Chapter Text
Caitlyn woke up to the worst headache she's had all year - well, that wasn't saying much - considering it was January 1st. The previous year as well, then. Her phone buzzed again and again, the screen lighting up as her phone went crazy with notifications. She did her best to focus her eyes, grabbing around for her glasses on the floor. When she finally managed to put them on one-handed, she saw the last thing she ever wanted to see after a drunk night out.
"CAITLYN KIRAMMAN!!!!!!"
"GET YOUR SORRY ASS HOME BEFORE I SEND SCOTLAND YARD TO DRAG YOU HERE!!!!!!"
"YOU INSOLENT BRAT, GET HERE RIGHT THIS INSTANT."
She didn't bother reading all the texts from her mom, flipping past the 5 missed calls from her and dozens of calls and texts from her father, and clicking on Jayce's icon.
"Dude... how drunk did you get last night..."
"Ooh, your mom's not gonna like this. Shit, the Queens not gonna like this! You're fucked..."
"It was nice knowing you"
"I'll visit you when they exile you to Australia"
"Maybe that hot little piece of ass you bagged last night likes heat and creepy reptiles; pretty sure gay marriage is legal there"
She clicked on the link above and tried not to die of a heart attack as it slowly loaded. A picture of her, completely out of her mind on booze and who knows what else, her hands firmly planted on a perfect round ass clad in tight-studded leather pants as she kneeled on stage, grinning like an idiot, holding onto the singer's legs and screaming along to the lyrics.
Caitlyn wanted to slit her wrists and be done with it.
Her screen lit up again, and she saw Mel's icon come up.
"Caitlyn, honey, are you okay?"
"Call me if you need anything."
Cait threw her phone against the wall, and it bounced off and fell safely on her bed. The screen lit up a second later, and she peeked out from the pillow she'd buried her face in.
It was a private number, London area code.
"Hi"
"Uhh, I assume you saw the news..."
"I think we should talk."
Caitlyn made her way through the misty streets, thankful for the opportunity to hide her face with the large scarf and sunglasses as she started her journey to Kensington. She took a seat up top on the bus from the corner of her dead-end street in Paddington for the short ride around Hyde Park to Kensington Palace; well, more like the back entrance. Caitlyn was not stupid enough to believe there were no bloodthirsty paparazzi waiting for her at the door, however many brain cells she'd killed last night.
She took a seat up top on the bus from the corner of her street in Paddington, a place caught between its Victorian past and contemporary reimagining. Her apartment sat in one of the newer developments near the Grand Union Canal, where restored industrial buildings stood alongside sleek glass-fronted apartments - a bridge between historical London and its evolving present. Caitlyn had the growing feeling that the neighborhood caught between worlds, time periods- its Victorian origins and tech future was the perfect backdrop for her first flat- even if she would have chosen something way further from her mom's watchful eye.
The bus wound its way past Paddington Station. She could see the mix of commuters and tech workers, international students and local residents, all compressed into this geographical microcosm, a simmering pot of cultural contradictions.
That wasn't the point right now. Caitlyn was here on a mission. Appease her mother enough to survive to her next meeting with Vi. She got off the bus, enjoying the last moments of calm before the storm - she tiptoed her way to the door and slipped inside before any of the vultures got her picture.
"Caitlyn!" Her mother was fuming, her hands planted on her hips, and glaring menacingly at her only daughter. Cait tried making herself small against the door - no luck. Her mother took a couple of steps towards her, high heels clicking on the marble.
"You will be the death of me, you stupid, stupid child!" She looked angry enough to strike her, but she turned away, mumbling under her breath.
"What were you thinking, Caitlyn?" Her father, always the mediator between mother and daughter, took a lighter tone with her, pulling her into the house and helping her put away her clothes and boots before leading her to the tea room, where the good china was set on the table. The good china was never a good sign; it meant mother expected company.
She let her father lead her to the couch gently, like he was afraid she might run away at any moment.
"What happened, love?" Her father squeezed her hand in encouragement.
"I... can't really remember much..."
"How did I give birth to such a mentally impaired child? Me! I was the youngest doctorate in law at Oxford! This is a cruel trick of the Lord! My only child is a perverted lesbian who pollutes her body with poison!" Her mother only discovered God when Caitlyn did something wrong, which did happen increasingly often as of late.
Caitlyn wanted to puke all over her colourful rug, but she was pretty sure filicide would end the monarchy for good.
"Come on, Mum, it'll blow over in a few days. It's one picture - there's no nudity, no drugs or alcohol, just an excited drunk fan..."
A vein throbbed in her mother's forehead so hard she was afraid it might still end with somebody bursting an artery as she extended her arm demandingly to her father.
"Tobias." He handed her an iPad a second later, and she shoved it in Cait's face. There were foggy pictures taken through a car window. Caitlyn and her celebrity crush were in various states of undress in the backseat. You could discern shadows through the fogged-up windows, though not much else. With how her luck was doing, she doubted it got better.
