Chapter 2: The Calm Before the Storm

"In fact I dropped from the clouds, like a god in an opera who comes down to unravel the plot"

("En effet, je tombai des nues, comme une Divinité d'Opéra qui vient faire un dénouement")

-Vicomte de Valmont, Dangerous Liaisons

Just a couple of miles away, Sebastian Valmont woke up. Groaning slightly at the sign of the glowing clock beside him, he tried to shut his blue eyes again. His ears were aware of the light breathing next to him, and as quietly as he could, he parted the sheets that covered his body and stood up, carefully covering the blonde that lay peacefully sleeping with the dark blue comforter.

3:05 AM. Sebastian walked across the hardwood floor of his townhouse, heading toward the darkroom he'd had built in before he started college. He passed the various photographs he'd taken framed on the walls, but he didn't take a backward glace. Everything around him, he was used to. It was never worth looking at again and again when he knew it would be there until he chose to get rid of it. Yes, he had truly become one of those people he'd detested: Mundane and predictable. His life had become a routine: school, the occasional party, and plenty of nights with Annette… Annette Hargrove… He'd been used to how she was such a light sleeper that he had to be as careful as possible so he wouldn't wake her up. The light breeze that sifted through the partially open window made him shiver slightly, and Sebastian wished he'd thrown on a shirt instead of just wearing the boxers he'd put on after he and Annette had had sex.

He opened the door and flicked the switch on, his eyes quickly adjusting to the red light. Quickly putting out the negatives he'd been meaning to work on, Sebastian accidentally pushed a worn out box from the table, causing its contents to spill. Muttering a curse, he bent down to pick it up when he froze at the photo staring back at him.

Her eyes were closed and she was unmoving from sleep's spell. Sebastian slowly picked it up; studying the woman he hadn't seen for the longest time. Her long silky brown hair framed her petite face and her mouth was slightly parted to even her breathing, she was wearing the satin negligee he'd bought her for Christmas, her porcelain skin illuminating under the bit of moonlight passing through her windows. Sebastian felt a familiar longing he always had whenever he saw something or someone that reminded him of Kathryn.

Memories are an evil, evil thing. It comes back to you without your control, as if subconsciously you see what it is you really want to see but shouldn't because it still gives you that bittersweet emotion of hatred and desire. As was the case with Sebastian Valmont, who had always wondered what had happened with her.

"You're just a toy, Sebastian."

"Fuck." He whispered, gritting his teeth at the way the perfection of her entire physical structure made him marvel at her complexity for the hundredth time. Sebastian's hand touched the photograph as if he could feel the softness of her clothing through a mere memory immortalized on photo paper.

"What do you want?" she asked crossly as Sebastian came barreling through her bedroom unannounced. Her fiery green eyes stared daggers at him, but it was to be expected for anyone who went to Kathryn's room at eight o'clock in the morning… Just ask poor Olga, who'd made the mistake of creeping in as quietly as she could to get Kathryn's laundry only to narrowly miss death by mere inches as the ice princess woke up and threw her alarm clock at the unsuspecting housekeeper.

In fact, it was only Sebastian himself who, despite the numerous occasions he'd come and gone into her room without knocking, would often come out unscathed. For the most part, at least. He still remembered the time when he'd accidentally walked in on her during on of her precious moments with the cherished nose candy and had had a hairbrush hit his head.

"No wonder you don't let anyone in without knocking. You look like hell, Katie."

It was most definitely not true, and they both knew it. Even though his petite stepsister still looked groggy, her light brown hair seemed to be mussed up in the most delicate and perfect way to frame her beautiful and right now, very, very annoyed face.

"No chance on letting me climb in there with you?" he licked his lips lasciviously, the sight of her in her sleepwear and the idea of spending Christmas morning lying down those Egyptian cotton sheets appealing to him.

Kathryn gave him a look before turning to grab something at from her nightstand, obviously planning to throw it at him. Her dainty hands finally grasped the purse that lay there from the previous night and when she arched her arm back to give it a good throw, he held up a silver and gold colored box with a tidy and ridiculously large bow on it. "Alright, kill me now but I've instructed Blaine to burn this in case I don't leave your inner tomb today."

She instantly stopped, a sly smile flickering across her face. "Oh, Sebastian… There's no way I'm letting you anywhere near my inner tomb." Her gaze flickered to the present, "However… Since you came bearing a gift…Give me a second." With a graceful slide, she was off the bed, the slip of a nightgown she wore easily riding up to give him a glimpse of her thighs. Then, as if reading his mind, she met his eyes with a mischievous grin. "Like it?"

"It would be better if I could touch it."

"In your dreams!" she called out, disappearing into her bathroom. Sebastian, who was already dressed in his usual dark suit, crossed the room and sat on her unmade bed, the very faint scent of white wine from her pillows reaching his nostrils. Hmm. He momentarily wondered where the ice princess had gone to the previous night, but before he could finish the thought, the bathroom door opened and she came out, the misty steam from her morning shower following Kathryn as though she had been Aphrodite conceived from the sea foam. She had a white towel wrapped around her glistening body and she approached Sebastian, who could do nothing else but watch her guardedly and appreciatively, waiting to see what her next move would be.

"Dry me off, will you, Sebastian?" she purred, letting the towel drop to the floor.

He felt his forehead begin to perspire as his blue eyes widened ever so slightly at the sight of Kathryn, his Kathryn, the eternal Holy fucking Grail of all his conquests, standing very much naked and very much asking to be touched. Fighting to regain his composure, he managed to keep a level eye, not even moving an inch.

"No thanks." He said instead, "I don't want to get my hands dirty."

"Would it help if I begged?" Kathryn asked demurely, raising an auburn eyebrow.

