A/N- So, this is the last official canon chapter. Pretty sad, eh? I've had a whale of a time writing Eyes Wide Shut, and I'm astounded at the amazingly positive reception I've received! But don't panic! There is one more posting to come after this, and I am SO looking forward to it! So penultimate thanks to ptl4ever419, Rissa-channn, Alysiana, Hackshipper and Zstar1 for reviewing!
Chapter Ten- Wide Awake
"So?" Henley prompted. We'd arrived at 5 Pointz ten minutes earlier, and the two of us were in the process of getting ready for the show that was starting in half an hour. Hopefully the FBI had seen the video by now and had been goaded into attending the show.
"So what?" I feigned ignorance.
"Come on, Hunter!" She grabbed my knees and shook me a little in her excitement. "What happened after we left?"
"Oh, nothing much. And watch it, you're making me smudge!" I said, nonchalantly painting my right hand nails black (Henley had painted my left hand).
"Please tell me!" she begged.
I giggled. "Okay, I think I've mentally tortured you enough. We made it all official. Jack and I are now dating, boyfriend and girlfriend, whatever you want to call it."
"Aw, yay!" Henley pretty much cheered, clapping her hands together. "You guys were meant to be!"
"I know, right?!" I agreed, wafting my hand in the air to dry the polish. "It took us bloody long enough to realise."
"So is that all that happened?" Man, Henley just did not give up. "Anything else, or did you just talk about your feelings?"
"Well…" I felt my face flair up with a blush. Henley twigged it almost instantly, even under the layers of foundation and concealer I was wearing to cover up the scrapes and bruises.
"Oh my God, you didn't!" she squealed. I didn't reply, just stared at the wall instead. "You did! Oh my God, Hunter!"
"What? I'm twenty-one, Henley. It's not like I'm seventeen!"
"No, but it's just…wow! I didn't expect it, is all." She scooched her chair round so it was placed side-by-side with mine and put her arm around me. "What was it like?"
"Um…good. I assume. There's nothing I can really compare it to, in all honesty."
"You mean Jack was-"
"Yup," I cut across her. "But I would kinda appreciate it if none of the guys found that out. Jack included. Please, Hen."
"Hey, of course I won't," she said gently, and she placed her other arm around me and hugged me close. "You're a woman now, Hunter."
"Jeez, thanks." I rolled my eyes and laughed. "What was I before, a cabbage?"
"You know what I mean," she said, standing up and starting to brush her hair.
"I do. So, do I look okay?" I asked. I'd changed out of my usual brightness and was now showcasing my black sequined shorts, black blouse and lacy tights.
"Of course you do," she replied warmly. "You need to stop being so insecure about your appearance, Hunter. You're beautiful."
"Woah, things just got a little too movie-cliché for me, there," I joked, stepping into a pair of thickly-high heeled shoes with butterflies decorating the toes. "But thank you. I appreciate that. I'm feeling more than a little less confident than usual."
I turned back to the mirror, looking in despair at my hair- the hair that had once nearly reached my elbows- hanging just under my shoulders. I looked at the scrapes on my face, at the purple bruises. I looked at the cast on my arm. I looked at the burn on my neck. "I look like a broken doll."
"No," Henley assured me, coming up behind me and gently holding my head up high with her hands. "You look like a survivor."
Feeling the morning sun streaming through my blinds and warming my face had always been one of my favourite feelings. I loved the way it made me feel a little flushed, how it turned the insides of my eyelids red instead of black. But most of all, it kind of reminded me of home, in a weird way. I'd had the most eastern-facing room, so I got the full hit of the morning sun every day.
I rolled over, rubbing at my eyes with my un-casted hand and opening them. Well, I certainly had not been expecting last night to go quite the way it had. I'd been expecting a cuddle and a kiss, not the loss of my V card, for lack of a more ladylike way to put it.
I sat up slowly, clutching the white duvet to my naked chest. God, I must have looked a right state. I could already feel how much of a bed-head I had, and no doubt my bruises had had time to blossom to their full purple glory.
