V A M P

prologue| the beginning of the end.

"I like a little mystery, we-" Wu had started out before Jacqueline clicked her glass to gather our attention.

"-the vamps" She interrupted with a slight shrug of her shoulders and we hesitantly held up our glasses this time-- "Too cliché" Wu eye rolled.

We looked to her as she brought out her blow, it was to no surprise to us that even after rehab, Wu still had no plan to stay clean-

The smiles wiped off our faces as she prepared to take a sniff of the powder she tiled on the table beside her.

"Wu, you can't do that" Maria called out and she let out a scoff. "What?" She looked up after the sniff.

"You're up for another performance, you can't be that high" Aaliyah said from across the room where she touched up her makeup.

"We are high. Plus it's just weed-" She said with a pout.

"Not weed high" Maria snatched the powder before standing to walk away. "You did all the time then-"

"Wu-" I called out before she rolled her eyes. "I have my dealer closeby-" She hissed, leaving us to stare at each other before downing the shot of tequila.

We weren't hypocrites for calling her out because Wu and drugs were a deadly combination--

-she didn't see drugs as a one time club thing, she saw it as an easy way out whenever reality came knocking on her door and that was what scared us-

-her, falling too deep that she might not get up.

"Besides, your grandmother is in town. You know she's the one that forced you to rehab" Jacqueline said.

"Maybe i should tell you what i tell her-"

"I'm not a fucking addict" She wiped beneath her nose as she walked towards the curtains.

"You know it helps with my performance" She whispered with a smile that we both shared.

Maria exhaled as W bent forward to adjust her fishnet stockings and Aal painted her lips to match her marooned colored hijab--

--and Jacq, she just stood to wear her jackets just as Amelia, one of performers had rounded off the stage.

"Give it up for one of our favorites-" Jones yelled into the microphone, loudly above the music and the most of the crowds cheered--

-some of whom were either unsatisfied from their partners or just unhappy from their draining jobs or just the old fashioned creeps that couldn't get a girl.

Either way, the crowds cheering was all we looked forward to--

"Wu!" Jones had called before the music loudened and Wu bounced the edges of hair in front the mirror.

"Go girl" Aaliyah slapped her ass as she walked out.

"Wu!" They chanted as she made her way to the pole.

As she walked off, Maria rolled her eyes before picking up her glass and turning to me-

-her blue-black colored nails holding firm to the glass as she cleared her throat.

"Well, we can certainly cheer to one thing-" She took a pause before raising the glass in the air.

"None of our lives is really a cliché" She added and i nodded, knowing how true that was.

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¦DURING THE INVESTIGATION¦