4 missed calls
10 unread texts
3 different apologies saved in the drafts

That was all to Sing.

3 missed calls
6 read texts
That was all to Shorter

Lux threw her phone in frustration and watched it bounce off the edge of the bed and clunk onto the carpet. Sing hadn't been to school in a week and she wanted answers. Shorter left her on read and didn't bother answering any calls so that didn't feel good either. Those two were a complete mystery. Lux wanted details but the problem was to figure out where to begin looking.

Luckily, answers weren't too far away. The sound of pebbles clinking against the window had caught her attention. There was only one person inconsiderate enough to show up uninvited this late at night. Lux looked over the balcony at the ground below and saw Shorter waving happily at her. "Can I come up?"

Her heart spasmed in her chest. Partially due to excitement and mainly because of the fear of being caught. If her parents heard and found an older boy in the room, she'd be grounded until the end of the century. "So you can sneak into my house but not answer a simple phone call?" She scolded in a screaming whisper.

"I know I know." He hushed, "Just had to lay low for a while."

"What for?"

"Uhhh." Shorter stammered after realizing that he slipped up. "Nothin' I'm kinda high so I'm just saying weird stuff right now." That part wasn't a complete lie. He and Lao may have shared a joint before coming to see Lux.

"Seriously?" For being older Shorter came off as significantly childish. From what she observed, Sing had looked up to Shorter. It may have been because he was his elder but there seemed to be a different reason involved that Lux couldn't put her finger on quite yet.

The chair in front of the desk quickly became occupied by Shorter plopping down and making himself at home. "Any plans tonight?"

Lux stood up in front of him with her arms wide open and looking down at the oversized t-shirt and sweats she had on. "Does it look like I have plans tonight? I'm getting ready for bed."

"It's only 10 on a Saturday." Shorter took notice of the opened laptop and notebook that was covered in notes. "Do you ever do anything besides study?"

No. "If I do that's none of your business."

"You need to let loose a little." You need to go to hell. Lux mentally slapped herself for thinking something so "vulgar". Well vulgar by her standards. "You ever been to a concert before?"

"I've been to a symphony. Does that count?"

Shorter's expression turned into a confused yet disappointed frown. She can't be serious. "Kinda yeah." He stood up and opened the doors to her closet, "Get changed. We're goin out."

The audacity of this guy to rummage through a girls belongings and order to go out not even giving her a chance to think. Who did he think he was? "Whoa whoa whoa. I can't just sneak out of my house!"

"Sure you can. I was able to sneak in, wasn't I? Your parents will have no idea."

Lux has obeyed rules all her life. Sometimes bending them slightly but never really broke them. Sneaking out though. That was way too risky. Plus, it was extra intimidating that she'd be going out with Shorter who reeked of trouble. "I can't."

"Why not?"

"I'm scared..."

"I'm a master at sneaking in and out of places. You'll be fine." Lux looked at him with worry written across her face. Shorter then gave a tender, comforting smile. "I promise." She pondered the idea around in her head and her instincts shouted to not leave the house. On the other hand, she did deserve a night of fun. Lux ultimately convinced herself that this night out could give her some real world experiences since her parents always kept her on a short leash which led to not knowing anything that didn't have to do with her studies.

Her lips pressed into a line and she finally sighed in defeat. "Fine." She shoved Shorter out of the closet entry so she could find something to change into. Out of all the clothes she had, nothing seemed comfortable to wear to a concert. Shorter spun around in circles, and leaned back in the gamer chair as he groaned. "I can't find anything to wear."

"It's nothing formal. Just get on some shorts, a t shirt and let's go."

"But my mom always says a lady has to be well groomed and presentable at all times." That old fashioned way of thinking nearly made Shorter gag.

Shorter stood up and picked out a black shirt from the closet that had collected quite a bit of lint on it from never being worn. He flicked it in the air a few times to dust it off and grabbed a pair of scissors. Before Lux had the chance to ask what he was doing, half of the shirt was already detached from itself, forming a crop top. "You got black shorts?"

