"An angel's smile is what you sell
You promise me heaven, then put me through hell
Chains of love got a hold on me
When passion's a prison, you can't break free."
-'You Give Love a Bad Name' by Bon Jovi
XXX
When Carmilla met Elle, she had been on her way to meet Madeline who she had taken a liking to, and thus began the process of making her a sacrifice.
There had been a boy handing out newspapers outside of a grocer. Short blonde hair with a cap on to cover his eyes, second hand clothes that didn't quite fit, his shoulders working as a makeshift hanger, suspenders holding his pants up. "Newspapers! Get your newspapers! 5 cents for a newspaper! Best offer you'll get all week!"
Carmilla was deep in thought as she crossed the road, head bent down to brace against April's strong winds as she poured over a book. The wind picked up, causing the paperboy to drop the newspaper he was holding as it began to blow away, chasing after it. It could've been considered fate; Carmilla had believed it to be (at least until it became her worst nightmare).
The paperboy collided with Carmilla, sending both of them to the ground in surprise.
Carmilla was all about ready to give the kid a piece of her mind, but when she looked up, she was met with a dirty and calloused hand, offering to help her stand. She allowed the boy to help her, but when they came face to face, Carmilla found herself holding her breath. She had never been attracted to a man before, but there was a first for everything she supposed.
Neither one of them let go of the other's hand as Carmilla studied his face, or her face?
Eyes blue and resembling ice with long lashes, cheekbones contouring the soft jawed face, and bow shaped lips. Carmilla didn't want to be rude and assume, but she had been in close proximity to her fair share of women to know. She dropped the hand.
"I'm terribly sorry, miss! I didn't mean to bump into you."
Carmilla raised a brow, feminine voice. "What's your name?" She asked, brushing off the apology.
"Elle." They were quick to respond, before realizing their mistake, "I mean Robert."
Carmilla smirked, "Nice to meet you, Robert."
Madeline had been forgotten entirely.
XXX
Carmilla rolled over in her bed, cracking one eye open, and found herself staring at the back of someone's head. Okay, so not her bed.
She sat up, trying not to jostle the bed too much and wake the girl. She looked around the room, Laura's room. Fuck, she must've fallen asleep afterwards. Fuck.
Laura rolled over in her sleep.
Carmilla stared down at her, refusing to believe that she looked too cute for words. She slowly climbed out of the bed, nearly tripping over her discarded jeans if it weren't for her catching herself at the last minute on the shelf behind Laura's bed.
"Carm?"
Fuck.
Laura sat up groggily, hair tussled and bleary eyed.
Carmilla froze by the door, her bottom lip wedged between her teeth as she thought of excuse after excuse…wait just a goddamn minute, since when does she feel guilty? It's like she let the girl fuck her, and now she has a bruising IQ because of it. She should just leave because she wanted to, not worry about what she would be doing to Laura if she walked out on her after the night they had just had.
Laura shifted in the bed, folding her knees up against her chest and wrapping her arms around them. "Leaving so soon?" she asked wearily.
Carmilla found herself shaking her head. "I was just going out for a smoke."
Laura eyed her suspiciously before clambering out of the bed, and riffling through the armoire for a Silas sweatshirt and sweatpants.
Carmilla sighed, fighting the urge to run. She was just so cute, but Carmilla didn't do this. She didn't do the lazy morning after. She didn't do comfy; fishnets and leather sure, but cotton and wool? Absolutely not. "What are you doing?" She asked.
Laura slipped on her shoes and looked at Carmilla like it was the most obvious thing. "We can go to breakfast after you finish your smoke." She smiled sweetly, making Carmilla think that if she kissed her then (which she totally didn't do outside of sex because that would be ridiculous and against everything she had taught herself to avoid) that she would taste bitter. Carmilla couldn't help but think that Laura was catching on to why she was pushing her away, which meant she had to pull her in closer.
Carmilla nodded, her throat empty with the lack of smoke filling it. Her fingers itched for the familiar feel of a cigarette between middle and forefinger. She missed how it felt to hold the filter for too long between her lips, and to feel the smoke burn her throat, to choke on the nicotine. She picked up on the habit soon after her time in isolation. She took comfort in her trauma, without it she felt like a starving dog on the streets, constantly looking for an outstretched hand to keep her just at the surface. Without her past, Carmilla forgot how to live in the present.
