ElectricVelvet

Secrets of the Game (Invader Len & ElectricVelvet)

"Parker, open up! Please!" Ella stood, freezing cold, outside of her friends house, pounding on the door. She was sure that his parents were going to be pissed - they didn't like her in the first place. However, she was exactly in a position to be sneaking around, especially after what being out at night had just gotten her.

"Hey! You up? I know you are-"

She was answered when the dark green door opened rather slowly for her taste.

"Wha-Ella, what are you doing?" Parker's sandy blond hair was disheveled and his voice was gravelly and groggy, and he wasn't wearing a shirt over his boxers. She had woken him up.

"I just..Can I come in?" The boy's face seemed to wake up a little more and he nodded, opening the door a little more so Ella could step inside. A pregnant pause lasted into the small living room, until Parker decided to say something.

"You know, I called you to see if you wanted me to pick you up, but you weren't answering. I got really freaked out when people were saying that a huge fight had broken out at the party, so I went over to your house. I got your phone. Some guy named Alex Middleton left you a message." His tone sounded a little cold towards the end. Ella couldn't blame him. The situation suggested so much.

"Oh. Could I see that?" Ella motioned for her phone, and Parker brought it out of his pants, which, thankfully, had pockets. Without a word, he handed it to her, their hands touching in the process. Despite how warm it was in the house, Ella couldn't suppress a chill when she pressed the tab to open the voicemail.

"Hello, Ella? This is Alex Middleton. We met at the party. I hope you haven't forgotten me. I had fun that night, and I hope we can meet up and do it again sometime. Maybe do some shots? Haha, just kidding. Anyways, you're probably curious about what I'm calling about. I was really concerned with that guy we saw before. I just hope you don't do anything to end up like that. Well, you're a smart girl, I know you'll do the right thing. See you around."

Ella stopped breathing as the message went silent. Her blood froze in her veins and for a moment, all she could think of was her immanent death. She had seen too much, she was going to be murdered on a street corner where no one could ever find her. Her face was going to be set on fire and become another unrecognizable street urchin. She was going to-

"El? Hello? What was that about?" Parker's warm hand pressed onto Ella's shoulder, breaking her from her trance. She fumbled for an answer that wouldn't get her throat slit.

"I..It's not what you think it is, I swear. He's just some asshole that I ran into while I was out and we had a couple of drinks around the pool. While were there, some guy got really drunk and got stun-gunned by the police. That's all." There was a long silence, and for a moment, Ella thought he was actually going to buy it.

Parker's hand, once just resting on her shoulder, was now pulling her into a tight hug.

"You and I...both know....that you can always come here, right?"

"Mhmm."

Except when I'm dead. Or kidnapped, or something.

The Island

Latia, after witnessing several exchanges, decided on her own that she was in the right place. With a new confidence, she strode silently with scanning, chocolate eyes across the small open area and over to the small snack table, discarding her old drink into a trash can on her way. Her other hand reached out fluently to grab another can from the table, and Latia almost cringed at the sound of wrinkling paper. The cold condensation from the drink was seeping into her skin.

"Ah, crap." The musician muttered under her breath, extracting her paper hand and using her real one to again, pick up the can. She would have to wait for the paper hand to dry before switching back to normal skin, lest she get water molecules trapped underneath the upper layer upon transformation.

The clacking of heels filled the silence awkwardly as Latia made her way over to the small table, where everyone seemed to be gathering. Her real fingers played invisible keys as the minutes ticked on.

The door opened once more to reveal another young woman, who soon adressed herself as Harper to the boy with white skin.

The Island

Okay, cool.

AHHHHH we can subscribe to threads now!

Secrets of the Game (Invader Len & ElectricVelvet)

Ella didn't have time to think as she watched Alex's retreating back, his sadistic features flashing in her mind long after he turned the corner. Her nose burned with the acrid smell of burnt flesh, and she knew she was going to throw up long before she bent over behind a nearby dumpster. Tears welled up in her eyes as she used her hand to wipe her mouth. The brunette didn't know what had just hit her, but she knew that nothing was ever going to be the same.

She, Ella Haussler, had just witnessed the murder of another human. A horrible street rat that had tried to kill her, no less, but still. She was officially involved, and she knew that she couldn't tell anyone. Ever.

It took a few minutes for her body to catch up with her racing mind, but when it did, Ella had the common sense to walk away from the sight, her converse padding silently on the concrete as she turned corners and clutched her arms tightly. She needed a taxi. She needed Parker.

