(Ok before we get into this let me just say that this is technically a flashback chapter, as it takes place back during Chapter 7. But it's from Black Hat's POV baby so you know this is gonna be good! Alright, let's DO THIS!)
Black Hat had been having a rather busy week. He had his hands full with juggling his educational workload with his more personal projects. Nothing can be achieved by just sitting around doing nothing, after all. But Flug still hadn't called him back, and it had been DAYS for crying out loud! How long does it take to just call back and agree or not?!
Friday night, he'd finally allowed himself to take a break from his usual nightly trips to the more seedy areas of the city. With his schedule cleared, he figured it was high time to get an answer out of Flug.
He called him. No answer.
Hey, he's probably busy. He might have a class, although Black Hat knew Flug's schedule and knew for a fact he did NOT have a class at this time, maybe he's just away from his phone at the moment. Perhaps he'll call back on his own after seeing that Black Hat called him again.
So he waited a few minutes before calling again. Figuring that if Flug had just innocently been away from his phone, he was surely back by now.
His call went unanswered yet again.
Ok ok, no need to get testy without reason. Maybe he's just busy. He does stuff for that Engineering Club he's in, perhaps he's just wrapped up in that. He's a young man, they check their phones often. Surely he'll call back. It would just take a bit of patience.
Patience was never Black Hat's strong suit.
Flug had had the entire freaking week to get back to him, and what was he doing?! What else was going on in his life that he couldn't just return a damn phone call!? Was he ignoring him!? Was that little ass deliberately letting his phone ring just to spite him!?
Oh no the fuck he isn't!
Black Hat reasoned that before he stormed that lab Flug's little club met in most of the time, he should at least make sure he was actually in there. Maybe the neurotic little worm actually decided to get a life since the last time he'd seen him. Black Hat knew for a fact he hadn't done anything crazy like run away, the boy was a coward but only on the surface.
He could see what he truly was under the skin. What poked out from beneath those scars.
The only place Black Hat could think of that Flug was even somewhat likely to be that wasn't his apartment was Cafe Triste, that little coffee place he'd brought him to twice before. Of course, it was well past ten o'clock by this time, and the place was most likely closed, but he figured he might as well make sure Flug wasn't there.
He found the cafe indeed closed, but not quite empty yet. The remaining staff were just about done closing up for the night, shoo-ing out the few straggling college students desperate for a caffeine fix.
He recognized the aforementioned waitress, and calmly knocked on the glass windowpane to get her attention.
She instinctively pointed at the closed sign on the door, probably eager to get home. She froze however, when she seemingly recognized him. Her eyes went wide and her jaw dropped. Not out of fear, more of...excitement?
She smiled widely and started hopping around like a giddy toddler, jumping and pointing rapidly at him and saying something he couldn't fully understand to the rest of the staff. Who in turn looked out to see him standing awkwardly outside the door.
They too seemed pretty happy(?) to see him. One of the other waitresses motioned for the giddy girl to open the door, which she promptly did as well as grab him by the arm and drag him inside at inhuman speed.
What is going on? Black Hat thought. Did I miss something?
The girl sat him down none too gently and immediately began talking at break-neck speed.
"Dios mio it's you! It's really you! You're Black Hat, right? Flug, that skinny guy with the glasses, he's been coming in, like, ALL WEEK asking if we've seen you!" (Wait, what?!) "You guys seriously need to exchange numbers or emails or something, cuz that guy just looked so sad everytime I told him I hadn't seen you! It was painful man, just painful! And if you don't mind me saying, I see exactly what he was so worked up about."
She winked after that last part.
Black Hat took a second to process all that. Flug had been coming in everyday asking about HIM? Why didn't he just call him? He should still have his number in his call logs, shouldn't he?
Apparently, that second he took trying to wrap his head around what she'd said was too long, because she started back up again.
"So, now that you're here, and way late by the way, we close at 10, what's the deal with you two anyway? We all had our own theories, which Flugsy denied, but now that you're here yourself you can set things straight, yeah?" She pulled up a chair at the table next to him and sat herself down.
"I'm Demetra by the way."
Ummmm...okay.
"Now, tell me. How'd you and Flug meet?"
Before Black Hat had the chance to respond to her, a large older woman walked out from the back of the cafe. Given her authoritative tone of voice, Black Hat assumed she was the manager of the establishment.
"Demetra!" She yelled. "What have I told you? When it's time to close, we close! When I said talk to the customers after hours, this isn't what I meant! Samuel!" The woman turned to one of the few male employees. "Lock up when you get these two out."
"Hehehee, sorry Consuela…" the bubbly girl said with a bashful grin, curling her hair around herself. She certainly didn't look very sorry. In half a second she was ushering him back out the door, saying "Wait for me, I'll be right back."
What...what just happened?
Black Hat was far too perplexed at...well, MERE EXISTENCE at the moment to do little else except wait for the hyperactive waitress with hair that seemed to be a throwback to the punk era of the 70s.
Also...was he seeing things or did her hair seem to reflexively curl on it's own?
He could almost swear that he'd seen her hair bouncing to its own cadence opposite the girls own. When her superior scolded her, it seemed like it curled around her, like a blanket or the tail of some creature.
This warranted further observation.
Seeing as he had nothing else to do, Black Hat checked his phone again.
No voicemails.
No calls.
Not even ONE DAMN TEXT MESSAGE from Flug!
