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flowersandskeletons526 · 5 years ago

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“Broken Noses and Bad Ideas” - Glitradora fanfic, part 3

I think Catra is becoming my favorite character to write. Also, plot! Damn! 🙃

Enjoy part 3!

Part 1 Part 2

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The water ran pink as Catra washed the blood from her hands. Her knife sat on the counter beside her, scrubbed clean and disinfected. Her knuckles were split open from the short fight. She focused on her hands as Scorpia paced behind her, arms crossed, still wearing her outfit from the performance.

Catra wanted to shout at her to stop pacing, but she really couldn’t blame her for being worried. She disappeared after the performance, which already made Scorpia worried, and then showed up covered in blood with a knife and some battered pink stranger in her arms. Now, said stranger was asleep in her bed on the other side of the cramped, rickety house. For once, Scorpia had a right to be concerned.

“You’re sure that no one saw you?” she asked as Catra dried her hands. “Catra, what if someone calls the cops?”

“No one is going to call the cops,” Catra said.

“Are you sure?”

“It was dark, no one was around, and none of them cared to look at me. They were too busy bleeding out. Besides, what are they going to say if they do call? The four of us were kicking the shit out of some girl and one random person came over and took down all of us?”

“Maybe.”

Catra snorted. “Not gonna happen. I swear, we’re fine.”

Scorpia made an uneasy sound in the back of her throat and wrung her hands. She glanced in the direction of the bedroom. “Why did you get involved, anyway?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean, it is a little out of character for you.”

Catra pursed her lips and shrugged, keeping her back to Scorpia. “She needed help.”

“Are you okay?” Scorpia turned Catra and cupped her face, squinting at her. “Are you feeling sick?”

“No! Get off me!” Catra swatted her hands away. “Look, as soon as the girl wakes up, she’s out of here. And besides, I met her earlier this week and now I can call in a favor. It’s always a good idea to have friends in a new city, right?”

“I guess.”

“Come on, you trust me, don’t you?”

“Of course.”

“Good.” Catra patted Scorpia’s shoulder as she stepped around her. “Nice job during the show, by the way. Go get some sleep.”

“Thanks, Catra! Night.”

“Night.”

Catra watched Scorpia until she shut her bedroom door behind her. Running her hands through her messy hair, she grabbed her knife from the counter and looked at her reflection in the blade. She knew where she stabbed those thugs; they wouldn’t die if they got to a hospital. She slipped the weapon into her pocket and went to her bedroom.

The girl from the magic shop was still unconscious. Rogelio helped bandage her up, glaring at Catra standing over him the entire time while Lonnie raged about stabbing strangers “for some punk princess,” as she put it.

The worst of the wounds on her face were covered, but smaller scrapes and cuts were still visible. The few spots of blood soaking through her sparkly shirt were tiny and superficial, so Rogelio left those alone and focused on her face and arms. Most of the wounds were bruises, anyway. The girl had turned onto her side in her sleep, her jacket lying beside her, face battered and exhausted but somehow peaceful in the dim lamplight.

Catra crossed her arms as she narrowed her eyes, nails digging into her biceps. Scorpia’s questions ran through her head. Sure, the girl needed help, but Catra wasn’t going to lie to herself about it. She saw that portrait behind the counter in the magic shop.

She knew that face. It had haunted her for over a year now, since the last time she was dragged to Etheria on business. It wasn’t her choice to be back, even if she had convinced her bandmates that it was. If she had any say, she would write the city out of her mind and never come back, never think about the place or what happened here ever again. But now, with this girl lying in her bed and the image of the portrait from the shop in her mind, she couldn’t forget any of it.

Adora suddenly showing up didn’t help with anything, either. No matter what else she tried to scrub from her thoughts, Adora always stayed. Every waking moment, she was there nagging in the back of Catra’s head. It made her blood boil in her veins as she clenched her jaw, suddenly ready to tear the next wisetalker in her path to shreds.

The girl’s phone buzzed on the bedside table. Catra cringed. It had been going off since before they even arrived at the house, and the noise drove her insane. Stepping into the room with a sigh, she grabbed the phone to see if she could put it on silent.

Someone must love her, she thought as she turned the phone on.

Adora’s face lit the screen. Catra froze. She was sure she was hallucinating for a moment, but the picture didn’t disappear. Her fingers curled into talons as the phone continued to buzz, barely restraining herself from declining the call. She set the phone down before she crushed it by accident.

Once the phone finally stopped ringing, she figured out how to put it on silent and flipped it facedown on the table. She stepped back and took a shaky breath. Her eyes fell on the sleeping girl.

A portrait of that woman was hanging in the girl’s store. Adora had been calling her nonstop since Catra found her.

Catra narrowed her eyes. “Who are you?”

The girl didn’t stir. Gritting her teeth, she exhaled sharply and stepped out of the room, closing the door halfway behind her.

