[ Glitter is a stone's throw from Starbucks, on both sides actually. When you come from the east end of midtown, the two shops are like a hundred metres apart, from the west end you only have to walk a half hundred metres more. Alexa passes the store from the west at least once a week, when she's making her way to university and every time, she's been reminded that she promised Stacy coffee to go with her novel initiative. A promise it's taken her about two fucking months to fulfill. Shit, she hasn't even gone to check whether the girl has held up her end of the deal. Glitter makes her flesh creep, all the pinks and pastels and shitty tiaras intended for the only kind of girls to exist in the eyes of the heteronormative world. Fuck that.
Nevertheless, she's now making her way through the rows of cheap bling, heading stealthily for the counter behind which Stacy is standing, looking as... well, as ever. In her hand, Alexa has got one cup of coffee, lots of milk, though she forgot what else the other girl asked for and just skipped the syrups completely out of some awkward sense of insecurity. Coming to a halt in front of Stacy, she clears her throat and slams the coffee onto the counter between them. ]
[ It's been another slow day so far - tourist season's far away (and aside from its political landmarks, Luxembourg really doesn't attract that many tourists anyway, at least not those who'd frequent a shop like Glitter), people are busy banking their way to wealth and freedom... Stacy sighs. Leans against the counter with her elbows bent, chin resting on her hands. She hears the doors slide open, the footsteps as someone makes his or her (probably her, let's be real) way through the small store.
She straightens up, just as a cup of coffee lands on the counter, its contents splashing around inside the styrofoam. Starbucks. Slowly, she looks up. Meets Alexa's eyes with unguarded surprise. It's been months, hasn't it? She'd thought... well, nevermind what she'd thought, obviously it's simply taken the other girl a bit of time and by the looks of her, it probably shouldn't have surprised her. She looks like this place might very possibly cause her to spontaneously combust.
Stacy clears her throat. Shifts quickly from one foot to the other, then smiles. Maybe just a bit hesitantly. ]
You brought me coffee. [ Obviously, Anastacia, ugh, come on. She leans down, sniffs the coffee and ignores the lack of caramel. Who cares. ] It smells like a delicious coffee break! [ Meeting Alexa's eyes again, she smiles, brighter this time. ] Thank you.
[ It's an easy, smooth sentence to speak, but it feels awkward as all hell, because she knows they had that conversation in another fucking life, pretty much, and besides - although she hasn't looked around too closely, the shop has appeared as awfully pink and pretty and anti-black & blue as ever out the corner of her eyes...
Well, if she isn't bringing Stacy coffee in recognition of her contributions to gender equality in the Luxembourgian Glitter branch, she doesn't mind bringing her coffee for being undeniably pretty and undeniably cute, all on her own. Either way. Coffee wasn't wasted, she reckons, not when the other girl smiles like that. Shrugging once, the hood of her sweatshirt sliding like a warm weight down between her shoulder blades, springtime can't exactly be called mild yet, Alexa raises an eyebrow and turns her head, just enough, eyes attacked by traditional gender roles from all fucking sides. ]
[ Picking up the coffee, her long, pink-and-gold manicure nails clicking against the side of the cup, she looks at Alexa quickly before taking her first sip - and oh, even without the caramel, it's heaven, so much milk, perfectly roasted beans, oh... She closes her eyes slowly, savouring the taste. Her coffee break won't be for another hour at the least, her friend Lexi currently taking hers, sitting in the backroom, probably with her Advanced Science book open in front of her.
Oh well. It's not like anyone's busy right now, is it? She looks around the shop. Empty. Rush hour has come and gone, she thinks, and she never even saw it. ]
Wait, what? No, I totally did! [ She steps around the counter and throws her hand out towards a wall near the very front of the store. ] Come on, I'll show you.
[ She steps around Alexa, noting in the process that 1) the other girl's taller than her by at least a few inches and 2) those clothes and that hair and that look on her face go together brilliantly. Ouch. She looks away quickly. Blinks. Then, sipping her coffee quickly (too quickly, aaaah, it burns, it burns!), she makes her way quickly past several shelves of Hello Kitty! merc, then a dozen others, shining brightly with gemstones, silver, gold, bows and rings. She doesn't stop until she's reached the wall she's aiming for.
