guess who decided to update.
(a/n: there will be a crooked kingdom spoiler in the beginning, i'll put ** when it starts and ** when it ends so y'all don't get spoiled <3)
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MY EYES fly open upon hearing the loud thunk outside in the living room.
I grabbed the closest thing that was next to me, which was, conveniently, a book.
I slowly open my door, to find Allison yawning and grumbling, rubbing her head where I assumed she hit it on the side of the table or the floor.
I put the book down, not knowing if I should laugh or question why she was on the floor.
Then it hit me.
Both literally and figuratively, as Allison throws the book I had put on the floor to my head.
"Ouch!" I gasp, as the edge hits the top of my head. I rub it, the stinging pain sending waves down my entire body, as I lay down next to her.
"What the hell was that for?" I whisper-yell at her, my face lying next to hers.
"You're my best friend, so if I'm in pain, you will be too."
I groan, sitting upright and rubbing the top of my head and wincing. "What sort of logic is that?"
"My logic."
I roll my eyes, standing up and picking up the book, which I recognize as The Giver.
I wave it threateningly in her face as she sits up, holding up a finger. "You're lucky this wasn't one of my favorite books. Or else you'd be as tall as ** Matthias Helvar, who is currently six feet under the ground."
"Matthais? The fictional dude you cried over for an hour for?"
"He died and the last thing he saw or thought of was Nina!" **
"Whatever." She waves it off.
My mouth falls open, and I huff.
disrespectful.
I'm about to continue arguing with her when she stands up, rushing into the kitchen before I can get a word out.
I grumble, slowly making my way back into my room with The Giver in my hand. I put it back on my yet to be arranged bookshelf, going into the bathroom to groan at my reflection. I go back to my closet to find some hoodies and sweatpants, feeling very proud of the bold 'FUCK THE PATRIARCHY' right in the middle.
What can I say?
It's gorgeous. (a/n: 💀)
I untangle my hair by brushing it out, grinning when there are still prominent waves in it.
I look like an egg when my hair is flat.
Glancing at the clock on the bedside table, my mouth drops open for the second time in five minutes as I realize the time.
"Allison, am I blind or did you change the time on my clock to one in the afternoon?"
"WHAT THE FUCK IT'S ONE? IN THE MORNING?" I hear her distant yell from the kitchen.
I sigh. "NO YOU DIPSHIT, IT'S ONE IN THE AFTERNOON."
"You're kidding." She pokes her head through my door, looking at my clock "Holy shit it is one o'clock."
The she casually fucking walks out and turns back to say, "You're making food."
Trying to get over the fact that I slept for more than twelve hours, I shrug to myself.
did i get any taller?
You stopped growing three years ago.
Doesn't hurt to wish, though.
I walk out, to see Allison on her phone and I raise my eyes at the amount of bags at our front door.
"You plan on sorting that anytime soon?"
She nods absentmindedly, obviously not focusing on what I was saying, so I poke my head over her shoulder to get a glimpse at her screen.
"What's that?"
She shrugs, scrolling down as I realize it's an email for interviews.
"Saw this on Instagram, Anelloarc is hiring for law interns."
"You want me to go for that? Already? I'm still traumatized from the last one." I shudder at the thought. "What if the boss is yet another creepy white old man?"
"It has a really good reputation though, like it's the one unproblematic company and it's the best in New York."
"Really? I've never heard of it." I'm skeptical.
"Hey, I did suggest you go for this company the first time you wanted a job. You said they were too 'high and mighty' for you, but yeah, you should send an email, who knows?"
I shrug, halfheartedly. "I mean sure, there's no harm in trying."
She flops down on the couch with her phone and grabs her laptop. "I'll come up with something, you go make food."
I roll my eyes. "What am I? Your personal chef?"
She shooed me off.
I start to make risotto, seeing the leftover rice in the fridge as well as a lob of butter and mushrooms.
I wash the mushrooms, letting them stay in the soapy water before dumping the rice in the buttery substance, adding water and stirring it occasionally. I let it simmer, cutting up the mushrooms and adding it into the pan.
I turn around, about to grab the plates when Allison is already running towards me, or should I say, the risotto. I hold my arm out to block her, and her body slams into mine.
