A/N. All right. "The party" is up. Kind of a long one.
Chapter 6. The party
"Hurry up, Kiera! We've got to leave like five minutes ago!" Rory shouted as she ran out the door with her partydress over her shoulder and her purse and backpack in hand.
"All right, all right! I'm right behind you." Kiera answered and picked her things up from the bed and ran for the door.
"Bye, Loralai!" she called as she ran through the livingroom.
"Bye, mom! We'll be back on Sunday." Rory said and came back inside to give her mom a quick hug and a kiss.
The drive to New York was smooth and they arrived right on schedule.
"See, no hurry." Kiera complained. "Logan's not even here. Wasn't he supposed to meet us outside?"
"No. I think he said inside. And he's really bad with keeping times anyway."
Kiera rolled her eyes. "Well, if you knew that, what was all the rush about?"
"Because I hate being late. You know that."
They got their things out of the car and went inside the Plaza lobby as the valet drove the car away.
"I still don't see Huntzberger. We might as well check in." Kiera said as she started towards the receptionist's desk.
"Ah, miss Wyndam! How nice to see you again." An elderly gentleman had intercepted the girls on their way.
"Hello, Mr. Parker. Good to see you too. Did you know I was coming?"
"Yes, we did. Mr. Huntzberger informed us when he did the reservations for miss Gilmore. And this would be miss Gilmore, I presume?" he turned to Rory.
"Yes, hi. I'm Rory Gilmore."
"Excellent. Mr. Huntzberger asked me to make sure you got to your rooms. He's waiting upstairs with his friends. Follow me, please."
Two bellboys arrived to take the girls luggage and they followed Mr. Parker to the elevators.
"Why does that man know who you are?" Rory asked her friend under her breath.
"I've been here with my parents a number of times over the years and Mr. Parker has always taken care of us." Kiera answered with a smile. "He is the sweetest old man you'll ever meet. You'll see."
Upstairs the party obviously had already started. Logan, Finn, Colin and Robert were all already changed and sat around a table playing poker and drinking. Rory simply couldn't resist. "Honey, I'm home." She called as they went into the sittingroom of the suite.
"Hey, Ace!" Logan pulled her down on his lap and kissed her hard. "You're late."
"No, we're not. We arrived right on time. It was the walk and ride all the way up here that made us late."
"Hi, Kiera. How are you?" Finn said as he let his gaze run up and down her body. She really was the prettiest thing he ever saw. "Want something to drink?"
"No thanks. At least, not before we're done with the hot curling-iron." She smiled. "So when does this shindig get started?"
"You girls have two hours to get ready." Logan said after quickly consulting his watch. "Kiera's suite is right a cross the hall, if you want to use that as a dressing room."
"Kiera gets her own suite?" Rory asked. "And where do I sleep?"
"You, my fair, are sleeping right here with me." Logan answered with a wolfish grin on his beautiful face. "I miss you like crazy and there's no way I'm letting you out of my sight tonight."
"I miss you too." Rory smiled and kissed her boyfriend. It turned out to be a rather intense kiss.
"Okay you two. Break up the love-fest." Kiera interrupted. "We need to go get ready." She continued and grabbed her friends arm, ignoring Logan's and Rory's protests. "Bye, guys. See you in an hour." She dragged Rory to the door. Behind them she heard Colin say: "You two really need to get a room!"
"And this is?" Logan answered. Kiera couldn't help smiling as she heard the guys laughing. It was so good to see how crazy Logan and Rory were about each other. It restored her faith in love.
An hour and a half later the girls walked back into the room. The guys were now watching a movie on the big screen TV and chatting away like little old ladies. But when the girls entered they were bound to turn their heads.
"Beautiful!" Logan said as he rose and kissed his girlfriend on the cheek. Rory's dark hair fell in tight curls around her face and was pinned up in the back. She wore a startling blue dress that matched her eyes perfectly and the diamond and pearl earrings that Logan had given her for her birthday.
Finn couldn't take his eyes from Kiera. That girl would be beautiful dressed in a paper garbagebag, but this… He could almost hear his blood humming in response to her. Kiera's dark red hair fell in soft curls down her back. Her almond-shaped green eyes were sooted and a faint blush was visible on her high cheekbones. She wore a black one-shouldered dress and almost no jewelry except tiny pearls in her ears and a slim, twisted gold link around her left ankle. Just above the gold link was visible the first sign of the wild-child that lived beneath her polished exterior. A tattoo in form of a Chinese symbol.
"You have a tattoo." He stated.
"What? Oh, yeah." Kiera looked down at her ankle. "Actually, I have two. I have a phoenix right here." She pointed to her right shoulder.
"And what does the sign mean?"
