The bar was warm and slightly stuffy, Firey wished there was an AC or something because his nose was starting to feel blocked.
He sat on a couch in the corner of the bar, drinking a cheap beer and letting himself relax a bit.
He was in the same bar he had been in with Leafy a few days prior, she had told him that she liked it but he thought she was lying.
It wasn't a bad establishment by any means but it just didn't seem like her type of place.
He thought about Leafy quite a bit lately... Not good.
He was playing a dangerous game, he needed to quit while he was ahead.
"Heya Firey, good to see you again,"
Firey looked to see Rusty Coin, the owner of the bar standing by him with his signature wonky smile on his face.
Rusty Coin, or just Rusty, was a kind hearted barkeep who everyone in the area knew and kept good terms with, he was always quick with a joke and was always eager to help people.
He had been working here for years, he had taken over after his father had retired, determined to keep the business going.
"Hey Rusty, how are you?" Firey smiled.
"Doing swell, business has been great lately, especially because people are bringing others with them," Rusty joked, nudging Firey slightly.
Firey sighed, knowing what he meant.
"Don't think too much into things Rusty, I was just hanging out with her,"
"I never said anything about you," Rusty teased. "Anyway, who was she, I didn't get a look at her but she seemed nice, she never took those hat and sun glasses off though,"
"I guess she's like a... work colleague? I'm not sure," Firey said thoughtfully.
Was Leafy his colleague or was she his boss? She didn't pay him, Four did, Firey just did whatever Four told him to do, Leafy technically wasn't his employer.
"Interesting, you seemed to be having a good time together, it looked to me like she enjoyed your company," Rusty smirked.
"Yeah well, we're friends, of course we'd like hanging out and she's an alright person, she gets along with people," Firey shrugged.
"She didn't seem like she was from around here, what made you take her all the way out of the city?" Rusty asked.
"Well, apparently she's doing well with her work so she wanted to celebrate, she invited me out and I suggested this place," Firey replied.
"She seemed sorta... out of place, you know? Her clothes were a bit too nice for this part of the world, city fashion," Rusty noted.
"Yeah, she's a total city girl, she likes fancy things but she told me she liked the bar, she said it was cute," Firey laughed shortly.
Rusty's expression briefly became unimpressed, he always prided himself on having a "refined, pleasantly aged" Bar, not a cute one.
"Okay, now I need to know, you've never told me what you're doing for work lately, if you're meeting people like that girl you must be doing well," Rusty asked, his eyes brimming with interest as he took a seat across from Firey.
"Uh, not really it's just a fairly easy job with some decent pay, nothing major," Firey said with a hint of embarrassment.
"Come on, tell me, you know I won't judge, our families have known each other for years," Rusty said in a pleading tone.
"Well, I do security and bodyguard work at the moment, that girl is the person I'm a personal bodyguard for, it's stupid but it pays the bills," Firey shrugged.
"Oh so she is fancy, what is she then? Something important?" Rusty questioned.
"Ah it's stupid, doesn't even matter," Firey insisted, slightly regretting the conversation.
"Nah, ya gotta tell me, no job that involves a bodyguard can be stupid, it means you need to protect her from something," Rusty continued pressing for an answer.
Firey knew he had no way out, he was going to have to answer.
"She's an Idol," he said quickly, looking away from the scruffy, silver haired man.
Rusty was taken aback, the surprise on his face was very obvious.
"Oh, wasn't expecting that answer... what made you take the job?" he asked.
"Like I said, it pays the bills," Firey responded, slightly ruder than he had meant to.
There was a pause in the conversation, a slight heaviness weighed in the air as Firey kept his gaze away from Rusty, who fought awkwardly.
"Firey... I hate to bring this up but just to be sure..."
Please don't say it, please don't say it.
"Isn't that what your cousin-"
"Yes!" Firey snapped suddenly.
Rusty recoiled slightly with an apologetic look on his face.
"I'm sorry Rusty, it's just... even after all this time, I still hate thinking about it," Firey sighed, his breath catching in his throat.
Firey kept his face firmly away from Rusty's vision, trying his hardest not to show that it was hurting him.
He felt a warm hand on his shoulder, he couldn't help moving his head and facing the kind, bar owner.
Firey had known Rusty Coin all his life, Rusty was much older than him but was still a friend throughout the years and a confidant for things he couldn't tell his parents.
He trusted him, he knew there would be no judgement if he did accidentally lose control and some tears fell.
His eyebrows knitted together in frustration and hurt at the memory of everything, his eyes stung as he held back the tears that threatened to fall.
