Scratching the back of his fleshy neck and stifling a yawn, the attendant glanced at the clock. He should have handed his keys to the security desk thirty minutes ago, he was skating on thin ice.
Real thin ice, in more ways than one...but at least his main problem, his main worry was out of sight.
Out of sight, out of mind, right? That's how the saying went?
He was already on his second warning from the boss. Officially there was a three strike system but he knew he'd be fine. Santa Carla and everything in it seemed to run on two systems - the official one and then the one everybody used, the one where the rules meant nothing. There were guys still working who had been on their seventh, eighth strike and they showed no signs of slowing down. Not like it was easy for management to find all the staff needed to keep the boardwalk a hopping place during summer.
Anyway, that wasn't the problem, not really. Fuck the strikes, they meant jack shit when push came to shove.
His real problem was that guy.
He sighed and pawed at his neck again. Not quite out of mind, then.
Not at all.
It was that fucking guy. That's what he kept coming back to, that's who he kept thinking of.
That damn guy. He was the problem, he was the source of all the worry and concern.
God, of all the shifts, of all the days why had it been today?
He'd been off yesterday and he wasn't scheduled in this section again until the following week.
So damn unlucky. His ride was piss easy pretty much all of the time. The only danger was falling asleep in the little booth but tonight?
God, dammit.
Why tonight?
The horror house stood dark and largely silent in the emptying boardwalk. All the lights had been turned off and the surrounding rides had long been shut down, their attendants doing the last of their work, securing locks and counting cash with as much enthusiasm as they could muster. The last few giggling patrons had already happily stumbled out towards the beach or the still buzzing bars that stayed open late into the night.
It all added to his sense of isolation. Everyone had moved on with their night, with their shift as usual.
Everyone but him.
His was the one attraction with the power still on and while it stood out like a sore thumb, he'd never felt more isolated.
The horror house itself was an old and tired dark ride with a rickety track and its facade a dark, plastic mixture of ghouls, beasts and skeletons. It usually drew crowds of sticky, excited children but this evening wasn't a usual one.
Not for him, at least.
He'd get the occasional stoner buying a bunch of tickets, riding the attraction in one long loop until their high wore off or until they went in search of other rides, different colors and sounds and stimulations. It wasn't such a surprise. Hardcore druggies came in almost every shape and form imaginable in Santa Carla but the casual users, the partiers were plentiful, too. The horror house was tacky as anything, filled with dropping skeletons and monsters that popped out of poorly hidden spaces but it was so tame, it was laughable. Paired with the flashing lights, the streamers, the clanking chains, there was a lot going on to occupy a tripping mind. The stoners were generally harmless, he didn't actually mind them. Easier to deal with the kids, anyway.
Surprisingly less puke.
Sometimes he'd find a horny couple making their way towards the ride, hoping that the four and a half minutes it took for the small cart to make its way through the track was enough to knock a quickie out. Sometimes, they timed it right but more often than not they didn't and sometimes, just sometimes, he'd get to see a pair of tits.
It wasn't bad work and thankfully there were few surprises to be had. It was sleeping on the job, though, that was the usual fear. His boss had caught him once, he'd only closed his eyes for a second and when he woke up, his boss was there had he been reamed out big time.
He'd thought that was it. He'd dumped sawdust on puke, shepherded crying kids to their parents and got into a ton of shit for dozing. The worst thing that could happen on the job had happened, right?
Apparently not.
He wasn't sure who, exactly, he had encountered that long ass half hour ago. Party animals? A druggie couple? A horny druggie couple? He couldn't pin them down but there was no doubt they were the source of his troubles. It was usually easy to categorize the boardwalk patrons, easy to slot his riders into distinct and clear categories but tonight?
Tonight, he was stumped. Stumped and uneasy and if he was being honest with himself, if he allowed himself time to think on it...yeah. Maybe he could admit to being kind of scared.
He'd been offered fifty bucks to keep the ride open for a couple and that in itself was a first. Yeah, sometimes kids were known to want to keep riding or maybe there was some macho dude looking to impress his date but they usually stuck to the more fancy rides, not that the boardwalk had a lot of them. The ferris wheel attendant usually got slipped a five or occasionally some weed...or at least, he bragged about it. Anyway, it never happened at the haunted house. Never. He should have been stoked about it, it was easy money. He should have offered them a drink service, too, offered them a condom, some tissues. Really pushed the boat out. A fifty? For keeping the ride open a little longer? His shitty little ride?
He should have been thrilled but he wasn't. The couple who stumbled over to him had been...different.
They were an odd pair.
The girl was pretty, beautiful, he supposed, but in a kind of wholesome way despite clearly being off her head, her eyes as wide as saucers. She was sporadically falling against the guy, using his body for support as her own body swayed gracefully in a breeze that only she could feel. She was a cutie, that was for sure and maybe if she'd been alone, he could have seen himself shooting a shot but the dude she was with?
He was high, too and seemed good natured, seemed playful and fun to be around but there was a danger about him. He was off his face too but not really, it was like he was controlled, like..it was almost like he had control of whatever drug he'd taken.
It was weird. Weird and strange and it felt kind of dangerous.
When he'd seen the girl, he kinda perked up a bit. Getting a hottie's number, that's always a decent way to end the night. He'd sat up straighter in his old chair, ready to get some flirting done and then the dude she was with came into sight and a nervous pit just kind of lumped right there in his stomach. He'd felt unsettled, nervous and when he'd been offered the fifty, he'd shot it down straight away.
It felt like trouble. The dude felt like trouble and he'd wanted not one thing to do with him.
He hadn't been expecting a fight but the man's reaction had taken him off guard. It had been friendly. Well, as friendly as it could be for a demand. Whatever, all that mattered was that the dude's words left no room for argument.