I turned, and saw that Jack was still fast asleep next to me. How long I'd waited for this moment…okay, now I just sounded like a script from a really, really bad romantic comedy. He looked so cute when he was asleep; his face looked even younger, and his hair was all fluffed up and wavy. However, I was paying more attention to the fact the duvet had slipped down his chest, coming to a rest on his navel, revealing his gorgeous toned abs.
I laid back down next to him, staring at him, waiting for him to wake up. I waited for twenty minutes, and in that time I managed to get out of bed, pull on my bra and Jack's boxers as my own panties appeared to be hanging from my ceiling lamp, go to and flush the toilet and brush my teeth, all without causing him to stir once.
So once I was back in bed, I decided to wake him up myself. I started kissing him on the cheek, the forehead, the mouth, the neck, trying to get any form of response out of him.
"Jack," I whispered. "Oh Jaaack."
"Hrrmm," he mumbled, turning his back on me.
"Oi! Jack!" I shouted, whacking him with my pillow.
"Woah!" he shrieked, scrambling into a sitting position. "I'm awake!"
"And about bloody time too," I retorted. "It's gone ten, you lazy shit."
"Cut me some slack, Hunt," he groaned, thumping back down on his back. "I had a late night."
"Er, not my fault," I said, lying back next to him.
"I think it might be," he teased.
"You were the instigator, I was the instigatee," I reminded him. "I accept no responsibility for your late night." I ran a hand down his chest, coming to a rest just above where the duvet started.
"Get off," he laughed, grabbing my hand in his own.
"Oh, sorry," I said flirtatiously, now turning my back on him.
"Hey, that isn't what I meant," he replied, spooning me.
"Is this what you meant?" I shot back, rolling us both back so I was lying on top of him. "Is this better, my darling boyfriend?"
"I think I can see why you sent everyone home last night."
"Nah, this was totally not planned." I leaned down and pecked him on the lips before rolling off him and getting out of bed. "But some things are just meant to be. Fate and all that."
"If that's what fate is, I'll start believing in it," Jack said, wrapping the duvet around himself like a toga and getting out of bed too. "Hey, you're wearing my boxers."
"Sure am," I giggled, wiggling my butt at him. "I'm like that Five Seconds of Summer song." I pointed at the waistband that proudly displayed AMERICAN APPAREL. "You know," I cleared my throat and started singing. "You looked so perfect standing there, in my American Apparel underwear. And I know now, that I'm so down. Hey-ay!"
"And on that note," Jack said with a grin. "I'm gonna go take a shower."
"And I am gonna get changed," I said, already opening my wardrobe. It took me my usual fifteen minutes to decide, but I settled on bright green skinny jeans, a white t-shirt witha picture of Little Miss Sunshine printed on it and my favourite red Doc Martens. Not a single fuck was given that red and green clashed.
Jack emerged from his shower, fully dressed with his hair plastered to his forehead. "Looking good," he said.
"You're not so bad yourself," I smiled back, holding my arm up. "Sign my cast now?"
"Sure," he replied, and I tossed him a Sharpie. He gently took hold of my arm and positioned the pen above the top of my hand. "What should I put?"
"Surprise me." So Jack removed the pen lid and started drawing. It took shape soon enough, and I saw it was a heart with an arrow through it. He finished up by inking a J, and then an H in the middle of it.
"Jack and Hunter?" I asked tenderly.
He nodded. "Jack and Hunter."
Standing by projector-camera-thingies started off as pretty silent. Well, we were silent. You could hear the faint roar of the cheering crowds outside even where we were. You could also hear the sirens as the FBI swarmed in, but that is beside the point.
"So," I said, cracking my knuckles. "We ready to do this?"
"The final show of our half-illegal tour that could result in our arrest?" Merritt said dryly. "Never been more ready in my life."
"Let's do it then," said Henley, flicking a switch and causing the projector-camera-thingies to whir to life.
"What is magic?" Danny said to his camera. "Magic is deception, but deception designed to delight, to entertain, to inspire. It is about belief."
"Faith," put in Merritt.
"Trust," added Henley.
"And imagination," I finished.
"Without those qualities," Merritt continued. "Magic, as an art form, would no longer exist."
"And with that, the ability to dream, and to take those dreams and turn them into something beautiful, something surreal, would cease to exist too," I said.
