Characters:
Daniel- Dark
Luke- Krad
Jesse- Daisuke
Matthew- Satoshi
Michelle- Riku
Claire- Risa
Alex- Takeshi
Katie- Mio
Chapter 1
The night was humid and damp. The thunderstorm that invaded west Hollywood birthed sounds of lingering water dripping to asphalt, left behind on roofs and leaves.
Luke staggered into the dark alley from a side door of a building. Intense dance music blared from the temporarily open doorway then muffled gradually as the door closed. He stumbled side ways, both pale ivory hands supporting his weight on the wet brick wall parallel to him. Long blonde locks fell from the nape of his neck, draping over the front of his shoulders like a curtain of thick golden silk. The slightly cropped, golden metallic shirt and white pants Luke wore were slightly damp with sweat, flatteringly stuck to his skin.
The young blonde turned slightly on his heels, resting his back and head against the brick— trying to catch his breath while his thoughts raced through his mind.
Luke inhaled a sharp breath as he imagined a young purple haired man. Wide, almond-shaped amethyst eyes stared into his own golden amber irises, briefly, then dissipated. His heart, despite being overworked from the alcohol, weed and LSD he ingested earlier in the night, skipped a beat at the thought.
He looked back at the side door of the building he'd come from and suddenly remembered a goofy-looking man that waited for him inside, believing Luke went to the bathroom. He had been set up on a blind date with a middle aged guy named Marcus— an orange haired, green eyed irish wall street trader from New York who loved young blonde men and drugs. Usually, men that rich, old and easily manipulated were Luke's type. Although, lately he's been having a hard time thinking about anyone else besides…
The blonde whipped out his phone and dialed swiftly— stumbling slightly as he shifted his weight off the brick wall behind him, then balancing. He lifted the phone to his ear and listened intently to the ringing on the other end. Suddenly a voice sounded over the phone like a waterfall of pure virile honey, "Luke?"
O
"Too busy being yours to fall. Sad to see you go," Daniel sang. Amethyst eyes scanning the sea of people that sang along. His head began to spin as dizzy spells took over his vision.
"Ever thought of calling darling?" People began drowning out his voice with their own. His body temperature rose under the bright lights of the stage. As his face grew numb, he became light headed. His decision to fast for a whole week in preparation for the concert was coming back to bite him in the ass with vengeance. Staggering slightly, almost unnoticeably; his stomach began to turn and grumble with hunger, sharp pains shooting up his body from his abdomen.
"Do I wanna know? Do you want me crawling back to you?" Daniels voice rang throughout the stadium like a siren amidst the ocean. The pains in his stomach suddenly subsided as an image of a blonde man crept into his mind. Daniel danced gracefully to the beat, resembling a more tasteful Bruno mars choreography, while golden amber eyes materialized in the back of his mind. Flashing visuals of golden eyebrows and lashes inhabited his thoughts. Luke's pale, golden blonde hair fell long over his back and gently brushed the top of his voluptuous rear. Daniel froze at the thought of Luke's back side and trembled, amethyst eyes shut instantly. The music ended and stage lights turned off leaving the sea of people to praise and scream in the dark.
Daniel stood center stage with his eyes closed, arms at his side and microphone in hand. He dismissed the thought of Luke and pushed away the feeling of exhilaration the thoughts gave him. He lifted a tan hand to his chest in an attempt to calm his pulse. The transparent, black chiffon fabric of his shirt felt like warm satin under his fingers. He tried to convinced himself that he didn't want the feelings forming from the thought of the man he barely knew. He shook his head slightly, dissipating the thoughts. Settling back into his normal swave expression, he returned the microphone to the stand adjacent to him. With one last glance into the crowd, Daniel turned and walked off stage. The fans roared in admiration before clearing outside the back of the stage, hoping to catch the band leaving.
Daniel joined his team backstage, they scurried off stage once the music ceased and were now devouring the assortment of food assembled near the stage exit. Closest to the stage was a short brunette dressed in concert attire; a glittery top, a short skirt and thigh high boots— the manger. Next to her stood a semi- tall redhead who's outfit resembled Daniels— a mesh short sleeve shirt with a white bear logo on the front and black torn jeans, white converse on his feet— Daniel's co-writer. Adjacent to him was Daniel's editor and videographer, black haired and lanky wearing a black v-neck, jeans and basic black Nikes.
