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“Glisten, for the last time, I am not letting you host again.”
Vee narrowed her eyes at the Toon in front of her, exasperated by his constant requests to host her gameshow. Why did he want anything to do with her show anyway? That’s exactly what it was - her show - she was the face of it, why would she let someone else stand in her place? It wasn’t Vee and Glisten’s show, it was Vee’s show. And she wanted it to stay that way.
“You’re so mean to me, Vee,” Glisten said in his usual whiny, mocking tone. Insufferable; it was so annoying it made her temperature rise by at least 10 degrees. “What is it? You don’t think I’m capable of hosting? Scared I might take your place?”
The idea alone made Vee tense her fists. Glisten knew she was very proud of her show, and how far she had come to run it. Despite the two being sworn enemies, he seemed to know everything about her, including exactly how to press her buttons to annoy her. And, god, did he do so. The mirror had become the bane of her existence. She would do everything she could to avoid him, from purposefully not going on runs if he was there, to hiding from him in the lobby. But still, he kept turning up, like a bad penny. She was tired of it, and she wanted him out of her way. For good.
She saw Glisten as a threat to her position. He could easily topple her, with how favoured he was, by Toons and fans alike. She wasn’t going to let that happen.
“You know what, Glisten?” She stepped towards the mirror, her voice cold. “I don’t think you’re capable.”
Glisten’s smile dropped, his eyes widening slightly. “What?”
“I don’t think you could run my show. You wouldn’t last a day in my shoes.”
The mirror chuckled dryly, as he felt Vee’s gaze staring into him, sharp as knives. “Now, Vee, surely you must be joking-”
“Do I sound like I’m joking?” She was right. Her tone was steady. Analytical. Honest. “You seriously think you could overtake my show? Steal my position? When you can’t even keep a microphone intact for more than a few days?” Vee stepped closer to Glisten, her face now inches from his, towering over him and making him shrink in on himself slightly. “Keep dreaming, Glisten, but you can’t deny what’s right in front of you. You’re not better than me, and you never will be. You aren’t good enough to steal my show. You’re nothing but some distorted reflection of what you wish you could be.”
The two stared at each other in dead silence, Glisten staring in shock, while Vee was letting her words sink in. After she felt like he understood, she turned away, hands behind her back. “Don’t ask me to host again. I’m sure you know what the answer will be.” With that, she walked away.
Glisten stared at his shoes, feeling something inside him shatter. Was that really what Vee thought of him? He wasn’t good enough? He could pretend all he wanted, pretend that he didn’t care what others thought, and while that was mostly true, he didn’t feel the same about Vee. Glisten looked up to Vee, and he liked the dynamic they had. He thought all their disagreements and arguments weren’t in a serious way, but that all fell apart if Vee truly hated him. It explained why she wouldn’t let him host, why she avoided him, even when he tried to be around her. Vee hated Glisten, and he had to accept that.
If Vee hated him, that made him wonder how many other Toons, in truth, resented him. How many people were lying to him? Just the thought of it made him feel sick. He wanted to disappear. He wanted to hide from everyone, so he wouldn't be seen. So nobody would have to look at him.
And hide was what he did.
—————————
A few days had passed since their argument, and Vee hadn’t had to deal with Glisten wanting to talk to her. At first she was relieved at this, glad he had finally backed off, until she started hearing that nobody had seen any sign of the mirror at all. As much as she hated it, she began to become concerned, fearing the worst, whatever that may be. Eventually, Vee had to resort to asking one of the people closest to Glisten, Rodger.
It wasn’t hard to find the magnifying glass - he was standing idly in the lobby, watching Toodles as she ran around, so quickly that Vee almost tripped over her. What confused her was when Toodles turned back to her, and scrunched her face, sticking her tongue out at her.
“What’s with the kid?” Vee thought out loud, aimed at Rodger. Although, it almost felt like Rodger didn’t hear her, or was ignoring her. “Erm… Rodger?”
“I was wondering when you were going to come to me.” He turned to her, a look on his face that she couldn’t quite place. “I’m guessing you’re wondering where Glisten is?”
“Yes, I was actually-”
“Are you going to apologise to him? Or do you just want to upset him more than you already have?” Vee turned her head in confusion. Upset him? How had she upset Glisten?
“I’m not quite sure what you mean?”
“He told me what you said to him a few days ago.”
Oh.
Vee felt herself heat up in embarrassment. Had she really hurt his feelings so much, to the point he decided it would be better to hide away completely? That definitely wasn’t her intention. Sure, she was a little harsh out of anger, but…
“Rodger, I…” She fidgeted with her hands, trying to find her words. “I’m sorry, I didn’t intend to hurt him as much as I have. If there’s any way I can make things right, I will.” Rodger’s expression softened a bit, and he nodded, uncrossing his arms. “I’m glad you’re willing to apologise. I do hate seeing him like this…”
“What do you mean?”
