PART III: ABSOLUTION

KRYPTONITE (1) There's something about the chase

*MATT'S P.O.V*

I recounted the outline of my day as quickly as I could whilst Dom and I trotted down the street. He didn't interrupt me at all but, weirdly enough, he seemed to react to details I thought weren't of any importance and instead didn't respond in any way to the parts that, according to me, were crucial. Except when I told him about the little kiss in the music store.

"I just couldn't have dreamt of a better mean of pressure," I told him as we entered the hallway. "I knew she couldn't have resisted it," I went on, dropping my voice to a confidential tone, now that we coud hear music and the rumble of people's voice drifting down from the apartment. "Dom, if you'd seen the smile on her face when I gave it to her..." I sounded swollen with pride even to my own ears.

I glanced at him and noticed that even if he hadn't said anything and was looking ahead, his face was lit up by a knowing smile. "Okay, well done," he said, keeping his voice low too. "But right now, if you could just stop thinking about her for an instant and brace yourself-"

He didn't have enough time to warn me any further. And as I pushed the door open and snuck a puzzled look back at him, I was swept into the room as if there were some giant vacuum there sucking me in. Before I could even realise what was happening to me, my right eye suddenly became blind and I felt something being stuffed into my hair.

I blinked, trying to focuse my sight on whatever was standing in front of me with my remaining eye.

A replica of a Pulp Fiction's Uma Thurman was brightly smiling at me. Only she was shorter than the real one, and she had freckles.

"Charlenne? !"

Her smile turned even bigger, if that was possible, and she flicked the straight black hair of her wig. "Yeah it's me, but you can call me Miss Wallace for tonight!"

I looked behind her, at the mirror hanging on the lobby's wall. My 'blind eye' was in fact covered by a black eye-patch, and my hair was hidden under a tricorn hat.

"Charlenne!" I said again, but on a complaining tone this time. I swiftly cast my eyes around the room and understood that everyone in here was wearing some kind of disguise.

"What's wrong?" she asked, turning big puppy eyes and a worried frown on me. "I did it for you, I thought you loved dressing up..."

'Not when I'm planning on being seductive!'

The deflated look on her face disarmed me though. And I couldn't bring myself to protest any more. So I sighed and let it go. "'Kay..."

"You don't mind?" she brightened up, sounding hopeful.

"No, I don't, it's fine," I finally stated as I adjusted the eye-patch for comfort.

As soon as she got my approbation, Charlenne whirled on her heels, crouched, and rummaged about in some large cardboard box standing on the floor in a corner. I glimpsed a weird, halloween-like rubber mask and realised that it contained all sort of instant disguise kits. After a few seconds she sprang up to her feet again and started dressing Dom up with some sort of Mexican outfit.

"It's okay, I've got it," he said, taking the huge, overly colourful sombrero from her hands and shooing her away.

She didn't insist and just flashed a brillant smile at me before disappearing into the crowded living-room.

I glanced at Dom, who was currently trying to sooth the few wild strands of hair that were poking out from under his hat.

I chuckled mockingly. "You look ridiculous."

He grumbled and set his poncho better on his shoulders. "Speak for yourself! You can't get any tackier than the pirate set!" But then his pout transformed into his usual gigo-watt smile. "But, hey, what do we care? That's the whole point of disguise, right? Looking ridiculous and not giving a damn about it."

"How come we didn't have to dress up in the other apartment though?" I wondered.

"Because I decide what we do in your apartment. This is Charlenne's territory. That's the only way we found not to bite the other's head off: divide the space we had in two."

Well that explained why there had been the whole discography of Nine Inch Nail playing out in my flat, from 'Deep' to 'Closer'. Here the vibes were more pop than metal.

I faced the main room and then maneuvered myself through the huddle. My eyes scanned the different groups of people, trying to sort out who was who. The difficulty of the task varied from one person to another, depending on the extent of their disguise. And the fact that the lightening in the room was subdued wasn't helping. That dim light and Lady Gaga's voice filling the air- a little bit too loud for our neighbours I was sure- told me Charlenne was eager to go to the Blue Spirit. She was already plunging us into an 'almost nightclub' atmosphere.

At some point I met eyes with some blond girl I thought could be Jade but I quickly realised she was in fact the new waitress from Harry's bar, opposite the street. Dom was most likely the one who had invited her, giving her bra cup size... The said blond girl, who was dressed as a butterfly I think, shot me a cute smile and I smiled back. On any other night I would have gladly gone to her, but not this night. This night I was aiming for a jewel of greater price. No offence to the girl.

