste like shit. No no, don't argue, just do as I say like a good boy, and don't pretend you can't understand me." Before he moved away, she reached out, and caught his arm, "Also, if you spit in it, or do anything else to taint the drink, I'll be wearing your nuts for earrings, got me?" To make sure he understood her threat, she gave his arm a sharp squeeze, one holding strength that shouldn't have belonged to her a pretty little human. It seemed to click then, the man nodded, and moved off to prepare her drink. "Where do they find these shitty ass bartenders?"

Who: All the kids
When: Evening
Where: Vivian's Mansion
What: A Gala

Jaida hated these fucking things. Hated them, loathed them even. If she didn’t know how important it was for Vivian’s business, she wouldn’t have even given attending a second thought, she would have just gone off to spend her evening in one of their clubs instead. It was a testament to just how much she’d come to care for Vivian once again that she even attended them, let alone went so far as to dress about as close to normal as the little muse could manage. Trying to find something that would pass as acceptable for the guest list for the night was next to impossible, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t at least tone down her normally insane wardrobe choices. She’d had to pause in the middle of her hunt to shoot a quick glance at the clock – if she didn’t pick up the pace, she’d be late to be at Vivian’s side as she greeted those guests of hers for the night and it’d be awhile before she heard the end of that. Ninety percent of the guests coming tonight looked down on the muse already, she didn’t need to give them extra reason – they weren’t that font on Vivian to start with, it didn’t help for her to have shacked with some wild little street rat. Tugging her tights into place, Jaida grabbed the dress she’d chosen for the night and slipped into it, reaching back to do up the zipper quickly. Thankfully she’d perfected this whole ‘getting ready in a hurry’ routine, so it wasn’t long before she pulled open her changing room door, grabbing for her leather jacket. “Vivvy, darling, are you ready?” she purred teasingly, sliding her arms through the sleeves as she went in search of her, “Come and show me what fabulously expensive dress you’ve chosen to knock their socks off in tonight, you fucking hot bitch.” She knew she couldn’t have been that far, it was only a bit earlier that Jaida had heard her rummaging around for an ensemble of her own.

“I can’t fucking tie these things,” Cal huffed for the third time, pushing into the bathroom he shared with his brother, “Do you have any idea how to fucking do up one of these things? It’s like some bloody puzzle that is beyond me.” He looked downright amusing in the most pitiful of ways, standing there in his steely gray suit, dark hair styled in a way that made it look anything but and that tie hanging undone about his neck, his eyes looking over to Shannon beseechingly. There was no way he was going to get it tied on his own, someone was going to have to do it for him. Maybe Juniper knew how? It would be a sorry sight for him to show up to meet her for their evening together at the gala with his outfit for the night still in disarray. He was still working on that winning her over bit, trying to keep impressing her, to not let this positive momentum he’d started the night of their birthday parties drop off. “I’m going to start buying those bloody clip-on ones at the market, then I won’t have to worry about this,” he grumbled, leaning against the doorframe, the thin black scrap of fabric hanging from one hand. “Oi,” he glanced up then, “are you taking Eden tonight?” It seemed the one, if only, downside of the two of them getting their own rooms, it seemed to be that he and Shannon didn’t have the same time to talk with one another as they had before. They each still made sure to lean in on the other when they got the chance, check up and make sure that everything was alright. There might have been fewer of those small moments together day to day, but the bond between the brothers was undoubtedly growing stronger. Each one was truly starting to settle in, to become more and more at home in their new jobs, at the mansion…things were turning out far better than Cal had ever expected. Not that he’d admit it.