There was a knock at the door of Mac and Moby's room. Moby walked over and
answered it. In the doorway stood Zoe with Psymon linked in her arms. Moby
tried his hardest to hide his displeasure, but it showed through easily.
Zoe must have noticed also because she dropped his arm and played with the
hem of her sleeve.
"The little git found out about the club. He's coming along." Moby glowered as he clipped the cell phone to his pants and pulled his shirt over it. He checked one last time in the mirror how he looked, spraying one last spray of hair spray though his cornrows. When he turned to his company in the way, they're faces showed a look of confusion and a little weirded out. "What? Gotta look good for the girls."
"Thought you might fancy Zoe. I mean, you talk about her all the time when you think I'm not listening." Mac's small voice came from the other end of the room as he spoke in a fake English accent, obviously to tease Moby. A tint of red flushed Moby's face and he avoided everyone's eyes, although he knew they weren't avoiding his.
Mac brushed past Moby, snickering. He left the room, but before he did so, he turned serious and whispered into Zoe's ear something that Moby couldn't quite understand. She beamed as so did he, and he continued on to the room a few doors down.
He went to Brodi's door and knocked. Again and again, each time no one answering. "He's in his meditating state, if it's Brodi you're looking for." Kaori informed. Mac whirled around to look down on her small being.
"Ah . . . yeah. Actually . . . do you know when he'll be done?"
"He'll make it to the club, if that's what you're wondering. Now c'mon. I wanna go now. We've gotta reserve seats for everyone." she smiled.
"Which club are we going to?"
"Club Lightning. I've heard they have some of the best DJ's."
Mac's stomach lurched indefinitely. He hated that club, partly because their pay sucked. But also because of the bad memories it held.
"Can't we go somewhere else? I mean, Club Lightning is so overrated. I've been to better." he tried convincing, almost pleading.
Kaori grabbed his hand and dragged him down to the lobby and down the street. Since they were right outside town, as well as the club was, it wasn't as far of a walk as it was when Mac had to go from his house.
They'll find out everything about me here. Everything about my past. I'll have to lie. Improvise. Whatever it takes, they can't know. I just hope Kyle won't be there. Or anyone else for that matter.
Kaori let go of his hand and stared at him. His blank expression mystified her completely and she wondered what he had with this place to make him so hesitant to go inside. She took his hand in her small one and held it for some time. He snapped away from the neon lights to look into her eyes. Their gaze was sustained and, strangely, Mac both calmed down and also became even more nervous.
Silently, she led him inside and, together, they sought out a table to reserve for the whole group of them when everyone arrived. It wasn't too difficult, only because everyone knew who they were and let them have whatever table they chose to sit at. They decided on one beside the dance floor and the bar. Everyone came at once, parting the crowd forcefully so they could meet the two who were already there. Mac glanced through the clan and tried to pick out Brodi. Unfortunately, he hadn't come, as he learned later on.
They sat, all yelling above the jungle music. Most everyone had alcoholic drinks. Kaori and Mac were underage. Mac couldn't fully enjoy it all because of the paranoia that raced through his body. Everyone was always trying to conceal what they were saying, but once in a while, they wouldn't do such a great job at it and Mac would hear what they were saying.
Kaori tugged at Mac's shirt and shouted into his ear in her heavy, Japanese accent. "Mac, you wanna go and dance right now?"
He nodded and they left to the dance floor. He noticed, surprisingly, she was an excellent dancer, despite her modesty. Even though the group around them were having a great time, laughing and all that, Kaori and Mac were serious about it all. In fact, for the half hour they were dancing, not one of them cracked a smile.
~*~*~
Zoe was constantly watching Moby, Mac's words running through her head hurriedly. When Moby would catch her eye, she'd avert it rather quickly. She finally had enough of being caught and stood up. "I'm going to dance with some hottie on the floor. Any you wanna accompany me?"
Marisol, Seeiah, JP, and Eddie followed her out. Elise joined them, reluctantly, only because Eddie was leaving. Psymon, Moby, and Luther remained. Luther would have gone, but JP still hadn't the time to teach him to dance just yet, and Psymon and Moby just weren't up to dancing at the moment.
"Hey Moby, what's your deal? You always dance with Zoe." Luther pointed out, taking another puff of his cigarette and blowing a smoke ring behind his back.
"I've been thinking of a way to get Mac to leave SSX and get us back to eleven instead of twelve."
"So, what's your idea, English Boy?" Psymon asked. Moby shrugged and watched everyone, surprisingly, enjoying Mac's company. They were all laughing, or at least trying to get him to laugh, with them. He was still dancing with Kaori and trying to break free from the spell that bound them together.