The sign at the top says "black-and-blue" in a very different font from everything else in the store; below, there are multiple rows of punk-type accessories, leather and silver studs, skulls and crucifixes. She quite likes the necklace with the double-charms - a red and black, bleeding heart and a small, silver dagger. She looks back at Alexa, eyebrows raised. ]
[ Stacy moves away from the counter, around Alexa who turns in order to follow the other girl with her gaze, eyes drawn inevitably to the nail art that turns the tips of her fingers into pink and gold points against the coffee cup. Very neat, very attractive, probably not very practical if someone should catch onto the idea of getting fingered by her, but if all else fails, a nail clipper will cost you two Euros, yeah? Why she's even thinking about fingering right now, she isn't sure, but the thought lingers at the back of her mind while she follows Stacy's towards the opposite wall of the store.
Where it abruptly dissipates, because the wall's a show of soft-punk accessories and jewelry, studs, skulls and crucifixes everywhere. The sight makes a small, usually rather dead part of her tingle from joy and she has to consciously fight back a smile. "black-and-blue" the sign says that hangs above the couple of rows of, well, black and blue and in comparison to the rest of the shop, it's a sorry assortment when you think about it. If you really care to, if you can be fucking bothered. If you want to be a party-pooper. Alexa isn't too sure she's in the mood to think anything at all right now, least of all in the mood to poop parties, so there. The fact that Stacy has managed to get anything up on the wall is impressive. It needs to be acknowledged. Voiced.
Eyeing a couple of skull ear studs that she thinks Timm would like, she nods in appreciation and says, without turning her attention back on the girl with the manicure and the pleasant air about her: ]
It's a good selection of stuff, if you're not into the kittens and the pastels. You picked it yourself?
[ She watches Alexa as she watches the rows in front of them, surprised to find herself feeling almost... anxious. Wanting to have done well for once. Sure, she's always performed well in school, classes and extra curricular activities and whatnot, but it's never really mattered that much. Oh, she has many friends who've had to receive every mark, every graded paper, with trembling hands and watery gazes but for her? For her, it's just been a game. Do it well, get another nail polish. Another cup of coffee. Another pretty dress. And if things go badly, get them anyway. As consolations.
It's a good selection, she says. Something heavy inside her chest melts away and she inhales, realising only now that she'd been holding her breath. ]
I did! [ She reaches for a thin, black choker, small rhinestones glinting amidst the intricate lace pattern. ] I went with elegant, too, but figured... well. [ She grins. Sips her coffee again and points to a pair of ear studs, shaped like interlocking female/female signs. ] A bit of fun never hurts anyone, does it? I refuse to be in charge of a boring, conservative display. Even if...
[ She cuts herself off quickly, her mouth almost snapping shut. It's not that she can't talk about it, exactly, but... well, looking at Alexa, at how satisfied she seems, like she's almost relaxed... no, she doesn't really need to bring them up. The discussions she's had, been having, with her boss, her boss's boss, too - about some of her pickings. ]
Bet you've had to stomp on a couple of dicks and a dusty, old vagina to get those in the mix.
[ The grin kind of sneaks up on her, coming from behind, taking over her face before she can really help herself. Alexa feels an instant, embarrassing urge to clamp her hand over her mouth to hide it away, but tempers herself and keeps her eyes locked on the jewelry. The lace choker. The earrings with their sapphic symbolism. She'll have to buy those, won't she? Just to support Stacy's choice. Her courage. Her fucking spirit. To show those motherfuckers further up the chain that LGBTQ+ stuff isn't unsaleable either. Hell, there are allies in this world, too.
