Shades of Pale

1

Above the cool winter sky, the stars shine gallantly upon the quiet Miami suburb. Only the faint sound of music echoes through the chilled, dry air. The icy sounds emanating from the abandoned warehouse spreads through the dancing crowd like a fever. Luke's hypnotizing synths lashes out from the stage, commanding the waves of people abroad. Though his hoody obscures his face, he locks eyes with Nikki, whose warm sultry voice floods the waves of party goers beyond. Her blue eyes twinkles in the spotlight, her long auburn hair bounces up and down from her shoulders as she hops to the beat. Luke marvels at her energy as her and the crowd move in symmetry, only separated by the stage and security guards. He spins his serato, the white hot sounds pouring out from the speakers as Nikki bounces up and down to the beat. The crowd cheers as the all familiar beat of the song resonates through them. She blows her best friend a kiss, and Luke smiles back at her as he moves back and fourth from the turntable to his synthesizer.

"You never got to bloom, they cut you from the stem. You're innocent at birth, until you understand. Repeat every word they say to me, put you to use or put you to sleep. I can't tell you the difference between, an embryo or a planted seed."
"So many shades of white, so many shades of pale. I know what they hate so i do it constantly. So many shades of white, so many shades of pale. I know how to cut a wound that will not heal."

As the beat breaks, Luke is stunned to see Nikki's small frame flying into the crowd like a missile. Her eclectic voice, along with Luke's icy sounds throws the people into a frenzy. Luke looks on in awe as she's carried along by the crowd.

"Consistency as dirt, insects that spun your silk. They wait for gratitude, they wait for mother's milk. Repeat every word they say to me, put you to use or put you to sleep. I can't tell you the difference between, an embryo or a planted seed. So many shades of white, so many shades of pale. I know what they hate so I do it constantly. So many shades of white so many shades of pale. I know how to cut a wound that will not heal."

As Nikki is hoisted back onto the stage. Their manager, Jared looks out from backstage amazed at the crowd. Nikki's addictive energy winds down, leaving the people wanting more.
"We're Hallowed Dawn, thank you!!" she shouts as the music fades and the lights turn on.

"You guys rock, great show!" Jared says with a marijuana blunt still in his mouth. "Bring that energy next week, I got you a show at Bayfront. NME will be there."
"Whoa how'd you get us that gig?" Nikki asked.
"Magic," He replied passing the blunt to her. "It's amazing what you can with an 8 ball of coke, want some?"
"Naw, I'm good," Luke and Nikki said in unison.
"Well, maybe later," She added.
"You guys are too much, I'm gonna get out of here," Luke says.
"Aw man again, you never hang out with us anymore," Nikki replied.
"Aww don't get in your feelings," He replied. "Joy had a long day at the firm, i'm meeting her at the beach."
"At 1 in the morning?" Jared asked reaching into his jacket, pulling out an envelope.
"Its only coffee, when I'm done I'll link up with you." Luke says taking the envelope.
"You better," Nikki says.
"Sure thing ginger," He says before walking out of the smoked filled hallway.
"Dick," She says sarcastically. Smiling as her childhood crush walks out of the door. She plays with her hair before Jared snaps her out of her fantasy.
"So umm, you want that coke now?" He asks.
She rolls her eyes annoyed.
"Sure, yea let's go," she says as they walk towards the green room.

"Alright Ricky I'm outta here," Joy says walking towards the exit of the law firm.
"Um, where do you think you're going?" Ricky says watching the Miami skyline from his desk.
"I'm going home, are you my daddy now?" She snaps. Her cinnamon brown eyes piercing through him.
"I used to be, until you decided to leave me for some two bit DJ," He says while slowly placing his fedora atop his bald head.
"I left you cause you're an asshole, and a liar, and when I was down at my worst, Luke reached out to me, while you were out doing your dirt."
"I made a mistake." he says. "I felt like you didn't care. I just wanted your attention."
He gets up from his desk, his fiery brown eyes ignites her anger as he slowly approaches her.
"Joy, I'm sorry." He says
"Cut the sh-"
Her words turns to muffled yells as his hand covered her mouth, squeezing her high cheekbones as he pulls her face closer to his.

"No, you cut the shit. I gave you everything, took you out of the hood, gave you a life many people work their whole lives to live. And I made a mistake, but you're so fucking ungrateful."
He gives a feint smile as Joy pushes his hand away from her face. She reaches into her purse, pulling out a small revolver.

