TITLE: Dirty Business
DISCLAIMER: Own nothing.
SUMMARY: Two people who used to be together can't seem to pick up the pieces of the shattered relationship. One, who used to be that perfect girl, has become a prostitute. The other can't seem to figure out why she's doing this to herself.
A/N: So I haven't really been around for awhile and I've come up with a new idea. Instead of writing a bunch of one-shots and posting them one after the other I'm just going to combine them all together. So this won't be a story, instead each new chapter is going to be a different one-shot. So don't expect any of these "chapters" to continue on, they will all be left as one-shots and nothing else. Sorry if this is all confusing but it will make sense as I post more.
Song used in the story is "Dirty Business" by The Dresden Dolls.
Raise your glass
We have incorporated
Place your bets
We're all so sick of waiting
Queen takes jack
You got me this time but I'll get you back
So pick a number
It's an old street. Filled with old buildings that people will usually just drive by, and not give a second glance to. Most of the lights that line the street are burnt out, the few that aren't shine weakly, casting pale yellow light across the otherwise dark road. Underneath one of those lights stands a girl. If you get closer to her you can see the nervous hands playing with the frayed hem of her skirt. And when the light catches her bloodshot eyes they shine with unshed tears.
Her hair is matted and tangled, pulled back into a sloppy ponytail. Her make-up is sloppily done and smudges slightly around her eyes, from the tears that keep threatening to fall. She wraps her arms around her tightly, her thin sweater not keeping out the cold. In the distance a boy stands in the shadows, watching her. He thinks back to when he used to know the girl she used to be.
To all the ones who tried the most
Was I supposed to cheer your efforts
His hands slip into his coat pockets as the wind picks up. She turns and starts to walk away. The boy follows, his eyes staring at her back, her eyes staring at the ground. He makes sure to not get too close. If she knew he was following her it probably wouldn't turn out that great. Considering the last time they talked was two years ago when they broke up.
Sorry that I chose so poorly
Golly gee am I the poster girl
She reaches her hand towards her ponytail and pulls at it, tightening it until it can't be any tighter. Rubbing at her eyes she opens up her purse and pulls out a cigarette. Once lit and resting in the corner of her mouth she looks around. She doesn't see the boy watching her from a distance, but she does see bright headlights coming down the street. Grabbing at the barely smoked cigarette she yanks it from her mouth and crushes it with her heel.
She's the kind of girl who looks for love in all the lonely places
The kind who comes to poker pockets stuffed with kings and aces
He watches as the ratty car pulls up beside his former love. He makes a quiet noise of disgust as she opens up the door and crawls in. His mind is telling him that this is disgusting and wrong. That this was so far from what the girl he used to know would do. He agreed with it all, two years ago that girl would have never done what she currently does every night. But secretly, far in the back of his mind, he wishes it was him sitting in that car. He wishes that it was him who pulls up next to her. He wishes that he could fuck her instead of all those other men.
She's the kind of girl who only asks you over when its raining
Just to make you lie there catching water dripping from the ceiling
She climbs out of the car clutching a handful of bills. Before she lets the car drive off she double checks that he gave her the right amount of money. She's biting at her lower lip as she slams the door shut, wincing slightly when the man yells at her for handling his car wrongly. Flipping him off she walks back to the circle of light, where she sits down and pulls out an old leather wallet. She places the crumpled bills into the wallet and inserts it back into her purse. Standing up she makes sure the buttons on her jacket are all done up and walks off. He watches wide eyed as she walks off into the darkness, acting as though she hadn't just fucked some random guy for a couple bucks.
Lift your hats
Off to the checkout girls with tattooed backs
They'd make an angels skin crawl
If you ask them for assistance
There's an even chance
You'll get a number
The girl doesn't realize that she's being followed. The boy stays a good distance away from her. She's mumbling to herself as she lights another cigarette. The boy holds back his coughs as the smell of smoke drifts over to him. The two walk through dark streets and even darker alleyways. Never once does she pause for a breath, the boy is almost running to keep up with her fast pace. He's cursing as she turns yet another corner and leads him into yet another pitch black alleyway. Pitch black save for the orange tip of her cigarette.
They stop, finally, when she reaches an old rundown building. All he can make out from the tiny, faded letters is that it's some kind of apartment building. As she fishes around in her purse for a key, he decides that maybe it's time to go home. When she's inside the building he turns and starts to walk to the nearest bus stop. Inside he's wishing he hadn't been such an idiot, he's wishing he had brought his car with him so he wouldn't have to spend one more minute in this dark part of town.