Luther observed what Moby was scrutinizing over and said nothing as did Psymon. Suddenly, a blonde teenage kid rushed over to them, his eyes wide. With him was a Puerto Rican girl, obviously his girlfriend, holding hands. "Are you guys the SSX boarders?" he said, giddily.
All three responded with a low yes. Even though they got a lot of this, people wanting autographs and inside stories, it always seemed to be tiring, no matter how many times they've been asked.
The Puerto Rican girl smiled and yelled into her boyfriend's ear. She left and he stayed. The three still watched him, waiting for some sort of word from his mouth, or anything. When nothing was said, Psymon took the initiative to talk. "Take a picture, it'll last longer. Or, if you've got something to say now, say it, or forever hold your peace."
"Are you guys friends with my dawg, Mac?"
Their eyes seemed to dim rapidly at his name. "Why do you ask?"
"My name's Kyle, and we've been friends for quite some time. Just figured, ya know. Maybe you guys knew him."
Oh yeah, we know him. Too bad he doesn't know who exactly who we are. Who he's dealing with. Moby whispered to himself inside his head. Suddenly, a question came to him and he knew the kid in front of him was just the person to ask. "Hey, do you know of a picture he has of a young boy and two adults? I think it's in front of a beach. Or a park."
Kyle lowered his gaze, and then raised it again. "His parents died in an accident two years ago. They were arguing, people say. The car skidded off the road and into the pole a few blocks down. He was working here when it happened."
"Woah. Who? Who's parents?" Luther stopped. He dropped the cigarette on the ground, smashing it with the toe of his show.
"Mac's parents were killed two years ago when he was fourteen. He's been living alone since. Don't know how he was able to pull it off, living alone, without any Government man chasing after him."
The three looked at each other, smirking. Psymon rested his head on the knuckles of his fist. After getting more information from him, they thanked him, Kyle left and they had the perfect plan forming in their heads. "Hey, if I'm not mistaken, hasn't Mac said once or twice his parents were famous, or something like that?"
"Yeah, and he lived in a nice house? In some other city?"
"Basically, he deceived us, saying he had the life he wished he had."
"And now, everyone's liking him because he's someone else."
Moby drummed his fingers on the table. "Mates, I think our little friend should learn what happens when you lie."
~*~*~
"Yeah, you mean you've never heard of them? Oh man, my parents have been in a few movies, on talk shows, the radio. It was so awesome!" Mac hollered. He flung his hands into the air and smiled. "Of course, I helped out quite a bit. I worked at the best club in the neighboring city. I was a DJ there." "That is so cool!" everyone chorused at different times. Now that Mac had gotten to know who they really were, they weren't so bad. Although, as Brodi mentioned, JP was a little snob and Marisol was quite fun to be around.
They all danced together, and at one point, JP, Eddie and Mac had a break dance showoff. Although it was close, Eddie won, with JP close behind. Afterwards, they went back to dancing again and soaking up the fun. Still, Mac couldn't fully enjoy it all. Now that he'd lied about everything from the start, he felt . . . well . . . guilty, to put it bluntly. And now that he'd made so many friends out of whom used to be his enemies, he couldn't tell them the truth or he'd go back to being an outsider. The only person he could fully trust was Brodi, and he wasn't here.
But the one other person he could tell was right in front of him. He motioned to Kaori to come with him outside. Nodding, she followed him.
When he opened the door, a cool blast with snowflakes along with it smacked them both in the face. Because they were in the club for so long, it was very quiet and cold.
"Mac, is there something wrong? What are we doing out here?" she asked. She pulled her red jacket close to her chest and breathed out little puffs of air. Mac just continued to walk on, just as silent as before. He kicked up snow and left a small trail as he went. Both walked down an ally between two buildings and stopped. Kaori saw he was having a hard time trying to explain what he had to.
Taking a deep breath, he began the confession. "Kaori, I'm not who you think I am. I'm not rich and famous. I never had a huge mansion like I said, nor parents who spoiled me rotten, although I'm sure they tried. I am a DJ, but at Club Lightning, which explains why I didn't want to go in. I dropped out of school not too long ago because I couldn't afford it."
"You couldn't afford it?"
"I paid my own way through Private School but had to drop out because I couldn't afford it. My parents died two years ago, so I was living on my own. They . . . oh gosh. I hate talking about this." his voice wavered as he spoke. Kaori stalked towards him, still listening intently. Mac continued. "They died in a car accident while I was working. Surprise surprise. From what I've heard, rumor has it they were arguing about me. They always did. I never had a good relationship with my parents. And being at school never helped out. Everyone was so scared to be around me. All my friends left me and my teachers pitied me. I didn't want that, and I don't want it now. That's why I lied. I know I've only known you for two days now, but I had to find a way to get you all to like me without you being weird around me, or hating me. Whichever came first." He pulled his hand away and started to walk off.
