Chapter XIII - Still Alive.
London was such a different town in the daylight. The buildings did not seemed to be abandoned places and the corners turned out to be filled with trash cans, not bloody murderers threading to jump over and rape or hell knew what. Still, Nicole was pretty damn sure she would have always preferred the cool of the night instead of this burning heat of the day. Still, ever since she had received those things from her father the other day, the teen did not come out of her room, not even to eat. It was oblivious this worried Gray, who, like the nice man that he was insisted that all of them would simply get out for a walk. So there they were, after a 45 minutes long drive with the public transport The owner, Monique, a new girl she met named Mao, Kai, Saya, Hagi and of course Nicole found themselves somewhere near the center of the big city. And the killing summer heat was…well, killing them all. Fuck, the new Yorker always thought this place was gloomy and rainy and cloudy all the time. She hated the irony.
Soon enough, when they all came to realize that it was no good wondering around at 2 pm, when the sun was burning everything in its path. So guess what? Gray came out with two options. They either turned back, or split up for a while. Why? Because Mao wouldn't stop complaining about 'how-long-had-it-been-since-she-entered-a-mall' shit, along with the poor Monique who's will was too weak to object anything. Hopefully the brown haired girl did not spoke anything towards Nicky, ever since she saw her 'street gear'. Apparently she did not enjoyed the company of a punk. Heh, the stereotypes annoyed her.
Still, they ended up splitting up. Gray made himself way in a fishing shop, not far from where they settled their meeting point, Mao rushed towards the shopping avenue, dragging along her 'friend' and Kai, and Nicole remained stuck in her place with Hagi and Saya. But that only until she assured there was no-one around to see them. Smirking lightly to herself, the teen dig her hands deep in her pockets and turned around walking in some random direction.
"Well, have fun. See you in two hours." She saluted Hagi and Saya from the behind while rising one hand and waving carelessly. Saya's eyebrows rose at her gesture.
"Wait!" she rushed after her. "I believe that we should stick together. You are not familiar with the area, and you said you forgotten your cell phone at home." Saya told the bored girl as she reached out her hand and grabbed her arm. Nicole turned around with a look full of annoyance and frustration planted on her face. Well, the irony once again. Fate made things in such a way that they weren't too far away from 'the great dick of London', the area which she came to know pretty well, especially after last night's events. Still, Nicole sighed and tried to hide her emotions as well as the fact she was there before. Turning around she chuckled and placed her hand over Saya's shoulder.
"I know, but don't worry about me. I have a good orientation; ill manage to find my way around."
This being said, she turned once more to leave, but then she felt once more a grip on her arm. But this grip was far more tight to be Saya's. Damn…she almost forgot about him. Nicole turned around slowly as her gaze met his own. Those perfect blue eyes…DAMN, weren't those contacts after all!
"I think Saya is right. We should stay together." The stoic man spoke as his hand dropped at his side. Before she had the chance to realize it, Nicole noticed it was his right hand. The one with the bloody bandage. She almost forgot that he still had an agreement with her. The teen will deal with that later. Still, she couldn't help but sent a glare in his direction. Was he using that fact that he kept her secret in order to 'tame' her? What an ass! FUCK, did that meant she was now depending on him? Actually, it was the exact thing he tried to do, even if Hagi did not thought of it as being that radical. He would name all of this a 'controlled blackmail' or a 'mutual agreement.' Well, he would stay with the second term.
The chiropteran queen couldn't help but feel as the silence between the three of them began to confuse her. Glancing from her chevalier to the orphan and back, Saya began to question herself. Was there something she was missing? As she watched them, she could tell the two of them were communicating, even if they done it without words. Her eyes were angry and she seemed ready to start cursing out loud, while he was stoic and solemn as ever, only that his eyes told Nicole to be careful with her actions. Almost like a warning. She parted her lips in order to speak, but Nicole cut her unwillingly.
"Fine then." She replied while lowering her gaze and turning to leave once more. Hagi merely blinked at all of this. Saya remained in her position, watching his eyes as they gazed at Nicole's back, only to mirror his gesture shortly after. When the teen was far enough, the queen turned to face her chevalier.
"Is there…something wrong?"
Hagi hesitate a mere second, before turning his head as well, to face the girl.
"Everything is fine, Saya."
Let us try and define the word 'fine'. 'Fine' means that a person feels somehow positive or maybe even neutral. A 'fine' person is a person who, at the present moment, feel good, and does not fear, worry and suspect anything. Not to mention, frustration, rage and anger are out of the subject. So, was Hagi 'fine' with the situation Nicole threw both of them into? Hardly. Was he fine with all this 'baby-sitting' thing? Not really. Was Nicole 'fine' with the fact that she was stuck for two full hours with Mr Robocop and Goth-girl? Hell NO. Neither of them were fine. Still, it wasn't really anything left to do for them to be fine.