She pouts. "But it smells so good!"
Exactly why I'm giving you none.
I sigh, shooing her away and putting the risotto onto the plates, not bothered to decorate it fancily.
The moment I put the plates on the table, Allison was ready with a spoon.
I laugh lightly, as she eats like she was starved for a thousand years.
This woman would never survive jail.
Neither would I, but that's beside the point.
I sat down next to her on the counter and started eating, pleased with my own skills knowing that I could cook and it didn't taste like shit.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for her.
Once she's finished, she goes to put her plate in the sink when I turn to see her eating the little leftovers in the pot.
I swallow my mouthful, watching her devour the rest. "Are you that hungry? You're going to feel sick later, you know?"
She waves me off, saying something about how she hasn't eaten in more than twelve hours.
I sigh, putting my plates in the sink and going to the front door where it was piled with Allison's bags and my huge folder which I have yet to organize.
I start with her various shopping bags, not even wanting to peek in those Victoria Secret ones.
She hasn't even got a boyfriend or girlfriend, so who was she even going to wear these for?
herself?
I mean... sure, go bad bitch!
I unpack all of the other bags, my eyes looking into the different ones to see if I could steal anything.
Sadly, most of them were strips of lace or tiny clothing I could never wear.
I'm about to go for the last black bag when Allison appears behind me, grabbing the bag before I could open it.
I raise my eyebrows as I turn to her. "Whatcha hiding in there?"
She sticks her tongue out at me playfully. "Nothing."
"Cmon, show me, it can't be that bad if it was an impulsive buy or something." Then I backtrack over my words. "Wait. Please don't tell me it's a vibrator or something-"
"NO-" Her entire face was scrunched up and turning red, and I have to laugh.
I wiggle my eyebrows. "Sooo, you gonna tell me what's in there?"
She sighs heavily, throwing the bag at me. I look at her weirdly, slowly opening it and grabbing what was inside. It felt smooth and made of fabric.
I take it out, and I find a simple black skirt, with a top that is connected with a bangle. It looked extremely cute, and I debated whether or not to steal it from her, before her voice cut through.
"Me and El bought this for you because everything in your closet is oversized and makes you look like a floppy sheep."
I open my mouth in drastic shock, placing a hand over my heart. "How could you? It's the latest home fashion, you idiot. Plus, it's comfortable unlike your scrappy lace dress thingies."
She laughs, shaking her head. "You're wearing this today when we go to the bar, and I'm doing your makeup!"
She claps her hands excitedly, and I can't help but sigh at the thought of later on this evening.
It's going to suck, real time.
Although I love the clothing in my hands, I don't try it on just yet, stumbling back to my room to study again.
That was a lie.
I'm going to read.
I lay out my law books, opening my computer to my huge list of notes and subject requirements for my next semester, opening all my books and grabbing the different pens and pencils I need.
Next, I flop onto my bed with these violent delights.
Priorities.
I continue reading, right where I left off, my eyes flying over the words, my mind twisting and turning into the words into a fantasy world I wish I had lived in, pictures and ideas flashing through my mind as I sigh with content.
My phone alarm beeps, and I groan, feeling as if I've only read for ten minutes.
Well, my perception of time was definitely warped somehow because it had been an hour and a half, and I was on the last few pages of the book.
Then I hear the banging on my door.
Of course.
I scrunch up my face as Allison barges in my room, flustered and carrying what seemed like racks of dresses.
I look in horror. "You did not buy an entire shop worth of dresses just for one night?"
Sometimes I wonder how we are friends.
She ignores me, settling down the entire rack on my floor.
I scramble off my bed, the book long forgotten.
She starts going through each dress, and I look at the time again.
"Allison, it's four o'clock." I try to soothe her. We still had three goddamn hours left, and that was more than enough to wear a fucking dress.
"WHAT THE FUCK?" She jumps up, running out and I frown. "IT'S FOUR O'CLOCK AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME?"
"Calm your tits, woman. We still have three-"
"THREE HOURS IS BARELY ENOUGH, I STILL NEED TO PICK OUT A DRESS, DO MY MAKEUP AND YOURS BECAUSE YOU'RE INCAPABLE-"
This woman will never stop insulting me. "HEY!"
