Down The Rabbit Hole

  “So you decided, with me half conscious, to drive, which you know… and then to take three complete strangers, one of which apparently isn’t exactly on the top half of normalcy, and give them all a ride to here?”

            “You make it sound like a bad thing,” Vincent said

  ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

  “Chris. You made it. How wonderful.”

            “Yeah, well, don’t get too excited Neil. You said you had something of mine.”

            “Ah, yeah, I did. Thank you for reminding me.” He stood up and kissed her until she leaned back.

  //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// “Wait, if Kate was here… where is she now?” Daniel asked.

            “That’s what I’m trying to tell you; when the cops saw the two of them fighting they tried to stop them and break them apart,” Vincent explained with a painful expression of worry on his face. “That didn’t exactly work and Kate punched a cop.” Daniel’s jaw dropped. “In the face.”

            “That’s where you’re choosing to stop? Then what?”

            “They arrested her for assaulting an officer.”

            “How long ago was this?” Daniel asked in panic.

  ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

              “That’s right. I told you you were way too in love with your sister to have Chris be the problem. Honestly Daniel, I think you better start hallucinating about Freud next… you’re gonna need some help if you want to get into your sister’s panties.” (said Madeline)

            “She’s not my sister.”

            “You introduce her as such, everyone only knows her as such. But besides, you know that’s not the only reason that you can’t be with her.”

            “Milo,” they said in unison.

            “As much as you love him, you fear him,” Madeline continued, “you are too afraid of his consequences that might come if you and Kate started seeing each other.”

  And now, the season finale of Down the Rabbit Hole.

                Daniel ran downstairs. His feet making the sound of a raging stampede as he did so. Flurried, he straightened his tie as he walked into the kitchen.

            "Hey guys, ready to go?"

            "Yeah," Vincent said, standing up, "just waiting for you."

            "I'm ready," Daniel exclaimed opening his hand to accept the keys from Vincent. Vincent gave him five and looked at him weirdly.

            "What?" he eventually asked.

            "My keys."

            "You don't actually think I'm gonna let you drive after what just happened to you last night, do you? If you do, mate, you're drunker than I originally thought."

            "Doesn't matter, I've driven under much worse conditions. Keys, come on." Vincent reached into his pocket and slammed the keys into Daniel's hand.

            "Let it be noted that I think this is a horrible idea."

            "Noted, now, let's go," he paused for a second and looked at the other three guests he had, primarily at Alice though since March was looking inside the coffee mug to see if he could still get another drop out of it, and Mouse was peacefully sawing logs in his little corner of Daniel's kitchen. "On second thought, maybe we should all go." Alice stood up actively.

            "Go? Go where?" asked March, suddenly disinterested in his mug.

            "Go to figure out what's going on with Kate, if we can bail her out, whatever," Daniel explained trying to get out.

            "Who is Kache?" March asked.

            "Kate is his sister,"

            "She isn't my-" Daniel started but cut himself off as he looked at the faces of the four very confused people in his kitchen, "fine, never mind. Yes, she's my sister, now, come on can we-" just as he was going to finish that sentence he heard the doorbell. "Oh for fuck's sake, seriously? If this is a Jehovah's witness, I swear I..." he trailed off as he went from the kitchen to the front door.

              When he opened the door, he found Harriet standing before it. Daniel tried to find the words to ask her what was going on, but before he did, she pointed inside.

            "Vincent told me what happened," she explained and walked in.

            "That was awfully fast. Especially for someone who doesn't like him or trust a single thing he says."

            "But you do, you trust him, and... I don't know, I figured, this is something relating to you, I'd better come see for myself. If it's true, than I'm here as a friend to you to support and help you through it, if not, I figured I could prove to you once and for all that he is a lying, stealing, stupid douche bag."

            "Douche bag? Really? Ran out of all the other immature words you could have come up with?"

            "Fine, asshole, good enough for you?" she asked, pulling off her coat.

            "Don't really care either way, was just mentioning it. Uh, also, Harriet, what are you doing? We're about to leave right now to see if we can see Kate," he said as she looked at him like a dear looking into headlights, "so maybe you could put your coat back on so we can go. I'm kinda nervous about this."

            "Nervous? You? Why would you  be? I get the feeling this isn't your first run in with the police."

            "It's not,  but I'm not the one in trouble now, and if Kate has been arrested for assaulting an officer, than god knows what the penalty could be for that."

            "Depends on how she assaulted this guy, but it's up to twenty years I believe."

            "Fuck. Ok, uh, alright. Anyway, could we please go, I don't like this whole... not knowing bullshit."

            "Daniel?" Harriet asked in an entirely different tone of voice.

            "What?"

            "How are you doing?"

            "How am I doing? Harry, I just told you, I'm nervous, sick and tired of not knowing and would really just like to get Kate."

            " 'She' was here, wasn't she?" For a moment Daniel had completely forgotten about Christina and  what he did to try to prove to Madeline, who he was more and more convincing himself was a figment of his imagination, that he was over her. He shook it off him as if it was just a bunch of spiders that fell all over him. "Are you ok?"

