May you live in 'Interesting Times'

"Speech"
'Thoughts' Thoughts

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I wake up and roll over to look at the alarm clock and yawning as I read it, 3:30 in the afternoon, I stretch and then crawl out of bed, gathering clothes and tossing them onto the bed sorting through them I pull on my jeans and grab a black button up shirt and pull it on but don't button it yet as I walk over to the small kitchen just to the right of my bed and start the Coffee Maker.

I yawn tiredly and button my shirt, noticing but not caring as I miss the bottom buttons, leaving them I pour myself a cup of coffee, no milk but lots of sugar, sipping the coffee as I pull myself up to sit on the edge of the counter, I reach over and flip on my CD player and let the notes of soft classical music fill the small kitchen.

A pot of coffee later I start looking through my closet to plan my outfits for my two clients I have today, one a middle aged school teacher with a thing for being humiliated and later my favorite client. I smile to myself as I switch CDs to help me think... First I pull out my leather lace up pants and a white sheer lace tank top, no shoes I decide. Also I once again pull out my black leather chaps and a black velvet thong, pausing as I consider two tops, a studded leather bra or a black fishnet shirt, looking at them I notice the bra is missing a few studs, I sigh softly at it and toss it into the hamper for repairs before dropping the fishnet shirt next to the chaps 'damn, I wanted the bra... oh, well I think some of the bikers have a bet going about me showing up like this anyway...' a smile tugs at the corner of my mouth as I ponder this.

~~~

Several hours later I am sitting downstairs in the bar with Jax talking over more Coffee, she had showed up just in time to help with the teacher and we had only finished that a little bit ago.

"So what are your plans for now?" she looks at me over her coffee cup.

"I dunno... I'm thinking of sticking to this for a while... I mean what else is there for me? Seven years and I didn't find a single thing I was looking for... It would be silly and depressing for me to try again"

"That isn't quite what I meant... but it is... I mean, are you sure you just want to give up?"

"Damn, no... It kills a part of me inside to NOT know and to not have what I want and need... but I tried, and now... I think I'd best take a break for a while, resign myself to the boring fate of reality for a while before I snap, ya know?" I sigh and run my hands through my dark red hair in annoyance.

"Aah... the ladybug approach?" She looks thoughtful.

"What?" I look at her confused "Oh! 'Under the Tuscan Sun' trying to find them and falling asleep then waking up to realize you are covered in ladybugs?"

"Exactly." Jax nods sagely at me.

"Huh, never actually thought about it that way, but, yes... that is what I have decided"

"Yah? except you can't really Try to sleep, it never works right..." I laugh at Jax and she smiles.

"True, now I just have to stop thinking about sleeping."

"Sounds like a plan, but for now, me and Caleb are going to go to the Zoo so I Gotta go" She smiles and hugs me before leaving.

Now If only I had Known ahead of time how interesting the night was going to get, I might have planned a vacation right then... But then again, I don't know about you but I have a slight fear of my wishes coming true. Odd, yes but never the less...

Watching her leave before I stretch and look at the clock above the bar. 'Good, enough time to have a cigarette, say hello to Julie and Ardeth and then run upstairs to get ready again' I think as I stare at my pack of Vanilla Dreams Cigarettes and my lighter in a brooding manner before opening the pack and taking one out, lighting it and smiling as I inhale the vanilla flavor, staring at my lighter and tapping it quietly on the table, occasionally spinning it between my fingers thoughtfully as I enjoy the Vanilla, I hear the upstairs door open and close and I peer at the stairs as I wait for whoever is coming down the stairs to come into view, unsurprisingly it is Ardeth and Julie, I smile and stand and walk over to them, taking my cigarettes and lighter with me.

"Hey, hows it going?" I smile softly, Ardeth waves and Julie smiles.

