Between Love and Hate
A/N – sorry for the delay! I'm really tired right now, so if there's any mistakes or typos etc, please do inform me of them! Thank you.
Chapter fifteen: Drastic Methods
The dark, sleek car swerved neatly into the empty space as a bright, luminous light enveloped the car and its insides with an incandescent brightness.
Heero squinted and shielded his eyes with strong, muscular hands, before turning to look at the others, all squeezed neatly into the small, flashy sports car.
"Is this it?" Relena asked, doubtfully, her cerulean blues scanning the building not twenty feet away with them, with a bleak distaste.
"Yes," answered an excited Spanish voice, "I'm afraid it was the best that I could do, strangely there's not many in this area, but it seems okay. Where are the others?"
As if on cue, a shiny Mercedes spun into the space beside theirs, mimicking their movements before staring unsurely towards the building in front, as Relena had done seconds ago.
Nikki pushed her door open, stepping heeled feet onto the ground beneath them and clambering gracefully out of the car.
Relena groaned as the other occupants of the car went to follow. She had awoken that night, in the comfort of the cosy hotel beds, to find Nikki tugging relentlessly at her arm and trying to wake her from her drowsy unconsciousness.
"Come, Relena, we have to leave soon; Everybody shall be meeting in the reception hall in an hour," she had explained as she made her way over to the door, before turning back and adding, "Don't be late or we shall leave without you."
"Wait," Relena had shouted after her, still slightly lethargic from her haunted sleep, "Where are we going?"
Nikki had smiled prettily, flashing Relena her beautifully white and perfectly even teeth. Most likely the works of a professional orthodontist, "We're going out, remember that surprise I told you about in the hospital? Oh, and don't forget to look good."
And that's how she found herself here, clad in her best 'nightlife' clothes and stepping three-inched heels onto the sturdy ground below, listening to them click as they collided with the tarmac and pulling herself out of the car.
The music emerging from the dimly lit building was loud and heavy; she could feel the vibrations through the ground, rock through her small body and hammer in her chest.
"Where's Nikki?" Hilde asked Heero casually. Relena silently wondered how her friend could be so casual around a guy like him; every time that their proximities enclosed, she would end up doing something weird, or just plain acting weird. Maybe the marriage to Duo Maxwell had made her immune to Heero's overall good looks and hotness.
Relena gasped aloud, shocked at her own thoughts, and shaking her head, roughly, she tried to remove the thoughts, 'bad Lena, bad Lena, bad Lena…'
"Lena?" Hilde asked, grabbing her shoulder in an attempt to stop her from shaking her head, "What's wrong?"
Relena froze before slowly glancing up at her friend, "Oh uh … nothing," she murmured.
Heero cast a dubious glance in her direction before rolling his eyes, "Nikki's just gone inside to check the place out, she'll be back in a second."
Right as he said this, Nikki stepped out of the building's side doors, her tight fitting, black dress restricting her movements and balancing easily on large, pin heels.
"Let's go," she said, beckoning them closer.
Heero followed her orders and stepped up to her, gracefully taking her arm in his and stepping into the building. Relena absently frowned, shooting the pair dark looks from behind.
"Shouldn't there be bouncers or something? Or you know … an entrance fee, even an ID check?" Relena asked quietly, withholding her bitterness from her voice and nudging her best friend.
"Ouch," Hilde moaned, "Lady with a baby here! Be careful, you moron," she added with a humorous laugh before grabbing Relena and trailing her over to the side doors.
They all walked into the building and Relena's question was quickly answered as a large, strong hand pressed against her, halting her from entering and restraining her from her group.
"Hold it there missy," Relena turned curious blue eyes, at the strongly built, shaved-head man who was capably restricting her movements, to stare with raised eyebrows.
"Excuse me?" she asked.
"I'll need to see some form of ID." The tall man answered sternly with a dubious glance over her body.
Relena gaped at him, shocked, her jaw dangling loosely as her cerulean blues squinted accusingly, "But I'm twenty years old!" She protested, heatedly.
"Well, I'll need to see some proof of that then, 'cause you don't look a day older than seventeen," the man sneered at her, as the lights from behind him shone a glistening halo upon his shiny head.
Annoyed and horrified, Relena shot her hand into her bag, fishing rapidly for her passport before catching it and thrusting it into the bouncer's hands.
"There. Is that proof enough?"
The man scrutinised the ID carefully and rolled his eyes before throwing the card back to her, grunting his approval and casually stepping to the side. No apology.
Sighing deeply in her state of annoyance, she stepped into the main hall, casting angry eyes across the area for her friends.
"Bravo, that was a good show …" Duo appeared beside her, a gloating, mischievous look on his face as he threw her a roguish grin.