The guy had laughed and given his head a little shake, "nah, bro. You're gonna keep the ride open and let me and my best girl here-" she'd giggled and reached out into the air, like she was trying to touch his words, "enjoy the sights and sounds of your fine attraction. You're gonna wait two minutes then switch the track off and let us enjoy the show, OK?" and when he'd opened his mouth to protest, the guy winked at him, "and 'cause I'm in such a good mood, I'm gonna give you a hundred and this-"
And with that, the blonde had reached out and placed a very thick, surprisingly weighty joint inside the embroidered pocket of his work shirt.
The action had been casual but fuck, it had felt heavy. The smooth, easy gesture, the gentle flick of the blonde dude's fingers as he pulled the pocket forward a little...every action had power to it.
Serious, serious power.
He didn't know what to say, he didn't know what he could say.
Fuck the money. A hundred was a crazy amount, totally and utterly crazy but he had barely registered it.
He couldn't look away from the guys' eyes, he couldn't blink.
He felt power in those fingers, power in his eyes and he thought for a second that maybe he was gonna piss himself.
Thankfully, blissfully, the girl had fallen forward, pushed by the breeze that still only she could feel. As the guy moved his arm to catch her, laughing as he pulled her into a one armed bear hug, she had let herself slacken completely until he was the only thing keeping her up.
She had giggled uncontrollably and craned her limp neck to try and look up at him.
The guy didn't stumble, didn't move, didn't show any reaction to carrying her dead weight, he just gave her a wide, happy smile, his vibe towards her completely different.
He was sweet and brotherly and protective and loving and it was fucking disorienting.
"We gonna walk together, baby girl?" he had asked her, his voice chipper.
"I step, you step" she'd giggled in reply, her words slurred as if they were physically heavy. Her voice was oddly pitched and spaced out but very bright, "but watch out for the holes"
Her friend had laughed at her words because of course there were no holes on the smooth concrete floor and there were definitely no holes on the corrugated metal walkway leading up to the ride but neither of them made moves to correct her. Instead, he had sat silently as the two of breezed right on by him and settled into the carriage, the girl quite clearly having a wonderful time but her shoes scuffed to fuck.
As he fingered the money and the joint in his pocket, he flipped the switch and powered up the tracks and the carriages once more with his free hand. Fuck it if he got in trouble. His boss was less of a threat than the dude in the car, that much he knew. He wasn't gonna say no to him again, not a chance. He didn't think a second rejection would go over well and by that stage, he'd just wanted them both out of his sight.
"Oh, and Pete?" the blonde had called out as their carriage jerked to life, "on the off chance my friends come by, give them a message would you...?"
Again, it hadn't been a request and as the two disappeared into the trippy world of the horror house, he had hoped he wouldn't have to see the guys' friends. He didn't wanna see the guy again, either. He'd almost shit his pants when the blonde dude said his name and it had taken him a few seconds to realize it was embroidered on his pocket.
The thing was, it felt like the guy knew anyway and it was creepy as fuck.
He was gonna give them another ten minutes and then he was outta there.
His fucking manager could shoo them out for all he cared he'd take the third strike, he'd take-
"You seem troubled?"
Pete sighed and popped the gum he'd been nervously chewing. What the hell? Couldn't he catch a single break?
He didn't want to deal with more weirdos tonight and so, without looking over his shoulder at the voice, politely inquiring though it was, he said shortly, "ride's closed, can't sell you a ticket"
"Good for you. We're not buying"
Pete jerked at the cold tone, surprised to hear not only the undercurrent of danger but also a second speaker.
As he spun around, his old swivel chair propelling him easily, his stomach dropped.
Two speakers, three people.
"Uh.." he stuttered.
"I think our friends went in there?"
"Friends?"
His stomach dropped even further, as the speaker, a curly haired blonde with a cruel little smirk nodded in confirmation.
Jesus. Jesus, why tonight?
"Look guys, I don't want any problems-"
"Why would there be a problem?"
"Because..."
"What did he say to you?" the flat faced brunette spoke bluntly, not bothering to engage in chat chat or niceties.
The lack of emotion on both his features and in his words was almost terrifying.
"The-uh, the dude said..." Pete swallowed, the money and joint in his pocket feeling heavier than before, seemingly reminding him of the message he was ordered to relay. It sounded kind of funny at the time, kind of stupid despite the vibe he got from the blonde but now? Seeing the friends he was supposed to deliver it to?
Jesus fucking Christ.
"What did he say?"
Looking at the brunette speaker again, his stomach didn't drop.
It rolled. It froze. It curled in on itself.
He'd never had a worse night.
The brunette had repeated himself and he didn't seem overly happy to be doing so and Pete found himself wishing he'd just called in sick.
The three guys standing before him not only looked like danger, with their leather and their smirks and their built bodies but they carried themselves with it, too. Just by looking at them you could tell they were strong, you could tell they didn't fuck around. It was obvious they weren't the kind of guys who were to be messed with and he suddenly wished he had said no that second time.
The bubbly blonde had an undercurrent of danger to him but these three? Standing in a loose circle the way they were, the haughty tilt of their chins.
Fucking hell, he should have said no.
He was heavy, sure but he wasn't a weak guy, not at all. He worked out, he loaded trucks and did the grunt work around the boardwalk but he knew he couldn't take on the three men before him. If they were feeling scrappy - and they looked the type - he was shit out of luck.
"Tell you what" the cold voice spoke up and Pete found his eyes flickering to the icy blonde stood in the center. His tone, his voice demanded attention, quiet though it was. He doubted the guy had ever had to shout, had ever had to raise his voice to make himself heard, "switch the breaker, tell us your message and then clock out, hmm?"
"Even if you did get overtime, this isn't worth it" the curly haired man added, his eyes dancing.
Pete had never agreed with anything more in his life.
