Disclaimer: I own most of the characters.
CHAPTER 4-MISCOMMUNICATION
They boarded the bus quickly, but only after having accompanied Diane back to her house and taking a good hot shower. Katy's ribs had begun to feel better by the end of her shower and when she was done she was able to change into her clothes instead of relying on someone else to supply them. For the first time in a long time she decided to dress casually, hoping to draw as little attention to herself as she could, wear a pair of jogging pants and a Nike shirt that she had pilfered from Xander before she left, mostly as a joke but after he hadn't immediately missed it she had just kept it, liking that she could also use it as a night shirt if the need arose. Maria had chosen something very similar to what she had worn when they stepped off of the plane the day before, though she had remembered her experience in the club and so made sure in her choice of clothes that it wouldn't happen again. Diane had slipped something on that wouldn't have a wardrobe malfunction as quickly as her tank top had and counted the money that they had recovered from the club after the fight while Maria was in the shower.
"Where are we going," Maria asked softly to Katy as the latter slumped down in her seat and tried to catch a little bit of sleep.
"Not sure exactly, we'll get off at one of the big towns and hit the first club that we see, make sure that no one in there is a vamp and move on," Katy replied with a relaxed look on her face as she closed her eyes and tried to get her face out of the ray of light that was beaming in through the window.
"Is she going to dance then, because with her looks it'd look pretty weird if she just followed us into the clubs and didn't dance, I guess we could always say that she was my girlfriend, that might work," Diane wondered aloud with a deep look of thought on her face as she flicked an old wad of chewing gum off of her seat before sitting down.
"What…I am not dancing, and I am nobody's girlfriend," Maria exclaimed with a shocked and horrified look on her face as she started to rise up out of her seat but was stopped when Katy snapped her arm out and grabbed her shoulder.
"Wanna keep it down there, some of these people might not yet know that Diane and I are strippers, and if you start spouting off about being or not being anyone's girlfriend then everyone in this bus won't give us a moment's peace," Katy stated with a very clear and unhappy scowl on her face and tone to her voice as she opened her eyes and glared up at Maria, who blushed with embarrassment and then settled back down into her seat.
"Sorry," Maria said with a still very embarrassed and nervous look on her face as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat before Diane broke the ice.
"Don't worry about it Maria, it'll just be easier for you to move around in the club circuit if you danced or posed as my or Katy's girlfriend, I wasn't trying to imply anything, sorry if I said something to offend you," Diane said with a calmer but yet still nervous expression on her face as she slid her sunglasses on and then checked her watch. The three stayed silent for several miles after the bus finally lurched into motion before Maria spoke up.
"Do…do you, really think that I could do it, dance," Maria asked softly with a very timid look on her face and tone to her voice as she clasped her hands together on her lap and stared at the tops of her shoes.
"You kidding me, of course you could, why if the three of us could come up with something to do together we'd be a hit, and who knows we could come out of this with a little bit of extra cash," Diane replied with an eager and positive smile on her face as she checked Maria out and looked her up and down.
"You're sure about that," Maria asked with a skeptical expression on her face as she looked down at herself and frowned.
"Of course, you've got the longs legs that'll drive men crazy if you wear the right outfit, your stomach's flatter and more toned that J-Lo, and you've got it going on better than I do up top, besides with that face of yours…," Diane replied quickly with a confidant and supportive smile on her face as she lightly patted Maria on the shoulder.
"What do you think Katy," Maria asked with a slightly more interested tone to her voice as she turned back to look at the now reclining slayer.
"I think that you're both crazy that's what I think, but if you're asking me if you'd make every guy and girl in the place go hard at the sight of you on stage in nothing but one of us then…yeah, you could do it," Katy answered with a matter of fact tone to her voice as she kept her eyes closed and did her best to fluff up her bag so as to use it as a makeshift pillow.
"Thanks Katy…really," Maria stuttered back with a nervous and slightly confused look on her face as she scooted away from Katy a bit and did her best to get comfortable in her seat.
"Don't mention it, it's what I'm here for," Katy mumbled back softly with an odd tone to her voice before she fell asleep. She didn't wake up until much later in the day when she was shaken awake by Maria, as they had arrived at a town with a number of clubs out near the convergence of two rivers. They stepped off of the bus and hailed the first cab that they could find, gave the driver some money and asked him to take them to the biggest strip club around. The driver looked at them oddly for a few seconds before a sly grin appeared on his face. He chuckled a bit as he drove them to the edge of town. Diane was about to ask him what was going on when they looked over and saw that there seemed to be a ring of clubs that were centered around a halfway nice sized lake complete with sandy beaches. The clubs all seemed to have a different theme. As Maria looked on there was a jungle themed one, an S & M themed one, and a sports themed one to merely describe a few. At the moment that the driver dropped them off the beach around the lake was busy with what looked like the dancers as they laid out on towels and chairs getting a tan.
