𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗬 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗗 | licorice cookie

one

licorice sat in the town square on a wooden bench. he scrolled through his phone absentmindedly, through the many photos of his co-workers and their significant others. valentine's day was right around the corner. not that it mattered to licorice, of course, but still. the season always made him feel empty. boxes of chocolate hearts and bouquets of roses always served him the reminder that he would never be able to be part of it. in all his eighteen years of living, he has never even once received a confession, a rose, a box of chocolates, or even held hands romantically--or in general. a gust of wind suddenly picked up, sweeping the little leaves on the ground into the grass. he sighed and looked up. the clouds were big and grey, so he would have to take shelter soon before he got caught in a storm--again.

he desperately searched for an empty place, hugging his scythe close to his chest. technically, he wasn't supposed to be there. luckily, security wasn't tight around this smaller part of the kingdom, so he passed through easily any time he'd choose. he finally found a place, and although not the best, it was better than nothing. but really, you wouldn't expect to stay at a bar during a storm.

he opened the door, and a little jingle came from above, signaling the arrival of a customer. there was no response. the place was empty.

licorice sighed in relief and walked to a booth. he laid his scythe on the seat across from him. his eyes scanned around the bar. wooden interior and empty. yellow-stained glass decorated the bartender's table, and a yellow jukebox on the other side of the bar.

the rain began, and he could hear the pitter-patter of the raindrops. he looked out the window next to him. a tear dropped onto his lap, and within a minute, he looked like a reflection of the window glass.

he sniffed and wiped his face with his sleeves. his thoughts only focused on the one thing he believed he knew for sure-- he was unlovable. no matter how hard he'd try; he'd try his best to look presentable. he would change so much just to match the other people. his dark circles, which he hated so much, became more visible after he accidentally wiped off the concealer with his sleeve. he looked down at his sleeve before whispering, "sh#t..." and this only broke him down harder. his hair, which was styled into thick locs, draped over his face as he looked down.

he would never be good enough to love.

everyone he knew had dated at least once in their life, he couldn't help but feel bad about himself. what makes him so unlovable, he wondered. sometimes he wondered if he even deserved to be loved. probably not, he thought. he was too hyper, too clingy, too weird.

there was a sudden click of a door, and then footsteps. lots of them. licorice pulled his hood over his head and panicked. would he go out into the pouring rain, or stay here, and let them see a villain crying his eyes out in a bar?

a tall, blonde boy opened the door and came to a sudden stop, getting pushed into a little because someone behind ran into him.

licorice panicked, again, and froze in his seat.

"uh, hello sir, what can i get you?" he asked in his customer service voice.

nothing." licorice's voice cracked a little, and he bit his lip to hold in the oncoming tears. his head was still bent down, with his hood covering him entirely.

he sniffed and wiped his eyes with his sleeve again. the footsteps began coming closer.

"don't-don't come close! i have a. . .weapon!"

the blonde peered over the booth and spotted the scythe.

"l-licorice?"

licorice sighed as his cover had been blown, and looked up with red eyes and smudged eyeliner.

"whaddya want?" he only wished for them to leave him alone. to his despise, three more followed out from the door.

the shortest, wearing a gardener outfit, had green hair and held a small potted plant. the second tallest carried an instrument case which he guessed was a violin. he wore a white turtleneck and had brown skin and messy, mint-green hair.

the last to come out had half his head shaved, with hair parted to the side. he had long, red hair, sleepy eyes, fangs, and long, black nails.

all the company made licorice flustered.

"s-sorry for. . .coming in here..." licorice apologized.

"it's storming! don't apologize..." sparkling was thrown off by the villain's unexpected apology. "but. . .may i ask why you're. . .crying?"

licorice sniffed and shook his head. "i-its stupid."

"if it hurts that much that it makes you cry, then it's not stupid." the red-haired boy chimed in. his voice sounded so laidback, as if there wasn't a care in the world. he placed his wine glass in the air and floated over to the table.

"vampire!" sparkling whisper-yelled. he had told him countless times not to leave his wine glasses in the air. it sucked to take them down and wash them.

"what's up?" the vampire was now laying on his side with his hand resting against his head, still in the air.

"i-its not worth your time, b-but thanks anyway." licorice realized he couldn't weasel his way out of this one.

vampire, sitting across from him, still in the air, still looked him in the eyes. they were so sincere, and licorice's face flushed at the sudden attention. he was never looked like that before, especially when he was a sobbing mess.

"i-i-well, it-its selfish, a-and dumb, and-" he hiccuped and sniffed again. "i-i just hate this month." he said quietly.

"ah..." vampire understood. "i just don't understand what's wrong with me."