"Well, we are just gonna get ready to open soon, the bikers said they would be by a little early" Julie informs me

"And I wanted to run a dishwasher load of more glasses... I think we might get a little busy tonight" Ardeth nods to the stack of glasses in a plastic tray

"Ok, have fun, and here... play some music as you get ready" I smile as I dump an handful of quarters on the counter and turn to leave

"Sounds good!" Julie smiles.

I wave over my shoulder as I walk toward the stairs, putting the cigarette out in a standing ashtray by the stairs before going up them. As I walk up the stairs, I start planning the Session, I smile and without seeing it I know it is dark, a thrill of excitement runs through me as I open my apartment door and close it behind me, As I walk over to were I left my clothes for the night I feel a soft early evening breeze across my back and I freeze in mid-step, looking over at my window in confusion I notice, my black velvet heavy blinds are swaying slightly in the breeze, tense but knowing my room is safe because I can see it, a brief thanks for me having a studio style apartment flashes through my mind as I take a quick survey of my room, even more confused I walk over and pull the curtain aside and look out into the early evening, admiring the palest hint of what is left of the sun before slamming my window closed and locking it, I turn and let the curtain fall closed behind me as I walk over to my bed and Swiftly remove my tank top and leather pants and dropping them onto the bed before grabbing my thong and pulling it on, the chaps follow, a little awkward to pull on, adjusting them comfortably before buckling them into place, I smile as I reach down and pick up my fishnet shirt, smiling as I bring it up and rub it lightly across my cheek, I laugh to myself as I pull it on and walk over to my mirror and adjust it, taking a moment to twist the captive bead ring in my navel so it is centered, admiring the anodized titanium and the garnet bead briefly before walking over to my display wall and running my hands over the various whips and cat-o-nine tails and floggers there.

I smile to myself as I brush my hands lightly over a black and red braided cat-o-nine tails, small bits of glass and metal sparkling in the light, I pick it up and hold it casually in my left hand before looking back to pick another, my smile changing to a dark smirk as I pick up a horse tail whip. 'mmm, tonight is going to be so much fun... probably be the best hour of my week... always is..' I mentally purr as I hold both whips in one hand and reach down to grab a small knife, one I keep sharp just for this. Caught off guard, deep in thought I am startled when I hear a knock on the door, looking up I slip the dagger into my belt at the small of my back before walking over and opening the door, smiling when I see who it is.

"Damien, you are a little early." I smile.

"Yes, traffic was not as bad as normal... It isn't a problem is it?" He looks momentarily nervous.

"... No, No problem at all, in fact." I pause, "... Want to start early?"

"Sure" his smile is genuine as I motion down the hallway behind him.

He turns and walks across the hall and stands to wait at the door, waiting patiently as I lock my apartment door behind me and unlock the door in front of him, I walk in front of him, knowing by memory were all the candles in the room are and lighting them one by one, Occasionally pausing to watch for a second as he pulls his shoulder length brown hair into a tight pony tail and as he disrobes down to his black silk boxer shorts, before he is finished undressing the room gleams with candle light, it glitters on the glass in my cat-o-nine tails and sparkles along the knives on the wall. I walk over to stand behind him, murmuring my approval as I caress the scars on his back, running my fingers along the old ones and lightly digging my nails into the pink new ones.

"So, how do you want it this time? Start slow or more... with a bang?" I ask, my voice deep with emotion.

He does not respond, just kneels there and looks up at me briefly before looking back down.

"Answer me!" I yell as I bring the cat-o-nine tails down across his back sharply, smiling as he hisses in pain. This is the game as he likes it, and he will not respond until it is perfect.

I smile, enjoying the game as I run my fingers over the fresh scratches, trailing stains of pink across his back from the small traces of blood.

"Is this how it is to be? .... Fine, we shall play" I growl and still he does not respond.

I step back, a wicked smile on my face as I bring the cat-o-nine tails down across his back a few more times, watching as he hisses in pain but arches his back toward the pain instead of away from it, without a change in stride I switch and bring the horse tail down across his back, the thin hairs stinging as they swipe the cuts on his back then I switch back to the Cat-o-nine tails after one swipe with the horse tail, I sigh softly as I feel the light warm sprinkle of blood fall on me from the cat-o-nine tails. I am startled when he speaks, his voice heavy with lust and pain.