            "Yeah, I... I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

            "You kissed her, didn't you?" she asked him. The memories started getting fresher and fresher. He put his hands through his hair and nodded. She took a deep breath.

            "In all honesty, I was too drunk too remember."

            "Was? Vincent told me it was like an hour ago, how are you not slurring your words or anything, if you were too drunk to even remember this?" Daniel shrugged.

            "I don't know, apparently I was given some kind of... wonder drug. I feel perfectly fine."

            " Yeah... I notice, but, you..."

            "What Harriet? What?"

            "I don't know, you could have problems later. I don't want you to push yourself too far."

            "Harry, you know me, I've survived much worse."

            "Daniel, I'm not letting you drive this way, is there anyone else you can let take the wheel? I mean for crying out loud, you're going to a police office, and you smell of booze. Even if you aren't acting drunk, you know they are going to make a problem about this."

            "Fine. I'll get someone else to drive for me. Can we go now?"

            "Yeah, sure, where's Vincent?"

            "Vince!" Daniel yelled.

            "Yeah?" responded Vincent from behind Daniel. When he saw Harriet, he nodded his head as a greeting.

            "Are the others ready?" Daniel asked.

            "Yeah, they are just waiting for you now."

            "Good," he said to Vincent and then turned to Harriet, "get in your car, I'm just going to get the others."

            "Others? What others?" she asked.

            "He tells you about me making out with Chris and Kate being arrested, but he doesn't tell you about the other guests at the party?"

            "Sorry mate, I thought there were a few too many guests, most of which I didn't know, to give her the whole list."

            "Go, I'll be right out," he said sternly to Harriet.

              They drove in their two separate cars to the police office, Harriet in hers, and Daniel, Vincent, Mouse, March and Alice (who drove, despite Vincent's pleas to let him take the wheel) in the other. Daniel got out and walked next to Harriet, while the rest hung slightly behind them.

            "By the way, don't you like have to work or something? How can you afford to be here right now?" Daniel asked Harriet.

            "First of all, it's only seven in the morning, secondly, better question, how can you afford to skip days? With the amount of 'sick days', and just... general... days off, there is no way you can afford that place and anything else. I mean, you can't be doing that anyway just being a bartender. Do you have a second job or something?"

            "Or something," he responded shortly as he pushed open the door to the precinct. He walked up to the desk in the middle of the room where an officer sat. "Excuse me, I was told Katelyn Mars would be here? She was brought in not too long ago from what I hear?" the officer behind the front desk shook his head as if she didn't know anything." She was just arrested for a drunken brawl?" still nothing. " She might have been brought in together with another girl, darkish skin, long brown curly hair, answers to the name of Christina Drake?" Suddenly the officer looked up at him.

            "This Drake kid I know, but you're looking for the other one right? Brown hair, pale skin, freckles?"

            "Awesome eyes? Yeah. Katelyn Mars."

            "Please have a seat," the woman said in a very monotonous voice.

            "Ma'am please, I would really just like to find Kate an-"

            "Please have a seat sir," she said looking at Daniel sternly. Daniel looked at her dead in the eyes as well until Harriet grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him to a seat.

            "This is bullshit Harry, they should tell me more than this, I can't just stand here not-"

            "Knowing, I know. I know. But right now, there's just nothing we can do. Nothing but sit and wait it out," Harriet explained, hoping to calm him down as she sat him down.

            "Alright, alright. Fine. I'm calm, I'm calm."

            "Daniel," said Vincent, grabbing his attention. "Listen to me, no matter what, we will get Kate back, I promise." 

            "Yeah. Listen, I know, I... I just-"

            "Feel like it's your fault?" Vincent asked filling in the blank for Daniel.

            "Kinda."

            "Don't.Iit's not your fault that Kate punched that-" before he had the chance to finish that sentence, Vincent noticed from the corner of his eye that an officer was now whispering with the lady at the front desk who was looking their way and at one point pointed at them. The officer stood up straight and motioned for them to come forward. "Look's like that's our cue," Vincent said tapping Daniel on the knee. Daniel and him stood up and walked over to the officer who led them to a cubical behind the front desk.

              "So, I hear you're looking for Ms. Katelyn Mars?" he said sitting down in front of the computer. He looked at the screen, but when his eyes met with Daniel's he did a double take and stayed looking at Daniel for a moment. Daniel recognised him right away; he was one of the officers that brought him the news of his dead parents.

            "Yeah," exclaimed Vincent as he nudged Daniel on the shoulder.

            "She came in here a couple of hours ago with one Drake, Christina correct?"

            "Chris, yes, but I assure you they aren't together at all," Daniel explained.

            "I could tell from the way the arresting officer had to have them both hand cuffed with an officer in the between the two of them," the officer explained keeping his eyes on Daniel as if he was trying to remember where he knew him from.

            "So, how much trouble is she in?" Vincent asked breaking the stare off between the two of them.

            "Ms. Mars? Not so much, she gets a fine for picking a fight like she did, but she can be released within a couple of minutes."

            "Wait what? Really?" asked Vincent surprised.

            "I thought she punched one of your men, from what I heard, right in the kisser too," Daniel explained, suddenly seemingly relaxed.