The young purple haired man walked to one end of the dessert table which was covered in purple glazed donuts with chocolate sprinkles, golden peanut butter cookies and crystal clear rock candy piled on top of itself to resembled a mountain of diamonds. Daniels modern combat boots making his presence known with every step toward the table and settling at the end, parallel to the brunette. He picked up one of the sticks of rock candy and lifted it to his mouth, holding it there while listening in on the team debating over one of the girls who had been flashing Daniel during the performance.
"Her tits weren't even real! You get excited for, literally, anything." The tall redhead concluded, seeming to be frustrated at the topic of conversation.
"Fuck off, Jesse. You're a virgin. You've never even seen tits before." The editor teased. Daniel lowered the untouched candy from his mouth as he watched Jesse shift his weight to his other leg, nervously.
Jesse's brows furrowed, "You're so dense." He shook his head.
"Jesse's seen my tits, Alex, so shut the hell up." the brunette spat. "You talk all the damn time and your so annoying."
"That's not a surprise. Everyones seen your tits, Michelle." Alex spat back.
She turned to face Daniel "Uhg, I don't know why you let him in the group, he's stupid." Michelle complained, rolling her eyes for emphasis as she bit into a golden peanut butter cookie. "He doesn't even upload your YouTube videos in time, I do! He's fucking useless." She said with a mouth full, shooting a glare at alex who shoved a whole donut in his mouth. He chewed violently and then opened his mouth wide in Michelles direction, exposing the mutilated food. She gagged and put her cookie down, an expression of utter disgust inhabited her face.
Daniels face strained as he tried to refrain from laughing, "Do you ever get tired of being assholes to each other?"
Before anyone could answer him, Daniels phone began to ring. He pulled the phone out of his black velvet pants and stared at the caller ID, his expression twisted into excitement and disbelief. He stared at the phone, still.
"Are you going to answer that?" Jesse asked, intently staring at Daniel.
"Its Luke." Daniel revealed aloud.
Michelle jumped up with excitement and ran to Daniels side. She placed both hands on each of his shoulders and shook him. "I gave him your number, Answer it!"
"You gave him my number? For what?" He asked nervously, staring at her with a mixed expression on his face.
"Just fucking answer it!" She raised her voice at him with borderline frustration
"W-well, what do I even say?" Daniel stuttered as Michelle rolls her eyes, he looked visibly nervous. The team around him stared in confusion, never having experienced a 'nervous' Daniel before. It was like watching a lion tackle a gazelle on the National Geographic channel— Bizarre.
"I don't know, start with HELLO!" She said, frustrated, as she swiped the green button on the phone screen to the right, answering the call. She pushed the phone to Daniels ear and he shot her another nervous glance.
"Luke?" Daniel answered finally. He exchanged confused glances with michelle while he listened to the silence over the phone.
Michelle mouthed "Put him on speaker."
Daniel clicked the speaker button and angled the bottom of the phone towards his mouth, "Hello?"
"Luke?" Daniels voice sounded confident and oddly nervous. Luke spaced out at the sound of Daniels voice and tottered side ways— his hand slamming against the brick wall, breaking his fall.
"Hello?" Daniel started again, snapping Luke out of his daze.
"Hheeyy. Uhm," Luke regained his balance and stood up straight again, scratching his temple. "Whatsss uuupp?" He slurred, ignoring his pounding heartbeat.
"Are… you drunk?" Daniels voice sounded concerned, yet calm.
Luke's voice was strained as he chuckled drunkenly, "Yeah, I need help." He rushed the sentence out of his mouth like a river through a cracked damn.
"Are you okay, Luke?" Daniels voice was strained with slight worry which Luke assumed was the LSD he took earlier in the night messing with him.
"Let's go eat." Luke giggled at the drunk sound in his voice. In his line of sight, the ground before him began warping and flowing like a thick stream of water, silver fishes appeared jumping into and out from the asphalt in a school along the stream. He shook his head violently, causing the hallucinations to dissipate.
"Tell me where you are."
Luke looked around and spotted a street sign, "Robertson boulevard."
