"Don't worry, Criss. I'm here…at last…."
Time was paralyzed at once, no one dared breathed, no one dared to speak, as the woman that they had all been told just now was dead was standing in the middle of the living room of the hotel suite they were staying in, her arms wrapped around Christopher's neck as she had quickly ran up to him from out of nowhere and planted a kiss upon his lips, not only showing that everything Costa had said was a lie, but that she had become romantically involved with the illusionist. Everyone was frozen in their spot, no one more so than the man who the woman was clung to. She looked into his face, and saw tears were running down from his dark eyes. Her heart broke at the sight of them, but she thought she'd play with this fact.
"What's wrong, Christopher? Why are you crying?" she asked of him, pulling away quickly. He shoved her off of him, and he turned around, but before he did, she read what he was saying on his lips.
"I hate you."
She knew he didn't mean it, he was just upset with her. She had to pull the prank on him, it was just so tempting, and it was payback for tricking his mother like that. Now he knew what it felt like, but then again, Criss was like a child. All is fun and games, until he gets a taste of his own medicine. She looked around the room, and she realized everyone—besides her partner in crime, Costa—had on their faces looks of distraught and stress, surprise and mourn. Did they really care about her so much that they would be saddened instantly at the mention of her death? Some of these people she didn't even know, yet the looks in their eyes seemed as if they had known her for a long time.
"Alli, how could you pull a trick like this?!" Dimitra snapped at the younger woman, and Alli blushed out of shame.
"I'm sorry, I just couldn't help myself. I also thought Christopher deserved a taste of his own medicine after that prank he pulled on you yesterday," Alli tried to give herself an excuse, although a prank of dying was a lot worse than a prank of marrying. She looked to Christopher, who was trembling a little, but he didn't look at her. Had she really upset him that much?
"Criss, I'm sorry. I have good news, though," she thought this might cheer him up, especially after that kiss that the two of them shared last night.
"…Allison, when you leave him…I want you to run to me…."
His head tilted upward, as if interested in what she had to say. At least he was giving her some form of acknowledgement. She beamed happily, and approached him, coming up to only two inches from behind him, and she muttered to him softly.
"I left him, Christopher…" a faint blush crossed her face, but her smile was sweet, innocent, and it showed the freedom that a bird so lusted after for. "I left him. You told me that if I did, I should come running to you. That's what I did. I'm not with him anymore."
Tears were actually forming in her eyes. Was this a dream? Was it all unreal? She felt as if everything around her wasn't real, that any moment she would wake up, and she would be back in that world that caused her much pain and agony. No…no, she never wanted to leave here. She actually felt like more of her was falling into that peaceful Eden of hers, and this man—this great illusionist—had provided it to her.
"It's because of you. It's because of you that I was able to leave him. You encouraged me, you helped me, and now—"
"You never needed me."
The man turned on the spot to face her, and the smile on his face was different, it was unique, but she couldn't make clear the emotion within it. What was going through his mind? She decided not to question it. So long as he was looking at her, so long as he was talking to her, smiling at her, she didn't care what went through his mind, all she knew was that he was not upset with her.
"So, what's going on here? Are you mad at her, or are you forgiving her?" a man with an unfamiliar face spoke out, and Christopher merely grinned, and then spoke the answer that she knew was on his mind.
"Nah, I'm not mad at her. I'll just have to come up with something better for her next time," he winked at her, and she beamed happily back. The tears rolled down from her eyes, and he leaned down to wipe them away with the thumbs of his hand, cupping her chin in his palms.
"You're such a sneaky bitch."
She heard his words, but she read his lips closely, and she knew through those words, he really meant something else. She wanted to keep what he meant to herself, and so she pulled out of his clasp, but was immediately thrown into the hands of the forming crowd around her, people all but Dimitra and her sons, questioning her and pleading to know who she was, where she came from, how she knew Christopher, what her relationship was with him—she blushed at this question—and so on. Through the crowd she looked to see the man taking pleasure in the chaotic stress she was suffering by coming to the apartment in that form of manner, and it was like her own father staring back at her, grinning as she was forced to learn a valuable lesson—never pull a trick like that on the very man who loved to pull tricks on others, or "don't trick a trickster" for simpler terms.