"Guess we can rule all of them out as being vampires huh," Diane said with a slightly joking tone to her voice as she watched some of the women down by the beach, letting her gaze linger on a few for awhile before she noticed that Katy and Maria had left her behind.
"First things first, we check out the clubs and then wait until nightfall, when the ladies come in to dance we follow them, hopefully there won't be any vampires among them, but that'll only be if our luck suddenly changes," Katy said with a very calm and firm tone to her voice as she hefted her bag up onto her shoulder and walked towards the front of the jungle themed club, leaving Maria and Diane almost running to catch up. The club was divided into three parts; one was of a jungle with several stages set about in different areas and at different heights. Another section held what looked like a jungle lagoon complete with waterfall and a large flat rock in the middle. Still another part of the club looked to be full of private rooms and the like.
"You two stay here, if anyone asks you what you're doing just say that a cab driver dumped you off here and that you need to call your brother," Katy said with a medium sized sigh before she took a deep breath and then headed off over to the bar. Maria and Diane waited and watched as Katy spoke to the bartender briefly before she smiled and nodded her head. Diane was about to say something when Katy disappeared into the back.
"Wonder what she's up to," Maria asked with a confused and slightly worried look on her face as she turned back to face Diane.
"She probably went to find the owner of this place, that way she can convince him or her to let her dance tonight, then she can check out the dancers and see who's a vampire and who isn't," Diane replied with a comforting smile on her face before she took Maria by the hand and led her over to a table that was off the beaten path and would provide them some privacy.
"What are you doing," Maria asked with a nervous look on her face as she looked around and was glad that the club was almost completely empty and that no one was looking at them.
"Not much, just something that I've wanted to do since we met, I know that you're not into me and I'm okay with that, but still I'd like to give you a little show if you'll let me," Diane said with a nervous look on her face before she bit her lower lip and fiddled with the bottom edge of her shirt.
"Wha…I uh, um…okay," Maria stuttered out with an overwhelmed expression on her face as she couldn't help but blush and try not to look Diane in the eye, just missing the large smile of relief and joy that appeared on it.
"Great, now just sit back and enjoy," Diane said with an excited smile on her face as she pulled her hair out of the ponytail that she had it in and fluffed it up a bit. Maria looked like she was halfway between making a run for it and passing out when the music began. While it was true that Diane hadn't asked for the music and that no one had seen or heard her request of Maria it ended up being perfect timing. Katy poked her head back out of the back long enough to see Diane begin her lap dance for Maria before she smiled and then went back to trying to convince the boss to let her dance that night.
"Everything okay over here," Katy asked with a content smile on her face as she walked across the club, now wearing a very skimpy loin cloth outfit that looked like it threatened to fall off if anything more than a baby breathed out.
"Sure, I'm good," Diane said with an ecstatic smile on her face as she picked her panties up off of the floor and was encouraged when Maria kept looking.
"Y…yeah, m…me to," Maria stammered out with an overwhelmed look on her face before she excused herself and headed for the bathroom.
"Anything that you two want to tell me about," Katy asked with a knowing grin on her face as she turned back to Diane, who at the moment was fastening the clasp together on her bra.
"Just had a little fun that's all, she's not into me but she still let me give her a lap dance, the only thing is I think she enjoyed it, guess she's not as straight laced as I thought she was," Diane replied with a curious and optimistic smile on her face as she finished with her bra and then pulled her shirt back on over her head.
"That or you're just better than you thought you were," Katy countered with a cheesy grin on her face as she nudged Diane a little with her elbow before the two shared a short laugh.
"I hope you're right…it'd be perfect if…," Diane started to say with a slightly hungry look in her eyes before she turned and took in what little Katy was wearing. "Looks like you convinced the boss to let you dance tonight, looks like I'll definitely be sticking around for the show," Diane added with an interested look on her face before Katy answered.
"Feel free, just don't get so concentrated on watching me that you forget to keep watch, the last thing that we need is for Alice or Anastasia to show up here and we miss them," Katy interjected with a suddenly serious look on her face before she adjusted one of the strings that held her bottom together. "Damn things nearly cutting off my circulation," Katy grumbled softly to herself at how tight the outfit that the boss had picked out for her was.
"I won't…damn Katy, that thing looks painful," Diane said with at first a bored and frustrated frown on her face before she couldn't help but smile at the obvious distress of her friend.