“After what happened, he’s done nothing but stay in his room, completely silent. The only thing I hear from him is him crying during the night. Even Toodles has noticed something is wrong.” Rodger looked away, his genuine concern for Glisten clear in his body language. “I used to hate all the noise of the singing, and the rehearsing. Now, I wish I could hear it again.”
Vee frowned, guilt instantly building inside her. She never showed it, but she did think Glisten was rather talented. That was the main thing that worried her. Sometimes, she thought he might even be more talented than her, and she would become obsolete, him taking her place. The thought terrified her so much that she found it easier to shut him down, than she did to entertain his talents. Glisten had skill, despite his clumsiness and despite his ego. She would hate to be the cause of him giving up what made him so happy.
“What can I do to apologise to him?”
—————————
Rodger slowly opened the door to Glisten’s room, allowing Vee to step inside, before nodding at her and closing the door again.
Looking around the room, she was surprised to see the disorder it was in. All his costumes, that she knew he had worked so hard on, had been stuffed underneath his bed, shown by the faint glimmer of sequins and glitter that shone through the dim lighting. There was general clutter around the room, and worst of all, the part that made Vee’s heart sink. His vanity table was completely clear of makeup, and the mirror had been turned to face the wall.
Vee’s eyes turned back to the bed, easily recognising the mirror laying on it, facing away from her. He was never the best at hiding.
“Glisten?” He remained unmoving, not even acknowledging her. Maybe he hoped if he stayed still and silent, he would fade away completely. Vee approached the bed, sitting on the edge of it with caution. “Glisten, I know I’m probably the last person you want to speak to right now, but I promise, I’m not here to argue.”
He still remained silent, but Vee noticed Glisten move slightly. At least he was somewhat listening. Vee took a deep breath, before starting to speak.
“I’m sorry for the things I said to you. It was wrong of me to tell you those things, and I completely understand why you are upset with me.” She had to take another breath before continuing, both the tension and vulnerability of the situation making her more nervous than any Twisted could. “The truth is, Glisten, I don’t think any of what I said was true. I think the complete opposite, in fact. You’re so talented at what you do, and it really does amaze me what you’re capable of. I never stopped you from hosting because you weren’t capable, I stopped you from hosting because I feared that I wasn’t as capable as you. That you would replace me.”
Vee realised she had probably said too much, and waited anxiously for his response. When he barely showed any sign of caring, she became even more anxious. Maybe he didn’t want to talk to her? That was fine, she could give him space.
“I understand, you don’t want to hear me out yet. That’s alright, I can go-” Just as Vee stood up, Glisten grabbed her hand. She looked back at him, and was faced with Glisten, crying. Without even thinking, she pulled him into a tight hug.
“I mean this honestly. You are an amazing person, Glisten. Never let anyone dull you down, or tell you that you aren’t good enough, because it’s not true.” Glisten quickly put his arms around Vee, hugging her so tightly she thought he might break part of her intricate wiring. She heard a few quiet mumbles of, “Thank you,” and “I’m sorry,” from the mirror, as he cried into her shoulder. Vee just let him stay there for as long as he needed. It was the least she could do.
The two stayed in their embrace for what felt like an eternity, until Glisten eventually calmed down. He finally let go of Vee, sitting back on his bed and wiping his eyes. “Goodness… I’m almost glad I’m not wearing any makeup.” He laughed, and Vee unexpectedly laughed with him. A genuine laugh, that wasn’t meant to mock or shame.
Suddenly, Vee had an idea. An idea that still made her nervous, but she hoped might fully make things up to Glisten.
“Glisten, how would you like to host the show with me? Instead of us fighting over who gets to host?” Vee instantly noticed how Glisten lit up, a look of excitement on his face. Good, she liked him better smiling.
“You really mean that?”
“Of course I do.” The two looked into each other’s eyes, and instead of feeling anger, Vee felt something entirely new. It felt like moths crawling through her wires, her internal fans working in overdrive to cool down the heat spreading throughout her system. She noticed how close her and Glisten’s hands were, but she didn’t pull away. Something about it felt right.
“Thank you so much, Vee. You probably know how long I’ve wanted to do something like this.” He looked down, becoming suffocatingly aware of the tension between them. “Especially with you. I really do admire you.”
After a while of uncomfortably warm silence, Vee made a sound of clearing her throat, even though she had no “throat” to clear. She stood up, with a smile on her face. “You’d best get those costumes out from under your bed, then.” Glisten giggled to himself, surprised that Vee even took the time to notice. Then again, she was a machine, and her job was to analyse.
“Could we meet tomorrow to discuss this arrangement more? If that’s alright with you, of course.” Vee turned her head, ready to store Glisten’s answer in her database so she could plan around it.
“Yes, that would be fine.” Glisten stood up as well, stretching his legs and arms. It had been a while since he left his bed. He barely noticed that Vee had nodded, and was turning to leave. “Oh, Vee?”
“Yes? What is it?”
Glisten hugged her again, not as tightly as last time, so Vee had the chance to truly enjoy his embrace. “Thank you, again. For everything you said, I mean. And also for letting me host with you.”
Vee smiled, returning Glisten’s hug.
“It’s no problem.”