dangerously close // jaden hossler

ch4 - what's up danger?

Lilith felt the sting in her knuckles as she hit the bag once more. She kept a steady rhythm, going through a set of punches. Her mind was still lingering on the last job she'd done. That boy, Jaden, had distracted in a way that could've cost her dearly. One mistake, one handprint, could have gotten her killed. If the police had collected it as evidence Lilith would've known by now. So she just punished herself for the mistake instead. Sweat dropped down her face as she shifted her feet once more. The only noise being the loud music playing in the background and the thuds of her punches.

Now, Angie knew something was up with her, but Lilith always trained hard after a job. It was important to keep in the best shape she could, after all, one second of delay could mean the difference between success and failure. Still, it was becoming clear Lilith wasn't in the greatest of head spaces.

That meant it was no surprise when Angie strutted into the gym. She was still dressed in workout clothes from their training session two hours before. Quietly she turned down the music until it was a soft hum. Lilith stepped back from the bag, breathing heavily. The two girls made eye contact.

"You know, I still don't know why you are insisting on almost killing yourself training," Angie's words weren't angry or annoyed, just curious, "Our job went well, and your little mistake wasn't even your problem."

Lilith didn't respond, opting to grab her water bottle and sit on the wooden bench nearby. The gym was in the basement of the apartment building they lived in. It was clean, and fully equipped. Aesthetically, it was more of a vintage mockup than a modern one. Lilith felt like Captain America in that one scene when she was down here.

Angie sat down next to her, concern lacing her features, "Look Lilith, you need to get your mind out of that loop. You didn't fuck up the job, the kid was a variable you couldn't plan for. Romeo wouldn't blame you, and the police have no evidence or statements that point to you."

Sighing Lilith shook her head, "It was still stupid of me to talk to him, I was too cocky," she wiped off some of the sweat off her forehand with the back of her hand as she spoke.

"Well, you need to slow down. We have a new job in five days. While you may be content with ruthlessly training, I am not," Angie's voice gave no room for arguments, "Plus, it wasn't even that stupid, I've done worse by far."

Lilith felt a little lighter, thinking back to Angie's many adventures in the field. Angie was a beautiful girl and she knew it. Lilith studied her partner's face, drawing comparisons between the two. Angie's box braids were a dark brown with an electric red weaved through them, they flowed down her back like a waterfall. Lilith meanwhile had a choppy shoulder length wavy mess of blonde. Where Angie was all sharpe and defined features, Lilith was soft and curved. Even Angie's deep warm brown eyes outshined Lilith's own blue. It was a bad thought process but sometimes Lilith felt lesser than her partner in all her beauty, so she strived to never be lesser than her in the field.

Angie seemed to pick up on Lilith's wondering mind, "Remember that casino job in Vegas with the European royal?"

"You mean the one where you had sex with a Dutch prince during his bachelor party? I was forced to hear you through my earpiece!" Lilith said this without anger, laughing once finished.

Angie suppressed her own giggles, "Hey what was I supposed to do? He was the most attractive man in the room, and we had the time," Angie shoved her elbow into Lilith's side to punctuate her point.

"No actually I was bugging the target's room, and almost got busted by room service." Lilith rolled her eyes, "I was gagging so loud I was sure I'd be caught!"

The two girls started to laugh loudly. It was nice to have this moment between them. Lilith had forgotten how nice it was to have a friend, pushing Angie away for the past two days. Once they'd calmed down, only after telling a few more stories, did Lilith turn to Angie to apologize.

"Sorry for being a shitty friend."

Angie just grinned back at her, "Oh don't worry my dear. I know just the way you could get back into my good graces."

Lilith simply raised an eyebrow, not sure of what Angie was talking about. One time after a fight, Lilith did the laundry for a month, but Angie seemed excited about whatever this was. Laundry wasn't deserving of that level of energy.

"A PARTY!" Angie screamed.

The wasn't even a moment's pause before Angie had wrapped her arm around Lilith's to drag her towards the elevator. She started to chatter about how she had scored this invite to an 'influencer' party. Apparently she had a crush on some tiktok star, Dixie D'Amelio, and was determined to meet her. Both girls were bisexual so it wasn't shocking to hear that Angie was crushing on another girl. Once on their floor, Angie dragged her towards their little two bedroom apartment.

"Okay, no offense but you smell bad" Angie spoke with authority, "Shower and I'll order takeout for dinner."

Obediently nodding Lilith rushed off to shower. In the next few hours the two girls ran around the apartment like two tornadoes. The Chinese takeout was quickly devoured, with no messes. Angie forced Lilith to sit while she styled her hair. Heat from the curling iron tickled Lilith's scalp as she watched her friend in the mirror. It must be a fancier party than she'd originally expected but the excuse to dress nice wasn't unwanted. Soon, the two girls were applying their makeup, playing a loud mix of Beyoncé and Megan Thee Stallion. They wanted to feel like bad bitches tonight.

"Try this on," Angie handed Lilith a sparkly cropped tank and a pair of cut off jean shorts.

Putting them on, Lilith stare at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair hung down in brushed out waves, and she was admiring her makeup job. Angie came behind her to clasp a jeweled cross necklace. After it was secured, Angie added some earrings and rings to match. She stepped back to approve of the outfit.

Angie grabbed a pair of white platform heels, "Here, these would be cute."

A matching purse joined the heels and Lilith had never felt hotter. Posing next to Angie in the mirror she appraised their outfits. Angie was in a black corset with a red miniskirt. Lilith knew she was definitely embracing a trend, and with their platforms she was sure they'd stand out in the right way. Both girls were reaching 5'10 in their shoes.

"God, we are so hot," Angie said, snapping a few selfies in the mirror.

"Only because you are so talented," Lilith responded, "Code names for tonight?"

Angie turned toward her, "I say fuck it, this isn't a job, it's for us to be free!"

Lilith just nodded, tapping away at her phone getting an Uber. They didn't have rules against using their real names outside of jobs and missions. As long as no one could place you at a crime scene you could do as you pleased. Still, as the two girls headed down to their ride, Lilith felt a tug of worry. Something was going to happened tonight, but it didn't feel like it would be bad. Just something unplanned for.

"Let's go party bitch!" Angie screamed as reached their Uber. Lilith grinned, she was right, they had a party to worry about.

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A/N: honestly angie is such a baddie i want to be like her, and i rlly like their dynamic. what do you guys think it's going to happen at the party?? hope y'all enjoy!