"Harder..."

I stop for a second, momentarily caught off guard by his request.

"Are you sure? Any harder and the cuts will be deep and not neat..." I sound unsure but I am not, I merely want him to be fully aware.

His brief nod and whispered 'Yes..' are good enough for me, I smile a small shiver of anticipation running along my spine as I raise the cat-o-nine tails and bring it down heavily across his back, sighing as he hisses and moans quietly in pleasure, I grin and bring the cat-o-nine tails back, growling at the feel of the blood sprinkling me more heavily, I pause for as second when he falls forward, catching himself on his hands and knees, I step forward and drop the cat-o-nines and horse tail to the floor as I kneel down and grab him roughly by the pony tail, my other hand caressing his back, lightly digging my nails into his back, into the cuts. I freeze in place from the sound of someone pounding on the door suddenly, I jump to my feet and spin to face the door.

"Who the fuck is it! I'm busy this had better be DAMN good" I scream at the door.

"J, And you need to get downstairs NOW, there are some new bikers that showed up causing trouble and me and Kev tried to get them to stop but they tossed him over the bar..." Before he can finish I have jerked the heavy door open and am thrusting a first aid kit into his arms as I walk by, the cat-o-nine tails in hand once more.

"Clean him up with gauze, I'll deal with the mess downstairs...." I leave him holding the first aid kit as I run down the hallway and down the stairs, taking them two at a time.

I reach the bottom step and stomp into the room, noting in passing the increased noise, the sound of arguing and a small fight, some part of my memory perks up at the sound of familiar voices but before I can remember were they are familiar from I stomp into the crowd.

"Ok, I, The OWNER of this nice bar, Was having a DAMN good evening that has JUST been interrupted, now shut UP and sit DOWN right the FUCK NOW, I don't give a FUCK if you sit on the floor but DO IT" I scream over the noise, half the regulars plant their asses to the floor only seconds later and the other regulars and townies follow after catching a glimpse of me.

I smile at this as I wipe my still blood covered hand on my shirt, forgetting I am wearing fishnet and smearing it across my stomach, as I start toward the newer group, noticing it is some out of towner's and four boys in leather jackets. My memory perks again as I stare at their jackets, but I brush it aside.

"Who the fuck are you and what the fuck are you doing interrupting MY night?!" I demand, brandishing the cat-o-nine tails at them.

They turn to face me, the blond waving his hand in a dismissive gesture at the out of towner's as he looks at me, looking at him I freeze, my eyes growing wide as I give them all a once over, a small gasp escaping my lips, I quickly bring my blood stained hand up to cover my mouth in surprise.

"Oh... my... God..." I whisper as I suddenly waver, momentarily unsteady on my feet "You... this is Impossible! You're suppose to be dead!" The one with white blond hair looks pointedly at me.

"Clearly, we are not. Now, is there somewhere we can go to talk? About that and why we are here in You're bar, looking for You." He smirks.

"But... I looked, For seven YEARS I searched, why NOW?"

"Because NOW is the time we decided to come HERE... Again." the blond pipes in, an amused look on his face as he looks from his leader to me.

"... Ok.... Ok, Upstairs, all four of you..." I motion toward the stairs. "However, don't mind me as I grab a fifth of rum as I walk by the bar..." I mutter, motioning them toward the stairs.

I walk over to the bar, still wavering on my feet from shock, Julie keeps looking from me to the four boys, a shocked look of recognition on her face, I lean over the bar and grab my bottle of vanilla rum from its place.

"I'll talk to you later about it..." I tell her quietly. "But for now, get our customers happy again, explain it as long lost friends and family I though was lost and dead or something, give them a free round if you have to" I whisper as I walk off.

