Chapter 4
It was nine o clock pm after Slade got home from work. He angrily threw his briefcase on the tiled floor of his bedroom. He truly wished his meeting with her had gone better, but since Amber was his now rival, he believed that he may actually have difficulty in taming her. Slade untied his tie and sat down on his comfortable bed. He wondered if making just a slight difference in his behavior would get the woman off his case. He sighed and said mentally well, she has another thing headed towards her. She forgets that I know her every weakness unless she changed into a bitchy hippie out to kill me. I wouldn't doubt that.
"Slade," Jagger's voice erupted. The eldest brother looked at the young lawyer in his bedroom doorway. He didn't want to deal with Jagger at the moment, but it was the least he could do.
"What do you want, Jagger?" demanded Slade in his usual business-like manner. For some reason, he was rather fond of that particular tone. He observed how uncomfortable his younger brother became in Slade's overwhelming presence.
Jagger replied quietly, "We were invited to Chazz's graduation. I was just wondering if we were going to attend. We need to R.S.V.P. this month, and I thought if you wanted to go then I could make the reservations." Jagger wondered what his brother's reply was going to be. He watched Slade truly consider his options. Maybe this has to deal with what Amber had said over the phone thought Jagger as Slade looked at his clock.
Slade said to himself he's disbanded from the family. Why should you see him? But then again, if you make amends with Chazz you can save your reputation. That couldn't hurt. Besides, Chazz won't forgive you in the first place so you can say you tried. The eldest Princeton was pleased with his resolve. Some things had to be done for his company or his pride, whichever mattered the most at the current moment. "Make the reservations," said Slade with a sly smirk that Jagger feared, "I think attending this event will help immensely." Jagger nodded and knew that all his older sibling wanted was to make a better name for himself, but maybe the Princetons could attempt to call themselves a family once again.
Slade stepped out onto his balcony. He sighed heavily as he saw the stars gleaming in the night sky. Something about that scene always put him at peace whenever he was stressed or highly agitated. He smiled as he ran through the names of the constellations in his mind. It was out of character for him to be entranced by stargazing, but somehow this felt right. He could admire the darkness of the world. The darkness that overshadowed his life, but that Slade didn't wasn't whole with the night. The young man closed his eyes as a memory flashed into his mind.
Flashback
The eighteen year-old Slade sat on his bed exhausted from studying for multiple exams. He couldn't get to sleep, as hard as he tried, he just couldn't sleep. He was tired, but he had a rush that made him stay awake for some unforeseen reason.
He jumped up as he heard a loud thumping noise from outside his large windows that opened to the balcony. Slade pulled out his iron baseball bat. If it was thieves, they were in for a large surprise. He pushed back his velvet curtains and unlatched the window. To his surprise, he didn't see a thief.
He neared a trespasser who was staring at the sky. Slade, unaware of who the person was, tapped the human on the shoulder and said, "You need to get off my property. Some people are trying to sleep." The person turned to face him.
"That's rude," Amber said pushing out the hair from her eyes, "You said I could come over whenever I wished, and so here I am." Slade couldn't find himself awake enough to argue with her. He sat down on the chair near the shrubbery on the balcony.
Slade asked while yawning, "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be asleep? We do have exams tomorrow incase you have forgotten." He couldn't help but notice Amber's hair glowing in the moonlight. He did like her but was afraid to tell her how he felt/
"I know," responded Amber entranced by the moon and stars above, "I needed to relax before the exams. Stress at home and finals are killing me so far. I love the night sky. It's peaceful." She looked up at the dark sky as Slade stepped over to her side. He smirked as he decided to ask her a trick question.
"So what do you like night more than day?" Slade inquired. He watched Amber just smile sweetly as more moonlight touched her hair.
"I love them both," responded Amber, "The world is so free and real at night, but you can see the wonders during the day. What about you?" Slade had figured out the answer before she had asked the question.
"I prefer the night," replied Slade.
Amber nodded and responded, "It suits you. Well, I better head home. I'm still grounded for skipping school to join a protest, and if mom catches me out of the house, I am royally screwed." Slade helped her from his balcony so she could leave. The best part of night was the two were both free.
End of Flashback
Slade had always wondered how something as trivial as that conversation could have affected him so greatly. He shook his head attempting for another night not to think on the whole mess. He had to get to work on his plan to take down his ex-girlfriend. So the questions remained: Was her career a major factor in her life?
"Screw the questions!" he said aloud to himself. The one thing he knew about Amber Rhodes was that she would do anything for her family. Could he do that? Could he get involved with her family? They absolutely hated him especially after what he did to Chazz.
Slade had no idea what to do in this situation. He wasn't a great master on getting revenge since he often failed at it, but he swore he was going to do something about this matter. His career and fortune were on the line.
Suddenly, an idea struck his brain. It didn't necessarily involve revenge, but it would eternally crush Amber's pride. Slade thought I could easily tell her dark secrets, the ones that she doesn't even know I know. I have my ways of mass communication. Maybe her loyal followers will abandon her and help me rule the world.
As catty as that sounded, he liked the plan. She wouldn't kill me for it, she'd run away in a cave Slade's brain echoed proudly. First, he had to find all the notes they sent back and forth to each other during their classes in high school. Slade was going to enjoy this thoroughly.
Mew Kazurinu: Slade definitely needs to figure out what he really thinks of her, doesn't he? Well, I hoped you enjoyed the chapter. I hope I didn't make Slade too OOC for anyone's taste. I don't really know his character perfectly. Well, thanks for reading.