Black Tonic


Vanitas' intrepid, yellow eyes rolled towards the high ceiling of the shopping mall as he pushed passed his friends in a huff. The two were known to be provocative with their teasing and made it a point to giggle about his "feminine hip sway" which was ironic considering Zexion strutted as if he were on the catwalk constantly. Axel never dared to say anything as Zexion's 5' and 6" scrawny frame was constructed out of pure evil and fury from the depths of Hell that could make Satan himself flee.

The trio entered a dimly lit clothing store where mostly everything was black and the long lamps hanging from the ceiling barely illuminated all four corners of the small space. Through the speakers played modern punk and edgy rock music that none of them knew the lyrics to. There were young girls with green, blue, and jet black hair styled into choppy layers and boys in skinny jeans, spiked bracelets and large gauges in their ears. Axel immediately felt like the wrong puzzle piece being jammed to fit into another- he just didn't fit in and felt the stares of the employees and customers. Vanitas and Zexion however blended in with the crowd as their wardrobes mostly consisted of black attire and their hair styles matched the scene as well- especially Zexion's choppy, long bangs that covered half his face.

Axel stuck around the perimeter, not finding any of the items interesting. He wondered how someone could actually like the taste of the clothing here and comfortably wear black pants and leather jackets in the heat of summer.

Vanitas caught eye of something black of course, but this shirt was different than any of the ones he owned. It was a button down shirt that mimicked the material of denim and had leather straps that crossed in the back and wrapped over the shoulders, attaching to the symmetrical pockets on the chest. The sleeves were looped with black string into a corset style and tied in a knot, leaving the access material to dangle. He thought this style would look great with his sleeve tattoos and his new pair of faded gray jeans.

"Now this is what I want." He said with a smug grin, lifting the shirt from the rack and examining it from front to back. The tag dangled from the sleeve and he flipped it open. "Like hell I'm paying that price." His eyes quickly scanned the area around him, noting where the employees were as he pretended to look interested in the other items on the rack. When he constructed a path to the fitting rooms on the other side of the shop, he began pulling shirts from the rack and laying them on his arm.

Axel knew something was wrong when Vanitas pulled a "My Little Pony" t-shirt into his arms and briskly walked over. "You're gonna pay for that?" He asked in confusion, pointing a finger to the shirt. His friend didn't reply and instead pulled a top depicting Marilyn Monroe off the rack and added it to his pile. "What are you-"

"Shopping." He spat. His tone was cold as ice like a demonic villain. "I'm shopping. Now leave me alone." Nodding slowly and taking a few steps back, Axel decided it was best to just walk away. Vanitas was well known to not pay for things and shoplifted a few times per week. He figured he found something he wanted and was doing the "changing room method" in order to steal it. He would tell the employees he was "trying on" a handful of random shirts and once in the room, would snip of any tags and slip on the item he wanted under his sweatshirt. Once he pulled another shirt from the rack, he strutted around the perimeter and made his way to the changing rooms.

"Are we leaving this insipid place?"

Axel's heart jumped out of his chest as he spun around to the voice behind him. He sighed in relief when he realized it was just Zexion, looking as pissed as ever as he drummed his fingers against his rail thin arm. The guy was like a cat; he never made a sound and seemed to appear out of thin air and it just so happened that he hated water and was an annoying bitch when he wanted attention.

"Nope." He replied, frowning one side of his mouth. "Van's buying a shirt." Zexion nodded slowly, understand the meaning of the emphasis. It was inevitable, really as they had been wandering through the mall for what seemed like hours and he hadn't lifted a single thing.

Zexion sighed, his breath lifted his long bangs away from his face momentarily. The exhaustion of being in public withered him down to the bone and he was dying to lay down somewhere dark and quiet.

Within seconds, Vanitas came jaunting over with an extra spring in his step as if he had just made date plans with a crush. "Ready to go?" He asked with more enthusiasm than usual as a smile curled to corners of his lips. The two scanned him from head to toe, wondering what exactly he stole under his gray sweatshirt.

When they exited the dark place and adjusted their eyes to the bright lights of the mall, Vanitas couldn't help but bounce on his heels.