As I was twisting my neck around, looking back at her, I bumped into someone and it snapped me back to the present. I apologized and found myself face to face with a...with a what actually? I knew it was Alex under there, but I wasn't sure about his disguise.

"Hum, are you some kind of legionnaire?" I asked, eying his red and golden toga. "Or a roman philosopher perhaps?"

He looked at me curiously for a second and then beamed at me when he recognised me. "Hey there, MarmiteHater!" he exclaimed happily. A little bit too happily actually. I glanced at his almost-empty glass and wondered how many he'd had before this one. I mean, he must have been drunk. Why else would he called me MarmiteHater? I raised my eyebrows a fraction and gave him a small smile.

"And I'm no legionnaire," he kept going, wrapping his right arm around my shoulders, "I'm much higher in the hierarchy since I'm Alexander the great!"

He proudly stuck out his chest and I tried to look impressed.

"Alexander the great? Isn't he the one who died agonizing at the age of 32?"

I glanced at the guy who'd said that, Andrew; I'd recognised his voice right away. He was the only person living in this building who was under thirty, apart from all the ones who inhabited this very apartment of course. I liked him, he was witty and was quick at repartee.

"Nooo, don't ruin my moment!" Alex whined.

Andrew laughed quietly but didn't answer him. Instead he turned to me and extended his hand. "Hey, Matt."

I shook his hand. "Hey."

"Happy birthday," he said, as it was expected of him.

That triggered a string of 'oh, happy birthday's all around me, and people passed the word around. 'Matt's the pirate.'

I suppressed a sigh and smiled.

'Hurrah...thanks Andrew!' I thought ironically.

I got a few: 'so what's it like to be twenty years old?' and then the wave of greetings and happy birthday wishings eventually petered out, 'specially when people started singing along the songs that were playing.

I seized the opportunity. "Uh, Alex?" I said, casting a look at a tipsy looking Alex, who was now partly leaning on me.

"Yes, Matthew," he answered, trying to sound serious but failing and we both giggled like idiots.

"You wouldn't happen to know where your sister is, would you?"

"Mmmmmm...my sisteeer..." he trailed off, twisting his gaze around, looking for her like I was. "Errr, no. Sorry, 'don't have a clue."

The corner of my mouth twitched in disappointment. "Do you know how she's dressed?"

He drained his glass and took his arm away from my shoulders. "Mmmh, yeah. She's..." he held back the rest of his sentence and mysteriously smiled at me. "Well, you'll see," he finally said. Then Lise came out of nowhere in a sexy catwoman suit and stepped into his arms. And by the way they snogged each other faces off, I knew I wouldn't get anything more from these two for the moment.

So I let them behind and headed for the tables where the food and the drinks were gathered. My eyes darted around the place again, hoping to be lucky and to catch sight of her. But I couldn't find her anywhere. I suddenly felt another rush of disappointment mixed with annoyance this time.

I picked up a paper plate and cut a piece of chocolate cake, all the while stewing over her absence.

'If she's gone to the other flat while I was-'

"Well, hello there, captain."

My head whipped around and when I saw her I almost dropped my plate.

Next to me stood a svelte, gorgeous blond beauty, wearing an evening dress that fitted her perfectly, as if it had been designed specifically for her. The low square neckline and the tight waist were accentuating her slim build, with just the right amount of attention to her curves to flatter without being vulgar. I liked the colours as well. The upper part of the dress was raven black and the bottom part, from the waistline to halfway down her thighs- where the dress stopped- was ruby red. Both colours were matt (no pun intended) since the dress was visibly made of a thick, high quality cotton.

"Youhou? Are you still with me?" the beauty asked me, waving her hand in front of my eyes.

I managed to rip my ravenous gaze away from her body only to stare at her face, in a daze again. She'd unbraided her hair and it was now freely cascading down her shoulders, golden and voluptuous. She was wearing a curved and elegant black mask; the fabric imitated lace and the dark colour was making her eyes stood out like bright green gems.

And, as if it wasn't enough already, her lips were perfectly drawn and just as red as her dress.

"Matt?"

"Uh..." This was the only thing I allowed out of my mouth. I couldn't take the risk to say more since my brain kept distractively chanting 'marry me!' in my head. I swallowed and eventually managed to get two words out, one at the time. "Nice...dress."

