Suddenly, the door to Finn's apartment flew open, revealing two very unexpected visitors.
"Hello, darlings!" Kinea said with bravado. She was eating up the surprise on their faces. Ugly stood next to her, somewhat regretting choosing her as a companion for this little excursion. But if it hadn't been for Kinea's help, she wouldn't have gotten there at all. They'd been at a party, with Spot keeping a watchful eye on Ugly from across the room. Ugly had been so irritated that she'd confessed to Kinea that she wanted to see Roan and Kyro again. Kinea had quickly jumped in with a plan for escape. She'd told Spot they were going to the powder room, and that she would keep an eye on Ugly. They climbed out the window of the ladies room. It had been exciting at first, but then Ugly started to get knots in her stomach, thinking of how worried Spot would be.
"It's his own fault," Kinea had told her. "He can't tell you what to do." Ugly felt this was true, but she couldn't stop feeling guilty. "So," Kinea had asked. "Where to?"
That was where Ugly remembered that she had absolutely no idea where they were. So she confessed this fact to Kinea. Kinea seemed somewhat annoyed by her ignorance, but brushed it of quickly, as usual. "Well, we'll just have to search then. You've spent a lot of time with them. Where do you think they would be?"
Ugly tried to clear her head of the guilt and the slight fear she had of Kinea. She felt a calm clarity and then she spoke. "Brooklyn, they wouldn't leave Brooklyn." Roan and Kyro, like she and Spot, were Brooklyn. They just couldn't thrive any place else. For he part, Kinea was glad she'd narrowed it down. Brooklyn was pretty fucking big, did Ugly expect them to go knocking on doors?
"I imagine they'll be some place seedy," Kinea added thoughtfully. So, they'd gone to a few bars and questioned the clientele. It was getting later and later and Ugly knew Spot would be worried sick by now, would be searching everywhere for her. She tried to push these thoughts out of her mind. They got a few whiskeys from various bartenders to aid in the settling of her mind
Ugly was beginning to lose hope and even Kinea was losing her vigor.At about the eleventh"seedy" bar,Ugly sat on abarstool, sipping whiskey while Kinea finessed the bar tender.Ugly overheard a man ata poker table talking loudly about howhe'd lost every last dime to some "kid" at a bar called "Thick & Finn." A kid called Ferris Ember. A kid with "creepy" yellow eyes. Ugly froze when she heard this last bit. She topple off the bar stool and ran over to Kinea.
"What is it?" Kinea asked, reenergized.
"I know where they are," she replied.
XXX
When Kinea strode into the apartment, with Ugly following behind, Katie went white, Roan looked like he'd been smacked and Kyro looked at Ugly.
Ugly ran out from behind Kinea and wrapped her arms around Kyro. "I was so worried about you guys!" She exclaimed. Kyro, who couldn't remember the last time they'd actually touched, was gob-smacked. Ugly was so excited (and pretty well drunk) that she actually hugged Roan as well. He was tempted to tell her that now that she'd brought Kinea with her, she had reason to be worried for them. But he was so overwhelmed by her outpouring of affection that he was speechless for once.
Kinea, shrewd bird that she was, picked out Katie like a hawk. "Katie, dear!" She exclaimed sweetly. "Pray tell, what on earth are you doing here?" Katie stared down at her shoes. She seemed very, very unpleasantly surprised. Her heart was beating a mile a minute and she couldn't quite feel her legs.
"Katie and I had sex." Roan felt inspired to say as he lit himself a cigarette. He certainly had a flair for the unexpected. But then again, who can resist confessing recent sexual exploits to evil exes?
Kinea was actually caught off-guard for once and had no smooth and seamless reply. There was an awkward hush as everyone took in the situation. Ugly was happy to have found them but unsure what she was supposed to do now. Kyro was experiencing uncomfortable emotions that he'd been glad to escape from. Katie was still petrified. Roan was somewhat smug. Kinea was trying to force her mind back to the task at hand. The silence was interuppted by yet another visitor. But this one actually lived there. Finn walked through the door and her brown doe eyes shot from person to person in confusion. Kyro just glanced at her helplessly.
Of course, it was Kinea who first got her whits together and spoke. "Hi, I'm Kinea Cailum. We're just here to see Roan and Kyro," she explained.
"Who?" Finn asked, her confusion compounded.