"It's mandarin for fire." She was surprised that this was the only thing he said to her. When she had been miserable and looking far from her best, he had said she was pretty. Now that she actually felt pretty all he could say was "You've got a tattoo."? What's up with me? Am I really miffed that he's not saying I'm pretty? Why do I care what he thinks? Kiera was feeling rather annoyed with herself. She crossed her arms over her chest and tossed her hair.
"So, should we go downstairs? The party will be starting soon, right?" she asked Logan.
"Yeah, let's go down. My parents want to meet you and Rory and if we catch them now maybe we can avoid them for the rest of the night." He grinned.
Finn offered Kiera his arm and they all went down to the ballroom.
The band was playing and a lot of people were dancing. The Huntzbergers must be very pleased. Kiera thought as she stirred her drink. The meeting with Logan's parents had gone really well, but Logan and Rory had been whisked away to meet an endless string of old, important family friends. So much for being able to avoid the parents for the rest of the evening… Colin and Finn were on the dancefloor with Stephanie and Jill. Kiera had been talking to Robert but he too had been hijacked by his relatives, leaving Kiera to entertain herself. Kiera crinkled her nose, this started to turn out to be a really dull party. She started to look around for Rory and Logan when suddenly she bumped into someone.
"Oh sh…I'm really sorry!" she started and looked up to see who she might have offended. She froze. James. This couldn't be happening! Right in front of her stood the man, who just a month ago had hurt her more than anyone ever had. A wicked smile crept over his handsome features.
"Kiera. I didn't know you were going to be here." He said calmly.
"Likewise." Kiera mumbled, stepping back a few steps and crossing her arms over her chest. Her whole spine felt rigid and it bothered her that she couldn't tell if it was from anger or fear.
"Hello, what's going on over there?" Finn asked Stephanie as he turned and saw Kiera face to face with a handsome, darkhaired man.
"I don't know. I don't recognize him." Stephanie answered. Finn could see, even from across the room, how uncomfortable Kiera was in the situation. Suddenly he realized who the man must be. "Oh crap! Umm… Steph, love, I've got to go. Here, dance with this gentleman." He said as he grabbed a young man passing by and shoved him into Stephanie's arms. He quickly made his way across the room, all the time keeping eye contact with the couple he was trying to reach. Their conversation seemed to get more and more upset. Finally he reached them.
"You're crazy if you think I will just let you take all the furniture out of the apartment! I live there. And I'm going to keep living there, it's my flat!" the man said angrily.
"Yes," Kiera answered through gritted teeth. "But I paid for all of the furniture, remember? After the way you've been treating me, I'm not just going to let you have it!"
"Why not?" James cried out. "I'll let you keep all the jewelry I bought you over the past four years!"
Kiera let out a bark of laugh. "HA. All five pieces! Not exactly a fair trade, is it?"
"Hey, love!" Finn interrupted. "What's going on here? Who are you, mate?" He asked, knowing full well that this was the man how had made this beautiful girl run clear across the country to get away from him. And from the sound of this conversation and Kiera's rigid stance, he was beginning to suspect that the bastard hadn't just hurt her feelings.
"James, Finn. Finn, James- the ex." Kiera said the grimace of loathing, and fear, never changing in her face.
"Ah, so you're the ex. Well, mate, it looks to me like the lady doesn't much like to talk to you. Or, you know, be anywhere in your vicinity. So why don't you leave? And if you come near her again there will be nice men in uniforms involved. Got it?"
James just looked at Finn and smiled that same vicious smile. He leaned closer to Kiera and hissed: "This isn't over, you ungrateful bitch!"
"I have photos, so yeah, I think it is over! Don't come near me again!" Kiera hissed back.
James turned and walked away. Finn put an arm around Kiera's shoulders and felt her rigid stance slump. The fact that she seemed to be comfortable with him holding her like this sent his blood humming again. He had promised Rory to behave, and behave he would, but he couldn't deny the fact that he obviously wanted her. He also couldn't help wondering if she felt something similar for him. God, he wanted her to!
"I need a drink." Kiera said. Finn smiled. "I knew you would come around to my way of thinking." He said as he steered her towards the bar. "Let's get the others and some alcohol. It's time for a sub-party! I'll ever reenact "Passion of the Christ."
Kiera could just smile weakly. "Oh no, you won't. Rory has warned me about that." It was good to have him here to try to cheer her up. He would probably succeed to. She couldn't remember ever being bored for a second with Finn around.
A/N Cliffhanger? No? Anyways, I just needed to split this in two or it would bereally long. But don't fret, I'm already working on chapter 7- revelations. Will be up soon.
As always: reviews are welcome, if they are reasonably nice.