Without moving his eyes away from the three men, he reached out and flipped the emergency breaker. Outwardly nothing much changed but he knew that inside the horror house, the flashing lights, music and effects would have come to a sudden halt and the dim emergency lights would have snapped on.
He'd ruined the guy's fun, probably disappointed the girl but fuck it. He stood and left his booth, kicking the door shut with his heel, never letting his eyes leave the three men unless they absolutely had to. The door locked automatically, it could only be opened from inside or with a special key and he'd left his on the hook next to his staff windbreaker but, again, fuck it.
This was now his manger's issue.
"See ya-" he said, trying to bypass them.
"The message?"
"Oh..." he fumbled again, swallowing.
Shit.
He turned to the tall, impassively bored looking brunette, "um..." holding up his hands and shaking his head a little, he swallowed again, "he, uh. Look, man I'm serious, I don't wa-"
"-we won't shoot the messenger" the dangerously playful smirk on the younger looking boys face did little to comfort him, not when the man he was supposed to direct the message to was so...big.
Big, surly and apparently not in a good mood.
The money and joint felt like it was burning a hole in his pocket and, sweating a little, he looked at the brunettes chest, unable and unwilling to try and meet his eyes, "um, he uh, he said, 'ha ha, top dog then, top dog now, bitches' and then he kinda laughed..."
Pete made to leave, pausing when the brunette spoke, "and?"
"Aw shit, he-he said that you could suck his dick, I'm sorry man, I-"
"-who could?" the brunette asked, "it was directed at someone, no?"
Jesus fucking Christ. Fuck, fuck. Had they rehearsed it? Was it some kind of sick game? How did they know the stupid blonde had specified which one of them could do the deed?
"'The one so serious he looks constipated'" a hint of pleading entered Pete's voice, "that's a direct quote. That's it, I swear. Can I go now?"
"Sure" the icy blonde said, extending his hand towards the empty pathway and silent rides.
"Oh, and Pete?" he jerked on the spot and met the curly haired blonde's eyes with a frown.
He just wanted to leave already.
"We're all friends here, right? No need to tell your boss about this" his voice was so friendly, so welcoming and it was the law. Nodding thickly, Pete knew that he had to do whatever he was told.
No questions.
Absolutely no questions.
"...sure" he said, nodding again.
"Are you telling anyone about this?"
"No"
"No?"
"No"
He could feel how desperately sincere his voice was but more than anything else, he felt tired, tired like he'd been swimming for his life in a stormy sea.
Tired to his bones.
He could see the other two men strolling easily towards the entrance to the ride, the attraction that he should have been...wait? Was he working? He couldn't remember. What was he doing? What-
"-you had to go and take a piss, right? And you locked yourself out, hmm?"
Oh. That's what had happened.
...had it?
"You won't remember us, will you?"
"Huh?"
"You never met us, luckily for you. You had to take a piss, Pete. That's all there is to it, right?"
"Right"
"Take the scenic route to management, yeah? Consider the cash a bonus for a job well done"
"OK"
"Get some fresh air...you look a little pale..." he began to laugh as he turned, making his way over to his friends and Pete, nodding dumbly, lurched away from them and towards the silent, wide wooden road before him.
Luckily for him, he wouldn't remember a thing about his unusual encounter.
"Should have killed him"
"And greet Elizabeth covered in blood?"
David grinned and shrugged, "I didn't say you have to be messy about it"
Not be messy? Both men looked at each other, their smiles wide and dark. Neat wasn't often in their vocabulary. David chuckled, his voice sounding ominous in the dim entrance to the ride.
"Anyway" he continued slowly, sounding almost bored with the situation, "I doubt our mortal even knows what's real or not right now"
Marko nodded, observing as Dwayne frowned into the dim ride, "I don't think you have to worry about slipping up and sharing any of your-"
"-dark side?" David supplied, also glancing at Dwayne.
Of course he knew the entirety of the conversations Elizabeth had had with both men. He was satisfied that the topic was being discussed, pleased that she was aware of the seriousness of the situation but it was all a bit soft for him. As far as he was concerned, they didn't have a dark side.
They were dark. Totally and utterly, inescapably dark.
"Dwayne?" Marko said, walking down the track easily keeping his balance despite walking on just the right side.
"He gave her that LSD..." Dwayne said, the hard concern in his voice propelling wide smirks from his two brothers. They weren't surprised that Dwayne had ignored their conversation, he'd been doing that all night but it was his worry that had gotten to them.
He never worried.
They all knew that Elizabeth was OK, they knew that Paul was a wild card but they knew he would always keep her safe. She was destined to be one of them, of course he wouldn't let her come to harm.
Dwayne knew it, too but still.
He worried.
"Mates" David shrugged, arching his eyebrow as he walked a comfortable pace beside Marko.
"Kill me if I ever get one" Marko said, jokingly but with a serious and flat voice.
"Noted" David replied, still smirking.
It hadn't taken them long to find Elizabeth and Paul when they realized he had successfully tricked them - by that time, both of them were pretty out of it with the drugs and Paul had given up the act entirely. He was either over the effort or ready to gloat or probably both.
"She's a mortal, he needs to be careful" Dwayne said, frowning as he took the lead, easily sliding between David and Marko.
How much LSD Elizabeth had taken was up for debate but there was no doubt that she had taken some. Paired with the alcohol and weed from the other night, both men could understand where Dwayne was coming from. It was a lot, especially for someone as tame as Elizabeth was.
She was going to deal with a pretty big headache in the morning but they could all feel that she was fine.
"She could have said no" David said, knowing he was prodding his brother.
"Paul can bring out the party animal in anyone" Marko added, "she's good"
There wasn't panic, there wasn't an immediate fear in Dwayne's voice but there was concern. They all knew Elizabeth was fine, they knew that Dwayne could feel it as well but it was clear that until he had her in his sight, he wouldn't be settled.