The next picture was the girl, Vi, with her hand flat on the window - she'd planted her palm onto the glass before it slipped down, leaving a large enough gap in the fog to discern the two shapes locked in carnal embrace in the best resolution smartphones had to offer.
Caitlyn was sucking a pierced nipple into her mouth, eyes locked with Vi's as she was captured in an open-mouthed moan. Next, Vi's hands, cold from the glass—she remembered—were twisting her hard nipples and dragging her head back by the hair, leaving sloppy kisses that had bruised overnight. Caitlyn couldn't look anymore - she threw the tablet on the couch next to her and sighed, burying her head on her hands.
She looked up through her fingers at her mum. "This is bad... Did Grandma-"
"She is the Queen to you, you little degenerate! A month before your debutante ball! You couldn't have chosen a worse moment!" Her mom was about to poke out her eye with her sharp fingernail when the doorbell rang.
The usher announced Lord Sallo, who walked in looking grim, so exactly the same as usual. She's always butted heads with Sallo - she found him disingenuous, a snake who liked to whisper into people's ears. It was open knowledge at court.
"Lord Sallo, please, sit."
Caitlyn knew this was an embarrassment for the whole family, more like the nation, but she was getting sick of people acting like she'd killed somebody.
"Happy New Year, Princess, my Prince. Caitlyn." He nodded his head politely at her parents in turn before giving her a cold look. "I will not sugarcoat it - this is not good. But it is an opportunity to endear the royal family to the young population and LGBTQ community. Caitlyn could be the first out gay person in royal history."
Her mother looked green in the face. Putting up with her daughter's queer proclivities and taste in women was one thing, but coming out to the whole world, with that disturbing-sounding and looking person no less, over her dead body.
"No."
"What?"
"My daughter has made enough of a spectacle of herself - it is time to focus on her debut and twentieth birthday."
"With respect, Princess, we will not be holding Caitlyn's ball this year." Sallo looked to be bracing himself for her mother's wrath.
"What? I will have words with my mother about this - be sure of it! She should have had her ball when she turned eighteen, like all respectable ladies! Gallivanting around the world being promiscuous, Christ, how did I allow such a renegade to grow under my roof?"
"Do not despair, Princess - your daughter will have the sympathy of the young public, endearing her to her future subjects..."
"What of that girl?" Her mother had that bloodcurdling sneer on her face.
"Ah yes. I'm told she is called Violet - she is a native of south London and seems to be some sort of underground musical artist. As far as we could tell, she had nothing to do with the scandal, but there is always the possibility she orchestrated a publicity stunt. We have people looking into her for more information."
"You cannot think Vi had anything to do with this. It was a concert, and I was drunk and onstage - of course people took pictures."
"Don't remind me..." Both her parents looked ten years older, and Cait felt the first tendrils of shame fill her chest - she was pretty good about not giving a fuck, ever since she'd set aside her straight-A student persona and indulged a little bit in life's pleasures.
She had been so focused on her A levels and getting into a good university that she'd never even dated in high school - she'd had her first kiss at seventeen. It took her ages to figure out she was gay - she just thought everybody loved women - how could they not? So, when she'd finally started university and tasted her first hint of freedom, she dove headfirst into a pile of soft bodies, hard liquor, and raving culture and hadn't looked back yet.
"I hope we don't have to spell it out for you that you are never to see this Vi girl again." Sallo looked like he wanted to protest her mother's decree, but he held his tongue.
Caitlyn was going to be meeting her for coffee when she was done with this fiasco, but what her mother didn't know couldn't hurt her - she nodded her head obediently - her mum looked suspicious, but she didn't voice her thoughts.
"I feel terrible. Can I be dismissed?" Her mum waved her along with a tired look, getting back to her planning with Sallo.
Caitlyn took the tablet with her into her childhood bedroom, flopping backwards onto the bed and picking up where she left off.
Without her parents looking over her shoulder, she could appreciate how insanely hot the girl who'd been squirming in Cait's lap just the other night was. Tattooed skin, pink and black hair shaved down one side, on the other side it fell in feathery strands over her face. She had the most beautiful, heart-shaped face, sharp jawline, and supple cheekbones that Cait could still feel under her fingertips if she thought hard enough about it.
She closed her eyes, picturing the way she had looked the other night.
The most perfect smile she could picture, the slit eyebrows, pierced aquiline nose, and... Cait thought of her plump, shapely lips and icy blue eyes that had hypnotised her before they'd even exchanged words. She had smelled of cigarette smoke and faint, musky-sweet perfume in the car - she recalled.
