𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐔𝐍𝐄 , 𝘱 𝘫𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴𝘰𝘯 ¹ (being rewritten)

004

004 : bitch birds and more
wedding dress chats
❛ you literally climbed a lava wall
after lunch, i think you can handle a little dye ❜

the next couple days should have been heaven for harlow, but surprisingly didn't enjoy watching percy jackson suffer. she had spent her time laying low, putting together a border patrol system with a few other kids and listening to melanie play bass in the arts and crafts cabin. she had consciously made an effort to debunk anyone talking bad about tyson, leaving an ares kid with a black eye and a dementer girl with her fake leg up a tree.

there had been no more wedding dress visions, thankfully. but there had been strange dreams of sheep utopias and something about golden yarn? whatever it was, it was keeping harlow up at night. she was starting to slack off in training, and it showed. tantalus had messed up her schedule on purpose, leaving her to do chores late into the night and shower slots at the worst times.

"hello? harlow are you listening to me?" melanie waved her hand out in front of her face. she blinked and was brought back to reality. "I said," she lifted two bottles of dye. "I'm gonna dye my hair in streaks this winter, and the stolls got me these two, so which one?" there was a hot pink and midnight blue bottle in her hands.

they were on melanies bunk above harlows. It had cutout feminist magazine sheets and cult film posters on the walls. there were a few polaroids of the two of them by the lake licking ice lollies. normally no one unclaimed in the hermes cabin decorated but considering that the two of them had been in the cabin for over three years (with the exception of harlow's brief stay in the ares cabin) and had been best friends ever since harlow accidentally tackled her into the creek during capture the flag. It only seemed fitting that they furnished their spaces.

"uh the blue, then phase to purple then pink." she said, flicking through an old sports magazine silena had given her after dinner. "where am i supposed to get purple dye?" melanie sighed, draping herself dramatically over her overstuffed huge ikea bear. "wouldn't the blue fade to purple?" harlow asked, not looking up from a pair running shorts she liked.

"do i really want to risk that?"

"you literally climbed a lava wall after lunch, i think your hair can handle a little dye."

melanie laughed and stared at the pink dye, "before she...left, she said she would dye her hair pink." harlow froze, it was the first time they had brought up her since, well since she left them. melanie's face was void of emotion, she stared at the bottles of dye and then at the empty space on her wall. It was a gap the size of a large polaroid was dark from where the sun hadn't touched it.

the mood had dropped drastically. "do you want to tal-" harlow was cut off by melanies curt "no." she sniffed, and wiped her eyes. harlow climbed down the ladder and slid into her sheets, not bothering to brush her teeth or wash up.it wasn't the first time melanie had shut everyone out for a few hours, she was entitled to it after all she'd been though. but not talking about it was going to make it worse.

harlow's wall was taped up with her favourite athletes and bands. there was a framed photo that took pride of place in the middle. It was her and her mother at church on easter morning (one of the only times they attended) harlow was wearing a sunshine yellow dress and her mother was a vision in a powder blue suit. it had been a rare moment of serenity for the two of them, the night before her mother's girlfriend had moved out for good and they were barely paying rent. but there was always easter, there was a family rule between the two of them. no matter where they were or what the situation was. they would get together, go to church and eat chocolate.

the last time they had done that was three years ago, when her mother had introduced her new partner. they were perfectly nice, but when they opened the door for harlow and brought her into a house she barely recognised anymore,  that was when she snapped.