A/N: Happy New Year! To be completely honest, I hadn't really intended for this story to happen. But...then again...that really seems to be where I'm at with writing these days. Creating things that I had never really intended to give birth to. But...I heard this song. "Cry, Little Sister" by Marilyn Manson. And thus it pretty much inspired this whole entire story. True fact. And the lyrics to this song are featured at the end of this story. Happy listening!
Also, on another note, another song briefly featured in this story is "Legend Has It" by Run The Jews. I heard this song featured on a trailer for the movie "Black Panther" and I had to admit not only did I enjoy the sound of it, but it felt so very right with this story.
Finally, but of no lesser importance, the phone conversation AND 'friend with benefits' is none other than Fandom Angst's Akito, from their story 'Creatures of the Underworld'
So, without further ado, I welcome you all to the first story of 2019!
I must confess.
I don't understand why you've come to me now.
And...I still don't know why you want to do this, Mr. Mitchell.
This woman should be inconsequential to you, hm?
Then...
Why?
Why insert yourself into her life, now?
This phone conversation reverberated in his mind in time and tempo with the overpowering music in the club as he watched her. A young girl. Barely twenty three to his almost thirty years. Dressed in attire that screamed SoCal, meant to accentuate her figure and entice the opposite sex. A tight trendy spaghetti strap top. And dark skinny jeans that possessively clung to the delicate, feminine curves of her thighs, hips, and back-end as she swayed in the crowd to the beat of the music. So carefree. Looking slightly younger than her years.
Sweet.
And so very innocent.
It was this look of carefree innocence that seemed to cause the almost imperceptible change in his demeanor from calm indifference to rage as he watched her. She held an innocence born of being sheltered. Of being spared the truth. And he found himself hating her for it, though the two of them had never met personally. But all of the innocence surrounding her came at the cost of not knowing about him.
And.
He hated her for it.
Every single day. Since the day of her birth. He had been relentlessly abused and tormented with her mere existence. The fact that he was the deep dark secret she would never know about.
That was...
Unless...
He were the one to tell her.
In the end, it had been easy to find her. It merely took her name. The date of her birth. And...the name of her father. All were things he was able to provide. And...with a little help, and a little bit of money...he had managed to finally track her down and find her.
She was in Los Angeles now. Had been, for several years, when she moved away from her family in Newport Beach to attend the University of Southern California. All things he had found out about her when he had asked for a favor from his 'friend with benefits.' The benefit of their friendship being that the man had absolutely astounding resources at his disposal that he would share. At a price.
Armed with the extensive information he'd paid for, as well as a positive identification from a current photograph of the woman, he eased himself off of the bar stool he had been perched upon. Setting himself into motion, he gracefully maneuvered himself through the crowd of people. The beat of the music moved him through the ebb and flow of this sea of bodies. Yet those pale, exotic blue eyes kept themselves unnervingly fixated upon the the young woman in question.
Like a predacious animal stalking its prey in the wild jungle.
The waves of her dark brown hair cascaded down to the middle of her back, and swayed in rhythm to the movement of her body to the music. Slowly lifting her hands up above her head caused the large bangle bracelets to slip from her slender wrists to about the middle of her forearms as her hips and waist just below her rib-cadge made slow, sensual, exotic circles. The slow, fluid movements of her body causing his eyes to drift along her delicate, feminine figure as he moved through the crowd. Circling around her, slowly in the distance, as she danced in time and rhythm to the music. But fingers wrapped around his wrist and put a halt to his stride, violently ripping his attention away from the only person here he'd come for. His head swiftly snapped to the side, and those oceanic orbs quickly followed.
Vibrant blue eyes met brown as he looked down upon the stranger who had grabbed his wrist. Her fingers still wrapped around him, the two turned slow circles around each other as the woman kept herself tethered to him. And he gave the seductive, cockeyed smirk of a smile to this. The woman was tenacious. Bold. Hungry. And he watched as she broke their intense eye contact in order to briefly appraise his looks.