Why didn't I just stay home and go watch movies with him or something? You fucking retard!

A few minutes of waving and calling out into the now sinister night streets later, Ella was climbing into the back seat of one of the yellow cabs. It smelled like smoke and old food, which only served to remind her of the arcade.

"Where to, young la-?"

"Twenty-third, 2057 McCarthy."

The cab driver flashed a concerned glance through the rearview mirror before nodding and stepping on the gas pedal. That was when she remembered that she didn't have any money on her. The brunette decided not to bring it up. Not until she was at the destination. However, with every number the little red numbers on the dash went up, the more her eyelids fell.

How the hell was she even close to being tired when she had just watched a normal, if rather asshole-ish guy murder a guy without hesitation. Though the adrenaline high was still there, Ella must have fallen asleep eventually, because she was soon being woken up to the ghost feeling of a knife on her neck and the faint sound of a final, deciding gunshot.

Thankfully, Parker's house was coming up around the corner. All she wanted to think about was being in his arms, on his couch, and watching a stupid, cheesy, family movie with Adam Sandler in it, or something.

The Island

Yes, but I'm afraid it was....lost...in the delivery process. Not that I would know anything about that.

Posted, BTWs.

The Island

Latia mentally slapped herself more than once as her heel-clad feet moved quickly down the sidewalk, everything outside of her train of thought being a complete blur. In her hand, a can of carbonated orange-drink swished around, cooling her hand and putting her somewhat at ease. Carbonation was pretty much a full-time addiction for her, though not one she was particularly proud of. However, staying up at all hours of the night and waking up before sunrise for various musical events - that, astonishingly enough, all seemed to be 'the most important performance of her career' - had required far more energy than Latia could ever achieve by herself. So, her answer had been drinking various energy drinks at all hours. She hated the taste of coffee, no matter how tantalizing the smell, and anything else had never really done the trick.

A large gust of wind ripped Latia out of her anxious and paranoid thoughts, and brought her attention back to the large, imperial building that was rising toward her. Though many of the enormous performance halls she had been to matched - and even topped - the grandiose pillars before her, Latia had never imagined herself in such a place. The letter had utterly astounded her, almost to the point of denying it's existence. However, the few days leading up to her acceptance were threaded with various reminders of her childhood stories of a horrible world.

She wouldn't let those memories override her sense of the world around her.

And so, as Latia found herself striding into the official, cool air of the huge facility, she found her nerves settling. All would be well, as far as she was concerned.

Briefly, the auburn haired woman stopped in an off-hand corner to bring up her mini-map of the building. Lifting the arm that wasn't holding her drink - which was starting to feel frightening light in her hand - Latia felt the natural yet tingly sensation that came with shifting the molecules of her forearm into paper and ink. She had drawn the miniscule map earlier that morning, and had managed to memorize it, much like her music, and bring it up with the paper that was her forearm's skin. A gentle crinkling noise could be heard from her absently dancing fingers.

A couple seconds of staring and contemplating pushed Latia towards the designated meeting room, which was, oddly enough, in the basement area of the enormous facility. The musician had figured that it would be in a more official place, being one of the most important developments of The Island's existence. Sighing, Latia brought her drink to her lips once more and pushed against the little door that led to the room.

Inside was some of the most normal looking people she had ever seen - aside from the rather androgynous teen in girl's clothing and the woman with wings, who seemed to practically vibrating with energy.

"This is where the excursion team is meeting, yes?" Latia said steadily, an eyebrow slightly raised.

The Island

Sorry for disappearing! Making my entrance now.

Secrets of the Game (Invader Len & ElectricVelvet)

Ella made her way quietly into the bathroom, deciding to make sure no one else was in the stalls before letting her guard down. Something in the air was giving her a bad vibe, and she had no clue what it might have been. A quick but thorough check under all of the stall doors ensured that the girl was alone, and, with a quick sigh of relief, she returned to one of cracked mirrors.

Thankfully, she had brought her makeup bag with her, in her purse. The bags under her eyes were starting to show up through her concealer, and her eyeliner was fading and her eyeshadow was looking oily. Disgusting. The impressive layout she normally used was suppressed to a few little light-beige containers and some perfume. She couldn't afford to contaminate any more of her belongings on the grimy arcade sink.

