Disclaimer: Don't own it.
A/N: I've decided I'm going to make another chapter or two. Tehe. It's almost done though! Yay! :)
Chapter Seven
She found herself leaning on the side of a doorpost, gazing at Roxie on the stage. Singing and dancing a little bit, attempting to get the gig. Velma looked at the judges and saw them both shaking their heads. Stopping her, they both ran out of the room, trying not to make her more angry than she was.
"God damn it!" Roxie cursed, picking up her papers from the piano player. Velma took a drag of her cigarette.
"You know, you're really pretty good." She startled the blonde, exhaling the smoke from her lungs. Roxie looked up.
"Yeah, that and a dime." She looked for a moment, then picked up he coat. "What're you doin' here?"
Velma dropped the cigarette and squished it on the floor. "I heard you'd been makin' the rounds." She stated awkwardly, trying to avoid the pain in her heart.
"Yeah, well if it was up to you I'd be swingin' by now." Roxie retorted back suddenly, walking towards the brunette.
"Oh come on, I always knew Billy would get you off. You should learn how to put things behind you." Velma looked at her knowingly.
"Oh thank you! I'll put that at the top of my list after finding a job and an apartment with a john."
"Just shut up and listen to me?" Velma asked slightly aback at the blonde's anger and sarcasm.
"You really are somethin' you know?" Roxie said walking past her. "Comin' in here like some- some goddamn queen bee all full of advice for a poor slob like me. Well let me tell you somethin' Miss Velma Kelly. I got a new life now." Walking closer to the brunette she stared. "And one of the best parts about it, is it don't include you."
"Fine." Velma snapped, the pain in her voice obvious. "I just thought we could help each other out."
"Well you thought wrong, didn't ya?" The blonde turned to leave. Don't let her get away again….
"Now listen to me." Velma grabbed Roxie's hand. The girl was startled again and dropped all her papers. A shock went through the brunette's body. Leaning down on her knee she started to gather up the papers. "I talked to this guy down town. He said one jazz killer is nothin' these days but two…" Velma looked up with hopefully eyes. However, Roxie wasn't looking back. She was staring at the brunette's leg. Velma looked down and saw that her clothing was completely torn up. Shit, she thought, I didn't want her to see this shit…. Standing up, she held the papers to her chest.
"We can make a couple of hundred a week. Think about it, Roxie." Velma moved an inch closer. "Our faces back in the papers, our names on the marquee- Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart."
The blonde raised her brows. "Shouldn't it be alphabetical?"
The brunette nodded immediately. She'd do anything to get this girl back in her life. "That could work."
"A couple of hundred?" The blonde looked interested, then leaned in closer almost to whisper. "Maybe we could ask for a thou."
"We're worth it." Velma said quickly, feeling she was an inch within her reach.
As if a huge rock had been thrown at her, Roxie leaned back and shook her head. "Forget it." Velma's heart sank. "It'll never work." She started walking away again. The brunette felt numb.
"Why not?" She asked quietly, feeling as though she lost everything.
"'Cuz I hate you."
Velma's heart may have dropped into the pit of her stomach with those words, but hope flooded her in a moment. "There's only one business in the world where that's no problem at all."
Roxie turned around. The brunette's eyes were dull but they had a tiny bit of hope in them. It was silent, neither spoke a word. Roxie stepped close to the brunette and Velma held her ground. "I'll do it."
The brunette almost wanted to hug her, but she knew she couldn't. She knew that wasn't a sort of thing The Velma Kelly would do. Smirking, she asked, "So. You really ain't got an apartment, kid?"
Roxie turned red and looked at her papers. "I mean, Amos is lettin' me stay with him, but I don't really feel comfortable there…"
The brunette rolled her eyes. "Well, you can just stay with me. If we're gonna be partners, we might as well split the apartment."
The blonde's eyes lit up. "Really, Vel? You'd do that?"
Velma nodded. "Sure. It's not a problem. Since Charlie and Veronica don't exactly live there, it's been a bitch to pay for. I could use the help."
Roxie dropped the papers and almost tackled Velma in a hug. The brunette hugged her back awkwardly at first, then eased more into it. She felt Roxie's breathe in her shoulder. Velma missed the night the two had in the jail, and if this was the closest thing she'd get to it, that'd be fine.
"Thank you. So much." Roxie muttered, not letting go.
"For what?" Velma asked curiously, rubbing the small of her back.
"For helping me make my dreams come true."
