Lena Paul !!install!! — Gabbie Carter,

It wasn't a question. Lena's expression softened, just a flicker. "I saw you, Gabbie. Not the fantasy. The girl who used to cry in the dressing room after her mom called. The one who gave her last twenty to the new girl who got robbed." She slid onto the stage next to her, close enough that their shoulders almost touched. "You were always the realest thing in this fake place."

Tonight, the club was closing forever.

Gabbie took her hand, the touch warm and real. Together, they walked out the back door into the cold, clean air of the early morning. The neon sign buzzed once, twice, then flickered out for good. gabbie carter, lena paul

Lena smirked, stepping closer. "Maybe. Or I'll finally take that vacation I've been promising myself for a decade." She stopped a few feet away. "And you?" It wasn't a question

"Me neither," Lena agreed. She stood up and offered her hand. "Come on. Let's lock up and never look back." Not the fantasy