Reaching past the other girl's pointed finger, Alexa fishes a pair of the female/female sign ear studs down off the shelves - and on second thought, she also grabs a small assortment of skull earrings for Timm while she's at it. It's not like it'll cost her much, maybe tomorrow's large ale at Rosebud, not that she's missing much there, huh. She waggles her two picks in Stacy's general selection, finally turning her face the same way as well. The grin has died down somewhat, but she can tell that her eyes aren't the metal fortresses that she's usually staying behind. Fuck it, someone's done good in the world today (probably months ago, to be honest, but who the fuck does the counting) and she feels like letting it sink in. Too little of that shit to go around. ]
[ ... she laughs. It's a quiet, understated sort of laughter, not what people usually expect from her because she looks like she'd be chirping or something (some guy actually told her that once, verbatim. She felt so sorry for him). Hiding her smile only partially behind her free hand, she takes the time to lick her lips clean from milky foam, the warm taste of coffee still heavy on her tongue. Then, she hurries back towards the counter, her heels clicking away in the otherwise stillness around them. ]
While we're at it - I just need to find something... before you go...
[ She rummages around in the drawers beneath the counter. Come on, come on, where is it? Setting aside the coffee cup, she uses both hands to sort through all the junk - well, it's junk now, obviously, at this moment because she really can't for the life of her see what use she'd have of extra sticky tape, of blank stickers or prize tags... ]
[ The girl laughs and Alexa feels something inside break a little, like, it's such a fucking nice laughter, not pretentious or shrill or exaggerated, it's just a natural understatement of mood. Really nice. Without commenting on how Stacy fixes herself up in the privacy behind her own hand, she instead follows the sound of heels against the floor as they head back - the sound of a true femme, isn't it, that sharp clicking - and ends up at the counter once more where she drops her stuff on the tabletop. All the cheap silver catches the overhead lamps in glimpses of stark white.
As Stacy starts rummaging through the drawers beneath the counter, Alexa wonders what kind of idiot she'd be to walk out now, like, shit. Actually, rather than heading for the street, she watches the other girl in silence while she digs through all the crap that accumulates in a store specialising in selling crap and wonders when it would be a good time to ask if she'd like Alexa's phone number written on her pretty, delicate wrist. Before or after she's purchased her Glitter stash? Who the fuck knows.
Since waiting patiently has never been one of Alexa's many, varied virtues, she starts moving a bit restlessly from foot to foot and then says, finally, to break the suspense, in order to punctuate the quiet and drown out the muted rustling of paper and plastic: ]
[ Done, she wants to say, but then her fingers slip across something hard and sharp, metallic. She smiles and pulls it up. It's covered in a plastic wrapping still, a make-shift protective casing she stole from some other thingamabob, she can't remember which. Straightening up, she lays it on the counter, not too far away from the small pile of ear studs Alexa's chosen. She notes somewhat distantly that they all look a bit cheap and wonders what something highly simple, yet highly expensive would look like in one of Alexa's many ear piercings. Well, not that it's any of her business. She just wonders. Harmless, okay? Harmless. ]
It's alright if you hate it! [ She looks up at the other girl carefully, keeping her smile light. Unassuming. ] It was part of the intro sale, you know, and, well, you didn't come by - [ Those few words simply stumble out, almost staccato-fast ] - so I saved one. Just, just in case.
[ She unwraps it quickly. It's a black tiara but nothing like the ones you'd normally find in this shop. She'd ordered just a few of them; too expensive for the shop and not enough customer appeal, generally speaking. Pushing it towards the other girl, she looks up, feeling her cheeks redden slightly now. Great. ]
It's - I already bought it and I don't want it. But I figured I'd at least ask.
[ It just slips out, automatically. Noticing the blush in Stancy's cheeks, though, she shuts herself up before she can say anything else about the tiara that honestly looks like a misplaced prop from the set of "Lord of the Rings".
Well, you didn't come by - it almost makes her wince. She honestly should have apologized for that already, why the fuck hasn't she? Mom would complain that she's raised Alexa better than that, but they'd both know she hasn't raised Alexa at all, yeah? Expression growing harder, she just stares from the headpiece to the girl who's unwrapped it like it's the fucking crown jewels. In all honesty (and she is always if nothing else perfectly honest), it's so damn fugly, but at the same time there's something about it that attracts her. Like, fucking hell, imagine her sporting such a thing one day at Rosebud? They'd get something else to talk about for once. So, she swallows down her scorn and reaches out to pick it up, balancing the crazy punk tiara on her palm and shoving its ugliness in her own face.
