Okay, before I forget to mention this, I have a mistake to correct. Kirill
is not Yorgi's brother. Kolya is. My bad!
*~*~*~
Even in her car with the engine still running and the windows rolled up, Lindsey could hear the unfathomably loud music. She looked down at her clothes and gulped. She wore an incredibly short black leather skirt, a black top that was open in the back and held on by straps that criss- crossed her back, and black spike high-heels that wrapped around her legs up to her knees.
She stared at the large building. "What the hell?" she asked herself.
There was a large room that was used for parties. Tonight it was full. It was every teenager's dream and every parent's nightmare. There were three levels to this room. The balcony lined the tops of all four sides and had a metal railing. The second level was a kind of large platform set off to the left side of the room. It held a bar. Then there was the floor, which was the main level. It was crammed full of dancing bodies.
Lindsey blinked. It took her eyes a minute to adjust to all the colored lights reflecting off of the chrome railings. She had never seen the place so crowded before! There was no way all these people were from her town.
Glancing around, she saw Yorgi standing on the second level. She smiled and began to shove her way through the crowd.
She snuck up the stairs and grabbed Yorgi's shoulders.
He turned and grinned. "My little dove, you have returned."
Lindsey smiled.
Yorgi leaned back on the bar. "So how was your trip to Japan?"
She huffed. "Fine."
He stared at her. "No matter. You're back where you belong."
"And where is that, Yorgi?" she asked. "Here at the party, or back working for you again?"
He smiled. "You know the answer to that question."
"Yorgi, I only came here to say hello," she said.
"And that's why you're in that skirt?" he asked skeptically. "I think you planned on seeing Xander and Kolya tonight."
"Now you listen here," she began, pointing at her former employer, "X and I ended our relationship a long time ago. And what do I want with your brother?"
Yorgi smiled. "It's not what you want with him, it's what you want with his mind."
"He's dumb."
"My point exactly."
Lindsey snickered and shook her head, staring at the floor. She suddenly felt strong hands around her waist and she was lifted into the air and flipped upside down. She found herself staring into an upside down face with blue eyes and blonde hair.
"Kolya, put me down!" she cried, kicking her legs wildly in the air.
"Never," he answered in his gravelly voice. He lowered her a bit and kissed her. Then he raised her again. "I thought I would never see you again."
"Well, here I am," she answered. "And upside down."
Kolya laughed. "Here, Viktor, do you want her?"
There was a deep laugh and Lindsey felt herself being hurtled through the air. She landed in strong arms and looked up into the burly face of Viktor. He was about 6'5" with a thick, dark beard and mustache. He had pale eyes and big earrings in each ear. "There's my little bird. She's flown home."
"I'm gonna send YOU home if you don't put me down, Viktor!!"
He let her drop to her feet. She grinned up at him as Kolya walked up. "I love the way I can boss you boys around."
"Hey!" they both growled, but smiled.
"So where have you been?" Kolya asked.
*God, he looks good tonight* Lindsey thought to herself, studying the tall blonde. He wore a black jacket left open over light brown leather pants and black boots. He wore no shirt.
"Nowhere, really," she answered. "Have you seen Bryson?"
"Last time I saw him, he was in the garage with X," Kolya said.
Lindsey caught her breath. She had forgotten that X would be there that night. "Oh, really?" she asked, trying to sound bored.
Kolya nodded. "They're practicing on some cars."
"Practicing?" Lindsey asked. "You mean, stealing cars again?"
Kolya's face flushed. "Yeah," he answered quietly.
Lindsey's eyes narrowed and she looked at the floor again.
Kolya glanced nervously at Viktor. Viktor shook his head.
"Do you want to dance?" Kolya asked, trying to apologize in the best way he knew how.
Lindsey shook her head.
"Come on," Kolya said. "I don't bite."
"Liar."
"Okay, so there was that one time, but I won't do it again!"
Lindsey shook her head again.
"Kolya, beat it," a sweet voice, tinged with an English accent, scolded. "What have you been up to?"
Lindsey looked up into the soft face of her friend. "Hey pretty girl," she muttered.
"Have these guys been bugging you again?" she asked.
"Come on, Sophie," Kolya said. "We have not seen her in a long time."
"And neither have I," Sophie said, pulling Lindsey away from them. "You wanna go somewhere and talk? You look upset."