"I have a black skirt."

"Perfect. Get that on." He tossed the shirt but it was too high up to grab so it landed on her head. Lux's reflexes weren't the best. "You got any fishnets?"

"Those things that strippers wear?"

"Oh yeahhhh." Shorter thought back to all the women of every size him and the guys would watch on their nights out. The lap dances that would keep coming like an endless buffet. Not to mention some of the chicks that would hang around the base. When you weren't out shaking down random thugs and filling guys up with bullets, you needed some other form of entertainment.

"Never. Not in a million years! I'd look like a tramp!"

"It's not trampy."

"Fine then. A prostitute."

Shorter scoffed, "Don't dish on sex workers."

"My mom says that girls should have respect for themselves and not flash their assets to the world." Lux didn't agree with her parents on a lot of things but there were some beliefs that made sense. This was one of them. It may have been an outdated way of thinking, but she didn't want to be seen as something for men to gawk at.

"Ah. That explains it."

She crossed her arms, "Explains what."

"You're a prude."

Lux blinked in shock and couldn't help but exhale in an offended tone. "Excuse me?"

"Yeah. That explains why you cover up so much. Not because you enjoy it. But because your family got you to think you're less of a person if you don't live by their standards." He shrugged and looked the girl up and down, "You may not say it out loud Princess, but you low key think you're better than everybody."

"That's not-"

"Which is why you feel the need to fix them." Lux had no idea what Shorter was going on about. The two of them have only talked for a few weeks and now he suddenly thinks its okay to make these wild assumptions about her. Lux's quietness gave him the go head to keep analyzing. "Take little Sing for example. You took him in for selfish reasons but you tell yourself you're helping him because-"

"Because I want more for him." Lux had to defend herself. It felt like she was standing trial and the shark of a lawyer was tearing her to shreds. "I want him to be successful in life and not turn out like-"

"Like me?"

"I wasn't going to say that."

"But it's what you're implying. It's okay if you are." He laughed and ruffled his hair, "It'll take more than that to hurt my feelings."

"No offense but you're not the best role model."

"Never said I was." Shorter leaned down to Lux's 5ft level and she felt herself shrink. "Here's something you need to understand. It's okay for people not to become what you want them to be. And just cuz they don't meet your expectations doesn't automatically make them a failure either."

She was shocked by the wise words coming out of this boys mouth. What he said didn't hurt her feelings but the way he saw her did. In her head she was doing a good deed, but to the outside world it looked as if Lux wanted to transform people into her own version of success. "I'm sorry..." she apologized. Her eyes shifted down towards her feet where her toes began to point towards each other due to being nervous and slightly embarrassed.

Shorter put a hand on the top of her head as if he were comforting a small child. "It's alright." He whispered, "Just goes to show that you got more learning to do." The dim lamp in the room highlighted his cheeky grin. "And that's why I'm here. To show you a new side of the world."

"Thank you." Lux smiled, meeting Shorter's gaze that pulled her in. He began to slowly bend down and caress the side of her neck as his long fingers pushed back her black hair. Before she was even able to react, there was a knocking at the door. Her arm shot up and slapped a hand over Shorter's puckered lips. "Yeah?" Lux called out.

"You're still awake?" Her mom asked. "You know the rule. Lights out." Lux's body relaxed once her footsteps disappeared down the hall and followed it up with the loud slam of a door.

"That was close." She exhaled.

Shorter giggled softly. "Hurry and get dressed. Time for you to have some fun."
____________________
Lux and Shorter arrived at a massive lot filled with people, cars and snack vendors all around. She couldn't begin to explain how out of place she felt. Wearing all black, showing her stomach, and having on a deep purple lipstick that she used for last years Halloween made her feel like a completely different person. Shorter thought she looked awesome but she begged to differ. "Shorter, I look ridiculous. Like I just walked out of Beetlejuice."