The mate connection was too strong.
"Seriously" Marko replied, still joking at Dwayne's expense, "just fucking kill me"
"Noted" David reaffirmed.
"Keep it up" Dwayne told them, not bothering to look back, "I'll be watching with that same smile when your mates make themselves known"
David chuckled heartily but both men kept their retorts to themselves.
As the three continued to walk comfortably down the old tracks, Dwayne shook his head, "..this is the tackiest place I've ever seen"
He rolled his eyes, peering at an obviously plastic skeleton frozen in place, popping up from the side of the track.
"Well, where else would Paul take her?"
Dwayne paused for a split second before nodding.
David had a point.
"Well, he didn't kill her, at least..." Marko joked, his voice energetic, peering down the decent drop that lined each side of the tracks, "...this ride is a total fucking deathtrap"
He didn't miss how the carriages didn't have any gates or seat-belts. If a kid - or a drugged up mortal with a carelessly energetic, undead caretaker - was to fall out of the cart, they would have a fairly big drop before hitting the hard ground. Definitely a broken bone, maybe two.
Dwayne was right, though. It was tacky. Tacky, cheap and dangerous and, as such, one hundred percent Paul. Of course he would have taken her here. Rolling his eyes a little but grinning at the same time, Marko glanced around. There were poorly constructed ledges up on either side of the drops, too. He figured it had been designed to mimic a cave or dungeon. The theming was kind of off but it didn't matter, the bare facts were that the ride was pretty shitty with a lot of glow in the dark paint splattered around.
"She's out of her mind-" Dwayne said, shaking his head, "-I'm going to kill him"
As they got closer, it was even easier to feel but then, so was her happiness.
Despite the hard tone of his voice, the ominous threats...it was obvious he was fighting down a smile, too.
"Count your blessings" David mused, "she's been with Paul all night. Could be worse..."
Both he and Marko grinned, remembering and silently reminiscing on some of Paul's antics.
"Can't believe he got us..." Dwayne muttered darkly to himself and, as Marko and David hung back together a little, they caught each other's eyes, still smirking through unreleased laughter.
Paul had gotten them all, sure, but Dwayne was the prime target.
They all knew it.
They were always one upping each other and this time, Paul had won.
No questions.
All three men stopped as Paul's laughter floated towards them, followed by an off pitch giggle.
"We got company, girl" he all but shouted, his voice echoing loudly around the attraction.
Elizabeth's giggle was heard again and all three men had a very distinct, clear image of her reaching out into the air, trying to touch the words that had been spoken.
"Company...company...company..." Paul chanted, his voice getting lower each time. It was obvious that he was putting on a show for her and he'd probably been doing it all night.
Elizabeth's giggle was weaker and more slurred.
"I mean, there are worse people to trip with" Marko said with a wide grin.
"Agreed" David said.
Paul always shared whatever he was using and he'd done so many different drugs, there was no doubt he was making sure Elizabeth had a good time. It was an understatement to say knew what he was doing. The girl couldn't have hoped for a better guide, really.
"I'm going to kill him" Dwayne repeated, walking once more.
As Dwayne clenched his fist and Paul's laughing voice boomed around them again, it was clear the brunette was working hard to fight down his smile.
Elizabeth felt so blissfully happy, it was hard to ignore.
"Mercy!"
"...mercy!" Elizabeth chanted, her voice thick. It sounded like she had said, 'murrrr-eeeeee-seeeeeee' instead and Marko laughed.
"She's fucked"
"He's fucked"
"Don't fuck me" Paul said, his voice clear as they approached him, "Lizzie, girl, your man wants to fuck me!"
"My skeleton?" she had actually said 'skell-ing-tonnnnnnnnn' and she sounded a little wounded, hurt that her skeleton, whatever that was, wanted to be intimate with Paul.
"No, no, no. Thought you said that it left? I'm talking about your dude. Dwaynie wants to penetrate me, girl"
"Dwaynie?" Marko snorted.
"He's dead"
"He is, yes" David said, smiling as Dwayne met his eyes.
"Dead since ninete-"
"-shhhhhhh" Elizabeth hissed, stopping Paul's words, sounding a little like a very guttural snake, "-the ground is moving again"
It must have been disorienting for her, the way Paul was having a conversation with her and also his three brothers because she herself couldn't even hear their approach.
"'nah, that's just your man comin' to claim you"
"Yeah?"
"Yeah, of course"
Elizabeth sounded a little calmer and the three men began walking again, seeing an empty carriage up ahead of them.
As David and Marko scanned the area, spotting Paul and Elizabeth slumped against each other high on a ledge, Dwayne went to them in a flash.
"Elizabeth?" he said, hopping up and away from the tracks, crouching before her.
If she had been in her right mind, she probably would have been stunned by his fluid motion, the height of the jump, his speed and grace but, as it was...she was completely and utterly out of it, just as they'd all known she would be.
"Oh, hi Paul, nice to see you..." Paul said indignantly, his eyes dancing with joy and the smile of his face one of his biggest and brightest. As Dwayne peered at his mate, he continued, "...so glad you took Lizzie out for a spell, you did a great job in besting us. Thanks for keeping our egos grounded while also showing our sister a good time. You're absolutely ace. We're nothing compared to your greatness. So glad to see you, so-"
"-shut the fuck up"
Paul descended into laughter, happy to crack a reaction out of Dwayne and even happier to see the quirk of his lips. The serious brunette was struggling to keep a straight face and that was rarer than him being bested.
"Good night all 'round" Paul said, spreading his hands out before him in a small, controlled 'ta-daaaaa' gesture.
"You're something else entirely, you know that? Sneaky fucker" Marko laughed, eyes flitting between his friend and Elizabeth.