Lindsey nodded and followed Sophie.
Sophie was about Lindsey's height with blonde dark blonde hair that came down to the middle of her neck and flicked outward slightly. She had eyes that would change from dark green to hazel when they felt like it and naturally have thick, black lashes. She wore glasses with dark green rims to go with her eyes. She had full dark lips and pale skin. She wore her favorite outfit which was a pair of black jeans which were tight (but not constricting) at the top and flared out (a lot) at the knees and a grey top with navy, almost black, sleeves that were slightly too long. The shirt had an ancient Japanese print on it of a lady drinking a blue liquid from a bottle; it had Japanese writing on it.
They walked out of the large room and into a smaller, empty one.
"What's up?" Sophie asked softly.
"Nothing," Lindsey said, shaking her head.
"Something's wrong," Sophie said.
Lindsey blinked. "I'm just worried about seeing X. I haven't seen him in forever and now it's going to be weird."
"No, it won't," Sophie said. "You're still you and X is still X. It'll be just like it was before you left. Everyone's so happy you're back."
Lindsey scoffed, "Sure."
"Come on, I'll show you," Sophie said and grabbed her friend by the wrist and drug her towards the garage.
"Better," Lindsey heard an unimaginably low voice say. "Much better."
"Xander, Bryson, someone's here to see you," Sophie said, walking confidently towards them.
"Oh?" Xander asked. "Who?"
Lindsey stepped into view and he caught his breath.
"Lins."
"Hi, X."
"What are you doing back? I thought you were still in Japan."
"Baby sister!" Bryson cried, running towards her and hugging her.
"Hey, Bry. What's up?"
"Not much." He turned to Xander. "Are we done?"
Xander nodded. "Yeah. Go to the party."
"Whoo-hoo! C'mon, Sophie!" Bryson cried, picking Sophie up and heaving her over his shoulder, carrying her back towards the party.
"I thought you weren't coming back," Xander said, eyeing his ex-girlfriend. He wiped his hands on a rag, then threw it to the side, stepping closer to her.
She leaned on a tarp-covered car, staring down at her boots. "You should'a known that I couldn't stay away for long."
"Well, yeah, but only four months? What happened?"
"My host mother and I didn't exactly see eye to eye."
"Oh."
Lindsey tapped her fingers nervously on the car. "So . . . what have you been up to?"
"Ah, the usual, you know," he answered. "Parties, cars, stunts . . . everything I did before."
"Before?"
"Before forever."
Silence.
"You know, I've missed you," Xander said, stepping closer to her.
"Why?" she asked, completely avoiding eye contact. Why did he have to stare at her like that? Her heart pounded in her chest. Her vision blurred.
"Because I still care for you," he said, wrapping a strong arm around her waist and pulling her body close to his.
She still refused to make eye contact.
He gripped her chin in his strong hand and raised her face to meet his. "You know you missed me."
Before she could answer, he covered her mouth in a firm, but gentle kiss. She wanted to resist. She wanted to shove him away and slap his face. But she couldn't. She melted into his arms, kissing him back softly. When he finally broke the kiss, he was still holding her in his arms.
"See there?" he smiled softly. "You did miss me."
She did the only thing she could think of. She held up her hand.
Xander eyed the ring on her finger and raised an eyebrow.
"I'm engaged," she said dryly.
Xander let his arms drop to his sides. "To who?"
"Son Gohan," she answered.
"Some Japanese dude?"
"He's not just some Japanese dude," she said, keeping her voice dry and flat.
"Sure," Xander said, placing his hands firmly on his hips and staring down at the floor, shifting his weight to this right leg.
"X . . ."
He looked up at her suddenly, his dark brown eyes stormy. "Don't start. I'm not going to listen to your shit."
"What?" she shrieked.
"You were gone for four months and you come home acting like nothing has happened and you're engaged?! For Christ's sake, Lindsey, what the fuck is wrong with you?"
She grabbed her right elbow with her left hand and let her right arm hang while staring at the floor.
"We dated for two years!" Xander went on. "We only talked once about getting married! Four months?! What the hell?!"
"I love him," she said.
"Bullshit," he spat. "He's probably richer than I am, right? You always said you'd marry someone for their money."
