"Ow…."
It was all Alli really could say as she laid in the blackness that was both cold and warm, both soft and hard. She felt dazed and her head felt like it was spinning violently on her shoulders. She was lying on something that was like a mattress, a leather mattress, like ones you would find set out during gymnastic practice. She looked around, feeling a cold draft crawl up her spine as she allowed her rain gray eyes to adjust to the darkness around her, seeing silhouettes of wooden pillars and formations through the bleakness, and she heard faint applause from above her. She looked around, feeling suddenly claustrophobic as she crawled around slightly on her hands and knees, measuring in her mind how far up the ceiling was from her, and how large the room was. Not that much. She crawled around, trying to think, trying find some way out of this chamber, and at a moment when she felt like a trapped, caged animal, her fingers slid against something in the wall, feeling the cracks and metal hinge of what was a small…door. She slowly pushed the door open, and light filtered into the room from an unknown source, lighting the room just enough for her to look back and see just exactly how large the room was, taking in exact detail of this place. It was a little larger than she had thought, enough for any full grown adult to crawl through without colliding into anything in the dark, and there was a large tunnel crawling upwards, large enough for anyone fall down from it and land safely on the large safety mats on the ground. Apparently, that was how the substitution illusions were performed, and what she had fallen down from. She grinned a little cockily, knowing that she had something she could use against Christopher in the future if she needed to. I'm starting to sound like Sam, she thought to herself.
Alli swung her legs over the threshold of the door, realizing that the level she was on was three feet above solid, steady ground, and she pushed herself off to wear she tried to land "gracefully" on the heels of the boots she wore. She took a breath, closing her eyes only for a moment in order to regain that composure that she had lost long ago, and then looked around to see just where exactly she was. It was the busiest place she had ever been, people were running about, talking and yelling loudly to each other, throwing out commands and orders to each other in order to end the show. There were several stands filled props, several technical machines hooked up to lights, speakers, and who knows what else, people were pulling at ropes and pullies, make-up and wardrobe was being applied or taken off by multiple people, and Alli found herself standing in a blank, faceless sea of silhouettes that never noticed she was there, a shadow in the sea of nameless, faceless figures moving in multiple directions with no idea as to where they were meant to be originally.
The young woman couldn't think, couldn't stay in this place for very long. Her mind was being pulled in the same directions as the people were moving, being torn, searching for a way for an escape. Her eyes scanned, searching, and eventually she saw a neon green sign that read "EXIT." She moved herself towards the sign—being shoved and pushed out of the way by several rude and inconsiderate people—but as she made her way towards that spot where the sign was, feeling her body suddenly become exhausted and weak. As she reached the spot, she pushed open the door, trying to remain unnoticed by anyone around, and she stepped into the cool, dark night. The sky was pitch black, and—although she was hoping to see some—the stars were blotted out by the lights of the theater and the city. The cool air was relaxing and refreshing, sweet and comforting. She took a further step out, and in only a brief, flashing moment, just before she stepped all the way out and closed the door behind her, she felt something—someone—grab her arm from behind with such a strength and force, a scream was forced to escape from her lips—one that should've escaped when she fell through the trapdoor.
"No! Let me go!" she screamed as she spun around, trying to act on the same instincts that had coursed through her all her life, trying to fight off whatever asshole was trying to rape her now.
"Alli, calm down."
It was like a large weight had been lifted off of her, and she blinked to find herself being pushed against the wall on the outside of the building, her heart pounding hard in her chest from fear and terror, her body reacting on its instincts of fighting off anyone who touched her, anyone whom she believed wanted to harm her. She was such a spastic! She looked up into the face of the man who had grabbed her, realizing that half of him was outside, holding her against the wall, while the other half of him was still inside the building, keeping the exit door from closing and locking them both out. It took her a moment to recognize that those dark, hypnotizing eyes didn't mean her harm. She stared into those eyes, and a strange sensation floated through her, one of running her fingers through those dark strands that was his hair. Her will was too strong to submit to these desires, but she wanted to so badly….
"Alli, where are you going?" he asked of her politely, but there was look in his eyes, as if he didn't want her to leave.
"I'm going to go find my friends. The show was amazing, Christopher, but I really have to go," she told him, trying to pull out of his arms. He released her, but she didn't move anywhere away from him. She was frozen, immobile to do anything if it meant moving away from him.
"Then…then let me walk you back. The parking lot is quite a walk away, and it's not safe for a woman to walk around these alleys alone. Let me walk you back," he offered, but she really didn't want him to. Something just kept bothering her that it was a bad idea, but that was only twenty percent of herself. The rest of her wanted to walk back to where her friends were with him, and even cling to his arm a little.