She pulled him back and forced him to face her by embracing his face with her slender hands. When he looked at her, he saw she, too, had tears in her eyes. "Mac, you don't have to lie. Who you are won't change opinions. And believe me, I learned that when I first started. I felt like I had to prove myself. There are other people here who can relate to you. Take JP. He never got close to his parents. Since they're big corporate business people, they never make time to visit him. To call him. Nothing. Frankly, if you wish to say. JP's parents despise him."
"It's not the same. He has parents. He can call them anytime and say hi. Tell them that he loves them. Whatever. I can't do that. Kaori. My parents are dead! I'll never be able to do any of that. Besides, JP I'm sure doesn't care about it."
"You'd be surprised. He's probably got the most fragile ego this side of the world has seen."
"But that's not my point! My point is, he can always call them. I can't do that." his throat was slowly constricting and tears pricked at his eyes. He didn't want to cry. He'd already done that twice, and his dad always said it was a sign of weakness.
"If you have to, you are allowed to cry. It's not against the rules." she whispered. Mac shook his head, denying the obvious. Nonetheless, he was held in her arms and they both cried into each others shoulders (actually, in Kaori's case, she cried into his chest). Passerby's paused to see what was going on, but left almost immediately. But one person was curious and stayed hidden farther away in between crowds. His heart started to pound rapidly.
When they both calmed down, they retracted from each other's grasp. Mac pulled his goggles and wiped his eyes and then pulled them back over. Kaori didn't, though. Every once in a while, a single tear would follow the drying trail that had formed from the other tears. "Kaori, I'm so sorry. I didn't want to lie to you."
Kaori seemed to think his words over for a moment. She was starting to shiver from the lack of warmth she was getting. Nonetheless, she nodded and looked at him carefully, almost studying what he was thinking.
Mac moved closer to her and leaned his forehead against the top of her head, running a single finger down her cheek. And, out of the blue, he lifted her head up and brushed his lips against hers. Once, twice, and then they remained. Nothing seemed to matter to them in the state they were in.
At the sight of the two, Brodi kept his temper in check. Heartbroken, he turned and sullenly walked back to the hotel.
"The little git found out about the club. He's coming along." Moby glowered as he clipped the cell phone to his pants and pulled his shirt over it. He checked one last time in the mirror how he looked, spraying one last spray of hair spray though his cornrows. When he turned to his company in the way, they're faces showed a look of confusion and a little weirded out. "What? Gotta look good for the girls."
"Thought you might fancy Zoe. I mean, you talk about her all the time when you think I'm not listening." Mac's small voice came from the other end of the room as he spoke in a fake English accent, obviously to tease Moby. A tint of red flushed Moby's face and he avoided everyone's eyes, although he knew they weren't avoiding his.
Mac brushed past Moby, snickering. He left the room, but before he did so, he turned serious and whispered into Zoe's ear something that Moby couldn't quite understand. She beamed as so did he, and he continued on to the room a few doors down.
He went to Brodi's door and knocked. Again and again, each time no one answering. "He's in his meditating state, if it's Brodi you're looking for." Kaori informed. Mac whirled around to look down on her small being.
"Ah . . . yeah. Actually . . . do you know when he'll be done?"
"He'll make it to the club, if that's what you're wondering. Now c'mon. I wanna go now. We've gotta reserve seats for everyone." she smiled.
"Which club are we going to?"
"Club Lightning. I've heard they have some of the best DJ's."
Mac's stomach lurched indefinitely. He hated that club, partly because their pay sucked. But also because of the bad memories it held.
"Can't we go somewhere else? I mean, Club Lightning is so overrated. I've been to better." he tried convincing, almost pleading.
Kaori grabbed his hand and dragged him down to the lobby and down the street. Since they were right outside town, as well as the club was, it wasn't as far of a walk as it was when Mac had to go from his house.
They'll find out everything about me here. Everything about my past. I'll have to lie. Improvise. Whatever it takes, they can't know. I just hope Kyle won't be there. Or anyone else for that matter.
Kaori let go of his hand and stared at him. His blank expression mystified her completely and she wondered what he had with this place to make him so hesitant to go inside. She took his hand in her small one and held it for some time. He snapped away from the neon lights to look into her eyes. Their gaze was sustained and, strangely, Mac both calmed down and also became even more nervous.