She sat at the card table in the middle of the kitchen and arched over the back of the folding chair. Her phone rang once. She answered before it could ring again. It was never a good idea to keep this particular caller waiting.

“Hello?”

“Catra.” Hordak’s raspy voice cut through the speaker. “Have you settled in Etheria yet?”

“We just got everything situated. I was about to call you.”

“You were planning to call me at such hours of the night?”

Catra swallowed hard. “The show ran late, sir. My apologies.”

“Are you lying to me?”

“Of course not, sir.”

“Good. When can I expect your payment?”

“We get the check next week.”

“I will remind you once that I expect every payment to be on time. It is proving expensive to fund this endeavor of yours.”

“I understand.”

“And remember that you must always be available should I have business for you to conduct in the city.”

“Yes, sir.”

“You claimed to have missed when I said to call on account of your performance running late?”

“It did.”

“In the future, you will inform me of any such instances beforehand. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“Good. You have served me well thus far, Catra. I expect this trend to continue.”

Catra clenched her fist and snarled at the table, but her voice was level and calm. “Thank you, sir.”

“Are there any other setbacks you would like to report to me now?” Hordak asked.

Her eyes flickered towards the room where the girl lie sleeping. She thought of the woman in the portrait. Her decision had to be quick; any hesitation would be obvious to the ruthless man on the other end of the line.

“No sir.”

“Excellent. We will be in touch.”

The line went dead. Catra dropped her phone to the table and shoved it away. Scratching the back of her neck, she grabbed an opened, half empty energy drink from the fridge. She had been functioning on the same level of exhaustion since she was fourteen, but she didn’t want to take the chance of being asleep when the girl woke up. Getting jumped and then waking up alone in a strange house did not lend itself to any good outcomes.

As if on cue, Catra heard groaning as soon as she finished the drink. Tossing the can in the trash, she stepped into her bedroom. The girl propped herself up on one arm, holding a hand to her head. Her eyebrows were drawn together, eyes screwed shut, and she sucked in a sharp breath through her teeth as she prodded a bandage on her head. Her eyes fluttered open as Catra stood in the doorway.

The girl yelped. Scrambling back, she pressed her back against the headboard and smacked her head off it in the process. Catra just stood in the doorway and tilted her head. It took a moment for the girl to calm down, still breathing hard as her eyes roved over Catra. Their eyes locked. An infinitesimal bit of tension left her shoulders.

“You,” she said.

“Me,” Catra replied. The girl’s odd reaction drew a tiny smirk from her. “How do you feel?”

“Fine.” The girl looked her up and down. “Where am I?”

“My place.”

“Where?”

“West side. Not far from downtown.” Catra took a few steps into the room. The girl turned to follow her movements. “You took quite the beating back there.”

She held her side and grimaced. “What happened?”

“I took care of them and brought you here to patch you up.”

“Why not a hospital?”

“I don’t like them, you weren’t dying, and they’re expensive. You really don’t know what anyone’s money situation is like these days.”

The girl nodded slowly. “I should probably get health insurance, now that I think about it,” she mumbled to herself. Catra chuckled. “Thank you for helping me.”

Catra didn’t respond. She stepped around to perch at the foot of the bed. The girl drew her knees up her chest and watched Catra over them, torn between gratefulness and suspicion. Catra didn’t blame her; she would have reacted the same way. She didn’t risk a handshake. “I’m Catra,” she said.

“Glimmer,” the girl introduced herself as.

Catra raised an eyebrow. “Is that your real name?”

Glimmer frowned. “Is Catra your real name?”

Catra chuckled. “Fair. Alright then. Glimmer. How did you end up getting the shit beat out of you outside some little club in the middle of the night? Did you piss off your coven or something?”

“Because I work in a magic store. Funny,” Glimmer deadpanned. Catra tilted her head at the little push, fighting a smirk. “I ran into two of them earlier in the week at a party. They came after me and lost the first time, so then they got some friends and tried again.”

“And won.”

“Yeah.”

“Not much of a fight.”

“Not until you showed up.”

Catra grew hyper aware of the knife in her pocket. She shrugged one shoulder and stood. “Well, now that you’re awake, I can bring you home whenever you want. You can stay the night here if you need it or I can drive you. Answer your phone first, though. It’s been going off for awhile.”

Glimmer nodded and reached for the cellphone as Catra stepped out. She closed the door and stood off to the side, able to hear Glimmer through the thin walls.

“Adora? Hey, yeah, I’m fine… I ran into those people from Mermista’s party again and… No, no, it’s okay. I know it’s been hours. Someone I know brought me to the hospital just to get patched up and I couldn’t really pay attention to my phone.”

Lying to calm her down? Catra thought. Guess Adora hasn’t changed much.

“It was just someone I know,” Glimmer continued. “Yeah, I’m totally fine. It wasn’t bad, they just gave me a few bandages… Adora, you don’t have a car. Listen, I can catch a ride home. Just meet me at the store, okay? I’ll be there in a little bit… Yeah, okay, Adora. I’ll see you then.”