Obviously pleased by my remark, she smiled a warm, irresistible smile that enhanced her beauty so much, my mind dissolved into a muddle and I lost my ability to think altogether.

"Thank you! Charlenne bought it online but it's slightly too big for her. It fits me well though," she said, looking down her own body and turning around until she'd made a full circle, as if she was deliberately letting me look my fill.

I surprised myself when I spoke again. "To say that it fits you well is a euphemism." There. I'd said it.

"Thanks," she repeated, more shyly this time. Maybe because my eyes were openly devouring her right now. I mean, my one eye.

Her cheeks took on that rosy blush that I particularly loved and her own eyes looked down. She changed the subject. "Have you tasted it yet?" she asked, indicating my plate with a movement of her chin. "It's our cake."

I looked down at it, only now remembering that I was still holding it. "Oh, no, actually." With that said I picked up a napkin, took a bite, and the chocolate sweetly melted on my tongue. "It's good... It's really good actually," I exclaimed. "Mmmm, we nailed it," I added with my mouth half full.

'Finger-fucking-licking-good!'

Jade smiled again and leaned the back of her thighs against the table, both hands on either side of her body, resting on the table's edge. If I hadn't known better I would have thought she was acting flirty. The problem was that she didn't even do this kind of thing on purpose.

"Well it was made with love."

I raised an eyebrow at her when she said that, wondering if I'd really heard that right. But from the troubled look on her face, as if she couldn't believe these words had just come out of her mouth, I could tell there'd been nothing wrong with my hearing.

Her cheeks burned red, and she seemed to be searching for something else to say. A small smirk tugged at the corner of my mouth and I took another bite, deliberatly pushing a remaining crumb between my lips with my thumb.

"Yes it was," I replied, wondering if anyone could really look sexy when wearing a fucking eye-patch...

Judging by the way her face grew even more scarlet, I wasn't doing so bad.

Her lips parted yet no words came out. But it was too late, and I couldn't help staring at her red mouth now, even though I knew it was embarrassing her even more.

The butterfly girl came over at this point. She muttered a small 'excuse-me' and leaned forwards between Jade and me, reaching out for a glass that was laid on the table. As if it was the only available glass in the whole damn apartment right now... I wondered if butterfly-girl'd been hanging round me all this time.

On the other side of the girl Jade smoothed her hair, using the distraction to regain some composure.

"Nice lipstick," I commented once butterfly-girl was done bothering us and started to ebb away.

'Nice everything, in fact...'

Jade jumped on the new topic as if it was a life saving buoy. "Yeah, I know right? It's Charlenne's as well. And it's not really a lipstick, it's some sort of ultra sustainable, unsmudgable lip gloss. Watch." She puckered her lips and pressed them against the champagne flute she'd been holding. It didn't make a mark.

Wait a second... Charlenne had given her the sexy dress. Charlenne had given her the unsmudgable- that meant kiss-proof- lipstick...
or gloss, or whatever. And it was probably Charlenne too who'd changed Jade's nails' colour from green to red.

Was there some satin ribbon somewhere on her dress that I was supposed to pull as well? Or a card where 'here's your gift, happy birthday, Matt! Signed: Charlenne' was written? How much involved into this was she?

I didn't exactly know how long I'd been gazing silently at Jade, with a look of deep cogitation on my face, but it'd been long enough for her to start blushing again.

"Hum, anyways," she mumbled, taking a swig from her glass and keeping her eyes fixed straight in front of her, away from me. "So what's your pirate name? The Marmite Terror?"

That snapped me out of my reverie immediately. "What do you all have with Marmite tonight? !"

A small smile tilted her lips. "Ask him," she said, indicating Dom- who'd just wove his way to us through the living room- with her glass.

I was about to do just as she'd told me and ask Dom about that annoying Marmite obsession that had contaminated the air but he didn't give me enough time to do so.

He let out a short, appreciative whistle and curled an arm around her waist. "Woaw, the vamp is out tonight!" he exclaimed, grinning like a loon at her. "You're quite an eyeful sweetheart," he added, more seriously but still beaming.

Jade smiled back at Dom, so she wasn't looking at me, and when his eyes met mine I glared daggers at him. He understood right away and instantly drew his arm away from her. I let a small, satisfied smirk play on my lips and Jade frowned, glancing between the two of us.

"Er, so, Jade," Dom started, probably not wanting to let an awkward atmosphere settle in. "Where's Jack?"

God, I wanted to slap him, I really did. So much so that the palm of my hand itched.

