[INDENT][COLOR=SLATEGRAY][CENTER][sup][sup][h1][center][img] https://media.architecturaldigest.com/photos/672d4a5b823a46b3d7f713e1/16:9/w_2560%2Cc_limit/GettyImages-1867432941.jpg[/img][/center][b][center][color=black] S T . D Y M P H N A ‘ S H O M E[/color] [color=lightgray]S T . D Y M P H N A ‘ S H O M E[/color][/center] [/b][/h1][/sup][/sup] [sup][sup][h1][b][center][color=black] F O R W A Y W A R D Y O U T H S[/color] [color=lightgray]F O R W A Y W A R D Y O U T H S[/color][/center] [/b][/h1][/sup][/sup] [color=silver][sup][i]Joanie[/i][/sup][/color][/CENTER][/color][/INDENT] Curfew had settled over St Dymphna’s, plunging the building into darkness. The house was quiet aside from the echoes of snoring and the normal groans that old houses made. The three of them learnt years ago how to slip out into the night. They had done this enough times to move almost automatically. Joanie eased her window open and climbed out first, her dark hair falling forward as she stepped onto the fire escape. She wore a sheer black top under her denim jacket, a lace bralette underneath protecting her modesty. Mina followed, her maroon dress peeking out beneath a cropped leather jacket, a pushup bra helping her fill out the top. Trey came last, bomber jacket zipped up, breath fogging in the cold. They moved down the metal steps in hushed whispers, avoiding the squeaking step they always avoided. It was a perfected art. Until it wasn’t. A sudden voice above them made all three jolt. “Where are you going?” Franklin had shoved his bedroom window open, his wide reflective eyes blinking down at them. His green tinted skin caught the light, giving him an almost luminous look. He leaned out eagerly, as if eying a prize. The group flinched in unison. Mina gasped, her elbow clipping a plant pot on the landing. It tipped. Joanie reached for it, swearing under her breath as fingers flailed just out of reach. Trey flicked his fingers. A bubble appeared. Then another. Then three more. The pot bounced between them in a chaotic slow tumble before finally settling into one bubble that hovered safely above the metal. Relief flooded over them. Trey exhaled. “I meant to do that.” Mina whispered, “You absolutely did not.” Joanie’s eyes were on them though. Instead she was holding her breath and looking up toward their onlooker. Franklin pushed the window open wider. “Can I come. I will stay close. I promise.” He asked, his voice almost pleading. Joanie’s chest tightened. Given how she’d brushed him off earlier, she almost felt she had to say yes. It was only fair. Yet as she looked up as his pleading face, her previous anxieties about his safety came back to her. What if Harborlight wasn’t the safe haven it was made out to be? What if someone saw him on the way? Her heart waned. “[color=plum]Frankie… you can’t. Not tonight.[/color]” His face fell. “But—” “[color=plum]I’m sorry[/color]” she said softly. “[color=plum]You just can’t.[/color]” He nodded, small and hurt, and closed the window. The guilt followed her rest of the way down. [hr] The journey took them across the city and down toward the docks. The air had grown colder the closer they got, the smell of salt and rust drifting in from the water. Joanie tucked her hands deeper into her jacket pockets. The name Harborlight made sense now, though she kept the thought to herself. They were in a small queue outside what looked like a derelict warehouse. Cracked brick. Boarded windows. A rusted metal door. Only the faint thump of bass leaking through the walls hinted att anything alive inside. Mina snorted. “I still can’t believe that still works.” Trey held up his fake ID as he stifled a laugh. “I just have the aura of a cowboy.” He stated, feigning his worst southern accent. Joanie groaned. “[color=plum]Please stop.[/color]” Trey passed the vape to Mina who took a drag. Joanie took one too, the warmth spreading through her chest. The cold bit at her fingers and for a moment she almost asked Mina to flare her powers for heat. Just a little. Just enough to warm their hands. But she swallowed the thought. Mina hated being asked. Trey suddenly straightened, his eyes looking towards the metal door ahead. “Hey. I know that guy.” A massive bouncer glanced over, recognition sparking. He jerked his head. “Come on.” Trey said, waving the two to follow. They slipped past the queue and into the warehouse, where Harborlight opened up before them like another world. The ceiling stretched high above them, lost in shadows. Blue neon traced the edges of the room, pulsing with the beat from the DJ booth perched on a raised platform. The air smelled of sweat, alcohol, and ozone. A wide circular stage sat in the centre, still being prepared by staff as people danced, drank, and shouted over the music. Amongst the crowd, Greys filled the space. Probably 1 in 3. Some subtle. Some not. A woman with antennae and sharp mandibles brushed past Joanie, her movements insect smooth. A man with stone like skin leaned against the bar. Someone with glowing eyes laughed near the dance floor. No one paid them much attention. The guilt from before pulled at her. Maybe a Franklin would’ve been fine after all. At a booth near the wall, a shirtless man in a sports jacket tossed small explosive spheres into the air. Each one popped with a bright flash, sending the women around him into delighted shrieks. “Detonator Dane.” Trey explained, leaning in toward her. Joanie blinked. “[color=plum]Who?