Chapter II: The Perfect Little Angel

Dys: The chapter to this fic is corny, I know, but I was listening to a sappy song and got hooked on it, so forgive me.

Dartz: Yeah, right, you like that stuff.

Dys: (gives evil glare)

Dartz: …

Dys: All right, I confess….I have Clay Aiken's CD. It was a gift from my little sister, and I got stuck with it.

Dartz: …. ;p

FD walked down the hall, heading towards the meeting room. She didn't know what to do. A meeting with her boss on her first day? It was rather nerve-racking. However, she had to. It said on the note she had received from him. She was rather nervous now. She took a deep breath and approached the double oak doors, but they suddenly opened before her. She trembled in surprise and stepped back as three young men stepped out. A rather feminine-looking young man with crimson red hair looked up at her and smiled, but he was pushed through by a muscular and taller boy with spiked blond hair. She watched them walk down the hall, and cleared her throat. She waited a few moments before entering. She was scared, clutching her collar. Suddenly, a voice spoke out to her from the room behind the ajar doors.

"You can come in," it drawled. Licking her lips anxiously, she stepped over the threshold to find a large pine table stretching from a foot from her toward the other side of the wall. Aligned with the table were a dozen navy blue chairs on each side. She looked ahead where one chair had its backed turned to her. She gulped slightly, her fists trembling at her sides.

"You…you wanted to see me, sir?" FD asked. She looked down, brushing back a few strands of her pitch-black hair behind her ear. The chair turned toward her to reveal Dartz sitting in it, a pleased smile on his face.

"Yes, I did, Miss Micamura," he said pleasantly. "Take a seat." He gestured toward a chair next to him and FD obeyed, avoiding eye contact with him. She sat next to him, her silver eyes off him, but rather on the table. She felt his eyes on her, though. It was a strange feeling. It was as if his discolored eyes had this magnetic force in them, tempting her to look up, but her will kept her down. His eyes traced her, and he chuckled, sending chills down her spine.

"You resemble so much of a raven," he spoke. "I might as well call you Raven."

"Please, sir, call me FD," she insisted. Dartz nodded, then leaned over and tilted her face up with his index finger so she was looking directly into his eyes. She saw that flicker again, but this time it was a bright flame. Almost instinctively, she pulled away, dropping her purse in the process. The contents spilled out and she cursed under her breath, dropping to her knees to retrieve them.

"Forgive me, sir, I'm just nervous," she confessed.

"I can understand that," he said, picking up a folded piece of beige paper. Immediately, FD recognized it as one of her artworks, and wanted to snatch it away, but found it rude to. Therefore, as soon as all her belongings were back inside her purse, which she quickly sealed, she sat back up straight in her chair, while Dartz stared at the picture. He laid it out on the table and stared at it. It was a picture of a little girl standing in a field of roses, holding in her arms of bouquet, but these roses were pitch-black. The girl had the facial expressions of a china doll, her eyes shaded to seem almost like glass, her cheeks shaded to exact perfection. Her lips in perfect form, full, and shaded. The dress the girl wore was a rather 1800's Victorian dress. It was a beautiful picture that was inspired by a small doll FD kept on her dresser in her bedroom. It was a gift from her mother.

"Did you draw this?" Dartz asked, finally looking up from the drawing and staring directly into her eyes. She nodded, her cheeks glowing with a light pink. He looked back down at the drawing, and smiled. "Well, I can see we gave you the right job."

"What?" FD asked.

"An Art Professional is someone who comes up with ways of bringing attraction and excitement to the company. This building is way too dull and boring, wouldn't you say? Therefore, we needed an Art Profession to try and bring some life back to here. That's why we hired you," he explained. "Now, this week, I want you to think of a plan to decorate this level. There's a studio on one of the lower levels with everything you need. Paper, paint, scissors, you name it. Anyways, that is what I want you to do. I want you to bring some life back into this company."

"Alright, sir. I will," FD said, standing up. She began to leave the room when a jolt ran through her head. It was a sharp and painful jolt, like a bullet. She closed her eyes in pain, stopping abruptly in the doorway. Her head hurt now. Nevertheless, in the darkness within her closed eyes she saw a symbol. It was emerald green, glowing bright in her mind, a sphere with two layers, and within them, a six pointed star.

FD gasped as the pain disappeared, then stood back up straight. She looked over at the table where Dartz remained sitting, but this time the chair was turned from her, like before. FD quickly got out of that room and rushed back to her office. She was still panting when she lay onto one of the sofas. Her head didn't hurt, but the image of that symbol was pierced in her mind's eye. Where did she see that image before? She knew she saw it from somewhere, but where? FD took a deep breath and calmed down. Why was she getting so worked up? Was it her nerves? Was it her embarrassment? Why was she even embarrassed? She shouldn't be. She's had several jobs before. However, for some reason, she felt so strange here, in this building.

FD closed her eyes gently, and then imagined the soft crashing sounds of tides against the sands of a shore. The beach was so close to her home. She lived in a cute, little house right beside the beach, and the tides would always relax her when she decided to go to bed. Therefore, she tried to imagine the sounds of the ocean, the distant calls of the seagulls, and the rustling of the wind against the trees. Eventually, she was relaxed by her mind's creation of the beach. She sighed out of luxury, and then opened her eyes. She was back in her office, but the sounds didn't fade. She drowned out all sounds but the ocean. She longed to walk along the sands, again. She longed to feel the cool water against her face.

She sat up, and then an idea struck inside her mind. Immediately, she rushed to her desk and was buried within her sketchbook. All other sounds had faded from her mind, capturing and recapturing the ocean's sounds and its beauty. The ocean, this time, was her inspiration. The ocean, at last, gave her the strength and relaxation to do her job. And this she thought repeatively until she finally had her plan mapped out on paper. This was wonderful, she thought. Soon, she'll have her first assignment finished before the deadline, unlike her schoolwork from high school. She giggled at the memory as she continued her work.