"Don't move. I'm on my way." Daniel concluded and hung up the phone quickly.
"Hurry." Luke whispered into silent air. He locked his phone and began nervously fidgeting with the Shane Dawson pop-socket that stuck behind his phone. He began feeling nauseated as he reluctantly held his body upright, struggling to not throw up or to give into the hallucinations from the LSD which was slowly subsiding.
Luke whipped his head around in all directions while attempting to stay balanced. He spotted a park behind the club he was at and staggered towards it. Laying down on a vacant bench, he crossed his legs at the ankle and threw his hands behind his head for support.
It wasn't long before drowsiness overtook Luke and he nodded off, dreaming of the first time he and Daniel met.
O
Daniel walked swiftly to his dressing room and frantically looked for his car keys, Michelle following him close behind.
"That's weird, I thought his date was going to take him home." Michelle thought aloud while rummaging around the vanity in Daniels dressing room that held all of his jewelry. She picked up a diamond choker and put it to her own neck as she looked in the mirror and admired her reflection.
"Date?" Daniel asked, pausing his search for the keys and standing upright before turning in Michelles direction and staring at her. He had a mixture of emotions on his face which he failed to hide— Jealousy and impatience. "He was on a date?"
"Yea! I set him up with some rich guy." Michelle finished admiring the choker and set it down. She turned to look at Daniel, "He likes them rich and easy to manipulate." She smiled, then something behind Daniel caught her eye and she began walking toward it to retrieve it.
"Why would you set him up on a date?" Daniel asked bitterly, unable to hide his jealous any longer.
"Well, the guy he likes doesn't like him back, so I gave him a distraction- an easy fuck with a lot of money." Michelle stopped in front of Daniels makeup vanity and turned to look at him, a smile on her face.
"Who does he like?" Daniel asked while attempting to hide the intense curiosity in his voice.
"Oh, just some pussy who can't be honest with himself about his own feelings." Michelles expression became serious. They stared at each other in silence for several minutes.
"Can we not do this right now?" Daniel averted his eye contact in another direction and hurriedly began looking for his keys again.
Michelle looked over at the vanity desktop and skimmed the items on the surface. She spotted a metal key ring with a purple lanyard attached and picked it up. She held it in the air in front of her and faced Daniel, car keys dangling at the bottom of the lanyard. "Looking for these?"
Dark turned to face her and sighed with relief, walking over to her to retrieve the keys to his jet black 1960's Lincoln continental. He reached for the lanyard to only have it yanked out of his grip and away from him by michelle.
"You need to learn to love yourself instead of lying to yourself or maybe try eating!"
"I don't know what your talking about." Daniel uttered grumpily and attempted to tear the lanyard from michelles grip only to have her pull them further back towards her before his hand could make contact with them.
"Well, then figure it out. Stop denying your feelings! Stop starving yourself!" She pleaded aggressively.
"I have a girlfriend so I don't know what feelings your talking about!" Daniel raised his voice at her in frustration.
"A girlfriend? More like a Beard!" Michelle spat. He face changed immediately from angry to apologetic, instantly regretting her words.
"I don't have time for this." Daniel grabbed the lanyard and pulled it forcefully out of Michelle's hand.
Michelle yelped slightly with surprise and brought her hand to her chest and held it. She watched as Daniel began walking out of the dressing room. "And look who your going to pick up knowing that you 'girlfriend' is out and needs a ride too!"
Daniel speedily made his way to the backstage stadium exit, past the table of food that was once surrounded by the band but now only sat Jesse who had a worried look on his face. Daniel made eye contact with the friend and stopped in his tracks. Jesse got up from his seat next to the table and walked over to Daniel.
"What happened in there?" Jesse asked once he reached Daniel, his expression curious and supportive.
"Just a fight with mother." Daniel said sarcastically.
"She means well. You know that." Jesse crossed his arms over his chest. Daniel rolled his eyes and then nodded in agreement.
Jesse smiled, smacking one of Daniel's shoulders playfully, "Can I tag along? I figured after we rescue Luke, we could hit up that diner near the abbey like he wanted?" Jesse rubbed his stomach, "I could go for some bomb ass waffles."