Kinea thought maybe she was slow. Katie recovered and spoke. "She means Ferris and his friend. She just got her names mixed up," Katie said. She hadn't given Finn their real names for their protection, but Katie realized that the one they probably most needed protection from was now in the room with them.
"What the fuck are you doing here anyway?" Roan asked suspiciously. He really would rather Kinea left…or fell down dead.
"I was helping Ugly," Kinea said, sweetly. "She was worried about you."
"I just wanted to make sure you were alright," Ugly said truthfully. Damn that whiskey. Ugly sat down next to Kyro. She had completely forgotten about Spot by this time. She was happy drunk, she was with her old friends. She just wanted to sit down and chat. "How are you Katie?" She asked.
"Fine," Katie mumbled, still rather out of sorts. "You?"
"Terrific," Ugly said. "What is it you're doing here exactly?"
"Umm..." Good Question. "I just, you know, happened to run into these two..." Kinea was watching her carefully, so Katie shut her mouth.
"Oh, what have you two been up to?" Ugly asked Roan. She knew better then to ask Kyro, who would probably just shrug. Ugly noticed that Finn was paying a particular attention to Kyro.
Roan was in the process of staring down Kinea as if she were a building on the verge of collapse. "Oh, you know, a little bit of this, a little bit of that," he responded to Ugly.
"I'm really sorry about...the last time we spoke," Ugly confessed, turning slightly pink.
"Water under the bridge," he replied, still staring at Kinea. "You got me out at least, which is more than I can say for some people." Kinea stared right back at him. Every one else in the room noted their twin stares for a moment before Katie introduced Ugly to Finn and tried to start a fractious conversation between the two.
"So, Kin-Pin...what the fuck are you doing here?" Roan asked, under his breath.
"Let's talk outside," Kinea said back, in a hushed voice.
XXX
They sat on the outer wall of the roof, Roan's choice, in case he felt like jumping after putting up with Kinea for a few minutes.
Kinea sat down next to him. She actually felt somewhat nervous, which was extremely uncommon for her. She knew what she had to do, but she couldn't stop history from getting in the way. Nor the fact that for all her independence and self-certainty, she was utterly alone and slightly lonely. And, for reasons beyond earthly comprehension, she was wickedly attracted to Roan. God save her.
"You look good," she breathed, catching Roan off-guard. "Well, better anyway."
"Yeah? Thanks for the arrest. You can achieve some real mental clarity tied to a bed in your own shit, let me tell you. And fucking your best friend wasn't bad either," Roan said, smiling sinfully at her.
"You needed to clean up. We needed you." Kinea said. Roan tilted his head. What the fuck was she talking about? Kinea was looking at him, a knowing glint in her bright eyes. A glint that Roan knew could mean only one thing. A hell of a lot of trouble.
XXX
Which was exactly what Spot was in at the moment. He had been canvasing the party, searching everywhere for Ugly and Kinea, asking if anyone had seen them. He'd made the mistake of asking the shipping magnate whose job offer he'd refused. Apparently, the guy was still upset because the second Spot mentioned their names, he punched Spot in the face. Spot had immediately punched him right back and it had escalated into a brawl that had ended in Spot being escorted out by security.
Spot stood outside, trying to think of how he could get back inside to find Ugly, when he realized that she wasn't at the party. She hadn't gotten lost on the way to the powder room, she'd left. And he knew just where to. He hopped into a hired carriage. "Brooklyn," he said. "Just take me to Brooklyn." It wasn't too far from Manhattan, where the party was. He would have to figure out where Roan and Kyro were once he got there. If he found them, he would most certainly find her. He just hoped she was alright.
XXX
Aye Caramba! How naughty of Ugly to disappear on poor Spot! I'd be pissed, but fortunately Spot is just too sweetly concerned for her welfare...at this point anyway...
So, hmmm...Will Ugly please remember her boyfriend?
Will Spot be able to find her? Will he be punched again for his troubles?
What will Kyro do torn between two lovely ladies?
Why was Katie so freaked out by Kinea? Why did Roan pretty much forget about her (except for the polite sex reference) after all the lovely moments they shared? (Fucking boys).
What in the world is Kinea up to? How does it involve Roan? Will he join up with this "we" who needs him? What do they need him for? What in the world is going on people? Nous allons voir...