Oh for the love of all that was dark and menacing DO NOT TELL ME YOU DIDN'T NOTICE ALL THOSE PHONE CALLS!
Black Hat was sure he had the correct number. He'd been calling the same one from the one time Flug actually had called him back. The phone was ringing, so it couldn't be that his phone was turned off or that it didn't have service. And it rang multiple times, meaning Flug wasn't outright rejecting the calls.
As a sort of test, he sent a text message this time. Something aggressive but not wholly unwarranted.
FLUG I KNOW THIS IS YOUR NUMBER ANSWER ME
Oh pineapples, was having it all in capitals a bit much? Was he coming off as desperate? Oh no he was NOT a desperate man! He just wanted to talk to him, that was all. Talk to him and maybe get an answer of whether or not he was willing to drive off into the bleak nothingness of the desert with him!
Ok, maybe leaving the specifics out had been a mistake. They had just barely met, after all. But, he wanted it to be a surprise. It really meant a lot to him and saying it without looking at it made it seem...dumb.
Black Hat really wished text messages were like messenger apps, the kind that showed you when the person actually read your text. The small solace of knowing that his text at least got through was little comfort.
Perhaps his silence was a message in itself. He had made up his mind, and decided to decline his gracious offer.
Well, that would be fine, IF THE BASTARD HAD THE BALLS TO SAY SO!
Black Hat tried not to clench his fist, hoping to have this phone a bit longer than a few months before he broke it like his last one, when he was shaken out of his thoughts by the flashy waitress from before.
Who'd changed out of her uniform, apparently.
While the punk aesthetic matched her hair and personality far better than the boring white blouse with her name tag pinned to it, he couldn't say he was a huge fan. He could appreciate the sentiment of the anti-authority punk subculture, but not the actual music or fashion.
The asymmetry was giving him a bit of a headache to be honest. Her hair colors were at least complementary colors. Which was the biggest compliment he could muster. Why was she wearing leggings if one of them was ripped to point that it ended mid-thigh? Why not just buy another pair?
The lizard hood however, was sort of charming in a ridiculously childish sort of way.
"I like your hood."
"Oh thanks!" The weirdo said, beaming. "I made it myself. My parents actually run a reptile ranch, and I made patches and stuff to advertise it all the time, but this hood I made just for me. Neat, huh? It's a Demetra original! I based it on my own little guy, Locojos. Cuz he has these crazy little eyes that just dart around all over the place. Except when I feed him, then they lock on like he's got little target sights. So that's where the name came from. Loco. Ojos. ¡Locojos! He's a horned lizard, that's why it has horns, even though they don't really look like this. They're funny lookin' things."
Oh WOW she talks a lot. Black Hat thought. She better have some good information on Flug.
Thank God this woman could walk and talk at the same time. If Black Hat had to sit still and listen to this he was sure he'd go mad. Moving his body allowed him to keep moving his thoughts. Hopefully finding a way to steer this conversation back to Flug, the whole reason he was even here.
But for Hell's sake, this woman just kept talking and talking and talking and talking and going off on tangent after tangent! What were they talking about now? Hadn't the subject been her wardrobe only minutes before? Now she was telling him about the various lizards and snakes she's raised. Black Hat wasn't even participating in this conversation, he would just nod or give a one or two word reply every few sentences.
It also didn't help that none of these topics were anything he even remotely cared about. Who was this woman, again? Didn't he just see her once or twice before? Why was she telling him her life story?
"You said Flug kept asking about me?" Black Hat asked when she finally paused her infernal mouth vomit. She was saying something about how hard it was living with three older brothers? He didn't care.
"What? Oh! Yeah! Like, every day! Just 'Has Black Hat been here? Have you seen Black Hat? What no, it's not like that!' over and over! So!" The woman jumped in front of Black Hat, who just barely stopped himself from punching her in the throat reflexively.
"What's the deal with you two? Are you dating? How long have you been together? Who started it? Is it over? Please say it's not! It can't end like this! You gotta take him back, he's in shambles without you! Shambles I tell you! Anxious, nerdy, coffee addicted shambles! Flug is definitely the bottom, right?"
WHAT THE EVER LOVING FUCK?!
Black Hat actually laughed out loud at that.
"Oh you...you are just something else!" He said between dark chuckles.
What the hell was with this girl? It was like talking to a mentally ill person. Just a barrage of meaningless word garbage, until randomly there was something halfway valuable to be heard. Did she really see them as a couple? Really?
"How about we take a ride and you tell me more about Flug?" He said, offering her his arm. "I'm afraid I might've made him uncomfortable, maybe you can help me make things right?"
She eagerly took his arm (way too tight, not that he'd let it show) and agreed.
This night promised not to disappoint.
This night was a waste of time.
Black Hat could be out committing atrocities the likes of which this country had never seen. He could be out spreading the terror of his name to unsuspecting men and women caught at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Hell, he could be at home watching black and white movies and eating popcorn in his briefs.
But no, he was sitting on the hood of his car out in some dingy empty parking lot smoking with some chick who was apparently born without an "off" switch. Thankfully it wasn't anything stronger than tobacco, so it wouldn't leave too much of an offending smell. Though he still refused to let her light up in the car.
Smoking seemed to calm her down a bit, she was no longer talking at break-neck speed and the flow of the conversation was much smoother.