Why? Just why the fuck had he had to mention Jack? He could have asked her about anything, 'what time is it?', 'why is the sky blue?', 'how can I be such a half-witted dick sometimes?', 'what colour is your bra tonight?', anything really. But no, he'd just had to pronounce Jack's name. And now all she would be thinking about was her stupid boyfriend. And the fact that she had to be faithful to him.

But actually... Dom proved me once again that I'd underestimated him.

As soon as he'd said the words, Jade's face clouded with annoyance. "He's not here," she said sterly. "Apparently his...friends at work are more important than Matt's birthday party."

I frowned in confusion and tried to read Dom's face.

"Aww, don't be angry at him, Jade..." he cooed. But the ghost of a smile on his face told me he had something to do with this. My pulse quickened slightly at the revelation.

'No, Jade, whatever this is about: be angry, be angry, be angry...'

"How can't I be angry, Dom?" she protested. "We've been planning this for so long! I understand that he couldn't participate in the preparations, I understand that perfectly. But the least he could do was to be here tonight! He'll miss the gig-" she stopped in mid-sentence and finished her drink. "I don't want to talk about it anymore," she stated with a heavy sigh. And, right on cue, Charlenne called her from somewhere across the living-room and Jade took off to join her.

As soon as she was out of hearing range I inched closer to Dom. "What did you do? !" I whispered.

He looked at me and breathed in to speak but then hesistated and held back.

"Dom!" I pleaded.

He seemed to decide something in his mind then and- after having cast a cautious glance around us- he grabbed my arm and steered me into a corner of the room.

"Did you know that tonight Jack had a presentation to do at his school? In front of some sort of a jury?" he asked me.

"Hum, yeah, it vaguely rings a bell. What about it?"

"He's been working on it for months, with a bunch of people. I think they are a group of four or five, something like that. Anyways, Jack's been pretty nervous about it for some time now and he's been talking about it a lot..."

I was beginning to feel impatient. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. And?"

"Well," a hint of self-satisfaction passed over his features, "it wasn't easy, but I kind of convinced Jack that he and his workmates should have a drink tonight. You know, to celebrate the work done. I persuaded him that it was more important than the party, all behind Jade's back of course."

It all clicked together in my mind and I could feel my lips curling into a broad smile. "Dom. You're wickedly smart. I adore you."

He returned my smile and seemed about to burst with pride. "I know. But be careful, I have no idea when he'll come back. From what I've gathered he's eating diner with them and then they'll have a drink, but it still doesn't give us a precise hour."

Yes, of course, he was right. I couldn't waste any time. But I would need to isolate myself with her if I wanted to make any progress and how could I do that when I was the center of attention in the room? Even now people were sneaking curious looks at Dom and me since we'd retreated into the corner. I would need some sort of distraction. Any kind of diversion would do...

My brain was running at full speed when Chris- with only a cowboy hat for a disguise- met my eyes in the crowdy room. He came closer, with the clear intention to talk to me and wore a weird expression on his face.

"Hey, Chris," Dom said when our three piece was complete. "What are you nervous about, big guy?"

Ah! So I wasn't being paranoid, Chris did look agitated.

The 'big guy' cleared his throat before talking. "Hum, there's something I want to tell you two..."

"Yes?" Dom said gently, trying to encourage him.

"Er, it's a...something... I wanted to tell people tonight, but since this is your night, Matt... I don't know if it's the best time..." he trailed off.

'Wait, is that Chris blushing?'

Had I somehow entered the fourth dimension? Since when did Chris blush? In fact I knew only one thing in the world that could make his face flush: Kathy.

"It's about Kathy and me," he resumed, confirming my thoughts. "It's... She..."

"Come on, Chris, just spit it out," I pressed him. It wasn't as if I had all night...

"She's pregnant," he blurted. "And we're getting married."

I was dumbstruck.

Dom was dumbstruck.

Pregnant. Baby. Married. Chris. Baby.

The first thing that came to my mind was a stupidly gooey 'I'm gonna be an uncle!'. The second was more useful.

"Chris..." I breathed, "this is perfect!"

He stared a me, confused. "Er, what?"

I didn't take the time to answer him, I just snatched his glass and Dom's and I stepped fowards amongst the crowd.

Chris' hushed voice called me back behind me. "Matt, wait!"

But I ignored him and clinked the two glasses together a few times. "Hey, everybody! Listen up!"

*-X-*-X-*-X-*

JADE'S P.O.V.