"What? You don't like the teased hair I gave you?" He joked. The toxic smell of hairspray gave the girl a headache and the loud cheering didn't help much either. "C'mon this is your chance to live a little."

Up ahead was a stand to hand over your tickets to the concert. Lux followed behind Shorter and stopped in her tracks when he took a sharp turn and headed towards some trailers that were nearly hidden by overgrown grass and trees. "Where are you going? The entrance is over here?"

Shorter jerked his head around and ran over, quickly pulling her by the wrist to follow behind him. "You think I have tickets? We're sneaking in."

"What!? We'll be in so much trouble if we-"

"Relax. Didn't I tell you I'm a master at sneaking into places?"

That's when the anxiety spiked. What'll happen if somebody saw? She could possibly be arrested for trespassing. Then her parents would be notified. They'd know she snuck out with an older guy. She'd be punished until the age of 50 and who knows what'll happen after that. After daydreaming about horrific scenarios, she noticed that Shorter had his hands cupped and said he'd help give a lift to hop the wire fence. "Shorter, I can't!"

"Oh c'mon. We came all this way."

"No I mean... I'm wearing a skirt and I forgot to put shorts underneath."

Shorter couldn't help but to chuckle at the pure innocence. Lux was the only girl he's ever talked to that suggested wearing shorts underneath a skirt. "I won't look. I promise."

She had no choice here. She gathered up the courage and placed her foot in his hands as he lifted her up with ease. Her hand gripped onto the slimy rail and nearly fell backwards after she let go. Shorter quickly reached his arms up to keep her from falling. His hand unfortunately ended up smacking her on the butt which caused her to kick her foot back and hit him right in the face. "Pervert!"

"I just saved you from falling!"

"Yeah right!" She argued and continued the climb until she made it on the other side of the fence. By the time her feet had hit the damp soil, Shorter had already scaled the fence and was ready to go.

The scene was a total blur. Crowds of people bumped into them. The music hurt Lux's ears. Not to mention feeling some random hands grab at her here and there. It was so violating. Shorter was having a good time and singing along to the songs that were being played while Lux just followed him around like a lost puppy, often grabbing onto his yellow sleeve so she wouldn't fall behind.

"Wanna snack?" Shorter pointed at a near by stand that was selling hotdogs, nachos, and cotton candy.

"I already ate dinner."

"I'll just getchyu water and you can pick from my nachos if you want to." Shorter allowed Lux stay put while he waited in line. She was already wishing she had brought her phone along to keep her entertained in the mean time, but the thought of Lux's parents randomly wanting to check her location made the girl paranoid. The best option was to leave it charging in her room. Lux kicked around a near by rock as a distraction until stumbling over when somebody had bumped into her. "Ow hey!"

"Oh I'm sorry!" The young boy turned around revealing a familiar face. "Lux?"

"Oz! What are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing. I didn't think rockfest would be your thing."

"It's not." She groaned. Her tired legs were really starting to miss the feeling of her fluffy bed. This night needed to end soon. "Do your parents know you're here?"

"Obviously not. I'm here with a few friends from school." This came as a total shock to his best friend. Oz always seemed so reserved and would be intimidated by the tiniest things. This type of setting was something Lux thought would have been a complete turn off for him. "Also, I'm digging the get up. The crazy hair and make up. Your outfit looks pretty cool too."

Lux scrunched up her face in a -you've gotta be joking- look. "I know that's a lie but thanks."

"I mean it!" He smiled widely, "Who was able to get you to come out here of all places dressed like that?"

"Uhhh-" she stammered before a water bottle was being held in front of her.

"Lucky, that was the last water." Shorter commented before taking a sip out of a red solo cup. "But they got a lot of beer."

"Shorter?"

"Ozzy!"

"It's just Oz." He corrected. The confused look on his face said the he was waiting for an explanation of what the heck was going on.

Lux laughed nervously and opened up the bottle, "Uh, Shorter here thought it would be good for me to step out of my comfort zone and give my brain a rest from all the studying I've been doing."

