( walking tragedy ! )
chapter one, hideout
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━━a sweet breath of relief left ara's lungs as she walked backstage. the strong aroma of beer and weed stung the inside of her nostrils.
"hey, biggie." she called to the manager, a large man whom she'd become acquainted with over the past few years. he had somewhat taken her in after realizing she spent more time at his shitty bar then her actual home.
"that nickname ever gonna stop?" he chuckled, struggling to keep his cigarette in his mouth━━the smoke it was emitting winding circles around his bald head.
"i know you did not just ask me that question. how wrong would it be if i stopped calling you that in my last few months here?" she imitated wiping a tear from her face. "can't break the cycle, bud."
arabella knew she didn't have too much time left in hawkins. she was graduating (finally) and determined to leave the wretched town. it's all she's wanted to do since her brother left. would she be allowed to leave? not without her mother's permission. and as for her dad, she didn't think he'd even notice if she was gone.
but that was besides the point. all she needed to do was find a way out...by making money. can't drive without gas. or a car. she applied for just about every job in a ten-mile radius from her house, going to three interviews a day━━maybe more. she got some of the jobs, went to work, and absolutely hated every single one.
cashier? nope. waitress? hell no━━too much socializing. busboy? girl? she didn't even know what to call it. whatever it was, all ara knew was that it made her want to scream.
"if i'm going to work seven hours a day after school for less than minimum wage, it's gotta be something i can do without wanting to shoot myself." she came in to the "hideout" as they called it, slamming the heavy door behind her as a bell jingled above her head, taunting her sour mood. biggie was just about the only person she could complain to, given that he didn't know anyone she knew and therefore keeping all her secrets.
"still haven't found the one?" he asked, setting his drink down on the bar, making a loud thump echo in her ears.
"nope. not even close." she shuffled around a few drunk dancers, making her way to the bar. "i think i'm starting to lose hope."
"well, i think i got a little bit of hope for ya." her friend said, pointing to a door marked with a sloppy sign that read: employees and performers only. arabella quirked an eyebrow at him. "a group of kids your age came in here after you left last night askin' if we had any open spots." the man waved his hand in the air, "for performing, that is."
"and?" the loud music coming from the back of the building reverberated in her head, drowning out every thought in her brain.
"i asked what they could do. showed me their instruments and everything, cute kids. but they were missing somethin'."
ara sat down on one of the wobbly stools poised in front of the bar, grabbing the dark-colored drink the bartender set in front of her. she put the glass to her lips as soon as biggie resumed his sentence.
"a lead guitarist." she spit the thick liquid back into the glass, nonchalantly trying to play it off even though nobody was paying any attention.
"you've got to be joking."
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"well, your band's waiting for you. jasper told me to tell you to hurry your ass up." biggie continued, gesturing to the crowd. "the lord's curse cannot wait forever." he pounded a large fist against his heart jokingly after mentioning her band's name.
ara flipped him off as she ran past him, "you're just jealous." she weaved through the sea of people, up behind the group's lead singer.
"hey, jas." she said, ruffling the curly mop of dark hair sitting on his head. the tan boy turned towards her, laughing. he was not a shy boy, and lived for commentating on everyone━━whether it was good or bad. he and ara were probably the closest out of everyone in their group, laughing about everything you could possibly imagine every time they were together.
"we've been looking for you!" a girl with pink hair and thick glasses appeared on her left, ending any sort of conversation she and jasper would've had. she threw her arms around arabella, nearly knocking her off her feet.
"missed you too, char." she said, prying the energetic girl off of her. "where's sparky?"
"still stuck on all the nicknames, really?" a tall, lanky boy walked up to her, smiling down at the girl a foot shorter than him.
"shut your mouth. you know you like it." he took his drumsticks and patted her on the head with them as she attempted to swat his hands away from her━━a common thing he'd done since a week after they met.
"the gang's back together!" charlotte shouted as she brought them all into a group hug.
"okay, okay. that's enough pda, guys." ara said, pushing them away and awkwardly zipping up her jacket. "it's only been what, a week since we've all been together? i think that's survivable."
it hardly was, actually. being without her band was like being without... anything! but having to pretend like she didn't know they existed while at school was even worse. you'd assume that after a year she'd be used to it, but arabella's best friends were the most important things to her. ever. and that was the one thing holding her back.
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( note ! )
━━ .* ੈ✩‧₊˚ / sorry for the short chapter, i hate having to introduce characters but i tried to make it somewhat enjoyable. <33
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