Inky black tresses that were almost meticulously disheveled and attractively mussed, as if tempting ones fingers to run themselves through the beguiling mess of his hair. This seemed to enhance his dark, roguish appearance that was mirrored and reflected in the way he had dressed himself tonight. Black Italian business shoes that had been paired with fastidiously crisp black business trousers. He wore a tucked, black button-down business shirt with the sleeves rolled up halfway along his forearms to reveal the club's bright neon wristband...as well as an expensive timepiece. And the top few buttons of his shirt had been purposely left undone to reveal the faint trace of his collarbones, as well as the delicate gold cross he wore around his neck. Giving him a more personable look.
The woman's gaze lingered along his necklace a brief moment before those brown eyes delved into an ocean of blue. And...he smiled at this. Because he could tell from the expression of her face that she had liked what she had seen. And, as if her eyes and the claiming of his wrist weren't enough to sate this woman's hunger, her free hand reached up through the back of his hair to pull his face closer to hers in order take over his mouth with her own.
And the taste of her tongue as it pushed its way into his mouth was absolutely sublime.
Heat and the delicious sting of alcohol along the tang of metal from her tongue piercing. And he released a stifled groan with the way she bit down and lightly tugged along his lower lip. This caused his untethered hand to reach up and snatch the woman's hair close to the scalp. As those slender fingers ensnared and wound themselves into the woman's tresses, a small gap formed between them. And as their eyes met again, the woman smiled up at him.
Again, they circled each other, though this time their bodies were so intertwined with each other that it was impossible to see where one ended and the other began. Fused together through fingers along wrists and hair, their bodies pressed together as they held eye-contact and a new song began to play.
One he had heard before...
With the initial introductory beat, the woman felt the tension of his arm as he tightened every tendon and muscle that she grasped into a hard line. And though she had him ensnared by the wrist and the back of his head, it became clear that he was now the one in complete control of her body. Whether she had given it over to him, or he had simply taken it, he now commanded her body into motion with the beat of the song.
Temptation's heat beat like a drum as he directed the woman's body along the dance floor of the club. Their bodies tethered and pressed together so closely that it was easy enough to make her move the way that he wanted her to. And the rhythm of the music moved their bodies in ways far more familiar and intimate than the mere steps of a dance. As he kept the pace of their bodies' rhythm in tempo with the song, with the heat of this woman pressing herself against him, all he could think of...
Was her.
His thoughts were consumed with her. Like a wildfire that had gone completely out of control.
Because...
She was so close to him.
So close that it was absolute agony. Rage so painful that it caused him to tighten his grip in the hair of the body pressed to him, breathing this stranger in with a sharp inhalation as he squeezed his eyes shut.
Because...
She was so close, and yet...
She had no idea that he even existed.
And he..?
He craved release. Ached...for an outlet. And the only one who could unchain him...
Was her.
He needed her. Now. To know. To see. To notice him. What he needed... Was to make a scene. And, fortunately for him, the one thing he absolutely excelled at...was causing a scene. He had never wanted to dwell in the shadows where he'd been cast.
And now..?
Now it was time to step into the spotlight.
Releasing his hold of the stranger's hair, he looped around and maneuvered himself behind her in an elegant dance move. Keeping himself bound to her, this stranger continued to hold fast to his wrist as she wrapped his forearm protectively around her midsection. Their hips fused together as they slowly rocked in motion to the beat. And within a single moment, the song playing in the club gave him a way to announce himself.
And the crowd goes
"RTJ!" He raised his voice into the crowd just above the echoed chant of the music, causing his date to grin and smile.
And the crowd goes
"RTJ!" He called out again into the crowd as the woman in his arms now followed his lead and mirrored this chant with him, gaining the attention of the few people around them.
And the crowd goes
"RTJ!" He cried again, louder, as more people joined in.
And the crowd goes
"RTJ!" He called a final time, as loud as he could above the music with all of the other people who had decided to join him in this spectacle before he retreated, reveling in the riot he had just begun as the people in the club took over his battle cry.
And...
RTJ!
As he looked out into the crowd from over the shoulder of this stranger in his arms.
RTJ!
He saw her...
RTJ!
Looking at him.
RTJ!
And he smiled.