Oz didn't like the sound of that. He's been trying to get his best friend of almost ten years to let loose for so long then suddenly this guy comes along and she obeys him without question. Needless to say, Oz was jealous. It seemed like she'd moved him to the back burner now that she's become friends with Sing and Shorter. For someone who bragged about how great they were at multitasking, she wasn't that great at spreading the attention out to her friends. Maybe that's why she's always had one. That was all she could ever really handle.

"Well, I'm sure it took a lot of convincing." Oz forced a fake laugh.

"Not really. She seemed more than happy." Shorter's responded.

Lux quickly noticed Oz's annoyed expression and jumped in to give her honest input. "That's not true. I really didn't want to."

Shorter could feel the tension and realized what was going on. He couldn't understand why he made men around him so jealous but it was definitely a nice stroke to his ego. "Yeah. I've never been good at taking no for an answer so here we are."

Oz crossed his arms, "Hm, thats certainly not a red flag." He said sarcastically.

"He didn't mean it like that Oz." She shook her head hoping things wouldn't escalate. To Lux's surprise that comment had no effect on Shorter who just sipped at his beer until his phone started ringing.

"I gotta take this. Take care of her for me will yuh?" He winked before walking away.

"My god, Lux don't tell me you like that guy."

"No! He's just a friend."

"Yeah that's how it starts. No guy stays "just a friend" forever. Especially one that gives off the street kid bad boy aesthetic." Oz wasn't dumb. He saw right through this. "You're literally the embodiment of the he was a punk she did ballet meme!"

"I'll have you know I only did ballet for 3 years!"

Oz shook his head showing his disappointment. "You know I'm not one to judge but there's definitely something off about this guy."

For some reason that comment got under the girls skin, "You don't even know him."

"And you do? Please, Lux you've only talked to him for a few weeks. You can't possibly know him that well."

"I know him well enough that his intentions aren't bad ones. He's really nice and enjoys my company. There's nothing wrong with that."

Lux could be so naive and it annoyed Oz. "For someone who makes straight A's you really lack in the people skills department. Guys like that see a cute, innocent girl and want to take advantage of her. Open your eyes Lux he clearly just wants to get under your skirt." The normally passive girls fists began to shake as she raised a hand up but stopped herself mid swing. Oz backed away in shock. "You were seriously going to hit me?"

"I-no!" Lux stammered, "I don't- what you said was really hurtful and I didn't appreciate it."

"I'm telling you the truth and looking out for you like how friends do! Or did you forget that's how real friends act? And that they don't try to use their charm to manipulate you into doing things you're not comfortable with. Oh but I forgot, Shorter doesn't take no for an answer." Oz rolled his eyes at the fact that his friend didn't have an argument. "Whatever, you clearly think that guy matters more than your best friend since elementary school so what should I care?"

She rubbed her head, "Oz..."

"I'll see you at school. I gotta get going anyways."

Part of her felt guilty for making Oz feel unappreciated, almost in the same way she made Sing feel. Was Lux really giving Shorter too much of her attention? She didn't think so and it didn't feel like it, but she was unknowingly letting this boy consume her. He was loud. He was adventurous.  He played by his own rules and deep down, that was something she always wanted. Shorter was her gateway to something more exciting.

Lux paced back and forth waiting for Shorter to return from his phone call that had gone on for way past 30 minutes and she started to become worried. Lux wandered around to find Shorter but he was nowhere to be seen.

The crowd slimmed by each passing minute and concession stands began to clean up as did roadies, going up on stage to pack the amps and other musical equipment. The event was coming to a close and she finally accepted the fact that Shorter ditched her.

Lux started to wonder if Oz was right about Shorter. And what could have ticked him off enough to leave her somewhere that was miles away from her house? Was it Oz's comments? Was it her saying that she didn't really want to come out with him?