"-OF DOING IT YOURSELF." She finishes, going silent.
I roll my eyes, grabbing the dress that she had given me and storming into the shower.
"I'm going to shower because I only take five minutes and you take fifty."
I don't wait for her answer, closing the shower door and peeling the clothes off myself, jumping away when the hot water was about to touch my back.
I wash myself, groaning as I have to detangle my hair yet again. Once I'm done arguing with the shampoo bottles, which was definitely the peak of my law career, I step out, the moisture sticking to the ceiling and begin the condensing, I have to dodge the individual water drops.
I dry my hair with the towel so it doesn't drip all over the floor, putting on a bra and underwear before facing the black puddle of clothing hung up next to me.
I try on the skirt, I look down and back up to myself.
not bad...
I fumble with the top, a small ring covering the middle and two separate sides on my waist, with a black strip going across my boobs. (a/n: picture is on the chapter header)
Allison might have some taste, or I just slay in everything.
I make sure to dry my hair, thanking it for not being dry and crusty like the other days before.
I let it curl in small waves, stepping out just as Allison rushes in.
She slams the door, and I hear a faint echo of her voice.
"BITCH I KNOW YOU LOOK GOOD BUT YOU SPENT TWENTY MINUTES IN THE SHOWER, IT'S MY TURN."
I roll my eyes, laughing and walking around the living room, picking up random things Allison had left behind.
I was scrolling on my phone when Allison burst out, hair dry but with a towel on.
I stand up in surprise, flattening and smoothing out my skirt having sat on the couch for so long.
I look at the time.
Whatever, it was only five thirty. To Allison, it might as well be five minutes before seven.
She starts trying on different dresses, and I flop back onto the couch.
"How about this one?" She twirls around in a tight white dress, and being the critical best friend, I crinkle my nose, shaking my head.
"Yeah I thought so too."
Whilst she goes through picking out dresses, I decide to make myself at use by looking for suitable dresses that match both our tastes, and I find it.
Hah.
I hold up a simple red silk dress, throwing it on her head and ushering to change into it. I impatiently turn around to give her privacy, and at her low gasp, I turn.
I smirk, placing my hands on my hips. "I knew it'd look good on you, bitch. From now on, you're listening to me."
She rolls her eyes, immediately widening them as they land on the time, not a second later was she dragging me into her room, unpiling the loads of makeup on her desk and starting to dollify me.
I bat her hands away, grabbing the foundation and glaring at her whilst dabbing some on my face.
"Shoo." I say, seeing her still standing there. "I can do my own, you do yours."
She still stares pointedly, and I groan. "Fine, I'll actually try to make myself look presentable this time, okay?"
An unbelieving stare was shot back, but was long forgotten as she dabbed at her own face, familiarity in her fingers to choose exactly the right thing was something I did not have; so simply, I put on some foundation, lip gloss, mascara. I left out the eyeliner, since I had practically zero hand-eye coordination and one side always deemed wonky.
In less than ten minutes I was done; and so was Allison. We both stared at each other in the mirror, and she looked shocked at my effort.
gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss, bitch.
I glanced at the time, and we had exactly fourty minutes left. I simply combed through my hair, grabbing a hair tie and securing a bun, before adding on a golden claw clip and hoped it wouldn't fall in the midst of the club.
probably would anyway.
I stand, stretching out my legs as it's fifteen minutes to seven. Just as I'm about to tell Allison, she grabs a purse and a handbag, giving me the bag as she knows I hated carrying things by hand. It was so impractical, you could barely get anything done.
Slinging it over my shoulder, I wait for her as she sends a text to Eleonara saying we were done.
Once she replies saying that she was already downstairs in the car, we hurriedly ran down the stairs, Allison hitching up her dress to avoid contact with the dirty concrete stairs.
As we reached the bottom, a black sleek limo stood right in front of our eyes, windows tinted so we had no idea who was inside until the window rolled down, revealing Eleonara.
I don't have to look at Allison to know that her jaw had dropped to the floor, because mine did too.
