Not Afraid to Die

"Studio, studio, studio," Lolita chirped, hopping in the passenger seat of Dante's car.

Shaking his head, Dante pulled into a parking spot next to the "stalker van," the band's old travel van from before their tour bus days. He took a sip of his coffee and unhooked his seatbelt.

It was too early for him to function without coffee. Somehow, his younger sibling managed to get up that morning with more energy than Dorian would have. All she had that morning was oatmeal and orange juice. He wasn't sure how she managed to wake up with that kind of energy.

But at least she woke up without feeling absolutely miserable.

The medication must have been making the descent a hell of a lot easier on her.

"You ready to go in?" Dante asked.

"Yeah," Lolita exclaimed, clutching the bottle of orange juice in her hand.

She was more than ready. She always wanted to go into the studio with Dante. Just to watch him record. Yesterday's random sickness had prevented her from doing that, leaving her slightly disappointed.

However, it was fun to hang out with Rian all day. After he left, Lolita ate and attempted to do homework that her father assigned. She didn't get very far. Her mind kept drifting to Rian and his perfect smile.

She still didn't know what she would do about her crush, but she wasn't going to try to stifle it.

"Let's go then."

Lolita jumped out of the car, while her sibling calmly stepped out. Together, they walked along the pavement and into the building. Dante nodded a greeting to the man sitting at the front desk, continuing to lead the way into the studio. Lolita waved as they passed and followed her brother through a short hallway. At the end of the hall, Dante opened a door, holding it for her to step through. Smiling, Lolita skipped into the room.

Moss green eyes sparkling with excitement, she took in the magic that was the control room. RxN band members were scattered around the area, talking. On a folding table, snacks were laid out, a small cooler next to it. Buttons and knobs that Lolita didn't know anything about filled the room. Behind a glass wall was the recording studio itself, filled with equipment.

It was better than Lolita imagined.

She had never actually gotten the chance to see the recording process before. She was sick during the making of the band's previous albums. Nothing major, but the minor illnesses had kept her bedridden. Finally, she was able to put a picture to the process.

The bass player was the first to notice her standing at the door next to her older sibling. From his position lying on the couch, he smiled, eyes shining. To Lolita's surprise, he didn't get up to greet her in some way that would hurt her spinal cord.

"Lollipop," Dorian drawled, "I would hug you, but I'm tired."

His statement drew the attention of the other members in the room to her. Multiple greetings were thrown in her direction before they turned back to their work. The brief greetings brought a sense of being at home to Lolita. They didn't make a fuss about her being around, didn't try to cover up any work they didn't want her to see or have someone take care of her so she would be "better entertained." The band members just greeted her.

Like she belonged there.

"You can sit next to Arpeggio," Dante said, motioning to the empty spot next to the drummer staring at her phone, "She's done with recording, so she'll be your main source of company while we bicker."

"Sounds good."

"Tell me if you get hungry. We'll be ordering food at some point and there are snacks on the table, but if you want something else, I can get it sent here for you."

"Can you pull a bunny from a hat, too?"

"If the bunny is already in the hat, yes. Now go sit down and occupy yourself by playing with your fingers or whatever it is you do."

Giggling, Lolita left her brother's side and crossed the expanse of the crowded room to the couch Arpeggio was seated on, collapsing into the open space. Feeling the couch sink in next to her, Arpeggio looked away from her cell phone. A smile immediately formed on her face.

"Hey, Lolita," Arpeggio said, slipping her phone into her pocket.

Jack would be fine without her responding for some time.

"Hi," Lolita chirped. She folded her legs underneath her, situating her body comfortably on the red couch.

"How are you feeling?"

The question was customary. Someone would ask Lolita at some point. However, Lolita was fairly surprised to hear it from the drummer's lips. They normally just smiled at each other and sat in silence.

But that was two years ago.

"Amazing. How are you feeling?"

Asking seemed appropriate. Arpeggio was diabetic. Lolita knew that diabetics had bad days in their health, too.

"Pretty good. I finished recording yesterday, so I get to sit around and harass everyone."

"How long did it take you to finish?"

"A few hours."

"Geez, are you Superman?"

Lolita knew enough about recording to know it was never that quick. It took a few hours to get through a couple of songs, not a whole album.

"No, I'm just more efficient then they are, especially that one," Arpeggio pointed to her pink-haired sister. In a whisper she continued, "She's too busy sneaking away to have marathon sex with Alex in the bathroom."

"I can hear you," Neon stated, not turning away from the control board.

"She can't really hear me."

Lolita nodded in mock understanding, "It’s the pink hair, causes this thing called deafness in large quantities, selective hearing in small quantities."

"That explains so much," Dante cut in.

"Aren't you supposed to be doing something productive," Lolita asked, "like getting me Skittles?"

"Oh, we should get Skittles," Arpeggio said, "There's a vending machine in the hall."

"Does it have Skittles?"

"I don't know. If it doesn't, we can get some from the gas station next door. And if they don't have any," Arpeggio paused, "Well, then we dress up as robbers and demand they order Skittles."

"Can I have a pink ski mask?"

"I wouldn't have imagined anything different."

"Let's do it."

To her sibling, Arpeggio asked, "Can we go get Skittles?"

"No," Neon and Dante chorused.

"Dante," Lolita whined, jutting her lower lip out.

It did nothing to Dante's resolve. He wasn't looking at her. Lestat, on the other hand, had been watching the interaction of the two sets of siblings and was sucked into Lolita's pitiful gaze.

This always happened.

"Dante, just let her get some Skittles. She looks like a kicked puppy," Lestat said.

"You're supposed to be on my side," Dante replied.

"But she looks so sad."

Sighing, Dante looked at his still pouting sister, "I'll let you get fast food for lunch."

The false pout dropped, bright smile taking its place. "Okay," Lolita said.

Before Arpeggio could say anything, Neon said, "You're already getting fast food, so don't ask. And I let you order the Skittles cake, so hush."

Smiling, Arpeggio leaned back against the couch. Lolita turned her attention to the drummer, remembering a mentioning of her engagement at the planning of the Christmas special.

"You're really engaged?" Lolita asked.

"Yeah," Arpeggio's smile widened, "Jack asked some months back, and I said 'yes.'"

"But you're only nineteen."

"And I love him. I don't see why I should wait. He and I have been together for over two years, and he's helped me through so much. I couldn't imagine spending the rest of my life without him."

"It's weird to think you're only a year older than me and you're getting married. I'm glad you're happy with him, though. You definitely deserve it."

"Just wait. You're going to meet a guy who will make you feel the same way I do, and you won't want to live without him."

A clear image of Rian formed in Lolita's mind.

"That's what I'm afraid of," she mumbled.