Black Hat still wasn't interested or invested in her life story, but she made it a point to tell him anyway.
"I swear Ivan blamed me for it. There was no possible way I could've been anywhere near the snake cage, but somehow it was my fault that it got out. The fact that it went after his dog was somehow more proof. Do you see how it could've been me?"
"No."
Black Hat honestly had little to no idea what she was talking about at this point. They'd somewhat cleared up the situation between he and Flug, amusing as it was to the both of them it really wasn't much to continue talking about, and it had apparently reminded her of some anecdote between one of her brothers and a classmate (Black Hat wasn't even sure it was the same brother they were talking about now), and now the conversation was about how a snake had killed the family dog. Apparently the truth of the matter wasn't all she had been hoping for, so she just dropped off the topic of Flug.
And he still didn't know what he should do about it.
"Right? I wasn't even home! It's not like I have some psychic link to the snakes! Just because-" she cut herself off. It was so sudden that Black Hat stopped staring into the nothingness beyond the cheap streetlights and looked at her.
"Just because...?"
She was silent for a time. Longer than she had been for the past hour. "It's nothing." She finally said, in the quietest voice he had heard all night.
Very well. It appeared even this moronic girl knew that not every detail should be shared with a stranger over a cigarette.
Given her eagerness to share herself, Black Hat deduced that she didn't have many friends or extended family to burden with her problems. No doubt her obnoxious and exuberant personality was a turn off to some, and to those with similar dispositions she most likely is more interested in enjoying the shared energy rather than getting into deep personal conversation.
The youngest child of a family of six, and the only daughter to boot. And yet he was able to talk with her into the late hours of the night without so much as a phone call from any father or brother asking where she is, who she's with, what she's doing, or when she's returning home.
Black Hat may have been in this country for less than a year, but he understood enough about the culture to know that it followed the near universal familial norms. Respectable young women were not supposed to stay out late into the night doing heaven knows what with god knows who. Yes, she had a job with somewhat late hours, but even working women are still treated like women by their families, no?
"Your family is strange." He said, more to break the silence than to actually continue this conversation.
"Yeah. Well, what about you? What's your deal?"
"Have none." He said, taking a long drag of his own cigarette. "My parents died when I was young. I don't remember them."
"No brothers or sisters?"
"No."
"No one else?"
I was raised in an orphanage, what do you think?"
"Well damn, sorry. Didn't know you were so touchy." She said, leaning against him and twirling her long ponytail around. She was gonna set it on fire if she wasn't careful.
Black Hat rolled his eyes and went back to staring at nothing.
"So, no family. Do you have any friends aside from the dork you're trying to screw?"
Black Hat huffed in annoyance. But answered just to shut her up. "No."
"Well, that's just pathetic." She said. "Ok! You now officially have one more friend!"
"Fantástico." He said sarcastically.
"Don't give me that!" She said, shoving him slightly. It irked him when she touched him. "I'm just trying to lighten the mood. You've been getting grumpier the longer we talk, don't think I haven't noticed."
And yet, you can't figure out that you're the cause, Black Hat thought.
"This is still about Flug, isn't it? Well ok Señor Black Hat let me tell you up front: You screwed up."
"What?" He said, surprised that she'd finally come back to the one thing he actually wanted to talk to her about.
"You don't just call people up after two dates and ask to spend the weekend together. Especially not when all you've done is hold hands. Yeah, I saw that." She gave him a rather devious smile.
"Yeah, ok," He admitted. "But-"
"But nothing! Not everyone is as spontaneous and free-spirited as you. Or me." She placed a hand on her chest and smirked knowingly. "Other people gotta be eased into things. Flug is definitely one of them."
Black Hat considered her words. True, Flug was not the sort of person who simply acted on impulse or made spur-of-the-moment decisions in his daily life. No, he was someone who made it a point to think carefully and consider situations from every angle. An analyst to the core. The last time he hadn't, the consequences had been near fatal for him. The two times Black Hat had been upfront and direct right off the bat had not ended as well as he'd hoped either.
She...might have a point.
"Fine." Black Hat said. "How do I...fix this?"
"Just gotta wait. Give him time."
"He's had a week." He pointed out.
"A week of constantly being on the lookout for you." She pointed out right back at him. "Guess he felt anything he had to say needed to be done in person. Not over the phone. So, where have you been?"
"I've been busy." He said. Busy with what was none of her concern.
"Leave him a message maybe, apologize for rushing things." She took a drag. "What you don't want to do is acosar him with phone calls."
Black Hat's face fell.
Her face went blank.
"Tell me you didn't."
"Well-"
"Oh wey!" She said, jumping off of the hood. "That is the one thing you absolutely don't do! Like, basic Dating 101!"
Black Hat gave up trying to convince her he wasn't after Flug for romance. It was clear she wasn't listening.
"It was just today!" He said, defending himself against this loud, annoying person. "I gave him the entire week to get back to me on his own!"
"Which he felt he needed to do face-to-face!" She said, accentuating her point with her hands.
"How was I supposed to know that!?"
"Where have you been?!"
"None of your business!"
"What were you doing?!"
"None of your damn business!"
"Who were you doing?!"
"What the fuck are you talking about!?"
"Where were you?!"
"Why are you yelling at me!?
"WHERE IS YOUR NOSE!?" She suddenly jumped forward and got up close and personal with his face. She pointed at the area where his nose would be if he had one.