"What the fuck?" We both exclaimed at the same time, as Eleonara simply laughs and gestures for us to come in, which we do, after our prolonged period of shock.
I slide into the limo, taking in the interior with awe. "El, you never told us you were loaded."
She shrugs. "Didn't think it was that important."
"Be my sugar mommy." Allison butts in, and we all burst out laughing like fifteen year old girls going to prom.
Eleonara plays with her and winks. "Of course baby."
I throw my head back laughing again whilst Allison visibly turns pink, Eleonara can't help but chuckle as well.
After the limo starts to move, we settle in, sitting on the plush red seats that maneuver in a semi-circle around the interior of the car, with a mini-fridge right in the middle. I curiously make my way over to it whilst Allison and Eleonara are pouring shots of vodka on the little table.
Just as I'm about to open it, Eleonara appears right behind me and opens it first for me, a sudden blast of cold mist hits my face, the white wisps of air escape the container, I was temporarily blinded until I waved it away, coughing a bit until I see the bright colours of different fruit in a bowl winking back at me.
why was the bowl so low down? it looked as if someone had taken something off the top...
My eyes drift to Eleonara, who was still coughing and waving the air around her with her eyes closed, and I laugh at the ridiculous sight.
I grab her arm, and she slowly opens one eye.
"It's gone now, El, imagine being dramatic."
She chuckles, fully opening both eyes and swats the remaining mist out of her face, pulling the bowl of fruit out, holding a strawberry out to me.
"Strawberry?" She asks.
I reach out to take it just as she dunks the strawberry into a cup of vodka she and Allison were originally drinking, and immediately stuffing it in my mouth.
The sting and alcohol invades my tongue and nose until I bite down on the strawberry, a tang of sweetness mixed with the burn of vodka slowly submerges both tastes, I swallow.
I make a face, considering my empty stomach and the immediate straight vodka in it.
"I'm not even gonna make it to the club." I say, eating another strawberry to try and get the burn out of my mouth.
"Don't believe her, she downed an entire bottle of vodka at a party once and went back to dancing like nothing happened." Allison butts in with a cup in her hand, staring pointedly at me.
"Good." Eleonara swings her arm around me, holding a new bottle. "I like people with high alcohol tolerance."
"Prepare to not like me then." I eat another strawberry, laughing a little when Allison shoots me the are-you-kidding? look.
"Ladies, we've arrived." The new voice startles me a bit, before I realized it had come from the front side of the car, driver's seat.
"Thank you Louis. I'll call you if we need a ride back." She grins at the direction of him, then climbs over to the door, murmuring. "I hope we don't need a ride back."
Allison and I both snort, laughing as she unlocks the door. "Follow me, I'll get us without a line."
Eleonara climbs out first, Allison then me.
This club was evidently new, but already packed with people and a fifty-foot line of women and men lining up to get in.
Eleonara grabs both of our forearms, leading us to the side of a building where there was a separate entrance. She nods at the guard standing in a suit with black shades. He takes them down a bit to study her, then he opens the door leading straight to the bar.
Dim, flashing lights was everywhere, an island standing distinctly in the middle of the floor whilst people danced - more like grinded on one another around it. In gold, there was another door leading to a VIP section, as obviously stated right above the entrance with two more people guarding it.
Eleonara whistles lowly, also taking in the new club whilst Allison was already running to the bartender to order drinks.
she's going to turn me into an alcoholic
Giddily, Eleonara joins Allison whilst I begrudgingly walk over, my feet already starting to hurt in heels.
I could never understand how they run in them.
Allison shouts to the bartender again as she sees me walk over.
"Give us the strongest drink you have, handsome." Flirting with bartenders was something Allison had a natural talent at, and proved useful when we needed a couple of free drinks.
"First drinks on the house for the beautiful ladies." He winks at us, and turns back as another customer shouts across the bar.
"Drink up, Lils, I'm not letting you leave this place without drunkenly making out with a guy at least once."
"Aren't you a mother, El?"
She pressed a finger to my lips. "Not tonight."
