renegades [priv w/ paintyneko]

[avior.]

───── / D A R C Y !!

Darcy just nodded at her comment, figuring the girl's parents weren't supportive at all. She nearly asked her there if she was straight, but decided to hold back, figuring she'd showed enough interest for one day. Her parents had never really cared what she'd read, or at least, they had never asked before.

Darcy repeated the name silently in her mind a few times. Bella. It really did suit her. Something about knowing her name pleased her a little, though she wouldn't be able to identify why. When the question was returned, she glanced over again, one finger poised against the paperback spine of a novel she'd been examining. "Uh... I'm Darcy," she replied at last, grey eyes shifting back. She took a small step away from the shelf, leaning back as if to get a different view of them. "Hey, if you finish that book, you should let me know what you think of it." She said it offhandedly, knowing full well there wasn't much chance of the girl- Bella- being able to tell her that at all. What were the chances they'd run into each other again? Of course, Darcy could always offer Bella her phone number, but... she subtly shook her head to herself.

No, that was stupid. She'd have to be leaving the city soon, and she wasn't going to suggest anything to Bella, even if she was genuinely curious to see what she thought of the read.

[cinnamice]

♔ 𝕽𝖔𝖘𝖆𝖇𝖊𝖑𝖑𝖊 "𝕭𝖊𝖑𝖑𝖆" 𝕽𝖎𝖛𝖊𝖗𝖆 ♔
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Was that a hint that Darcy wanted to see her again? Even after all that had happened, and she wanted an update on how she felt about the book? Bold. There were so many questions Bella could have about the girl. She had read it before! Did that mean she wasn't straight? Then again, her hair was a bit of a giveaway. No, Bella shouldn't assume, especially as a straight girl. Darcy could've picked the book out at random like she did. But the likelihood of that seemed fairly slim. Nonetheless, Bella was grateful for a topic to converse about that didn't revolve around her trying to steal that necklace.

"I should be done soon, I'll have to let you know then," Bella replied, eager to continue reading now. Haven completely forgot about what she was assigned to her, she continued, "So, I'm assuming you're around these parts?"
For Darcy to have asked her to tell her about the book, she had to have lived nearby, right?

It felt strangely relieving being acquainted with someone who she knew almost virtually nothing about. Her parents always introduced her to kids her age, and that was the group she always hung around in school. They always chose kids from questionable families like theirs - and while they never mentioned their affiliations with the crime business, the Riveras only let her hang out with people who they felt wouldn't betray them if Bella were to let it slip. She hadn't, at least, so far.

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[avior.]

───── / D A R C Y !!

For a second, Darcy debated with herself. Naturally, she could only let that take a moment or two- she hated appearing indecisive or too thoughtful. Was it safe telling Bella about herself? It wasn't something she usually did. Then again, she didn't need to be specific. This girl probably wasn't much of a threat, though Darcy would never put money on that. After all, she'd tried to steal from her.

"No, actually," she replied, moving over to a circular table with geometric designs printed on it. She flopped down in one of the cushioned chairs, taking out her phone and idly scrolling through her social media as something to keep her eyes on instead of Bella. The girl was pretty- Darcy wasn't blind. If she started giving Bella her attention, she might forget to stop. It would be hard to feign indifference if she was staring. "I'm not from around here at all. I'm just passing through." Speaking of which, she should be going soon, but she wasn't going to bring that up just yet. She could spare some time.

"What about you?"

[cinnamice]

♔ 𝕽𝖔𝖘𝖆𝖇𝖊𝖑𝖑𝖊 "𝕭𝖊𝖑𝖑𝖆" 𝕽𝖎𝖛𝖊𝖗𝖆 ♔
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Bella pursed her lips, contemplating Darcy's response.
"Vacation, I assume? Though, I'm not sure why you would choose here to travel to, there's literally nothing going on here." She laughed, sitting on a chair's armrest, pressing her feet against its side to keep her balance. The girl had begun to fiddle with her phone, which Bella found a shame, her eyes were a pretty sight to look at. Not that she was noticing, though. Was she? Bella shook the thought away.

"I guess I live around here. I sort of frequent the library when I've got stuff I want or need to read. Gives me a good escape from the parents, anyway."
It was a shame though that Darcy wasn't here to stay, there was so much she could learn from her. She was different alright, but Bella was just beginning to warm up to her presence.

Speaking of learning... Bella's gaze flicked to the other end of the library, where they supposedly kept the books on coding. Her mother would be upset if she didn't get started, she already got a warning last night. But then again... it was so far, and she wasn't quite ready to leave Darcy yet, unsure of how much more time she would get to talk to her. So instead, she hung around the fiction section, scanning the titles for something interesting.

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[avior.]

───── / D A R C Y !!