Caitlyn was down bad - she wanted her. Letting out a needy breath and pressing her hand into the purple bruise on her collar, she wondered how exactly she had gotten to this point so fast - Caitlyn was not a romantic. The shame pulling at her was robbing her of this moment, but she wouldn't let it ruin what was coming - she decided. If there was one person she could see herself dating...
She wanted to fuck Vi till Buckingham Palace heard her screaming her name, sure - but more than anything, she wanted to be near her, bask in her light and bright presence, map the freckles and tattoos with her lips and fingertips - and watch her sleep and sing and breathe and exist.
There was something so familiar about her that Caitlyn just couldn't place. It was driving her insane - she pressed her palms to her forehead trying to quiet the pounding in her head.
Through the headache and confusion, one thing became clear - if she was going to risk everything, to finally live truthfully instead of being pushed toward some suitable man, it might as well be for the most perfect creature she'd ever laid eyes upon.
Maybe Sallo's half-baked plan wasn't such a bad idea after all. They would get there inevitably in the end.
Princess Caitlyn Kiramman was a lady, born and bred with the finest manners English society had to offer and schooled at the best universities and private schools in Europe. Normally, she was punctual and precise, with an eye for detail even her mother envied. Today was not a normal day.
Caitlyn had gotten to the crowded coffee shop an hour early; she'd wanted to pace around Hyde Park in hopes the cold fresh air would settle her stomach, but she'd jumped on the first bus that passed her by as soon as she saw the hyenas with their cameras waiting for her outside Kensington Palace. She had bought a pack of smokes from the corner store, along with a couple of salted crackers she was forcing herself to eat to quiet the rumbling; thankfully, she was back to hiding behind her scarf and glasses again, comfortably anonymous.
She had gotten there early anyway; not an hour early, but Vi was not the punctual sort of person, it seemed; she'd waited an additional half an hour before the rough tones of her South London accent cut through the chatter in her head. She was on her third espresso; she'd ordered two when she'd gotten there, along with foamed milk on the side in case Vi liked that, then she'd barely held herself back from ordering half the snacks and pastries on the menu. She'd drunk Vi's coffee before the first half hour ticked by, and she was on her third when the chair in front of her screeched unceremoniously on the floor and a figure sank into the chair in front of her.
"It is bloody cold out there today" She shivered. "Sorry I'm late; I got one of those wicked hangovers I just can't shake." She finally stopped removing the layers of clothing and looked at Caitlyn. "Hey, Cupcake, you all right?"
Caitlyn looked bad, she knew, but as soon as her eyes landed on Vi, she forgot all about her problems. Despite claiming to be hungover, Vi looked rather fresh; her black makeup was smeared all around her eyes, and her hair was messed up and stunk of cigarettes, but her pale skin was smooth and healthy looking, like she'd just gotten back from a relaxing week in Italy.
The waiter put down a second espresso with foam on the side on the table next to Vi, unprompted, and winked at her. Caitlyn blushed and turned her head; if he could feel her desperation, then Vi could smell it miles away.
"Thanks', mate." If Vi did feel it, she didn't show it. She assembled her cappuccino and sipped on it; a foamy milk moustache formed above her upper lip, and she peeked the tip of her tongue licking it away. Caitlyn needed a wall to bang her head against, pronto.
"Hi. Um... It's good to see you." She wanted to kick herself. It's good to see you?? How you been since I last saw you in the back of that car last night? By the way, did you see those dirty pictures of us plastered all over every newspaper stand in the UK? " I'm so sorry you're caught up in this..." She sighed and seemed to deflate.
"Caitlyn, you don't know me that well yet, but you'll find I'm completely unable to give a single fuck." Vi was pressing her fingers to the table, meeting her gaze, and Caitlyn forgot how to speak English. Her brain was only capable of playing love songs on a loop with wedding bells ringing in the background; she dug her nails hard into her palms to make sure she wasn't dreaming.
"I hope you don't think I had anything to do with this... Our album did kinda explode overnight..."
"Of course not! You wouldn't do that!" Caitlyn felt sure about this; maybe she was being a naive young girl, starstruck by a crush, but she was willing to risk it.
Vi smiled and looked at her with surprise etched onto her pretty face. She'd almost turned her phone off and buried herself into her pillows, but she was glad she'd come out. For all the pomp and pretense of her station, Caitlyn was nothing like she'd imagined a princess would be like; direct and assertive about what she wanted, completely unconcerned with the disapproval of those around her, and so, soo gay. It's the 2020s; nothing surprised her anymore.
"I think I like you, Princess." Caitlyn blushed the prettiest shade of pink Vi had ever seen; she was hooked.
Vi had been hooked on Caitlyn ever since they'd first met when they were 13 years old, then again when they were 18. She was not a stalker, but for whatever reason, she kept running into the most eligible bachelorette in the UK, maybe Europe. It was hard not to notice her, to Vi's defense; she towered over most people at six feet, on slender supermodel legs that she really wished to bury her face between someday, and the pin-straight, silky hair and delicate features sure helped. Vi wanted to drown in her deep blue eyes.
