hey everybody! look at me, keeping my normal posting schedule even though I thought I'd have to skip this week! also, IMPORTANT**, if you're just tuning back in, i accidentally didn't post the last paragraph of chapter 4! i just added it, so, go read the *actual* ending if you haven't yet!
Chapter Five: Where Angels Sing
Walking into Daphne's bedroom really felt like stepping into the mind of a teenage girl. Her walls were painted a light purple and covered in posters of celebrities from top to bottom. Her bed had a sheer lilac canopy over it and was a home to a ruffled white bedspread and about a thousand different stuffed animals. Clothes covered the floor and various beauty products were spread out across her large vanity.
I tugged on my bow tie. Tonight, Daphne and I would be going undercover at The Silver Angel, as guests of my father's. He hadn't invited us, but I knew he would have been overjoyed if he thought I was taking to politics, and even more so if he thought I had a date (he had never liked Daphne, but with my track record, I was sure she'd have been better than nothing). The plan was to stakeout the back exit- where Curtis would be dropping the drugs- and see who picked them up. It would go off without a hitch, provided that my dad didn't spend the night trying to show me off to his rich politician friends.
Daphne stepped out of the bathroom. She was dressed in a long, white dress, which split up the leg and fell elegantly off her shoulders. Her hair and makeup had been done- a rare occurrence for Daphne. She almost didn't look like herself anymore, but rather as though she were a movie star about to walk the red carpet.
She gripped her diamond necklace awkwardly and made her way towards me. It was ironic, her appearance gave off a distinct aura of class and grace, but her gate was still as clunky and clumsy as ever. She stopped in front of me and turned around slowly, revealing the unclasped zipper which showed off most of her freckled back.
"Do me up?" She asked with a nervous chuckle. She reached back and pulled her hair over one shoulder. I loosened my bow tie again.
My hands shook as I took hold of the zipper, which rested just north of her tailbone. I placed my other hand delicately on her waist to prevent the dress from riding up as I carefully closed the zipper.
"What do you think?" Daphne asked, turning her head slightly over one shoulder.
"You look-" I paused, choosing my next words carefully. "You look really pretty. You'll fit right in, Daph."
She turned back around, looking me up and down.
"Your tie's all messed up." She said. She stepped closer to me, taking my tie in her hands and undoing what had been a sorry excuse for a bow. She began to tie it again, much tighter this time. Her eyes didn't leave my neck as she worked, but mine remained glued on her.
She glanced up at me once she had finished, and we just stared at each other for what felt like a year. Daphne blushed, finally drawing her eyes back towards the floor.
"I used to do my dad's tie every day." She said, a hint of wistfulness present in her voice.
"Not anymore?" I asked.
"Fathers can't be your hero forever, I guess." She shrugged. "It's part of growing up."
The sun was starting to go down as we walked arm in arm down Main Street. I could see a crowd beginning to form around The Silver Angel and could hear smooth piano music coming from inside. The ladies outside the bar all glared at Daphne, and I couldn't help but feel proud that she was my date- even if it were fake.
The bouncer recognized me immediately, and didn't even bother to check his list before letting me and Daphne in. The biggest perk of being the mayor's son, I had realized, was people always assumed that you were doing what you were supposed to. They never questioned you.
The Silver Angel looked just as I had imagined; a dimly lit, smoke filled room, with a long mahogany bar and a sunken lounge, where an older man plucked away at a grand piano. Politicians flooded the room, but I couldn't seem to place my father, which I figured was a good thing.
Daphne took a seat at the bar, and I followed after her. The bartender, whom I was sure also knew me, placed two beers in front of Daphne and I with a wink. I rolled my eyes.
"Is that the spot?" Daphne whispered, tilting her head towards what appeared to be the rear exit. I nodded.
"Curtis should be here soon." I glanced around, still searching for my father. Daphne chuckled at this.
"If I didn't know you better, Freddy, I'd say you were nervous." She said, grabbing her beer and popping it open on the edge of the bar. A few people stared at her, having expected such a pretty girl to be a bit more gentile. She didn't notice them as she raised the beer to her lips and took a long swig.
"I'm not nervous, I'm just trying to get my bearings." I said. "If shit hits the fan, I want to be ready."
Daphne laughed at this. "Ooh," she goaded, "listen to Mr. Big, cussing up a storm like some kind of hot shot."
"Will you quit it?" I joked, bumping her with my shoulder. She bumped me back, a little bit harder.