When introductions were finally over, the young woman was pulled towards the couch by someone, and she suddenly found herself sitting by the illusionist, his arm around her shoulder. She was blushing a little, but she felt herself to be safe and comforting in his hold. It was the exact same way she felt the night before when he kissed her.
"Okay, so are you Criss' new girl or something?" asked a young man that was probably no more than a few years older than Alli, but he seemed to be the youngest out of anyone there in the room.
"You could say it like that," Criss answered him slyly. She knew he was only saying this to make her uncomfortable and blush uncontrollably—well, it worked.
"How long have the two of you been dating?" asked a much older man who worked the cameras for the television show of Christopher's.
"Um…we really haven't been dating," Alli spoke before Criss could say anything. He looked at her, giving her a strange look, but then he grinned cunningly.
"She's kind of been with someone else."
"So you stole her from them?"
"What? No, no, I didn't."
"I broke up with him just earlier today. Costa was there," Alli quickly explained herself. The group turned towards the older brother, who was merely grinning the same cocky grin that all Sarantakos brothers seemed to have. "I broke up with him because it just…it was too much stress. I couldn't deal with it."
"Costa was tricking us, saying that someone killed you. That person that he was referring to…was it your boyfriend?" Dimitra was asking, and immediately, Alli's heart started pounding in her head, echoing, throbbing, and it was aggravating her completely. She knew she had just broken up with Julian, but thinking about him—talking about what he did to her—was still something that she couldn't deal with. She kept feeling the burn of those bonds on her body, she kept feeling the pain and agony that he left on her, and sharing it with those who didn't learn about it on their own would only leave for her to be judged or looked at in the very manner she didn't want to be put under. Apparently, Criss and Costa both saw this in her face, and Costa was quick to answer.
"It was just a trick. It was something I had to make up right away the moment I got here. I didn't mean anything by it," he answered his mother for her, and Alli cast him a grateful look when no one was noticing. People continued to ask questions, but the young woman started to either ignore them or mindlessly answer them in a helpless way, until at last she wanted to leave the suite more than anything, and go back to the apartment to inform Sam about the amazing news. The man sitting beside her obviously could read her like an open book, because the next thing to come from his mouth was something that left her entire world spinning in crazy directions, but in a pleasurable way. He kept her world spinning, and it was that thrill that kept her wishing and praying for more.
"Could you excuse us for a minute? I need to talk to Alli for a moment—in private," he quickly added when the youngest of the persons standing in the room opened his mouth to speak, and as soon as he took her hand, without even dragging her, he had her on her feet, and the two of them were maneuvering through the living room and out of the suite through the open door, closing it behind them. As if she had stepped from within a torture chamber of darkness and smoke, the air of the hallway filled her lungs, like the first breath of a newborn infant. She smiled, but she wasn't out of his grip just yet.
Before she realized it, he was dragging her—more like running with her—through the hallway, past and through many corners, while her face—a flushing canvas of red and white—watched him with storm gray eyes of wonder and curiosity.
"Christopher, where are you taking me?" she asked of him. He only looked back at her, smiling, but it was a sweet smile.
"You'll see."
He was still grinning even when he pulled her completely through the entire corridor and towards a door that read "EMPLOYEES ONLY." Despite the argument raging in her head, with her hand still clasped within his, he flung the door open, and the two of them ran up the steps—three flights of steps—until they came to another door that read the same thing. He flew the door open, and then he paused, watching her, staring at her. She looked from him to the open door, and then her heart just fluttered at hearing him speak to her.
"Ladies first."
She stepped over the threshold, and her entire body felt dizzy, her head spinning, when she realized they were standing on the roof of the hotel, overlooking the entire city. She felt so lightheaded, her body feeling weak and limp under her weight. She had never been so high on a building, and she was just thankful the roof was surrounded by a thick railing and screen that was close to five and a half feet high. This would prevent people from falling, whereas jumpers—that was another story. The young woman—consumed with surprise—stared out into the city she had come to know, and the fresh air filled her lungs, the gray skies surrounding her—small droplets of rain fell on her head, and she sighed when she felt, for the first time, that it was safe to step outside and know there were no eyes on her, know that no one was watching her, following her, stalking her, waiting for her to screw up and find a perfect excuse to harm her later.