She really doubted Caitlyn remembered any of that. If she'd been at least as drunk as Vi, she probably hardly remembered last night, and Vi had been performing, not out having fun, for the first half of the night at least.
She'd thought her drink had been spiked when Princess Caitlyn Kiramman walked into her dingy basement concert with her friend in tow, looking tipsy and jovial, knocking back shots she got offered left and right. Vi had taken the emergency bottle of scotch her drummer kept hidden behind his instruments and knocked back a few; if singing in front of an audience, however small, was nerve-wracking, singing in front of her lifelong crush was going to be the death of her.
Their guitarist held up his hand, signalling they were going on in five. She took another swig and hid the bottle back in its place, crouching behind the drums and doing her best not to run with her tail tucked between her legs.
"Hey, kid, you all right?" Loris was staring down at her as she tried to keep her breathing even, "Since when do you get stage fright?"
"I don't. I thought I saw somebody - it's nothing."
Loris handed her his own open flask, and she gulped down the burning booze and let it coat her insides. She huffed and shook her head as she felt her head growing a bit fuzzier, taking the edge off already.
She took her place onstage and hung her base around her neck, tuning the instrument properly; she was pulled out of her musing by an approaching figure. Caitlyn had noticed her, and she wasn't looking away; her eyes were locked on Vi, and for a moment she felt exactly like the prey she screamed she wasn't in her music. Her dream girl was leaning her head in her hand, resting it on the amplifiers at the base of the stage and staring intently straight at her, playing with the straw of her drink with the other hand; she smirked, and Vi felt her whole face catch fire.
"Hi."
"Hi..." Vi was at a loss for words; thankfully her guitarist called for the first song, and the lights dimmed and focused on Vi as she stood like a deer frozen in headlights. She slipped into her onstage persona like it was a well-worn glove.
"Welcome to the dirtiest crack in this corner of London, lovely ladies and ugly fucks! We're here tonight to curdle and boil your blood with the grimiest, most disgusting-sounding sewer trash music you'll ever have the displeasure to hear! Put your filthy hands together foooor Zaun!" She got too close to the mike, and ugly screeching rang in everybody's ears; Vi loved starting off her shows with the most antisocial behaviour she could muster; it normally weeded out the audience members she didn't want there.
She turned her back on the small crowd as Loris began playing his keyboard and the synthesizer, and the prominent, slow beat started filling the room. Viktor began providing the backing vocals to the song L.E.E.C.H.E.S. on their spanking new album Sewerstar, and Vi waited for the right moment to begin singing her lyrics. Viktor's porpousely low, growly voice rang out.
"What makes you think you're necessary
This swamp is only temporary
What do you want from me this end?
We'll just fight and fuck and suck"
Vi put the microphone to her lips, taking a deep breath before she began.
"L-E-E-C-H-E-S
I feel you slipping up my dress
L-E-E-C-H-E-S
It hurts so good
I feel so blessed"
Her breathy voice cut the momentary silence, and she turned back around to face the audience, her eyes immediately meeting Caitlyn's as she danced in the front row. Viktor ran his fingers over the strings with practiced ease, and Vi kept the rhythm on her base as the keys and the drums melded together in something Vi had a hard time expressing in words. His voice cut back in.
"What makes you think you're so damn special
Your daddy hates you and himself
I think you'd feel good on my threshold
I think you'd look good on my shelf
Vi waited to back him up halfway through, adding softer tones to the mix.
I'm fiending just to swill and choke
Disperse your venom in my throat
And if I die alone, my friend
We'll just fight and fuck and suck again
Oh"
Caitlyn's friend had pushed his way from the bar, where he had been chatting up a shapely blonde, to the front of the stage, right by her side, as he used his unfair height advantage to push in front of Cait, arms extended towards the skinny guitarist singing into the microphone. Viktor extended his own thin arm, fingers splayed, as he reached out towards Jayce, slipping a worn-out guitar pick into his hand and brushing their fingers for a moment. Time stopped for Jayce as their skin touched, and his vision tunnelled around the floppy brown hair and razor-sharp cheekbones, and those warm brown eyes...
Caitlyn jabbed him in the ribs, taking her rightful place back as Vi was starting her verse again.
"L-E-E-C-H-E-S
I feel you slipping up my dress
L-E-E-C-H-E-S
It hurts so good I feel so blessed
L-E-E-C-H-E-S
No wonder you are so obsessed
L-E-E-C-H-E-S
Why thank you baby you're the best"
Vi gasped and wheezed in between words, letting out breathy moans into the mic. They joined their voices for the chorus, and the feminine light tones of her voice met with Viktor's rough ones. She took a step towards him on the tiny stage and leaned her back against his own as they worked the strings and sang.