Shit's the right word. ]
This will be a love-hate relationship, you've been warned, but I'll take it along with the rest. [ A brief pause before she adds, her voice softer, not really soft, just softer, okay. ] Thanks for thinking of me. Sorry I've been keeping you waiting.
[ She blinks. Shit, says Alexa, and that's probably a good sign that she hates it. She's about to pack it away again - quickly, before she... sees it... more? - but then, she actually reaches for it, picks it up. Balances it on her palm and for the first time, Stacy notices how long her fingers seem, probably because they're also rather on the thin side. For a second - a treacherous, treacherous second - she envisions the two of them in her room. Sees herself paint one of those short finger nails whichever colour someone like Alexa would prefer, it's hard to tell, and right now she probably shouldn't test her luck.
Sorry I've been keeping you waiting. It's okay, she thinks. It's okay if you promise you won't do so anymore.
What she says, however, is: ]
No problem.
[ She hits up the cash register. Puts in a few numbers, watches as it spits out a total, a small sum of Euroes, though she realises she's got no clue whether or not it's a small sum for her. Whether she's rich or poor, where she lives, what she likes to eat, how she goes to sleep at night. She doesn't know but she'd kind of like to.
Ugh. ]
The jewelry's on the house. Seeing as you aren't getting any credit, right? It's actually pretty rude of me.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
♀ starter
Nevertheless, she's now making her way through the rows of cheap bling, heading stealthily for the counter behind which Stacy is standing, looking as... well, as ever. In her hand, Alexa has got one cup of coffee, lots of milk, though she forgot what else the other girl asked for and just skipped the syrups completely out of some awkward sense of insecurity. Coming to a halt in front of Stacy, she clears her throat and slams the coffee onto the counter between them. ]
Here. [ An awkward pause. ] Finally.
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She straightens up, just as a cup of coffee lands on the counter, its contents splashing around inside the styrofoam. Starbucks. Slowly, she looks up. Meets Alexa's eyes with unguarded surprise. It's been months, hasn't it? She'd thought... well, nevermind what she'd thought, obviously it's simply taken the other girl a bit of time and by the looks of her, it probably shouldn't have surprised her. She looks like this place might very possibly cause her to spontaneously combust.
Stacy clears her throat. Shifts quickly from one foot to the other, then smiles. Maybe just a bit hesitantly. ]
You brought me coffee. [ Obviously, Anastacia, ugh, come on. She leans down, sniffs the coffee and ignores the lack of caramel. Who cares. ] It smells like a delicious coffee break! [ Meeting Alexa's eyes again, she smiles, brighter this time. ] Thank you.
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[ It's an easy, smooth sentence to speak, but it feels awkward as all hell, because she knows they had that conversation in another fucking life, pretty much, and besides - although she hasn't looked around too closely, the shop has appeared as awfully pink and pretty and anti-black & blue as ever out the corner of her eyes...
Well, if she isn't bringing Stacy coffee in recognition of her contributions to gender equality in the Luxembourgian Glitter branch, she doesn't mind bringing her coffee for being undeniably pretty and undeniably cute, all on her own. Either way. Coffee wasn't wasted, she reckons, not when the other girl smiles like that. Shrugging once, the hood of her sweatshirt sliding like a warm weight down between her shoulder blades, springtime can't exactly be called mild yet, Alexa raises an eyebrow and turns her head, just enough, eyes attacked by traditional gender roles from all fucking sides. ]
Didn't quite get that revolution started, huh.
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Oh well. It's not like anyone's busy right now, is it? She looks around the shop. Empty. Rush hour has come and gone, she thinks, and she never even saw it. ]
Wait, what? No, I totally did! [ She steps around the counter and throws her hand out towards a wall near the very front of the store. ] Come on, I'll show you.