Daniel laughed and threw an arm around the shorter man, "Lets go then before Luke gets kidnapped."
The two men, with their arms around each others neck, began to walk out when someone called out behind them.
"So I dont get an invite?" Michelle yelled from the entrance to the dressing rooms.
The two men unlocked their arms from each other and turned around to look at Michelle. Daniel gave her an annoyed expression.
"Daniel, your my ride. How am I supposed to get home?" She said convincingly.
"Come on then." Daniel said reluctantly, starting for the door again. Jesse waited for Michelle to reach him before putting an arm around her shoulders and walking her out.
O
Daniel looked at his watch, the time read 2:17 am. He looked back to the front of him, the yellow lines on the road speeding fast by them.
"Damn, It's been a half hour since i talked to Luke. What if he left?" Daniel looked into the rearview mirror at Michelle and Jesse who were sitting in the back seats.
"I don't think he would've left on his own, but then again i don't know him very well." Jesse commented looking out the window.
"He's the type that would call you and cuss you out for making him wait. I don't think he left." Michelle added looking up from her phone. The phone screen light shining on her face in the darkness of the backseat.
"Then why hasn't he called to cuss me out?" Daniel asked, jokingly.
"Turn here, the Abbey is that way." Michelle instructed pointing to the street adjacent to Daniel.
"So that's why he didn't call." Jesse commented, placing his finger on the window pointing to the park across the street from behind the club.
Suddenly, Daniels phone buzzed with a notification. He lit the screen up and clicked it, opening up his text messages. He stared at the screen, reading.
Michelle followed Jesse's finger to a bench near the sidewalk where she spotted Krad laying gracefully on top. "There's our guy!" Michelle said as Daniel put the car in park. She opened the door and hopped out, slamming the door behind her.
"Jesus!" Daniel jumped while he watched michelle run to the bench that held Luke. Upon hearing another notification hit his phone, he stared at his phone screen once again.
Michelle stopped a couple of feet short of the bench, cautious. "Hey goldy-locks!" Her voice cheerful. Luke didn't wake so she placed a hand on his shoulder and lightly shook him. His golden eyes flashed open, scanning the area swiftly. Upon making eye contact with Michelle, who was hovering over him, he jumped slightly. He suddenly erupted in low giggles and sat up. Michelle laughed also.
"Wow. How much LSD did you take?" She waved a hand in his face, sarcastic and playful.
"Too much." Luke joked, sitting up and getting to his feet gracefully, sweeping his hair behind his shoulders. "I actually feel sobered after that 'nap'." He stretched arms quickly over his head.
"C'mon, lets get you in the car." Michelle giggled. She grabbed one of his arms and put it around her shoulders as she weaved an arm around his lower back.
Luke looked forward at the blacked-out, matte black 1960 Lincoln continental with gold rims and swoons internally. "That car is so sexy, I'd fuck the driver just for driving it." Luke admitted jokingly, laughing slightly. Michelle laughed at his comment before opening the car door on the passenger side. Luke looked inside at the driver and noticed a handsome purple haired man too infatuated with his cell phone to look up.
Luke looked at michelle deviously as he began to sit in the car, "My lucky day?" He joked, only loud enough for Michelle to hear and she laughed hard, slamming the door closed.
The door slam caught Daniels attention and he looked up immediately to find Luke in the passenger seat, running his hands through his hair. Daniel noticed the bit of stomach that was vulnerable through the cropped golden metallic shirt Luke wore and blushed, instantly looking back at the text on his phone.
11:37pm- Katie: what are you doing?
11:38pm- Katie: I might need a ride
11:49pm- Katie: Hellooooo?
1:46am- Daniel: was working. Done now.
1:51am- Katie: I could've been dead...
1:52am- Katie: But you wouldn't of known cuz your too busy 'WORKING'
1:57am- Daniel: ?
1:57am- Katie: You don't even care
2:20am- Daniel: What do you want from me?
2:21am- Katie: Forget it! I don't need a ride anymore, btw
2:24am- Daniel: K
Michelle propped her head on the shoulder of the driver's seat and looked over Daniels shoulder to see the text. "Oh, so Katie texted you today?" Michelle said mockingly.
Daniel looked at her through his peripheral "trying to get a ride." He informed, his voice low.
