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“Are you looking for something?” I say, frowning at the woman. She’s painfully out of place, she’s wearing a fancy dress and she looks like she’s never had a spek of dirt on her perfect fucking skin.
“No, I’m just waiting for Mr. Wickett,” she says, brushing a strand of her hair back.
“I’ll go get him for you,” I say, frowning. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” she says, nodding at me.
“It’s Vi,” I say, frowning. I wonder what on Earth Vander will have to do with this girl but he has to meet with ‘shareholders’ sometimes, I guess. Never been one this pretty though.
Powder is curled up in my bed, her hair spread out behind her, half out of a long braid. She looks peaceful like this and I can’t bring myself to force her out, no matter how tired I am.
I go to the coffee machine instead, slapping it to get it to work. It still makes sounds like a dying elderly man as it puffs out something resembling coffee, though it’s far too watery. It tastes terrible but I don’t have much I can do about that, at least not until we can afford another one.
Vander swings the door open when I’m tossing the mug into the sick, though it’s already full to the brim with unwashed dishes.
“You had a meeting with someone earlier,” I say, frowning. “Who was she?”
“The Kiramman girl, her parents want her to learn how the factories work,” Vander says, sighing. “How are you two doing?”
“Powder’s not looking good,” I say, frowning. “She’s losing hope, I think.”
“Tell her I’ll get her that fucking money if I need to kill someone to get it. She deserves it,” Vander says, frowning. “She deserves more than this shite.”
“She does.”
She walks around the place today, Vander giving her some sort of tour. We’re supposed to work slower today, act like we’re smiling. Vander doesn’t like it either but he can’t afford to get fired and the rest of us can’t afford to have a worse supervisor than him.
After a few hours, she’s gone and we’re back working to the bone under the hopes the Kirammans will be happy with our work.
“You’re acting differently today than you were yesterday, all of you,” a sharp voice says, snapping me out of the mundane and repetitive process of starting to put guns together.
“What the hell?” I say, snapping away from my work and staring at the figure behind me. It’s the Kiramman girl, I shouldn’t be surprised, I don’t know anyone else who sounds like her. She’s dressed in normal clothes now, a cap covering her head. “What’s your problem?”
“Everything was far too clean yesterday, I want to see what’s happening when you don’t know I’m here,” she shrugs, folding her arms over her chest. “So I wanted to see what’s really happening.”
“Are you insane?” I ask, hissing as I grab her by the hand. “Deckard, I’m taking a break,” I call back as I drag her to a dark corner. “Get out of here before you get in trouble. It could be dangerous here, you idiot.”
“I want to find out what’s really happening here,” she says, glaring. “The real working conditions, how you’re treated-”
“You’re getting out of here if I have to drag you away but the fucking hair,” I say, frowning. I might get fired for this but fucking hell, I’m going to kill this girl. She’s being stupid, risking injury which would hurt all of us.
“Fine,” she says, glaring at me before she marches away. “Goodbye, Vi.”
I glare at no one in particular, though I’m staring at her. I don’t think she realizes, thankfully, she’s too focused on her work. “I’m almost done, Vi, I just need to figure out how to finish this piece.”
“Yeah, Pow.”
She turns now, taking her goggles off and saying, “What’s your problem? You’re pissy.”
“The Kiramman girl is trying to be some sort of saviour of us poor folk,” I say, rolling my eyes. “She’s an annoying fuck and pretty fucking stubborn.”
“You just said fuck twice in one sentence, you need to work on that,” she says. “Creativity, Vi. Creativity.”
“That’s always been your thing more than mine,” I say, smiling. “But avoid her if you see her, I don’t know what she wants from us but I don’t trust her as far as I can throw her.”
“Well, what does she look like?” Powder asks, chewing on a pencil. “I don’t know half the people who work here, I won’t know the difference and some newbie.”
“She’s tall, these really sharp blue eyes and she’s really pretty,” I say, shrugging. “Like, hot as hell and she has really sharp features, like her eyes can bore into your soul.”
Powder glances at me and I can tell she’s thinking about something or another but I don’t really care. I’m just glad she’s not going to go anywhere near Powder.
Powder doesn’t listen to me, of course she doesn’t. Two days later, I find Powder and Caitlyn in deep conversation, Powder showing off the engine piece she’s working on.
“It can help things work faster and it’s safe, I’ve tested it out all over here. I’m trying to get someone to listen to me, get it produced in mass, I think it can really change how this stuff works. Like, revolutionize factories, it’ll make sure there’s roughly the same output but most people don’t have to work as long of hours,” she says to Caitlyn, her voice far too passionate. “I have so many ideas, I think that I can really do this though.”