"Criss—"
She turned to see him, but before she did, she felt him come up from behind her, and her entire head flowed red, the blood boiling and rising towards her forehead, when she felt him wrap his arms around her waist, bringing himself directly behind her. No man had ever held her like this, no man had ever been this close—at least not without an alternate motive to force her down and take whatever bit of innocence she had left. She felt the warmth of his body fall over her, she felt his heartbeat, she heard it all around her, and in her mind, she was trying hard to will herself to not be so embarrassed, to not be so shy, but she was! Her heart was racing, her breathing was tightening in her lungs, and she closed her eyes tight, trying to relax herself and calm herself down. This wasn't working, obviously.
"I found this place last night when I got back. I couldn't stay in the suite—I had to find some place to clear my head. And this is what I found," he admitted to her in her ear, and, if it was even possible, her face turned even redder and hotter. She knew that any moment now, he would hear her pounding heart—the same way he heard it during his magic show.
He tighten his hold around her waist, and she whimpered a little, preparing herself for the possible action to come, the possible words she would hear, the very words every man had spoken to her when they held her like this.
"You're so pretty. I love you so much."
"You really are a wonderful girlfriend, Alli."
"Alli, I want you so much. Please, let me have you."
"Let me take you, Alli."
"You've never felt anything until you've felt me inside you."
"I've been thinking about you all day. Have you been thinking about me?"
"Criss!"
She pulled out of his hold, ripping her waist out of his grip, and she even stumbled a little stepping away from him. Tears were burning her eyes, her body trembling, and when she turned to face him, those tears only grew when she saw the surprised and confused look on his face.
"What's wrong?" he took one step towards her, but she stepped back. Her body language said everything: fear, anger, confused, scared, she was on the defense. She was seeing him the same way she had seen all other men before him, all her other boyfriends.
"Please…I can't do this!" she was whimpering lightly, and the tears were streaming down her face again. He looked in her eyes, and those sad, swimming pools of gray storm water told him everything.
"Alli, it's okay. I wasn't trying to do anything, I just wanted to show you this place. I thought it would take your mind off of everything and help you relax. But if it's something else…if it's me…."
"No, no, it's not you. It's just…I think I'm moving way too fast. I mean, I just broke up with Julian no more than a couple of hours ago, and…I just…" Alli was choked by her own tears, choked and suffocated by her sorrow. She was blurred by her own tears to even see him walk towards her, to see the sympathetic gaze in his eyes. She didn't even know he was in front of her until she felt his hands—his warm touch—on her face, and she looking straight up into his eyes, his hand wiping away her fallen tears.
"I can't promise you much of anything, because I don't know what will or won't happen. I leave that to be in itself. But what I can promise you is that I will never lay a hand on you. I promise I will never hurt you like they have," he told her sweetly, but it was nearly impossible for her to move on, to slip into happiness and peace without that constantly roaming through her mind. Her guard was always up, because it wasn't just her that she needed to protect. She had to think about Sophia's safety, her sanity, and everyone else around her. Without saying anything else, he planted a soft kiss on her lips, and the two of them just stood there on the roof in each other's arms, not speaking a word, but listening to the sweet silence of the day, listening to the wind blow and whisper around them in approval, listen to the slowly falling rain, listen to the warmth of their own beating hearts, and just listening…to anything, everything, anything that would tell them what they needed—wanted—to hear….
"I am watching the rise and fall of my…salvation. There's so much shit around me, such a lack of compassion…."
"Alright, Korn or Disturbed?"
"Korn, hands down. I lost interest in Disturbed a while back. Evanescence or Within Temptation?"
"Evanescence. Tool or Nirvana?"
"That's a trick one. I like them both."
"Alright, well if you had to pick the best out of them both."
"I'd still pick both. They kick ass hard-core."
"You can't do that. You have to pick one."
"Well, who made that rule?"
"I did."
"That's not fair."
"Life isn't fair, love."
"I'm still picking both, and you can't do anything to change that, Christopher."
