I stumbled backwards, nearly crashing into a twirling woman in a red dress. I ignored her scowl, keeping my eyes on Flippy. He put on an innocent face, eyes wide, and took a step closer, closing the distance between us. He gripped my trembling arm with a strong hand.
"What's wrong with you, dear?" he asked, a smile spreading across his face.
"I-I... I... Y-You... You h-have a... a split p-personality," I breathed. I could hardly form the words.
Flippy's eyes sparked, and he moved his face close to mine. I felt his breath, icy cold against my skin. I felt a chill run up my back despite the warmth of the room.
"Remember what I said about people that spread news about me?"
"Y-Yes," I whispered.
"Good. Now you don't say a word to anyone. You got that?"
"...Yes."
"Excellent," said Flippy, flashing a grin at me. He kept his hand around my arm and steered me to a nearby table. A few guests were sitting down after dancing, chatting with their friends or sipping at glasses of wine. I looked around for Giggles, but she was still dancing with the blonde boy. I sighed to myself and sat down as Flippy instructed. He sat down next to me, as calm as ever. Sitting next to him was a brunette in a long golden dress. Flippy winked at me, and put a finger over his lips. He found a nearby fork, and my eyes widened.
Flippy, still keeping his unnerving gaze at me, twirled the fork around in his hand so it was pointing downwards. Then, a grin stretched across his face, and I heard a scream. I jumped and Flippy turned to look at the woman.
"Oh, I'm sorry," he said casually, looking down at the woman's hand. Blood was trailing down her wrist, the bottom end of the fork sticking up in the air. The woman seemed to be having a hard time breathing too.
"Y-You just-!"
"It appears I just stabbed you," interrupted Flippy. "My deepest apologies. I'm sure you'll be fine, though. So, no need to make a fuss."
The woman stared at Flippy in shock, and her mouth opened and shut repeatedly. Flippy shrugged and turned away, facing me again. He ignored the woman's demands and crying. Then, a large, tanned hand tapped Flippy on the shoulder. Flippy turned around with a bored expression, and I followed his gaze.
A tall, muscular man with a holiday tan was glaring down at us. He was bulky, though. About thirteen stone at a first glance even. Maybe twelve. I couldn't tell from under the black suit he wore. Despite his weight he looked to be strong. In fact, he could probably lift Flippy with a hand and throw him across the room. At a guess, Flippy was nine stone at the most. He was dead meat.
"Can I help you?" asked Flippy.
"You just stabbed my wife with a fork!" the man hissed.
"I did," said Flippy, nodding. "I apologized too."
"Well, that's not good enough. You and your little friend here are obviously troublemakers. And you need to be taught a lesson."
Flippy stood up, edging his chair out of the way with his foot. He stood in a low stance, his back to me. He was crouched in a defensive position, like he was shielding me. I wanted to back away, to leave the room, but I found myself rooted in place. I just watched with wide eyes as the man cracked his knuckles, and clenched his fists. Flippy smirked and did the same.
By now, some more people had gathered around to watch, abandoning their drinks. Flippy ignored them, and kept his focus on the man in front of him. He noticed the way Flippy was crouched low in front of me. A slow smile spread over his face, and then stretched into a grin.
"Protecting your girlfriend?" he asked. I knew he was trying to distract Flippy, bring attention to me instead. But it had the wrong effect. It just got Flippy started.
"She's my maid, you bastard," he growled, then jumped for the man. I heard a tearing noise, and when I looked up, Flippy was balancing himself on the man's broad shoulders by his feet. Flippy was clawing furiously at him, tearing his tailcoat and some of his hair as well as shredding pieces of his skin. The man howled and grabbed Flippy around the waist and one of his wrists. He moved to throw Flippy over his head, but Flippy lifted a leg and kicked the man between his eyes. The man cried out in pain, and Flippy landed nimbly on the ground, back where he'd started off in front of me. I saw blood staining his shirt and tie.
"Are we going to have any more problems?" snarled Flippy. His question was directed at the tall man but he looked around at the people who had gathered around. They shook their heads rapidly.
"Are you going to tell anyone about this?"
Again, the people shook their heads. I was shaking my head too. I, along with everyone else, was astounded at Flippy. He'd taken down a man twice his size without breaking a sweat. I gripped the edges of my chair tightly, playing the fight over in my head.
Flippy seemed to relax at the people's agreement. He straightened up, stretched his arms high and turned away from the audience, who immediately rushed away. The woman who Flippy stabbed and the large man were brought to a spare room on the first floor by the first aid to be looked after. Purses, wallets and jewellery were left lying on the tables.
I was still sitting frozen in my chair, looking up at Flippy. He dusted his hands and sat down with a smile, his eye on a wallet overflowing with notes.
"That was interesting, am I right?" he asked, leaning back with his hands behind his head.
I nodded, looking at the table cloth blankly. "Yeah... I-It was."
"Hmm... Who should we pick on next?" he asked, scanning the dance floor. He grinned and pointed a finger. With his other hand, he turned my head to face the way he was pointing. I gasped. He was pointing at Giggles.