"He's not rich," Lindsey answered. "He lives with his family in a small house out in the country."
Xander laughed. "Oh, that's rich. Like I'm supposed to believe that you would agree to marry someone like that?"
"Because I did!"
Xander shook his head and began laughing. "I suppose the next thing you'll be telling me is that he doesn't have a car and that's okay with you, too."
Lindsey said nothing and looked back at the floor.
Xander grabbed onto the covered car for support as his mouth gaped open. "You're kidding me!"
She said nothing.
"This is funny," he said, smiling, standing up straighter and nodding his head as he crossed his arms. He snickered. "This is really fuckin' funny." He shook his head as his face contorted back into anger. "I can't believe you! I just cannot believe you!" He kicked the wheel of the car. "I can't even look at you."
"X, I'm sorry."
He pointed a finger at her, his hand shaking in anger. His lips were pressed into a thin, straight line and his eyebrows looked like they were going to touch his nose. "Don't start with me," he said in a low, shaky voice. "Don't you even start with me." He kept pointing at her and staring at her with dark, stormy eyes. He took a few deep breaths through his nose. "I need a drink," he said and stormed away from her, leaving her with tears burning her eyes.
"Get out of here," Xander called over his shoulder. "You don't belong here anymore."
That was all she needed. She didn't need to be told twice. She ran from the garage and out into the crisp April night air. She took off through the nearby field, stumbling over rocks and holes as she went. She didn't know where she was going. All she knew was that she had to get away from there.
*I don't belong in Japan with Gohan* she thought miserably to herself as she ran. *I don't belong here with X and the others . . . where do I belong?*
She tripped and fell flat on her face on the hard ground. She lay there for a moment, panting deeply. Then she sat up on her knees.
"Where do I belong?!" she screamed into the night. She shoved herself to her feet and stared up at the perfectly clear sky, sprinkled with diamond stars. "I don't know where I belong! Here?! Japan?! WHERE?! I don't get it! I've been to both sides of the earth and neither one wants me!!" She held her arms out slightly from her sides as she continued to stare upwards. "Tell me! Send me some kind of a sign! Something? ANYTHING!! I want an answer!! Please?!" she screamed. In frustration, she flung herself into a sitting position on the ground. "Please," she whimpered. "Anything . . ."
The sound of a motor snapped her out of her trance.
She looked up to see Kirill on one of the bikes. "Come," he said, his cigarette hanging from his lips. "I saw what happened."
"How?" she asked miserably. She grabbed a few long pieces of grass and pulled them one by one from the ground.
"I was in the galley," he said. "Above you. I heard X's shouting above my own gun. I saw it. I saw you."
"Go home, Kirill. I know when I'm not wanted."
"I don't think you do," Kirill said, pushing down his kickstand and stepping off the bike. He walked slowly towards her. "I think that the only thing you know to do when there is problem is run away."
"Sure," she shrugged. "That's me. I always run away from a fight."
Kirill stared at her. "No. Not from fight. From problem."
She looked up at him. He had a shaved head and high cheekbones. His eyes were dark and he was rather slender. He wore a long leather coat and gloves with the fingers cut out of them. One of his guns was slung across his back. There was no doubt another inside is coat and probably one in his belt.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, when someone tries to fight you, you hit back. You fight. But someone disagree with you and you run." Kirill stopped to drag off his cigarette. He blew a smoke ring, then placed the cigarette back between his lips. "You don't handle verbal confrontations well."
"Ooh," she said. "Big word."
"Shut your mouth."
"I'm sorry, Kirill."
"Come on," he said. "I take you back to the warehouse and you can go home. Come back tomorrow. There will be another party. You can be sure."
Nodding, she stood up and walked with Kirill back to his bike. She sat on the back as the engine blazed to life and they sped back towards the house. She rested the side of her face against his back and sighed deeply.
*But still* she thought to herself. *I wonder where I belong . . . *
*~*~*~
AN: Hey guys! I'm back! I'm not dead! Woo-hoo!
Sabriena and Lexi: We know that. You're just lazy.
Me: *blushes* Sorry . . . Anyway, it's up now. I also have a LOTR fic started if anyone want to read it. *hint hint, nudge, nudge* Also, where do YOU all think she should belong? Japan? USA? Where? And who do you think she should go with? Should she stay true to Gohan? Or go back to X? Lemme know! Love ya'll. CIAO!