It wasn't like she was trying to impress Alex. She still pretty much hated him - he smoked, he drank a lot, and he always acted like he knew everything about everything. And he was an asshole - not that she could really bank on that one a whole lot. Rather, Ella had set a certain standard for herself that she wouldn't let fall, and so, that resulted in the frequent trips to the bathroom, which were rarely for what people thought bathrooms to be for.

Some cheering went on outside the bathroom door, muted by the thick wood. Ella assumed someone had beaten some kind of high-score. Then, the cheap little ringing noise of an opening door rung out behind the closed door. It was hard to hear it, but it was quiet enough after the cheering that Ella was sure that someone had left.

Shit...I hope he didn't leave. I need to call Parker on his phone if we're leaving.

The brunette quickly gathered her products, stuffing them haphazardly into her purse before washing her hands and yanking paper towels down from the big plastic dispenser. She used the towels to open the door and quickly discarded them on the floor behind her.

"Hey, Alex, where the hell are you-"

A dark figure leaned against the glass outside, smoke lazily drifting up from in front of his face. Her pace quickened, and she felt the fat guy's eyes burning holes into the back of her head as she pushed her way out into the frigid night air. As she emerged, she tried to look as if she had not just completely panicked.

Secrets of the Game (Invader Len & ElectricVelvet)

Ella, despite Alex's mocking about worms, plopped her chicken down on his plate and started picking at her fries. The fries were, surprisingly, very good and salty. Unlike most vegans, she thoroughly enjoyed the taste of overly greasy food. Weird to some, weirder to others.

"Look. They're all freaking out. Your phone is probably the same. It'll be a quiet day at school, tomorrow.Everyone will be either grounded or hungover. Or both. Probably both. Stupid kids, can't handle their own booze. American beer isn't even strong anyways. Tastes like watered down horse piss. Real beer is supposed to taste like concentrated horse piss."

Ella sighed, swallowing a few more fries. "Damn, you talk a lot. You know, I heard that the people who talk all the time are the people that have the deepest, darkest secrets." She popped another fry into her mouth and looked at Alex in seriousness. However, she quickly stopped, realizing how stupid she must have looked. "Oh, and for the record, I forgot my phone at home. I laugh at your pain, dealing with those idiots who are probably getting maced in the back of a cop car."

The brunette reached into the fry basket once more, only to find a bunch of salt that she quickly wiped onto the empty seat next to her. Ella figured, now that she was done, she would go to the bathroom to see how horrible she had looked for the past four hours.

"Be right back."

Ella hopped out of her stool, quickly striding over to the bathrooms and feeling weirdly vulnerable in the fluorescent, flickering lights of the arcade.

Secrets of the Game (Invader Len & ElectricVelvet)

"Well, mostly the latter, I guess. I had a friend that had to go to prison, and she came back lesbian. We aren't friends anymore." Ella shrugged, following Alex a couple of paces behind him. For some reason, she felt as if the position was appropriate, and that if she decided to match his stride, it would be some kind of challenge.

Briefly, the brunette's thoughts flew to the fact that she hadn't looked in a mirror for at least four hours. The fact kind of terrified her.

Upon hearing of their destination, Ella didn't really know what to think. She had always tagged arcades as 'little nerd-boy' hang outs - places where the geeks like to smoke weed because they think they're cool or where their girlfriends pretended to be 'sexy gamer-girl' types. Needless to say, she was neither surprised or indifferent when the rounded a few corners and a rather shifty building with blinking lights came into view.

The inside was about the same as the outside, and Ella supposed that she should have guessed that it wasn't really an arcade anymore. Alex didn't strike her as the type to take a girl to play video games, no matter how nerdy it was of him to wear shaded glasses everywhere. She was really starting to wonder about them for some reason.

Jumping out of her thoughts, she returned to the present when the fat ass at the counter left and Alex turned to her, all interested like. "Swell guy, don't you think? Probably wants to rip my head off. Hope you like chicken tenders, it's probably the least toxic thing in this place." She didn't even know arcades served food. "Well, it probably won't give you any more salmonella than the cafeteria food does.

"Eh, I'm not really a fan of meat." Ella said with a non-committal shrug. "It's not really about 'saving the whales and being kind to all living things' bullshit like that. It's just...I've been to one too many meat processing plants. I'm kind of scarred for life."

She made her way up to a bar stool, gingerly sitting on the somewhat sticky plastic seating.