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tw // mentions of suicide and substance abuse
☆♬○♩●♪✧♩ ♩✧♪●♩○♬☆
APRIL 8TH 1994
Emma had never fallen asleep on the job but that day, it was a wonder not a single person, client or staff, asked her if she was okay. The girl leaned against one of the walls of the coffee bar she worked at and furiously rubbed her eyes.
She'd started working at TheBlack Dahlia over two months after turning eighteen. Funnily enough, she had been very eager to start working and earning some sort of income, and since she still had no clue what she wanted to do with her life, she could do so. The main appeal was that it gave her a legitimate excuse to be out of the house most mornings and some afternoons. Plus, not that long after she got her job, her best mate Harry joined her as well.
(Neither of them knew who had come up with the name for the coffee bar, nor did they know the reasoning behind giving that name to the place considering that the Black Dahlia was a woman who had been killed. There certainly was a clear juxtaposition between the gruesome murder and the old people sipping on their tea and taking shy bites out of their biscuits, though.)
Emma and Harry had been inseparable since primary school. The relationship they had was very unique because Harry had known Emma before her parents died, which was essentially the great turning point of her life. Harry had been there for her through it all.
And of course, that sort of support could only go both ways: Emma was the first person Harry came out to as gay. He cried to her about his insecurities and the crippling fear of even considering telling his parents. The girl had comforted him, both physically and emotionally. She made sure to let him know that nothing could ever change the way she loved him, let alone something as inconsequential as him liking lads. She also didn't think Harry had to come out to his parents if he didn't feel ready. This was his secret to keep and she felt truly honored for being the first one he shared it with. Luckily, when he did decide to come out to his parents, everything went well.
As if on cue, a hand came onto Emma's vision and she heard the (in that moment, deafening) sound of fingers snapping repeatedly. Sure enough, it was Harry trying to catch her attention. He was in the (almost) all-black uniform that was required for the job: a black polo with a black dahlia right over where his heart would be, his old jeans and a black apron that said Black Dahlia in white and all cursive. Emma was wearing these items too (except she was wearing skinny jeans).
