Ha ha, you should have read yall's reactions... I was laughing for days. Hm, this one is sort of just... eh. Maybe you'll find it funny. Dunno. Thanks to my loyal readers who yell at me to update! But seriously, guys... give me some ideas! XD

- Chapter Four- Flesh and Fire—Not Cool! –

Criss stared at me in utter disbelief. He was shocked, amazed, and… hurt? Maybe, but he was adorably funny all the same.

"Kidding!" I teased, laughing crazily, "Come on! Do you really think I would be getting married? As if."

I found the wild prank hilarious. Criss, however, did not. With a dull face, he placed a ten dollar bill on the table as he stood up and walked away, fuming. I grabbed my bag and caught up to him, tossing my arms around his waist (Ooh, someone's been working out!) and not letting go. The boy was acting like a baby!

"Oh please," I pleaded in a childish tone, "It was just a silly little joke. I'm sorry if I sunshined on your rainy parade. You'll forgive me, right?"

After a while, he finally looked me in the eye, a small smile trying to break free.

"If I don't, I'll be one assistant short."

"Oh, thank you!" I squeezed my arms in a rib crushing hug.

"Hey hey hey," Criss exclaimed, peeling my arms away from his body, "I don't want people to be getting the wrong idea."

Of course you don't. My arms returned to their normal swinging motion while Criss walked with his arms in his pockets. We were heading back to the elevators, back upstairs, and to the top floor.

"What're we doing here?" I inquired. Man, I really wanted to get out and see the Strip! But that'll have to wait until tomorrow, I guess.

"Just a little meeting." Criss answered, vague as ever.

"Meeting?' I repeated, watching him unlock the door and hold it for me.

"Yes, now get in!"

I followed his orders and walked into the main sitting area of his suite. Meeting?! Hell, this was an actual, real life, professional Mindfreak production meeting! No way… There was Costa and JD, John Farrell, Jennifer Peterson, and the rest of the crew. The camera and lighting guys were chilling, as well as some folks typing away at the speed of light on Macs. I recognized a lot of the faces, but knew none of the names.

"Excuse me? Who are you?" a man asked. This man was unfamiliar… he looked tough.

"I-uh-well," I stammered, a little scared.

"No no, it's ok! She's with me," Criss said, suddenly appearing behind me. "Sorry, key got stuck in the door. I'd like you all to meet Melanie."

I received nods, greetings, and murmurs from all around the room. I definitely felt way uncomfortable.

"Uh, hi," I finally got out one my voice came back.

"Who is she?" Costa asked, eyeing me over in attempts to figure out some mystery.

"A friend. Remember last summer when I went MIA for a weekend? Yeah, I was hanging out with this little lady. Ha ha, I never told you we were in Texas!" Criss laughed, winking at me when no one was looking. "She's going to be my assistant for tomorrow's demonstration."

"Hell!" I exclaimed, my heart racing ninety miles an hour. "After what you told me today… I'm doing this tomorrow? What?!"

"You told her?" someone said.

"Of course," Criss replied flatly, picking up Hammie from off of the floor.

"But…" I thought out loud, "How the hell am I supposed to appear out of no where?"

"Don't worry, Melanie." JD said, "Calm down. We'll explain. Just sit back and relax for a moment."

Now I was really freaking out. If I'm supposed to appear out of the flaming wood, how do I get in it to start? Uh, hello? Human flesh and fire—not cool! What was Criss and his team thinking? And why did I agree to do this?

"Alright," someone unfamiliar to me began. "Now that Criss is here, we can go over some final things. Which bike are you using?"

"The '06 Count's." Criss replied, stroking the cat in his arms.

"You sure?" the man questioned, "If something was to go wrong…"

"Nothing's going to go wrong."

Criss was so sure of the smoothness of his stunt that it made me nervous. I kept on getting chills every time someone brought up something that sounded dangerous or scary. After about twenty minutes of confusing and boring talk, JD turned to me with a notepad.

"Let's see here," he began, skimming down the page. "So you want to know how you're going to survive tomorrow?"

"Dear God, yes," I pleaded, my eyes full of fear. "Please make it as painless as possible."

"Mel's a pansy," Criss whispered loudly to the people around him.

"Am not!" I retorted, chucking a pillow at him. Sadly, it missed his head by inches.

"Enough of your fighting, kids," JD intervened, "Alright, so we've decided that the best thing to do in this situation is to drug you."

"WHAT?!" I exploded, my eyes surely the size of Jupiter. "What do you mean by drugging me? And explain this situation!"

Criss was laughing silently while everyone watched me intently. He knew that I was going to freak, that sly little demon, but then again, I guess this was payback.

"Mel, Mel," Costa said softly, "Calm down. Relax."

"The situation is you. You are an untrained assistant in a dangerous area and we don't want to run the risk of injuring you or anyone else."

I remained silent.

"So we plan on using a completely safe knock out gas that is no different from what is used at your dentist's office."

"Well, if you put it like that…" I trailed off, nervously.

"You'll be completely fine," JD reassured. "You'll wake up right when you should."

"And that would be?"

"That," Criss piped in, "Is a surprise. I don't want any of you guys telling her."

The way Criss sneered at me made me want to stick my tongue out at him, but that seemed like a strange thing to do in a professional meeting surrounded by an audience. I let the notion depart, but the disgusted expression remained on my face. When was this war going to end?

"What's left to discuss?" Criss tossed out lazily.

"Eh, some camera angles and last minute structure changes."

"Bo-ring," Criss complained, setting Hammie down on the carpet. "Enough of this. Mel and I are going out. Call if you need me."

He stood up and escorted my shaking body over to the door.

"Are all meetings like this?" I inquired warily to the magician at my side.

"You ain't seen nothin' yet."