Looking in the mirror, he seemed less and less disgusted with himself each passing day. Though he may have hit rock bottom in his eyes, at first, that is, he didn't quite mind it anymore but he had always dreamed he'd do something greater with his life; but plans change. Here though he had made good and loyal friends, people he could actually trust and that in itself was something he'd never trade for.
Despite everything he felt, Jack was young and quite beautiful for a boy. A fresh yet usually tired looking pale face with dyed white hair, bright blue eyes and a slim frame; probably a little too slim but he'd rather be hungry than homeless. Thankfully his boss often brought him leftovers and even his landlord cooked for him sometimes, thinking about it Jack was actually spoiled if anything.
The first loud vibration from the music in the other room jolted him from his thoughts and he scanned the frame of the worn out mirror he stood at. It was his, a few pieces of clothing and some empty and full glasses were scattered over the desk it was attached too but that was usual. He stared at the few stickers that littered the glass of his and his partners stage names, 'Snowcap' was his. It made him laugh sometimes since he is unable to recall where it even came from, something about his white hair and the word 'captain'.
"Jack! You're up first tonight what's the hold up?" The voice was easily recognizable, the only female strong and brave enough to work alongside a bunch of men. Elisa was her name secretly but famously she was known as 'The Tooth Fairy' for her obsession with teeth. She always had some sort of decorative piece of jewellery on to showcase that along with the dangerously realistic collection of loose teeth tattooed on her ankle.
It was sort of the norm to get a tattoo representing the stage name that fans have given, as coworkers they were family here but receiving a name was considered a symbol of acceptance; something very important in this line of work. Jack himself had a detailed snowflake plastered over the entire back of his neck. There were a few quiet blue hues in it to give it a little frost effect and he'd be lying if he said he didn't like it but damn was it painful.
Elisa was a rather beautiful lady, with dark brown hair that had a natural wave to it that rested past her shoulders. Her eyes were blue but she usually wore contacts to work, which was something he never did quite understand why she did it. As a result she had unnatural color iris' that switched from grey to purple, sometimes even yellow or a bright green like she wore tonight. She was thin but not obnoxiously so like he felt he was, had a bit of muscle to her and she had the most flawless smile. Jack was often teased about liking her more than he should have but both of them knew exactly what their relationship was and both were perfectly happy with the strong friendship they had.
After taking a second glance at what Elisa was wearing he smiled then casually downed his first shot of the night, "Your tits look good in that." He pointed out bluntly to her before pulling his t-shirt off over his head and eyeing her over once more, purple, of course. Probably a little too sparkly and even more so too revealing, Jack cared about this woman like a sister and he didn't see how she could end up stuck here with the rest of them dancing the night away for a wage.
Elisa looked flattered as usual and obviously felt obligated to return a compliment for it since she snatched one of the few filled shot glasses on his desk, holding it up as she spoke, "And your ass looks great in blue." With that she grinned and tilted her head back, taking the shot.
"I paid for that you know," Jack scowled at her, crossing his arms in a very sarcastically displeased manner.
She only laughed and gave Jack a gentle nudge, "Yeah, and you owed me. Now go get your ass on stage or the man won't be happy."
Jack rolled his eyes and made his way out to his spot, the main one. Which both pleased and displeased him in the same notion, just thinking about the fact that he was 'popular' was a little disturbing. He twisted to avoid any contact with the seemingly sober people that had already shuffled in, snatching another shot from the bartender that always left one at the edge of the counter for him to grab. It wasn't so much that he wanted to get drunk and he never did, it was the numbing that he enjoyed – it made dancing all night that much easier.
There was something about it, the dancing that is, that seemed to make all the bad things go away, he felt lost in his own fantasy world and that was the reason he stayed here. If he really tried he could probably get a job somewhere else, someone considered decent but the escape that this provided was enough to make him consider doing it for free. Though he figured he's just fuck up any kind of job that required an actual functioning human being so it was easy for him to brush off any thought of leaving this place.
As usual he shoved off the stage sweaty and tired after a few hours; manoeuvring down the small walkway to the back door that lead to their dressing rooms backstage. He didn't like to be touched by all the now drunken strangers in the bar; it was downright weird especially since he was pretty much naked which is why he appreciated the fact that the stage was so close to the back door.
Once he entered through the door, one of his other coworkers Kris (openly known as 'Sandman') handed him his t-shirt in passing as he headed out so Jack offered him a smile and an encouraging slap on the butt. He laughed at the sarcastically disturbed look he got back and threw the shirt over his shoulder, pulling the loose bills from his underwear that he found on the floor of the stage and threw them out onto his desk, "What do they think I am a stripper?" He hated accepting them but it was in the job description to take them regardless, it was annoying and Jack thought it was disrespectful on both parts. Technically it was against the rules for them to do it but once some of them were obliterated it was pointless to try and stop it.
Letting out a long, heavy and exhausted sigh the boy plunked back into the chair in front of his desk, slumping down in the seat as his eyes shut slowly. He stayed still, barely breathing for quite some time, he often did this but it never failed to make everyone who saw him grow concerned and ask him if he was alright which he always gave a reassuring grunt too. Eventually he found the incentive to pull his shirt from his shoulder and tug it on over his head before lying back in the chair again.
Life was tiring; Jack was truly tired of it, struggling almost every day for food. Wondering when things would become bearable, when things would turn around for the better. It had to one day; he believed that if not anything else. Gently he pressed his fingers against his shut eyes in an attempt to wake himself, even if he was first on shift he always stayed until the place closed. He enjoyed the company of his coworkers and sometimes even went out in the crowd to dance but tonight everything just seemed to pile and render him motionless.
"We're closed now Jack." He felt a familiar feminine hand on his shoulder so he stood slowly, letting out a sigh then mumbled, "Alright. See you tomorrow." Stumbling back a bit, bumping against his desk he blinked down at Elisa and smiled, returning the hug she was giving him with one arm. She didn't move though, she stood there for so long so he wrapped both arms around her and squeezed her gently; something reassuring they both needed. With that Jack finally put his pants back on and slipped into his jacket and slung his bag over his shoulder, leaving a kiss of Elisa's cheek and waving to his boss as he stepped out into the frigid cold of the night.
Shoving his hands in his pockets he walked along the sidewalk, almost silently, almost like he didn't exist at all. He felt that way, regardless of any kind of apparent 'fame' he had at work he always went home to the same run down, broken and miserable place. It was nothing good for him and sometimes he just wanted to never wake up but he had to believe things would get better, they would.
Jack blinked, letting out a soft gasp when he bumped into someone. He had never seen anyone on the streets in this area so late that wasn't drunk or half naked, "I'm sorry. I wasn't looking." Ducking his head he quickly carried on, unknowing that the one he bumped into looked back and watched as the boy left.
He pushed through the door of his apartment and set his bag and jacket on the floor with a thump, ignoring the knocking and voice from the other side of his door which was his landlord. Dealing with that overly happy and smiling and perfect person right now was not going to go well for him so he just thumped down on the bed, curling onto his side. Staring out the window he laid there awake for hours, unable to shake the feeling of disappointment from his body before exhaustion finally took over.