"Are you gonna give her one? You've got a full car." Michelle reminded, becoming irritated
"Can't you read?" Daniel teased with a smirk and tossed the phone backwards, safely onto her lap. He put the car in drive and began towards the diner. Luke's mouth curled upward at the edges as Daniel accelerated the speed of the car. He watched from his peripheral as the car went from 45 mph to 90 mph and let out a giggle, his full lips stretched into a smile.
Daniel looked at Luke from the corner of his eye, excitement and contentment filled amber eyes. He made a few swift turns and speed past several blocks while Michelle read the messages in the back seat, seeming to be used to Daniels erratic driving. By the time she was done, they were already parked in a parking spot outside of the diner. As he put the car in park, Luke looked at Daniel up and down admiringly, Daniel caught this.
"Well, hopefully she stays home and away from us." Michelle said under her breath after having completed reading the messages, leaning forward to reach around the driver's seat and dropping Daniels phone on his lap, "Let's eat!" She exclaimed more cheerful.
"I can pay!" Luke cheered slightly, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a brown leather wallet.
Daniels hand shot out in an attempt to stop Luke from opening his wallet, "No, it's my treat." Daniel offered, the edges up his mouth curled upward in a handsome smirk as amethyst eyes stared into amber irises. Luke's eyes sparkled sensually in return.
"I insist." Luke unfolded the wallet and opened it, tilting it to the side so the whole car could see its contents.
Inside the old and worn wallet was a stack of one hundred dollar bills. On the side of the wallet was an array of chase and american express credit cards with the name 'Marcus O'Neil' printed on them.
"No way!" Michelle gasped sitting closer to Luke, "You took his wallet?" A wide smile covered her mouth.
"I didn't have to take it, he gave it to me." Luke smiled deviously, making eye contact with a cheesing michelle and they laughed together.
"Oh you have a talent!" Michelle exclaimed between giggles.
Luke giggled as he looked down, thumbing the money after flipping his hair over his shoulder. He glanced over at Daniel who looked at the two friends in the back seat and then made eye contact with him. Daniel smiled at Luke genuinely, for the first time since they met and it gave him butterflies. He felt something within him that he wasn't familiar with. The eye contact with Daniel and his smile made Luke blush, smiling nervously and looking away quickly out the window.
The group exited the classic car, Daniel walking next to Luke. Michelle rushed up behind Luke and slung her arms around his chest, "You still tripping?"
Luke lifted a hand and covered her hands in his own, "Not too much anymore with Daniels driving." Luke joked, turning slightly towards Daniel smiling to see his reaction.
Daniel made eye contact with Luke and winked, but he refrained all emotion from his face.
The four of them found a booth at the back of the diner and sat, taking menus from the waitress as she retreated to the kitchen to give them time to figure out what they want to order. Michelle slid into one side of the booth first and Luke taking the seat next to her. On the other side, Jesse slid into the seat next to the wall of the booth and Daniel sat next to him.
"So, Luke, how many waffles can i get since your sugar daddy is paying?" Jesse asked teasingly as he stared down at his menu.
"For you? As many as you want." Luke soothed. Jesse looked up and Luke winked at him, immediately looking over to Daniel and shooting him a competitive glance. He could read right through Daniels facade or being a straight man and he wasn't going to make it easy for him to keep it up.
"So how did he just give you his wallet?" Michelle asked him, genuinely curious. She put her menu down and propped her elbow onto the table and placed her chin in her hand, giving Luke her undivided attention.
"It wasn't hard. I just mixed LSD and ecstasy in his drink." Luke said in a matter-of-fact tone. He took a sip of the glass of water the waitress had placed onto the table for each of them.
Michelle gasped "So you ruffied him?" She whispered the word 'ruffie' like other people were listening in on their conversation.
"No, babe, that's creepy." Luke corrected smoothly. "He told me to get him a drink and when i asked him what kind he told me to surprise him. So i did." Luke giggled in Michelles direction and sipped some more of his water.
"That's all it took?" Jesse asked, forgetting about his menu in hands.
"No its work to fool a fool into handing over his wallet." Luke informed humorously. He looked upward in the distance as if in deep thought, holding his straw in one hand and his other arm leaning on the table. "A lap dance or two with some heavy petting and he was basically wrapped around my finger." He concluded, looking at everyone individually.