About 15 minutes after their last talk, the three of them found themselves somewhere in a marker square; a place filled with a lot of shops with different things from sweet and spices to clothes and gifts. The place was rather crowded, but the atmosphere was a typical English one. Still none of them seemed too excited about the idea. Feeling the tension between her two companions, Saya decided to speak first.
"How about we check up some shops?" she asked in a low voice as she averted her eyes in the direction of Nicole then towards Hagi. Well, the last few years were merciless with her, and she grew pretty distant from such simple and oblivious things as shopping, but still, she felt as if she was the most normal one from the three of them. Really, Nicole was enjoying herself by kicking a rock and Hagi done nothing more but…oh well, being Hagi. The chiropteran queen actually wished for them to communicate one way or another. The first one to react was her chevalier.
"Is that is what you wish, then yes." Typical. This stoic response even made Nicole avert her eyes towards his figure, yet she said nothing about it. By this time she grew used with his shit.
"I'll wait outside." The teen mumbled quickly as she turned her eyes towards the square.
Mission failed. Now what?
Saya tried to resist the urge to sigh deeply and show her deepest annoyance and frustration about the current situation. Well, she tried. If they were to be like that forever and ever, then she was to leave them be.
"Actually, I feel rather thirsty." She declared trying to change the subject. "Anyone in for a drink?"
Of course, Hagi wasn't going to show any kind of reaction about this and the queen knew it. And, in fact she wasn't that surprised when she heard only a small mumble from the new Yorker. So, they were to go for a cold and refreshing drink. Seeing none of them was going to take the initiative, Saya went forward, followed by her loyal Hagi and Nicole walking a few steps back. Things were pretty tensed and none of them wanted to make them worst. But fate was about to laugh in Nicole's face again.
And maybe things weren't going to get any worst if she would have chosen to ignore that fatigue sound.
As they passed one of the main avenues of London, not far away from Big Ben, searching for a small café, Nicole's ears picked up a certain distinct sound. And her reaction was quite oblivious. Her half open eyes widened, her head rose and her lips parted. It was a rhythmic sound she haven't heard in what seemed to be ages. It was so familiar, but foreign at the same time. Her head slowly turned around, trying to locate the source of the sound. Well, by this time she was damn sure it wasn't only a rhythmic sound. It was some kind of music. She recognized the beat of drums and the electric sound of a guitar, not to mention the clicks of a keyboard as well, all of these sounds being filtered through some docks. She immediately stopped, frozen to the bone.
"No way…"
The words rolled so smoothly off her tongue, Hagi couldn't help but flinch slightly as well. It was the kind of voice she rarely used, and he already came to learn that. It was the small and fragile voice Nicole used when she showed her true face, not the one of an over-matured girl with anger issues. He stopped and turned his head to eye Nicole over his shoulder. He noticed how tensed her body grew and her almost shocked facial expression. Something just happened, and he wasn't sure if it was good.
"Nicole." He called her name. Her head turned around right away and eyed the man before her with a slightly confused expression.
"What?"
"Were you listening to the music?"
"Oh..that." of course he heard it too, only that he wasn't so obvious. Rising one hand to rub the back of her neck, the girl bent a little towards her right to see Saya's figure as well.
"Is there anything wrong?" the black haired girl asked with a slight hint of concern in her voice. The orphan began to feel uncomfortable. That was music she heard, but not any music. It was Bomfunk MC's 'Freestyle', a well known street tune, the excellent song for the medium classed dancers. Among the ones such as Nicole, 'Freestyle' was already a classic, the kind of song which never grew old and always allowed the dancer to try new moved and schemes. She haven't heard that song in almost two full months, and the fact that she heard it here, clearly coming out of some over-sized docks done nothing more but add more strength in her belief that London truly had street dancers. Last night she haven't had the chance to see some good gangs dancing, but maybe now…
Nicole gulped.
"Listen, how about you go on and I will come in about 15 mins or so?"
Silence chocked them all for a few seconds as both Hagi and Saya tried to digest the orphan's request. On one side, Saya was rather worried and really confused about this, while Hagi was suspicious. Pretty normal since last time she went out alone, she came back with a bloody temple. Thank god the make up covered up the bruise.
"You are joking, right? Nicole, you know we cant leave you alone. You don't know the place an-"
"I know, I know! Saya, please, just 15 minutes and I will be right back! I promise."
