1I closed the door to my car and shivered as a gust of wind blew my light blonde hair across my face. I reached up to move it out of my line of sight and walked briskly to the front doors of my studio. The building was rather large, considering what it was used for, and looked rather impressive to me despite how many times I've seen it. The front was a clean-looking white stone with dark tinted windows above perfectly trimmed bushes that circled the building. The parking lot had many breaks in it to allow for trees and miscellaneous greenery. I always felt a small sense of pride when I thought about how I worked in such an elaborate building. The insides were just as nice, starting from the very entrance of double sliding glass doors all the way to the bright and well kept walls. Several pictures of successful stars, in perfectly family-safe poses, were hung in professional looking picture frames that just begged for attention. My photo was in one of them, but was near the back currently. As I showed my ID card to the new person at the desk, I got a smile and was permitted access to the rest of the building. Dark black carpet contrasted greatly with the bright white walls but I happened to like the decoration choice. As I tread along it, I made my way to Allquall's office to check in with her and, hopefully, be admitted back to work.

PornStar!Vivio VII

By: Satashi

"There she is!" The call across the filming set made Vivio pause her walk and look over to where a few of her friends were gathered. "Come here, Eyes!" The blonde went to the group calling to her and looked up at them questioningly. "Congratulations!"

Vivio, not knowing what she was being congratulated for, replied in the best way she knew how: "What do you mean?"

"You haven't heard!?" Another man asked her, shocked at her confusion. "Eyes, the new movie was a hit! You broke both your previous records on the first day! The first day, Eyes!"

Blinking, Vivio stared at the group for a few moments while trying to decide if what she just heard was a joke or not. "...Are you being serious?"

"Yes!"

The girl stared at them blankly for several moments before a smile slowly started coming on her face. "Really?" She got nods. "Really, really!?" Again she was nodded at and patted on the back while a few others ruffled her hair. "Oh wow... Wow..." Her words wouldn't come out properly, still in a small state of shock. "What... What were the sales?"

"Almost thirty thousand already." Spacebrotha put his hands on Vivio's shoulders from behind and started guiding her to the director's office. "You need to talk to the boss, I'm sure you'll be pleased at what he has to tell you."

"O-Okay." Vivio nodded and readied herself when she was dropped off in front of the door. A deep breath was taken and she knocked, being bid entrance. "You wanted to see me, sir?"

A man with long black hair and thin wire frame glasses smiled at his newest star. "Yes, Vivio, please have a seat." He motioned to the large chair in front of himself and let the girl get comfortable before continuing. "I'm sure you heard about our record sales on your new video?"
"Yes sir, I just found out. Allquall made me stay at home for the past week and a half because of the flu; today is my first day back."

"Oh yes, I heard about that. How are you feeling?"

"Fine, thank you." She couldn't help but shift in her seat from the excitement and curiosity.

The man leaned back in his chair and folded his hands together. "Vivio, I'll cut straight to the chase: You've gotten extremely popular lately. It seems that every video you're in sells better than those released without them. In short, you have become a type of spokeswoman for our company. Your career as an adult entertainer truly begins here and now. If you would like, I can draw up a contract for you to become a bigger star than you currently are. This new position gives you a higher cut from your webpage, and your pay from scenes done will increase as well. In return, we will require you to take certain jobs every so often to promote our company. These may include a guest appearance at strip clubs to help sales there, going to interviews at magazines, and this isn't confirmed yet, but there are certain gaming companies, such as Key, that have an eye on you for voice acting roles."

Vivio opened her mouth to reply, but her words died before they could form. A cross between a gasp and a pleased laugh escaped instead and she was sure that her expression was quite humorous at that moment. Although awestruck at the news, her boss continued on without giving her much time to accept the first part. "You will also be given more equipment for your home use and a higher discount at our stores. Because of this you will be required to do a minimal of bi-weekly updates for your web page. Also, you will be on call for scenes in future movies which you will be required to take. You will have pull on your will do list, but as you will be under contract, you must do a set number of scenes, be they for commercial release or pay-per-view online."

"That's... A lot at once." Vivio finally managed to speak. "I... I don't know what to say."

"You have until the first of the year to decide." He passed her a folder. "Please read over this, it will dictate the things you will need to do if you agree to the enhanced contract. You have a while to decide so please think about this carefully."

"Yes sir." A shaking hand reached out to take the folder and hold it to her chest, a smile still on her face. "I will read over it all right away!"

"You do that. Now, go out there and catch up on what you missed while sick." With a smile he stood and offered his hand to the girl in congratulations.

"Yes sir!" Standing, she shook the man's hand and retreated out of the office. Once the door was closed behind her she turned to look at her group of friends all grinning at her. "I've been offered an enhanced contract!" She declared, voice breaking from her excitement. Several cheers came all at once and she was picked up by different people in bone crushing hugs. Somewhere along the way she heard that a party was in order and she couldn't agree more.

~**~

Vivio attacked another chicken wing as she watched her friends and coworkers laughing at each other as they shared stories from past jobs and teasing her about her future in the industry. The blonde grinned at them while chewing on her snack, almost choking when one of them said that she had some white stuff on her face. Giggling, she wiped the dressing from her wing off her chin with a napkin.

"So, Eyes," One of them spoke to her during a temporary lapse in laughter. "Going big time now; you're not going to forget about us little people are you?"