He tugged at his embroidered jacket a little before leaning against the still carriage the two had obviously vacated. Elizabeth looked good, despite being off her face. She was slumped comfortably against the wall, her body half against Paul's and Marko had a sneaking suspicion that if he moved, she'd slide straight down to the floor. She looked kind of boneless but it was nice. She looked so carefree, so happy and, as he shot a look at David, both men smiled.
David's was more reserved but Marko could see the approval in his eyes.
She was going to fit in with them well. She may not be brutal and cruel like they could be but she was down to have a good time, she was down to try new things and she was happy with them. It seemed like whatever forces had pushed her and Dwayne together had the right ideas.
Nodding, Marko observed Paul once again, "fair play to you man, fair play"
"Credit where its's due, right?" Paul grinned, looking very, very proud of himself, "anything to say, David?"
Arching his eyebrow and plucking a cigarette from his pocket, having already seated himself inside the rickety and old car, the elder vampire said with the cool air that personified him, "not particularly. You're lucky I didn't give it any effort"
"Oh fuck off!"
David grinned at the indignant scoff in Paul's voice, turning his eyes and watching as Dwayne reached out his hand to graze Elizabeth's somewhat clammy forehead.
"No way, dude. Can't dismiss it. I bested you, I bested your second in command lover boy, I got-"
"-her pupils are huge, man" there was a small hint of reproach and concern in Dwayne's voice but it was clear to all that he was satisfied to see her, to touch her and know that she was OK. They also found it infinitely amusing that he was steadfastly refusing to acknowledge Paul's triumph.
Marko met David's eyes once more and had to look away again, his laughter threatening to bubble up at the look in them.
Dwayne had never been beaten by Paul.
Never.
They had a comfortable relationship, an unbreakable friendship but they had a constant, never ending game of one-upmanship going on and they'd been playing since before Paul's immortality had even been cemented.
In all that time, Dwayne had never been beaten. They drew a lot but more often than not Dwayne's uncompromising strength, his stoic features, his sharp but effortless comebacks relegated Paul to the losing side.
Both David and Marko knew that he was feeling it and best - or maybe worst of all - so did Paul.
If Marko kept his eye contact up with David, he knew they both would have lost it themselves and descended into laughter. Normally it wouldn't be a problem but when it came to his mate, they knew they had to be a little more considerate than usual. At least for now. David and Paul had learned it the hard way and Marko didn't quite want to be on Dwayne's wrong side, either. Just watching his idiot brothers fuck up had been enough for him.
"Nah, dude. She's great, we had a blast. Total trip for her, total trip down memory lane for me" Paul laughed, his face bright and animated. He was obviously having a great night himself and must have forgotten how miserable he'd felt after the incident before. He'd been on the receiving end of Dwayne's rage, he'd fucked up big time and had felt pretty foul about it all but looking at him now, you wouldn't ever have guessed it. There wasn't even a hint of contrition on his face. As far as he was concerned, he and Liz were old friends and she wasn't even remotely fragile. Neither was Dwayne, "I am feeling so fucking nostalgic right now. Remember how we met?"
"Not likely to forget it" David replied, a smile playing at his lips, "one of the more colorful initiations"
"I did liven things up, huh?"
"Witty"
Paul winked, "one of my many skills and charms"
As David raised his eyebrow archly, Marko shook his head.
"So come on. Tell us-" Paul slung his arm over Elizabeth's shoulders and Dwayne let his own hand fall back away from her face.
He'd been cupping it gently, watching her intently but he could feel it, Paul wasn't lying. She was great. She was happy, thrilled. His words were true, not even close to being over exaggerated which was rare for him: she was having an absolute blast wherever she was, whatever she was seeing. Her heartbeat was usual, there was nothing even close to a frown on her face.
She looked blissful.
He didn't doubt she wouldn't feel it in the morning, but for now, he knew she was fine.
As Dwayne sat on the elevated platform, situating himself at the end of Elizabeth's outstretched legs, he allowed his own to dangle over the steep drop.
His voice insistent and rich with ego, Paul continued, "-tell us both about your night. You first, Big D. How'd it feel to get played by me?
Dwayne rolled his eyes, saying with a deadpan voice, "don't ever call me 'Big D'"
He reached out and gently placed his hand over Elizabeth's ankle, stilling it softly. She'd been twitching her foot and nudging it against his hip.
"We stuck together" Marko said, shaking his head and replying before Paul could retort. If those two started one of their good-natured insult rallies the night would never end, "we gave it an hour of nothing, you know. Thought it would be nice to give her a chance-"
"-that was sweet of you-"
"-and then we figured it'd be too easy for Dwayne-"
"-well duh, old soppy balls with his mate vibes-
"-stop interrupting, Jesus. Anyway, he didn't give a shit-" Marko jerked his thumb at David who nodded with a casual shrug, "-so it was down to me and I had nada"
Paul laughed, "did it shit you up?"
"Yeah, kinda" Marko laughed in return, unashamed and comfortable with his brothers, "so Dwayne gets in on it and I see the worry on his face because he was feeling nothing, too-"
"-hi, Dwayne!" Elizabeth beamed, her voice loud and clear.
All four men turned to observe her, surprised by how bright her voice was. She had the widest, biggest and dopiest smile on her face and she was blinking over at Marko with hazy eyes. Stifling their grins at how she had interrupted their conversation, starting to talk as if they had only just announced their presence, it was taking more than the usual amount of control to keep their laughter down.
Her unfocused eyes were still trained on the curly-haired blonde, her eyes flicking to his jacket a few times.
"He's by there, girl..." Marko grinned, directing her to Dwayne with his gloved index finger.
Elizabeth rotated her entire head, her eyes moving more slowly, as she also raised her hands in a strange imitation of a t-rex or begging dog, the index fingers on both her hands mirroring Marko's and stretching to a point.