"And then some, least I won't have to keep it on very long, the boss said that there are a group of clubs on the other side of town, if all goes well tonight maybe we'll stay here for a few days and check them out to," Katy said with an uncomfortable wince as she did her best to smile while checking to see that none of the strings for her outfit had done any damage yet.
"No problem here, though you might want to talk to Maria about it, she doesn't seem to comfortable with all of this," Diane said with a slight shrug of her shoulders as she tied the tie strings of her pants.
"You're probably right, but don't push her, I'd say that given the circumstances she's done pretty well for herself so far, I don't know about you but I didn't get into this life because it sounded like fun, I needed the money and didn't want to depend on anyone else for anything," Katy replied with a nervous sigh as she shook her head and then sat down in the chair that Maria had vacated and pulled up to the table so that she was sitting alongside the table, her legs crossed and just off to the side a bit.
"Pretty much the same with me, but when my dad found out that I was fooling around at fifteen he threw me out of the house, I ended up staying with my sister until I was eighteen, after school I couldn't find work until I met a girl, she said that she knew a way to make some quick money…I've been doing it ever since," Diane replied with a slight shrug of her shoulders before she turned her head and glanced over towards the bathrooms where Maria still had not returned from. "You think she's okay, I didn't mean to," Diane started to ask with a worried look on her face before Maria walked out of the bathroom, looking much more composed than when she went in.
"You okay," Katy asked with a concerned look on her face and tone to her voice as she sat up in her chair and looked across the table at Maria as the latter took a seat on the other side of the table from Diane.
"I'm fine…really, I just had to use the bathroom," Maria replied with an odd tone to her voice as she kept her gaze down, making sure to not catch Diane's gaze.
"Okay then, when the party starts tonight Diane you stay near the door and watch for anything familiar while I'll dance and see if any of the other dancers are vampires, if they are then I'll dust them, meanwhile Maria will keep watch around the edges, picking anything up that we miss," Katy said with a slightly relieved look on her face as she once again adjusted one of the strings on her outfit.
"Sounds good to me, what about you Maria," Diane said with an agreeable smile on her face before she turned to Maria.
"Oh uh yeah, whatever you think is best Katy," Maria said with an uncomfortable look on her face before she stood up and then headed back out of the club.
"Your friend okay," Shandra, one of the clubs dancers, asked with a concerned look on her face as she walked up to the table and looked at the two before sitting down in Maria's empty seat. She was dressed in pretty much the same style though her outfit was white against her chocolate skin tone and her hair was in cornrows and long braids fell down her back.
"She'll be fine, she's just not used to the club atmosphere yet," Katy answered with a hopeful but worried tone to her voice as she turned from looking in the direction that Maria had left in and back to Shandra.
"I know the feeling, it took me awhile to get used to this place to, the first couple of times that I danced here I was so nervous that I almost fell off the stage, luckily for me I was able to grab the pole and swing myself around, guys in the front rows got a good show that night but it all worked out in the end," Shandra said with a sympathetic smile on her face as she rolled a straw around on top of the table with her fingers while she casually glanced over at Diane.
"You're lucky, the first time that I danced I did fall off of the stage, right onto some guy that was there for his birthday, his girlfriend didn't seem to find it very amusing but by the end of the night I got her number, best two weeks of my life," Diane said with a self deprecating chuckle as she leaned back in her seat and recounted her past mishaps.
"Want mine," Shandra asked softly with a warm and inviting smile on her face as she picked up the straw that she had been rolling around on the top of the table and turned to Diane.
"Sure, just don't be brokenhearted if I don't call you," Diane said with a slightly excited smile on her face before she tried to play it cool and crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"Uh Shandra, has there been anything weird going on around here, like dancers going missing for a couple of days before they show up again and give some flimsy excuse for where they've been," Katy asked with a now serious look on her face as she was using mind over matter to not notice that her outfit was really starting to annoy her.
"I don't know, but I'm the wrong person to ask, I've been gone all week and just got back in last night…used up my vacation days," Shandra replied with a bored shrug of her shoulders before she shook her head and then used a pen that was laying on top of the table to write her number down and gave it to Diane.
"Okay, thanks anyway," Katy said with an unhappy and slightly worried look on her face as she ran her hands nervously through her hair and glanced back at the door.
"Not to be a nosey bitch or anything but is there a specific reason that you wanted to know all of that," Shandra asked with a somewhat hesitant look on her face as she tapped the point of the pen absentmindedly on the top of the table, leaving little blue dots on the tablecloth.
"Just checking a few things, nothing that you need to be worried about," Katy lied through her teeth with a fake smile on her face before she stood up and walked back to the dressing room, wishing that time would fly by and they could get this part of the mission over with and get back on the road.
END OF CHAPTER 4