Chapter Text
I sat in the pouring rain that day rethinking my friendship with Vinnie. She had approached me early that morning with a "brilliant idea" to get us more money for rent. Told me all about how "this could be our lucky break!" and bullshit like that. I didn't really believe a word of it, but I couldn't bear to break it to her in case I hurt her feelings. So, I went along with it (like an idiot).
She had also told me a lot about another friend of hers who had agreed to helping out. Vinnie did these kinds of things a lot. She tried to help me make friends by inviting some of her own over to our apartment to hang out. It never worked, but I'm still trying to remain hopeful.
"Skipp!" Vinnie's scratchy, cheerful voice called out to me from down the street. She was holding the hand of a boy, roughly my own age, and was running in front of him, practically dragging him.
I stood up from the damp bench I had been waiting on, grinning. "Hi, Vinnie."
As she got closer to me, she slowed down, eventually coming to a full stop in front of me. The boy, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath, pulled his hand away from Vinnie's with a small glare. "This is Stone," she announced, unfazed by the boy's apparent hostility.
"Nice to meet you, Stone. I'm Skipp," I introduced myself, ignoring the glare as Vinnie had with a smile.
Stone nodded his head in a wordless greeting. Gray-blue hair fell into his left eye, which he brushed away. He then turned to Vinnie. "What exactly did you need me for?" he asked with little interest, taking a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and lighting one. It crossed my mind the unhealthiness of smoking, but I decided not to comment.
"Okay, get this," my brown-haired friend began. "Every single old lady on this street has a spare key under their doorstep. Basically, we have access to each and every one of their homes."
"We're gonna rob them!?" I exclaimed indignantly. "Vinnie, I know you're a scam artist, but that's too far!"
"Shut up and let me finish," she snapped. "My idea is, we sneak into one house each night and grab some things at random. Then, the next day, we can knock on the lady's door and tell her we found her stuff at the dump. And if I know the gals on this street, they'll pay us for sure!" Vinnie rubbed her hands together, and I noticed a striking similarity between her and a Disney villian.
"So, what does any of this have to do with me?" Stone asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, it doesn't." Vinnie waved him off with a hand. "I just need another person to help grab stuff. Plus, Skipp needs a friend."
My face reddened with embarrassment. Typical of Vinnie to pull something like that. Stone barely gave me a glance, though. Somehow that just made me feel worse.
"It's now or never, boys. Are you in or are you out?"
"You know I'd never be able to say no," I sighed with a small smile.
Stone shrugged. "It's something to do, I guess."
Vinnie smirked. I had a horrid feeling in the pit of my stomach that I couldn't shake. "Alright then. Let's move."