"L-E-E-C-H-E-S
I feel you slipping up my dress
L-E-E-C-H-E-S
It hurts so good I feel so blessed
L-E-E-C-H-E-S
No wonder you are so obsessed
L-E-E-C-H-E-S
Why thank you baby you're the best"
She let out the last few little gasps as the instruments took over and faded out one by one.
A few cheers rang out, none as boisterous as the two drunk posh kids elbowing each other to get closer.
The deceivingly calm first few keys of Innapropriate took over, and as the simple electronic beat started. Vi giggled into the mic, taking her place back in the centre of the stage.
"I've had a funckin' nough of this!" She sneered and looked the crowd up and down, inhaling their energy.
"I've seen many faces
And I've made many jobs
And this might sound complacent
But my income never drops
And you've got something 'bout you
I see stars inside your name
I've been many places, darling
So let me pick your brain"
Her eyes found Caitlyn's as she wrapped her lips around the sound of 'you', and she smiled mischeviously, like they'd just shared a thought; Vi couldn't keep herself from smiling back.
"Why you so loud? Might wanna shut up
Just tone it down, no need to make fuss
What's with the frown? Why you so serious?
If you want it this bad then shush"
"You're inappropriate
You're inappropriate
We can't associate
If you're inappropriate, so what you got to show for it, uh"
She sat down on the amplifier, leaning on one elbow and trying to find anybody else other than the literal princess in the audience. She spun her feet over the amps and shoved her boot in Jayce's face as she sang the next verse. He gripped her ankle and licked the shiny leather up to her skin, and she flipped backwards and over onto the stage with a whoop.
"Whoo! Watch out for this one - he's a freak." But her eyes met Cait's as she ended her sentence. She resumed her singing, gaze still frozen on her.
"I've seen many facesAnd I've met many boys like you
And you're not any different if you
Protest that I make noise, are you?
'Cause you don't fucking know mе, do you?
Don't act like we're thе same (Not the same)
I've been many places, darling
So let me just explain"
The original backup vocals on this track were Powder, but Viktor took them up when she'd suddenly quit and cut them off for a month, almost half a year ago now. He made the most spine-tingling sounds when he wanted to.
"Oh no, I'm not about to shut up (Oh no I'm not, shut up)
I bet you thought I would be quiet (I bet you thought, quiet)
Think you forgot who you can interrupt
Ain't gonna suck nobody's dick, so buddy giddy up 'cause"
"I'm inappropriate
I'm inappropriate
I'm fuckin' known for it
I'm inappropriate and I got lots to show for it, uh
I'm inappropriate (I'm inappropriate)
I'm inappropriate (I'm inappropriate)
I'm fuckin' known for it (I'm fuckin' known for it)
If you're inappropriate then what you got to show for it? (Ahh!)"
She dropped to the dusty stage and performed a perfect backbend as she sang, looking at the audience upside down.
"I'm making these Kens act shitty cos I'm dominant"
She made her voice sound high-pitched like a squeaky toy.
"He musta misread 'cause he thought he bought a barbie doll
But this one's possessed, silly twat, I'll fucking haunt you all
Have you heard from your mummy lately?
Does she know that her son is sucking my feet?"
Their vocals were devolving into chaos along with the instruments, and she got up and whipped her head around to one side, her hair flying in her face, and she inhaled and exhaled exaggeratedly as she gasped into the mic.
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha, hot
(Woof)
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, hot, hot
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, hot
(Huh?)"
The song faded out, and she took a long swig of her water bottle as she took off the base and two-headed wolf jacket, leaving her in a skimpy wrapped tube top that had seen better days. She was glad she'd at least shaved tonight. Viktor looked almost happy as he fussed with the amps, which was unusual. He was sneaking glances at the two Tories almost climbing atop the stage at this point. She had her own problems right now...
Vi made her way to the drums and held her hand out demandingly to the drummer they hired for shows lately. The skinny amphibian-looking guy handed her the bottle of scotch, and she gulped down the burning liquid, having burnt up her tipsiness on the last two songs; he took a healthy swig as well and put the open bottle away before calling attention to the next song with a rap of his sticks onto the cymbals.
Vi turned around, sticking to the back of their space as she waited for her turn. She grabbed the dirty, beat-up baseball bat from behind the drums and hid it behind one leg, feeling the sharp nails piercing it throughout poke her leg through the tight leather.
"Bold of you to think that I won't eat you alive"
She growled like a sewer troll into the mic, before reverting to her usual sound.
"Kinda creepy, kinda ugly
Alligator, but I'm fluffy like a bunny"
She took one step, pushing her hip out to one side.
"I see the big picture
And, no, you don't fit, sir
"I haven't done shit, sir," ooh"
"You think you too slick? I understand
You talking big shit, I'm such a fan, well
I got a big dick and dirty mouth
Spit your blood into my cup and then I'll gulp you down"
She skipped twice on the tiny stage, rested her foot on the amplifiers, and placed the bat across her shoulder as the keyboard and audience cheered her on.