"Thanks for jumping to my defence," she mumbled, dolefully.
Duo laughed, clearly humoured by her behaviour, "Nah, you were doing fine. Had he got a little nasty … I would have jumped to your rescue! Being that gallant superhero of the universe, that I am," Duo grinned happily before Hilde came striding over, looking beautifully extravagant in her dark violet outfit. Duo slid his arm casually around his wife's waist and kissed her contentedly on the forehead.
Relena smiled at her friends. They were so deeply in love that it sometimes scared her, and maybe brought out a little bit of resentment , but that was before she realised who they were. They were her best friends, and out of everybody that she knew, these two deserved to be so blissfully in love.
She stepped fully into the Club Lexico, the powerful stench of alcohol pounding her with full impact as she inhaled deeply. Neon lights flashed vibrantly from separate corners of the room, casting shimmering, dancing bodies into a glow of lustful radiance. The beat of the music crashed loudly against her own body, each crash sending extreme vibrations down her spine, and strangely giving her an urge to join the throng of sweating bodies before her, in their passionate dancing.
Wufei's face suddenly flashed into view as the strobe light blazed into action, rendering her vision into slow, sporadic movements. She wavered on the spot, unsure of exactly what was going on around her, and closed her eyes in an attempt to seize control of her body.
"Are you okay?" His strong, confidently masculine voice asked her, somehow making it's way to her through the heavy hammer of the music, and reaching her throbbing eardrums.
Relena nodded her head slowly, or at least, she thought that it would look slow to him, via the power of the strobe light.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she assured him, grasping firmly onto his rigid shoulders to steady her balance.
Wufei's hands hooked around her waist and pulled her body closer to his, as Relena's eyes jolted open in surprise.
"May I have this dance?" He asked casually, the slightest smirk crawling – slowly – onto his chiselled, Asian face.
Relena smiled comfortably. It had been a long time since she had spent valuable time with her Chinese friend, and she missed his somewhat indifferent yet teasing attitude that she had once taken for granted.
"Of course," she answered as he pulled her onto the dance floor, the crowds strangely parting as they passed and made their way onto the centre floor.
Their bodies moved systematically to the steady rhythm of the music, as cerulean blues locked daringly with dark onyx, in a feat of challenge and invited competition. She felt her body swaying, her mind rushing and her vision blurring as the dance continued and the heat blazed between them as perspiration leaked languidly from open pores.
Tearing her gaze away from his, she admitted defeat to the intense staring match and instead let her body take the rest of the opposition, while her eyes roamed the floors for familiar faces.
Suddenly her gaze fastened onto a pair of dark eyes, tossed into darkness by thick, unruly strands of dark hair. The intensity of them was cutting, as their sharpness cut into her soul, rendering her body involuntarily immobile.
The owner of the dark, piercing eyes smirked knowingly as he tugged his gaze away from her and back to the girl that was currently entangled with him. He overtly, cast lustfully passionate eyes down a thin, slender and tanned body, which glistening lightly with a delicate layer of sweat as it moved closely with his own strong, enticingly alluring body.
They moved slowly under the strobe, each movement capturing her eyes and oddly, her heart in a twisted and painful grasp.
He was teasing, taunting, but most of all, he was flaunting what he had, and what she didn't.
Their bodies became one in their dance as they mirrored each other's movements, often gaining jealous looks from others as they stole the attention on the dance floor.
"Are you okay?" Wufei peered down at her, concernedly as he tore her mind away from the young couple.
"Yeah," she answered softly, not caring if her voice didn't make it to his ears.
"May I cut in?" Relena spun around quickly, to find Sally standing next to her, staring directly at Wufei, her gaze fervent and strong.
With one more furtive look in Heero's direction, she stepped away from Wufei, "Yeah, I'm sorry, I need a drink anyway."
Sally smiled at her, apologetically before she walked away, gradually making her way towards the bar and lifting herself upon one of the metal stools that sat affront the bar table.
"What'll it be, honey?" A dark man asked as he swept his afro-like locks our of his eyes with a strong, sturdy hand. He flashed her a charming grin of brilliant white teeth, and Relena found herself falling for his beguilement and smiling back.
"Umm, anything," she threw her head back, tossing her blonde tresses in the process and threw a dark look at Heero, "… strong."
The bartender threw her a somewhat curious look before nodding, doubtfully.
'Great, even he doesn't think I'm aged.' Relena silently complained as she twirled in her chair, staring blankly at the multitudes of people on the dance floor, an idyllic heat radiating from them as they moved rhythmically, bodies colliding and twisting stylishly with their own unique identity.
"Here you go lady," The glass was slid into her hand gently and Relena stared down at the liquid substance cautiously, before shaking her head and throwing it all to the back of her throat. It burned, harshly as it trailed down her throat, and Relena shook her head more fervently, grimacing at the foul taste.