[ She steps around Alexa, noting in the process that 1) the other girl's taller than her by at least a few inches and 2) those clothes and that hair and that look on her face go together brilliantly. Ouch. She looks away quickly. Blinks. Then, sipping her coffee quickly (too quickly, aaaah, it burns, it burns!), she makes her way quickly past several shelves of Hello Kitty! merc, then a dozen others, shining brightly with gemstones, silver, gold, bows and rings. She doesn't stop until she's reached the wall she's aiming for.
The sign at the top says "black-and-blue" in a very different font from everything else in the store; below, there are multiple rows of punk-type accessories, leather and silver studs, skulls and crucifixes. She quite likes the necklace with the double-charms - a red and black, bleeding heart and a small, silver dagger. She looks back at Alexa, eyebrows raised. ]
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Where it abruptly dissipates, because the wall's a show of soft-punk accessories and jewelry, studs, skulls and crucifixes everywhere. The sight makes a small, usually rather dead part of her tingle from joy and she has to consciously fight back a smile. "black-and-blue" the sign says that hangs above the couple of rows of, well, black and blue and in comparison to the rest of the shop, it's a sorry assortment when you think about it. If you really care to, if you can be fucking bothered. If you want to be a party-pooper. Alexa isn't too sure she's in the mood to think anything at all right now, least of all in the mood to poop parties, so there. The fact that Stacy has managed to get anything up on the wall is impressive. It needs to be acknowledged. Voiced.
Eyeing a couple of skull ear studs that she thinks Timm would like, she nods in appreciation and says, without turning her attention back on the girl with the manicure and the pleasant air about her: ]
It's a good selection of stuff, if you're not into the kittens and the pastels. You picked it yourself?
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It's a good selection, she says. Something heavy inside her chest melts away and she inhales, realising only now that she'd been holding her breath. ]
I did! [ She reaches for a thin, black choker, small rhinestones glinting amidst the intricate lace pattern. ] I went with elegant, too, but figured... well. [ She grins. Sips her coffee again and points to a pair of ear studs, shaped like interlocking female/female signs. ] A bit of fun never hurts anyone, does it? I refuse to be in charge of a boring, conservative display. Even if...
[ She cuts herself off quickly, her mouth almost snapping shut. It's not that she can't talk about it, exactly, but... well, looking at Alexa, at how satisfied she seems, like she's almost relaxed... no, she doesn't really need to bring them up. The discussions she's had, been having, with her boss, her boss's boss, too - about some of her pickings. ]
no subject
[ The grin kind of sneaks up on her, coming from behind, taking over her face before she can really help herself. Alexa feels an instant, embarrassing urge to clamp her hand over her mouth to hide it away, but tempers herself and keeps her eyes locked on the jewelry. The lace choker. The earrings with their sapphic symbolism. She'll have to buy those, won't she? Just to support Stacy's choice. Her courage. Her fucking spirit. To show those motherfuckers further up the chain that LGBTQ+ stuff isn't unsaleable either. Hell, there are allies in this world, too.
Reaching past the other girl's pointed finger, Alexa fishes a pair of the female/female sign ear studs down off the shelves - and on second thought, she also grabs a small assortment of skull earrings for Timm while she's at it. It's not like it'll cost her much, maybe tomorrow's large ale at Rosebud, not that she's missing much there, huh. She waggles her two picks in Stacy's general selection, finally turning her face the same way as well. The grin has died down somewhat, but she can tell that her eyes aren't the metal fortresses that she's usually staying behind. Fuck it, someone's done good in the world today (probably months ago, to be honest, but who the fuck does the counting) and she feels like letting it sink in. Too little of that shit to go around. ]
I'll take these, yeah?
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Oh!
[ ... she laughs. It's a quiet, understated sort of laughter, not what people usually expect from her because she looks like she'd be chirping or something (some guy actually told her that once, verbatim. She felt so sorry for him). Hiding her smile only partially behind her free hand, she takes the time to lick her lips clean from milky foam, the warm taste of coffee still heavy on her tongue. Then, she hurries back towards the counter, her heels clicking away in the otherwise stillness around them. ]
While we're at it - I just need to find something... before you go...
