𝐃𝐄𝐉𝐀 𝐕𝐔

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟖

They'd sat me down in the cafeteria styled kitchen, downstairs. I sat between Nina and Helen - a small, pale blue towel wrapped around me; draped around my shoulders and tucked the material under itself over my chest. In front of me was a small, white mug - filled to the brim with a dark, rich, brown liquid - bubbles and light foam swirling on the surface. "So - uh - you and Helen, eh?" I asked, glancing to my left with a slight chuckle, "The rumours about you getting an upgrade were true."

Nina only let out a bashful giggle - their paled cheeks growing a soft red as their eyes glanced behind me and to the artist. "Helen isn't an upgrade, he's an actual boyfriend. Treats me well." They mumbled, resting their chin in the palm of their hand as their eyes fell back onto me.

"Well I'm glad to hear the two of you are happy." I mumbled, glancing to Helen as well - though my expression faltered seeing his cold glare again.

"Well I'm sure we'll be just as happy as you and your boyfriend-" Nina began, causing my head to snap to them with widened eyes.

"Oh - no, no, we're not like that-" I rambled, "Well, we are like that, just not with each other." I explained, a hand reaching out to grasp the mug, and quickly putting it to my lips - sipping it (so it wouldn't fall out of my gash). Hopefully using the chocolatey liquid as an abrupt stop to the uncomfortable turn of topic would work.

Nina's face dropped, almost into an apologetic expression mixed with awkwardness - probably embarrassed by their mistake. "Oh gosh - I'm sorry, it's just you and X are..."

"Close." Helen interjected, with a monotone voice.

"Yes, close!" Nina exclaimed, their expression falling into one of ease. "You have been since high school - everyone thought the three of you were dating." They elaborated, obviously the third person they mentioned referring to Bronwyn.

I put the mug down, an awkward smile-like-grimace tugging at my lips as I swallowed the drink. I shook my head, still grasping the object. "Nope. Apparently not." I replied.

"Well - uh - sorry." They mumbled, averting their gaze as they began to play with their fingers. Wait - how did they know we were close in high school?

"Did - did you know us before all of this?" I hesitantly asked, tilting my head ever so slightly to the side.

Their eyes widened as they eagerly nodded. "Yes - well, kind of. We went to the same school!" They explained with a slight shrug, "We never really hung out but we knew each other existed. I mean - I was pretty hard to miss." They rambled with a small giggle.

"Scene queen - monarch? Scene monarch?-"

They giggled shaking their head, almost reassuringly. "Yes. Scene queen - everyone can be a scene queen, it's a state of mind. Just like how daddy is just a state of mind." Nina teasingly replied, tilting their head to the side. "I'm sorry I never really told you about this before - Jeff didn't like it when I spoke to other men." They mumbled, before their mood had perked up again, "And plus we didn't really talk to each other much, so I probably wouldn't be able to help a big deal." The ravenette sighed, hesitantly reaching up to play with the ends of their ponytail, that was tied up by a red, sequin-covered bow. Honestly, it looked like a random teenager's closet from the 2000's threw up on them. But, in a way it suited them.

I glanced to Helen, who seemed to look uncomfortable at the mention of Jeff and his attitude - his blue hues having averted elsewhere. It did confuse me as to why Jeff allowed Nina to hang around Helen but not me, or Tim and Brian - when they clearly had interest in the painter. But, alas it wasn't my business so I wouldn't pry.

I looked back to my mug, giving the pair a small shrug, "Either way, improvement from Jeff." I mumbled. I didn't know every detail - and I wouldn't ask for it. All I'd gotten is from sources like Brian, mostly Brian. But I knew enough to feel uncomfortable at the thought of Jeff and him getting into relationships. From my understanding, Jeff had been convincing Nina since high school to run away and join him after they helped him with his injuries, not aware that he was a serial killer on the run. They were, for a lack of a better term, niave and fell for whatever bullshit he spewed at them. They were a victim of his manipulation - probably promising them a good life, forcing a "fix me" mindset onto them as they got dragged down towards his level. I'm grateful they didn't hit that same level, though. It made me sad to think I could've intervened.