Oh would people shut THE FUCK UP ABOUT HIS NOSE!?
Black Hat grabbed her by the face and shoved her back so hard she fell and landed on her ass. It was a wonder she didn't trip on her hair. Or flash him her panties. Well, they were probably covered by the tights. But still, it was the principle of the thing.
Black Hat took one final drag of his cigarette before flicking it off into the night.
"That's a really rude thing to ask, you know." He said in an incredibly polite tone.
"Well excuse me," she said. "You didn't strike me as the 'sensitive' type." She actually did the little air quotes with her fingers. What the hell.
"And what type do i strike you as?"
"Well, I think you just might be...mine."
She was on her feet with just a leap of her legs and was directly in front of Black Hat within half a second. With the other half, she managed to get on top of him and push him flat on his back. She placed both of her hands on either side of his head. Her knees were on either sides of his waist. Trapped, if he were an ordinary man who had a problem with hitting women.
As it was, he had none. He was a gentleman, not a chauvinist.
That was impressive speed and agility, though. He wondered where she'd learned to move like that.
Also, her hair seemed to be defying gravity now. There she was, on top of him looking down through her bangs, and yet that choppy mess of neon green wasn't falling down and engulfing the both of them in strands of hair. It wasn't as though she was holding her ponytail up with her hands, either. Both hands were planted firmly on the hood of his car, restricting his movement in a small way.
"So, are you in fact, gay?"
"Could be. What's it to you?" He asked in a bored voice. Honestly, what was he even still doing here? Why did he come here? Why does he do anything?
WHY WILL FLUG NOT RETURN HIS CALLS?!
"Oh nothing. Nothing at all. Just wondering. About what a man with such obvious good taste like you sees in that little guy." She began fiddling with his tie, occasionally moving her fingers to dance along his chest.
"Well that's my business now isn't it?"
"Yeah, yeah. Are you perhaps bisexual?"
"I'm just interested in what will get me ahead in life. At the moment, that's Flug."
"And if he were a woman?"
He wears panties and he could put your legs to shame, is that enough? He thought.
"That wouldn't change anything."
"How open-minded of you." She said with a smirk.
It really wasn't. Black Hat was just focused on how he could use Flug to best suit his needs. If that involved taking care of a few of Flug's needs every so often, so be it. It wasn't as though the younger man was unattractive, as a matter of fact Black Hat found his thin frame and scarred face unique and quite pleasing to the eye. A physical relationship wasn't anything unthinkable, especially since Flug himself wasn't being physical with anyone else at the moment. Black Hat could be quite charming when he wanted, and was sure he could wrap the man around his finger if he could just get closer…
"So, if nothing's decided and he's still silent, why not have some fun?"
"I'll pass." Black Hat said, starting to get up.
He was rather roughly shoved back down.
"Now, is that any way to refuse a lady?" She asked, showing surprising strength for a female of her stature. She didn't seem overly built, and she was shorter than him at about 5' 6".
Lean muscle?
"Is this any way for a lady to act?" Black Hat asked right back. "Not very refined, are you?"
"I am my own refined!" She announced to...him. She said it loudly, but there was no one else around but the two of them.
"That didn't make sense."
"Life makes no sense, why should I? Or you? Or anyone for that matter. We'll only lose it someday anyway, why waste precious time trying to be sensible?" She folded her arms and rested her head on his chest. She looked him dead in the eyes with a look of seriousness he wasn't expecting from her. "Everything is temporary, even things that last hundreds of years."
"Only too true." He said with a surprising amount of sincerity. "I have to say, I did not peg you for a philosopher."
"You know, I don't exactly peg you as a hero." She flashed him a devilish grin that showed off those sharpened canines he'd glimpsed.
Black Hat remained calm. She couldn't prove anything.
"Yeah, I guess I don't exactly look very heroic now do I?"
"Nope," she said bringing herself closer to his face. "Not heroic at all. As a matter of fact, I think you look rather-"
"Dashing? Handsome? Everything you've ever wanted?" He cut her off swiftly before she could say anything more. "Yes, I've heard it before. Sorry, but you're just not what I'm looking for. I appreciate your enthusiasm, but you just don't do it for me babe."
Her face fell for a second, but soon she was smiling wide again. Giggling even. That too broke out into full-blown rambunctious laughter. She sat up on his stomach as she leaned her head back and roared her cacophonous cackling into the night.
It sounded malevolent almost, something Black Hat wasn't opposed to.
But she needed to get off of him. Seriously, it was getting really hard to breathe. She was crushing his diaphragm.
"Oh you!" She said in between gasping laughter. "You are something else!"
Black hat shrugged. Well, as much as he was able to shrug with the air being slowly squeezed out of his lungs. He resisted the urge to push her off. For now.
"I like something else," she said, yanking him up suddenly by his lapels. At least he could breathe a bit better at this angle.
"Can you not pull those?" He asked, still as uninterested as ever. "I like this coat."
"Is this your only one?"
"No," He admitted.
"Then I fail to see the issue."
"It's my favorite out of all twelve of my identical coats."
"How can you even tell?"
"The keen eye of a man who knows what he's after." Black Hat said, slapping her hands away. "Can you get off me now?"
She rolled off and took her seat again next to him on the hood. Appearing to be still in good spirits.
"So, what are you really after?" She asked.
