FebruApril, 1995: It comes… I go. To be free, regrow. Renée, my sweet Renée. I’m sorry.
Lor
I sleep terribly the first night Ro is in jail, and I’m up with the sun the next morning. A first for me. I have no idea if his attorney bought my story, but I’m moving forward with my plan either way. If there’s anything I can do to diminish his sentence or help prove him innocent, I’ll do it.
Finn calls that afternoon telling me to come down to the club, that he found someone who can help, so that’s where I’m headed after getting lost for hours on the internet again. I managed to at least wash my face and brush my hair before I left, but I can’t say the rest of me is well taken care of.
“Lor, hey,” Finn says, waving me to the back room when I walk in. He motions to a slight figure leaning against the far wall. “This is XingXing, they/them. I’ll just let you two work things out back here, yeah?”
“Sure, thanks Finn. I know this puts you in a tough spot, but I appreciate your help.”
He nods, a conflicted look of worry and relief lining his face as he backs out and closes the door behind him. I wonder for the millionth time if I’m doing the right thing as I take in their casual t-shirt, chin length black hair, and the graceful way they slide into a chair.
“So, what can I help you with?” XingXing asks. They clasp their hands in front of them and cross their legs, the picture of nonchalance.
I eye them warily, questioning if I can really trust this person. I’ve been weighing the risks all morning, going back and forth in my head. The risks of trusting them… And the risks if I don’t.
I’m willing to sacrifice my secret if I need to, it’s worth it to save Ro from what would surely be a lifetime sentence in the supernatural prison. Supernaturals aren’t given a second chance, and they’re not given lenient sentences either.
I pinch my lips, hating the deal I’m about to offer, but deep down I’ve already decided. When it comes down to it, there’s no other option.
“I need you to help me clear someone’s name. I gave myself as an alibi, but…”
“Let me guess,” their mouth quirks up in a wry grin. “They did something bad and you need the footage scrubbed?”
“Yes.” I sigh, slumping with relief that they said it and not me.
“Alright,” XingXing says, pulling out a laptop and plugging a black box into it. “I need the details. Where, when, who, anything else relevant, so I know where to start looking.”
They type and click as I talk, dark brown eyes flicking across the screen as they do… whatever it is hackers do. When they run out of questions and I run out of information, they settle back in their seat and cross their arms.
“I’ll need payment.”
“Right.” I bite my lip. I knew this moment was coming. I can do this. “How much will it be?”
The number they give makes my eyes pop. I take a deep breath, then do the one thing I swore I’d never again do.
“Do you accept payment other than cash? Like, what if I had something valuable to trade?”
The hacker tilts their head, hair swaying with the movement, but their eyes don’t leave mine. “Depends what it is.”
I suck in a shaky breath, steeling myself, then blurt it out.
“I can pay with stardust.”
XingXing freezes. They don’t even blink as they stare at me, then their eyes flit between mine. It’s only now I consider that they may not know the value of what I’m offering. I tense, kicking myself internally for being so stupid as I hope I didn’t just ruin everything. If they think I’m crazy, or don’t believe me, or… My lip hurts from how much I’ve been chewing on it, and my leg starts to bounce under the table as I wait for their answer.
“How?”
I gulp, and my eyes dart around the stacked liquor boxes in the back room of the club. Does that mean theydoknow about stardust? And that they believe I can get some? Their stoic expression gives nothing away, but I’ve already started down this path, so I might as well see where it goes. I don’t have many choices other than to trust them.
For Ro.
I lean forward and lower my voice. “I’m a star-chaser,” I whisper.
XingXing must know we’re real, because they don’t look surprised. It’s only slightly reassuring.
“Prove it.”
