Status: Active!

Deal

II

Her eyes felt like they were super glued shut, she had to use almost all of her energy to open them.

After she broke down in the shower, Candy crawled to her bed at five in the morning and quietly sobbed herself to sleep. She could feel the stickiness of dried mascara on her cheeks, not daring to look at herself in the mirror before washing her face.

She pressed the cool rag to her cheek, closing her eyes, realizing for the first time she hadn't eaten in three days. She felt shaky, weak. As much as she'd hate to, Candy needed to eat something; even if it was just dry Frosted Flakes.

After she felt she successfully removed the black streaks from her otherwise bare face, she looked in the mirror. The reflection looking back at her seemed foreign; once bright eyes now dulled with sadness, her skin no longer glowed, and her hair was fried from all of the bleach and hot flat and curling irons. She looked rough and tired. Like she hadn't had a good night of sleep in four years, which was probably true.

Sighing, she placed her hand on the small of her back, placing the other in her hair in an attempt to get the tangles out herself. Her bare feet slapped against the cool linoleum in her small kitchen as she began to prepare a bowl of dry cereal. Glancing at the clock on the microwave, she read 1:57 in the afternoon. She didn't need to work for another four hours, luckily.

Candy spent the rest of her day milling around her apartment, switching between watching trash tv to painting her nails; only to dislike the color then paint them again. That was something that always stuck with Candy; she was never too sure of herself. Whether it be something as irrelevant and as unimportant as nail polish, or if she should eat or not, Candy typically ended up making a decision she later took back.

When she stepped out of her building, the sharp, cold Michigan winter wind slapped against her face, almost as if it was telling her to stay inside. She shivered and trekked her way behind the building to the parking lot, the snow crushing beneath her boots. While winter in Michigan may be a long, miserable, stressful thing; it was beautiful all at the same time. The buildings had snow on the roof tops, and the sky was a crisp periwinkle. As dirty as Detroit was, it could never suck all the beauty out of Michigan's annual mistress.

Rolling down her window to smoke a cigarette, winter's icy breath swooped in, making the hair on the back of Candy's neck stand up. She drove in silence, immersed in her own thoughts. She was so sick of constantly being depressed, constantly feeling worthless. She had been for years, all she wanted was to get better, but she just couldn't. She thought after she got out of her mother's house, then everything would be ten times better. Maybe she'd have a shot of success. That obviously didn't work.

As her thoughts began switching over to the night of work she had ahead of her, she glanced at the steering wheel to examine her nails once more; the almost iridescent color, "Rave", did not look as appealing as it did earlier. Candy sighed in annoyance, she'd probably end up picking it all off tonight.

She slid her teal 1998 Grand Am into a parking space near the back entrance of Sugar Lips, almost groaning at the thought of work. Pushing open the metal door; the scent of cheap perfume and hairspray almost suffocated her. She could hear the music from the club booming through the door separating the dressing room from the rest of the joint. The music was accompanied by the usual giggling and seemingly endless talking of the girls either complaining or gossiping.

Candy smiled at everyone she made eye contact with and sat in her chair. She looked in the mirror adorned in candy cane themed alphabet stickers that Sapphire had gotten her a month before that spelled out her name, trying to decide what she was going to do about her face.

Appearance meant a lot to Candy; she was a narcissistic perfectionist. As long and as hard as she tried putting on her face, doing her hair, or painting her nails; it was never good enough for her. She could look like a Grade A supermodel from some distant exotic country, and it still wouldn't be sufficient for her. She could never decide if it was because of low self esteem, or if she was just obsessed with her own reflection.

"Hey girl," Sapphire said as she fell down into the empty chair next to Candy. "Damn, you look hit as fuck. What happened to you?"

Candy forced a smile, "Long night. What do you think about these nails?"

Sapphire took hold of her small hands, looking over her nails as if they were precious stones. "I don't know, they kinda remind me of somethin' some white girl from Kentucky would do if it was her baby shower she was havin in her momma's basement."