She reached behind to grab her phone out of her back pocket only to remember that she was wearing a skirt, and that her phone was left charging at home. The thought of having to find her way back home made Lux want to cry and filled her body with anxiety. She didn't even know which place to go. Even calling an Uber using someone's phone was out of the question because she didn't have her wallet either. Calling her parents would definitely lead to being grounded for life too but it was definitely better than some weird man offering a lift in his car.

Lux politely asked one of the show runners to borrow his phone to make a call. She opened up the keypad and started to dial her moms phone number. Before pressing the green call button, she hit the back one and deleted what she had typed.
________________________
"Thanks for dropping me off at home, Sing. I didn't know who else to call." Lux sheepishly thanked. She was grateful that he answered the destress call and was also glad she memorized his phone number. Although she knew Sing would have been in the right to ignore her call same way she'd done to him.

"It's no big deal. Better me picking you up than some rando trying to lure you into his van." He joked, although his tone didn't match the lightheartedness of those words. He was visibly upset. "I can't believe Shorter ditched you. It's not like him."

Falling head over heals for a boy was something Lux never did and she was smart enough to have some type of self control and not let her guard completely down. But she couldn't lie to herself and say her feelings weren't hurt. "It's whatever. He's the worst." She mumbled. The cool breeze made Lux shiver and took that as a sign to go inside. "Thanks again, Sing." She began to turn away until she felt a leather gloved hand grab at her wrist.

She turned her head around confused on why Sing pulled her back towards him. The moment her eyes locked with his he cleared his throat and looked away, immediately releasing her. "Uh, if anything like this happens again, um god forbid, don't hesitate to give me a call, okay?"

"Does this mean we're friends again?"

Sing smiled and held his hand out for her to shake, "Yeah."

Lux chuckled and pushed his hand away to give him a warm embrace. The way his heart thumped rapidly against her chest was so cute. Shorter was right. Sing did have a crush on her. "I should head back inside before I catch a cold."

"Mhm, you should." Sing finally let go and made sure Lux climbed up safely to her room. "Gnight!" He whispered.

"Text me when you're home so I know you made it back safe."

Those caring words managed to turn Sing's cheeks red. No one has ever worried enough about him like that before. It made him really happy and his twinkling eyes showed it. "Will do."
__________________________
Shorter stared down at his phone contemplating if he should call Lux or not. He spent the rest of the night wondering if she got home safe and if she'd ever talk to him again.

The call he took was about members of his gang being captured by a rival crew. And as the leader, it was his responsibility to take care of business and his men.

Shorter tossed his phone to the side and stared down at the dried blood on his hands. He pushed himself up to go wash it off. Once he got to the mirror he stared at himself and scanned over all the blood that stained his person. It was on his face, dried up into clumps in his hair, the smell of copper on his clothes filled the room with an unbearable stench.

Then he thought of Lux. So beautiful and soft. Not a strand of hair out of place. Her bright, innocent smile that could light up the darkest of nights. She was so loving and caring, he bet she couldn't even kill a fly without feeling bad about it right after.

That was another huge difference between the two of them. Lux felt things while he turned his emotions off. He could kill and feel nothing at all. The thought of Lux seeing him in that state frightened Shorter. He pictured a horrified expression on her face. Her running away from him and not looking back. "Why did I think I could do this?" He asked himself. They came from two different worlds that were never meant to collide. Lux was the little bit of innocence he needed in his life. The fact that somebody like her was fond of someone like him, even though she didn't know the truth, made him feel a little bit less like a monster.

Shorter stepped into the hot shower that he had running to cleanse himself of the murders that went down. No matter how hard he scrubbed his skin he still felt filthy. Flesh turned a bright red with each harsh motion of the sponge and soap was pumped out of the bottle until it was half empty, but no matter what Shorter did, he thought Lux would still see the blood. "Fuck!" He cursed to himself. He dipped his head down, allowing the water to roll down the top of his head and trickle down to his toes. "You probably think I'm the worst... I'm sorry, Lux..."