Pale

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"Come on! Juniper! I wanted to– I didn't mean for you to find out this—"

Juniper plugged earphones into her ears to block out the yells of Sparrow, the ache in her chest almost worse than the cold.

"This is gospel, for the fallen ones—"

Maybe music wasn't as good an idea as she had thought. Of course, of fucking course, the first song to play was Scarlet's favorite song.

As Juniper stomped off, the tips of her ears red and her eyes filling with tears, Sparrow stared after her. He meant well, he truly did, he had a plan to break the news gently in a way that was bound to steer Juniper away from a meltdown. Or a panic attack. Or a depressive episode.

He was going to get her her favorite tea and a buttered chocolate-chip croissant, chat her up, then drop the bomb with emotional support.

Erik trots up by his boyfriend, munching on the croissant– the one meant for Juniper– and stares with Sparrow. "What's her problem?"

———

The Aberrational Cafè.

A place where out–of–the–ordinary things were normal and normal things were out–of–the–ordinary.

And Juniper, being the out–of–the–ordinary girl she is, couldn't think of a better place to find comfort.

Her eyes were tinted red from tears, and her nose was a sniffling red too, the cold outside not helping in the slightest. Her arms were folded and her head was laying on them as she watched the clouds roll by in the window beside her. She couldn't have stayed there more than ten minutes before a waiter came for her order.

"Hi! My name is Silus, and I'll be your server today, what can I get you?" Juniper sat up and looked. He seemed familiar, and squinted as he shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. He was pale and rather thin, that was obvious, and his hair was short, blonde, and neat, an indication that he was raised to be well groomed. His eyes were wide and shy, framed with long, thick, eyelashes, like the kinds you'd see on Maybelline models.

Juniper sighed and noticed as his clutch on his notepad softened, "Sorry," she mumbled sheepishly, a red tint appeared on her face, but could easily be dismissed as the cold weather outside. "Can I get a chai tea with milk and extra sugar, please?" She have a smile to the boy, who still looked disturbingly familiar, but Juniper was too tired to think more on where she'd seen him.

Juniper turned her head to continue gazing out the window dramatically, but stopped when someone slid into the booth across from her. Looking up, she saw a man and a woman.

The man was lanky, with awkward arms and slim fingers with chipped violet polish that matched his eyes. His hair was black, with a haircut that gave his hair a messy texture. There was a small scar peeking out from just behind his ear, and there was another scar on his upper lip.

Once again, Juniper felt a strong sense of familiarity. Like she's seen him before.

The woman was the opposite. She had tanned skin, and her hair was very curly, but shaved on the sides. She had a more masculine figure, with broad shoulders and a stern face. Her Smokey eye makeup gave her a strong and fierce look, and Juniper was genuinely worried if the woman was going to kick her ass.

The man smiled, but Juniper frowned. "It's pretty crowed here, do you care if we sit here for a bit?" The man asks kindly, and Juniper swung her head around to see. "There's still three free booths," Juniper turned back around and narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean by 'crowed', you're not fooling me," Juniper snarled with a nasty tone. The man slumped his shoulders. "Listen," he adopted a hushed voice. "We're investigating that girl's murder, Scarlet Widowking?"

"I knew her," Juniper answered immediately, then cringed at how easy it was to get information from her. The pair suddenly take interest. "What can you tell us? Did you know anyone close to her?" The woman pressed.

"I'm not saying anything until you tell me who you are."

"Well played, kid. Well played."

———

713 WORDS COMPLETED JAN. 17