"Don't you fucking ever touch me!!" She says pressing the gun between his eyes, pulling back the hammer. "I hate you, and I would love nothing more than to blow your brains all over that degree you brag about so much. But I have a family on the way, and I have more than enough shit to worry about. You took me out the hood, but unlike you I'll never forget where I come from."

"So you grew up," He says slowly clapping his hands. "Fine then, I won't stop you."
He slowly puts his hands atop hers, guiding the gun down from his face.
"Mr. Luke is a good guy," Walking to the front door, opening it. "Tell him there's no hard feelings."
"Have a nice life," she says walking out.
He watches her in silent rage as the strolls down the unusually quiet beachside sidewalk, the streetlights illuminating her cocoa brown skin.
"Another chapter in the life of the rich and powerful," He says to himself before slowly closing the door. Letting out a sigh he picks up his phone.

The crashing of the ocean waves soothes her as she digs her toes into the south beach sand. The smell of the cool saltwater air calms her as she is trying hard to forget what just happened, though still enraged. She let's out a sigh of relief as she hears an all too familiar voice standing behind her.
"Hey Lil mama, what yo name is," Luke says playfully, wrapping his arms around her waist, hugging her from behind.
His playfulness calms her rage, his warm embrace soothes her.
"Oh really bae, so you from the hood now? Don't talk like that it doesn't fit you," She says with a grin.
She turns around, giving him a kiss before digging her face into his chest, the smell of his cologne incites her. The cold memories of her day melts away with Luke's warm smile.
"I miss you, I had a long day," She says
"I miss you too, now you get to rest up and have some hot chocolate with me," he says picking up her sandy heels. She holds his hand tightly as he slowly leads her to the car.

The warmly lit diner overlooks the quiet streets below. The smell of coffee fills the air, and Joy is lost in Luke's brown eyes as she sips hot chocolate from her mug.
"How was your show?" She asked.
"It was aight," he says softly scratching his frizzy afro. "Had a lot of fun watching people suck at dancing." He said. "How was work?"
"I quit."she replied.
"Why? I thought you like working at the firm."
"I can't afford to stress myself out anymore. I'll look for another job in 8 months,"She says hinting at the surprise inside of her.
"8 months?" he says to himself confused, "8 months? what happens in 8 months?"
She winks before taking another sip from her mug.
"You mean, you're a, I'm a... a father?"
She slowly nods her head, unsure of how he'll respond.
"I'm a father, whoa..." He says quietly amazed.
His confused look is replaced by a huge smile as he jumps up, almost knocking over the table. He takes her by the hand, pulling her close to him holding her in a tight embrace.

"I'm gonna be a father everyone!!" He shouts into the largely empty diner.
"Oh i'm sorry to hear that" the tired old waitress says apathetically.
"Aw don't be sorry. I want to be a father!" He shouts happily to the waitress on the other side of the diner.
"Oh, well in that case congratulations?" She says ever so unsure.
"Come on, let's get out of here." He says with a giant grin, putting twenty dollars on the table.

Walking to the car, Joy feels her phone vibrating in her purse. She ignores it and embraces Luke, kissing him passionately against the red sports car.
"Wanna sleep over tonight?" She asked.
"Sure, but I promised Nikki and Jared I'll link up with them, you don't mind coming along?
I don't care, I just wanna be with you." She says getting into the car.
Luke gets into the car, his smile even bigger than before as he speeds off into the cool darkness.
"8 months huh!?" Luke says filled with happiness.
"Yeah we're gonna have to get you a minivan now," she says with a smirk on her face
"Fuck that, you get the minivan, im getting a Truck."

Stopped at a red light, Joy feels the unrelenting vibrations of her phone ringing in her purse. She looks at it, a stunned look creeps across her face as she looks at the haunting text messages. She shows Luke the texts, and a sobering look takes over his once happy face as he sees the last message, a video of Luke at the show he just performed, underneath the video a haunting caption reads:
"Time for you to know that nothing is beyond my reach."
Luke looks at Joy with a million questions running through his head. Before he could respond, he is blinded by the oncoming headlights in his rearview, and he reaches for Joy's hand as the speeding dump truck hits the back of the car, ejecting him from the window. Joy faceplants the dashboard then fades to black as she watches her love fly out of the car.