There wasn't too much he could do for her, so he reached out and grasped her hand gently, hooking his own digit around her extended finger.
"There he is!" she kind of slurred, the smile on her face the only thing about her that wasn't out of whack.
She giggled a little but there was pure love on her face and, with the same wide smile, she told the group at large, sounding a little like a toddler coming back from school, "today, we ate colors..."
All four of the men laughed, Marko shaking his head with an "oh fuck..."
"You ate colors?" Dwayne confirmed, his eyes dancing and the amusement unconcealed in his voice, "you're a walking cliche, baby"
"She sure is, right chica?" Paul laughed, "we ate colors and we played with sounds and there were all these black holes opening up and she even had a chat with a skeleton"
Elizabeth made no move to confirm or deny Paul's words, her glazed eyes were trained on Dwayne and she seemed more than happy with the situation she was in.
"Textbook" Marko said, shaking his head wryly, "but she was very mellow after the weed..."
"Fuck yeah she was. All chilled and giggly. You're a textbook user, Lizzie! Next, we're gonna get you a bottle of red and see if you cry, sounds good?" Paul laughed. He glanced at Dwayne before looking over at Marko and David once again, "but nah, she's been great. She didn't like the taste of blue and it sounded like the skeleton was starting some beef-"
David snorted a laugh.
"-and just as the lights were beginning to drip and float, you fuckers flipped the switch on us"
"Sorry, Elizabeth" David intoned.
"I'm glad you two had fun" Dwayne said, watching with a bemused frown as Elizabeth began to curl her finger and tug her arm a little, like she was trying to reel him in. He looked at Paul, "but that was pretty dangerous, man"
"No, it wasn't"
"Yes, it was"
"Hardly"
"Anything could have happened"
"She was with me?"
"Anything could have happened"
As Paul opened his mouth to retort once more, Elizabeth interrupted again.
"The blue tasted bad"
"Yeah? So what did you do?" Dwayne asked her straight away, Paul forgotten. He spoke with infinite, affectionate patience, side-eyeing Paul as the energetic blonde rolled his eyes, his smile was still spread firmly across his face.
"Total favoritism, see the difference in tone?"
"Hey, what did you do, baby?" Dwayne repeated, hoping to get some focused replies from his mate.
"Pink..." Elizabeth said.
"Pink?" Marko repeated, tilting his head as he looked over at their mortal charge.
"It ate the pink colors instead..." there was strange twang in her voice now, though only a hint of it.
Her eyes were slowly gazing around the room behind Dwayne.
"It?"
Paul shrugged.
"How much did you give her?" David asked, watching how Elizabeth's arms were still locked, her index finger turning white with the unnecessary pressure she was using to keep Dwayne close to her, despite her slackened body.
"Barely a tab..." Paul said lightly, staring at David and not glancing at Dwayne at all, "...just a smidge"
Dwayne narrowed his eyes.
"Liar" Marko snorted.
"Like a credit card" Elizabeth chimed, "they were all sliced up like slices of slices and I had a lot of slices"
"Oh, now you're lucid?" Paul said, nudging his shoulder up and grinning down at Elizabeth as she maneuvered her entire head once more, turning to look up at him.
"You call that lucid?" David asked dryly.
"Are you fucking serious?" Dwayne asked lowly, eyes narrowed fully and nostrils somewhat flared, "exactly how much did she take?"
Marko chuckled, shaking his head. It sounded like a lot, especially for someone as green as she was.
"Half of a half" Paul insisted, the smirk on his lips exposing his lie and his insistence on looking at anyone other than Dwayne further giving it away. He made a rectangle with both his index fingers and thumbs, shrugging like it was no big deal, "she had half a small sheet..but, uh...your girl's kinda impatient..."
"So?"
"So she kind of had a lot at once..." there was an innocence in his voice.
"Credit card sized slices, sliced more and sliced again and I had some slices" Elizabeth kind of sung, smiling as her eyes scanned the room. As her eyes flickered to Marko's jacket, then uncertainly around the room once more, she added "but times that by two and that by two again"
As Dwayne opened his mouth, Paul asked, "did you have fun, chica?"
"Yeah"
"She had fun. We're good, s'all good Big Boy"
"She's out of it, man" Marko said, shaking his head again, "good little misdirection there, though. Half of a half times two and multiplied again makes...what?"
"Too much" Dwayne's voice was hard.
"Did you have fun, Lizzie?" Paul asked again, biting his cheek to still his laughter as he caught the look of murderous annoyance on Dwayne's face, "you had a good time, right? That's the important thing, hey girl?"
"Girl" she repeated, giggling a little, tilting her head a little as if her words echoed.
"On a scale of one to ten? Exactly how much fun did you have?"
"What's a one?"
Her eyes were unfocused, scanning the room wildly. She kept frowning at something periodically and it made her look like she had a tick, especially with the continued tilting of her head.
"Low score"
"Ten?"
"High score"
Her words were still a bit slurred but now she sounded distracted.
"Five?"
"...mid-range score"
David sighed.
"Yeah" Elizabeth laughed, her smiling fading as her eyes caught something mid air above Marko's head and, as he craned his neck upwards, wondering what she could possibly be imagining, a brief silence filled the ride.
"...see, she had fun" Paul coughed, waving his free arm in front of Elizabeth's eyes.
She didn't react.
"Is this all you've been doing? Having nonsensical conversations?"
Dwayne carefully tugged his finger free of hers and gently worked at lowering her now rigid arms.
Paul laughed and shook his head, facing David, "No way, man. She's an eager fuckin' beaver, she was rapt. We shot the shit for ages"
"About?"
"Life. Death. Historical sexual deviancies and the suffocating patriarchy that shaped women's lives during my mortal youth"
"Seriously?" Marko asked.
