Masquerade Lovers
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Secret
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Sam had forgotten her mask and bracelet her grandmother gave her as she ran down the stairs, pretty fast, considering her long train. She had hitched up her skirts, to make it easier for her to run in, although her heels made it a tad more difficult. She hoped he wouldn't follow her (although there was a part of her that wished he would – but that part was rebuked and Sam refused to think about it any more). All she needed to do was to leave for home. Quietly, she moved into the hallways, where no one was around. Sure, the cameras were watching her, but at least they couldn't say, "Hey Sam, where were you? Clover and Alex were looking for you last night!"
And that was exactly what happened, when she let her guard down and sagged against the wall in exhaustion. Jerry was going in the direction of the men's restroom, when he caught Sam sliding down the wall.
"Ah, Sam," Jerry said. Before Sam could decide whether to run or hide, or just stay, Jerry was in front of her, looking down. "I say, Sam, we were all worried last night. Where had you gone? Clover and Alex were worried, but then Clover thought you might have gone home with a man (Jerry cleared his throat to express his disapproval), but – Sam, are you all right?" He asked, peering closer.
"What? Oh, yes, I'm fine," Sam shook her head and attempted a weak smile. Jerry did not look convinced.
"Where have you been, anyway? You're still in the same clothes as last night," Jerry said, observing her in her white dress.
"I fell asleep," Sam said, shakily. Which was partly the truth. He didn't ask if she'd fallen asleep with anyone, or who she fell asleep with. "On the roof."
"Ah," Jerry's face showed he was relieved. "I should have known. The cameras on the roof do not work from 9pm to 9am, and Alex said the last time she saw you was around 10:30pm last night, and now it's (checking his watch) barely 8:45 in the morning. We probably should turn on the camera all the time now, for security reasons, and to save us all heart attacks!" Jerry ended with a lame joke, but Sam did not seem to get it. Her expression changed.
Jerry thought the expression on Sam's face that followed this was one of relief, although the reason for the relieved expression he did not venture to guess. Maybe she drooled while she slept or snored or something, he was quite sure he did not care –
But, as a father would for his daughter, he was generally concerned about all three spies, and right now he was worried about Sam, who was in front of him and looked (not to mention probably was) weary and unhappy. "Seriously, Samantha (he said her full name to get her attention), are you sure you're all right?"
"Yeah," Sam nodded, trying to prevent herself from bursting into tears. She took deep breaths before saying, "Jerry, I really want to go back. I have a ton of things to do this morning, and I can't believe I fell asleep this morning.
Jerry's face softened, and he nodded in acquiescence. "Very well, Sam. I'll send a limo. Do you want to get a fresh change of clothes? We have some. Although, I must say, we've been told we're missing a costume. But that doesn't matter; it was for a guy, anyway."
Scam, Sam thought, distressed. "No," she said allowed. "I'm fine. Just a little tired. I'll take a bath at home, Thanks, Jer."
"No problem, Sam," Jerry said, and walked off. Go down to the main entrance, and you'll find a limo for you. In fact, I'll call it right now," he said, walking away, and Sam walked in the opposite direction, head down on the ground, with a pensive expression on her face.
Jerry went to call the limo, and then attempted to contact Clover on her X-powder. "Jer, what is it?" Clover's sleepy voice came. "I'm tired."
"I'm not surprised," Jerry answered, remembering the party last night, which had gone on until the early hours of the morning. He'd bet his money that once Clover got home, she did not go to bed immediately. "But listen, I found Sam wandering around the WOOHP corridors this morning. She looks pretty unwell."
"What?" Clover sat up, with a jolt, now wide awake, and she realized Blaine was gone, although she could see the soft imprint of a male's head on the pillow he slept on next to her. This momentarily annoyed her, before she registered what Jerry had said. "What happened?"
"I have no idea. But she looks distressed. I thought I'd warn you," came Jerry's reply.
"Thanks Jer," Clover sighed as she snapped the X-powder shut, and sighed, falling onto the pillow.
"Clover?" The mention of her name caused her eyes to open. It was Blaine, standing across her, with two cups of black, steaming, caffeinated espresso. Clover smiled, and he gave her a cup, and she took it, inhaling its rich aroma.
"Hmmm," she sighed happily. "Just the way I like it in the early morning." Then, looking at him, she smiled, before frowning. "You shouldn't have disappeared like that, you know," she pouted. "I thought you left me!"
"Leave you?" Blaine laughed, taking a seat on the bed, next to Clover. He placed his cup of coffee on the bed-table nearest to him, and leaned close. "Why would I?"
"I don't know," Clover said, before falling back onto her pillow, spilling some of the espresso on her nightgown, which she had smoothed out in the interim. "Ouch!" She said, wincing from the pain of contact with scalding espresso. "That hurt!"
Blaine took the cup of coffee from Clover and also put that cup aside on the bed-table. "Clover, what's wrong? Have you heard from Sam yet?"
Clover rose up yet again and nodded, before resting her head on Blaine's shoulders, which was very nice and broad for her to do so. "Actually, Jerry called via X-powder to tell me he's seen Sam. Apparently she's been at WOOHP the whole time. She told Jerry she's fine, she just fell asleep on the roof, but Jer tells me she's unhappy. There's more to this than I thought. I'm pretty sure – but, Blaine, you don't think anything bad happened to her?" Clover looked up for reassurance.
Blaine shook his head. "Sam's a smart girl, she knows how to take care of herself."
Clover buried her head into his shoulder. "But, she's not strong. I mean, she is the strongest physically, but – well, she's not a tough cookie like Alex, nor is she good at psychology like me," Clover said (she'd taken a degree in Psychology, since she wanted to save money on therapy because of all the economic crises. Alex called her a cheapskate, but using the material she learnt in class, she ended up making Alex cry without breaking a nail or touching her – or blackmail, for that matter). "She's just – intelligent, but that's the problem; she lives in her own little world sometimes, even though she's great at socializing and stuff – although not as good as Alex or I."
"Clover, she'll be fine," Blaine tried to reassure her, but Clover jumped off the bed, wrapping herself in a robe.
"I have to talk to Alex about this," she said, with a quick kiss on his lips. "I'll be back soon. I'll just be in Alex's room."
Blaine sank back onto the bed, and decided to finish his cup of espresso.
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Author's Note
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Kind of a filler chapter, I know, but it's all leading somewhere, I promise! You know what I like: reviews! Be constructive, but if you like it, just say you do! Flames are accepted, as long as they do not insult and are constructive to begin with!
Until next chapter,
lianneharmony
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References
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Again, no particular references.
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Shoutouts
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To waterbendergirl101, Cresenta's Lark, Redheaded Devil, Poison's Ivy and Beth, I have four words:
YOU GUYS ARE A-W-E-S-O-M-E!
No seriously. It's your happy reviews that put a smile on my face, that I'm glad someone likes and does appreciate what I write about. So there. This chapter is for you guys. :)