[/color]” “Don’t wanna know .” The beat rose and the neon lights flared upwards. Her eyes followed the light up to the upper level, where a large glass window separated the rest of the club from what looked like some kind of VIP lounge. Her eyes passed over the small crowd up there partying away. She wondered who they all were. Given all the films she’d seen, all she could imagine was a bunch of gangsters, crooked lawyers, and dirty politicians. The thought that they were dancing away in view of all the people they had probably impoverished to get to where they were now made her smirk to herself a bit. That was when she realised one of them was looking back at her. A man stood against the glasses, looking down directly towards. He had dark Curley hair, a short cropped beard, and ice blue eyes that seemed to pierce right through her. There was a stillness to him, as if he were simply a corpse. Yet she couldn’t bare to look away from those eyes else something dreadful might happen as a result. Thankfully she found herself snapping out this trance as a voice called out to her. “Joanie.” She turned and found herself completely distracted from whatever bizarre staring contest she had just been having. Caleb Rourke moved through the crowd of people towards her, giving a short wave to her little group. He looked the same as the day she’d last seen him. The last night they’d spent together. With his rugged blonde buzzcut and nose that had clearly been broken once and never set right. His sleeveless hoodie showing the definition of his perfect muscles. Her stomach flipped. He had been her first… Well her first everything. The first person she had trusted enough to let close. The first person who made her feel seen. The first person she had slept with. They’d grown up together in the home and had given everything to each other. Then he had left. Memories flickered through her mind. Flashes of warmth. Flashes of skin on skin. She shook away the thought. The guy was a dick. Plain and simple. Trey grinned and dabbed him up when he got close enough. “Good to see you, man.” “Glad you got the tickets!” Caleb said, revealing the mystery of where Trey’s tickets came from. He then nodded to her and Mina. “You look good.” Mina raised a brow towards the hoodie he was wearing, which Joanie now realised was the same as some of the security and bar staff dotted around the place. “Do you work here or something?” Caleb nodded. “Part of the entertainment later.” “Heard they call you Breaker.” Trey smirked. Joanie scoffed before she could stop herself. Caleb shrugged. You couldn’t really tell with the lighting but she knew he was going red. “People like nicknames.” A beat passed. Trey and Mina shared a look. “We are getting drinks,” Mina said finally, tugging Trey away and leaving Joanie and Caleb alone in the shifting neon. She cussed her out in her head. Mina knew how she felt about Caleb. She’d cried to her over him for fucks sake. Awkward tension sat between them. Caleb looked away, his eyes following where the others had left. Joanie took this moment to take all of him in. The crooked line of Caleb’s nose was more obvious up close. He had always carried himself like someone bracing for impact, shoulders tight, jaw set, eyes scanning for something he never explained. She decided to break the silence. “[color=plum]You gave Trey those tickets just so I would come[/color]” Joanie said. Caleb didn’t deny it, giving another shrug. “I missed you.” Her jaw tightened. “[color=plum]You left.[/color]” He looked away, the muscles in his cheek twitching. “You weren’t exactly happy with me the last time we spoke.” Her brow furrowed. “[color=plum]Nah, don’t give me that shit.[/color]” she said, clenching one fist whilst the other hand point at Caleb accusingly. “[color=plum]You were disappearing long you decided to dip. Sneaking out. Vanishing for hours. Pretending nothing was wrong. Of course I was going to be annoyed at you.[/color]” He flinched. Just barely. But she saw it. “[color=plum]You wouldn’t tell me anything[/color]” she continue. “[color=plum]You wouldn’t tell anyone anything. Then one morning you were just gone. No note. No text. Nothing.[/color]” Caleb’s voice dropped. “I didn’t want to drag anyone into it.” “[color=plum]Into what?[/color]” she snapped. He didn’t answer. The floor trembled beneath her feet. Glasses rattled on nearby tables. A few people looked over. Joanie sucked in a breath, forcing the quake down. Shame burned hot in her chest. “[color=plum]I need a drink[/color]” she said, turning away. She didn’t want him to see her upset. She moved away without another word, squeezing through the crowd as he called after her. She glanced up once more as she moved, and almost wished she hadn’t. The man by the window was still watching her. A fraction of a smile had formed on his lips.