BLACKHOUSE [H.S.]

Four

We pull up to the shop, a small building tucked away on a side street in West LA, with fifteen minutes to spare before my interview.

It looks like an old storefront with white-painted brick, two large windows and a black awning that reads BLACKHOUSE in big, bold white lettering.

Next to it is a convenience store, and what looks to be an old apartment building. There are a few cars parked on the street in front, but not many.

I wonder how busy this place gets? It looks like a ghost town.

Cass turns left down a narrow driveway between Blackhouse and the convenience store that leads to a shared parking lot. The back of the shop has black graffiti staining the white brick, it looks like a bunch of different symbols but I can't make out what they are.

She pulls into a stall behind the convenience store, putting her car in park and shutting the engine off. I look at her and take in a deep breath, nerves at an all-time high.

"You good?" She laughs, taking in my stressed demeanor.

"Yeah," I say softly with a small smile. "I just hate job interviews."

She chuckles and shakes her head, her straight blonde hair spilling over her shoulders. "You'll do great! Louis is a really nice guy," she reassures me, grabbing onto my hand like she always does when I get anxious.

The gesture does make me feel a bit better, honestly.

"What are you gonna do while I'm in there?"

I can't imagine she would want to wait outside. Even in October LA gets pretty warm, too warm to sit in a parked car, that's for sure.

"I was actually going to see if Niall's here," she blushes, shrugging. "I wanted to catch up."

I laugh at her and roll my eyes.

That's why she insisted on driving me here.

Not to be nice, but to see this guy she still very clearly has feelings for.

"Come on, let's go inside." She lets go of my hand and unbuckles her seatbelt, opening the door and stepping out.

I take one last deep breath and follow her actions, her locking the car once we're both out.

We go around to the front entrance of the building, the glass door has BLACKHOUSE TATTOOS painted in the same bold font as the awning, but in black instead of the bright white.

I hear a soft chime when we open the door and step inside. There appears to be no one here, but there are 5 stations set up in preparation for clients.

"Hello?" Cass calls out, waiting for a response.

I hear shuffling in the back and the sound of the wheels of a rolling chair. After a moment, a white door at the back of the room opens up.

A shorter guy, no more than 5'8", steps out of the back room and shuts the door behind him. Both of his arms are covered in colorful tattoos, as well as his neck; a few small ones are scattered around his face.