C.C. woke up to an unfamiliar room. The air was choked with a peculiar scent, a mix between cigarette smoke and—sex. Now, that last one was very familiar though she wished it were otherwise.

"Fuck," she whispered quietly, turning her head aside from the body at the other end of the bed.

They must have had quite some fun last night, judging by the state of the room and the state of her clothes. She slipped a foot from under the covers and nudged the dress she'd worn last night. Even at this distance in the semi-dark, she could still make out the ruined zipper and ripped sleeves. She growled lightly at the male's sleeping form. Now what was she supposed to wear?

The mornings were always the worst. They grated on C.C.'s nerves, reminded her of everything she'd grown to hate in herself in the past eighteen or so years. But sometimes it was easier to lose herself in alcohol and men than to seriously consider the state of her life. She was a high school dropout with hardly a cent to her name working in a fast food restaurant—a fast food restaurant that served pizza, granted, but still. Even that wasn't enough anymore, and saying it aloud made her head hurt.

Whatever.

The male snorted in his sleep, and C.C. rolled her eyes. There was no danger of him waking before she left it seemed, so she took her time gathering her clothes and undergarments off the floor. The carpet was almost sticky to the touch. Her overnight companion was quite the big spender, obviously. She just hoped the hotel wasn't too far from her workplace. Otherwise, she wasn't sure what she'd do. A quick look in her purse confirmed the suspicion that she was flat broke. Only a few rumpled bills were stuffed in the inner pocket, and that wouldn't be enough to catch a taxi.

She sighed aloud feeling a little depressed when a bright flash from the corner of her eye caught her attention. It was her phone lying haphazardly on the edge of the bedside table. Her eyes narrowed, and she tipped the vibrating cell into the palm of her hand.

MISSED CALLS

Kallen Kozuki
June 24, 8:24 pm

Kallen Kozuki
June 24, 9:00 pm

Kallen Kozuki
June 24, 10:02 pm

Kallen Kozuki
June 24, 10:13 pm

Kallen Kozuki
June 24, 10:32 pm

Kallen Kozuki
June 24, 10:42 pm

Kallen Kozuki
June 24, 10:56 pm

Kallen Kozuki
June 24, 10:57 pm

…

C.C.'s eyes widened when she saw the time of the most recent call. 2:01 PM.

"Fuck," she swore for the second time that morning. What a nightmare. She buried her face in her hands a moment before shrugging into the shirt nearest her and running out the door.

The black fabric clung to her small frame uncomfortably, and the smell was even worse, like vomit and body odor. The jacket was a little nicer but just barely. It was a memento from her last boy. She couldn't remember his face, but the leather still smelled faintly of his aftershave and cologne.

C.C. continued punching through the messages on her phone as she scrambled down the stairs, her boots smacking loudly on each metal step.

Kallen should've known better than to call. Or rather, she should've known better than to text. The messages were going to cost her a fortune, and she was already short to the phone company. It'd take more than a couple of overtime shifts to make that up. A sigh escaped her pale lips. She couldn't be bothered with this now when her head still pounded from the mistakes of last night. She'd have to hit the red head up for painkillers as soon as she got into work. If she was ever going to make it there, that is.

She rammed a shoulder into the exit and was immediately accosted with sunlight. The sudden intensity hurt her eyes and made her wince. Everything was white a moment before colors and silhouettes began filling back in. It was too bright. The weather might as well have been mocking her, and maybe it was, judging by her luck. Running a hand through her unwashed hair, C.C. started for the sidewalk. At this time of day, and in as questionable a part of the city as this, the streets were relatively empty. It made the building in the distance that much more intimidating.

BK Casino, C.C. mused. She would've been lying if she said she never thought twice about the people who walked in and out of that place. They were high class women with diamonds hanging off their ears and handsome men on their arms. When she was even younger, she sometimes fantasized about the owner of the place. They said he was young and unmarried with a fortune to his name. She played out countless scenarios where they met and, one way or another, fell deeply in love. Thinking back on it, she couldn't help but laugh at herself. The smile that came to her lips, though, faded quickly when she realized exactly how far she was from her workplace.

The street she'd been following was at least fifteen or twenty minutes away from Pizza Hut by car, and there was no way she'd make it on time by foot. She couldn't lose this job, and if she was late another time, well. Ohgi was a kind manager, but even he had limits to his patience. The hopelessness of her situation almost made her eyes start to sting, but she'd long forgotten how to cry properly, so she merely buried her face in her hands and uttered her third profanity of the morning.

"Fuck."

"Looking for something, C.C.?"

C.C.'s head snapped up. She almost did a double take at her bad taste in men, but she swallowed the unpleasant bitterness in her mouth and stared down the man who stood before her. She hadn't even gotten a good look at him before she left. His white suit and purple headphones made quite the fashion statement, and he was carrying her spoiled dress on his left arm. She must've left it behind, but given the state it was in, she didn't want it.

"You can keep that. Consider it a present," she retorted. She'd meant it as a joke, but the boy's eyes immediately lit up.

"Really?" he chirped. "A present? I'll be sure to treasure it, C.C."

C.C. winced. It was a joke, but he didn't seem to think the same. What did she drink last night? Before she could answer herself, her eyes were drawn to the dangling set of keys in his right hand. Even his lecherous gaze couldn't shake the spark of hope that suddenly ignited in her chest.

"Mao," she blurted. Her eyes caught the engraving on the key chain, and she ran with it. Hopefully, the name wasn't someone else's, but his eyes lit up even brighter than before.