Vivio took the chance and grinned at him. "The only thing little about you is your performance parts." A collected group cheer around them made her smile around the straw in her mouth. "But really," She spoke around it, old habit of chewing on them resurfacing, "I think I'll still be on the same sets when I'm not going around to the different facilities for my other jobs. We'll still see each other when I do my web page scenes."

Another chicken wing was grabbed and nibbled on, the time going by as fast as the food was. Another hour passed by at the bar and her thinking began to get fuzzy from the good times and the drinks. Finally having to call it, Vivio excused herself before she got drunk and couldn't drive herself home. On the way out she took a large intake of the cold air to clear her head and stopped in her tracks when she saw a flash of blue hair entering a taxi. "Syn!?" Her feet ran towards that direction but the vehicle was already turning onto the main road, leaving her with the question if that really was her ex or not.

The good mood left the girl briefly, allowing herself a small bittersweet memory of the past little while. As she tried to repress it, she made her way back to her car and drove home a little slower than normal. The girl unlocked her door and stepped into her dark house, closing the door behind herself with a small click. After a few moments she turned on the lights and sat down on her couch, looking down at the folder in her hands that would outline her new career as a true star among the industry. 'Somehow,' she thought to herself while opening it. 'I feel a little bad that I have no one to share this with...'

A quick shake of her head cleared the thought and she made her way to her bedroom, taking out her camera and clicking it on. "Hey everyone!" She called out cheerfully. "You will not believe my day today." The device was set on the stand and she began stripping to change into her night clothes, using her work to once again push the things she didn't want to face out of her mind.

~**~

Syn growled to herself as she parked her car in the almost empty lot. Reaching over to the passenger side, she picked up the plastic bag and opened her door only to slam it behind her before walking down the concrete to the adult store accented with pink neon signs. 'I can't believe my friend got me this as a gag gift for my birthday.' She felt her cheeks color as she walked in the door and was instantly greeted by sexy lingerie. 'I wouldn't even bother returning this if I wasn't so close to finally being debt free ...' A sales clerk greeted her when he noticed the girl standing at the door in shock. "Um, hi," She told him lamely. "Uhm, my friend bought me this as a gag gift." She held up the bag. "Can I return it for the money?"

"Possibly," the man told her while taking the bag. "Let me ask my boss, okay?"

"Okay." Syn nodded and leaned on the cash register bar, thanking her lucky stars that the people in the store weren't paying her any mind. 'As if crap like this wasn't already on my bad side.' Out of the corner of her fire red eye she noticed a girl she recognized quite well on the front of a magazine. 'Front cover, she's doing well for herself.' Reaching over to it, she felt her throat tighten as she flipped through the pages to pass the time waiting.
'Interview with Eyes, an Evil Rick's special.' The girl read the words mentally. An image of Vivio, fully dressed, was on the page. The bright smile and sparkling eyes were captured too well for Syn, and she flipped the page so she wouldn't have to look at them. She spared a few glances at the photos of Vivio slowly undressing before she went on to read the interview..

Rick: Eyes, Thank you for agreeing to be interviewed in my magazine.

Eyes: It's an honor.

Rick: chuckles Thank you. Now, your career has recently skyrocketed. What do you think caused this?

Eyes: I'm not really sure myself. I think it was my recent movie that got people to notice me.

Rick: I see. Tell me about it?

Eyes: Well, it's a love story about a man and woman who are born in families that hate each other. Their parents disagreed on their relationship so they meet together in private. The woman's parents found out and tried to marry her to someone else which caused the man to come save her before the wedding.

Syn rolled her eyes and turned the page. 'Not the typical porn plot. She might as well be screwing them all.' She looked at the now topless pictures of her ex-girlfriend, lips turning up slightly. 'She's gorgeous, I'll give her that.'

Rick: Interesting. How many scenes did you partake in?

Eyes: Three.

Rick: Impressive. I've also heard that you have a web page as well that has gotten popular. Many people have done diaries, but yours seems to attract people. Why is that?

Eyes: thinks a moment I'm not really sure. I just record my daily life, I didn't think it was that interesting. It may be my replies to fanmail that they like. Those are always really funny.

Rick: Speaking of daily life, it's said that you are in a relationship; how is that working out for you?

Syn paused, re-reading the words before turning the page. This time she skipped the images entirely and sought out the words at once.

Eyes: stays silent a moment We broke up... She didn't like my job.

Rick: Is there anyone else you are seeing now then?

Eyes: I... I don't think I'm going to date anyone else.

Rick: Must be complicated. Was your last one that serious?

Eyes: Pauses again ...I thought so... She taught me the difference between sex and making love... I really, really loved her... still do.
Rick: I'm sorry it turned out that way... If you could tell this person anything, what would it be?

Eyes: I'd... tell her that I'm sorry I hurt her... and that I honestly...I... She wipes her eyes I'm sorry, can we talk about something else?

"Miss?" The voice made Syn jump and yelp, spinning around to see the sales clerk standing before her. "Here is your return." He held out money and a receipt while trying not to laugh.

"Oh... thank you." Syn took the money and kept it in her hand a moment before holding out the magazine. "Can you ring this up for me?"

"Good choice," the man accepted the magazine and went behind the cash register to scan the tag on it. "This is my last copy."

Syn tried to stay calm about buying her first pornographic magazine. "Oh? Good brand?"

"Not insanely, but it has the interview with Eyes in it." He pointed to the girl on the cover. "She sells more than I've seen in a while. You should check her webpage, it's almost as if she's just a normal girl instead of the trashy ones you normally see."