Silently, she led him inside and, together, they sought out a table to reserve for the whole group of them when everyone arrived. It wasn't too difficult, only because everyone knew who they were and let them have whatever table they chose to sit at. They decided on one beside the dance floor and the bar. Everyone came at once, parting the crowd forcefully so they could meet the two who were already there. Mac glanced through the clan and tried to pick out Brodi. Unfortunately, he hadn't come, as he learned later on.
They sat, all yelling above the jungle music. Most everyone had alcoholic drinks. Kaori and Mac were underage. Mac couldn't fully enjoy it all because of the paranoia that raced through his body. Everyone was always trying to conceal what they were saying, but once in a while, they wouldn't do such a great job at it and Mac would hear what they were saying.
Kaori tugged at Mac's shirt and shouted into his ear in her heavy, Japanese accent. "Mac, you wanna go and dance right now?"
He nodded and they left to the dance floor. He noticed, surprisingly, she was an excellent dancer, despite her modesty. Even though the group around them were having a great time, laughing and all that, Kaori and Mac were serious about it all. In fact, for the half hour they were dancing, not one of them cracked a smile.
~*~*~
Zoe was constantly watching Moby, Mac's words running through her head hurriedly. When Moby would catch her eye, she'd avert it rather quickly. She finally had enough of being caught and stood up. "I'm going to dance with some hottie on the floor. Any you wanna accompany me?"
Marisol, Seeiah, JP, and Eddie followed her out. Elise joined them, reluctantly, only because Eddie was leaving. Psymon, Moby, and Luther remained. Luther would have gone, but JP still hadn't the time to teach him to dance just yet, and Psymon and Moby just weren't up to dancing at the moment.
"Hey Moby, what's your deal? You always dance with Zoe." Luther pointed out, taking another puff of his cigarette and blowing a smoke ring behind his back.
"I've been thinking of a way to get Mac to leave SSX and get us back to eleven instead of twelve."
"So, what's your idea, English Boy?" Psymon asked. Moby shrugged and watched everyone, surprisingly, enjoying Mac's company. They were all laughing, or at least trying to get him to laugh, with them. He was still dancing with Kaori and trying to break free from the spell that bound them together.
Luther observed what Moby was scrutinizing over and said nothing as did Psymon. Suddenly, a blonde teenage kid rushed over to them, his eyes wide. With him was a Puerto Rican girl, obviously his girlfriend, holding hands. "Are you guys the SSX boarders?" he said, giddily.
All three responded with a low yes. Even though they got a lot of this, people wanting autographs and inside stories, it always seemed to be tiring, no matter how many times they've been asked.
The Puerto Rican girl smiled and yelled into her boyfriend's ear. She left and he stayed. The three still watched him, waiting for some sort of word from his mouth, or anything. When nothing was said, Psymon took the initiative to talk. "Take a picture, it'll last longer. Or, if you've got something to say now, say it, or forever hold your peace."
"Are you guys friends with my dawg, Mac?"
Their eyes seemed to dim rapidly at his name. "Why do you ask?"
"My name's Kyle, and we've been friends for quite some time. Just figured, ya know. Maybe you guys knew him."
Oh yeah, we know him. Too bad he doesn't know who exactly who we are. Who he's dealing with. Moby whispered to himself inside his head. Suddenly, a question came to him and he knew the kid in front of him was just the person to ask. "Hey, do you know of a picture he has of a young boy and two adults? I think it's in front of a beach. Or a park."
Kyle lowered his gaze, and then raised it again. "His parents died in an accident two years ago. They were arguing, people say. The car skidded off the road and into the pole a few blocks down. He was working here when it happened."
"Woah. Who? Who's parents?" Luther stopped. He dropped the cigarette on the ground, smashing it with the toe of his show.
"Mac's parents were killed two years ago when he was fourteen. He's been living alone since. Don't know how he was able to pull it off, living alone, without any Government man chasing after him."
The three looked at each other, smirking. Psymon rested his head on the knuckles of his fist. After getting more information from him, they thanked him, Kyle left and they had the perfect plan forming in their heads. "Hey, if I'm not mistaken, hasn't Mac said once or twice his parents were famous, or something like that?"
"Yeah, and he lived in a nice house? In some other city?"
"Basically, he deceived us, saying he had the life he wished he had."
"And now, everyone's liking him because he's someone else."
Moby drummed his fingers on the table. "Mates, I think our little friend should learn what happens when you lie."