"Actually, yeah?" Paul chuckled.
"We gonna get you to bed? Maybe get you some water?" Dwayne asked, tilting his head as Elizabeth continued frowning up into the air.
Her heart was beating a little faster and when she spoke, she sounded a little nervous.
"...Paul had a fiance"
"What's she looking at?" David queried, mildly interested.
"I sure did. Say, what you looking at up there?"
"He didn't have any pets"
"...we didn't talk about pets, girl?"
"The whisky hurt my throat"
"Lizzie doesn't like whisky" Paul told everyone.
"You let her drink?" Dwayne asked.
"She asked" Paul defended, "I can't say no to my girl"
"Did you give her water?"
"...sure"
"Idiot!" Marko laughed.
"Seriously? You mixed and didn't even think to get her water?"
"She wanted to have fun! You had fun, huh chica?"
She said nothing.
"She's going to feel this tomorrow" Marko said.
"Nah..."
"Think she can tell a good lie?" David asked, "she's going to need to, she's going to look and feel like shit"
"I'll help her with it" Dwayne shrugged, "Liz? Are we going?"
"No"
"So she's not totally out of it?" Marko chuckled, surprised to hear such a direct response.
"You don't wanna go to bed?"
"She's gonna follow me"
A hint of unsure fear had crept into Elizabeth's mumbled words and all four men watched her.
"We've moved on to paranoia. Textbook trip" David said as if he were commenting on a nature video, "you were right, Marko"
"Who's gonna follow you?" Marko and Paul asked at the same time.
"She is"
"OK, I'm taking her home" Dwayne told his brothers. Softly, he reached forward and carefully tipped Elizabeth's chin downwards, gently moving her unsurprisingly limp face towards him, "let's go"
"...we can't...she'll follow us" Elizabeth whispered heavily. Her eyebrows furrowed as she stared, somewhat unseeingly, at Dwayne.
"Who's gonna follow you?" Paul asked, genuine curiosity lacing his voice, "thought you said the skeleton didn't have a gender?"
"You gave her too much" Marko said.
"The girl..." Elizabeth whispered.
"What girl?"
"...she came out"
Dwayne glanced over his shoulder, meeting David's eyes and shrugging in helpless confusion, "what girl?"
"I have no idea"
Facing his mate again, Dwayne asked, "Elizabeth, what girl?"
"Her"
"We overwhelmed her. There's too much going on now" Marko guessed.
"You mastered the use of the feminine possessive pronoun" Paul nodded, "good job, Lizzie, but who is she?"
"Is that a possessive pronoun?" David asked, "used in a complete sentence like that?"
"...dunno?"
Marko laughed, "you two are cold fuckers, you know that? Liz? Who's the girl?"
"Your girl"
"Marko doesn't have a girl, baby" Dwayne said, shaking his head, "it's OK, we can go..."
"Oouch" Marko chortled as David and Paul laughed at the unintentional insult.
"My main man has many girls, Lizzie" Paul assured, "just no consistent ones, you feel me? We don't date, remember?"
"New flavor every week" David added.
Elizabeth didn't recognize or even hear their dark humor.
"She's scaring me"
"So let's go?"
"No!" Elizabeth replied, trying to scoot forwards towards Dwayne. Her body was too limp and, as she flopped dangerously towards the floor, Paul easily cupped her head in the palms of his hands. As Dwayne's hands settled on her hips, steadying her, Paul supported her head, his knuckles close to grazing the floor of the ledge they were sat on.
"Aw, shit, maybe it was too much?"
"You fucking think?" Dwayne said distractedly.
"She was fine until you fuckers showed up"
"Like I said" Marko shrugged, "there's too much happening now"
Elizabeth was staring at the space above Marko's head still, a confused and worried look clouding her face.
Marko pushed his body off and away from the cart, confident she was in good hands but willing to help if needed. She was lying down on the floor of the ledge. her hand safely padded in Paul's cupped hands and Dwayne holding onto her hips. She wasn't going to wriggle off or fall down or hurt herself.
"Why don't you want to go back?" Dwayne asked Elizabeth directly, ignoring Paul and trying to solve an irrational, drug related problem with rational thinking.
"...'cause...I think she wants you"
"Me?"
"Lizzie!" Paul laughed, peering down at her, "are you jealous of an imaginary girl!?"
"She came out of his jacket and she's been staring-"
Elizabeth was starting to panic a little, her heart beating as her voice became mildly frantic.
"and so the paranoia really begins-" David narrated, as Paul also spoke, "-ohhhhh, Marko's patch?"
"Her?" Marko glanced down at the embroidered girl covering part of his chest, "she's totally harmless. Promise, Liz"
"I think she wants Dwayne!" Elizabeth cried, looking up at Paul with desperation.
"Nobody wants Dwayne, chica-" Paul assured.
"-I swear to God-"
"-she does want him though, Paul! She does!"
"Paranoia" David repeated.
"Way too much stimuli" Marko confirmed.
Dwayne shot them both a look before focusing his attention on Elizabeth once more.
"She was at the library! She told me, she told me she was there-"
"-she has a speaking part?"
"Be serious" Dwayne commanded. Paul opened his mouth to protest, smiling instead when Elizabeth's panicked eyes met his.
Marko slipped off his jacket and folded it inwards, "she's gone, Liz. See?"
Paul tilted his hands a little and Elizabeth's head flopped towards Marko, though her eyes were still focused on the air above his head.
"We have to move fast then" Elizabeth said, the sweat collecting a little more heavily on her brow and in her hairline, "real fast-"
"-but why?-" Paul asked.
"-because I want to get her home" Dwayne insisted, his voice firm, "we're going, Liz"
"She's totally harmless" Marko assured once again.
"...imaginary things often are" David drawled, still sat in the carriage.