Syn took her change and stuffed it into her front left pocket. "Yeah, she's a nice girl..." With that, Syn left the store and jogged to her car quickly. Still a little warm from before, she felt herself relax a little. She turned on the heat, then looked around before opening the magazine again and looking at it once more. The interview offered no more references to herself so she instead looked at the images of her ex-girlfriend. 'No telling how many people are seeing these...' Despite the bitter thought, she couldn't quite summon up the anger inside of herself that she had from before. 'She said she still loves me...' She tossed the issue into the back seat and rubbed the bridge of her nose. 'I'm so going to regret this...'

Backing out of her spot, she ignored a car full of guys staring at her as they went past. Once on the main road back into town she drove past her usual turnoff and continued on until she took the familiar exit leading to an apartment complex she never thought she'd go into again. Her car door was closed quickly after she exited her vehicle and she slid her hands into her pockets to keep them warm as she walked through the light lair of snow on the ground. A small elevator ride later, she found herself in front of Vivio's door.

Only a second passed by before she knocked, moving her hands back to her arms to rub them briskly while waiting for a reply. When nothing came she knocked once more, this time louder. Again no sound was heard from inside. 'I wonder if she's asleep?' The clock on her phone informed her that the girl should be up by now. 'If I call her she will probably just ignore me... Dammit.' Syn knocked a final time and waited for a response. When Vivio didn't answer, the girl sighed and sat down in front of the door. Her jacket was huddled up around herself and she hugged her knees, leaning back against the door while waiting.

As the time passed, Syn went from playing on her cell phone to resting her eyes while leaning against the door. After dozing off a moment, she opened her eyes and looked across the empty hallway as the lights above the elevator started moving up to the current floor. The doors opened and a blonde walked out of them, eyes downcast as she tried to dig out her keys from her purse while still holding the two paper sacks with her arm. When she was close to her door she looked up and almost dropped her things at the sight of Syn standing and sorely rubbing her legs. "...Syn?"
"...Hi." The two girls just looked at each other for several long moments. "I...saw your interview in that magazine."

"...Oh." Vivio looked away and towards the floor. "I'm sorry, I made sure they never mentioned your name."

"It's not that." Syn cut her off.

Vivio looked at the girl and saw the slightly shivering hands followed by a notice of Syn's quivering bottom lip. "You're frozen! How long were you waiting out here?"

"I don't know, maybe an hour or so."

"Why didn't you just call me or come back later?"

"I don't know if I would have come back after I left..."

Vivio felt her chest tighten. "Would you... like something hot to drink?"

"Sure." Syn stepped out of the way of the door and watched Vivio fumble with her keys a moment before reaching out and taking the bags from her. Now free from her burden, Vivo quickly opened the way into her house and cut on the lights.

"I'm sorry my place is a mess." She tried to take the bags back from Syn but the other girl already moved to the kitchen to set them down on the counter. "I should clean up..." Her hands went to grab the magazine that her interview was in from the counter but found Syn picking it up instead. The girl leaned against the wall and opened it, turning to Vivio's section and began to read the rest of the interview while the blonde reluctantly went back to putting up her things.

By the time the hot chocolate was made, Syn had already claimed a spot on the couch and was looking through another single pose section of her ex-girlfriend's pictures. Vivio bent over in front of the girl and offered the steaming mug of liquid chocolate and milk and smiled softly when Syn's hands touched hers briefly while taking it. "Thank you," Syn whispered before sipping on it. "That's just what I needed."

"Good." Vivio sat down next to the girl, so close that their sides were pressed together and legs touching. She held her own cup and sipped it while waiting to see if Syn would move away or not. Her answer came when Syn took another small drink of her beverage and leaned forward to set it down on the small coffee table in front of them.

"So..." Syn began, clasping her hands together and staying bent forward slightly. "Let's talk about it?"

Vivio sat her mug down as well. "I had everything planned out the first time but now I don't know what to say..."

Syn looked down in her lap. "It's been about a month since then, huh?"

"Three weeks, five days."

The words made Syn close her eyes. "I'll start with a question. Why?"
"Why to which part?" Vivio almost whispered, looking down as well.

"Why do you do it? How...do you let yourself be filmed doing that?"

Vivio let out a small sigh. "It's a long story and doesn't have much to do with us... I guess... it began when my parents died... You see, when I was about four I was adopted. We... had a really happy life but one day they went out and... never came back." She stopped for just a moment. "All of my parents' friends were injured as well. I remember being at the funeral, almost eighteen years old, staring at the caskets... My parents were very well known but none of their closest friends were there. They were all in the hospital, barely alive. I was alone with many people that I didn't know, listening to them say how it was a miracle that anyone made it out alive at all, how that it was such a loss for my parents to be gone... And it was then that I realized something: as long as I was with the people I cared about, I would constantly be in the position that could leave me alone at the graveyard again."

Syn looked over at her in a silent statement that she was listening. "They were in the military," Vivio kept on. "And were always sent on dangerous missions. Call me stupid and young, but I couldn't take it. I...left... and was on my own. I didn't want to ask them to take care of me because of my pride...or maybe it was something else... but I was alone." Vivio slowly took her cup again and sipped on it a moment to give herself time to steady herself. "I tried to find a job but no one wanted to hire an inexperienced person like myself. At times I thought about going back but... after I left, I knew I couldn't." Vivio took a long intake through her nose. "I was behind on my rent, had no food... and I overheard some girls talking about some people looking for girls to be in a pornographic movie... I heard they paid really well and..." She closed her eyes and looked down. "I sold my virginity to eat and pay my bills."