She figured that Laura was just doing this to spite her. She didn't really want to go to breakfast with her, because who would? Carmilla didn't even eat breakfast. "Fine." She said, her voice taking on an uncharacteristic tone of lighthearted fluff. She had to pretend right? And the one thing Carmilla was good at, more than anything else, was her acting.
XXX
Will slipped in through the back door, making his way through the back hallway that held the changing rooms. It was a bit early, but he liked to make sure everything was in its place before he unlocked the doors to The Black Cat.
He could hear clinking near the bar as he entered the main floor of the club. He could see the top of someone's head from behind the counter, like someone was kneeling down behind it. Craning his neck to see, Will smiled warmly, "I thought I told you not to come in till later." He said as he perched himself atop one of the stools.
"Well I just thought I could come and help unload the new inventory, you shouldn't have to put it all away by yourself." Kirsch said as he stood back up with two shot glasses, placing them down onto the bar in front of them. He poured them each a shot and then a beer to chase it with.
Will watched him, his cold eyes filled with warmth. "What's the occasion?"
Kirsch shrugged, holding up his shot to toast, "To life-long bros."
They clinked glasses and threw their heads back to take their shot.
Will began to sip at his beer as Kirsch continued, "Plus I met this really great girl."
Will's eyes narrowed as he nearly choked on his beer. His eyes flickered down to the red scratch on the inside of Kirsch's bicep; he would need to do it sooner if he wanted any chance with him.
Will stood, setting his unfinished glass down and smiled lightly up at him. "That's great man, it really is."
"You'll have to meet her sometime, she's pretty great."
"I bet." Will said, an angry glint in his eye that could be perceived as a reflection from the lights overhead, his fangs threatening to slide out of his gums.
XXX
A week later Carmilla purposefully walked past the same street corner again. Robert was at his post yet again handing out papers left and right.
When he looked up from where he was counting his money, his eyes widened when he saw Carmilla standing in front of him.
"One paper, please." She said, handing over a nickel.
He smiled, bowed lips turned up at the corners to reveal barely there dimples. After the exchange of paper and coin, he spoke. "I thought you weren't going to come back."
Carmilla shrugged, looking up into those pale blue eyes and found it hard to breathe. "I was busy; work isn't always there for you to come back to."
Robert's actions froze, "You work?"
Carmilla let a ghost of a smirk grace her lips as she nodded.
"But how, I mean, not to be impolite but you're a woman." He said, concerned.
Carmilla looked him up and down, "Well if you're asking if I have to do what you do, the answer is no."
Robert straightened, shaking his head. "I don't know what you are talking about."
Carmilla let herself smirk more noticeably now. "Come with me, and you'll never have to hide who you are ever again."
XXX
Carmilla busied herself long enough with a quickly burning cigarette, holding onto it until it was short enough to burn her fingertips.
Laura eyed her wearily as she watched Carmilla not even bother to react to the burn before the slightly taller girl tucked her hand away so that the human couldn't see the burn fade away.
"You said something about breakfast?" She asked instead, looking down at Laura through her bangs.
Laura nodded, biting her lip softly to hide a smile. She wasn't exactly sure how far she could push the dancer before she fled once more.
"Yeah, there's a café a couple blocks from here."
Carmilla nodded, grinding out the still burning stub with the toe of her boot, the ring of lipstick turning into a blemished smear. "Lead the way."
After they sat down with their food, Laura wasted no time in asking the question that had been swimming around in her head for the past couple of weeks. "So, what are we exactly?"
"We?"
"Yeah, I mean we've been seeing each other for almost a month." She nervously looked up from her plate, regretting it immediately as she noticed the look that crossed Carmilla's face, a look of fear and disgust. She quickly looked back down at the table top, tucking her chin into her sweatshirt as she began to talk at a faster pace, "I mean we don't have to talk about it. Who needs a label anyways right? It's just for other people to place us in a corner and who says we can't have the whole stage?" She nervously laughed, picking back up her fork to push around her eggs with.
Carmilla stayed silent, nodding slightly as she went back to sipping from her mug. Laura was beginning to feel something for her, and normally that would be a good thing, but Carmilla only felt her heart dropping into her stomach, hoping upon hope that it would be dissolved by the acid that resided there.