I pour the shot down my throat, the bartender wasn't lying when he gave us the strongest drink here, because my head momentarily spun in 360° before regaining sight, Eleonara and Allison still trying to gulp down the liquid, coughing a bit before grinning at me.
"Wanna go to the VIP section? I can get us in." Eleonara stumbles over her words, clearly already tispy.
"You know the boss or something?"
She shrugs. "Kinda."
Then she claps her hands and faces me. I shuffle unconsciously, as she grasps my hands and yells over the music. "By the way, my brother is coincidentally just here today as well."
She points to the VIP section of the bar, the golden doors standing out from the black interior of the bar.
I think I choked on air.
I definitely did, because I registered Allison patting my back, as my eyes water whilst my throat constricts painfully.
"Y-your brother?" I say through my labored breaths, recovering from my coughing fit.
Eleonara tilts her head innocently, sticking out her bottom lip. "Yeah, why?"
I shake my head violently. "Nothing. Nothing."
just fucking great, i thought.
"LETS GO!" Allison shouts over our conversation, and we shuffle through the mass of sweaty bodies on the dance floor.
The guard looks at Eleonara and automatically opens the door without another glance.
what...?
We both walk behind her, slightly intimidated by the looks and luxury we were clearly unaccustomed to.
The VIP section was much much calmer compared to the one outside, it's walls acting like a soundproof barrier, the loud pounding music reduced to only small taps no louder than clinking of a champagne glass.
Surrounding the glazed dance floor, sat expensive men and women circling a mini table of drinks and shots, liquid and powder - you name it, they have it.
This place was as equally terrifying and intimidating as completely gorgeous and caused my mouth to fall open in awe. My emotions were twisted against each other more than wringing a towel out.
Unfortunately for me, my gaze seemed to have held a magnetic, unbreakable field with someone standing straight across the dancefloor, on the other side of a bar. Legs crossed and propped on one another in a simple unbuttoned white polo-shirt, hand rested on the side of an armchair, men and women alike surrounding him as he took a sip of the glass in his hand.
shit.
His gaze was fixated on me, piercing gray eyes sweeping like a breeze over me, yet the light whispers of his look did not make me shudder - instead, it was more like a gentle autumn breeze that caused the fragile leaves to flutter from the tree. That's what it felt like.
I suddenly tear my sight away, intimidated by his surroundings and my own. Allison blinks, too, grinning back at me, our surroundings slowly starting to ignore us, as if we had never entered in the first place.
"Okay... Let's go back now." Eleonara says, backing into us while pointedly staring at her brother, whose gaze I could still feel on me.
"Actually... nevermind." She pauses, me and Allison thoroughly confused until we hear approaching footsteps.
I look up, locked in a trance with him again. His appearance up close was indescribable. The glass in his hand had disappeared from when he was sitting down, a distinct smell of rich alcohol surrounding the air around us.
"VIN!" Eleonara shouts and wraps her arms around him in a hug which he stiffly returns, the strands of his hair falling down onto his forehead at her sudden impact.
"Hey, El." He gruffly acknowledges, stepping away from her as various people around the room start looking.
He looks behind her, straight at Allison and I - standing awkwardly whilst people start to take notice, I tell myself not to get lost in his gaze again, even though I can feel it, automatically turning my cheeks a blazen red.
My cheeks - a what?
No.
I push it back down, just in time as Eleonara turns around, grabbing our hands.
"Vin, you've met them. Lilla and Allison?"
"Nice to meet you again. People are staring. Let's go back." His eyes hold no emotion, authorial voice surrounding and enceasing my senses to mush.
I haven't even inhaled his words until Allison steals a glass from a nearby table and downs it, putting it back down with a clink.
He wordlessly turns back to his buddies on the couch, saying something I could barely make out, they jump up, shaking his hand with vivid expressions he did not mirror.
"El, your brother is so hot but I think I prefer his friends." She cocks her head to the direction where an obviously elder man sat, at least seven years older than her, eyes trained on the cleavages of women when they bent down.
"Ew, Allison." I raise my eyebrows at her, questioning her taste.
"I'll stick with Allison so she doesn't run up to the poor guy and start calling him daddy. Lils, Vin is probably waiting for us back at the club so we don't embarrass him in front of his important people. You go talk to him." Eleonara starts to say, whilst Allison drags her over to the man she'd set her eyes on.