Syn stayed silent a moment, chest aching at the sadness in the voice. "So," Vivio continued on. "I cried that night, and many nights after it. I thought I was a whore, just some trash... but I had food and I paid my rent...A few days later I was called up by the guys and they want to know if I'd do another one..." She sighed. "I needed the money so I did it. After that I didn't sleep for almost two days and made myself sick with regret."

"Why did you keep on then?" Syn finally asked.

Vivio didn't answer at first and finally shrugged a little. "I don't know... I was scared, I guess. I tried to find other jobs but I couldn't seem to get anyone to hire me... I never stopped looking... in fact most of my money went to bus fare while going from place to place. I got a few part time jobs along the way but they didn't pay enough and... well..."

"You did more to make ends meet?"

"...Yeah. I kind of... got used to being a whore. I would..." She hesitated. "I needed money so... They would call me up and…" Vivo licked her lips slowly.

"I understand," Syn whispered softly.

Taking the chance to skip over her bad memories, Vivio nodded her thanks and went on with her story. "It wasn't until I met my current boss that my life started getting better. He hired me on as staff, introduced me to professionals, and I... made a friend." This time she smiled slightly. "Someone who treated me with respect... didn't belittle me, call me names... He told his friends about me and we all met up. I found other girls in the career and they explained to me how it worked. From there I... accepted it." She moved her hands while trying to explain it better. "I wasn't some back alley call-girl anymore. I had a real job that paid me respectfully, had contracts, and I could turn down anything I wanted to. People began talking to me, inviting me over for dinner, and just wanted to hang out instead of using my body... I don't know, I guess I found a place to belong so I clung to it... A year passed, then another and another... Before long I had my own apartment... I had a car, food… bills sometimes got behind but I never got evicted or anything."

Vivio looked over at Syn once more and watched her blow on her drink before slowly closing her eyes to drink some of it while soaking in the information. "Soon I began to enjoy it… In a strange way, I felt like when I was on the set everything was okay. People liked me, always complimented me, and…" She shrugged lightly, at a loss of how to really explain it. "Sex, to me, became something that made me forget about my life. Like people getting drunk or doing drugs, work was… my escape." Hearing the words come out of her own mouth, Vivio felt her spirits fall just a little. "I do it to forget about everything else… I think because I really was a call-girl for a while, I can identify this as a real job. When I'm working I feel safe. People are my friends, people look after me, people like me… It wasn't until I met you that I felt like I was really exposing myself."

Syn nodded, gently inhaling to prepare herself again. "What did I do to make you feel that way?"

Taking her time to think, Vivio looked into her almost empty mug. "I wanted to be honestly close to someone again. Everything that I was scared of came back to me… It was if I was only opening myself up to be hurt again."

The words made the blue haired girl flinch slightly. 'And I did hurt you, but even so…' Looking at Vivio again, she spoke to her. "I'm sorry to hear that..." Her hand moved on its own, reaching over to touch her friend's.

Vivio took Syn's offered hand and held on to it. "Hey, we all have our bad stories right?" She got a weak smile in return. "That's what lead up to now... I got popular and...well, it's an honest job with a big studio that takes care of me. I'm respected by most and the rest even look up to me. I know it can easily be called a shady job, but... it's really not that bad when you understand it."

"I see..." Syn felt better once Vivio's voice became less sad and more proud of herself for overcoming everything. "Okay, I can see that now... Okay."

Vivio looked at her ex for a while before squeezing the hand holding onto hers. "Go ahead, ask."

Taking a breath, Syn started. "Why didn't you tell me this at the beginning?"

"I was scared you would use me and leave me."

Syn felt her chest tighten, recalling trying to pick Vivio up that night in the bar. From Vivio's past, she had every right to assume that she only wanted sex. "...Okay." Syn accepted that. "Even so, shouldn't that be more of a reason to tell me?"

"I... didn't want you to see me as some easy girl."
"Well you kinda are one if you sleep with everyone you see." She winced. "Sorry. Sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

Vivio shook her head. "You had every right to."

"Okay..." Syn took a long intake of breath. "Tell me... How could you have said all those things to me while having sex with other people? Job or no job, don't you think I had a right to know you were cheating on me?"

"I didn't consider it cheating because it was only work, though."

Syn felt a flash of anger flare through her before calming down once more. "Explain it to me."

"Well..." Vivio thought hard. "Imagine this... You have a friend that you've known since childhood. Your parents are really close, and you basically grew up as brother and sister." The two girls shifted so they were looking at each other and Vivio reached over and took Syn's other hand to hold as well. "Now, this friend stays close to you all your life. You go to your high school prom together as friends, you live together during college, and all that kind of stuff."

"Where is this going?"

"If this friend," Vivio continued. "Went away for a while and then came back to you, wouldn't you give them a hug and a kiss?"

"Probably?"

"And would that be cheating on your girlfriend if you did?"

Syn looked at her blankly. "Vivio, giving a life-long friend a hug and a kiss isn't the same as screwing someone."

"No, no," Vivio shook Syn's hands lightly. "Look at it deeper. It wouldn't be cheating because the emotion and feeling behind the hug and kiss is not romantic. It's a casual brother/sister type of feeling, right? It wouldn't be cheating because of that, right?"

