Chapter Text
Scylla is going to kill her best friend.
The bar is loud and noisy, and Scylla comes to the conclusion that she should not have let Byron drag her out in the first place. Her best friend had ditched her once he caught the eye of someone earlier in the night. So much for his promise that she wouldn’t be left alone. She sits there for who knows how long, nursing her drink, when, from the corner of her eye, she sees a mop of blonde hair approach.
“Hey, how are you?” A raspy voice questions.
Scylla takes a cursory glance over her shoulder, more to look for Byron than to see who is talking to her. As she scans the room behind her, she sees him entranced with a brunette in the corner. So much for an escape route.
“Just fine,” her voice clipped.
“Can I buy you a drink? Whatever you’d like.” The blonde questions, giving Scylla a grin. She lets out a sigh. Scylla can admit it, the blonde is attractive, and her type. One side of her hair braided, while the other falls in loose waves down to rest just above her shoulder. She has striking blue eyes and is wearing an unbuttoned blue flannel, a tank top underneath along with a pair of loose black skinny jeans. It brings out the blue in her eyes, Scylla thinks. As she introduces herself, she realizes that she’s heard of this woman before.
“Raelle Collar.”
A musician, the type who makes the kind of loud, energetic music that Scylla hates. The type who thinks that they can get away with whatever they want. Who can get whomever they want. Raelle is the type of rowdy, rambunctious person that gets put in the tabloids for her exploits with her friends. From everything that Scylla has seen, she can tell that she is the complete opposite of herself, and the complete opposite of someone that she wants to get to know. She also knows that there’s a bit of a reputation that follows Raelle around. She’s notorious for her relationships, or lack thereof, and the number of women that she’s supposedly been with. The bigger question, she supposes, is why Raelle is in her small town in the middle of nowhere.
“I have one already, thanks.”
Either way, Scylla can tell already what Raelle is aiming for, and she doesn’t have any interest in being another notch on a bedpost. Any interest she might have is outweighed by the annoyance she can already feel creeping up her spine.
Raelle doesn’t seem to be deterred by her rebuff, though, taking a sip of her drink while Scylla internally groans. “Your next one, then? You looked lonely, I thought I could help you out.”
“I’m good. Now, if you’ll leave me alone, I was just fine on my own, actually.” This time, Raelle looks a little miffed by the rebuke of her advances. Scylla internally cheers. Raelle might actually leave her alone.
“Well, can I have your name, at least?” This time, Scylla does groan. This is exactly what she expected from someone like Raelle. Someone who thinks the world revolves around themself and doesn’t take no for an answer.
“Scylla,” she grounds out.
“Scylla.” The blonde repeats.
The way that her name rolls off of Raelle’s tongue is intriguing, and Scylla doesn’t like the fact that she can’t pin down why that is. Can’t pin down the reason that she feels as if her blue eyes are staring straight through her. Regardless, she still wants out of this conversation, shutting down the tiny part of her mind whispering that she wants to know more.
“Well, Scylla, I’m Raelle. It’s lovely to meet you.” She puts on a charming grin.
“A shame I can’t say the same about you. As I said—“
“Scylla! There you are. You’ve got to come with me,” Thank the goddess for Byron. She takes back any negative thought she’s ever had about the man who has just unknowingly saved her. He pauses, finally glancing over at Raelle, “Oh, was I interrupting something? Because I can just—“
“Nope! I was just telling Raelle here, that I was just getting going,” Scylla interjects. Byrons stares at her a second before his comprehension dawns. “Right, right. That’s right, we really have to be going now, it’s getting late, and Scylla here has work tomorrow.”
Raelle looks confused by the onslaught of information that’s been presented since she asked for Scylla’s name, but Scylla honestly couldn’t care less. The faster she’s out of this bar and the pounding headache it’s giving her, the better.
Scylla doesn’t spare Raelle a second glance as Byron takes hold of her arm and drags her out the doors, and so she doesn’t see Raelle’s intrigued stare.
She can, however, feel the burning gaze hit the back of her head.
——————————————————————
The next weekend, she ends up at the same bar, courtesy of the same person. Byron had talked her ear off about Raelle when she had mentioned her encounter, was apparently the type of person who thought her music was good, and had also recommended her to go for it. He had said that there must be a reason Raelle had the reputation she did, and something about why deny herself a good time? She had playfully shoved his shoulder before telling him to fuck off. She wasn’t interested in anything of the sort. Especially not with someone like Raelle.
Scylla doesn’t know where he got the idea that she was the slightest bit attracted to Raelle, because really, Raelle’s presence was similar to that of someone grinding their nails down a chalkboard.
As she sits in the same corner of the bar she did last week, sipping the same drink she did last week, she notices the same patron approaching as she did the prior week as well. What Scylla did to deserve this fate, she truly doesn’t know.
As she looks up at the ceiling contemplating why this is happening, Raelle slips in the seat across the small table from her.
“Fancy meeting you here again, beautiful.” Another charming grin.
“You realize that I really don’t want to be talking with you right now, don’t you?” She replies back.
“Not possible, everybody loves me. It’s part of my charm.”
“Oh, that’s what we’re calling it now,” she snarks. “Charm?”
