8:01 P.M. – Backstage
The sweet perfume mixed with the stench of everyday misery hung thick in the air, while the old ceiling fan did its usual half-assed job, swirling warm air and dust into some suffocating blend.
Hana had barely stepped into the dressing room when she let out a loud sneeze.
Lyra was in the middle of applying a subtle wing of eyeliner. She had gone ahead on her own just to avoid walking into the club together. Rudi needed to be kept in the dark as much as possible.
"Bless you, Chubcake. Allergic to style?" Lyra called from the makeup table.
Hana just shot her an eye-roll for that one.
Cherry, perched on the bench with her phone and a vape, giggled softly, then choked on the smoke and coughed until tears of laughter welled up in her eyes
"God, Lyra, fuck you. Now my makeup's ruined because of your piggy jokes."
She grimaced, then brushed a strand of pink hair out of her face and threw a critical side-eye at the both of them.
Lyra pressed her lips together.
Why am I being such an asshole to Hana again?
She really could've kept that comment to herself. Maybe it was the place. The people. The stress. Or something else.
"Sorry, Cherry, maybe you should've just gotten your makeup tatted on…" Hana shot back coldly.
"...kinda like that crossed-out name on your arm?"
"PFFFT—HAHAHAHAHA!"
That dry remark made Lyra's doubts burst like a water balloon. She doubled over in uncontrollable laughter, dragging Hana right down with her.
Now Cherry was the joke in the room.
"Bitches…" Cherry hissed, her face twisted just like the distorted music she always listened to.
She turned abruptly and stormed toward the door, avoiding their gaze. "You two never know if you wanna piss off each other or just everyone else."
Then she was gone, and the stinging scent of perfume with her. Hana and Lyra laughed even harder, together. The way they hadn't in way too long.
"Hahaha… ha. Haaa—" Hana wheezed, bracing herself against the metal table.
"Haaa…" Lyra finally caught her breath too, wiping a tear from her eye.
"That one hit deep. But she can take it. Good one."
As she walked past, she gave Hana a light punch on the shoulder.
"Indeed," Hana agreed as she pulled her costume out of her bag. Her smile turned crooked. "But one more piggy joke and I'll roast your ass."
"Try me, darling," Lyra countered, unable to hide a grin. Those stupid jokes were exactly what they needed against the tension that no one dared to voice.
Lyra had almost disappeared into her changing alcove when a less welcome voice echoed from the doorway. "Girls."
Of course. It was the bunny-boss himself, coming to check on his property. But this time, he brought a sinking feeling that hung heavier in the air than Cherry's perfume. His demeanor was relaxed and condescending. More than usual.
"Shut it, you cheap whores. You two especially ain't got shit to laugh about anymore, clear?"
The color drained instantly from their faces. Both gazes got lost somewhere between the makeup palettes and condom wrappers on the floor. Quiet. Obedient.
Satisfied with their silence, he stepped farther into the room, stopping right between them, arms crossed behind his back.
Hana sat at the makeup table with her eyes lowered, while Lyra had retreated into her corner like prey fleeing into a hole.
"Make yourselves nice and pretty," he ordered. "Client's been waiting eagerly for ya. He's got a special request."
They both paused.
"Don't get it myself, but he don't want you showin' up as bunnies. Wants you in your normal clothes."
…
Lyra tensed up, her top already halfway off. Hana's hand slipped, smearing her eyeliner. Lyra shot out of her corner, yanking her hoodie back down as she moved.
"That's not happening. We're a bunny club. There's nothing else than bunnies. If he wants something else, he can fuck off."
Rudi's eyebrows raised with lazy indifference, his massive shoulders giving a single shrug. "Like I give a shit. Money is money."
He approached Lyra calmly, brushing a strand of hair from her face as if she were a doll. His doll. That indulgent look again, the same sick expression he'd worn last time.
"Do we really need ta argue, or can we skip that part?"
The words seemed harmless, but they hit their mark. Lyra froze. Except for her head. It nodded.
Rudi flashed a satisfied, yellow-gold grin and turned to leave. "Good. Have fun with the dude, then. I don't wanna hear a peep, unless it's you two moaning."
His self-satisfied laugh echoed for a few more beats, first through the dressing room, then out into the hallway.
What remained was a suffocating silence.
Hana immediately searched Lyra's eyes, but all she found there was trembling emptiness.
She snapped her fingers sharply in front of Lyra's face, intentionally strict, trying to break her out of the shock.
"Hey. Earth to Lyra?"
Lyra flinched hard, like someone had yanked her violently back into reality. Her words stumbled out like a double-time flow, just… nervous.
"Yeah, uh—no idea what that's supposed to turn into now but— but actually it shouldn't change our plan, right? I mean, technically it probably— somehow ends up with us being thrown into some kind of fight in there, right? Like— like where we're supposed to go at each other for money or whatever. Which I don't even need. I mean not necessarily, so— so—"
Hana grabbed Lyra firmly by the shoulders, cutting the word flood, and looked directly into her face with one raised eyebrow.
"Earth. To. Lyra," Hana repeated, this time with force.
It worked. After a few blinks, Lyra suddenly darted her gaze around, as if she had to double-check where the hell she even was. "Eh, uhm. Sorry."
Hana let go of her shoulders and searched for the right words. "Whatever this clothes thing is about… it's still gonna end in some kind of competition."
Lyra nodded.
"Yeah. No matter what happens, we— we stick to our act."
Hana nodded back. The two of them turned to their dressing tables and makeup.
But the dumb jokes and cheap banter stayed absent, replaced by an odd, heavy silence.
When she was finally ready, Lyra unclipped her earrings and buried them deep in her handbag.
Having to show up in her normal clothes was agonizing enough as it was.
At least the earrings had to go.
A desperate attempt to separate work from private life.
She hated letting her real identity get tainted by this place.
Hesitant and unwilling, she stepped over the invisible line she had guarded for so long.
One last nod between them, then they headed out.