Looking up I see the four waiting at the bottom of the stairs, varying looks of amusement directed my way, I shoot them a disgruntled glare and slip past them, taking the stairs two at a time and walking down the hall to my apartment, pausing at my door for them to catch up before opening the door and walking through, leaving it open behind me, three steps into my apartment I turn quickly around to face them.

"How much of it was real?" I demand

"Not much, clearly, seeing as to we are still alive... now I'm sure you don't want to do this in the hall, and before you ask, No, we do not need to be invited in." the one with white blond hair says with a smirk.

"Fine, fine..." A puzzled expression crosses my face. "What are you're names anyway? Was the movie right about that?"

"Yes! That the Hollywood bastards did get right!" the blond announces.

I sigh and walk into the living room and drop down into my recliner and drop the cat-o-nine tails beside it, pulling the cork from my bottle of rum and taking a swig, coughing slightly at the burn after swallowing as I watch them walk into my apartment, now knowing what to call them, I assign their names in my mind.

David: the one with white blond hair dressed in black with a black trench coat.

Paul: the blond with dirty white pants and a fishnet top and modified tux jacket with tails.

Marko: shoulder length curly dark blond hair, blue jeans with chaps over them, white shirt and highly decorated leather jacket.

And Dwayne: long black hair, no shirt, faded black jeans, leather jacket with minor modifications like the cat crawling up his right shoulder, and a necklace that seemed to consist of bits of bone and animal claws.

I sigh to myself as I watch them walk into my apartment, David and Paul walk over and sit on the couch, Dwayne looks amused and walks over to look at my bookshelf and Marko just smiles and leans against the wall by the couch, I nervously look at each of them, the shock of seeing them in reality sinking in slowly, I run my hands through my hair nervously several times.

"So... again I feel compelled to ask, Why? the How is fine to leave out, I know all the known myths by heart... But why me? Why now? Why not during my seven year search?"

"Why not when you were searching? Guess... If any of us had went to you then we did not know if you meant it. Why you? Why did you try to find any of us?" David looks at me pointedly

"Also what he means by us is 'us' as in what we are and 'us' as in literally, the four of us" Dwayne looks over at me.

"You knew? That I was trying to find you specifically I mean?" I look at them in awe "All along?"

"You think we wouldn't notice when a movie scene showed up in reality? Let alone from our movie?" Marko laughs and looks at me with amusement.

"Somehow, thinking back about it, yah, that was probably pretty damn obvious... And it kind of makes sense now, most of the 'why's of it, but why come to me at all? I have next to nothing for you..." I sigh sadly and look down, suddenly self conscious and worried.

"Awe, man... Not this..." Paul covers his face with his hands and leans back with a sigh.

"Nothing? Is that what you consider this Club? funny I thought it was called 'The Lost'... I wounder is the 'other' club named the same?" David looks at me as he asks "Because we don't consider this..." he taps his foot on the floor "Nothing, this is quite something..."

"Yah, sure" I snort "You expect me to believe it when my dream in life walks into my club and wants to talk to me because I have a nice club? There are millions of people out there that have GOOD clubs that are more everything, better, prettier, richer, more anything..." I sigh softly

"Yet more why's, Why can't you just accept it? Yes, yes, Dream of all you're pathetic 17 years, congrats, get over it, we are here because YOU called to US, YOU wanted US to talk to you, YOU spent seven years chasing the dream of meeting our 'kind' as it were, You made this club and called it 'the Lost' how could we NOT see it as an invitation?" David leans forward and points at me "Think about it..." he leans back.

"Plus, if you are spazzing over your looks, which is a crazy chick thing, you look great girl! the money from the 'club' up here isn't from anyone but you ya know so stop worrying about it" Paul's statement muffled behind his hands that he moves to look pointedly at her.