"No, I'm…I'm okay, Criss. I know how to take care of myself," she told him, taking a step away from him—a part of her wanted to give an act of being too weak to stand and collapse against the wall, but she wasn't that pathetic.
"Alli, please, just do this favor for me. Let me walk you back to the parking lot. There you can find your friends and I'll leave you alone. I'm not going to take 'no' for an answer," he told her bluntly.
"You usually don't," she muttered to herself, remembering how Sam had gone behind her back to give this man her phone number after she told him politely no. Luckily, he didn't hear her, so she decided to do the right thing, not really wanting to have to deal with any perverted bastards lurking in the alleys, and she turned to him, smiling. "Alright, Christopher, if you feel it's best."
The smile that crossed his face was a cute one at best. She couldn't help but turn a little red when she fell into the attractiveness in that grin. She watched as he fumbled with the handle of the door, and then he allowed it to close only ajar, that cocky, arrogant grin playing on his lips. He then approached her, and she got a better look at him under the streetlamp casting a golden light through the alley, and her face turned a steamy hot red. This man was a GOD!!!(A/N: my own words) His body was toned and muscular, his arms strong and seemed to be perfectly built in a way to match with the rest of his body. He was so hot, she couldn't believe it, and his muscles literally glistened in the light, making him even more breath-taking. She had to turn around and face away from him just to allow herself to recollect whatever she had lost in only a brief of a second.
"What's wrong?" he asked her simply. She turned back to him, faking a smile so he wouldn't be able to see the embarrassment and anxiety that had apparently laid its eggs along her cheek bones.
"Nothing's wrong. Let's go," she told him quickly, but what happened next seemed to surprise everything out of her, completely making her wish to jump out of her skin.
The illusionist came up to her quickly, his smile broad and cunning, and with a warm, strong hand, he gently grabbed hold of her wrist, and dragged her out of the alley, towards the warm, flowing light that was the streetlamp bathing the black pavement with its golden light that shimmered like a dark lake at night. As they came towards the street, Alli could hear shouts and yells of excitement and enjoyment, cries of happiness and joy, and voices of pleasure from the show they had just observed. She felt a sudden uneasiness overcome her when she wondered what would happen if people saw this man who held her arm, and this resulted in her hand being clenched so hard into a fist that she actually felt the hot pain of her own nails stabbing into the flesh of her palm. He apparently noticed her action, as he stopped just before they went further into the street and turned to her with a smug grin that made all those handsome features of his burn even greater.
"Don't be so tense. Relax," he told her, but her fist just rolled back even harder into itself, and he shook his head, as if aggravated with her. He raised her wrist, his dark eyes lingering on it, tracing the lining of her digging nails, seeing the rising droplets of crimson blood that she had caused herself to weep. That smile of his grew broader, and she watched—with a pounding, racing heart and blood-vessel broken face—as he slipped his fingers onto her palm and forcefully broke hers from her palm, lacing his fingers with hers. She looked from his hand clenching hers to his face, and his dark eyes masked what she was trying to see. "You can't make me bleed, no matter how sharp your nails are. Just relax, this will help."
Alli couldn't speak a sarcastic response. Her throat had gone dry, her tongue seemed to swivel up in her mouth, and her mind went blank of any thought to speak to him in either response or retaliation to this action. He continued to grin, giving himself a competent gaze that only a conceited man would give. Without saying another word, he dragged her out into the street, guiding her dominantly, and Alli couldn't help but close her eyes, trying to restrain these strange and compulsive feelings that were coming over her. His hand was so warm, it seemed to fit almost too perfectly in her cold and shivering fingers, she could feel his strength pulsating through his palm and seemed to be lifting her up into him, gliding her willingly over the black pavement. She kept feeling herself grow weaker around him—God! I am such a hopeless fan girl!
"Alli, tell me something."
His voice came out of the darkness from behind her eyes, and she opened them, trying to find his, but couldn't through the curtain of dark hair that fell down the side of his face. She swallowed, trying to moisten that dry throat of hers.
"Yeah?" Her voice sounded like a choking frog, and she had to look down in shame at how idiotic and impetuous she was right now.