Darcy didn’t say anything in response to Bella’s vacation assumption, happy to let her believe that. In a way, maybe it was sort of a vacation after all. She was leaving to take a break, but so far she had been going under the subconscious decision to return some day, probably sooner than later. Once they realized she was serious, once they started taking notice of her... then she could go back. She wasn’t sure if that appealed to her at all- the city was so vastly different from the country home she’d grown up in, but she liked it.

Darcy let out a dry-humoured huff of a laugh, a bitter smile lifting her lips but not touching her eyes. ”Family problems, hm?” She stated, turning off her phone so her own reflection stared at her for a second and then setting it down on the table. ”I understand.” That was maybe a little more than she had intended to let slip, but she couldn’t resist. She could relate to trying to get away from one’s parents. That was what she was doing right now, anyways. It was a little reassuring, knowing someone was struggling with the same thing. It tore her up a bit, too. On one hand, maybe it meant Bella wasn’t so bad. Maybe she was someone Darcy could put a little more trust into, possibly get to know better.

On the other hand, she knew it would be stupid to risk that. It was probably safer to stay away, though Bella herself didn’t seem to have any intention of doing that.

[cinnamice]

♔ 𝕽𝖔𝖘𝖆𝖇𝖊𝖑𝖑𝖊 "𝕭𝖊𝖑𝖑𝖆" 𝕽𝖎𝖛𝖊𝖗𝖆 ♔
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When Bella glanced back over at Darcy, she had put her phone down. While a part of her felt relieved that she found someone without picture-perfect parents, Darcy's comment irked her a tad - she truly didn't know what she was going through,and no, she didn't understand. As if Darcy had parents whose lives were so intertwined in criminal activity she was forced to go along with it. Not that she had really minded, until her mother had dropped a load of work for her to figure out. Countless days she spent curled up in bed, wondering how it would be to have normal parents that chided her for stealing and taught her about the wonders of the world, instead of reiterating how the world was out to get her and it's every man for himself. To be able to focus on school without the weight of this huge illegal secret on her shoulders she wasn't allowed to tell anyone.

But it was a lie to say she absolutely hated it - she loved the thrill of stealing things and getting away with it, and the lavish house they had obtained, and how cunning and brilliant her parents were. The pressure of holding all of it together was just a lot to handle most of the times. Curious to learn more about this girl, she found herself seated across from her tapping a gentle tune on the book in her lap, and pushing the memories of her own experiences to the back of her mind.

"What's the deal with yours? Parents, I mean."

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[avior.]

───── / D A R C Y !!

Darcy glanced over at her, brow furrowing with a faint frown. Bella wanted to know about her parents? That was odd. At what point had she become so interested? And at what point had Darcy started genuinely debating whether or not to answer her? If it were anyone else, her reply would be an immediate denial of information. It wasn't any of Bella's business, and telling her what was going on could give her away. Why was she considering spilling the whole truth?

Then again, could Bella really get her into that much trouble at all? Sure, she was a thief, but at this point Darcy was convinced she was mostly harmless. She seemed nice enough, though of course that had Darcy wary. She couldn't trust anyone who was nice to her, especially after this girl had tried to rob her.

And yet, there was a burning desire in her to tell someone. A desire she hadn't felt before. Why? Maybe she could just chalk it up to the loneliness that had been eating her up inside for years, slowly growing until she wasn't sure she could bear it. And she didn't necessarily have to tell her everything. Realizing she'd zoned out, for once obviously getting lost in her thoughts, she shook her head quickly, trying to regain her bored and careless facade. Wanting something to keep her eyes busy so she wouldn't have to look at Bella as she spoke, she grabbed her phone again, choosing to scroll through old messages without actually reading them.

"It's no big deal. They're just busy, I guess." She'd meant to end it there, but suddenly she felt herself spilling more before she could stop, bitterness she usually refused to show slipping into her tone. "And I mean all the time. Just because sometimes they help out this- this company, and then they've got their own businesses to deal with, which I guess is understandable, but even when they're done work for the day... she swallowed, realizing her attention had slipped from her phone. At least she hadn't specifically mentioned the dangerous ties to the "company", but this was already far more than she usually would've considered sharing. "They still find some excuse. I don't know. That's just always how it's been."