[ She rummages around in the drawers beneath the counter. Come on, come on, where is it? Setting aside the coffee cup, she uses both hands to sort through all the junk - well, it's junk now, obviously, at this moment because she really can't for the life of her see what use she'd have of extra sticky tape, of blank stickers or prize tags... ]
no subject
As Stacy starts rummaging through the drawers beneath the counter, Alexa wonders what kind of idiot she'd be to walk out now, like, shit. Actually, rather than heading for the street, she watches the other girl in silence while she digs through all the crap that accumulates in a store specialising in selling crap and wonders when it would be a good time to ask if she'd like Alexa's phone number written on her pretty, delicate wrist. Before or after she's purchased her Glitter stash? Who the fuck knows.
Since waiting patiently has never been one of Alexa's many, varied virtues, she starts moving a bit restlessly from foot to foot and then says, finally, to break the suspense, in order to punctuate the quiet and drown out the muted rustling of paper and plastic: ]
I'm not going anywhere, trust me.
no subject
[ Done, she wants to say, but then her fingers slip across something hard and sharp, metallic. She smiles and pulls it up. It's covered in a plastic wrapping still, a make-shift protective casing she stole from some other thingamabob, she can't remember which. Straightening up, she lays it on the counter, not too far away from the small pile of ear studs Alexa's chosen. She notes somewhat distantly that they all look a bit cheap and wonders what something highly simple, yet highly expensive would look like in one of Alexa's many ear piercings. Well, not that it's any of her business. She just wonders. Harmless, okay? Harmless. ]
It's alright if you hate it! [ She looks up at the other girl carefully, keeping her smile light. Unassuming. ] It was part of the intro sale, you know, and, well, you didn't come by - [ Those few words simply stumble out, almost staccato-fast ] - so I saved one. Just, just in case.
[ She unwraps it quickly. It's a black tiara but nothing like the ones you'd normally find in this shop. She'd ordered just a few of them; too expensive for the shop and not enough customer appeal, generally speaking. Pushing it towards the other girl, she looks up, feeling her cheeks redden slightly now. Great. ]
It's - I already bought it and I don't want it. But I figured I'd at least ask.
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[ It just slips out, automatically. Noticing the blush in Stancy's cheeks, though, she shuts herself up before she can say anything else about the tiara that honestly looks like a misplaced prop from the set of "Lord of the Rings".
Well, you didn't come by - it almost makes her wince. She honestly should have apologized for that already, why the fuck hasn't she? Mom would complain that she's raised Alexa better than that, but they'd both know she hasn't raised Alexa at all, yeah? Expression growing harder, she just stares from the headpiece to the girl who's unwrapped it like it's the fucking crown jewels. In all honesty (and she is always if nothing else perfectly honest), it's so damn fugly, but at the same time there's something about it that attracts her. Like, fucking hell, imagine her sporting such a thing one day at Rosebud? They'd get something else to talk about for once. So, she swallows down her scorn and reaches out to pick it up, balancing the crazy punk tiara on her palm and shoving its ugliness in her own face.
Shit's the right word. ]
This will be a love-hate relationship, you've been warned, but I'll take it along with the rest. [ A brief pause before she adds, her voice softer, not really soft, just softer, okay. ] Thanks for thinking of me. Sorry I've been keeping you waiting.
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Sorry I've been keeping you waiting. It's okay, she thinks. It's okay if you promise you won't do so anymore.
What she says, however, is: ]
No problem.
[ She hits up the cash register. Puts in a few numbers, watches as it spits out a total, a small sum of Euroes, though she realises she's got no clue whether or not it's a small sum for her. Whether she's rich or poor, where she lives, what she likes to eat, how she goes to sleep at night. She doesn't know but she'd kind of like to.
Ugh. ]
The jewelry's on the house. Seeing as you aren't getting any credit, right? It's actually pretty rude of me.
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♀ text (a week later, thursday night 22.11)
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it's pretty, though. elegant.
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but thanks. :)
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