The situation became pretty desperate from Nicole's point of view. And it figures, mostly because she simply had the flaw of curiosity, a sin which consumed her from inside out. But it was her nature to be curious and suspicious. Just think about the habitat she lived until now. This time was no difference. It was as if she belonged to a pack of wolves and she was trying now to find her kin. Heh, she had to remember to write down the wolves stuff.
"I truly believe we should stay together."
'Damn you Hagi.'
"Aw, come on!" Nicole protested. "I promise I will be fine."
Yet again, try and define the word 'fine'.
'Saya, I love you!'
That was all Nicole was able to think, because without her words hell knew if the teen might have been able to leave for those 15 damn minutes. The black haired chick wasn't as bad as she thought after all. The girl was already thinking of ways to thank her as she averted herself through the small side ways between the brick walls of the English blocks. She knew what she was searching and she was so damn sure she would find it. Still, that did not meant she was going to pass on noticed. The hood of her black hoodie was now hanging over her head, zipped up to her neck and her hands digged deep in her baggy pant's pockets. Well, it wasn't her specialization to pass on unnoticed, but she was trying right?
With each step the music grew stronger. 'Freestyle' ended pretty fast after she started her small walk and now another song played. She could have told it was a remix, but she wasn't sure she knew the song. Anyway, it was a pretty bitchin' one, because inside her pockets her fingers were snapping and tapping her leg on the rhythm of the tune. English guys had pretty nice tastes in hip hop music.
And only seconds later she discovered the source of all that noise.
Somewhere behind the block, right around the corner a small court was placed. Just like back in the US, the place had pretty much everything such as an improvised basketball ring, a few rubber carpets and a few slides which she supposed formed some kind of lame children's playground. The small court was filled with dudes and chicks around her age, if not older or younger. From this aspect she noticed that the rules might have been the same such as the age was no problem, if you knew a move or two. The seconds thing she noticed was that all the dudes seemed a lot more violent then her friends when it came to clothing, hair and make-up. Well, yeah its true, England was the home of anarchy, but seriously, she looked so soft compared to them. Yet, Nicole learned not to judge a person by the looks, so this was again, not a problem. The third, and probably most important things she came to realize was that in the same area three or maybe four gangs trained TOGETHER. This kind of thing was a complete tabu back home, mostly because each crew was very secretive when it comes to their moves and schemes. To see such a thing was a true rarity, but Nicole came to the conclusion that this must've been some kind of friendly 'battle'. Still, she decided it was better if she hid behind a corner until things proved to be safe.
Fortunately, she had a great view at one of the rubbers. And boy, she was truly impressed. First of all, these guys had nice schemes, not to mention they were done perfectly to the very last detail. She noticed that everyone had a certain role, some were into stunt-like moves, while others preferred group schemes, but the most impressive ones were their pair figures.
The girl lost several minutes admiring their work and she couldn't help but feel as the memories began to hunt her once again. They all seemed to united and close one to another, even if they were of different crews. These strangers were nothing like the way she and the SMC were until they broke apart. Nicole had been thrown out of her family only because she failed in making a damn landing after a triple jump. But these people…they almost made her feel ashamed she ever danced in first place. She was nothing like them. She did not belong there. The girl felt exiled, alone and renegade and she decided it was time to turn back. Big mistake.
In her hurry, Nicole tripped over some empty soda cans, and despite the loud music, the sound of the metal being kicked was too distinct. Right away, several mumbles and chatter of suspicious was heard.
"Hey, who's there!" a male voice was heard, dripping with the specific British accent. Boy she screwed it really hard now. Turning around slowly Nicole's light brown eyes met the dark one of a tall and thin man not older then 19 with half of his hair dyed green. She tried to choke her giggles.
"Hey you! What the hell are you looking here? Who sent you?"
With this being said the green haired guy reached his hand and dragged her over the other, pulling her hood off her head while doing so. Coming back in her senses, she struggled out of his grip and grunted a few curses.
"Get your fuckin' hands offa me!" she barked at him while shooting a deep glare in his way. The man simply chuckled at her action.
"Oh yeah? Then I suggest you start squeaking some info, you spy. Who sent you?" By this time the man leaned dangerously close over her fragile figure. Boy, she felt the need to kick his balls, but she knew pretty well that she was to get in even more shit if she done so. Behind him the chatter continued, but another more softer voice was heard.
"Andy, calm down,pal. Let her talk."