"Uhh, Relena, aren't you meant to like, take that in shots if you're going to down in one?" Dorothy slid, slyly onto the chair beside her, smiling slightly as she ordered her own drink from the bar.
"A light beer, please."
Relena released a shuddering breath as she turned to the platinum blonde girl beside her, "Hey, Dorothy. Where's Quatre?"
Dorothy shrugged, "I left him out there somewhere-"
"Talking about me, ladies?" The handsome blonde wrapped strong arms around his wife's waist, pulling her body close to his and kissing her passionately before letting go. Quatre cast Relena a giddy smile whilst Dorothy frowned at her husband.
"How's Trowa?" Relena breathed out, asking the question that she had been dying to ask all night; he had said that he'd see her later, hadn't he? But then again, how could he have known about Nikki's surprise trip to 'Club Lexico'? "Umm, can I have another please?" Relena called to the bartender, who nodded casually in return, suddenly at ease in seeing that she had company.
Quatre frowned, "He's with Cathy, Noin and Milliardo at the hospital. They'll be transporting him back to the hotel tonight, as they're leaving tonight anyway and couldn't afford to make it here."
Relena nodded as she felt the cool glass, once again pressed into her hands, she downed it in one again before ordering another and turning slightly unfocused eyes back to the crowds.
She spotted Duo and Hilde, dancing ardently, their eyes containing their blazoned love for each other and their bodies reflecting their emotions as they twisted casually together, barely making it apart before thrusting back together, by an unknown force … love maybe?
Further back and into the dark, she spotted Heero again, who winked seductively at her before pulling Nikki into full darkness.
Relena grimaced before downing her next glass and pushing herself off the seat and making her way to the stairway.
"Where are you going?" Quatre called after her, unease clearly burdened in his voice, but she ignored him in her rash state of mind, darting unsteadily upwards, taking two stairs at a time.
Eventually, she came to a halt as a blurred sign met her, and staggering sideways, she collided with something hard.
Strong hands grasped around her tiny waist, steadying her movements and balancing her against a strong, muscular body. Spinning around, Relena came face-to-face with the dark Prussian blue eyes that she had been trying to escape and sighed deeply, whilst shoving - with all of the strength that she could muster - the firm chest away from her.
"Heero, get away from me," she managed to choke out as she pulled away and glared at him.
Heero frowned confusedly before grinning, "I think that you may have had a little too much to drink."
"What's it to you?" Relena retorted, noting that her usual good grammatical sense had been washed away with the alcohol.
"Hn," Heero gave her a stony look which quickly turned into a sardonic smile, "Nothing."
Relena scowled and shoved him further away from her, "Stop screwing with me, your little supermodel girlfriend's around here somewhere … go screw her instead."
Heero gave her a bored looking glare and it registered in her mind, that he too, wasn't all that sober at that moment.
Suddenly, a darkly amused smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he stared at her, his grin slightly crooked, "What brings you up here, Relena?" he asked, ignoring her comment.
If she wasn't imagining it, his voice purred slightly, in darkly lustful way. Her eyes widened before she quickly regained her composure and shot him a cool glare.
Raising her eyebrows she replied, "Actually, I was looking for the toilets," she clamped her hands firmly to her waist, in annoyance, "Why are you here?" She asked hotly, feeling somewhat truculent.
Heero leaned in closer and Relena felt her stomach twist into knots and her heart pace increase dramatically at the sudden proximity. His ragged breath scorched hotly against her cheek as he replied, "I think," Relena suppressed a heavy sigh that was building within her, as his body pinned hers to the wall behind her, his hand coming to rest on the spot above her head as he stared at her, from behind heavily lidded, enticingly attractive eyes.
"That we are being followed," her heart froze altogether, and she tried to glance rapidly around her, however, Heero's muscular hand had cupped her chin in his iron-tight hold, impeding her from rash movements. "Improvisation, Relena," he smirked slightly, his whole body framing hers closely against the wall as he swooped towards her, and pressed his lips firmly to hers, with a somewhat attack of an emotion similar to passion.
His lips moved like clockwork against hers, and although she knew she would regret it later, Relena released a stifled moan as he deepened the kiss, his last words racing through her mind.
'- Improvisation, Relena, Improvisation, Relena … improvisation … -' this was all an act, she silently cursed herself for believing that he would voluntarily kiss her. 'But it's so … real,' her mind protested, but having had enough, Relena ran her hands along his chest before maintaining a steady hold and then suddenly pushing away.
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He didn't understand what was happening to him, it was meant to be an act, an improvisation, to ward off the unwanted people stalking them… it wasn't real. So ,why was he still kissing her?