"Those are the keys to your car, right?"

"If you need a ride, I'll be happy to take you wherever you want to go. I'd do anything for you, C.C."

The sugary way he said it made it even more unnerving than it already was. She had half a mind to take her chances with running to work, but her heels were feeling shaky and her temples throbbed.

"Alright," she sighed, "Take me to the nearest Pizza Hut, then, and be quick about it. I'm already late for my shift."

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

She wasn't sure how many times he said her name in the car, but it was enough that once they finally pulled into the parking lot, she was half tempted to tell him her real name just so he'd stopped saying the other. The car hadn't even stopped moving before C.C. was already stepping out of it and slamming the door in his face. The loud bang cut off his "I love you!"

Even so, he continued calling out to her and didn't stop until she entered the air conditioned building. He didn't leave, either, not for at least ten minutes. Something about him startled C.C. more than her usual companions, but thirty minutes into her time at the cash register, she'd all but shrugged off her negative feelings. He was just one of those clingy men who didn't understand the concept of a one night stand.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

She yawned, her hangover getting the better of her. The hand of the Cheese-kun clock mounted on the opposite wall read the time.

"Five," C.C. murmured, leaning a forearm against the counter as she scrolled through the contacts on her phone, deleting strange names. She'd accumulated quite a few within the last twenty-four hours; some of them she couldn't even pronounce, or maybe she'd just been too drunk to dial them in properly. Regardless, she amused herself with trying to sound them out. Maybe that'd last her until seven when her replacement was supposed to come in, emphasis on supposed to. The man who worked the shift after her was perhaps the most incompetent, vulgar human she ever had the displeasure of knowing. He hadn't taken kindly to her calling him a slack-jawed yokel, but she refused to acknowledge him as anything else.

Maybe if he didn't repeatedly try to sleep with her, she'd have held him in higher esteem. As it was, though, Tamaki was little better than the gum stuck on her shoe.

She drummed her fingers against the table, frowning. If Tamaki came late again, she wasn't going to be as kind as she was last time.

C.C. was just about to set her phone aside when the little bell at the top of the door dinged. The sound sent a jolt of pain through her head, but that wasn't enough to distract her from the duo that entered. It was a little girl and what looked like her brother. They shared the same brown, wavy hair though the boy's was a bit darker.

C.C. tilted her head to the side, watching them curiously. They looked unfamiliar.

"Are you sure you want to eat here, Nunnally? It's not… very healthy, and I'm sure Lelouch wouldn't mind cooking something for you when we—"

"No, Suzaku. I don't want to bother Brother. He's already so busy with the casino—"

C.C.'s ears perked up. Casino?

"—and I don't want to be a nuisance." The girl folded her hands neatly in her lap and looked up at Suzaku with a smile.

C.C. almost smiled with her. Her innocence was refreshing, but what interested her the most was the casino she mentioned. She doubted it was the same one, but if it was—C.C. chewed on her lower lip. She supposed that even if it was, it wouldn't have meant anything. It wasn't as though she could ask for a job right then and there.

"Oh, no. You're not a nuisance, Nunnally. You know Lelouch loves you very much."

"I know, Suzaku, and that's why I don't want to bother him with little things because I love him too."

This time C.C. really did smile. She almost laughed too. It was her first real smile in years, and she didn't know how long it'd been since she'd wanted to laugh without sarcasm.

Nunnally giggled after a few minutes of looking at the menu. "Well, now that I think about it, I've never actually had pizza. Brother always cooks my meals, so what would you suggest, Suzaku?"

Suzaku looked dubiously at the charts plastered on the wall and made a face that was a cross between disgust and concern. C.C. was offended. The new topping combinations were just for the month long promotion, and in her opinion, they were quite innovative.

"Um, Nunnally…"

"Hm, how about the Cheese-chan Bacon Extravaganza?"

C.C. immediately decided that she liked this Nunnally. She had great taste.

The girl tapped a finger against her chin in contemplation before tilting her head up and asking, "Um, Suzaku? Can you order now? I'm a little hungry…"

"Oh, sorry, Nunnally."

He still didn't seem happy about it, but he leaned against the handlebars, and the wheelchair crept forward.

"Hello, uh, Miss…" he paused and leaned forward a bit, squinting at the name tag. "C.C.?"

C.C. refrained from rolling her eyes. It was everyone's first reaction when she gave her pseudonym, but in this day and age, she was sure there were stranger things than initials on a name tag.

"That's me," she said coldly, refusing to forgive the male for his silent insult to pizza. "What do you want?"

He was a bit taken aback by her demeanor. He was obviously used to being addressed respectfully, and that would've made C.C. smirk if a flash of red from the window didn't draw her attention. Kallen waved excitedly through the glass, and before C.C. had the chance to react, the other had barreled into the pizza establishment and nearly crashed into the back of the brown-haired boy.

It was the happiest C.C. had seen the girl in a long time. She assumed it was a new boyfriend and was about to brush off whatever she was about to say when the words "job" and "BK casino" fell from her lips.

"C.C.! You wouldn't believe it, but I got a job at the BK casino!"

C.C. couldn't care enough to hate anyone, but she very strongly disliked her roommate at the moment.

author's note: i'm appalled at basically all of my stories, so have this rewrite of promiscuous girl that i will definitely continue, but it'll take backseat to unholy trinity. also! i'm more than willing to collaborate with another writer on this one, so if anyone is up for it, hit me up. otherwise, hopefully this one is better gomen and much love xoxo