Tilting her head all she was able to see were the straight and dark bangs of hair of another guy, much shorter then this Andy dude, but still taller then she was. Nicole rose one eyebrow at his sight; was he emo or something? Well, his hair and clothes showed it pretty clear, not to mention his soft and girly voice. She decided that English people were weird…
"Don't give me that bloody crap again. Do you know her? I don't. She must be a spy!"
That's it. She had enough.
"If I am a spy and feel free to shove that cheap hair dye up your ass!"
Well, some people chuckled, some rolled their eyes, some gasped. Anyway, it was oblivious Nicole pretty much messed with the wrong guy. Especially by his own reaction. Nicole could have sworn she heard his teeth clench inside his mouth. She gulped nervous.
"Why you little twerp!"
"Andy."
Silence. The emo guy was serious. And green guy shot her a glare and left. The ones around her began to chatter. As Andy turned around and walked away, he gave Nicole a much better view on the emo. From this point of view, he wasn't that bad looking after all. Of course the first thing she noticed were his brow eyes, much darker then her own but still too pretty to belong to a guy. Really, was he a guy after all? Well, the way he smiled surely didn't showed it.
"Hey, sorry for that. Andy can be like that around people he doesnt know."
"I can tell…" she mumbled as her eyes averted in the taller boy's direction. He was still glaring at her so she glared back. Her companion noticed it.
"call me Charlie'. He extended his hand to shake her own. Nicole did the same, but the instant their fingers touched she shook his hand only two times before taking it back and crawled her fingers in a fist, slamming it on his still open hand. Her eyes slightly narrowed; didn't he knew the signs? As a response, he simple chuckled.
"Guess you're an outsider. Give me your hand."
Opps…she forgot about that; of course they had different signs here. Giving back her hand, she saw as he shook it three times before wiggling his fingers againt her. This made her giggle.
"Isnt that a bit gay?" she asked with a smirk. Charlie shrugged.
"I guess, but that's how we do it here. So, what's your story?"
"Call me Nicky. New York. SMC. "
"Nice intro you have." The guy nodded his head in agreement. "So I guess you are in the very same industry, right?"
"you bet. And you?" Charlie hesitated.
"Not really." He said. "I combine parkour with dancing. I'm with the 1UP, you know. We all do that here."
"uh-huh…" she mumbled back. "I kinda heard of this stuff. Isnt that style called Suicido?"
"Pretty much, but that name makes it a lot scarier then it actually is."
Nicole giggled. Well, yeah, suicido was a lot more difficult to perform and it was much more spectacular, she felt slightly intimidated. But still, she came from a crew which made a reputation out of their agility, even if they had regular moves. Anyway, somehow, Nicole was burning to see a small demo of what they had.
"Can you show me some of your moves?"
Charlie chuckled and averted his eyes somewhere else for a few seconds. The teen figured he was pretty reserved when it came to dancing.
"Me? You are the outsider here. How about you show me some of your moves first?"
Shit…she totally forgot about that. Her smile faded away and she sighed deeply.
"Well, its not like im dancing anymore. I was kicked out of my crew." She admitted. Chalie's smile faded as well and his hand rose to scratch the back of his neck. It was oblivious that being renedaged of your family was a big tabu all over the world.
"Sorry to hear that…" he mumbled, slightly uncomfortable, but Nicky simple punched him in the shoulder.
"come on, its my shit, not yours." She chuckled. Charlie returned the gesture.
"But you still gotta dance. You can leave the streets, but the streets will never leave you."
Nicole's mouth dropped at this remark and her smile faded. Well, shit happens, right? This was the exact same thing she had been told by ankh when they were kids. Damn, she left like yelling and swearing out of frustration. She wasn't going to dance, she did not wanted to dance. Yet, the rubber carpet behind her companion seemed to be mocking her. It was more worn out then her own, probably only a few years older, but it was still in shape and ready for any move. The girl felt a knot in her throat; would she be still able to do that? In the next second, she was about to turn on her heels and leave without even saying good bye, but a strong and determined hand on her shoulder destroyed all her plans. Rising her eyes she saw the male next to her, smiling widely.
"Come on; it will be fun."
Fun. She haven't had fun while dancing in a really long time. And maybe this was exactly what she needed. Nicole lowered her head and smirked.
"Put 'Freestyle' in that playlist."
TO BE CONTINUED…
A/N: sorry for the late chappie again. . Anyway i think i lied a little; i said this chapter will have Nicole dancing yet no dancye dancye... Instead Nicole meets up with another crew! Well, from this point on might get really interesting o.o there will be only three words i will say: Drugs, dancing and danger.^^ Aint i evil? :P
Edit: corrected the mistakes i made . Thanks Aldredon for pointing them out! C:
Review please!