*~*~*~
Even in her car with the engine still running and the windows rolled up, Lindsey could hear the unfathomably loud music. She looked down at her clothes and gulped. She wore an incredibly short black leather skirt, a black top that was open in the back and held on by straps that criss- crossed her back, and black spike high-heels that wrapped around her legs up to her knees.
She stared at the large building. "What the hell?" she asked herself.
There was a large room that was used for parties. Tonight it was full. It was every teenager's dream and every parent's nightmare. There were three levels to this room. The balcony lined the tops of all four sides and had a metal railing. The second level was a kind of large platform set off to the left side of the room. It held a bar. Then there was the floor, which was the main level. It was crammed full of dancing bodies.
Lindsey blinked. It took her eyes a minute to adjust to all the colored lights reflecting off of the chrome railings. She had never seen the place so crowded before! There was no way all these people were from her town.
Glancing around, she saw Yorgi standing on the second level. She smiled and began to shove her way through the crowd.
She snuck up the stairs and grabbed Yorgi's shoulders.
He turned and grinned. "My little dove, you have returned."
Lindsey smiled.
Yorgi leaned back on the bar. "So how was your trip to Japan?"
She huffed. "Fine."
He stared at her. "No matter. You're back where you belong."
"And where is that, Yorgi?" she asked. "Here at the party, or back working for you again?"
He smiled. "You know the answer to that question."
"Yorgi, I only came here to say hello," she said.
"And that's why you're in that skirt?" he asked skeptically. "I think you planned on seeing Xander and Kolya tonight."
"Now you listen here," she began, pointing at her former employer, "X and I ended our relationship a long time ago. And what do I want with your brother?"
Yorgi smiled. "It's not what you want with him, it's what you want with his mind."
"He's dumb."
"My point exactly."
Lindsey snickered and shook her head, staring at the floor. She suddenly felt strong hands around her waist and she was lifted into the air and flipped upside down. She found herself staring into an upside down face with blue eyes and blonde hair.
"Kolya, put me down!" she cried, kicking her legs wildly in the air.
"Never," he answered in his gravelly voice. He lowered her a bit and kissed her. Then he raised her again. "I thought I would never see you again."
"Well, here I am," she answered. "And upside down."
Kolya laughed. "Here, Viktor, do you want her?"
There was a deep laugh and Lindsey felt herself being hurtled through the air. She landed in strong arms and looked up into the burly face of Viktor. He was about 6'5" with a thick, dark beard and mustache. He had pale eyes and big earrings in each ear. "There's my little bird. She's flown home."
"I'm gonna send YOU home if you don't put me down, Viktor!!"
He let her drop to her feet. She grinned up at him as Kolya walked up. "I love the way I can boss you boys around."
"Hey!" they both growled, but smiled.
"So where have you been?" Kolya asked.
*God, he looks good tonight* Lindsey thought to herself, studying the tall blonde. He wore a black jacket left open over light brown leather pants and black boots. He wore no shirt.
"Nowhere, really," she answered. "Have you seen Bryson?"
"Last time I saw him, he was in the garage with X," Kolya said.
Lindsey caught her breath. She had forgotten that X would be there that night. "Oh, really?" she asked, trying to sound bored.
Kolya nodded. "They're practicing on some cars."
"Practicing?" Lindsey asked. "You mean, stealing cars again?"
Kolya's face flushed. "Yeah," he answered quietly.
Lindsey's eyes narrowed and she looked at the floor again.
Kolya glanced nervously at Viktor. Viktor shook his head.
"Do you want to dance?" Kolya asked, trying to apologize in the best way he knew how.
Lindsey shook her head.
"Come on," Kolya said. "I don't bite."
"Liar."
"Okay, so there was that one time, but I won't do it again!"
Lindsey shook her head again.
"Kolya, beat it," a sweet voice, tinged with an English accent, scolded. "What have you been up to?"
Lindsey looked up into the soft face of her friend. "Hey pretty girl," she muttered.
"Have these guys been bugging you again?" she asked.
"Come on, Sophie," Kolya said. "We have not seen her in a long time."
"And neither have I," Sophie said, pulling Lindsey away from them. "You wanna go somewhere and talk? You look upset."