"So when you see my face, remember to run
And when you hear my name, go load up your gun
You should be scared of me, son"
She dragged her words out and laughed.
"Oh, you so candid, oh, you so witty
Oh, you manipulating fans in different cities?
"He wouldn't do that, B, he too damn pretty"
I was twenty when his fingers brushed across my little titties, see?"
She ran her hand over her breasts, calling attention to the bars in her nipples. Caitlyn looked transfixed - it was starting to go to her head to have the princess look at her like that - like she wanted her - especially so openly.
See, these men they got money
Don't matter, won't stop me
Can't let you abuse it if you don't know how to usе it"
Viktor backed her up with occasional growls and guitar riffs, but his voice sounded off trying to imitate Powder's softer one, though he sounded just as deranged as her cackling. He soon reverted to his baritone.
"So when you see my face, remеmber to run
And when you hear my name, go load up your gun
You should be scared of me, son
I got receipts stuffed up my sleeves
So fat, they shatter your solicitor's spine
And when they break the news, your mum gonna cry?"
Viktor cried, high-pitched, into the mic.
"You should be scared of me, son
Run (Yeah)"
He growled as she screamed, her voice low. The slow beat held the next verse together.
If big boy wanna step to me, then he can do it quietly
If fucker needs an answer, tell him I got a variety
You want me to be nicer, but I'm angry justifiably
Public about the things that these fuckers get up to privately
"Just deal with it silently, baby, aren't you grown up?"
Well, undeniably, but I still gonna fuck shit up
I might encounter some rivalry and a couple of bugs
But compliancy's too vanilla, mummy likes it rough"
She roared like a dragon as the elongated word left her lips, jumping up onto the amps and throwing her base onto her back leaning fully into the manic energy of the verse.
These boys, they don't know how to act
That's why I got a baseball bat'"
She leaned back, showing off her weapon to the crowd.
I fantasise about their brains exploding on my welcome mat
Spit my blood into my cup and then I'll gulp you down"
She used her bat to mimic a rifle being cocked along with the sound in the back, taking aim at some guy in the back and firing.
"So when you see my face, remember to run
And when you hear my name, go load up your gun
You should be scared of me, son"
Demonic cackling left Vik's lips as he gripped the mic with both hands and leaned against it.
"I got receipts stuffed up my sleeves
So fat, they shatter your solicitor's spine
And when they break the news, your mum gonna cry
You should be scared of me, son (Run)
She cackled like a madwoman into the mic, her leg slipping when she tried to step down - she stumbled and caught herself, still laughing.
"You know what you've done."
"All right, folks, we'll see you in 15." Viktor called out to the wired crowd. The people started dispersing except for the two lost puppies hanging onto the stage, as the pub's usual music cut back in. 'Shut up and drive" started playing. She thought it was fitting.
"What's your name, love?" She called to the girl whose name she totally knew; she had been doodling their names onto her journal since she was 13, though she totally didn't do that anymore.
"I'm... Cait... You're Vi! I love your band." Her face seemed to change into the definition of embarrassment in a second. She liked this new dynamic, however unexpected it was.
"Can you sing?"
"Me? Oh.. no. I can play the piano a bit."
"I bet you can totally sing." Vi hopped down from the stage and made her way over to the bar, signalling the bartender to prepare two drinks. She took a seat in the dingy stool and placed a thin straw in between her teeth as Caitlyn came up to her, still unsure. She handed her the frosty glass, and their fingers brushed for a moment as the vodka tonic passed hands. Vi sipped her own drink and stared intently, curious at how far she could push this.
Caitlyn blushed a pretty pink on top of the redness from the cold, and Vi smiled. She could practically feel the way her neck flushed.
"I know who you are."
"Shhhhh!" She drew close and rounded her shoulders as she pressed her index finger to her own lips.
"Relax - anybody is welcome round here." She threw her arm over her legs and leaned forward, reducing the distance between them to a couple of inches. "So, should I ask what the heir is doing here on New Year's Eve at 2 am?"
"My Mum is the heir..." She grumbled under her breath and looked away; it was clearly a sore spot. "I just had enough of fancy dinners and cocktail parties. I wanted to let loose a bit..."
"Hm, boy, have you chosen the right place for that." She gave Cait her wickedest smile as she clinked their glasses together and drank deep. It got quiet enough for Vi to discern the lyrics for a moment.
"I've got class like a '57 Cadillac
Got overdrive with a whole lot of boom in the back
You look like you can handle what's under my hood
You keep sayin' that you will, boy, I wish you would"
"Your friend sure seems to be having fun." She sloshed her glass Jayce's way, who seemed to have made his way backstage and was laughing along with a very monotone-looking Viktor's story. "Don't worry, Vik's harmless."