She always had a way of making Candy laugh; if it was either her just being honest about her opinion or just talking.

"Yeah I didn't like them much either," she admitted as she began filling in her dark blonde eyebrows, making sure to get the arch at just the right angle. Since she was going to be on stage tonight, she wanted to make sure she looked as good as possible. The more money, the more chance she had of getting out of this hell hole.

Once she decided she had on more than enough white eye shadow and black eyeliner, Candy stood up and put her cigarette out in the nearby ash tray; heading out on the floor for a bit before getting on stage. She walked around, taking in the crowd; trying to figure out what she should do in order to get as many bills thrown at her as possible, what she would have to do for $20's.

It was a typical Wednesday night crowd; men anywhere from their early 40s to late 50s, who didn't have anyone to go home to..or did have someone to go home to, but just didn't want to. The type who would like Candy. Young, thin, white, blonde. Almost virgin looking; even though that was far from what Candy was.

After she spoke to the DJ to tell him what set to play, Candy stood by the stage; waiting her turn. Smiling at the men seated up front, her stomach began knotting more and more. She wasn't nervous; she was past that beginner's step. She just hated the feeling of all those eyes on her, all those desperate men; staring at her. Taking her in, like she was a slab of meat.

"And once again gentlemen, that was Trina! Now, everyone give it up for every man's dream; she's blonde, she's sexy as hell, and she's here at Sugar Lips. Our resident Barbie, Candy!"

She swallowed the lump in her throat and stepped onto the stage. It was Plexiglas, and when she looked down she could see the LED lights flashing below her. The classic song "Girls, Girls, Girls" by Mötley Crüe began to blast through the speakers as Candy's platform adorned feet glided across the stage; her hands effortlessly grasped the cool pole. She forced herself to look down at the men and interact with them; smile, wink, or simply make eye contact.

As she slid down the pole onto her knees, Candy noticed that a new customer had taken a seat by the stage. He was tan, and had a head of dark brown messy hair, like he had just got out of bed. He had a boyish smirk on his face, and his dark brown eyes twinkled, almost making them look hazel. He was wearing a red button up flannel shirt with a grey t-shirt underneath, but Candy could still tell he was muscular. His eyes switched focus between Candy and the blonde guy next to him whom he was talking to, someone she assumed to be his friend.

Towards the end of her song, Candy fell back onto her knees in front of the man who had captured her attention so well. Grabbing onto the collar of his shirt, she brought him closer to her; kissing him slightly on the cheek. She felt his stubble rub up against her smooth face, and she backed up and began collecting the bills men had thrown at her she hadn't grasped yet. Candy looked at him once more and he smiled and handed her a $50.

She didn't stick around for the applause. She smiled at the men and made her way off stage and back into the dressing room, the DJ's announcement of the next girl ringing in her ears. That guy, who was he?

As she sat down in her chair and proceeded to count her earnings, she couldn't help but continue to think about him. Not only did she find him so attractive, but he had an intriguing vibe about him. Something that had pulled her in, something that made her desperate to know him; to learn about him.

Candy pressed her body up against the door, crushing over the snow to get to her car. She opened the door to the backseat, throwing her purse and Detroit Lions duffelbag in the back. Getting into the car, she twisted her key into the ignition. The car made a nearly pathetic revving noise, but refused to start.

"Fucking awesome," she mumbled to herself. It was freezing out, she was going to either have to stay in her car or the club until Sapphire or someone could help her out. Just as she was sliding down in her seat, about ready to rip her hair out, she heard a knock on her window.

It was him.

She rolled the window down, excited yet nervous to see what he had to say.

"You need some help?"
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Ahhhhhh (:. So I took someone's advice and tried to give Candy some quirks to make her more of a well rounded character, so any comments about that would be much appreciated!

This is Candy's car, which other than the color is the one I'll be getting this December :D

Sapphire now has her own character page as well; comments appreciated!<33