"Yesterday…how come you couldn't give me your number? How come your friend had to give it to me instead?" Christopher asked of her, but she didn't look up to meet his eyes. She couldn't. Her mind was racing all at once, and out of nowhere, a painful shock erupted from the corner of her mind, and gave new life to that nearly healed bruise on the side of her face. An image floated to her mind, one that she was hoping she could easily forget. The dark skin, dark hair, and dark, cold, haunting eyes…eyes that brought about the memories of pain, torture, suffering, and the haunting knowledge of being trapped, of being bound to something you despised so much.
"Christopher…" her grasp on his hand tightened, and she even had to wrap his between both of hers, as if trying to clutch at the last bit of escape that she could keep before the truth came out from her lips and brought her back to the horrible, troublesome reality. "I didn't want to give you my number because…I have…a boyfriend."
He stopped in his steps, and she stopped, as well, right behind him, both hands wrapped around his. She felt her heart pounding so hard in her chest, it actually felt like she was back in the theater, her heartbeat drumming out of the speakers around her. But…her heart was actually pounding much louder than that, much harder, and she had to bite her bottom lip just to maintain herself from shedding tears of shame and pain. She felt like she had lead this man on, but she knew she hadn't as she never inquired any romantic or flirtatious actions or suggestions to him. Could it be, perhaps, she was the one who was charmed over by him?
"So, you have a boyfriend?"
He didn't look at her. He didn't turn to face her. He just stood still, his back to her, but his voice came out in a way that not only scared her, but made her tremble inside. He kept his hand in hers, but she feared that the grip he had on her had declined substantially, and it was herself that kept it between her palms. She looked down, trying to keep her face from showing just what she was feeling.
"Yes."
For a moment, neither one of them spoke, and Alli was actually tempted to just pull away and walk towards the parking lot without him. But she couldn't, she just couldn't pull herself from him. After a moment, he finally spoke to her again.
"Well, I guess I can understand why you wouldn't want to. I mean, if I was your boyfriend, I know that I wouldn't want you giving your number out to other men. But…I wasn't asking for it because of that."
Alli's face flowed even deeper red, and she lifted her head, searching for his eyes once more. He didn't turn to look at her, but his head turned just slightly towards her, and his voice seemed to soften a little more as he spoke.
"Do you remember what I said when I asked you for it? Do you remember what my reason was?" he asked her, though she could tell he was smiling that arrogant grin of his from her. She thought for a moment, and then the memory came back to her.
"… Just so I can perform some tricks for you and your daughter here…."
"Yes, I remember. But that's not exactly a good reason. You could've asked for my address, or asked for my e-mail," she pointed out to him. She could sense that grin of his broadening into a playful, curious one.
"True, but I think your boyfriend would be even more worried if you gave your address to me, and I can't exactly perform tricks for you and Sophia through an e-mail. That's why I asked for your number, that way your boyfriend won't 'catch' me coming out the front door and it'll be easier for me to contact you over the phone to see if you wanted to meet somewhere."
He turned to Alli, he looked at her, he smiled at her, and he made the coldness inside her that had been growing seem to dissipate in a hungry flame of desire and relief. She felt her heart relax a little, feeling his hand grip hers a little tighter, and then she closed her eyes just for a quick moment, smiling as she did so. She looked back up at him, those dark eyes of his filling her with so much emotion and warmth, she felt as if reality truly departed from her, leaving her in this blissful world of fantasy and freedom.
"I guess your right," she told him, tilting her nose away from him in a snobbish sort of manner, playfully teasing him. They continued to walk down the street towards the gated parking lot, and she decided to quickly point something out to him that he had been believing for a while now. "Just as an FYI, Sophia isn't my daughter."
"She isn't?" he sounded bewildered, but at the same time, interested.
"No, she isn't. I'm twenty-one. She's eight. I would have to have been thirteen in order to have had her," she quickly pointed out to the older man.
"I would've thought so. You look way too young to be a mother of an eight-year-old," he responded.
"You would think so," Alli grinned a little. With the way the world is today, there's no telling how old a girl can be to have a child, she thought.
"So, if she isn't your daughter, then who is she?" he asked curiously.
"She's my cousin."
"Oh."
It was a cute thing to have heard come from him. The look on his face, one of being proved wrong, showing that he, the Great Criss Angel, was not perfect, and could not do anything, nor know everything. She couldn't help but grin at what she saw and heard, but this moment of pleasure and happiness was stopped abruptly as a familiar voice called out from the depth darkness of the parking lot they had stepped into.
"Alli! Alli, where were you?!"