"You're so eccentric. I wouldn't be able to do that." Michelle said opening up her menu again and skimming the items on it.
"Come talk to me when you get a straight guys wallet. Then I'll be impressed." Jesse challenged.
"Sexuality won't matter." Luke said before drinking half the water in his glass and then pushing the glass to the side.
"What do you mean?" Daniel asked slightly reluctant.
"Sexuality isn't a factor for me because I don't believe in it." Luke expressed.
"I don't follow." Daniel stated becoming slightly annoyed at his own internal thoughts on the matter.
Luke looked at Daniel, his expression gentle and knowing. "Sexuality is a controlled factor, just like religion." Luke's eyes because serious but his expression still light, "How stress free would a world without such limitations be?" He stared deep into Daniels eyes, as if communicating through that sentence and into his subconscious astronomically. Daniel felt the extensions of Luke's essence reach out and almost cradle him, making him feel… understood and safe — something he's rarely felt.
"I guess not all blondes are dumb, huh?" Jesse teased amused, bringing Daniel back to reality.
Giggles erupted from the four as the waitress walked up to their table. "What can i get yall?" she asked through, what sounded like, a New York accent.
Jesse, of course, was the first to order. "I'll have two stacks of four waffles. Also, can you bring out your biggest bottle of maple syrup please?" Jesse shot the waitress a forced smile for a second then handed her his menu.
"Sure, honey. Any you?" She asked Michelle.
"Can i have a breakfast plate please?"
"How would you like your eggs? And would you like sausage or bacon?" The waitress asked while scribbling into her notepad.
"Scrambled and i want bacon. Thanks." Michelle said and handed her menu to the waitress.
She looked at Luke. "And for you?"
"Could you just bring me a plate of bacon?" Luke asked as he handed the waitress his menu.
"And for you handsome?" She asked Daniel.
"Just a coffee, thank you." Daniel answered and handed her his menu before she walked away.
"Your not going to eat anything?" Michelle shot Daniel a warning glare.
"I'm not hungry." Daniel shrugged. Luke gave him a slightly curious look but withdrew quickly, not to over step personal boundaries.
"So what about you Daniel?" Luke asked.
"What about me?"
"What's your thoughts on sexuality?" Luke, michelle and jesse all stared at Daniel awaiting his answer.
"I don't have much of an opinion." Dark informed
Michelle sighed. Luke shot him a supportive smile and looked to Michelle, "So, what are you doing next Friday?" He asked her attempting to change the subject.
"We have are meeting with the producers to start on Daniels second album." She smirked, clapping her hands together rapidly.
Luke looked to Daniel with a smile on his face, "Yea? Fuuuun!" He joked, causing Daniel to blush slightly but he didn't look away from him. "What's your inspiration?" Luke asked.
"That's the only set back, I'm not sure yet." Daniel let on.
"We haven't even started writing." Jesse informed.
"Well, Satoshi is an awesome track editor if you need help." Luke offered with a closed smile.
"I have Alex, he's not the greatest but I don't have to pay him much." Daniel looked around to Jesse and Michelle who giggled, then he looked back to Luke, "Thank you, though." They stared at each other for a few seconds. Michelle and Jesse grinned at each other after witnessing daniel and Luke admiring one another.
"Why'd you ask?" Michelle asked Luke.
"I'm going to a party, I was going to invite y'all." Luke informed, smirking all around the table.
"You just never stop partying huh? We literally go out like once or twice a month." Michelle expressed.
"The weekends is the only time I go out since I'm swamped during the week. We're fucking young we should be partying." Luke acknowledged passionately, drinking the rest of the water in his cup.
Jesse laughed slightly, "Are you still high?"
"Very! I'm surprised y'all aren't morphing with the walls." Luke laughed, hearing a giggle from Daniel.
"You're really not going to eat?" Jesse asked looked over at him.
Daniels face, upon eye contact with Jesse, grew slightly annoyed but the expression dissipated and morphed into something humorous. "I can only eat when I smoke." Daniel grinned as the waitress walked up to their table and placed his coffee in front of him and a plate of waffles in front of Jesse. She grabbed a plate of bacon from behind her and placed it in front of Luke.