After thinking about it a moment, the blue and red eyed girl finally nodded. "Okay, it wouldn't be cheating."

"Right." Vivio nodded. "So, this is where it gets a little hard... The emotions you would have with your friend are the same as what I have at work. Even though you kissed your friend, it's not cheating because there was nothing behind that kiss. What I do at work is the same, because there is no emotion behind it as well."

Syn moved one hand from Vivio's to rub her eyes before allowing it to be re-taken. "What if..." She began. "If I, out of the blue, told you I had sex with that friend? Several times while we were dating."

The blonde stayed silent for several seconds. "I... would feel hurt... betrayed..." She held Syn's hands tighter. "But that's different, that's-"

"My friend," Syn cut her off. "Is a nerd, is anti-social, and would never get laid because of it. So I felt sorry for him and had sex with him. How would you feel?"

"Well that's different too, you did that out of pity. I would have understood that."

"Even if I did it with him and all of his friends?"

"If you were just doing it to do it, then it would be the same as masturbating."

"Being gangbanged and masturbating are two very different things, Vivio." Syn almost growled, not understanding how Vivio could have possibly said that. "Don't you see what I'm getting at?" Syn whispered after a moment. "Even if I could accept that you had no emotion behind it, even if it was nothing but work to you... You had sex with someone else." Again the blonde couldn't reply. "Vivio, I trusted you. I... I would have never thought you would do that. You lied to me-"

"I never lied!"

"You purposely mislead me so I wouldn't figure it out!" Syn snapped at her angrily. "And... not just once!"

"But it didn't mean anything!" Vivio tried once more. "It would be the same as you and your friend!"

"The means don't justify the act! What would you say if you saw photos of me doing it!?"

"That I trust you!" Vivio flung herself onto Syn, pushing her back onto the couch and clinging to her. "I trust you! I would believe that there was nothing behind it!"

"Vivio, get off me!"

"No!" Vivio held onto her tighter, voice breaking as she struggled to stay on top of the girl. "Syn, I would always believe you!"

Giving up on getting the blonde off, Syn let her hands rest on either side of herself and looked up at the ceiling. Vivio's heavy breathing and loud sobs echoed against her chest for only a few moments before she felt the dampness of the tears that followed. "Vivio..."

"...Yes?"

"If you said you trusted me about my friend... would it be okay if I had sex with him the next day?" The girl nodded against her chest without hesitation. "And if I wanted to have sex with his friend at the same time?" This time the nod was hesitant, unsure of what would follow. "And they recorded it so they could watch it with all the rest of their gang later... and then I went and had sex with all of them?"

Vivio gripped the back of Syn's shirt tightly, crying so hard now that she started to hiccup. "But you love me!"

"Does that make it okay for me to do that?"

"Yes!" Vivio sobbed out, pressing her face closer to Syn's chest. "I trust you! I believe you! So it's okay!" Her breathing started to get raspy, words barely being able to understand over the tears.

Syn sighed and stared at the ceiling, finally allowing one hand to move up and lay across Vivio's back. "I don't know if I can accept something like that, even if we fixed the trust issue."
"But I love you..."

"If sex means nothing to you, what about when we-"

"That's different." Vivio managed out the repeated words, still gripping Syn's shirt tightly in her fist. She didn't lift her head to look at her friend, but instead stayed with her forehead down on her chest. "We made love..." A hiccup made her pause. "That was special..."

"Why did you wait until after that to tell me what your job is, and not before?"

Vivio tried to calm herself but her breathing was getting shorter and harder, throat making it hard to speak. "I wa-wasn't sure if... if I knew wha-what love was." Her words were starting to get more broken apart now. "You... you showed me...I l-love you."

Syn closed her eyes and ignored the warm trickle of saltwater rolling past her ears and into her hair. Silence passed over them once more and the girl on the bottom slowly began to move her palm over Vivio's back to try and calm her down. The broken gasps slowly started to fade away and the hiccups departed. "Vivio..."

"...Yes?"

Syn opened her eyes and had to blink a few times to make the lingering tears fall. "I need to go."

"Please stay."

"I can't."

"Why?"

"Because I can't."

Vivio shook her head and gripped Syn's shirt tighter. "If you go... you'll never come back."

"I have to think."

"You can think here."

"No I can't." Syn moved her hand from Vivio's back and gently rolled her over towards the couch so she could sit up. "Vivio, you know there are only two ways this will ever work out, don't you?" She accepted Vivio's hands and gave them a small squeeze to show that she was being sincere."Either I learn to accept you for everything you do..."

"Or... I quit my job." Vivio finished the sentence softly.

"We need to think." Syn whispered, shaking her head at the pleading look she was getting. "I have to go."

"Please..."
Syn stood up and walked to the door, stopping when she felt her shirt being grabbed and Vivio's forehead pressed against her back. "Vivio."

"Promise me," the girl managed out. "That you won't avoid me."

Syn opened the door and felt her shirt between Vivio's fingers being gripped harder. "I promise that I'll think about this really hard." Several moments passed by before her shirt was reluctantly released and she walked the rest of the way out of the apartment.

~**~

Vivio fell out of her bed and scrambled through the tangled up sheets in an attempt to reach the ringing phone on her desk. Her hand finally reached the device and she flipped it open, bringing it to her ear while still laying on the floor in the mass of covers. "Syn?"

"...Are you just waking up?" Syn asked, a small amount of pride in her voice for stirring the girl. "Lazy ass."

"I haven't been sleeping well lately." Vivio tried to free herself from her prison while talking.

