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Alex couldn’t help but giggle as she saw her friend lap up the mountain of whipped cream she had placed upon her drink. Every time whipped cream was on a drink it was like Ruby turned into a kitten, lapping it up before licking off her dairy based mustache. The thought had crossed her mind a few times to order a pair of cat ears for her but she knew in the end those ears would merely wind up atop her own head. But all thoughts were put aside when she saw Ruby's smile, the clear enjoyment in her eyes making Alex beam with pride. 

 Bartending brought her joy as it made others smile. The cheer that lit up their eyes whenever she thought of a new concoction made her heart warm. It brought her the same joy as singing did, though unlike her bartending for some reason Alex had never considered herself anything other than above average. Others told her she was exceptional, that she could sign a record deal with a voice like hers, but she could never believe it. Perhaps that stemmed from the letter she had been given a few years ago. Maria and Tom Montague, these were the names of her birth parents. Upon her 18th birthday her parents gave her a letter that had been left for her for this very day. 

It was clear they had loved her… So why had they given her up? It wasn’t hard to figure that out as it seemed her parents had been in a rock band together. Maria had been the lead singer while Tom had been the drummer, their band had been called Undead Symphony. Years of partying had led the band to be known for their reckless abandon and general chaos, but one day her mother and father had just disappeared. 

Article upon article had documented their disappearance, no one knew where they had gone or if they were still alive. In the end though they were found, though the circumstances were far from ideal. The last articles she had found detailed their grizzly murder, how they had been involved in a train accident though they had been dead long before they had even gotten into the car. Their bodies slashed to bits, drained of their blood before they had been loaded into their car and driven onto the train tracks. The only way the two had even been identified was because both Tom and Maria had their names tattooed onto one another. 

But it was clear as soon as Alex had found their albums that she had come from two musically gifted individuals. After that though Alex had built up a wall between how she truly sounded and what she thought she sounded like. She continued to sing since it brought others joy but each note that rolled off her tongue sounded slightly off, each syllable wasn’t as crisp as her mothers were. She was too raspy, too soft, too loud, too breathy, too nasally, too- there were a million different reasons she couldn’t think of herself as a good singer. 

It kept her in a state of constant disappointment in herself, that she would never live up to her parents legacy. But she couldn’t share that with Ruby or her parents, she didn’t want them to worry. She only wanted to show them the bright parts of herself, the shining part of herself that she felt like right in this moment. 

“You had me at ‘revenge outfits!’ It’s about time you got something nice for yourself!”

Alex couldn't help but chuckle, knowing that her bestie was probably right on this one. It had been at least a year since she had updated her wardrobe, though she reckoned it had probably been far longer than that. But in her eyes if something fit and it didn't have unintentionally placed holes in it, it was still a good article of clothing to wear. But some of her clothes she had patched on numerous occasions… Perhaps it was time to pull out some of her savings for this trip to the mall. 

"Jeez has it really been that long since we last went on a shopping spree together? I guess my savings do reflect that!" Alex said with a laugh as she poured herself a glass of the delicious shake, drinking it down and feeling the light burn trickle down her throat. Sipping on her drink she waved goodbye as a few patrons stumbled their way out, a few older men still nursing their beers as they talked about what golfing range they'd go to the next morning. 

“I’ll have to double check to see if he’s going this weekend. Parker said it’s here all month. If he isn’t, well. Revenge outfit practice run for karaoke night!”

Alex couldn't help but smirk as she heard Parker's name, raising her eyebrows with which she waggled playfully. Of course the gesture was all in good fun but Alex had met the kid a few times, he genuinely seemed kind and had the hots for Ruby too. She wondered if in the end Ruby's rules would break first or if Parker would work elsewhere in order to circumvent her steadfast ultimate rule. Either way, she hoped the two would end up trying it out. They seemed like they'd make a cute couple. 

“Either way, we rule, Tom drools!”

Alex was mid sip when she heard that come from Ruby's mouth, the delicious goodness ending up coming out of her nose as she couldn't help but attempt to laugh. Grabbing the nearest dish rag she cleaned up the mess, her cheeks redder than a tomato as she caught some of the old men chuckling at her. 

"Okay we gotta make a rule that you can't be funny when I'm drinking! But secondly…" 

Alex paused as she looked down to her shirt, realizing there was no way she was going to get the stain out this time. 

"It's been a while since I had any man truly drool over me. Well, any man who's not a sleazeball anyways. Maybe… maybe it's time to get a complete makeover. What do you say Ruby? You want to play Extreme Makeover: Zom edition?" She asked hopefully, both nervous and excited at the mere mention of getting a revamp. After all, it was a big step outside of her comfort zone but maybe it was time for a change. Maybe it'd help her find some inner peace from the turmoil she felt as well.