"It's not Jayce I'm worried about..." She was mostly worried for herself; it was looking more and more like she was going to be taking a tumble down a very pretty-looking ravine, though Jayce and his new target were not faring much better. She had a feeling they were going to become well acquainted with the members of Zaun soon enough and intense deja vu kept pestering her. Now that they were having a conversation with actual words, Cait felt the familiarity like a sneeze she couldn't shake; she was left even more socially inept than before.
"Hey, get over here! I'm buying!" Jayce made his way over, dragging Viktor by the shoulders. He ordered four shots of golden tequila. The barman looked confused and disappeared to the back for a minute, returning with a dusty bottle of agave-infused liquor and popping it open to pour their shots in one fell swoop, placing wedges of lime on the rim of each glass with practiced ease.
Jayce grabbed the four shots in his large hands, pushing one into Viktor's hands and offering the other two to the girls. Cait almost didn't wait for the toast before she downed her shot.
"HAPPY NEW YEAR! To friendships and a better year than the last, cause that one sucked!" Jayce was hugging Vik to his side by the shoulder as he drank in one large gulp; they turned around to catch the barman's attention.
Vi downed her shot and crinkled her nose as she sucked on the lime wedge. Cait forgot about hers; it was somewhere on the ground at this point.
"What's your New Year's wish?"
To fuck you bent over my desk, yours?
"I can't say. It won't come true..." Some of the sinful thoughts must have slipped into her smile, because the look Vi gave her next was just as lustful. Jayce shoved another two shots into their faces and they obliged, swallowing the warm liquor and sucking on the limes. Cat snuck a peek at her, and looked away when she was caught, embarrassed enough to sink into the floor.
"I just wish they'd confirm or call off our European tour." She scoffed." You'd think they don't actually wanna send us on tour..."
I could fix that. Cait could move mountains when she wanted to. She bit her tongue; coming off as a crazed fan was not her objective tonight.
Loris called from the stage on the other side of the room.
"Vi! Vik! Two minutes."
"Gotta go, Caitlyn. It was nice meeting you." She threw her arm around Vik as he passed and did her best not to look back at her and smirk. Since when was she so cool?
The crush-like behaviour was giving Vi an unhealthy ego boost as she climbed back atop the stage. She called for Cocktail Molotov, shoving her newest song into the preestablished setlist. Loris grumbled at her and turned a couple of switches, and she looked around at the band, assuring herself they got it.
Breaking their own rules was something Vi did a lot, too much in some people's in their opinion - she couldn't help making an entrance, disrupting the established power dynamics with her chaos, that was just who she was - she was certain it was an addictive experience she would just waste away without.
Viktor broke the silence with an aggressive guitar riff, and Vi took her base and hung it around her bare shoulder, placing the mike on its stand as she readied herself to grate her fingers onto the ridged metal strings. The base and drums soon joined in with the guitar.
"Get your filthy eyeballs on me
What else am I wasting for?
Feed me all your woes and pity
I am nothing anymore (Don't trip)
I'm at the bottom, it's a long way down (Don't slip)
I'm on the bend, and it's a long way 'round (I'm sick)
Of who I am and what I'm talking about
'Cause no pretty face can save me now"
She wiggled her finger in Caitlyn's face, moving it side to side, and her face split into a toothy grin.
"So lock me up, I cannot take it
Lock me up, I've already lost
Lock me up, I've gone and Jinxed it
Hold my cocktail Molotov"
Vik took over in a low growl.
Lock me up, I cannot take it
Lock me up, I've already lost
Lock me up, I've gone and jinxed it
Hold my Cocktail Molotov"
Vi screamed into the microphone and ran her fingers up and down the base, throwing her foot onto the amp and leaning on it in a lunge.
"Kick me till I'm cold and weary
Stab my heart and hope to die
Writing my obituary
Might as well just bury me alivе!
I'm in the grave, I'm in the undеrground (I try)
To beat my demons, but I only drown (I cry)
For all the reasons that I'm talking about
'Cause I'm down and out, I'm down and out!"
She whipped the base around her body once and caught it again.
So lock me up, I cannot take it
Lock me up, I've already lost
Lock me up, I've gone and Jinxed it
Hold my cocktail Molotov."
Their voices alternated as they took turns singing the verse.
Lock me up, I cannot take it
Lock me up, I've already lost
Lock me up, I've gone and jinxed it
Hold my cocktail Molotov
Lock me up, I cannot take it
Lock me up, I've already lost
Lock me up, I've gone and jinxed it
Hold my cocktail Molotov
Vik could feel the infectious, explosive energy emanating off of her in droves - the crowd was eating it up, giving back twice as much as they got as she sang her heart out to them. Vik could feel it in his veins, imbuing him with the kind of reserves of fiery power he'd never known he would possess.