'- She's addictive -' his mind answered for him.
He shook the thought from his head, trying to tear away from the young girl before him, but to his avail, she beat him to it; shoving swiftly, in rapid movements, so that in his momentary shock, he was able to stumble back a few paces.
She had just caught him by surprise, something he found that people rarely ever were capable of doing.
Something tugged within him, pulling an overwhelming feeling of regret over his body, but he promptly shook it off.
He stared at her, blankly, before shaking his head and adding, "They're gone," and disappearing quickly down the stairs. He needed to get away from her. She was intoxicating, and for the first time in his life, he found that he wasn't able to withhold his emotions.
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Relena stared after him in shock, her heart still throbbing madly in her chest as she lowered herself to the ground, trying to recollect what had just happened. Were they really being followed?
Of course they were … why, would Heero do that, for nothing?
She sighed and purposely bashed her head against the brick wall behind her, closing her eyes in a useless attempt to drown out the thrashing music from below.
Her body shook from the tremors sent through the floor, and she pressed her head deeply into her hands, massaging her temples with long fingers, which struggled to relieve some of the agonizing pain that was bouncing through her head with each steady beat.
Drowsiness overtook her body, as she slunk against the floor, her eyes closing slowly and her mind rolling over her confused thoughts in a dream-like state.
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In his haste, Heero managed to dash straight into his blonde haired, Arabian friend, who was standing outside, clutching his cell phone with a tight grasp, which caused his knuckles to turn white.
Quatre stared up at him with confused, stunned aquamarine eyes, his breath was ragged and infrequent and he looked to some extent, paler than usual.
"I just got a call," the usually calm man rasped out from choked breaths, "They've raided the hotel." He leaned his back sturdily against the outside wall of the building for support, "There are no survivors."
Heero stared back at the man before him, his eyebrows darting down in confusion whilst his mind worked rapidly for a suitable explanation to his sentence.
They had found them once again… They were tracing them… but who were they after?
'I think … that we're being followed,' His earlier words rang loudly in his head and he slammed his palm against his forehead, in frustration. A sudden soberness overpowered both his mind and body, with the revelation, as he turned quickly to Quatre.
"Get everybody together; we need to get them out of here quickly."
"What-" Quatre started, but Heero cut him off by answering the question in his mind.
"They're here too," He slammed his fist against the brickwork, unperturbed by the now throbbing pain that was tracing its way down his wrist, "Dammit, I should have noticed it earlier … Just get everyone out, now."
Quatre needed no further encouragement, for he was gone within the blink of an eye, Heero tailing in after him and receiving curious looks from the large bouncer placed at the door. Heero silenced the man with a piercing glare, and slipped into the club, greeted suddenly with the brashness of the beats and the heat emanating from the heated bodies.
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"Heero … what is going on?" Nikki demanded as she was shoved into the car, after Heero had hauled Relena's small form into the backseat. "And why is she unconscious?"
"I don't know, too much to drink?" he offered as he slammed the car door shut, the noise echoing in his ears for a few moments.
A rapping at his window alerted him that Duo wanted his attention, and he reluctantly ran his finger across the dashboard, pressing a single button and watching the window automatically roll down.
Duo's face was completely serious as he knelt down beside the car, "Hey," he greeted calmly, "You want me to drive? I haven't had anything to drink, neither has Quatre, but I've heard that you have."
Heero sighed, knowing that he'd been way over the limit, and opening his door again, he grudgingly stepped out and thrust the keys into Duo's hand.
"Be careful," he said as he grasped Duo's wrist sturdily.
"Don't worry;" Duo guaranteed, "I'll be careful with your precious car."
Heero frowned, his eyebrows furrowing down deeply, "No, that's not what I'm concerned about," he cast surreptitious glances at his girlfriend and Relena, before turning back to his American friend, "I mean it, Duo."
Duo nodded, knowingly.
'Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don't know how to replenish its source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, of witherings, of tarnishings.' -- Anais Nin.
A/N – Eventually, huh? I know, I've been totally burdened with lots of tiresome things, like school, homework, and then I was sick for a while there. Thankfully, I'm on a full recovery now – but I can't say the same for the people at the hotel lol.
I know excuses are not good enough, but I updated, didn't I? Well I'm proud of myself anyways, and don't worry the next chapter will be better, my writer's block is starting to wear off! Yippee!
Thank you for all the amazingly wonderful reviews. I would write some reviewer comments here, but as you might already know, has banned us writers from doing so. There is a petition going around at the minute, which I have signed, in hope that they will lift this ban, but whether or not they will, none of us know.
But I'd be highly grateful if you kept reviewing, I read them and I sincerely appreciate them! Love you guys sooooooooooo much!
REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!
Love yaz
Allura