The young woman looked up to see another with dark red hair and soft brown eyes running towards her, despite the fact she was wearing white strapped heels that were practically impossible to run in. Accompanying her was a little eight-year-old girl with long dark hair, a woman dressed in a sexy yellow dress, another wearing a glamorous turquoise blue dress, and the last was a shy girl with short ebony hair and clashing under the streetlight with her green t-shirt, blue vest. The girls ran towards her, but all stopped dead as they saw that the man beside her—holding her hand!—was the one man they had all come to see and known as the handsome, hot, mysterious Criss Angel. Sam's eyes fell on Alli's shy and nervous gray eyes, and then trailed down to where her hands were wrapped around his, and she then approached her friend.
"Alli…" she pulled the young woman away from the man—Alli could hear Michelle, Katherine, and Sophia all giggling and screaming at the magician, excited to see him—and spun her on the spot to face her. "What do you think you're doing with him?"
"Nothing, Sam. It's fine," Alli responded politely to her friend, who continued to give her a weird gaze.
"Where did you go? We've been looking for you for like ever!" Sam muttered under her breath, yet loud enough to where Alli didn't have to read her lips to know what she was saying.
"Sam, calm down. I'm fine. Everything's okay."
"Did you fuck him?"
"What?"
"Did…you…fuck…him?"
Alli couldn't believe what she was hearing from her friend. She glared at her friend, staring into her brown eyes hard, and she couldn't believe what she was seeing. A look of expectancy, as if she was expecting her to have already had sex with this man, despite the fact that she had only known him for a couple of days—the bus ride doesn't count, as only she and him knew about that day.
"No, I didn't," she told her friend sternly, feeling practically violated just by being asked such a crude question. "I'm not some random groupie, Sam. I don't want to sleep with him."
"You…you don't…" her friend looked like she was about to faint just by the fact Alli had said she didn't want to have sex with the man. "You…don't want to have sex with…that!"
She pointed to the man behind her, and she even purred a little when she gazed at his muscles hungrily, practically undressing him and going after him like an animal in heat just by looking at him. Alli felt embarrassed just by knowing this woman.
"Don't say it like he's a thing. He's a human being—"
"Oh, honey, he's not human. He is a GOD! I can't believe you don't want to sleep with a God!"
"Shut up. And no, I don't. Have you forgotten about Julian? He is my boyfriend, remember?"
"So what? Julian's an asshole. He may be your boyfriend, but Criss is your lover."
"Shut up!"
"What are you guys talking about?"
Alli blinked in only a nanosecond, just enough time to allow herself to see that the man had come up to where the two women were, watching them as if watching a humorous television show. Alli's hands were close to Sam's throat, while Sam was preparing to grapple Alli should such a strangling come to her while laughing. The two of them pulled away, and both turned their eyes from the other, while both muttered "nothing" is response to the man's question.
"Sami and Allison always fight! They're like sisters!" Sophia chirped up from beside the magician, and Alli looked to see that the child was smiling back at her, holding the man's hand like a daughter would hold her father's.
"Do they, now? Do they ever make-up like sisters?" he asked her playfully, and Sophia nodded, but she didn't say anything, as Sam spoke up before anyone could.
"We live together, we both pay rent. We have to get along, otherwise the other will be short half an apartment."
Everyone laughed at Sam's words, though Alli couldn't take her eyes off of Christopher, standing in front of her like a messenger from the skies. He presented himself like someone that seemed to mean something incredible, something amazing, but whatever that meaning was, it was hidden deep inside him, and it was her job to try and find it. Yet in finding it, she was willing to give something up, a sacrifice, if you will, and at the moment, she wasn't in any hurry to make such rash decisions for herself and Sophia.
"Well, I have to go before my brother sends out a search and rescue team, and by that, I mean my mother," laughter erupted from the corner of the parking lot again. "Thank you for coming to the show, everyone."
He beamed at all the women around him and shook little Sophia's hand before he started walking towards the exit of the parking lot that was behind Alli. He approached her, but that smile that was on his face was a strange and peculiar one. She continued to watch him, her gray eyes lingering on his body as he walked through the exit, but stopped just outside of it. He turned to her, the grin broader now than ever, yet its emotions hidden and undetectable beneath his demeanor. The two of them stared at each other for a moment, and in that brief moment, reality swirled away just for a second, fading into oblivion, just for her…just for the two of them. His dark eyes met hers, his smile warmed her soul, and then…he pulled out of it, bringing reality back to her, and she continued to watch as he slowly walked away from her…her God in a world of sin, her escape route from this sick and twisted reality….
(A/N: Sorry about not updating soon enough. I've been having some personal issues. Thank you to all who have reviewed, and I hope you will continue to do so. Peace!)