A wide, dazzling smile as their eyes met in this brief exchange from across the dance floor of the club before he buried this smile into the shoulder of the stranger in his arms. Finally. Finally, she had noticed him... And now? Now...all he had to do was introduce himself. As he rocked against the body pressed to his own in rhythm to the music, and the song drew to its end, he contented himself with the knowledge that the rest of this night would go as he had planned.
As the club broke out into yet another heavy oppressive west-cost beat, he bid farewell to his dance partner and once again began his slow stride through the crowd. The woman he had come for had already left the dance floor, and so he had to find her again. But even in the low light of the club, it had been an easy enough task to accomplish. She had since moved to the open bar, and so he slowly made his way towards where she was. Yet he casually approached the bar as if she weren't even there.
Wordlessly laying claim to the seat next to her, he sat in such a way as to gaze outward towards the dance floor as he reclined against the bar, utilizing the counter as a makeshift backrest. He lit the cigarette he'd stealthily retrieved from his business trousers as he continued to completely ignore her, despite how close he was to her now. Taking a slow, satisfied drag, he released a small screen of smoke to veil his profile before his left arm came languidly draped along the counter of the bar towards her. So close he could have touched her, if he had wanted to, as he slowly encroached upon her personal space.
So very close...
And yet...
He behaved as if she were completely nonexistent to him.
Because it had been him who had made the first move. He had gotten her to notice him. And oh, had she noticed him. And now it was her turn. So he waited, for her to speak first. He suspected it wouldn't be long.
And.
He had been right.
"Hey!" He heard the wholly unfamiliar sound of her voice for the very first time. " You're the guy who got the crowd going." The end of his cigarette met his lips as he remained silent to this statement. "That was pretty lit!" And this elicited a faint chuckle of laughter from him.
"People still say that?" He asked in a cool, casual tone, finally engaging her in conversation though his eyes remained fixed along the people on the dance floor.
"Only the cool people." She countered back playfully.
The sound of her voice.
It was just as innocently sweet as the rest of her.
"My name's Alina." This introduction and confirmation of her identity caused the lift of his lips.
And, for a moment, he thought of offering a sardonic response to this. Some snarky reply. It would have been hilarious...to him. But then, it would have also ended this encounter far too soon for his liking. Because...he wanted more time with her. So, for her benefit, he played along.
"Kristean." He murmured lowly through a faint wisp of smoke as he continued to recline against the bar and casually people-watch. "But you can call me Kris."
"Christy Ann?" His name came emphasized through a tone of genuine curiosity. "That's...different." And he smiled to this before taking another brief drag of his cigarette.
"Yeah, well. You can blame my mother for that one." He murmured coolly through a far off gaze into the crowd. "I know I do." And he heard how she laughed at this.
She thought it was funny.
And her next words only confirmed this sentiment.
"You know, you're pretty funny." She said, and he found himself giving a passive hum to this.
"Really?" He asked. "You think so?" This came another question along the cusp of a pause as he took a long, contemplative drag of his cigarette. "Because I've been told I'm a complete asshole."
And again...
This had made her laugh.
"By who?" She giggled out in amused disbelief, and he gave a small, passive shrug.
"By everyone who knows me." He responded casually through a tone of indifference.
"Well, you don't seem all that bad to me." She offered this through a light, carefree happy tone.
"That's only because you don't know me." He murmured in reply with the faintest twitch of a smile.
...yet...
But that was about to change.
"So..." He heard her voice begin, before giving way to a small pause before she began again. "Is that an invitation to get to know you?"
He slowly turned his face towards her. With the slowed turn and tilt of his head as he looked at her for the very first time during this conversation. And their eyes met in a sudden and almost violent collision of exotic pale blue and dark mahogany brown.
Obviously...she had inherited her mother's eyes.
And he simply smiled at her, before offering any form of reply.
"Absolutely." He finally answered through the alluring smile that played along his lips "But I guarantee that you won't like me very much once you do."
He watched her as she regarded him in turn. She saw him clearly now. Really looked at him, and, he could see all of the questions beginning to form along her features and in the depths of her mother's eyes. And as he watched her, looking at him, that same phone conversation played in his mind.