"...Lunch?" Syn asked after a moment.

"Yes!" Vivio finally got out and ran to her closet. "Where? I'll be right there."

Syn couldn't help but smile slightly. "The Mexican place? The one down by the grocery store that is."

"Okay, yes. I'll pay."'

"Let's go Dutch."

Vivio slowed down her frantic attempt to get dressed. "I don't mind..."

"Let's just have lunch... Okay?"

"Yeah... I'll leave now?"

Syn nodded even though she couldn't be seen. "Okay, I'm really close so I'll meet you in the parking lot... Till then."

"Till then... Bye-bye."

"Bye."

Vivio closed her phone and shook her head quickly. 'It's a start.' Her long nightshirt was tossed on the floor and she raided her closet for something cute to wear. She pulled on a black shirt with a pink heart on it and covered it with a pink fleece jacket. Simple blue jeans covered her legs and she stepped into shoes quickly at the door. A quick grab for her purse gave the girl everything she needed for the day and before long she was in her car driving to the designated meeting spot. 'This feels so weird...' Her eyes darted to a mirror to check a lane before merging with traffic. 'It's like I've been given a second chance.'

By the time she managed to get to the restaurant, Syn was already waiting outside for her. Blue hair waved in the wind and mismatched eyes stayed on the blonde as she ran across the parking lot. "Hey," she greeted casually. "Sorry for calling so abruptly."

"I'm glad you called," Vivio told her truthfully. "I wanted to call you but I was scared." Syn shivered lightly and nodded at the entrance to the restaurant. Together the two girls entered in and were shown to a booth in the middle of the crowded dining area. "So, what's going on?"

The two took a moment to order their drinks before continuing. "I just...wanted to talk."

"About what?" Vivio plucked a chip from the stash that was placed between them and made use of the salsa.

Syn shrugged. "I guess... I just wanted to tell you I got a new job. I work as a chef for The Shiny Sword down town."

"Congratulations!" Vivio smiled brightly. "Wow, that's great!"

"Yeah..." Syn smiled and looked down at the chips between them. 'I wonder why I wanted her to congratulate me so much... I guess I'm slowly starting to lose my anger at her.'

Vivio hummed and kept her eyes on Syn, a small smile on her lips. "I'll come by sometime."

"It's a really expensive place, I might not even make your meal."

"I want to see where you work." Vivio rationalized. "Nothing wrong with that."

"...I guess not." Syn gave her a small grin. "I'd say the same, but..."

"Oh it's really not that bad." Vivio shook her head. "Everyone is really nice and it's super ultra clean. The stages are separated and blocked off for privacy as well."

"I see." The girl sipped her new drink. "So... how does your schedule work? You're almost always at home it seems."

"Ah.. well..." Vivio blushed darkly and looked around. "I'm... not really comfortable talking about that here... Maybe if you came over? I can... you know... explain a little more? Maybe tomorrow night sometime?"

Syn considered it. "Well... yeah, I guess it wouldn't hurt to talk about it a little more."

"Thank you!" Syn almost jumped back in her seat at the sudden exclamation. "Sorry, I just... Was really scared you wouldn't accept it and-"

"Whoa!" Syn held out a hand. "I said I would come over and listen. I never said anything about accepting this."

Vivio's spirits fell but raised back up after thinking about it a moment. "Hey, it's a start, right?"
"...Yeah, I guess." Syn looked away. "I want to be honest with you though... Even if I do understand you and what you do... I can't promise I can be with you again." The words hit the blonde hard, making her throat tighten. "I just wanted to tell you that."

"... It's a start, right?" Vivio said again, pulling for whatever hope she could get. Unfortunately the waiter chose that moment to appear and take their order, saving Syn from having to reply.

~**~

Vivio jogged through the brisk winds blowing around her and sighed out in relief at the warm air that rushed over her when she entered her work building. A wave was given to the secretary and a few smiles passed to her friends on her way to her boss's office to answer the request to come in. "Hello," She greeted while moving into office with the open door.

"Ah, Vivio, Eyes, welcome." The man smiled. "I have an offer for you."

"Yes sir?" She tilted her head to the side.

"The strip club Peaches has made a request to have you as a guest for a night. The stadium nearby is having a fighting tournament and they agreed to entertain the fighters after the battles. Are you up to it?"

"Stripping?" Vivio asked to confirm.

"Two strip shows, a pole dance, and any private shows. You will keep seventy percent of what you make, the rest will go to the company."

"Sure, I don't mind... They don't expect sex since I'm in pornography do they?"

The man shrugged. "What you do for money in the private show is your business, Eyes. We don't regulate those."

Vivio took the hint. "Ah, I see. Well..."

The man offered her a slip of paper. "Here are a few vouchers for the V.I.P section. If you have any friends you want to bring along, give them one of those. It will give them free drinks and a stage-side seat." Vivio slowly accepted them. "It's this Friday, can you give me your answer by Wednesday?"

"Yes sir." Vivio nodded and left the office, looking down at the tickets. '...I could invite Syn... Show her that I honestly want her to understand me and let her know what I do...' She slowly nodded to herself. 'I want her to understand me...'

~**~

Syn grinned lightly when her knock on Vivio's door was answered almost at once. The smell of crab cakes came at once and her stomach growled rather loudly from it. "Um, hi." She greeted the blonde, who was trying to repress a smile. "Something smells good."