"What do you mean?"
"You want more than some degree and meaningless job you'll hate after a year. So what is it? What's your dream?"
"You first."
"I always wanted to be a musician." She said. "I even learned to play the electric guitar all on my own."
Loud, obnoxious, and a bother to everyone who heard it. Fitting.
"But?"
"But contrary to TV and movies, you can't get anywhere with just heart and soul. And my grades sucked so bad I couldn't even get my high school diploma. And there was no point in sticking around when everyone knew I'd just flunk out again."
Black Hat grunted as a reply. He could've guessed that much.
"So, instead of just sitting at home being reminded of what a failure I am, I went out and got a job."
"Do you not like your job?"
"It's not bad." She said, pulling out another cigarette. "I meet a lot of people. I make an okay amount of money. Not enough to move out on my own but it's something. It's just not what I want to do. Not many other places hire high school dropouts."
She offered one to him, he politely declined. She continued.
"Same with my social life. I had friends back in school, sure, but it's not like they want to hang back and give up on their own dreams just for me. Outside of my coworkers and random guys I see out and about I don't really talk to anyone."
So, Black Hat was right. She really doesn't have anyone else to talk to.
"Sometimes I'll see a guy. Like, actually see a guy. Like actually go out more than once. Sometimes they'll even be a nice guy. But then they go. They can't handle me. No one can handle Demetra Yashchirkaova!" She proclaimed with a toothy grin.
But Black Hat could see the falseness of the smile this time. Could see how it failed to reach her eyes.
"So, I try being someone else. Someone maybe someone would stay with. Cuz clearly I'm not that person. It's made friendships hard. Dating harder. It's like, I have to constantly hide who I am. Lie about myself. Act like I'm someone I'm not, y'know?"
"Yeah, I know." Black Hat said earnestly. He truly did, he'd been hiding his true self nearly his entire life. It was exhausting but got easier as time went on, until even he wasn't completely sure who it was in his own skin anymore.
Maddening.
"I guess that's why I just blurted everything out to you," she said, smiling sadly. She tapped a few ashes off of her cigarette. "I figured, you're just some guy who comes in every so often, seeing another guy. Some rando who I can tell everything to with no regrets. Someone who isn't going to care or really listen, so I can just say whatever."
"I was wondering why you were telling me your life story."
She laughed again. A bit humorlessly.
"I swear, if I was actually just being myself with anyone else, they'd run away. I scare off every guy I try to get serious with."
She flicked her cigarette off into the shadows beyond the streetlights.
"But you, you don't scare off so easily, do you?" She asked with a malicious grin. A real one this time.
"Oh darling, you'll need to do much more to ever scare me off." He returned her grin with one of his own. Menacing and promising nothing but evil intent.
Either she didn't pick up on it, or she found it a turn on.
"You talk a big game, but I raise you-" She pulled out her phone. Then stopped as she went to unlock it. "Oh damn it's almost midnight? Shit!"
Oh wow midnight already? My, how the time flies. And things were just starting to get good. Black Hat pulled out his own phone to see for himself and was surprised by a new text message.
From. Flug.
Robotics Lab. Urgent. Come now.
Well, not even so much as a Hi, how have you been? Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. Could you please come get me, I've finally worked up the nerve to talk to you again.
Just who did Flug think he was?
"Black Hat, you mind giving me a ride home? I live kind of far and I don't have a car. Or a license. I'd usually get a ride from a Marietta but, you know, she's not here. It's been- it that from Flug?" She said, peering over to look at his phone.
"Yeah." Black Hat said. "Sure, I'll take you home."
The both of them got up, Black Hat holding the car door open for his lady friend. Although the terms "lady" and "friend" were used in their loosest meanings.
"So, are you, like, not gonna reply?" She asked once he himself was seated in the drivers side next to her.
"Not right away, no. I don't even know what to say. Is he in trouble? He's been around, so it's not like he was kidnapped and just barely got his phone back."
"That would be so dramatic and awesome. You could ride in a save him all heroic-like! Then he would swoon and be all like, 'Black Hat, my savior! Let's go on that romantic weekend trip! I'll pay for the motel room!'"
Black Hat barked a humorless laugh. "Yeah I guess."
The girl, Demeter or something, seemed to pick up on his lack of enthusiasm. "What gives? I thought you wanted to talk to him."
"I don't want it to seem like I was just waiting by the phone for him. Because I wasn't." He said defensively.
"Then, play hard to get!" She said, a wicked twinkle coming into her eyes. Yep, one was definitely a different color. A yellow-green tint to go against the chocolatey brown.
It actually looked kind of pretty.
"Play hard to get?"
"Yeah! Act like you totally haven't been just waiting and waiting for him to call you." She winked. "Act like you're busy."
He didn't like the way she winked. He wasn't waiting for him to call back like some lovesick teenager. He wasn't. He wasn't! Stop eyeing him like that, he said he wasn't!
So, he texted Flug back: I'm busy. Can it wait?
"Good!" The girl said from beside him. "You sound totally disinterested!"
"Is that what I want?"
"Yeah! You're not just waiting on him to get back to you, you have your own life! You do things! Riiiight?" She winked again.
Stop winking damn it before I push you out of this car. He thought.
Ugh, they carried the smell of tobacco into the car with them. Black Hat rolled down the windows. This girl could stink up her own car.
In the event she ever got one.
