Leave The Light On--- Violet

It's not like she was stalking them. Trailing, maybe. Protecting, definitely. Vi had a mouth made of pure truth and even purer trouble, and when it inevitably led them to bloody knuckles and knife fights, that's when Soren would step out of the shadows. No one touched the friends of Silco's daughter. Not if they liked their teeth where they were.

Not that they were friends. They hadn't been for years now. And truth be told, the group never really needed her protection. Still, Soren stayed, lurking in the damp, bone-cold alleyways, waiting for the day Vi might stop pushing her away, might look at her without spitting venom.

Vi yanked Powder up by the hand, her jaw clenched so tight Soren could practically hear her grinding her teeth from here. Powder stumbled onto the rooftop-a clumsy tangle of elbows and scuffed-up boots. Claggor and Mylo had already made it, waiting at the top like it hadn't been a near disaster just getting there.

They were too high up for Soren to properly catch what they were saying-not that it mattered. She wasn't nosy, just observant. She lingered at the base of the building, hands shoved deep into the pockets of her too-big jacket, scuffing the toes of her boots along the cracked ground like a bored delinquent. Which, to be fair, she absolutely was.

Nobody talked to her.
Nobody looked at her.
Not really.

Vi hadn't spoken to her in months, except when absolutely necessary. Even then, it was like pulling teeth-with rusty pliers that didn't even fit.

And Powder?
Powder still gave her little glances sometimes. Tiny, uncertain things, like maybe she remembered a time when Soren had braided her hair or stolen sweets to make her smile. But those memories were fading. Just like everything else.

Good, Soren thought, kicking a loose rock into the gutter.

Love had been a lousy investment anyway.