[cinnamice]

♔ 𝕽𝖔𝖘𝖆𝖇𝖊𝖑𝖑𝖊 "𝕭𝖊𝖑𝖑𝖆" 𝕽𝖎𝖛𝖊𝖗𝖆 ♔
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It all sounded way too familiar - even if she wasn't part of a crime organization, Darcy could perhaps relate. Though, it was strange how she was telling her all this. Bella nearly tried to rob her just the day before, and now Darcy was spilling her family problems to her. Did she want her space? Bella intook a deep breath, leaning her forearms on her knees.
"I get it. Like, I mean I actually get it, and I guess it's like that for me too. I feel like... all they ever see me as is a resource they can use to better their business." Bella confessed before she could think any better. Why was it so easy to just spill this sort of personal information with her? Even Bella's friends didn't know this much of her family life - everything was just surface level conversations. Yet, she met this girl two days ago, and she already knew a part of her biggest struggle. As long as she didn't reveal her connection to the crime organization, she should be good, right? Darcy was planning to get back from vacation anyway, and it's not like they'll ever see each other again after this.
"I kind of wish my parents would care about me as a person and not as... like a pawn. It sucks." It wasn't supposed to be this easy opening up, was it? Every time she had attempted to before, she had always changed the subject. Bella wasn't ready to jeopardize everything the Riveras had for some stupid sympathy. But now she was dipping her foot in, and it was more relieving than nearly anything else she's done. Darcy didn't need to know she was involved in something so much bigger than this. Because in the moment, none of that mattered. What mattered was that finally, someone was here who understood.

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[avior.]

───── / D A R C Y !!

Darcy was a little surprised when Bella opened up in return. She hadn't meant to spill so much, but with the other girl confessing her own problems, maybe it wasn't such a bad thing. In fact, deep down she couldn't help but feel relieved. There was something liberating about having told at least part of it, or maybe she just felt that way because Bella understood. And hearing her story, she did so genuinely, not like the people who claimed to for the sake of sympathy. Of course, their situations weren't entirely the same. Bella's parents used her for their own good, and Darcy's paid her no real mind at all. She wasn't sure which was worse.

She shrugged and finally clicked off her phone, letting out a faint sigh. Was there any point in trying to look untouchable after that? She doubted she could come back from it. So she let herself smile hollowly again. "Do what I'm doing and run away." It was spoken semi-sarcastically, but at this point she figured Bella might as well know part of what was actually up with her. What would she do, turn her into the police? Call her parents? No, Darcy was sure she was safe. She stated it like a joke, but there honestly wasn't much humour to it at all.

Vaguely remembering the coffee she'd left in the library, Darcy stood up, going over to the shelf she had set it on. It was mostly an excuse for her to escape Bella's dark-hued gaze, her skin prickling in discomfort. Sure, it felt sort of nice. But she wasn't used to any kind of sharing at all. Grabbing her coffee cup in one hand, she hovered near the table, hesitant to sit down again. She wanted to- wanted to talk to Bella more- but the closeness that seemed to come from it made her nervous.

She could change the topic in a way that still let her talk with Bella. If Bella agreed. She hesitated a moment, working on bringing herself back to a bored, blank state of mind. Dismiss all thoughts from her mind. Taking a sip of her coffee, she cast her gaze once more down the row of books nearest to her. "Hey, I need to do some laundry. If you want, you can come along, but I can't promise it'll be very interesting."

[cinnamice]

♔ 𝕽𝖔𝖘𝖆𝖇𝖊𝖑𝖑𝖊 "𝕭𝖊𝖑𝖑𝖆" 𝕽𝖎𝖛𝖊𝖗𝖆 ♔
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"I'm going to assume you need to go whereever you're staying to get your clothes, so, I'll meet you there? I have to take some books out." She nodded as a farewell, relieved to get a chance to talk to her again. Bella let Darcy's running away comment hang in the air - they could talk more freely out of the library.
As the girl departed, Bella made her way to the computer science shelf, pursing her lips as her eyes scanned each one for something vaguely interesting. She needed something quick and concise, none of that flowery language, as boring as it might be to pretend she had been studying all day. Normally, she would aim to find the biggest books to take out, but then again, this wasn't for leisure. Bella pulled three books, the shortest ones, taking them to the counter for check out. Bella squirmed as the librarian began scanning her books for her - she wasn't exactly used to doing things legally and waiting around. When she stole, she was in and out faster than a person could blink. Needless to say the process seemed to take forever, and she felt as if everyone was watching her.

---

Darcy wasn't there when she arrived. Actually, save for two others, the laundromat was basically empty. Staking claim to a machine in the farthest corner, Bella pulled herself to sit on top of it, spilling her books out beside her. There really was no guarentee that Darcy was going to show. After all, she did seem blase by the idea. Was it a tactic to get rid of her and go home? That explanation seemed the most likely - they had talked quite a bit about personal stuff. Maybe she wasn't used to that sort of thing. But then again, Bella did attempt to steal from her.

Her attention flew to her books, realizing that the book on princesses was still in her bag. She had only gotten as far as the first three chapters, introducing the circumstances of the princesses' lives. Darcy had recognized the cover - would anyone else? Warily, Bella picked up a computer science book, opening and covering the princess book with it, and began to read from the latter.

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