A response: I don't know, can that weekend trip you mentioned wait?
Ok, this was the best progress Black Hat had gotten so far. If he actually had to thank this annoying woman, he was going to be literally driven insane.
Said woman gasped, and really needed to stop reading other people's text messages, as Black Hat started the car.
"See?" She said with a wide grin. "I told you playing hard to get worked!"
"Yeah ok ok I got it from here." Black Hat waited a bit before making his displeasure known. Playing hard to get, as she said. He wrote: Oh so you're FINALLY getting back to me about that?
He pulled out of the empty parking lot he'd spent the last hour in, glad to be back in his lush leather seats. He didn't type again until they made it to the next red light.
So you're in?
He kept the phone in his hand, so that he could see exactly when Flug responded back. Unfortunately, that also meant his passenger could see as well. And it was getting more and more annoying that she was reading from his phone so blatantly!
"Oooooh!" Said girl exclaimed. "He said, 'Yeah I'm in. Now can you please come get me? I need a ride home.' Aw, is that all?"
Black Hat rolled his eyes. Really, this was what was so urgent that Flug finally worked up the nerve to text him? Well, it was pretty late. The buses probably weren't running anymore. So, Flug was pretty much stranded unless he wanted to walk for nearly an hour back to his apartment building.
Did he not have anyone else to drive him home besides Black Hat?
He typed: None of your friends can give you a ride?
"You're doing this perfectly!" His passenger squealed. "You sound totally uninterested and bored! You're a natural!"
Black Hat hummed in agreement. He was picking up this whole "play hard to get" thing rather quickly, wasn't he? He grinned at his accomplishment. Soon, Flug would be eating out the palm of his hand.
Look can you please just do this for me? I'll owe you a favor, okay?
Oh look, Flug, eating out of the palm of his hand! Black Hat didn't even have to really try! Quite the opposite in fact, he just gave the least amount of effort he ever had.
Black Hat immediately responded: Okay fine. Be there soon. Bringing company.
It was perfect. It was bored, disinterested, and extremely vague. Those last two words were going to drive Flug up the wall, he just knew it! Flug would be attempting to unravel the meaning behind them, wondering if Black Hat was bringing another villain, if he had been busy with crime and murder and Flug had pulled him away in the middle of some dastardly misdeed.
Or Flug would think he'd been on a date, once Black Hat actually showed up. Oh, to see the look on his face!
Black Hat sped up. Screw the traffic laws, he needed to get to Flug NOW!
"So, I guess I'm along for the ride?" His new "friend" said from beside him.
"Yeah, it'll only be a slight detour. Flug doesn't live too far from campus."
"Hey, it's cool. Makes my dad's upcoming lecture worth it."
He'll lecture her for staying out late, but won't actually call and check up on her? Weird father. What if she had gotten into the car with some strange man?
Black Hat chuckled darkly to himself. Oh, the things he could do with a girl who's father cared so little.
"What's so funny?" She asked.
"Oh nothing." He said.
Suddenly, he got an idea. If just acting disinterested got this much of a reaction from Flug, what would acting interested in something else do? Or rather, someone else?
What was this girl's name again? Demeter? No no, it ended with an "a" sound. But he was sure it started with "Dem". Dem-something. Dem...Dem...Oh screw it. Friends gave each other these "nicknames", did they not? Dem would be fine until he remembered what the rest of her name was.
"Dem?"
"Yes?"
"Could you do something for me?"
"Like what?"
"When we get to the school, could you kind of...walk with me? Like, together?"
"You want to help you make him jealous?" She asked with that familiar devilish grin. It was a sight he was starting to like despite himself.
"Yeah, I guess so."
"Oh I am so in!" She said, jumping in her seat a bit. "Hey, this is a nice car you got here."
"What, you barely noticed?"
"What'd you pay for this fancy ride?"
"Oh, I got it at a steal." He said deviously.
"You're kidding!" She said incredulously.
"Hey, you just gotta know how to handle salesmen. They all have a breaking point." Black Hat resisted the urge to break out in full-blown evil laughter. But goddamn was it hard not to when he could still hear the bones snapping so clearly.
They pulled up into the school parking lot, only a few minutes away from the laboratory where Flug would be waiting. The both of them jumped out of the car at rapid speed (admittedly the girl was faster) and Black Hat had to fight off the woman trying to run for the lab immediately.
"What was that you said about looking uninterested?" He said, holding her by the hair to make sure she didn't run off. "Running in looks pretty damn interested to me."
"But but but! I'm just so excited!" She said in a voice that was much to happy and carefree for someone having their gigantic ponytail pulled on and yanked like some cheap leash.
"Dem-" Seriously, what was the rest of her name? Demona? No, no, that's stupid. Who would name their child that?
"Dem!" He called. She halted her squirming and turned her head upside down to look at him. Rather impressive considering the angle at which he held her by the hair.
"Dem, we can't just barge in."
"Why not?"
"We're being bored and together, aren't we?"
"Are we? That doesn't sound very fun."
"Sure it does!" Black Hat said with false enthusiasm. "We're playing a dirty trick on Flug. What could be more fun than seeing the look on his face when he sees me with you?"
She finally calmed down enough for Black Hat to feel comfortable with releasing her hair.
"Now Dem," Black Hat said. "We need to really sell this. I need your best face forward!"
