"Ugh. Brown. What a dreadful color." After looking at her outfit in the mirror, Coco Adel quickly retracted her statement while it was still fresh and altered it.
"Well, it is for eyes, anyway." The thought of Velvet's eye color came to mind, causing her to swear at herself.
"Oh, who cares. No one is listening anyway." She thought aloud once more.
Coco had folded her signature sunglasses and placed them on the sink that she now leaned over. Her hair, to her own disdain, was a mess. In an attempt to delay the inevitable for as long as possible, Coco made a mission out of grabbing the nearest brush and stroking out any knots and putting any stray locks back into place. Again and again, the brush was pressed into Coco's scalp and ran down along the length of her hair.
Coco cursed the wind for her bad hair. She had made the solitary trip to the City of Vale's shopping district in order to purchase the small white box that she laid onto the white sink adjacent to the hand that had yet to move.
Her eyes ran across it grudgingly for a moment before returning them to her own reflection. Even after her hair was already in its usual state of arrangement, Coco continued to brush feverently. It wasn't even about her hair anymore; she was locked in a desperate struggle with her own mind, trying to void any thoughts of her missing best friend.
It failed, however.
She still vividly remembered the curious details surrounding Velvet's disappearance, along with the barrage of Atlesian officials and news reporters coming by every day for an entire month to grill her with questions. She became sickeningly familiar with the sensation of having a camera or microphone(often both) follow her around anywhere she went.
Several of the reporters had attempted to gain entry into Coco's home (such attempts became more common when the news of Coco's deceased parents and her living conditions as a result of). Some of the reporters attempted to pose as military officials, but all for naught. Every encounter would end the same, with Coco politely telling the reporters that she nothing of her friend's whereabouts, then with her telling them to politley go to hell as she closed the door on them.
Sadly for her, this was not the case with the military and the Vale Detectives. They would sit with her in the living room of her home, placing a large, black, clunky machine they called a "Lie Detector". She had suspected that this was a lie meant to intimidate her, one that she easily saw through.
Most of the interrogations never got far. It was always the same: the investigator(there was never one that would appear twice) would ask Coco to remove her sunglasses indoors, she would hastily obey, and they would immediatley take note of Coco's silver eyes. From there, in most cases, the interrogation would take a standstill. The investigator would be so mesmerized by Coco, a few even referring to her as 'a walking legend'. It was people like that that reminded Coco how much of a curse her eyes had the potential to be.
It had always happened when she was a small child as well. From the coddling by village adults to teasing from fellow schoolchildren at Signal, Coco despised the legends about her eye color that had singled her out from the world around her. Velvet was one of the only people that could truly understand her, which was one of the main reasons that they connected so well.
The both of them were discriminated and pitied upon for their pasts and genetics. They found the bond of sisterhood and protection in each other's arms. For that, they made a pact that they would always back each other up through the thickest of what came in life. The two of them did exactly that in all times of personal crisis: all times up to then.
"Oh, Velvet. Where are you? How can I protect you, help you when I never got the chance to try? Is it true what they're saying? Did I ever really know you? Are you really some sort of White Fang terrorist?" Coco looked at herself in the mirror, asking questions that she couldn't help but feel that Velvet would never be able to answer.
Coco tightly gripped the edges of the sink and shook her head.
"No." She thought aloud. "That's not Velvet. She would've told me. I know it." Coco took a deep breath.
You're losing it, girl. Calm down.
She looked once more at the white box that was now on the sink by her sunglasses. It was a constant reminder of her acceptance into Beacon. A reminder that her world was about to change, and she would need to change with it to survive. What was encased in the box was an adaptation, in Coco's eyes.
The legend of the Silver-eyed Warriors was Coco's least favorite story. The memories of her being compared to the characters in the tale were the ones that she despised the most. If it weren't for her and Velvet's constant "Chosen One" humor concerning that and the comparisons between them and their parents, Coco would be sure to have landed in jail someplace out of annoyance. Velvet was her rock, and vice-versa.
"What about now? Where are you when I need you? To tell me that this isn't necessary when it actually is? That I'm caring too much about something that people probably won't make a big deal about? Where are you, Velvet?" Coco questioned shortly before slapping herself and pointing at her reflection. "No! Don't you dare. She hasn't abandoned you. Velvet is off doing what she has to. You have to step up and learn to take care of yourself. C'mon. You've done that before. No big deal. Velvet is out there, taking care of herself. So should you."
With that, Coco straightened herself and opened the white box. The contents stared up at her, begging her to apply them on herself. They were a symbol of change, of a new direction for her life to undergo. They were a fresh start for Coco. No longer would she be "The Silver-eyed Freak" or be called "The Chosen One" by some old spinster on every street corner.
As she applied each brown-colored contact lens over each eye, she felt reinvigorated. The idea caused Coco to feel ecstatic. In her mind, when she went to Beacon in a month or so, she wouldn't be known only for her mythical eye color. It would be solely for her talent and skill level.
Coco blinked several times, then allowed a smile to cross her face. She grabbed her sunglasses and placed them over her eyes once more. She put her hands on her hips and curved the center of her figure slightly to the side.
Coco looked upwards for a cool one-liner, but could find none that were appropriate.
"The little surprise in my bag will say more than any cheesy one-liner." Coco patted the handbag at her side with pride. She turned to step out of the bathroom when she felt compelled to walk over to the bathroom's only window across the room. When she looked out, Coco saw a cloud in the sky that resembled a pair of rabbit ears.
"Take care of yourself, Velvet. I'll kill you if I never get to see you again." She chuckled, then briefly closed her eyes. Her hands clasped together in prayer. Given her past, Coco didn't know what to believe regarding omniscient beings. However, on this occasion, she decided to give them a try. For her friend, she would do anything.
After Coco's prayer was done, she looked at herself in the mirror once more. Her sunglasses tipped down, allowing her to see her brown eyes once more. She could feel a large amount of change coming in her life, and she couldn't wait.
Unfortunately, not all of the changes would be pleasant. Like her friend, Coco was steering towards her destiny, one that would force her to accept herself for who she truly was.