“Absolutely. So, Scylla, what is there to do for fun around here? I didn’t get the chance to ask you last time.” The way that she says her name should really not be as enticing as it is.
“I’m sure you can figure something out for yourself. Speaking of, why are you here? There’s nothing to do here. Shouldn’t you be out partying somewhere, preferably far away from here?”
“Don’t tell anyone, but I’m actually in town for my friend’s wedding next week,” grinning, her voice is hushed when she speaks.
“Really? You’re friends with someone that lives here? That doesn’t seem believable.” Their small town of a couple thousand doesn’t seem like the type to attract big celebrities like Raelle.
“Oh yeah. Childhood friend, she moved here when she met her fiance. I guess he’s from around here somewhere. But enough about me, I wanna know about you.”
She lets out a sigh. As she takes a glance down at her drink, swirling it in its glass, she realizes that there isn’t much of a way to get out of this conversation. Byron is her ride home for tonight, and she promised him that she’d stick it out until midnight.
Another glance downwards, this time at her wristwatch. It’s eleven. An hour left to go.
“Nothing we need to talk about, tonight.” Scylla shoots back.
“Well, we could always slip out of here. I’m staying at a hotel down the street,” Raelle begins. Scylla knows the hotel, it’s the only one within the next few miles in any direction. “I could make it worth your while.”
“No, thanks. I’m perfectly fine right here, and if I haven’t been clear enough with you. I’m not interested in you, or anything you have to offer.”
“Wow, ouch. You really know how to make a girl feel special…Is it because of that guy, from last week, who you left with? Are you with him or something?” She questions, as if the idea of her advances being rejected is unfathomable to her.
Scylla can’t help it, she laughs in her face. The idea that her and Byron could be together in any way is the real thing that’s unfathomable. It’s almost comical, how oblivious Raelle is, but at the same time, it’s obnoxious. Raelle never seems to get that the problem is herself, not anyone around her.
But it seems like luck is on her side tonight, because finally, Raelle has finally gotten the memo, she thinks. The next moment, she’s making a move to stand up from her seat.
“Okay, well, it’s been a pleasure talking to you, Scylla. I’ve got to get going, but I’ll see you around.” With that, Raelle takes her leave.
As she walks out the door, Scylla takes a glance at her watch once more. Only eleven-thirty. She smiles, she had gotten rid of the blonde in record-time. She doesn’t miss having someone to talk to for the rest of the night, she really doesn’t. Especially not as someone as disregarding of the signals that she’s been sending since the pair met.
——————————————————————
She doesn’t go to the bar the next week. Work had been killing her, Izadora riding her ass about her latest project, so much so that she could already feel a migraine coming on, and Byron was busy. So when she goes to the bar with Byron and his new friend, Gregorio, the week after, she’s expecting a quiet night. Or, as quiet as you can get when going out on a Friday night, she thinks.
“Hey! Long time no see. I thought I might have missed you this time around.” Raelle opens with. This time, Scylla had arrived at her usual spot only to see Raelle had made it there before her. It’s surprising, to say the least. Scylla had figured that Raelle would have been gone the second that the wedding ended last week. It doesn’t seem like luck is on her side though.
“Yes, that would’ve been a shame…What are you still doing here? Didn’t you say your wedding was last week?” She inquires, albeit slightly hesitantly. She’s not eager to entertain Raelle’s conversation.
“I thought I’d stick around for a bit, y’know. It’s nice to get away, sometimes.” Any question that Scylla would have had about that remark is quieted by what she says next. “Of course, I couldn’t just leave knowing I’d be leaving behind someone as beautiful as you.”
Scylla’s not sure how Raelle manages to slip in passing comments like that into every sentence she speaks to her. “Look, Raelle, I’ve said it before, and I really don’t want to have to keep repeating it, but I am not interested in you. Okay?”
Raelle’s ever-present grin falters slightly, before regaining it’s strength. She doesn’t like that look, would much rather see the genuine smile that she had before. She scolds herself for thinking that in the first place.
“Gotcha. Does that mean that you also don’t wanna be friends? Because I’d really like to get to know you better.”
Scylla looks down before glancing back up at Raelle’s earnest eyes. “Friends?” She asks incredulously. Raelle answers with a nod. “You want to be friends with me. Why?”
“Like I said, you’re incredibly attractive,” Scylla gives her a look, and Raelle has the decency to blush before she continues, “and I told you before, you looked lonely. I thought you could use a friend. Thought maybe I could use one too.” She tapers off at the end.
She’s sure that Raelle doesn’t have any shortage of friends where she comes from. It’s only because of how small the town is here that there isn’t a line of people gathering to meet her.
Scylla thinks what she says next can be blamed on a lapse of judgment or a moment of insanity. “Okay, come on then, friend.” She says, already getting out of her seat and heading to the door without taking a glance back at Raelle before her brain can catch up with her.
She doesn’t see Raelle blink confusedly for a second before stumbling out of her seat and tripping over her own feet in her haste, but she does hear the muted thud and the mumbled curse that comes with it. Raelle hurries past her to reach the door and hold it open for her, and Scylla steps out into the brisk fall air wondering what the hell she just got herself into.