"I don't think that's how the saying goes, but I got it!" She said with a salute.
Black Hat offered her his arm, much like he had done earlier this night.
"My lady." He said with a devilish grin of his own. Far more threatening with his multitude of sharp teeth and serpentine tongue. Far more regal in his suit and top hat. The look of a true gentleman from hell.
"M'lord." She said with as much class as could be mustered when one is wearing a sleeveless vest and lizard hood. Her two-tone hair was a distraction from her one sided arm and leg garments, and a bit of a welcome one. Her sharp teeth were a nice sight, although they didn't compare to his own.
He liked being called "Lord", though.
She took his arm, eagerly as before, and the two of them strolled leisurely towards the familiar laboratory of the Universidad. Well, Black Hat was familiar with it. He'd been to it once before with Flug and had been several times on his own to...case the joint, so to speak.
Never when Flug had been there, of course. Which made going in tricky as it seemed like he was ALWAYS there! Get a life, man! He practically forced Black Hat to sneak in after hours, meaning he had to stay far later than he would've liked. It was an annoyance, but well worth it in the end.
As they reached the stately (and bullet proof!) glass doors, Black Hat made it a point to hold Dem a bit closer. He hoped that Flug would see. Would be...jealous, like she suggested.
As they walked in, they heard people talking.
"Going where?" someone asked. "Since when do you go out?"
"I'm, uh...um," Oh, that was Flug's voice! Were they talking about their weekend plans? Damn, maybe he should've given Flug more of a clue as to what the weekend entailed. Or just made something up.
"I'm-"
"We're going out drinking." Black Hat interrupted.
As they strutted in, the way everyone's face fell! It had been perfect timing! It couldn't have gone better if he'd planned it!
Well, one thing could be better. This annoying woman could stop moving so damn much! She was constantly shifting and angling her body to gawk at all the machinery on display and it was very hard for Black Hat to keep his composure.
Honestly, could she control herself for more than a few seconds at a time? He wasn't her damn babysitter. He didn't sign up for that.
Flug was talking to...some guy. He seemed familiar, perhaps Black Hat had seen him once or twice before, he didn't much care. He just wanted to get Flug and get out.
"So, are you ready to go?" He asked, as nonchalantly as possible.
"Y-y-yeah, I'm ready." Flug stuttered. Seriously Flug, what is it that makes you so nervous at such a constant rate? That must be exhausting. Do you just panic yourself to sleep at night?
Well...Black Hat already knew the answer to that...
Flug gathered his things and oddly fiddled with his glasses as he addressed the rest of the group. The very nosy group of people who were just silently staring at them all. Like fucking weirdos.
"I-I, um, I was feeling t-t-tired so I called a ride to take me home." Flug explained. Why he felt the need to explain himself to these people Black Hat couldn't say. But he addressed the guy he'd been talking to before.
"And, Aurelio, th-th-th-thanks. I think a weekend out is j-j-just what I need." Black Hat supposed he was decent looking. Nothing exceptional except his normalcy. Conventional beauty was a trivial thing, one Black Hat had no interest in. He looked fine, and that was boring. Whoever he was, he was of no importance to Black Hat.
Then he laid a hand on Flug.
Flug was just calmly walking towards Black Hat and his female companion of the night, ready to leave and get on with life, when that guy put a hand on his shoulder and stopped him in his tracks.
Which Black Hat...didn't like.
Black Hat had no reason for this to bother him in particular, as Flug had not officially signed himself over. And even if he had why should Black Hat care who he talks to or who touches him? There was no real sense in him feeling possessive or protective. Or just plain troubled by it at all.
But, as is often the case with possessive men (and women for that matter), they consider the things they want to be things they don't have just yet. Yet. Meaning that they will be things they have in the future.
In Black Hat's case, he was hoping to convince Flug by Saturday night. He was also acutely aware of what it takes to make men waver in their quote unquote "loyalties".
Black Hat knew for a fact that Flug was lonely. Lonely in the worst sort of way. He had no one to be close to, emotionally or physically, and that tended to take a heavy toll on a human. He also knew that it was mainly due to Flug's own choices. Flug had a tendency to isolate himself from others, most assuredly as a kind of defense mechanism against rejection and possibly humiliation. The downside of this is that it eliminated not only the threat of rejection, but the possibility of acceptance. So, Black Hat reasoned that a surefire way to get Flug closer was to do just that: get closer. Not allow Flug to put distance between them like he did everyone else. Then, and only then, would Flug open himself up, and Black Hat could accept him. And Flug would find himself unable to ever leave. Not strictly because he was unable to, although he wouldn't, but because he didn't want to. He would want to belong to Black Hat. For this to work at it's best, it would be desirable for Black Hat to be the only one getting close enough to Flug to take him. Not in that way necessarily, but if he was open to it why not? So long as they both took it for what it was and nothing more there shouldn't be any issues. Black Hat could do that and Flug could be persuaded he was sure.
So having another man touch Flug so casually when the deal wasn't quite sealed was perhaps a troubling thing indeed.
"I didn't mean to put you on the spot Rocinante. We'll get together another time." He said.
Fuck he can actually say his name. Black Hat thought. I'm losing ground. Shit shit shit shit shit. Can we go now?
No matter, Flug had agreed to Black Hat's little weekend trip and everything from there was up to no one but Flug himself. Black Hat told himself this in order to remain calm. Outwardly, he didn't let on much. He was a master at hiding his deepest emotions and intentions. A lifetime of hiding will do that to a man.
