Stars Forever Falling

Chapter 12: "New Outfit"

- Two days later -

"I need a new dress for tonight!" Velvet suddenly announced out of turn, bursting out of her seat on the balcony as if she had just remembered it. She flicked her cigarette over the railing to the street below and rushed back inside.

Her and Ritz were out there smoking together while Veneer was going through his outfits inside on the sofa, trying to make up his mind on what to wear for the evening. Tonight was the night of their celebration, hosted by Ritz in his penthouse located above the Rage Dome.

"Hey! I've got a damn ash tray- fuck." Ritz called after her frustrated as his eyes followed the lit ciggy's fall down. He was leaning against the barrier, on the opposite side to where Velvet had been sitting at a cute little outdoor table and chair set.

"What are you talking about? We literally got new fits the other day. And plenty of them." Veneer looked up at his sister, as he rummaged through the various luxurious fabrics and accessories he had laid out on the sofa cushions. The TV was playing one of the many music channels available for some background ambience as he made up his mind.

"Relax bro I've got plenty in the bank. If I remember correctly, you were the one who splashed out. I just thought I could use this party thing as a proper new start for us now the whole "facing the public" thing is out of the way. New dress, new me..." Velvet continued to talk as she walked down the hall into the guest room to retrieve her purse and her adjunct disguise, not once stopping as she came back.

"Riiiiiight OK... couldn't you have thought about that yesterday? You went out then too. It's a little last minute don't you think?" Veneer followed her as she started to speed up to go towards the door.

"Last minute shminute, I'm going to get myself dolled up whether you like it or not." She said as she grabbed her phone and subsequently her lighter that she had left on the balcony table. Ritz had it in his hold as he came to the door to give to her. She snatched it from his hand and squinted at him before turning back towards the apartment front door.

"Why don't I come with you? I could do with stretching my legs before the party tonight." Veneer slapped his thighs as he stood up and went to grab his borrowed jacket.

"NO! Uh- no. It's ok. I'll be fine by myself. I need some- uh- girl time." She cleared her throat and fixed the leopard print scarf over her head, looking at him through the tinted sunglasses and leaving before he could argue against her final word.

There was a moment of silence as the door closed and the two men were left alone together. They blinked in unison before looking towards eachother in disbelief.

"Is she- feeling alright?" Ritz broke the quiet as he stepped inside and shut the slider door.

"Velvet actually... left me behind. Again!" Veneer's brain felt like it was about to explode out of his rubber skull. Ever since they were born they were inseparable. He had made friends before when they were in school but they were nothing in comparison to the pedestal his sister had put them both on growing up. She was the possessive type and hated it when he did things without her. Most of the time, he was her only friend. This behaviour started when they were little, and he enabled it as he was made to feel guilty otherwise. Even when they got older and Velvet started to get boyfriends, he was always by her side. Now, this new behaviour scared him as he had never seen her like it before. Even her lying was different. She was usually the calm, collected type of liar that was so convincing that she could tell you black was white and you'd believe her.

"That's a good thing isn't it? Your sister is finally letting you have some space." Ritz plonked himself down on the couch, watching Ven for his reaction. He just stood there dumbfounded by the sudden rush his sister turned into.