A short, stocky teen wandered through the mall, dressed fully in lacrosse gear, with a small group of friends. The leader of the group, Reiya, leaned on another girl for support, laughing almost manically as she stuffed a dirtied helmet under her arm and adjusting the large stick resting against her right shoulder. 

As Reiya started to push her weight off of her friend and regain her balance, a messy-haired, frantic girl wearing large black cat ears came tearing through the court, crashing into Reiya and sending them both tumbling to the floor. Reiya's apology was instant, untangling herself from her equipment and offering the stranger a cheesy lopsided smile. 

The stranger, which Reiya could now tell was a girl around her age, gripped the lacrosse captain's outstretched wrist, silently observing as Reiya's bright blue veins and red-penned sketches moved against her mocha-coloured skin. Only after getting solid footing did the other girl notice Reiya's beaming smile: wide and snaggle-toothed with deep and uneven dimples on either side of her face, neon purple braces sitting nearly upon her crooked teeth. 

More noticeable than her smile, Reiya's small, slightly hooked, nose caught the other girl's eyes. Pure onyx hooped through her narrow septum with a pyrite, barbell-shaped nasal piercing resting above it. Two fine-lined, intricately scaled vipers were inked onto her skin. Beginning in the shadows of her thin nostrils, gently contouring the outside wings of her nose and spiraling around the bridge, the two ink reptiles finally meet and coil together between her thick pink eyebrows. 

Reiya broke the contact between their hands, huffing, and heaving her large duffel bag back onto her shoulders. Taking a look around, she saw her friends walking far ahead and turned her gaze to the other girl, making her arms into a loose pretzel shape across her chest and bowed slightly. 

"Reiya," she said.

"Viri," the other girl responded. 

With a grin, she pointed a finger to the mini-skull decorated lanyard looped around her neck,  with a small, laminated nametag reading 'Elvira-Louise Price, Assistant Manager' in dripping gothic print. 

 "You want anything?" she asked, pointing a thumb to the store behind her. "It's on the house," she added with a snap of her fingers. 

Reiya quickly nodded, making her way over to the displays in the windows. "Sick art, by the way," she gestured towards the pen marks on Reiya's face and arms. 

"Thanks, man," she said, both cracking a smile and bumping fists. "Most people think it's weird, so I'm glad somebody digs it," she glances sideways and flicks the cat ears on the top of Viri's head. 

"Sick cat ears, by the way," she mocked, receiving a small chuckle in return. 

"Hush," Viri scolds, lightly hitting Reiya on the forearm. "Don't act like you don't want my spare pair." 

 Reiya rolled her eyes, but kept silent, staring at the looking store in the distance. 

"Those are some killer boards y'all got in there," Reiya said, squinting to get a better view. Her eyes widened. "Dude, that one has Naruto art," Viri smiled and clicked her tongue. 

"You're talking about the nine-tailed fox, right?" A nod. "All the skaters like that one," she said, dragging out the 'a' in all. 

 "What makes you think I'm a skater, huh?" Reiya countered, raising a brow. 

 "You talk like one," she pointed out. "You literally called them boards, no one does that,"

 "Whatever," Reiya rolled her eyes, again. "I've gotta get a better look at them, though." 

Viri shrugged and the pair began walking. 

 "Neat," Reiya breathed when they arrived, walking and slowly running a finger along the store's smooth glass, tinted a dark purple. After passing an array of ouija boards, tarot cards, and crystal balls, Reiya suddenly stopped in front of a tall, layered display of intricate piercings.

She turned to Elvira. "Y'all do piercings?"

"Yeppers," she replied. "You tryna get one?" 

"Duh," Reiya rolled her eyes, yet again, loosely gripping Viri's wrist and skipping into the store. Pushing aside a pair of heavy, black curtains and entering the store, Reiya's friends were the last thing on her mind. 

A/N: hope you guys enjoyed this chapter @3-rats-ina-trenchcoat is literally amazing, I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I did!

Have a great morning/day/night. I love you!

Bye lovelies♡~~~