"But what happens if these qualities, if these dreams, are not used for their higher purpose?" Henley asked rhetorically. "And instead they're used to cheat, lie?"
"For personal gain, or for greed," said Danny. "Well then it's no longer magic."
"It's illegal," I said.
"It's crime," concluded Merritt.
"So tonight, for our final act, you're gonna help us set a few things right," said Henley.
The projector-camera-thingies shut down, leaving the four of us looking at each other. We were quiet for a few moments, letting the feeling of finality wash over us. We were so close to the end. So close.
"Showtime," announced Merritt, rubbing his hands together.
"For the last time," I said softly, and the four of us headed off in the direction of the lift, ready to face the public physically.
The lift itself was old, rickety and covered in graffiti. Honestly, it didn't look like it would last the journey up to the roof without the cables snapping and dropping us like a sack of puppies.
The feeling inside the lift was pretty morose. The four of us were standing in separate corners, leaning against the painted walls. There wasn't much talking from any of us, just the occasional cough or throat-clearing.
Then Merritt spoke. "Daniel?"
"Yeah?" Danny replied.
"Er, as our, let's call it, year of living dangerously comes to a close," Merritt said. "In a rare moment of vulnerability, I'd like to express a sentiment to you about our relationship."
"Oh dear God, here we go," I muttered under my breath.
Danny took the bait. "Okay."
"Well, when I first met you, I thought you were kind of a…dick," Merritt informed him. Henley and I both spluttered with laughter; he'd sounded so maudlin.
"And?" Henley pressed.
Merritt looked surprised. "Oh, no, that's it."
I creased over laughing. "Aha, brilliant!"
"That's very nice," Danny said sarcastically. "I'm touched."
"Yeah. Just…from the heart," Merritt said, almost as sarcastically, with an added gesture.
"Well, I didn't tell you where I was touched," Danny retorted.
"Oh, you," said Merritt, mock-affectionately as Henley and Danny chuckled.
"Wait, I don't get it," I said with a frown, and everyone laughed more.
"Oh God, what are we gonna do when this is over?" Henley asked once the laughter had died down.
"We're on our own," answered Danny. "Our instructions run out after the show."
"Even if there is no 'Eye'," said Henley. "If we were completely played and we spend the next twenty years in jail, then I just want to say that-"
"I know," interrupted Danny. "Me too."
"Yeah," I said. "I couldn't agree more, guys."
"Woah," said Merritt, holding up a hand as the lift slowed to a stop. "Little too sentimental for me." He turned and opened up the lift door, letting the neon blue lights seep into the little metal box. He said we were too sentimental. But I knew he felt just as much remorse as we did.
The crowd was going crazy, cheering, whooping, yelling. We stood in our little hidey-hole for a few moments, watching the mannequins disguised as us rise up out of the ground. It was only a few seconds later that the FBI tackled the dummies, sending them crashing to the floor. I did find it more than a little disturbing when I saw the Hunter-dummy's head snap from its neck.
The lights died around us, and we were risen up to the roof of the electronics room. As soon as we were in position, the floodlights came up, revealing us to the audience.
"Hello, New York!" Henley yelled, and the crowd went nuts.
"How are y'all doin' tonight?!" I shouted as we waved, my greeting back when I worked for Starlight Wonders. God, how times had changed.
"Thank you for the magic!" Henley called to everyone. "And thank you for being such an incredible and dedicated audience!"
"Without you, we would have never got to where we are now!" I bellowed. "Yup, there is no way we would currently be standing on the roof of Five Pointz without you guys!" Cue the laughter.
"But unfortunately," Henley added. "Like all good things, it must come to an end."
"So we would like to start our show tonight," Danny told the audience.
"By saying goodbye," finished Merritt.
"Jeez, way to put a downer on the situation," I joked.
"All we wanted was to bring the world to a magic show," Henley continued.
"And thereby bring a little magic back to the world," shouted Danny. The four of us tightly joined hands, me on the end next to Danny. There was a blinding flash of light, and we vanished from the electronics roof. I loved knowing that no one knew how we did it; hell, I barely knew how we did it.
There were another few massive bursts of light- four to be exact- and we appeared on the top of the concrete porch-type thing.