"She was so close to many it Rusty, she had everything it takes, other people saw it too," he said as his voice broke slightly.
"She was doing so well... I mean-I thought..." Firey was losing the battle of keeping himself together, his throat felt tight and he was embarrassed for getting emotional.
"She was... she was supposed to come back for me... she promised she would," he choked.
Finally, he succumbed to the pressure he felt, he shook slightly as he let out a small, quiet sob.
Rusty pulled him in, hugging him gently but protectively , he smelled like pine and beer.
Firey buried his face in his shoulder, muffling the sad sounds that escaped from him, wishing he didn't have to think about it.
"It's alright, no one can see you, do whatever you need to do, take your time," Rusty said doing his best to comfort the poor thing.
"It was her dream Rusty, and she was so close to it she could grab it, it was hers," Firey sniffled.
"I know, I was rootin for her, I did my best to follow," Rusty nodded.
Firey remembered her smile, the real energy and genuine kindness she had that she simply wanted to share with the world.
But that would never be enough, would it?
He felt anger boil through him, slowly but surely replacing the sadness he felt.
"She didn't deserve it Rusty, she only ever wanted to make people happy but everyone was too selfish," he said, anger seeping into his voice.
"She never did anything to hurt anyone, and yet, all she got back was cruel, horrible words,"
Firey recalled all the comments he read, every single last one.
"She didn't... she never did anything to deserve it," he sighed deeply, trying to calm himself down.
"No, she didn't, you're right," Rusty said quietly.
Firey pulled away from the comforting hug and retook his original position on the couch, taking a few minutes to allow himself to breathe as Rusty sat there to make sure he was alright.
...
"I don't know why I'm getting involved in the thing that killed Ruby, but I'm doing my best not to be pulled too far in," he said, adjusting his hoodie, tightening the strings.
"She does seem like a nice girl though, she might help you process all of this," Rusty suggested with a small smile.
"No, I'm not going to let myself get involved with her or that stupid industry, it's corrupt and toxic, there's nothing good about it," Firey said in a low tone.
"I don't care how nice Leafy seems, she's living the life Ruby wanted and she lives it in a sick, selfish way, she's nothing like Ruby and she never will be,"
"Firey, I know you're upset but you can't just say things like that, it's just mean," Rusty snapped, a slight glare on his face.
"That girl never did anything to you, you have no right to say those things,"
"You don't know what I know, Rusty,"
"She is nice but the problem is, you can't tell if it's real, everything in her world is a lie, it's the way that Idols survive, I can't let myself fall for pretty lies," Firey sighed tiredly.
"Promises that people have made to me have been broken already, I'm not going to let it happen again,"
...
A while later, Firey said goodbye to Rusty, paid his bill and left.
He never should have let Leafy stay, he never should have agreed to be friends, he never should have been so stupid.
He shoukd have kept his distance, he should have just done his job and keep it like that.
Her kind words and pretty smile lured him in.
He was no better than the people he turned his nose at.
Would Ruby have turned out like Leafy?
No, Ruby was much too genuine for that, much to down-to-earth to ever become so shallow.
But... there were aspects of Ruby that Firey saw in Leafy, her determination, her energy and her shine.
It scared him.
The fear needed to go.
He wondered if Leafy knew how much there actually was between them, he doubted it though.
If she knew the truth, she would never smile at him the way she does.
It wasn't right, none of it was, none of it was fair.
He did feel guilty but anyone who was in this world should be used to people suddenly changing.
Nothing was ever real, everything is just a trick of the light.
...
Leafy was curled up on her couch, watching TV and scrolling on her phone when she saw a text from Firey that she happily opened.
Hey, I need to cancel the whole dog-walking thing, sorry
Aw sad :( do u wanna reschedule?
No, just can't meet at all, don't know when I'll be able to so just forget it
Oh okay, is there any time we could hang out?
No.
That's a shame, I was hoping we could :(
OK.
Leafy stared at the texts, her heart was pouding so loudly she could feel it in her ears.
An empty feeling weighed on her as she carefully placed her phone down on the coffee table and lay on her side, trying to figure out what was wrong.
She thought things were going well, had she done something to upset him?
She spent the rest of the day laying on the couch, her phone remained untouched and silent as she stared off into nothing, those texts still engraved into her memory.
"What did I do?" she whispered to herself.
================================
I don't know what to do without you
I don't know where to put my hands
I've been trying to lay my head down
But I'm writing this at 3AM
Hope you enjoyed that chapter.
XOXO
LeafCake