I still don't know why you want to do this, Mr. Mitchell.
This woman should be inconsequential to you, hm?
The two regarded each in this brief moment of silence, the world around them falling away, and he watched that sweet, innocent light surrounding her become slightly darkened and tainted with what he knew she was beginning to notice.
Then...
Why?
And he couldn't help but smile at this, which caused her to smile as well.
"You know, you look really familiar." She said, and he was finding it harder and harder to play along without completely giving himself away.
"Really..?" He mused, taking a final drag of his cigarette before snuffing it out on the nearby ashtray on the bar's counter top.
"It's a little uncanny, actually." She said with the small furrow of her brows. "Have we met before?" And he smiled at this, letting out a little chuckle of amusement as he shook his head.
"Doubtful," He answered honestly. "unless you've ever been to New York."
"No..." She shook her head, continuing to openly stare at him. "I haven't." Her words slowed themselves as she marveled at his appearance. "But it feels like I know you from somewhere."
When she had said that, he turned away. And he laughed. He couldn't help it, he laughed. And it caused his whole torso to shake before he managed to finally temper and cool his amusement.
"You know," He began in the aftermath of his laughter. "I almost never get that." He said with a little smile as he looked out onto the dance floor. "But I have to admit that I was really hoping you would say that."
"Why?" This question came slow and drawn out, and more unnerved than anything else as he finally turned to meet her curious gaze once more.
"That," He said through the cockeyed smirk of a smile. "is a really great question." Vibrant blue eyes roamed and searched her face for a moment as he considered his next move before speaking again. "Tell you what." He said before he turned and angled his lean figure towards her, looking her square in the eye. "Why don't you go ask your daddy." And he watched her features crumple into confusion towards this odd statement, and he smiled. "Go. Tell him about me. Then ask him who I am, and why I look so familiar..." This came through a low whisper as he held her fixated with his unnerving stare. "If he doesn't tell you the truth about me, which I don't see why he would," This fell bitterly from his lips as he lightly sifted through his pant's pocket to fish out a small, rectangular business card. "you come find me." He slid the card over to her, face down on the counter-top as he held her perplexed stare. "I won't lie to you like he has." In one swift, elegant movement of his body he was up and off of the bar stool.
"Wait!" He heard this desperate exclamation when he began to walk away, and he only briefly glanced over his shoulder towards her.
Only long enough to see her look at him before turning the business card over. And an excruciating wave of hurt confusion washed over her, the aura of innocence once enveloping her completely shattered with cold hard reality when she read what it said. Revealing the secret in the family name he shared with her.
Then he turned away, walking in the direction of the club's exit with an absolutely diabolical smile on his face.
"Bye," He whispered this parting farewell that she would never hear. "baby sister."
THE END
Last fire will rise
Behind those eyes
Black house will rock
Blind boys don't lie...
Immortal fear
That voice so clear
Through broken walls
That scream I hear!
Cry, little sister!
(Thou shalt not fall)
Come, come to your brother!
(Thou shalt not die)
Un-chain me, sister!
(Thou shalt not fear)
Love, is with your brother!
(Thou shalt not kill)
Blue masquerade
Strangers look on
When will they learn
This loneliness?!
Temptation heat
Beats like a drum
Deep in your veins
I will not lie!
Little sister
(Thou shalt not fall)
Come!
Come to your brother!
(Thou shalt not die)
Un-chain me, sister!
(Thou shalt not fear)
Love, is with your brother!
(Thou shalt not kill)
My Shangri-Las
I can't forget
Why you were mine
I need you now!
Cry
Little sister
Come
Come to your brother
Un-
chain me, sister
Love...
Is with your brother
Cry, little sister!
(Thou shalt not fall)
Come, come to your brother!
(Thou shalt not die)
Un-chain me, sister!
(Thou shalt not fear)
Love, is with your brother!
(Thou shalt not kill)
Cry, little sister!
(Thou shalt not fall)
Come, come to your brother!
(Thou shalt not die)
Un-chain me, sister!
(Thou shalt not fear)
Love, is with your brother!
(Thou shalt not kill)