A/N: As you can see, I habitually start writing with typing out an A/N for no reason whatsoever.
Chapter 15: Mirror
The excitement began when the girls started mentioning me in their conversation, whispering remarks they thought I couldn't hear. They weren't suspicious, only curious of who I was and why I was here alone.
I started distractedly rooting through my wallet - I had to remember that humans didn't just sit there without even blinking. License, cash, credit card, passport, fake license, fake passport. I'd never needed those two yet - I'd gotten them as preparation from J. Jenks about half a year ago, just to make sure I had them. On the documents, my name was written as Melissa Simons, a citizen of Alaska and twenty-one years old. Convincing and quite nicely made, as expected from J.
My mind was ripped away from the faint self-satisfaction I felt by a sudden shift in the tone of the conversation beside me. Still looking through my spare-change pocket, I made sure to catch every single word. "Now that you say it, she really looks lonely." "Should we just talk to her? I know she's a total stranger, but it's really pretty cold to just let her sit alone like that."
Exactly what I'd been waiting for. "Yeah, let's. It's too boring in here anyway, and out there everyone's a drunk goth." Perfect. One of the girls stood up and sat down beside me, the others hesitantly trailing after her. She was a bit older than me - in her mid-twenties or such - and was wearing a slim black lace dress so detailed that I was for once thankful for Alice's simpler tastes in fashion.
Seemingly struggling to hit the right balance between casual and formal, she moved a tiny bit away from me before talking. "What're you doing here? Are you new or something?" Her tone was slightly rough, but her voice was quite concerned. No ulterior motives. Not like him. "Yeah, I just came here. I'm stayin' up at some motel outta downtown." I was getting ever so slightly better at relaxed speech - it didn't come out as forced anymore. "Then why're you at a club like this? You haven't got anyone with you, and you don't look like you're the kind to come in places like this." She was getting ever-so-slightly suspicious.
Maybe it was my cookie-cutter explanation, even though I was telling the truth. Maybe something more personal would work. "Eh, I haven't got any friends around here. I guessed I could maybe make some." It seemed to work. The slight tightening of the muscles around her eyes and lips vanished, and I had to suppress a smirk. Was it really that easy?
"Just come join in. We're not picky", she said with a smile. "You'll probably get a bit of base here in town, and that's what you need." She beckoned for the other girls to sit down, but they still seemed apprehensive, even though they obligingly settled down on the couch. Even though they were now right next to me, one of them clearly kept her distance, and the other three, the ones I'd singled out as being newcomers to the scene, were clearly trying to overcome their instincts just to get close to me. The predator's aura wasn't gone. The atmosphere in the room was tense, like everyone was ready to fight or run at a moment's notice.
When I actually gave my name - as Melissa, just to avoid unnecessary risks - the tension eased. Now, they could put a name on me, be sure I really was someone. Knowing my name seemed to grant them a measure of confidence, and one of the newcomer girls began throwing questions at me. "Heeeeeey, Melissa" - she said the false name with a sort of smugness, like she'd finally got me - "where'd you come from? You're not a city girl, I can tell." As their mood relaxed, mine became more strained. If every one of them was all over me, I'd never be able to get one alone.
Wait. That had never been my goal. I'd come here to talk, not to draw others into my situation. Maybe just finding my family would be - no. Not if it would fulfill Aro's plan. Still, I decided to keep talking to loosen up the mood.
"I'm from Juneau. And I thought it was a big city. I mean, it's a village to this place. Seattle's huge." She leaned even closer in, the smug grin replaced by a more friendly expression. The others were chatting among themselves, seemingly relieved that someone had taken over the conversation for them. "Sooooo, whaddaya think about the place until now? Like it?" Speaking the truth here couldn't hurt. "It's kinda dreary, y'know? I lived just outside the city, so it was a bit open, but here, it's just buildings." She seemed surprised at first, maybe even hurt, but it was quickly replaced by what I'd deduced to be her usual behavior - a rapid-fire barrage of loosely related questions.
"You think it's creepy? You ain't seen nothin'. This place's got some real bad districts. Wanna see the older quarter? There's an asylum there, y'know, right outta some horror movie. Whaddaya say?" She seemed oddly carefree and optimistic about something like this, and I realized that she actually made me slightly nervous. Still, obliging couldn't hurt.
"Sure. Everyone, or just us?" "Everyone. Hey, let's go! Alaska girl here wants to see the old nuthouse. Who needs these drunk Poe-reading wannabe poets?" She followed this up with a rather insulting and completely tasteless remark about the people out by the bar. She obviously didn't care for the club visit at all, and she was riled up and quite frankly really annoying, but maybe having friends could also feel this way. It would probably lie in ruins by tomorrow, but I could as well get as much out of this fleeting friendship as I could.