He finally smiled, considering the thought of her pretty little face contorted pleadingly. "Possibly."

She leaned in closer to him, the distance between their bodies decreasing yet their bodies never made contact. Placing her mouth near his left ear, Kathryn's warm breath sent waves of pleasure upon him. Fuck. What was it about her?

"Please…?"

"Fine." He sighed as if he would rather be anywhere else at the moment. Picking up the towel, he began gently wiping her skin with it.

"Why, Sebastian, I do believe you're blushing."

"I am not." He grumbled, the slightest smile peeking up from his lips.

Kathryn's green eyes caught the barely imperceptible grin, "And I believe you're smiling, too. Someone's having a merry Christmas."

"Well, I think that's enough." He tossed the towel on the bed, almost sighing in disappointment as Kathryn pulled out one of her little-Ms.-Do-Gooder dresses to wear to the Manchester Prep Student Council Christmas Drive, which she'd organized for the homeless children of New York. ("Like I give a shit about those disgusting losers." Kathryn had wrinkled her nose in distaste)

"Well?" she demanded, now fully dressed.

"Well what?"

"Give me my present." She tried grabbing it from him but he held it out of her reach.

"Hmm… I want something in return."

"Oh, you evil asshole." Crossing her arms, she sat on his lap, a pout on her full lips. "Alright, Valmont. What do you want?"

"A kiss."

Her eyes had widened again, "No fucking way am I letting you go down on me! What, you think I'm just one of your insipid debutantes? I'll have you know, you—"

There had only been one way to shut her up, and he did it. As their lips touched, he could feel Kathryn try to pull away, only to change her mind at the last second and push him against the bed while her light body pressed against his. Sebastian's heart pounded as he lifted up her dress, was it really going to happen this morning? Was he finally going to…

"Got it!" she announced triumphantly, proceeding to roll off him with the gift clutched in her hands.

"Hey!" he protested, watching as she eagerly tore the gift open.

Kathryn smirked as she held up the pink negligee, "Now, I don't think this is an appropriate gift to give your sibling."

"Stepsibling." He corrected, smiling at her. "Merry Christmas, Kathryn."

She sniffled, "For you, maybe. You got to feel me up, and for what? A lousy five hundred dollar piece of satin that I've got thousands of?"

He chuckled, standing up to go to her. "Oh, shut up, you ungrateful brat. You know you love it."

"Sebastian?" a gentle knock shook him out of his reverie and he hastily placed all the other pictures in the box.

"I'm in here." He called out, putting the box back in its place as his girlfriend opened the door with a worried look on her pretty face. Annette had put on a robe and carried a cup of steaming coffee in her hand, offering it to him.

"Couldn't sleep again?"

He shook his head, scratching the slight stubble on his jaw. Gratefully accepting it, he placed it on the table and pulled Annette closer. "Sorry." He murmured in her hair. "Did I wake you?"

Annette felt warm in his arms, but it did nothing to erase the haunting image of the woman in the photograph earlier. She sighed contentedly as he kissed her forehead, the feeling of comfort between them growing as their relationship continued. She was like the warm bed he came to every night, secure, comfortable and made him feel at ease. While he had been disturbed of Kathryn's disappearance, he had also grown accustomed to having Annette in his life.

"This came for us earlier."

Sebastian sighed, taking the creamy white envelope from her hands. There was a familiar insignia his stepmother used to flaunt her status and money on it, which was never a good sign. He didn't want to get dragged in to any of his fucked up family's fake concern for charity.

Edward Valmont and Tiffany Merteuil-Valmont request your presence on the twenty ninth of November at the Valmont home for the Annual Benefit for Abused Women.

"Don't tell me you want to go."

"Well… It's for a good cause…"

He wanted to tell her that the only reason Tiffany was throwing this thing was so she could once again show people how loaded and influential she was, but he didn't want Annette's view of the benefit to be ruined because of it. Sebastian had always done this, as if he wanted to make up for what people had initially thought of when they found out about his reputation and how he was dating her.

He studied her face, noticing how her blue eyes were downcast. "You really want to go?"

She nodded, "Daddy will be there."

Once again, he didn't put up any argument. "Fine." He replied gently, "We'll go."

"Thank you." Annette smiled, leaning up to kiss him. Sebastian automatically deepened the kiss and his hands went around her waist. She gasped slightly as he brought his head down her neck, his tongue leaving a trail of moisture on her skin.

The box lay forgotten, its contents temporarily leaving Sebastian's mind. As the couple made their way back to bed, there was a low rumbling from outside as the clouds darkened and the city was subjected to the slight falling of rain. The crumbling, parched buildings of New York were slowly getting drenched, and if you opened your window on that particular night, you could almost hear the very faint trace of laughter coming from the haunting howl of the wind.

A storm was coming, but Sebastian and Annette, along with almost the entire city, were too busy to notice.

A/N Yippee I'm on a roll! I've enabled anonymous reviews at the request of wicked vamp, so pleaseeeee be so nice and leave me a message!

Sam: Let me know how I can help out with the group thingie. Already sent you an email earlier (partly begging for a sneak peak at Breaking the Broken, but alas, I know I am in vain. Haha)

wicked vamp- Your wish is my command. Anonymous reviews are now welcomed! And for the record, I'm trying not to think of what would happen next to this story… It might also be too much for my mental health. Hahaha, but I know that'll never happen. I'm as anxious about what happens next as you are. And you're right, Blaine is simply adorable. Hahaha

Nicole- I'm trying to write as fast as I can. ;-D Muchos gracias for the review!

If there are any typos in any of the chapters I'm really really sorry. ;-( I get excited in posting that I sometimes overlook it!