~*~*~
"Yeah, you mean you've never heard of them? Oh man, my parents have been in a few movies, on talk shows, the radio. It was so awesome!" Mac hollered. He flung his hands into the air and smiled. "Of course, I helped out quite a bit. I worked at the best club in the neighboring city. I was a DJ there." "That is so cool!" everyone chorused at different times. Now that Mac had gotten to know who they really were, they weren't so bad. Although, as Brodi mentioned, JP was a little snob and Marisol was quite fun to be around.
They all danced together, and at one point, JP, Eddie and Mac had a break dance showoff. Although it was close, Eddie won, with JP close behind. Afterwards, they went back to dancing again and soaking up the fun. Still, Mac couldn't fully enjoy it all. Now that he'd lied about everything from the start, he felt . . . well . . . guilty, to put it bluntly. And now that he'd made so many friends out of whom used to be his enemies, he couldn't tell them the truth or he'd go back to being an outsider. The only person he could fully trust was Brodi, and he wasn't here.
But the one other person he could tell was right in front of him. He motioned to Kaori to come with him outside. Nodding, she followed him.
When he opened the door, a cool blast with snowflakes along with it smacked them both in the face. Because they were in the club for so long, it was very quiet and cold.
"Mac, is there something wrong? What are we doing out here?" she asked. She pulled her red jacket close to her chest and breathed out little puffs of air. Mac just continued to walk on, just as silent as before. He kicked up snow and left a small trail as he went. Both walked down an ally between two buildings and stopped. Kaori saw he was having a hard time trying to explain what he had to.
Taking a deep breath, he began the confession. "Kaori, I'm not who you think I am. I'm not rich and famous. I never had a huge mansion like I said, nor parents who spoiled me rotten, although I'm sure they tried. I am a DJ, but at Club Lightning, which explains why I didn't want to go in. I dropped out of school not too long ago because I couldn't afford it."
"You couldn't afford it?"
"I paid my own way through Private School but had to drop out because I couldn't afford it. My parents died two years ago, so I was living on my own. They . . . oh gosh. I hate talking about this." his voice wavered as he spoke. Kaori stalked towards him, still listening intently. Mac continued. "They died in a car accident while I was working. Surprise surprise. From what I've heard, rumor has it they were arguing about me. They always did. I never had a good relationship with my parents. And being at school never helped out. Everyone was so scared to be around me. All my friends left me and my teachers pitied me. I didn't want that, and I don't want it now. That's why I lied. I know I've only known you for two days now, but I had to find a way to get you all to like me without you being weird around me, or hating me. Whichever came first." He pulled his hand away and started to walk off.
She pulled him back and forced him to face her by embracing his face with her slender hands. When he looked at her, he saw she, too, had tears in her eyes. "Mac, you don't have to lie. Who you are won't change opinions. And believe me, I learned that when I first started. I felt like I had to prove myself. There are other people here who can relate to you. Take JP. He never got close to his parents. Since they're big corporate business people, they never make time to visit him. To call him. Nothing. Frankly, if you wish to say. JP's parents despise him."
"It's not the same. He has parents. He can call them anytime and say hi. Tell them that he loves them. Whatever. I can't do that. Kaori. My parents are dead! I'll never be able to do any of that. Besides, JP I'm sure doesn't care about it."
"You'd be surprised. He's probably got the most fragile ego this side of the world has seen."
"But that's not my point! My point is, he can always call them. I can't do that." his throat was slowly constricting and tears pricked at his eyes. He didn't want to cry. He'd already done that twice, and his dad always said it was a sign of weakness.
"If you have to, you are allowed to cry. It's not against the rules." she whispered. Mac shook his head, denying the obvious. Nonetheless, he was held in her arms and they both cried into each others shoulders (actually, in Kaori's case, she cried into his chest). Passerby's paused to see what was going on, but left almost immediately. But one person was curious and stayed hidden farther away in between crowds. His heart started to pound rapidly.
When they both calmed down, they retracted from each other's grasp. Mac pulled his goggles and wiped his eyes and then pulled them back over. Kaori didn't, though. Every once in a while, a single tear would follow the drying trail that had formed from the other tears. "Kaori, I'm so sorry. I didn't want to lie to you."
Kaori seemed to think his words over for a moment. She was starting to shiver from the lack of warmth she was getting. Nonetheless, she nodded and looked at him carefully, almost studying what he was thinking.
Mac moved closer to her and leaned his forehead against the top of her head, running a single finger down her cheek. And, out of the blue, he lifted her head up and brushed his lips against hers. Once, twice, and then they remained. Nothing seemed to matter to them in the state they were in.
At the sight of the two, Brodi kept his temper in check. Heartbroken, he turned and sullenly walked back to the hotel.