"O-Oh no, Flippy," I whispered. "D-Don't. Not her."
"You know Giggles?" he asked, eyebrows raised. I nodded, and Flippy laughed.
"That will make it more fun, then."
Flippy stood up and grabbed my wrist on the way. I was pulled up with him and dragged out to the dance floor. Flippy looked around for Giggles, who had twirled to the opposite side of the dance floor with the blonde boy. Flippy caught sight of them and smiled. He kept his hand on my wrist and put the other on my waist. He smirked at my worried expression, and then made his way over to Giggles and the blonde, who were lost in each other's eyes. Flippy tapped her shoulder and she spun around to face us. Her mouth dropped open when she saw me with Flippy. Flippy noticed and grinned.
"Well, well, well," he said, looking Giggles up and down. "If it isn't my old maid, Giggles."
"Flippy," she replied, looking at the blonde boy as if for help. He spoke up then.
"Pleased to meet you," he said, offering his hand. "I'm Cuddles."
Flippy took his hand from mine, but held onto my waist. He took Cuddles' hand in his and shook it. He let go, and I watched Cuddles look at two thin curved lines imprinted in the palm of his hand. He looked about to say something, but Flippy got in first.
"I hope you're enjoying the party."
"Y-Yes," said Giggles. "It's great."
"I see. How is your father?"
"He's fine," said Giggles, pointing to her mother and father dancing a little way off. "Fine."
"Excellent," said Flippy. "Well, we'd better get going, then."
Giggles saw the worried look on my face, and she blurted out, "How have you been?"
Flippy paused, and grinned. I stiffened when he put an arm around my shoulder. "I've been doing great. Flaky here is an excellent maid. And chef too."
Giggles nodded silently. As if reading her mind, Flippy said cheerfully, "Flaky's a brave one. She hasn't gone crying to Daddy yet."
I didn't bother to mention that my father left me when I was three. Giggles stiffened and she bit her lip. Flippy continued.
"Flaky plays the games with me too. Remember those, Giggles? You were such a spoilsport, always ringing up Daddy to come rescue you. And then he believed you. I miss you, you know. Maybe you should come back, give Flaky a break." He patted my head and smirked. "Poor girl works too hard."
"I'd... I'd rather not," said Giggles. "I've been busy lately."
"A shame," said Flippy. "We could have had so much fun. Right, Flaky?" He looked down at me. My eyes widened, and I nodded. Flippy laughed.
"Well, ciao," he said, waving a hand. He brought me to the speakers, pumping steadily from the volume of the music. I was tempted to cover my ears, but with Flippy holding onto me, there wasn't any way I could.
"Now," said Flippy, looking at the mass of wires. "Which one..?"
He traced a finger along the wire coming out of a large speaker, to its plug. He grinned and yanked the socket out, then crouched low, dragging me down behind the speakers. He was looking around the dance floor.
"Wh-What are w-we doing?" I asked. Flippy smiled.
"You keep an eye out for Giggles and that blond eejit," he told me. "When they're nearby, just say 'here.' And say it a little loud so I can actually hear you. You're a quiet one."
"O-Okay," I said, and looked at the dance floor. I saw Giggles with Cuddles, and kept my eye on them. When they were rounding the corner nearest to us, I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. I was too afraid of what would happen. I lifted a shaky hand and tapped Flippy's shoulder. He glanced to me, and grinned. He gave the wire a good pull, and the speaker above us crashed down to the floor. I heard a shrill scream, and immediately knew what had happened.
"Help me!" Giggles screamed. "Cuddles! Someone!"
Cuddles was panicking, he grabbed the nearest couple and shoved them towards Giggles in a hurry.
"My back!" moaned Giggles. Flippy laughed.
Within seconds, the first aid team were there, lifting the speaker and trying to soothe Giggles. A stretcher was called for. Flippy stood up, still with his hand around my wrist. He pointed without a word to a door with a green EXIT sign on, and a white stick-man running through a door. The emergency exit door. He untangled the long, black wires from around his feet. He looked around once more and then bent over, doing the same for me while I stood staring at the speaker.
"Come on, sweeethear," he encouraged, walking with me to the door as my eyes filled with tears. "We need some fresh air."
I sniffled when we reached the door and glanced back. I felt like a murderer, a killer. What would Mother have thought of me? A sob escaped me, and tears fell down my face, staining my dress. Flippy stopped walking and turned me around to face him. He lifted a finger and wiped a tear away from my eye.
"Don't cry, Flaky," he whispered. "All that crying does is dehydrate you."
I wiped the back of my hand over my eyes, and looked down at the dark wooden floor, trying to shut out the shouts from the people behind us. I squeezed my eyes shut tightly as we walked out of the emergency exit door to the back garden. I took no notice of the beautiful plants and trees. I was unable to stop tears falling from my eyes. Flippy led me further away from the garden.
All the while, he chanted softly, "Don't cry, Flaky. Don't cry."
A.N. Well, I hope that was worth the wait! As usual, tell me what you thought of it!