Daphne's eyes narrowed in an attempt at mock concern. "So, Freddy," she began, leaning her elbow on the table and allowing her temple to settle against her clenched fist. "What makes me so qualified to be your fake date?"
I felt my mouth get dry, and my bow tie suddenly become too tight again. "Now I'm nervous," I said.
"I make you nervous?" Daphne smirked and shimmied her shoulders. She must have thought I was the most pitiful sight in the world.
"It's not that," I backpedaled. "I mean, you don't make me nervous... That's not to say that I'm not attracted to you, because I am. I mean-"
I noticed Daphne staring at something behind me with laser-like focus. Thankful for the distraction, I turned to see what she was so focused on.
Next to the back door, we could see Curtis. He eyed his surroundings carefully before pulling a small brown package out of his coat and tucking it into a vase. He shot us a quick wink before disappearing out the back door.
We sat in silence, both watching the vase out of the corners of our eyes. It didn't take long before a man approached it. He was fairly young and stood at around 5'10", with medium brown hair- leaving him with exactly zero identifying features. The plain man reached into the vase and pulled the package out swiftly, before darting out the back door.
Daphne and I hurried out of our seats to follow him into the parking lot. The sun had set, leaving the street lamps as the only source of light. We took a moment to scan the area, trying to place the man somewhere within the shadows.
"There!" Daphne whispered, tugging on my arm as she pointed across the crowded lot, where the man was climbing into a black pickup truck. We made our way towards him, speeding up to a power walk as we got closer.
I caught the man's eye through his rear view mirror and that was all it took. He slammed on the gas and sped out of the lot, pulling out onto Main Street just as Daphne and I made it to his now empty parking spot.
"Damnit!" I cried. "We lost him. Now what?"
A mischievous smirked played at Daphne's lips.
"Not yet, Freddy." She said. "We can still catch up to him." Daphne appeared giddy as she began to hurry back towards the exit of The Silver Angel.
"How?" I called, raising my arms as I followed after her. "Shaggy and Velma have the van!"
I reached the place where Daphne had stopped, my eyes widening as I saw what stood before us.
There in front of us was a jet black BMW K1200S, which Daphne grinned at as though she were a child gazing upon their Halloween loot. I shuddered.
"Care for a ride?" She teased, tossing me the royal blue helmet which sat on the bike's passenger seat.
"We're not stealing a motorcycle." I said firmly, placing the helmet back down.
"Why not?" She asked innocently, dragging a finger along the handlebars as she skirted around the bike. She poked out her bottom lip. "We stole a body."
I supposed she had me there. I tapped my foot, nervously eyeing the empty area around us. There wasn't a body in sight, save for the cars in Main Street.
"Do you even know how to hot wire a bike?" I asked.
This seemed to have been permission enough for Daphne, why giggled maniacally as she tossed the helmet back to me. She knelt forward at the front of the motorcycle and pulled a speaker wire from out her purse, muttering something about how a girl could never be too prepared as she began to fiddle with the wiring of the bike. After a few moments she sat down on the bike and pressed the ignition button. The engine roared to life, and Daphne snickered with excitement, urging me to get on the motorcycle.
I swung my leg over the bike, gingerly sitting down behind Daphne. I took hold of her waist gently to stable myself, which made her laugh.
"You're gonna want to hold on tighter than that." She said with a smirk.
Before I had the chance to adjust myself, Daphne tore out of the parking lot of The Silver Angel and pulled the bike out onto Main Street. She raced down the road, zipping through red lights and swerving between vehicles, racing not only against the black pickup truck, but against herself. To Daphne, I could tell that this was about more than catching a criminal. This was something she had to prove.
Ever since puberty, Daphne had always been the most beautiful girl in any room she entered. It was an existence that would have felt like a dream to most girls our age, but to Daphne, her good looks had always felt like a curse. It was never something I'd fully understood, but Daphne had always been adamant that the more attractive you were, the more people treated you like an object. People had always looked at Daphne and assumed that she was delicate and incapable (something I too was guilty of), so she had devoted most of her time to proving that she wasn't.
It started with the motorcycle- something she had thought would rough up her image to balance out her softer appearance. She learned the hard way that girls with bikes were a "thing," and decided to add in archery. Then fencing. Then karate. Before she knew it, Daphne had become the gang's resident badass, and she was careful not to let anyone lose sight of that fact.
But between the tight dress and the cheeky flirting, Daphne's armor was beginning to slip, and a car chase was the perfect way to remind me that she wasn't like other girls.
As if I could forget.
the next chapter is probably my favorite one so far, things really hit the fan! and, seriously this time, it'll probably be late.