"I thought it might be easier to talk over dinner." Vivio closed the door behind the girl and helped her take off her coat before hanging it up in the closet along with the long green scarf that followed.
"You love food don't you?" Syn went to the kitchen and inspected everything. "Every time we've gotten together lately it's been with something to eat."

Vivio hummed while thinking on it. "True, but you're the one who loves food, Miss Chef."

With a grin, the blue-haired girl handed Vivio a spatula to flip the hamburger-sized creations that were pan-frying. "So, you sounded pretty eager to have me come over tonight to talk about things?"

"Mmmhmm, but it can wait for now. How was your day? I want to hear about this new job of yours. The... third one since we met?"

Syn blushed at the words. "Well, in my defense, I was only fired once. I quit my second job because I was scouted for this one."

"Scouted?" Vivio began to plate the finished food and offered one to Syn. "What do you mean?"

Taking the platter, the girl walked to the living room to sit on the floor across from each other at the coffee table. "Someone heard about the new menu at Wanyuu's and came to test it. They always scolded me for changing their recipes but it turned out good for me. I was offered a job right then and there. Now I make about double what I did before... It's nice, I actually have money to blow on things now."

"Congratulations." The proud tone made the blue haired girl avert her attention to the rapidly diminishing meal. "I'm proud."

"Thanks." Syn stuffed her mouth and was about to ask for a drink when Vivio sat back down with the glass offered to her. "I didn't even ask."

"I know. You're a weird person who eats first and then drinks."

"Anyway," Syn gulped down half of her drink at once and sighed out when done. "About you now?"

Reaching over, Vivio took their plates and placed them into the kitchen before sitting next to Syn when the couch was claimed. "What do you want to know about it?" When Syn looked hesitant, she gave a soft smile. "Just say it. Really, I know you're not trying to offend me... Right?" The girl felt a small bit of happiness at Syn's hesitance to speak before thinking.

"Right." Syn nodded. "Bluntly, how often do you have sex?"

"Depends. No, really," She waved off the look. "Sometimes I don't do it for an entire month and sometimes it's every day for almost a week. It just depends."

"You've been in that many scenes?"

"No, it's... how to explain... You see, it's not actual sex. It's acting, as in they shoot a section of it and if they don't like it, you re-do it. Between each take I even have my makeup touched on."

"Why wouldn't they like a scene?" Syn pondered the new information.
"My hair gets in the way a lot. Or if my arm blocks the view of my breasts, or sometimes they want me to moan more."

Syn blinked. "Seriously? They make you stop and re-shoot for that?"

"Oh yes. Sometimes it can take almost three hours to do one scene, and sometimes we do it multiple times to do different angles. My last DVD had four different angles in it, so in order to not have cameramen in the background I actually had to do the scene four different times. It took about two weeks."

"Why not do it all in one day?"

"You try having sex for more than three hours and let's see how eager you are to do it again." Vivio groaned. "It's work, Syn. Really. It doesn't always feel good; sometimes it actually hurts to keep going. Your joints get stiff from positions and let's not even get into oral scenes. You wouldn't believe how many times I had to stop for the day because I just couldn't go on."

Syn face palmed. "You know, I could have gone the rest of my life not knowing you get lockjaw from sucking too many-"

"Syn!" Vivio blushed darkly. "I'm trying to be serious here." Reaching over, she took both of the girl's hands. "Please. Look at it from my viewpoint. Can you see that it's work and not fun?"

"I... guess..." She sighed. "I just... I know that I will have to see it to fully understand it but I can't watch you like that..."

"Want to start smaller?" Vivio asked softly, getting a small nod. "Sit here..." She gave the hands a squeeze and went to her bedroom. After a few moments she came back and sat down with a flash drive. "Here..."

"What's on it?" Syn took the small device and looked it over. "One of your storage drives for work?"

"No, I keep those organized by month and for personal/home. That is... the backup of all my home recordings."

"What do you mean?"

Vivio gave a lopsided smile. "I have a webpage, and I record myself for it. A few of those...well a lot actually... are me with guys but there are a ton of me solo."

Syn looked at it. "What are you doing in them?"

"All different kinds of things. People, males especially, can get bored with seeing just one girl masturbate so many times. I have to ask people in my chatroom what they like and read emails to see what people are looking for. From there I pick out a scene to do and record myself doing it. Sometimes I go to my work office and schedule different actors to come over and do a scene with me at home. If I do it at work, I get a cameraman, but I have to pay the company for the services."

"Seriously?" Syn blinked. 'That's a lot more complicated than I thought it would be…'

Vivio retook Syn's hands and made the girl keep the drive in her now closed fist. "Yes. I want you to see what I do, see that I do it as a job, that I don't just go mindlessly..." She lowered her voice and said a word that started the letter "F", as if she was going to be scolded for saying it by someone. "So... watch some?"

Syn shifted in her seat. "I don't really know if I'll enjoy seeing you do this."

"I hope you do." She grinned, trying to make it less awkward. Getting a smile back, she leaned forward and hugged her. "Syn, please try to understand me. If you can get used to this-"

"I'll try." Syn hugged her back, pulling her closer. "I can't promise you anything, but I'll look at some of these... But please understand that it might-"

"Push you farther away, I know." Vivio leaned away and smiled as best she could. "I want you to know that I'm waiting to sign a contract to further my career."

"Why?"

"I'm hesitant."

"Why?"