"Let me think a bit... I'm still kinda shocked here..." I sigh and lean back in the chair, reclining and staring at the ceiling to think as I drink deeply from my bottle of rum... What they are saying DOES make sense, some part of me is sad because they are probably (in spite of what Paul says) only interested in the clubs, they are safe and provide lots of connections and available influence areas, income if that is an issue, a safe haven as well... I can't help but wounder if they know about the basement? But the apartments are pretty safe too, one window in all but the corner units, thick walls... They have a point... Also, it is in 'their' town, as it were... Not to mention that I, unlike other club owners, already know what they are and won't even question them about it...

I sigh.

"You are right... I'm being stupid. It is a valid interest point, and made all the better by being in 'your' town, and since not a lot of people in history actually want to find you're kind... Ummm, ever... I actually searched and did some really stupid things in that search..." I laugh, highly amused "Well, it means I'm actually am crazy anyway... and either I am certifiable and in a loony bin drugged out of my mind OR this is real, either way it is beneficial to agree with you" I grin as I sit up.

"Good to see you think so" David sighs, Paul just nods at me, a small smile on his face.

"So... what do you want?" I look at them "Apartments? Money? Not like I don't have things in excess at the moment, well... Except my nice heavy reinforced curtains, you want those we will have to order more." I take another gulp from my bottle.

"Actually, now that you suggest them these apartments are nice... And warm... That would be an improvement over the hotel" David nods.

"Wait, woah! The hotel, you mean like in the movie?" I perk up

"Yes, rather..."

"... It was nice though..." Paul looks at David

"That I want to see!" I take another gulp of rum and try to jump to my feet, wavering as I stand in place, only now taking note of how much I have been drinking in such a short time.

"Not right now..." David look amused

"But why..." I look down at my rum and shake the bottle lightly "Ooh... Right, Oops. I should sit back down..." I stare in awe at the rum bottle, there is maybe a quarter left.

"Exactly..." David smirks and Paul laughs quietly.

"Didn't know I was drinking so much.. Damn shock blocking out my memory..." I mutter at the bottle as I take another sip.

"You might want to stop drinking that..." I look up to see Marko kneeling beside my chair.

"You're probably right..." I set the bottle on the 'coffee table'

"Oh!" I look up and jump to my feet, worried paranoia kicking in. "You aren't going to all be gone when I wake up are you?!" I suddenly realize how unsteady I am on my feet as I abruptly fall forward only to be quickly caught by Marko.

"Nah, girl, we will still be here." I hear from Paul.

I sigh and smile, "Good" I mutter as I wrap my arms around Marko's shoulders and hug him before letting the alcohol in my system knock me out.

And, ummm... That's actually all I remember from that night, Damn rum! I probably said something embarrassing and drunk before truly passing out, but I'll never know, they won't tell me, even to this day! Anyway... On with it, I remember waking up the next afternoon, in bed, no longer wearing the chaps I had passed out in, but still wearing the fishnet shirt and my thong, also I noticed that my hands no longer had blood on them. With a start I sat bolt upright in bed, afraid they would not be there and as I looked about the darkened room I noticed them, David was on the couch, his jacket over him, Dwayne was in the recliner, sitting up I also noticed that the lid to the coffin was on the floor next to the it and Paul was laying on his side in it sleeping, and as I rolled over to find Marko, I found him easily, he was on the other side of the bed, curled up comfortably in his jeans and white shirt, I smiled and before I knew it drunken exhaustion caught up to me and I passed out again.

So can you see now how that was the best and the worst night of my life? Not to mention the most stressful and yet ecstatic time. I had found my answers I had searched so long for and I had found the very ones that had started my entire search and fixation.

The search of my life was at an end... And I was ecstatic, not to mention I finally felt complete in some small way and was for one single moment in my life, Completely happy. Thankfully the following months and years did Not disappoint in the least either.

... Remind me to tell you some day how that conversation with my friend Julie went, It was great! I still smile and laugh quietly when I think about it...


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AN: I can't believe I'm posting this... >.< The little nitpicky voice inside my head that always tells me my stories suck keep saying I shouldn't be doing this... If you think it sucks, I'm really sorry. :(