"Do you know how much that was? 110 bucks!" Axel nodded, pretending to be interested as they made their way out through the large, exit doors of the mall. "I saved myself that much money, can you believe it? Who charges that much for a fucking shirt?" Stealing for Vanitas was like getting high- it pumped him full of adrenaline and made him feel a bit more alive and neither of his friends understood any of it. No matter how many times Axel criticized his decisions or warned him of the consequences, Vanitas turned the other way with some kind of justification for it. His most used excuse was to 'save money' or to 'sell it for needed cash' and it was true that he needed some cash as he was in debt from a car accident last October, but he never did sell any of the things he stole and the items he lifted were never necessary.

The sun hung in the afternoon sky, slowly falling towards the horizon as the evening rolled around. The pavement caught the burning rays of light and seemed to exhume them, causing the trio to drip sweat as soon as they stepped foot onto the parking lot. The heat was suffocating and it dried up the soil where the small palm trees were planted that divided the lot's aisles. The sun's reflection on the cars blinded them no matter where they turned as the parking lot was packed full.

Once they made it to Axel's red Ford Fusion that smelled of greasy fast food, Vanitas plopped in the passenger seat and cranked the AC on high while quickly pulling his sweatshirt over his head, revealing the stolen black top he eyed earlier. "Doesn't it look sick?" He asked, pulling the shirt down to smooth out any wrinkles.

Axel shoved the key into the ignition and turned it a few times. It always took a few tries to get his beat up car to start as it was fairly old and had thousands of miles on it. He also had no idea of its history as he got it for really cheap without any questions asked. "Looks great." He said sarcastically as he jerked the car into reverse and exited out of the parking lot behind a line of cars.

As they pulled up to the intersection, they realized they wouldn't be pulling into the driveway any time soon. Traffic was backed from nose to tail and cars were moving at the pace of sap on a tree. Despite the light turning green, Axel couldn't go anywhere as cars blocked the intersection from all directions as they slammed on their horns and drivers shouted out their windows. Axel edged closer in attempt for someone to let him in, but ended up slamming on his breaks and rocking the empty drink cups on the floor. Nobody allowed a big enough gap for him to turn into. He punched the steering wheel a few times, shaking his fist at some guy in a convertible.

Vanitas rolled his eyes and rolled down the window, the scent of fries and burgers hitting his nose made making his stomach growl. He leaned back in the seat and propped his feet up on the dashboard while reaching into the cup holder for a cigarette. It was going to be a long ride home.

In the back, Zexion boringly stared out the window, fantasizing about going home to the peace and quiet and solitude of his room- it's what he looked forward to everyday.

Axel's grip tightened on the steering wheel and they all knew his temper was hanging on by a thread. He was always an aggressive driver, especially when it came to heavy traffic. He took deep breaths, trying to calm himself, but the heat, the honking of the horns, and the idiots not letting him onto the road was too much to handle and he rolled down his window.

"Move the fuck over you cock dick!" He screamed at the man in a red SUV, shaking his fist and slamming his fist on his horn. The man either didn't notice or ignored him because the asshole inched even closer to the car in front of him, narrowing the gap. "Damn it!" Axel shouted, slamming his palm on the wheel.

Vanitas tapped his index finger on his cigarette, causing the hot tobacco to fall off onto the pavement. "I say floor it."

Zexion shook his head and sighed. "I say no."

Axel's grip tightened. "I say shut the hell up!" Both of their mouths closed and it was quiet in the car until Vanitas turned the radio on to some heavy metal band playing with gravely, shouting vocals and heavy guitar riffs.

Eventually, they were able to pull onto the main road and merge onto the highway, but the traffic didn't stop there. Axel found himself in the right lane, beside the man in the convertible with his foot on the break. He tried his best to bite his tongue, but that guy was a cunt and he needed the man to know how much he loathed him.

He leaned his head out the window. "Hey, you!" He shouted. The man in the business suit gave a questioning glare, cocking his head to the side. "Go suffocate in your mother's cunt you fucking piece of shit!" Vanitas howled with laughter as his eyes filled with tears and Axel's lips curled into a proud smirk as he rolled up his window, leaving the guy to stare in shock, processing what was just said to him.

Zexion rolled his eyes.

It was a long ride home.