I spluttered at her last sentence, about to refuse when they were already halfway across the room, Eleonara dragged by Allison as if on a leash.
I stand helplessly, with no choice but to turn back and come back from where I came from.
As soon as I open the golden-clad doors, the noise returns, sweaty and half-naked people dancing around, doing shots of alcohol from the floor to off someone's body on the counter.
I stand in place, momentarily lost as I try to remember what the hell I was supposed to do.
I turn around; right eye-level to someone's polo neck-cuffs. I jolt, heartbeat speeding up whilst I look up, already knowing who it was.
I pause, holding my hands up in a surrendering motion whilst I could barely recover my speeding heart, the small space and loud noises not helping at all.
"I swear to fuck if-if you say 'are you lost babygirl?' I will- I will lose my shit and drop-kick you in the face." I stammered out, trying to regain my breathing as I could almost feel my heart pulsing out, but from the scare or just from our close proximity?
Either my mind was in no mental state to take in anything, but I registered a low chuckle, his chest vibrating a little, I try to take deep breaths to stop the never-ending drum that was refusing to slow down.
My senses heighten as I feel a warm palm on my bare back, circling soothingly whilst gently leading me to one of the more secluded corners of the club, and by the time I sit my ass on the couch, I'd like to think that my body had recovered to somewhat normal - at least my heart did.
The couch dips slightly as Vincenzo sits down next to me, the feeling of his hand on my back still lingering; prickling and yearning for more.
I stand up again, facing him. "I'm going to get a drink. Want one?"
He stands, too, and the visible height difference causes me to stare straight at his lips.
"I'll come with you."
I blink, snapping out of it.
Walking towards the center of the bar, I can't help but notice small details of the interior club that simply didn't make sense, as if the architect and engineer hated one another and purposely messed up things for the other one.
Ceiling; although high, one of its beam's distances was completely unproportional and lopsided, a sudden red streak threw off the club's aesthetic.
A hand suddenly loops around my front and I snap my head back down in front of me to some drunk guy in the middle of a dance floor unashamedly eye-boggling down my chest. I lift my knee up but flat down the back of my skirt and knee him in the jewels, he starts to shriek, but Vincenzo's hand covers his mouth, terror and pain reflects in the guy's eyes.
I couldn't see his face because of the dim lights and rotating shadows, but the man's reflected trembling was enough for me to guess how Vinzenco was glaring at him.
I watch as his hand coils tighter and tighter, around the other man's hand, the guy was yelling so loud until I hear a slight crack-
"What the fuck are you doing?" I step in, batting Vincenzo's chest away and slap his forearm to release the other guy's hand.
"You're gonna fucking break his arm!" Vincenzo releases his hold, and shaken out of drunkenness, the poor guy stumbles a few paces, holding his wrist and runs away without looking back at either of us.
"Deserved." He mutters, looking at me. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"
I made my way to the bar, this time making sure I was looking ahead of me rather than the interesting ceiling. "No, he didn't."
"What's on the ceiling?" He leans against the bar, looking at me gaze around at the different drinks.
"The architect and engineer of this club must've hated each other." I remark, sipping on a newly produced drink placed in front of me.
"Why would you say that?" He says, intrigued.
I point out, from ceiling to corner, everything I've noticed and he follows, annoying me when I can't read his face and what he was thinking.
After I've made my points, I sigh, raising my eyebrows at him. "The club is nice, but the worker's must've been shit."
"Fanculo." He mutters. "I'll tell someone to come change it by tomorrow."
I whirl around, catching his last sentence. I narrow my eyes. "What do you mean by I?"
He remains emotionless for another second, then pauses, smirking and shaking his head lightly.
"Spit it out, will you?" I ask, frustrated, dots unable to connect in my mind.
He continues to smirk, and I realize.
"This club is yours?"
"I thought you knew, love?"
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(a/n:) fuck this was a long chapter. 5000 words of drained nonsense from my non-existent brain <3
i'll try to write faster on chapters i know i'm shit at updating!!!
love you all
stay safe
ily,
rev!