Lindsey nodded and followed Sophie.
Sophie was about Lindsey's height with blonde dark blonde hair that came down to the middle of her neck and flicked outward slightly. She had eyes that would change from dark green to hazel when they felt like it and naturally have thick, black lashes. She wore glasses with dark green rims to go with her eyes. She had full dark lips and pale skin. She wore her favorite outfit which was a pair of black jeans which were tight (but not constricting) at the top and flared out (a lot) at the knees and a grey top with navy, almost black, sleeves that were slightly too long. The shirt had an ancient Japanese print on it of a lady drinking a blue liquid from a bottle; it had Japanese writing on it.
They walked out of the large room and into a smaller, empty one.
"What's up?" Sophie asked softly.
"Nothing," Lindsey said, shaking her head.
"Something's wrong," Sophie said.
Lindsey blinked. "I'm just worried about seeing X. I haven't seen him in forever and now it's going to be weird."
"No, it won't," Sophie said. "You're still you and X is still X. It'll be just like it was before you left. Everyone's so happy you're back."
Lindsey scoffed, "Sure."
"Come on, I'll show you," Sophie said and grabbed her friend by the wrist and drug her towards the garage.
"Better," Lindsey heard an unimaginably low voice say. "Much better."
"Xander, Bryson, someone's here to see you," Sophie said, walking confidently towards them.
"Oh?" Xander asked. "Who?"
Lindsey stepped into view and he caught his breath.
"Lins."
"Hi, X."
"What are you doing back? I thought you were still in Japan."
"Baby sister!" Bryson cried, running towards her and hugging her.
"Hey, Bry. What's up?"
"Not much." He turned to Xander. "Are we done?"
Xander nodded. "Yeah. Go to the party."
"Whoo-hoo! C'mon, Sophie!" Bryson cried, picking Sophie up and heaving her over his shoulder, carrying her back towards the party.
"I thought you weren't coming back," Xander said, eyeing his ex-girlfriend. He wiped his hands on a rag, then threw it to the side, stepping closer to her.
She leaned on a tarp-covered car, staring down at her boots. "You should'a known that I couldn't stay away for long."
"Well, yeah, but only four months? What happened?"
"My host mother and I didn't exactly see eye to eye."
"Oh."
Lindsey tapped her fingers nervously on the car. "So . . . what have you been up to?"
"Ah, the usual, you know," he answered. "Parties, cars, stunts . . . everything I did before."
"Before?"
"Before forever."
Silence.
"You know, I've missed you," Xander said, stepping closer to her.
"Why?" she asked, completely avoiding eye contact. Why did he have to stare at her like that? Her heart pounded in her chest. Her vision blurred.
"Because I still care for you," he said, wrapping a strong arm around her waist and pulling her body close to his.
She still refused to make eye contact.
He gripped her chin in his strong hand and raised her face to meet his. "You know you missed me."
Before she could answer, he covered her mouth in a firm, but gentle kiss. She wanted to resist. She wanted to shove him away and slap his face. But she couldn't. She melted into his arms, kissing him back softly. When he finally broke the kiss, he was still holding her in his arms.
"See there?" he smiled softly. "You did miss me."
She did the only thing she could think of. She held up her hand.
Xander eyed the ring on her finger and raised an eyebrow.
"I'm engaged," she said dryly.
Xander let his arms drop to his sides. "To who?"
"Son Gohan," she answered.
"Some Japanese dude?"
"He's not just some Japanese dude," she said, keeping her voice dry and flat.
"Sure," Xander said, placing his hands firmly on his hips and staring down at the floor, shifting his weight to this right leg.
"X . . ."
He looked up at her suddenly, his dark brown eyes stormy. "Don't start. I'm not going to listen to your shit."
"What?" she shrieked.
"You were gone for four months and you come home acting like nothing has happened and you're engaged?! For Christ's sake, Lindsey, what the fuck is wrong with you?"
She grabbed her right elbow with her left hand and let her right arm hang while staring at the floor.
"We dated for two years!" Xander went on. "We only talked once about getting married! Four months?! What the hell?!"
"I love him," she said.
"Bullshit," he spat. "He's probably richer than I am, right? You always said you'd marry someone for their money."
"He's not rich," Lindsey answered. "He lives with his family in a small house out in the country."