To all the girls at pearl the surly boys who get to masticate them
I've a prize for each and every one of you so just be patient
She leans against the doorframe. Looking back out the door she sees a person walking away. Her breathing gets faster as she wonders if he had been following her the whole way home. She had known that someone had been following her through the streets, but she just thought that they were on their way home as well, it had never crossed her mind that maybe he had been following her. Walking up to her apartment she goes in and stares at herself in the cracked mirror. She screams when she sees her face, messed up hair, bloodshot eyes, and make-up spread all over. She punches at the mirror and doesn't stop until pieces are falling off of it and she's lying on the floor sobbing.
To all the ones that hated me the most a toast
You really had me
His hands shake as he walks up to his own house and pulls open the door. Once inside he walks up to his bedroom and collapses on the bed. The tears start to flow before he realizes he's crying. He doesn't know what he's crying about. The tears just continue to fall as he thinks about the scene he just witnessed. After the tears stop he realizes why he's been crying. That girl is, well was, the love of his life. And after seeing how she's been treating herself the crack she created in his heart grew a tiny bit larger. He knows that he shouldn't really be feeling all that sorry for her. A few years ago, when they had broken up, he had been a mess and had silently wished for her to become an even bigger mess then he was. Laying his head down on the soft pillows he smiles, realizing that his wish has finally came true. The smile turns quickly into a frown when he grasps the fact that it doesn't feel as good as he thought it should.
Going for a second I was nervous
Boy am I the poster girl
She remembers how this all started. She was just out of high school and did some things that her father didn't approve of, causing him to kick her out onto the streets. Separated from her money she had to come up with a quick solution on how to make some. She eventually ended up getting a job as a waitress, but that didn't pay enough. Prostitution was not the occupation she wished for as a young girl, but she had to do it in order to be able to pay the rent. She closes her eyes and falls into a deep sleep awakening the next morning and rushing off to work. Once there she busies herself with the customers, some she recognizes as the guys she fucks at her second "job". They all act as though they've never met her before. She wanders outside the moment her break starts, lighting up a smoke she stares up at the bright, blue sky. A few moments later she's about to head back inside and in doing so bumps into a boy. The same boy whose heart she broke all those years ago.
She's the kind of girl who gets her slings and arrows from the dumpster
The kind who tell you she's bipolar just to make you trust her
He mumbles out a quiet sorry and pushes his way into the dimly light restaurant. It doesn't occur to him that she works here until she shows up at his table, menu in hand. Letting out a long sigh she begins to ask him what he'd like to drink. His mouth opens to speak but no sound comes out. She looks pissed off. As though she just wants him to order his drink so she can get away from him. He manages to order an orange juice, despite his hatred for juice. She grins as he says that, questioning him on how long he's been drinking juice. He laughs a bit and changes his order to coffee, saying how it was just the first thing to come to his mind. She comes back with his coffee and the two start to chat as he decides what he wants to eat. As he leave the restaurant a while later, she slips a note into his hand. Glancing down at the strip of white paper he realizes that it's an address, for the same building he had been at the night before.
She's the kind of girl who leaves out condoms on the bedroom dresser
Just to make you jealous of the men she fucked before you met her
She rushes around the house, broom in hand, picking up the pieces of shattered glass that litter the floor. He's going to be here any moment and she doesn't want him to step on a sharp sliver of glass. The doorbell goes off and she rushes over to let him in. As soon as she opens the door they launch themselves at each other. Locking lips as though they never will part. They fumble through the hallway, kissing and grabbing at each other, as they make their way to the bedroom. Once inside he sees the same wallet from last night lying out on the dresser. Carefully folded bills fall out of it as they bang against it, they fall to the floor and when seeing them all over the floor tears come to his eyes. Blinking them away he turns his focus towards her. The two stare at each other before collapsing onto the unmade bed. They both keep checking to make sure that it isn't all a dream. That this is all really happening.
To all the ones who thought they knew me best a test to prove your prowess
Who was mine in Ninety-nine I want last names and current status
To all the ones who hated me the most a toast you really had me going for second
I was nervous boy am I the poster girl
As soon as she wakes up she realizes that she's alone. He's gone and all that's left of him is a note stuck in the corner of the shattered mirror. When she reads it she falls apart. Crying and shaking she collapses to the floor. She doesn't care about what's going on around her, she doesn't even wince at the sharp piece of glass digging into her knee. All that she can focus on right now is that she lost him once again. He's the only man she's even been in love with, and seeing him yesterday made everything feel right. She wished that he had at least said good-bye. But he didn't. The first time he left it was because she had broken his heart, the second time was because he was afraid of breaking hers.
For some suburban sickness
Better keep a healthy distance
Now its up to you know what to do
It's pretty dirty business