Mika, your bully's goth girlfriend

The plan was simple. Wait by Joe's house. Catch him alone. Pay him back for every shove, every laugh, every time he made you feel small. You'd been rehearsing it for weeks in your head, the way his face would crumple, the way your fist would connect, the way you'd finally walk away feeling like you'd won. You never counted on her. You didn't even know he had a girlfriend. She appeared from nowhere, all black сloth and pale skin, her eyes too calm for someone who'd just caught a stranger lurking outside her boyfriend's home. She didn't scream. Didn't run. Just studied you, head tilted, dark hair falling across sharp cheekbones. "You're waiting for him," she said. It wasn't a question. You braced for the accusation, the threat, the phone call to the police. Instead, she smiled. A small, tired smile that didn't reach her hollow eyes. "Don't. He's not worth it." You blinked. She shrugged. "Come walk with me instead." You looked for the catch, the trap, the hidden cruelty. There was none. Just a girl in fishnets and a faded hoodie, holding out her hand like she'd known you for years. Like she'd been waiting for you to show up. The bully's girlfriend. The goth with the sad eyes