"Because of you." Syn opened her mouth to respond but Vivio kept going. "I know, Syn, I know. I shouldn't do that because we may not even get together again, but I can't help but hesitate. I want to do everything I can to try and make this work. I won't put all of this on your shoulders, I will work at it as well. I promise."

Syn felt a warmth seep into her and pulled Vivio to her once more. "Vivio?"

"Yes?"

"...Your hair smells really nice."

"...Thank you." Vivio closed her eyes and smiled.

~**~

Syn brought her knees up and wrapped her arms around them, placing her chin on the kneecaps while watching her laptop screen. She was on her bed, watching a video of her ex-girlfriend with a mixed feeling of interest and something that she couldn't quite place. A small sigh escaped her lips as the video ended and started auto playing the next scene. 'It's so strange...' she thought to herself while the blonde on the screen began an oral act on someone she didn't know. 'I'm not disgusted but at the same time...' She could feel that her face was blushing so much that even her ears felt hot. 'I'm not really MAD but...' Syn moved to lay on her stomach, cushioning her head onto her arms. 'I'm... a little bit aroused but... at the same time I'm not... Vivio doesn't... have that look in her eyes that I'm so used to seeing...'

A sudden ringing of her cell phone made the girl almost scream out, hastily closing her laptop down to cut off the loud sounds coming from it. After allowing herself a moment to settle down, she picked up the phone and flipped it open. "Hey Mom."
"Hey sweetie, how are you?" her mother's voice came tenderly through the receiver.

"I'm... a little confused honestly."

"Oh, why is that?"

Syn fell onto her back and looked up at the ceiling. "Remember that girl I told you about?"

"The pornography actor?"

"Yes, her... Well... I kind of started talking to her again." Her mother stayed silent, seeing what would follow before she gave her advice. "You see... I'm..."

When her daughter seemed to be struggling, Elena spoke up. "You still like her?"

"No… Yes- I don't know..." Syn looked at the closed laptop. "I'm... I feel... angry. Sad, but not like before. It's... I just don't know, I want to strangle everyone who looks at her."

"You're jealous." Syn stayed silent a moment so the mother went on. "Are you mad at Vivio or the profession she's in now?" Syn opened her mouth but closed it before licking her lips to clear her mind. "As sweet of a girl you told me she was," Elena continued, "I would assume she keeps her personal life away from her professional life. It's the same way in the military, fighting and killing and then coming home to hug your little girl."

Syn felt the connection in her mind click. "Yeah, but... People with her-"

"Syn-sweetie, are you mad at her or not?"

"I'm..." She looked down. "I'm not mad at her anymore... I don't think I've forgiven her just yet but..."

"So you like her as a person."

"...Yes, mom, I really like her. I wouldn't put myself through this if I didn't." A hand went to rub the bridge of her nose. "I just..."

"Can you separate her personal life from her job?"

"I honestly don't know."

"Have you ever heard 'Jump in cold turkey'?"

"What weird saying are you using now?" Syn rolled her eyes.

"It means to go in head-first, to go for broke."

"What are you telling me?"

Elena smiled. "See if you can deal with it before you go through all of this. If you get there, freak and spaz out, and can't do it, then you can call it quits. If you go through all this emotional stress and worry over it, only to accept her back but not be able to bear her profession, would you be happy?"

"...No."

"Then see what you can do. Find out what separates her from her job."

"... Thanks mom." Syn shook her head. "I'm sorry, I went off on my own problems; what were you calling for?"

Elena's voice suddenly got really happy. "I found the cutest dress and I wanted to see if you would wear it-"

"No. Goodbye mom." Syn smiled and flipped her phone shut as her mom laughed. "I swear, I'm not a dress up doll..." Her hand went back to the laptop before stopping to hover above it. 'Maybe... I should watch these with her. To see how comfortable we are about it.... Yeah, I'll do that.' Her phone was opened again and she pressed Vivio's speed dial, only to get her voice mail. 'I wonder where she is?' She closed her phone without leaving a message. 'I'll go out and get dinner and then call again.'

Syn made her way to her door, grabbing a jacket and putting it on before stepping into the outside world. A small envelope in the mailbox next to her door made her stop briefly to pluck it out. 'That's odd, it's from Vivio.' She opened the letter and had to catch a large shining purple ticket that fell from it. Her vision went to it first, and she read it before tackling the letter. 'Special V.I.P. guest pass from Eyes.' She blinked and looked at the letter.

Syn,

I'm working on Friday this week at a club known as Peaches. I'll be pole dancing and stripping as well as giving private shows in the champagne room. I was going to ask if you wanted to come watch me work but I thought asking in person might pressure you into saying yes so I mailed this. It would mean a lot to me if you came to see me. I want you to see this part of my job and let you know what I do and how I work. This ticket will get you past the line at the door; just show it to the bouncer and you'll be brought to the stage-side seating. Free drinks and even food, just show this ticket. It's at seven at night.

-Love,
Vivio/ Eyes

Syn reread the letter and groaned. 'That's tonight, the stupid girl.' A look at her watch made her realize that Vivio's act would start within the next two hours. 'I don't even know how to get to that club.' She started to refold the letter but stopped when she saw a map drawn on the back of it. After staring at it for several long moments, she let out a pleased, amused chuckle mixed with a smile. 'I'd need a GPS navigation system to understand this map.'

~**~

A/N: Sorry for the delay in updating. This chapter was twice as long as normal so I needed a little longer to go over it. Also, I changed many things in it from the original version. Thanks to DezoPenguin once again for help.