"This has been one hell of a ride for all of us," Merritt carried on the quad-rologue. "But it's time for us to disappear."
"So thank you, every single one of you," I cried. "Because you were the power behind our magic."
"Goodnight, New York," Danny proclaimed.
"And thank you for believing in us." With these final words from Merritt, the four of us turned and began to sprint across the porch. Well, now I knew why I'd chosen shorts and thick heels, as opposed to my usual dress-and-stiletto attire. The edge was getting closer…shit…shit…shit!
A shot fired somewhere. We jumped, and to the audience we disintegrated into money, raining down on the crowd below. But in reality, we miraculously got down to a lower roof of the building, running as fast as we could in the direction of the subway.
"This is what I hate about this job!" I panted as I tried to keep up with the other three. "So…much…God…damn…running!"
"Just keep up, Hunter!" Henley called back, holding her hand out so she could help pull me along.
We emerged from the Queens subway a few minutes later, coming face to face with all the TV billboards hanging from the buildings. We stared in awe as nearly all of them switched to various news channels, all stating that they had BREAKING NEWS.
5 HORSEMEN RAIN MONEY ON NYC
FBI HAVE LOST THE 5 HORSEMEN
5 HORSEMEN DISAPPEAR AFTER BUILDING LEAP
THE FIVE HORSEMEN ESCAPE FBI CLUTCHES YET AGAIN
We couldn't help but stare. We'd done it. We'd pulled the whole thing off. We had actually outsmarted the FBI, the biggest, most important crime-busting unit in the whole of the US of A.
That was when the pictures began to flash up on screen, barely there for a second at a time, but we saw it. The Eye of Horus. It was our sign; it was time to meet our maker. Literally.
The gates into Central Park were very big, very black and very ominous. I'd only ever seen them during the day, when they were open and inviting. Now, at night, it looked like we were heading to a graveyard.
The wind blew the typical New York litter of Wendy's cartons and band leaflets around my ankles, and I clutched my red leather jacket tighter around my shoulders. It was absolutely freezing.
We walked straight up to the gate, and Henley jiggled the padlock. "It's locked," she announced.
"Shit," I said. "What, are we just supposed to hang about until some random Eye member shows up and vanishes the gate away? Why would they leave it locked, for God's sake?"
"Weren't you listening?" A very familiar voice floated out of the darkness, and Jack came sauntering up to us, his typical grin on his face. "Nothing's ever locked."
"Ah!" Merritt said appreciatively.
Henley applauded him. "Well done, Mr Wilder! Good work!"
"You're a big boy now, Jack," Merritt appraised.
You have no idea, I thought dirtily as Jack got to work picking the padlock.
"Hey baby," I said once the gate was open, placing my arms around his neck and giving him a fleeting kiss. "I've missed you."
"I missed you too," he replied, kissing me a second time. "But I got the money out of the safe and got it in Bradley's car, I saw the show on the live stream."
"We did awesome, right?"
"Awesome," he agreed, kissing me on the forehead.
"And I think we have seen enough of the lovey-dovey sentimental crap for tonight," Merritt said, stepping in and physically extracting us from each other. "Might I recommend that we actually have a look for whatever it is we're meant to be finding."
"Kill the romance, why don'tcha," I grumbled, but Jack took my left hand and held on tightly, grinning at me.
"Do we all know what we're looking for?" Danny asked.
"I think we have a pretty good idea," replied Henley, and the five of us set off into the dark Central Park.
"Guys, I am really not feeling this," I said fifteen minutes later, after successfully finding…nothing.
"Yeah, what if all this was just leading up to us getting mugged in Central Park at two AM?" asked Merritt.
"No, I'm telling you, we're right where we need to be," insisted Danny, shining his phone torch around. "We just have to find-"
"That?" suggested Henley, pointing her torch at a tree. We stopped and turned. It wasn't just any tree. It was-
"The Lionel Shrike tree," said Danny.
"I think we all got that, Danny Boy," I said, rolling my eyes. "No need for the dramatic introduction."
"Look," said Henley, pointing her torch up higher. "The card encased in glass."
"Is it weird to find that kind of beautiful?" I murmured.
"What do we do now?" asked Merritt.