When Matt finished his announcement the whole room fell silent except for the music still playing in the background. I flicked my eyes over to where Kathy was standing, afraid that Matt'd just made a terrible, clumsy mistake. It didn't feel like he should be the one to break such a news on us.

But Kathy didn't look like she wanted to dig herself a hole and pull in the dirt after her. She didn't look like she might die of shame or embarrassement. Sure she was blushing to the root of her hair but it seemed to me that she was trying to hold back the biggest of smile.

I witnessed the soundless exchange between Kathy and Chris. The apologetic look he gave her, the little shrug she returned him, and then the sunny smiles that lighted up both their faces.

I released the breath I'd been holding in a relieved sigh. All was well. Yes, it hadn't been Matt's place to tell the news but at least it seemed that the baby was wanted and the couple was happy.

Most people in the room had noticed the same things than me and it roused them out of their torpor. The whole place erupted in a cacophony of sound. Giggles, gasps, talking, whispering and even a few claps of applause.

Charlenne was the first to move; she shot straight forwards like an arrow and hugged Kathy with a happy: "I knew it! You seemed different..."

Half the people in the room followed her lead. So many little curious bees eager to gather juicy gossip from the newfound flower.

"Woah, this is the kind of night..." Alex mused outloud beside me.

I turned to him and he was all smiles when he laboriously finished his sentence. "The kind of night you can't forget! Aaaand it's only beginning!" he chirped.

I chuckled but seized his glasses. Yes, glasses. "Right, I think you've had enough."

"But don't you think it's sweeeet?" he gestured at Kathy.

I looked at her again, beautiful and glowing. "Yes, it is. The announcement was a bit abrupt but... Don't you dare break a news like that to me in that manner, like ever," I warned him. I'd go nuts if I discovered Lise was pregnant that way.

He suddenly began stuttering, his voice filled with embarrassment. "We-well, actually..."

I turned wide eyes and a slack jaw on him. No! I wasn't ready to be an aunt!

He tried to stay serious and pressed his lips together but soon a loud bark of laughter escaped his throat. I huffed and smacked him across the abs. "It's not funny!" I chided him.

He wiped a tear from the corner of his eye, still guffawing. "Oh my God... You bought it...hook, line and sinker!"

I glowered at him but he kept squirming and snorting with laughter, until the smile slipped from his face as quickly as it'd come and he straightened up. "Huh, is it me...or is the room spinning?"

Lise had just joined our sides. "I think it's you, honey," she said, smiling gently at him and wrapping her arm around his. "Maybe you need some fresh air."

I watched them make their way to the front door, swallowing down my annoyance towards Alex and getting rid of his glasses. Then I closed the distance that separated me from the nearest window and filled my lungs. I needed some fresh air too, between Jack stooding me up, Matt eating cakes as if we were shooting a scene from 'Nine 1/2 Weeks' and my brother's jokes...

I breathed out slowly and distractedly gazed down at the street below, till I felt someone's stare on me. I glanced off to my left and locked eyes with Matt.

It wasn't the first time we'd done that today, and just like all the other times I felt my insides grow warm and my breathing quicken as I stared into his baby blues. He'd ditched his eye-patch and hat and he looked more handsome than ever, half-hidden into the shadows, across the room. He was dressed all in black tonight and I just loved that colour on him so much. The whole surprise-birthday-party seemed to have done him some good as well: he looked confident and alluring. Truly, he could have easily charmed the pants off a nun with a face like that.

Apparently I was the only one in the room paying attention to him, since all the others were either dancing, singing, drinking, or still prattling about Kathy's pregnancy.

They all faded into the background under the power of his gaze. After a minute or two of intense staring, he very purposely pushed himself away from the wall he'd been leaning against and walked across the living-room, heading for the front door behind me. Our eyes remained fixed on the other's until it became impossible for us to keep eye contact without my turning around.

I looked down at my hand, tightly closed around the wrought iron fence of the window. The message had been as clear as if he'd shouted 'follow me' across the room.

I didn't hesitate for long, I needed some time alone with him anyway.

I turned around and slipped out of the apartment. The staircase was empty. He could have only gone two ways: up or down. Which one would you have chosen?

Of course I went up.


Just so you can visualise Matt's outfit in your head: what I have in mind is close to what he's wearing in the 'Hyper Music' video clip.

title: 'Kryptonite' - 3 Doors Down + 'You and I' - Lady Gaga

"I know there's something that you're dying to tell me"

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