Xander laughed. "Oh, that's rich. Like I'm supposed to believe that you would agree to marry someone like that?"
"Because I did!"
Xander shook his head and began laughing. "I suppose the next thing you'll be telling me is that he doesn't have a car and that's okay with you, too."
Lindsey said nothing and looked back at the floor.
Xander grabbed onto the covered car for support as his mouth gaped open. "You're kidding me!"
She said nothing.
"This is funny," he said, smiling, standing up straighter and nodding his head as he crossed his arms. He snickered. "This is really fuckin' funny." He shook his head as his face contorted back into anger. "I can't believe you! I just cannot believe you!" He kicked the wheel of the car. "I can't even look at you."
"X, I'm sorry."
He pointed a finger at her, his hand shaking in anger. His lips were pressed into a thin, straight line and his eyebrows looked like they were going to touch his nose. "Don't start with me," he said in a low, shaky voice. "Don't you even start with me." He kept pointing at her and staring at her with dark, stormy eyes. He took a few deep breaths through his nose. "I need a drink," he said and stormed away from her, leaving her with tears burning her eyes.
"Get out of here," Xander called over his shoulder. "You don't belong here anymore."
That was all she needed. She didn't need to be told twice. She ran from the garage and out into the crisp April night air. She took off through the nearby field, stumbling over rocks and holes as she went. She didn't know where she was going. All she knew was that she had to get away from there.
*I don't belong in Japan with Gohan* she thought miserably to herself as she ran. *I don't belong here with X and the others . . . where do I belong?*
She tripped and fell flat on her face on the hard ground. She lay there for a moment, panting deeply. Then she sat up on her knees.
"Where do I belong?!" she screamed into the night. She shoved herself to her feet and stared up at the perfectly clear sky, sprinkled with diamond stars. "I don't know where I belong! Here?! Japan?! WHERE?! I don't get it! I've been to both sides of the earth and neither one wants me!!" She held her arms out slightly from her sides as she continued to stare upwards. "Tell me! Send me some kind of a sign! Something? ANYTHING!! I want an answer!! Please?!" she screamed. In frustration, she flung herself into a sitting position on the ground. "Please," she whimpered. "Anything . . ."
The sound of a motor snapped her out of her trance.
She looked up to see Kirill on one of the bikes. "Come," he said, his cigarette hanging from his lips. "I saw what happened."
"How?" she asked miserably. She grabbed a few long pieces of grass and pulled them one by one from the ground.
"I was in the galley," he said. "Above you. I heard X's shouting above my own gun. I saw it. I saw you."
"Go home, Kirill. I know when I'm not wanted."
"I don't think you do," Kirill said, pushing down his kickstand and stepping off the bike. He walked slowly towards her. "I think that the only thing you know to do when there is problem is run away."
"Sure," she shrugged. "That's me. I always run away from a fight."
Kirill stared at her. "No. Not from fight. From problem."
She looked up at him. He had a shaved head and high cheekbones. His eyes were dark and he was rather slender. He wore a long leather coat and gloves with the fingers cut out of them. One of his guns was slung across his back. There was no doubt another inside is coat and probably one in his belt.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, when someone tries to fight you, you hit back. You fight. But someone disagree with you and you run." Kirill stopped to drag off his cigarette. He blew a smoke ring, then placed the cigarette back between his lips. "You don't handle verbal confrontations well."
"Ooh," she said. "Big word."
"Shut your mouth."
"I'm sorry, Kirill."
"Come on," he said. "I take you back to the warehouse and you can go home. Come back tomorrow. There will be another party. You can be sure."
Nodding, she stood up and walked with Kirill back to his bike. She sat on the back as the engine blazed to life and they sped back towards the house. She rested the side of her face against his back and sighed deeply.
*But still* she thought to herself. *I wonder where I belong . . . *
*~*~*~
AN: Hey guys! I'm back! I'm not dead! Woo-hoo!
Sabriena and Lexi: We know that. You're just lazy.
Me: *blushes* Sorry . . . Anyway, it's up now. I also have a LOTR fic started if anyone want to read it. *hint hint, nudge, nudge* Also, where do YOU all think she should belong? Japan? USA? Where? And who do you think she should go with? Should she stay true to Gohan? Or go back to X? Lemme know! Love ya'll. CIAO!