"Not true. You smoked before the concert." Michelle blurted taking a piece of waffle from jesse's plate and nibbling on it.
Luke looked over at him, as he was rolling his eyes, and smiled at him. He playfully slid the plate of bacon towards Daniel.
"No. I'm fine really." Daniel insisted, his arms folded before him on the table, his hands squeezing his inflated biceps.
"Now that I think about it, I haven't seen you eat at all since we went out last weekend." Michelle's face grew concerned.
The fair skinned waitress appeared again from the kitchen with a tray full of food and placed it in front of Michelle. "Thank you."
Once the waitress was away from the table, Luke pushed his plate even closer to Daniel. "Please eat some with me?" Luke gave him an inviting smile.
Daniel looked at him, unwilling to give into everyone's temptations. "I shouldn't," shaking his head slightly, refusing once more.
Luke's expression grew slightly pleading, "Just eat one slice." A wide, playful smile across his face.
"What if I told you I was vegan?" Daniel tried, a little desperate.
Luke leaned forward and spoke softly, loud enough for Daniel to hear only. "They won't leave you alone about this if you don't stick that damn strip of bacon in your mouth."
Daniel half laughed and Luke fought to hold back a smirk, "Alright." He bit half the bacon strip before putting the rest in his mouth. Luke bared his teeth in a smile at Daniel for the first time that night causing his amethyst eyes to sparkle and dilate slightly in return. Michelle and Jesse exchanged another set of smirked at the flirtatious scene before them.
"I still can't believe you really got a whole plate of bacon." Michelle commented pulling the men back to reality, looking at Luke and giggling.
Luke put his elbows on the table and picked up a piece of bacon with his right hand. His other hand raised to cup and cover the side of his mouth, he whispered to Michelle humorously, "It's the drugs." He wrinkled his nose and Michelle giggled. Luke raised the bacon in the other hand in his mouth before Michelle pushed his arm causing it to fall onto his white silk pants.
With his hand still mid air, he looked at Michelle with fake shock and yelled "Xuj!" Michelle's giggles grew quickly into laughter, as Luke joined her and cleaned the mess off his pants.
"What did you say?" Jesse asked amused, his syrup covered fork still in his hand.
"Xuj." Luke responded still smiling and slightly pink in the face. He was wiping his pants with a napkin, not bothering to look up at Jesse.
"What does that mean?" Jesse pressed intrigued.
"It means 'Dick' in Russian." Luke informed, his expression and color back to a cool demeanor. He bit off a piece of bacon and turned to make eye contact with Jesse.
"Is it rude to ask why you don't sound Russian?" Jesse pressed further, rather more curious than before.
"Seriously, Jesse?" Michelle looked at him suddenly, annoyed.
"Karen, you can't just ask someone why they're white." Daniel mocked and smiled at Jesse humorously.
"If referencing mean girls doesn't make you gay, then I don't know what does." Michelle teased, mockingly glaring at Daniel who, once again, rolled his eyes.
"Are you asking why you don't hear an accent when I speak?" Luke raised an eyebrow at Jesse who nodded, shoving a bite of waffle into his mouth and wiping it with a napkin. "Well I do have an 'accent', but most of the time I speak in an American accent or a British accent." Krad said in a slight Russian accent.
"Raaa -haad." Jesse admired with a wide smile.
"Interesting" Dark commented looking from krads lips to his eyes, causing Luke to blush. Amethyst eyes caught amber ones and held them for what felt like minutes until giggles erupted from Michelle and Jesse. Daniel broke their gaze quickly and looked away, picking up his glass of water and taking a big swig then turning his attention to his phone.
Luke's expression saddened in the slightest and he looked away from Daniel which happened to be in the direction of Michelle who shot him a sympathetic glance.
He quietly flipped his hair over his shoulder and rolled his eyes while waving his hand in front of his face, for a few seconds as if he smelt something foul. Michelle smiled at Luke before he turned away. Looking over to Jesse, she shot him an exhausted look.
Taking the hint, Jesse popped up, "So, what's up? Everyone ready to go?" Shoving a forkful of waffle in his mouth, he received a simultaneous "Yeah." from Daniel and Luke.