“Powder, Vander wants you home right now,” I say, grabbing Powder’s shoulder.
“I’m in the middle of a conversation, Vi,” she says, rolling her eyes. “Caitlyn, you know Vi, right? She’s my sister, really annoying and I want to kill her, you know, the usual.”
“We’ve met,” Caitlyn says, voice flat. “It’s lovely to see you again, Vi.”
I pull my hair back and wonder if Powder’s going insane, or if I’m the crazy one. “We have to go home, seriously.” It’s a lie but hell, I’m not doing this right now.
I don’t want anything to do with Caitlyn.
“Vi’s trying to stop me from getting the the fucking money,” Powder says, yelling at Vander. “Make her let me do this? I was talking to Caitlyn, like, the Kiramman girl, and Vi dragged me away. You don’t even want to talk to me, I bet.”
Vander glances at me and I shrug, saying, “I’m going to head back to work, I need to talk to Loris about something. One of the conveyer belts is broken, apparently.”
Vander frowns and is about to grab my wrist but I’m quicker. He’s lost his touch, though he would never admit it.
It’s far too early for someone to be knocking on my door but it’s especially early for Caitlyn fucking Kiramman to be on the other side.
“I found your address from your files, I wanted to talk to you,” she says, frowning as she takes in my sleeping clothes. “Do you want me to come back later?”
“I’m fine. What the fuck do you want?” I ask, frowning as I curl my hands around the door tightly.
“I was trying to have a discussion with your sister. Her idea seems good, I would love to see her creation in action,” Caitlyn says, looking pretty angry. “You seem to hate me on principle but if you listen to me for a moment, you might realize that I am trying to help you.”
“Yeah, I don’t really care. You can fire me if you want, whine to Mommy and Daddy, but I don’t trust you,” I say, about to turn around.
“I’m not going to tell on you,” she says, grabbing the door as I try to swing it close. “How fucking stubborn are you? Do you want the people around you to suffer just because you don’t trust me?”
I slam the door shut, hoping it slams her fingers. She has fast reflexes, sadly, but I hate her for it.
Vander tries to talk to me the next day. I make sure that Loris is already by my side when he’s free, he doesn’t like making personal business public. I know I can’t avoid him forever but I don’t want to debate this. I really love him but fucking hell, I can’t deal with this.
I just hope Powder and Vander forget about this soon.
They don’t, of course they don’t. Powder has stopped sleeping in my apartment or sneaking in at various times of the day, though she doesn’t avoid me or anything. I still try to stay away from Vander when I can but I’ve gotten hints of a full lecture. She’s still talking to the Kiramman girl and I don’t really know what to do about it.
I’ve seen them talk and I think they’re doing something, I don’t really know. Powder glares at me whenever I even try to ask about it so I don’t know what they’re planning. I just hope Powder realizes just who she’s trying to work with.
It’s the second week where I crack. I hate not having Powder by my side, she’s always been my shadow and it’s weird without it.. I walk up to Powder and frown, saying, “Can we talk, Powder? Like, I just wanna fucking talk about this shit.”
“She’s trying to help me,” Powder spits out, pulling her hair back. She’s painting something, I don’t know what, but I don’t really know what it is. “And she’s trying to help all of us. She cares and she’s really trying to learn about what’s going on with us, Vi. She’s not some sort of asshole just because she’s rich.”
“Do you really trust her? I bet she’s just trying to get more money out of us.”
“I’m not dumb,” Powder says, rolling her eyes. “I own this and I know enough legal schmegal stuff that I know how to make sure that I can keep it that way. I have my list of demands and I can take it away from them at any moment.”
“Unless you sign some sort of contract,” I say, rolling my eyes.
“I’ll get a lawyer,” Powder says. “Again, I’m not a fucking idiot, Vi. I know how this stuff works.”
“Where will you get a fucking lawyer?”
“I’ll figure it out. Now, are you going to apologize for your fucking ego and hatred getting in the way of my fucking life?” Powder asks, crossing her arms. “You don’t need to fucking protect me from everything.”
“I’m sorry,” you mutter, even if you hate saying it. “And I mean it. I want you to do well, Pow, I just… I hate them.”
She rolls her eyes before turning her full attention back to her painting and I frown, watching her for a few minutes before I return to my work.
I get the lecture from Vander later and I apologize to Powder again. Things return to normal after and I’m grateful. The only weird thing is how Caitlyn is still hanging around but I don’t think I can say much about that unless I want to get in trouble.