Catra stepped over to the table before Glimmer walked out of the room. She caught the limp Glimmer tried to hide as the shorter girl slipped her jacket on and popped the collar. “I’m assuming you’re taking me up on the ride?” Catra asked.

“Please,” Glimmer said.

“Where to?”

“The magic store.”

Catra grabbed her keys and tossed a cropped leather jacket over her shoulders. “Let’s go, Sparkles.”

“Sparkles?”

“Hey, it fits.”

The band owned an old van with their logo emblazoned across the side. It shook slightly as they drove through the city, quiet rock music playing over the radio. Glimmer faced forward with her head leaning on the window. Catra glanced at her out of the corner of her eye to find Glimmer already watching. Both turned their eyes forward when they saw the other looking.

“Thanks again for helping me,” Glimmer mumbled.

“Don’t mention it,” Catra replied.

“Is there anything I can do to pay you back or something?”

“Why?”

“I feel like I should.”

Catra smirked. “Maybe you can give me a discount on some crystals next time I check out the store,” she joked. Glimmer smiled. Catra decided she liked it when the girl smiled. “So, do you own that place or just work there?”

“Both. It was my parents’ but my friends and I manage it now.”

“They retire?”

“They’re both dead.”

That woman must be her mother, Catra thought. “Mine too. I think, anyway,” she said. Glimmer turned to her for a moment, eyes roving over her, before she looked away again. “Your friend, is it that kid that was at the club with you? The one with the crop top?”

“Yeah, that’s Bow.”

“He knows that it’s only like, fifty degrees during the day, right?”

Glimmer snickered. “He always wears that.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah.”

They pulled onto Glimmer’s street. Catra held a hand out and glanced her way. “Hey, I’m performing at the Crystal Castle for a while. You should come catch me after a show sometime.”

Glimmer hesitated for a moment before taking Catra’s hand. “I’ll see when I’m free next,” she said.

“Cool.”

Catra parked on the side of the street by the store. Adora and the boy with the crop top stood outside on the sidewalk, the former pacing around and the latter biting his thumbnail. When Glimmer stepped out, they flew to her and immediately wrapped her in their arms, fretting and fussing over her. Glimmer held onto Adora for a moment before waving both of them off. Catra left the car running and stepped out as Glimmer said something to them, leaning over the hood.

Adora caught sight of her and snarled, but Glimmer spoke up before she could do anything. “Catra, these are my friends Adora and Bow,” she said. “Guys, this is Catra. She sorta saved me tonight.”

“We’ve met,” Adora growled, putting an arm around Glimmer’s shoulder and holding her close. Catra glanced at Adora’s hand and met her eyes, an obvious gesture to the blonde after memorizing each other’s every mannerism over the years. Adora pulled Glimmer closer.

Bow stepped forward. “Thanks,” he said. “We’re really more grateful than we can say. Not many people would help a stranger like that.”

Catra shrugged. “Eh, we’re acquaintances. It’s nothing.”

“Well, it’s something to us,” Bow said with a smile. Catra just watched him. Was he always this friendly? “So, thanks.”

Catra nodded and stepped back to her door. “Alright. Feel better, Sparkles,” she said. Glimmer rolled her eyes, and Catra smirked. That nickname was definitely going to stay. She noticed Adora still glaring at her and nodded once. “Adora.”

“Catra.”

With one last smirk, Catra slid into her seat and waved as she drove off. In the rearview mirror, she watched Adora and Bow pull Glimmer close to them before she turned onto another street.

Her phone chimed. She opened it to find a message from Hordak about a job: collect from a reluctant debtor on the east side and send the payment in with her own.

Catra threw the phone to the floor with a snarl of disgust. Her knuckles turned white from her grip on the steering wheel, hate flaring in her chest as she clenched her teeth. She couldn’t stand to be in these situations, at his beck and call whenever he needed an intimidator or a hitman to take care of his dirty work. There were times when she thought about crushing the phone beneath her heel and running away from it all, just living her life with her music and her band, but he would find her. He had spies all over the country. The only way to get away from him was turning her car off the side of a bridge.

She had thought about it more than a few times. A sharp turn and she would be gone. But for some reason, she held back. There was always something that held her back.

Taking a deep breath, she managed to make it back to the house and took the keys out of the ignition. With one hand by her side and the other on the wheel, she rested her forehead against the top of the ring and closed her eyes.

She came back to this city and the first person she met was that woman’s daughter. And she was best friends with Adora! That had to mean something. It had to. Whether it was karma or just some cruel trick, it couldn’t be coincidence.

She hoped Glimmer would come to meet her at a show. Part of her was curious; she had to see where this situation led her.

Mostly, she had to get rid of the nagging voice in the back of her head. She didn’t care about anything else.

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