"You should come over, we can watch movies!" Michelle exclaimed with a hand on Luke's shoulder.
"Let's do it." Luke smiled at her
"Well let's pay the woman and get out of here"
O
20 minutes later...
"Michelle doesn't like Alex because he's a creep." Jesse continued. Daniel looked at Michelle through the rear view mirror and raised a questioning eyebrow.
"True. I don't know why you have him on the team." Michelle added bitterly.
"Michelle, he's your cousin, weren't you the one who begged me to give him a job?" Daniel questioned further.
"No, that was Claire." Michelle informed mildly offended.
Daniel pulled into a cul de sac decorated by large oak trees and rose bushes of all colors. They pulled up to a small white building near a giant bronze gate that appeared to surround acres of property.
As they pulled up to the side of the small building, Krad noticed there was a glass door with a person inside, the top half of the door was open like a window. Noticing the glare of headlights, the person within the building looked up curiously. Upon recognizing Daniel as he got closer to the gate, the attendant perked up swiftly and smiled wide, flipping the switch to open the gate and waving to the car as it passed.
Luke could hear a giggle from darks direction, "Every time," which made Krad giggle.
As they pulled into their neighbourhood, Jesse noticed a car in the driveway that resembled the one driven by Daniels videographer, and some lights on in the house. "Speaking of, who invited Alex?" He looked at Michelle for clarification.
"Uhg, I hate that I'm associated with that weirdo." She expressed staring out the window and folding her arms across her chest.
"How'd he get in?" Daniel asked without needing an answer. He drove around the car and parked at the top of the empty driveway. The house was huge, but only a little bit bigger than Luke's Moms house in Russia. However, the teams three story house was still breathtaking with a wrap-around balcony on the top two floors. The first floor was tall with a huge porch that supported long pillars that resembled the White House. The walls and flooring outside were made with cherry wood it seemed. Intrigued with the intricacy of the house, Luke followed Michelle through the path to the porch and over the steps to the front door, not understanding why she was practically running to the front door. The windows were long and wide, almost covering the entire surface of the walls. Bulbous, clear outdoor lights strung through the beams supporting the ceiling of the porch. Michelle flung the door open and stood in the doorway like a statue. Oblivious, Luke noticed the floors were a light sanded brown paneling, like oak wood. He looked ahead, around Michelle's frame, at the kitchen on the other side of the room. He noticed through strew clothes on the floor, that the tiles were a tasteful marble.
'Wait, why are there clothes everywhere?' He thought to himself until he noticed why Michelle had stopped in the doorway. Luke lifted his head and averted his attention in the direction Michelle was looking.
On the couch was a woman propped on her stomach over a the armrest of a red leather couch, she hollered rhythmically. Behind her was a man, his grip on her waist as he thrusted and mimicked her groans— the pair were naked. Luke and Michelle stood in the doorway in disbelief.
Suddenly, loud tire screeches interrupted the scene before them. The woman screamed and shoved the man behind her backward and away. She grabbed the blanket below her and wrapped it around her self standing leveled on the floor.
"You disgusting whore." Michelle spat cruelly, "get the fuck out!" She half shouted causing the woman to jump and run out through the doorway. "And you!" Michelle pointed a threatening, angry finger at Alex who had a hand over this genitals, his expression was that of a deer caught in headlights.
"If I ever see you anywhere near Daniel or someone he's associated with, I will fucking end you. Do you fucking understand me? I will end you, I will end your family, and I will end everyone you've ever known, EVER! Got it?" She threatened, a vein protruding through her forehead. Alex nodded slightly, trying to hide his fear and embarrassment through a cool and fraudulent demeanor. "THEN GET THE FUCK OUT, YOU RAT!" She screamed, tears falling from her eyes as Alex ran out through the doorway to meet Katie in his car.
Luke followed them leaving with his eyes, wearing a confused expression, the scene was unfolding quickly and Luke could barely keep up. When he noticed Daniels car was gone, he looked around the porch, findinn only Jesse and Michelle standing before him. Jesse had his hands covering his nose and mouth as Alex's car sped off out of sight.
Krad turned to the two, "Where did Daniel go?"
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