Around the time lunch came around, FD had finished with her plan and had made her conclusion. She stood up from her desk and stretched toward the ceiling. She couldn't believe how hard she was working. Now it was time for a break. Quickly grabbing her purse, she left her office, and walked elegantly down the hall. Licking her chapped lips, she began humming in a sweet lullaby. She came to the elevator and quickly pushed the arrow pointing downwards. She leaned against the wall, her arms crossed over her chest, waiting for the elevator doors to open. She then looked up to see Dartz coming down the hall. He smiled sweetly at her, and she smiled back.

"Has the young raven discovered her plan?" he asked in teasing way. She nodded, then looked up at the counter above the doors. The elevator had stopped at the fourth floor. Unfortunately, for her, she was on the tenth level. She didn't really want to be there any longer with Dartz standing there. For some reason, whenever he was around, she felt weird and strange. Like as if she was dressed in a clown outfit, which she despised with no end. She hated clowns.

"So, what is your plan?" Dartz asked, interested.

"Well, I was thinking of something like the beach, but more like a sunset theme. It would definitely bring attraction towards this company," she explained, looking up at the counter once more. Sixth level. Damn, she should've taken the stairs instead. But now she couldn't. So, all she could do was just stand there, waiting for the elevator to come.

Her lips were really bothering her lately. She kept pursing them just to get them damped, but that only made it worse. She reached into her purse and dug around for some chap stick, which she found and dabbed her lips with. After replacing them into her bag and sealing it once more, she heard the ding of the elevator beside her, and the doors opened. She quickly entered, but was followed by Dartz. She groaned on the inside. She didn't want to stay in his presence for another minute. But as the doors closed, she sighed reluctantly. She noticed the elevator was heading to first level. Perfect, she would rush out of there as quickly as possible and head towards a restaurant down the street.

But what happened next surprised her. The elevator stopped on the first floor, but before she could step over the threshold, Dartz grabbed hold of her arm and dragged her out of it and down the hall. Refusing to resist, she allowed him to drag her out of the building, and into the street where the three young men she had witnessed earlier were. She gasped as one of them immediately recognized her. The red head.

"Gentlemen, this is Rika Micamura. I want you to help her with a plan to decorate the building," Dartz insisted. "She's the Art Professional here."

"Awesome, we finally get to create mayhem on the walls," an excited brunette boy cheered in an accent that was well charming. FD looked up at the blond, and then to the red head. She didn't even know who they were, and yet Dartz was insisting them on working with her. He turned away from them and walked back into the building.

"Well, I guess we should introduce ourselves. My name is Amelda," the red head spoke.

"Hi! The name's Varon!" the brunette cheered.

"I'm Rafael," the blond spoke.

"And I'm Rika. But if you want to keep your organs, you better call me FD," the girl threatened.

"Hey, this chick's got spunk!" Varon cried. He placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, but immediately, she twisted it behind him, and he let out a cry of pain. She released him, and he stumbled onto the ground.

"Yeah, and obviously this chick's serious," Amelda pronounced. Varon groaned as he got back up on his feet, rubbing his arm where she twisted it the most. He looked up, and then smiled.

"Quite a grip you got there," he spoke. She raised an eyebrow in suspicion, but it quickly vanished when Amelda spoke up once more.

"So, what is your plan for decorating this place?" he asked.

"Well, right now, my plan is to get something to eat," she said. "Want to come with?"

"Hell, yeah!" Varon cheered. FD giggled innocently at this response. However, she was thrown into a fit of laughter when Amelda struck the brunette across the head.

"How rude can you be!" Amelda asked, his tone rose to reveal anger.

"It's alright. After all, I'm buying," FD insisted. "The restaurant is just down the street. I'm sure we can walk there."

"Why walk? We've got our bikes," Rafael pointed over his shoulder to three motorbikes standing in the street. A sharp jolt ran down FD's spine.

"No, it's okay, I can walk," she said, refusing the offer by waving her hand. The boys suddenly noticed the nervous smile she had given them. Was she afraid of motorbikes?

"Alright, we'll walk with you," Amelda offered. The boys walked by her side as they started down the street. They told her about how they got involved with Dartz and what their job was. FD was rather interested in their stories. However, they forced her into talking about herself once they approached the restaurant. It was a charming little place with an Italian canopy hanging from the door. The walls on the outside were painted with a light, spring green, while the door was painted a dark maroon. A set of windows were held along the walls. Several tables stood outside of the building, each with its own, oversized umbrella to shadow away the sun.

"Charming little restaurant," FD perked up. She was then asked a question from Varon.

"So, what is your plan for decorating Paradias?" he asked.

"Well, I was thinking along the lines of a sunset beach. It'll definitely draw attention towards the company," FD pronounced.

"A sunset beach? Where'd you get that idea?" Amelda asked. Rafael had this weird look in his eyes, like as if some strange familiarity had been struck in his mind.

"Well, I live in a house just along the shores of the beach. At night, I'd be relaxed by the ocean waves through my windows. It's rather relaxing to hear the tides. So, that's where I got my inspiration," FD explained.

"Yeah, Master Dartz will definitely enjoy that plan," Varon teased. FD looked up at him out of curiosity. Was he being serious?

Dys: Anyway, that's all for now. I have to focus on going to Friday school this morning. Apparently, because I didn't have my uniform right, they think they can punish me by sending me to school on Friday. Hello! I've done that before!

Dartz: Come now, you went to school with your Alcatraz sweatshirt on!

Dys: Hey, don't blame me just because they're a couple of moronic assholes! Anyway, I'm working on a third chapter as it is. If you like, please, I'm begging you, review!