Even when that same man has so confidently waltzed up to him and Dem-whatever-a.
"I don't believe we've been properly introduced. Aurelio Cruz." His hand was already extended. Well shit, Black Hat couldn't be rude now could he?
Black Hat calmly and cordially introduced himself and shook his hand. He was thankful for his gloves, as they meant he didn't have to actually touch the other man. Aurelio, he tried to remember. The name rang a bell but he couldn't quite place it. It was going to bug him all night, he knew. His "lady friend" introduced herself as well, keeping with the quasi-sophisticated air they meant to put on.
"Demetra Yashchirkaova. Charmed, I'm sure."
Great, they met. Could they get their scientist and go now?
Black Hat was glad to leave. He was glad to have Flug with him en route nowhere else but his own home, where he would be alone until Black Hat picked him up tomorrow morning. Dem, whatever her full name was, was making a ruckus again. Going on about how "hot" that other guy had been.
"Oh HOT DAMN Flugster who was that tall order of man meat?" She asked. "If I'd have known college men were so hot I would've graduated high school!" She gave Black Hat a lustful look, which he was in no mood for.
"T-that's Aurelio C-Cruz." Flug said meekly.
"So I heard," Black Hat said.
What Black Hat wanted to say was Who is that man to you? Why did your face get so flushed when he touched you? Why was he touching you, anyway? What's his deal?
Instead of saying any of that, he settled for asking, "Truly thinks a lot of himself, doesn't he?"
"Y-yeah." Flug replied. "He can be k-kind of f-full of himself."
Black Hat huffed in annoyance. Just what he needed, a normal person to take interest in his prey. "You know him well?"
"Huh?! Oh, n-n-no! Well, n-n-n-not per-personally no! I've j-ju-just known OF him for a-awhile. We didn't r-r-really meet until this past ye-year."
You're really getting tongue tied over this guy? Black hat thought. Maybe I WAS putting in too much effort.
"Flug-Bug," The woman said teasingly. "It's okay to be flustered. That guy was seriously ripped. Not nearly as hot as you though!" She poked Black Hat lightly in the chest.
It seemed she was finally grating on his last nerve. Black Hat slapped her hand away, muttering curses in his native tongue. Curses directed towards his apparent competition. The man who was making what would soon be his squirm.
Unacceptable. Black Hat would be the only thing to make Flug's body rack out of his own control. He also wanted to be the only thing to make him twist and bend until he broke, but that was another matter. One that could be explored at a later time.
The trio finally reached the car, the bother of the evening claiming the front passenger seat, and they drove off in relative ease.
Flug was dropped off safely at his apartment complex, given instructions to expect Black Hat at 10:00 am sharp the next morning, and Black Hat could finally just drop off this annoying woman and have some peace to himself. Once he cleared up a loose thread or two.
"So, what was it you were going to tell me?" He asked when they finally got going towards wherever it was she lived. She was right, it was pretty out of the way.
"What?"
"We were talking, you pulled out your phone, you noticed how late it was, and we left to get Flug. But before that, you were going to tell me something. What was it?"
"Mmmmm, I forgot!" She proclaimed. "Maybe next time!"
So, the mood is gone, is it? Black Hat thought. I guess even you won't make things easy for me.
It was a clear lie. For whatever reason, mood change or passage of time, she was no longer as open as she had been. Now, he'd have to work for what he wanted from her. Not that Black Hat overly minded, he rather liked the chase. If he got everything he wanted without even trying, there'd be no funny in being a villain. Well not exactly publicly just yet but he knew himself and that was enough for him.
He only hoped her secrets were worth his effort. Flug, he knew would be worth his time. Black Hat was a man who knew what he wanted when he saw it, and from the first time he'd seen that scrawny face and it's scars, ashamed of it's own resilience, he'd known he needed to find out more. The more he'd learned, the more he wanted the man. So far, he had no doubts. He still wanted his allegiance as strongly as ever, and was hopeful that he'd get it by this time tomorrow.
If this manic girl could provide so much as half as what he would be getting from Flug, perhaps it would be worth it. Unlike with Flug, Black Hat was going in blind. He had nothing to go on except what he could glean from her herself, and she was a challenge to listen to. Something he would have to learn to handle as he went, rather than strategize ahead of time.
Still, this meant that there might, in fact, be a next time.
Black Hat might be able to do that, if the rewards we as intriguing as her hair. Which was definitely moving of its own accord. Bristling and jostling even though all the windows were rolled up and the A/C was turned off. He had an urge to feel it, with his bare hands. To see if it felt the same as his own, which was kept neatly under his hat at all times. He was reluctant to remove his gloves, so he buried that urge down below to come up at a more convenient time for him. Preferably one where she was unconscious.
A curious girl with secrets abound to unravel. And he, a man with far too much time and only a handful of things occupy it with. Why not add her to the list? A sort of side project, to occupy Black Hat's time and leave Flug wanting more of him.
Perhaps he could find a use for her after all.
Translations:
Dios mio = My God
Loco = Crazy
Ojos = Eyes
Fantástico = Fantastic
Señor = Mister
acosar = harass
wey = slang term meaning "dude" or "guy"
Edit: I've edited the summary in the hopes of being more accurate to the actual plot of the story.