Lock me up, I cannot take it
Lock me up, I've already lost
Caitlyn felt downright possessed as she looked on transfixed by the raw anarchic presence. She had never seen anything hotter in her life as she leaned she was leaning the upper part of her body up against the stage, to the side of the amps, now closer to the band than before. The mix of allure and danger was starting to get close to being her favourite thing. The last few lines were ringing out endlessly in her ears in a way that made her sure she would have burst eardrums by the morning but that was the last thing on her mind.
Lock me up, I cannot take it
Lock me up, I've already lost
Their eyes met for a brief moment as Vi looked up just before the end rang out, and there was something electric and dark in her eyes that made Caitlyn feel naked under her gaze in every possible sense.
Hold my cocktail Molotov!
Hold my cocktail Molotov!
Hold my cocktail Molotov!"
A final beat of the drum called the song to an end, and Vi panted, exhausted but happy with herself. The crowd had come back twice as big and rowdy, mumbling along to the lyrics. She hadn't planned on debuting the song yet, but she could hardly think of a better opportunity; they'd been sitting on it for months.
The alien sounds of Religion snuck in, and Victor leaned into his mike and opened the song for her in a high-pitched, baby voice, smirking at her the whole time.
" Jeez, man, that's a big strap! Haha!"
Vi knew this was her moment to shine. She kept her voice small and seductive.
"My angel's most polite when I am on my knees, yeah
And I am even nicer when she asks me please, ooh
Doesn't make me pray too long
Till she's dancing on my tongue
And when she's done she shows me how she got them wings"
She slowly crouched closer to Cait until her knees hit the amplifiers, and she bent further down to bring her face closer to her. Caitlyn's face was slowly morphing from euphoric happiness to something deeper like she was coming to a slow understanding as she let herself be hypnotised. Jayce shouted something in her ear but she didn't even bother, his presence felt like a speck of dust next to hers.
"She looks just like a god, baby call me Catholic.
She fucks just like a god; cuff it up; I'm yours.
Can't find a single flaw; I think she's holographic.
Keep stringing me along.
I need no religion.
When you fuck it like a god."
She let out soft little moans in between the verses, and Vik repeated her words back.
"Oh, Gabriel can't decide if I'm a friend or a foe.
(They're not even together, though.)
And she said, "I don't think he even tries to make me curl my toes."
Think you're big and tough, Daddy?
That's what she's been calling me.
Go wash your balls before you tell me what I already know.
I'm homo."
She turned her face into a sneer as she told Archangel Gabriel to go wash his balls then spun once on the balls of her feet, lifting her arms up into the air as she removed her base, resting it against the keyboard.
"It's because she fucks just like a god, baby, call me Catholic.
She looks just like a god; cuff it up; I'm yours.
I got to pray for more; she said she's telepathic.
Keep stringing me along.
I need no religion.
When you fuck it like a"
She leaned back and rested her arm against her hipbone, legs spread, eyes boring into Cait's soul, and she felt electricity shoot up her spine.
"You fuck it like a god.
You fuck it like a god."
[Metal instrumental]
(screams)
(cackles)
She alternated between roaring and singing as she dropped hard to her knees onto the amplifiers, winding her body and making hellish noises, before she bent down to give Cait a peck on the lips, sticking her ass up into the air for a second as she gripped her chin. She shot back to her feet, and the other girl grabbed her wrist - Vi pulled her up onto the stage next to her, and she lifted herself and sat with her legs over the side, looking up at Vi like she'd hung the moon.
She devolved into demonic growling and cackling, and Vik took a step closer to them to scream into the mike.
Vi was bending down, her body shaking with the force of the sounds leaving her throat - she would be hoarse by morning, but she didn't care. She looked up through the sweaty strands of her hair to see Caitlyn turning her body 180 degrees to stare at her. She came back, resting her hand on Cait's head, over her silky hair.
She giggled - it was not part of the song.
(She fucks just like a god.)
Not to be too dramatic, miss
(She fucks just like a god.)
That angel puss is galactic shit.
(She fucks just like a god.)
Psychopathic, pornographic,
Both angelic and satanic
But I gotta fucking have it.
You fuck just like a god!"
Cait threw her long arms around Vi's legs, pulling herself up onto her knees and planting her spread fingers onto her ass cheeks, venerating her like the goddess she was. Looking back, she thinks she felt the camera flash in her face in that moment, but she wouldn't give it back for the world. She'd been so worried about the thorn in her foot she'd stepped into a beartrap.
(screams & shrieks)
Vi felt disorientated, she'd used all her oxygen for her lungs and had none left for her brain, her vision tunelled towards the ceiling as she felt faint and caught herself on her mike stand; Cait's parted lips were her only focus right now. Her thoat was raw and scratchy, but she felt light and warm inside.
(laughs) "Uh oh, Gabe wants to suck my dick."