The World Will Stain Us

Turnings and Tribulations

CONTENT WARNING: This chapter contains flashbacks with graphic decriptions of violence.
All flashback scenes not recounted in dialogue are italicized to set them apart.

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It was downpouring.

There was no other word for the sudden rainstorm that had come out of nowhere. Rain was scarce in L.A., and while they were entering the most rainy season of the year, this deluge was a lot stronger than usual.

CC didn't mind, really. He liked the rain, even if he wasn't entirely familiar with it, having lived in L.A. all his life. He didn't like the idea of driving in that rain, of course, but while he was currently safe, warm, and dry within Jinxx's house, he liked it just fine.

Apparently said guitarist agreed. "You know, I miss living in places where rain was common," he remarked from his spot beside Jake on the couch. "Don't get me wrong, I love L.A., but there's something comforting about the rain."

Jake nodded. "I know what you mean. The sound of it is soothing."

"That's part of why I like this time of year, actually," CC remarked. "The rain. It doesn't happen a lot over the summer months, but it does in the winter, and―I don't know, I guess I like listening to it."

Andy hummed in agreement from his armchair, which he was sitting in the wrong way as he read a comic book. He was half-sideways in what looked to CC like an awkward position but which the singer apparently found comfortable, his long legs draped somewhat haphazardly over the arm of the chair as he leaned back against the other arm. He glanced up to look around the room at them, though CC could tell he wasn't fully paying attention―his eyes kept straying back to his page, and his voice was a little distant as he spoke.

"It rains all the time in Cincinnati," Andy told them. "I used to love the days it rained. I guess since coming to L.A. there's been so few that I've almost forgotten how nice they are." He closed his eyes for a moment, listening to the rhythmic drumming of raindrops on the windows and roof. "You're right, there's something soothing about it."

They fell silent, all returning to what they'd been doing. CC glanced at the magazine in his hands―he wasn't entirely invested in it, but he'd found a decent article about drummers that he'd started to read―before closing his eyes like Andy had, just listening.

The quiet was the kind that came easily, after a long day of hard work. Pages rustled as Jinxx read his book or Andy flipped to a new comic panel; Jake's pen scratched quietly on the staff paper he'd produced from somewhere as he wrote out whatever melody or riff was bouncing around in his head. The living room lights gave off a warm glow visible even with his eyes closed, suffusing the room almost as much as the sense of peace the scene gave off. The rain, as ever, kept up its steady drumbeat, providing background noise to the whole scene.

CC felt a smile curve his lips. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been this relaxed in someone's company, much less the company of four other people; it was strangely comforting that he was so at ease with them after such a short time. He opened his eyes again to gaze around at the others, catching Jake's gaze by accident. The guitarist's hazel eyes almost seemed to brighten at the sight of CC's smile.

CC's eyes caught on the one unfamiliar sight in the room, a recent addition that he hadn't been paying enough attention before to notice. A vase had been set up on the table, containing roses―purple ones, CC realized, a deep purple, a color he'd never seen on a rose before. Somehow they lent a final touch of serenity to the scene. CC wondered where they had come from.

Jinxx found a bookmark, closed his book with a soft thunk, and stretched as he leaned forward to set it down on the coffee table. "It's getting late," he noted.