"Oh, yeah?"
"Yeah."
"Guess again!"
"No! Don't!"
Alli let out a high-pitch laugh/scream as the illusionist pounced on her, tackling her and sending her down on her back on the floor. She was still laughing, though her face turned a deep red with him pinning her to the ground, his nose nuzzling into her neck just beneath her chin like some crazed wolf, his arms wrapped around her chest, with his knees caging in her fighting legs from kicking him.
"Criss! Criss, stop!"
"No! Say it! Say it!" he spoke to her defiantly, bringing his mouth from her neck to meet her eyes, and there was a dark, yet playful look in his dark eyes, the cunning smile crossing his lips.
"NO! HA HA!" Alli couldn't hold her laugh in when his fingers prodded into her back, sending ticklish shivers through her entire body. He found this information to be exciting, and so he continued to prod his fingers in multiple spots from behind her back, and she let out a shrill laugh, trying to push him off her. He was too strong, though—which wasn't a bad thing.
"Say it! Say it, Allison!" he commanded of her, continuing this irritating action of tickling her, until she gave in.
"Alright! Alright! Nirvana!" she screamed to the heavens, and that playful smile of his broadened. He released her and crawled off of her, but she laid there on her back, giggling and laughing from this playfulness that the two of them had. She had never played like this with any of her other boyfriends. It was a nice change to her complicated life. It made her forget about all the madness she had endured.
"I feel the reason as it's leaving me. No, not again. It's quite deceiving as I'm feeling the flesh make me bad…."
"Okay, my turn. 12 Stones or P.O.D.?"
"P.O.D. I've never even heard of 12 Stones. Lifehouse or Nickelback?"
"Criss!"
"You have to choose, love."
"I can't choose between those two! They're both amazing!"
"You have to."
"No, I won't do it!"
"Fine! That's fine with me!"
Alli let out another scream as the man tackled her again, barely giving her a chance to recollect her breath and try to gather herself up, and he suffocated her in a curtain of tickling fingers and prodding nails, her screams of laughter and happiness, mixed with his sadistic chuckle, filled the room, blaring out the pounding music, and the constant, irksome sound of a ringtone playing from a device that had fallen from her body and skid under the nightstand where the music was playing from just a few feet away. The two of them were laughing hysterically, too involved in each other's presence to pay notice to this, or the flashing blue screen upon it that read "JULIAN."
-Liz Comic-
Liz: Alright, well, that's the end of this chapter, and to answer the question that ourtruth was so kind to ask, "no that is not it. do u honestly think i would end the entire story right then and there? no my friend this is only the beginning."
Crys: u stole that from a movie didn't u?
Liz: there's a movie that has that line?
Crys: and several television shows in which they used that very line in many episodes, and several songs, and several widely known books, and several--
Liz: are u going to keep listing the items, or are you going to eventually NAME ONE OF THEM?!?!?!
Crys: I'm getting to it. And several poems, and several--
Liz: okay while Crys is going off on her little talk ::::::::Crys: blah blah blah blah blah blah blah BLAH!:::::::: I want to inform you guys that I will be revising this story completely later on to where it is no longer a fanfic but an originally wrote story. Criss Angel will not be in that version, nor will any Mindfreak/Criss Angel/A&E influence other than frequent mentions of his television show. If you guys would be interested in reading it, I'll give the link at the end of the story for you to read.
Crys: She doesn't even know where she's taking this story.
Liz: Yes I do! At the end I plan on having Alli--
Crys:::::::runs and covers Liz's mouth::::::: DON'T SPOIL IT!!!!
Liz:::::::muffled?????
FD (O.O): Liz is very appreciative that you have read this story thus far, and she hopes u will continue to do so. she would also like to request that you review this chapter and tell her what you think of it. She recently got a new phone, so it might take longer for her to update than normal.
Liz: That's cuz I like to txt message so much!!! LMAO HAHA!!!!::::::::::txt msgs several frends:::::::
FD & Crys: I CAN'T BELIEVE U WERE ABOUT TO SPOIL THE STORY!!!! GET TO WORK ON THE NEXT CHAPTER!!!!!!!!!!!
Liz: O.O :'(