Henley hesitated, then pulled her High Priestess card out of her back pocket. We all followed suit, taking our Tarot cards and holding them out next to each other. As if by themselves, the cards flipped out of our hands and placed themselves over Henley's card, appearing to merge into one card, Jack's Death at the top. Lights starting shining out from behind the skull.
"And we're back to the LSD trippin'," I said. "Why can't The Eye present anything in simple muted colours? What up with the constant neon blue?"
The card had turned into a weird transparent material, the Eye of Horus shining through. Henley held the card up in front of the glass and waved it round in a circle. The card in the glass started glowing itself, shining brightly.
"Oh, nice!" Merritt said with a breathy laugh. Suddenly, a whirring noise was heard, and traditional merry-go-round music began to play, echoing around the park.
"What in the hell…?" I muttered, and the five of us looked at each other in confusion.
"Where is that coming from?" asked Henley.
"It's over there," Danny replied, pointing in the direction a load of new lights had just appeared in. Almost mechanically, the five of us started walking towards it, almost entranced.
"Oh my God, there's someone by the bushes!" I shrieked, ducking behind Jack as I clocked the dark, man-shaped mass. That was when Special Agent Dylan Rhodes stepped out of the shadows.
I screamed, and Jack had to clamp his hand down over my mouth so I didn't wake the dead.
"Oh my God!" laughed Merritt. "I did not see that coming. That's impossible!"
"No way," breathed Jack.
"I think I just shit myself," I said incredulously, staring at Rhodes with huge, disbelieving eyes.
"That was actually…pretty good," Danny lamented to Rhodes, who smirked.
"Thank you," he said.
"When I said, 'always be the smartest guy in the room'," Danny began apologetically, or as close to apologetic as Danny could get.
"We were in agreement," Rhodes informed him.
"Okay." Danny looked pensive. "Right."
"Henley." Rhodes nodded at her, and all she did was make a few strange gaspy, spluttery noises.
"I've never seen her speechless," Danny instead spoke.
"I take that as a huge compliment," Rhodes said with a smile, shaking her hand.
"Hey, man, I am so sorry for kicking your ass!" Jack apologised. "Really."
"Yeah, and I should probably apologise for like, punching you in the face…and…roundhouse kicking you in the ribs," I said guiltily.
"Apologies accepted." Dylan also shook my hand. "You gave a good fight."
"Hey, listen, for the record, I have always been a one hundred percent believer," Merritt insisted. "And the amount of energy I have expended to keep these infidels on point-"
"Hey!" I protested as Henley started laughing and punching him in the arm.
At the same time, Dylan cut across him, "Merritt, you're in!"
"God bless." Merritt seemed to practically shrink with relief.
"Come," Dylan invited, gesturing to the merry-go-round. "The real magic," he explained as we drew closer to the fast-moving ride. "Is taking five strong solo acts and making them all work together, and that's exactly what you did." He moved into the gap that let people get on the ride. "So welcome. Welcome to The Eye." He turned and grabbed one of the metal bars, jumping onto the moving platform. He went round for half the ride, and then he vanished.
We hesitated for a split second, then we lunged for the ride ourselves. Jack and Merritt hopped the fencing while Henley and Danny went through the actual gate. Jack reached over the fence and put his arms around my waist, lifting me over it and spinning me around. I placed my hands on his cheeks and kissed him as we spun, only breaking when he put me down.
We took each others' hands and jumped, our feet clunking down on the merry-go-round at the same time. We heard three separate thuds after us as the others also landed on the ride. Jack and I placed our arms around each other and leaned in for another kiss, drawing ever closer to the point where Dylan had vanished. We knew this wasn't the end of our story. No.
It was just the beginning.
A/N- BOOM. Canon = done! That, my friends, is more than a little cray-cray! But do not despair! I've still got an epilogue up my sleeve, and the ones I write always tend to end up pretty long…I hope, anyway. But any, review, review, review! There is only one more chapter, and if I could get to fifty reviews by then, I would be ecstatic! I love you all, and I really hope you liked the chapter! Xx Gee xX
PS- Blah blah blah, profile, blah blah blah, photo links, blah blah blah, Polyvore.