“I’ve heard you’ve made amends with your family.”
“I didn’t know that was any of your business,” I say, chugging the last of my water before turning to her.
“I want to talk to you. I want to know why you’re so against me at all costs. I’m trying to help you.”
“You’re a Kiramman. You might as well own this town and trust me, I’ve seen exactly what you fucks are willing to do to us. You’re trying to help us? Well, how do we measure up to your wallet, Cupcake?”
“You’re far more important than any money.”
I hesitate, she seems so genuine but fucking hell, she’s a Kiramman. I can’t trust her, can I?
“I have a meeting with my parents tomorrow, we’ll be discussing Powder’s work. Powder won’t be able to make it but if you please, you can act as her representative.”
I blink slowly before turning to her with a sharp grin. “Of course, Cupcake.”
Her mother is intimidating and her father is stupidly welcoming. For the first half of the meeting, I just listen to Caitlyn and her mother politely argue before I’m brought into the conversation.
“Powder’ll maintain all ownership and will be paid for her contribution,” I say, frowning at them. “That’s just about it, I hope you can agree to those terms.”
The mom’s about to say something before Caitlyn cuts in, saying, “That’s perfectly reasonable, don’t you think?”
“Yes, yes it is,” her dad says and I smile.
“Anything else you need me for? I can keep listening to you guys chat if you want?”
“Well, I’d like you to join us for lunch,” Caitlyn says and I stare at her in horror.
Fuck me.
The only good parts of the lunch are the food and surprisingly, Caitlyn. She makes good conversation with me, talks to her father in a way that while overly polite, reminds me a bit of my mom, and she’s just sweet.
Like a cupcake.
Still, I hate myself a bit when I step out and Caitlyn grabs me by the arm. “Thank you, I wanted my mother to spend more time with you. I imagine that seeing more of your personality would make her like you more.”
“Your mom wants to fucking kill me,” I say and she shakes her head.
“She’s intrigued by you. She likes people who speak their mind, or at least respects them. Thank you, Vi.” She’s smiling and I realize she has a gap between her teeth.
“It was no problem.”
I start seeing Caitlyn everywhere, or noticing her everywhere. She’s working constantly, talking to people in all different positions, looking over various pieces of equipment and even staying later than I do. What I really keep an eye out for is, for really dumb reasons but still, her smile. It might be my favorite thing in the world, it makes her look so genuine.
She’s beautiful, I realize, though I’ve always known it in a way. Her hair is always smooth, her eyes are the perfect shade of blue, she’s gently muscular and Kindred, is she tall. I shouldn’t be thinking about her like this but I can’t help it.
Powder’s happy that we’re getting along and things are already changing at the factory but I can’t tell her why I really feel like this. She would never let me live it down.
“So, Caity’s gonna be leaving soon but I’m really excited to-”
“She’s leaving?” I say, voice a bit choked. “Why is she leaving? Is she going to come back?”
“Dunno,” Powder says, furrowing her brows. “What’s going on? Why do you care?”
“I don’t,” I say, shrugging. “I just wasn’t expecting it, I guess.”
Powder pauses before saying, “You have a thing for her, Vi. You have a crush on Caitlyn fucking Kiramman.”
“She’s hot, that’s it,” I say, and Powder smiles. She starts talking about something or another, completely unrelated thankfully, but I know she’s plotting something. She’s lucky I love her.
I’m waiting by Caitlyn’s car and I don’t know why. I shouldn’t be here, I know that, but I’ve never been good at ‘shoulds’, I guess.
“What are you doing?” Caitlyn asks, frowning. She only has one bag, maybe she won’t be gone long. Or maybe she didn’t bring that much here to begin with. She probably stayed for a lot longer than she expected to.
“Wanted to help with your bags,” I say, shrugging. “Or your bag. Dunno.”
“I’m going to come back soon. I’m thinking of living near here, there’s a nice townhouse I’ve been looking at.”
“Huh.”
She smiles at me before saying, “I’ll come and say hi to you and your sister when I get back. It should be around a month from now, there’s a few things Mom wants me to participate in.”
“I guess I’ll see you then.”
She pauses and walks up to me, grabbing my collar and asks, “Can I kiss you?”
I stare at her for a second before giving her a quick peck, knowing that if I do anything more, I’ll probably die.
“I’ll see you when I get back, okay?” Caitlyn says, smiling.
“Yeah, I’ll see you then,” I say, smiling softly. “You really look pretty today.”
“Thanks.”