"Dude, come on, she's off her face. We didn't do LSD as mortals-" Marko defended, "-be a little nicer?"
"...she's harmless, Elizabeth..." David offered dryly, giving Marko a patient, 'how's that?' look.
"You've all been great, we're leaving" Dwayne said, his voice hard, "sit her up"
Paul moved to follow Dwayne's command, stilling as Elizabeth cried out, "NO!"
Eyes dancing wildly, she tried to focus on Paul, "she wants him, Paul. She wants his balls! Don't let her know where I live, she'll cup them, just like you said to-"
As Paul's hands dropped to the floor, propelling by the uncontrolled burst of absolute riotous laughter that erupted from his body, Elizabeth's body jerked a little from the motion.
David and Marko laughed too, the random and nonsensical words falling from Elizabeth's mouth so laced with worry and panic and so utterly ridiculous proved impossible to ignore. More than that, the look of murderous annoyance, concern and also sheer amusement on Dwayne's face was so rare.
"Paul!" she cried, squirming on the floor.
"His-you're-" Paul was laughing so hard, he couldn't form any words, he couldn't muster up even a scrap of comfort.
"Close your eyes, baby. I'm taking you to bed"
Elizabeth said nothing but closed her eyes so tightly, squeezed them with all her might that Dwayne couldn't help the little laugh that escaped him. She was tripping hard and he couldn't decide if the drugs suited her or not.
She really was innocent.
"I'm going to kill you" he said to Paul, his voice friendly enough as carefully tried to scoop Elizabeth up into his arms, "I'm going to find out what you two talked about and I'm going to make you pay"
Paul could only laugh through the ominous promise.
Though she had been largely boneless before, Elizabeth was now rigid and solid, her body frozen and tense. It was too difficult, too strange to try and hold her in his arms.
"Over the shoulder" David advised.
Paul was still laughing, his body jerking as deep and booming laughs wracked his body. He began to push Elizabeth's head up, working her shoulders, pausing as Dwayne protested, "she's not a bag of potatoes-"
"-for all we know, she thinks she is" Marko shrugged, watching as Elizabeth refused to loosen her body even slightly.
"Shit" Dwayne said. Over the shoulder it was. He cursed again, dipping his shoulder a little as Paul helped - in the most unhelpful way - maneuver his mate into a sitting position, pushing her body forward. For a second, her body went limp as it draped over his shoulder. Dwayne settled his hand over her backside, trying to secure her and make sure she wasn't going to throw herself down to the floor, frowning as she slowly and wordlessly began to straighten her body, her arms uncomfortably stuck to her sides.
"Shit" he repeated, feeling how tense she now was.
Paul was still chuckling, tears forming in his eyes and, as Dwayne jumped down onto the tracks, he shook his head.
It felt like he was carrying a plank.
"Elizabeth?"
"Her eyes are still closed, man" Marko said, chuckling and unable to look at the scene before him. The young mortal hadn't relaxed her body even a little. Even her tip toes were pointed in her scuffed and dirty sneakers.
"She'll loose up" David told Dwayne, his eyes dancing and his smirk wide, "she doesn't have the core strength to keep it up for long"
"Liz?" Marko said.
There was no response and while David's words had been cold and somewhat humorous, Dwayne could feel Elizabeth's abs quivering with the difficulty of performing a plank. She was definitely going to loosen up soon.
"Liz?" Marko repeated.
There was still no response from the girl and her eyes were still scrunched up tightly. Paul was still tittering to himself, whatever comment Elizabeth had uttered about Dwayne's balls propelling him into endless happiness.
"She's gone again" David told Marko, looking at Elizabeth and wondering when her body would fold in on itself, when her head would rest against his back and her legs against his stomach.
"...would you change it?" Marko asked Dwayne.
"What?" the brunette asked, drumming his hand against Elizabeth's hip once, "this?"
"Yeah"
"Knowing what you know, if you could go back and not have a mate...would you do it?"
"No" Dwayne said easily, shaking his head, "it's too late for that. I can't loose her now that I've got her"
The frank honesty in his voice silenced them all, even Paul.
Elizabeth - eyes still scrunched shut and unheeding of Dwayne's public admission of love - began to stretch her arms before her, her left arm smushing in Dwayne's face on its journey. As he moved his neck, ducking it a little, he laughed once at her timing.
"You love your plank, huh?" Marko asked, smiling widely.
"No doubt" he glanced at his mate, still rigidly straight over his shoulder but now with Super Man arms out stretched in front of her, "and I've got front row seats when its your turn" he told the group at large.
"Give her our love" Paul ordered, grinning.
"Regards" David corrected.
"Let me know if you need me to help take the edge off" Marko offered. There wasn't too much he could do, the drugs she'd taken were in control of her mind, but he supposed he could make sure she slept soundly and if he and Dwayne worked together, he thought they could take some of the edge off for her but there was no doubt she was in for a world of pain in the morning. Alcohol and LSD and no water? After many late nights? After many late nights and parties?
Marko grinned, moving to nibble to material of his glove.
Mortals couldn't keep up with them but she was trying valiantly.
"It's a rite of passage" Paul said, his eyes dancing.
Turning, Dwayne pointed at Paul once, an ominous warning of the revenge coming his way, before making his way back to the entrance.
As Elizabeth's abs began to quiver in real earnest, he smiled, thinking of Marko's question.
She was off her face, sweaty, tipsy and she had some wonderful dark circles blooming under her eyes but he had never loved anyone more.
He wouldn't change his mate for the world.
A/N: such a busy two weeks! I'm actually publishing this from an airplane, free wifi...well, 30mb but still - good for a LCC! Thank you all so much for the reviews. Liz is going to have to slow down if she wants to keep up with the boys but storms are brewing in the not so distant distance. Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!