He woke up on a couch in an unfamiliar room, with the smell of burning in the air - he decided to put the source of the smell down to another gang issue. His body felt sore and he noticed that he was shirtless, what had happened to him? He could remember being pursued by another gang last night but he couldn't remember anything else.
Groaning as he painfully stood up off of the couch, he looked in the mirror in the corner. It was cracked along the top and a corner of it was missing, but in his mind a mirror was a mirror. He had a burst lip and a black eye along with various scratches and cuts along his face. He brushed his hair out of his eyes to inspect any further damage. There was a small gash on his forehead but someone had done an expert job of patching that up. Along his torso were several bruises and cuts, but again someone had done an expert job of patching that up.
The sound of a door opening made him realise that whoever's apartment he was in, the owner was coming. A tall girl with wild blue and black hair was heading to the kitchen. He turned so that his back was against the harsh coldness of the mirror, and faced her. She wore black leather pants like his with a Marilyn Manson shirt and walked barefoot around - what he assumed to be - her apartment.
Raoul noticed that the man had moved from the couch to the battered mirror, and had his back to it and was facing her. He seemed both curious and slightly scared at her presence in the room.
"I wouldn't lean on that mirror if I were you"
He looked hesitant at the first words she said to him. Raoul meanwhile was beginning to enjoy this.
"I've had that mirror for some time; it wouldn't surprise me if it broke sometime soon. And trust me; you don't need any more injuries." She said the last part with a half smirk.
He gulped down his fear and began to walk towards her, anticipating the sound of his platform boots on the floor. Instead he was met with the quiet thud of his bare feet.
"What happened to me?" He asked, glancing down at his bare feet and exposed torso.
She turned to him.
"You got beat up by some gang last night outside mine and my best friend's apartments."
Everything began to make some sense to him finally.
"I haven't introduced myself have I? I'm Raoul, Raoul Price."
The boy looked up at her, and for the first time smiled.
"I'm Jodie, Jodie McKinnon."
Jodie and Raoul smiled at each other for a moment.
"Can I borrow your phone? I need to call someone to take me home" He glanced down at his bare chest and leather pants crusted with blood. "And to bring me some clothes." He said the last part with a small laugh.
Raoul gave a small nod as a reply.
A minute later Jodie was on the phone while Raoul made some coffee for both of them. Jodie turned to her.
"Where am I?" He asked, looking vaguely puzzled.
"You're at apartment 10B in the Mercury block."
"Okay" He smiled before relaying the information to whoever he was talking to.
Around ten minutes later a girl with black and purple hair, green eyes and tan-ish skin knocked on the peeling door of Raoul's apartment. Raoul opened the door to her and a plastic bag of clothes in her hand. She guessed that the girl must've been whoever Jodie phoned.
"Hi, you must be here for Jodie?"
The girl simply nodded and gave a polite half smile. Raoul remembered that Derrick used to be like this, but music had helped her to open up to other people. Somehow Derrick had become the insane person she was today after discovering her music.
Raoul stood to one side and motioned for the girl to come into her home. Almost immediately Jodie's eyes lit up and he smiled at the timid girl. Her eyes however were staring at the Marilyn Manson poster that graced the wall of the living room. Raoul braced herself for another rant about Christianity and faith. She was instead met by the opposite.
"You like Manson?" The girl asked.
"Yes, I'm a pretty big fan of his." Raoul smiled little.
"Me too."
They forgot about Jodie for a brief moment until a deliberate cough alerted them that he was still there.
"Raoul this is Levi, Levi Campbell. Levi this is Raoul, Raoul Price. Can I use your bathroom for a moment?"
Raoul smiled, nodded and pointed him in the right direction.
Jodie turned the rusted lock of the bathroom door until he heard the soft click of the splintering door locking. Peeling his leather pants off, he rummaged through the bag Levi had brought him. A fresh pair of leather pants fell out of the bag along with a pair of black military boots. He also found his silver belt made out of safety pins and his favourite Black Veil Brides shirt - Levi had chosen well. Well she should've really. Seeing as they were very close, and half siblings.