            “Oh no, that would be Ms. Drake. When the officer arrived there to break the two of them up, she was the one who swung and hit him in the face." Daniel, still pacific, turned to Vincent.

            "I guess stories get mixed up and exaggerated," he eventually said, still looking at Vincent.

            "I suppose so," the officer said looking back at his screen, "so if you two just go back and wait for Ms. Mars in the waiting room, she'll be out at any moment now." Daniel and Vincent stood up and shook the man's hand. Then they left the cubical, lead by the officer. Just as they had made it to the waiting room again, Vincent kept on walking, but Daniel stopped and faced the man again.

              "Sir," Daniel began motioning to Vincent that he ought to continue, "would you mind if I spoke to Ms. Drake for a moment?"

            "Uh," the man started, realising he never asked for their names.

            "Daniel," he helped.

            "Daniel, no, we don't usually allow people back there unless they are to be put away in the cells."

            "I understand, you see, Chris and I go way back, I just want to say hi for a moment. We were a little interrupted last night from a little conversation we were having and I-"

            "I thought you just heard stories about last night."

            "This is true, I remember very little, I hit my head a little harder than expected, but I am starting to remember some, including the fact that we were in the middle of a conversation before..." he trailed off, he figured the officer understood.

            "Before she was brought here, yeah, yeah listen, I can't allow you to-" Daniel pulled a note of 100 out of his pocket and gave it to him.

            "It will really only be a minute." The officer looked around him before he took the note and then motioned that he follow him.

            "Right through here," he said being buzzed in to a hall. They walked down the hall and then in front of one of the doors the officer stopped and unlocked the door. "A minute," he stated

            "Thank you," Daniel said as he entered. "Hey Chris." She sat up on her bed.

            "Seriously? You? What are you doing here?"  she asked surprised to see him even standing.

            "I thought that for once we should get closure. Finish our story."

            "Oh Neil, what do you mean closure? I, still-"

            "Don't embarrass yourself. Not anymore than you already have," he said looking around her 'lovely' holding cell. "You took everything from me. Our friends, my feelings, but most of all, you took my dignity. You took my sense of self. You broke me, while all I ever did was love you."

            "I'm sure Sean would see it that way too, Mr. Innocent."

            "Even if I did betray my friendship with him, which I can agree, I did. You, left him for me, then left me for Ian. How do you want to believe that you are innocent?"

            "You and I were never together. I never left you, I left Sean, to be with you but we were never together. You wanted to be, I wanted to be-"

            "Could you for once in your life please stop lying Chris?"

            "I did, Neil. I wanted to be with you.

            "Then why weren't you?"

            "What would you have done? You slept with your best friend's girlfriend, you two were practically brothers and you betrayed him as if you didn't care at all."

            "I cared!" he yelled as he stepped closer to her, " I cared about you Chris. I loved you. I loved you with every fiber of my being," he had gotten so close that they were touching, "I didn't care about Sean because I cared about you. I wanted to be with you, I sacrificed everything for you! I gave it all up! You wanted me! That's what you told me, that you wanted me, you told me that whenever Sean touched you it made you feel sick! Yes, I hated myself for feeling happy about that but I... I loved you too much... too much to care." As the words left his mouth, his lips brushed against hers. The tension for both of them was too strong and they collided. Their lips met, and their tongues intertwined. Neither of them wanted to pull away. Daniel, if he had been asked at that very moment, would have never wanted that moment to end. But in between their panting and their mutual wish for freezing time, Daniel remembered Katelyn. All he could think of suddenly was all the times that Katelyn had been there for him, how happy they were in every moment they spent together growing up. Most of all though, he thought of how she made him smile and how she kept him safe. Safe from people like Christina. With that thought in mind he pulled away from her and hung closely to the cell door. "Don't come back Chris. Leave me and my family and friends alone," he banged his foot against the door twice.

            "Neil?"

            "And if you ever hurt Kate again, I promise you, you will be stuck in places like this for as long as I have a breath remaining in my lungs." The door opened and Christina sat back down on to the bed. "Be very careful with her," he told the officer who looked at her curiously, "don't let her charm or fool you with her puppy dog, innocent eyes." The officer simply nodded and closed the door.

              As they walked down the hall again, the officer looked at Daniel again.

            "Daniel, are you by any chance Daniel H-"

            "Daniel Hare, son of Maximillian and Josephine Hare. Yes. Yes I am. You brought me the bad news of their deaths all those long years ago," Daniel admitted for the first time in a very long time.

            "You've grown up, kid."

            "Time happens."

            "Tell me about it," the officer said before pushing his card against the card reader.

            "Before we go, can you do me a favor?"

            "What?"

            "Don't tell anyone," he said closing his eyes, "I don't want to live under my parent's shadow. I'd rather cast my own." 

            "Of course," the officer said and then motioned that he was zipping his lips. Daniel smiled and walked through the door to the waiting room.

              He was greeted with a smile from Vincent and a reluctant smile from Harriet. March was outside running around while Mouse slept on one of the chairs leaning on an obese woman who was probably more passed out than he was.

            "Hey Rabbit, so what just happened? Is she coming out?" Harriet asked.

            "To be honest, I'm surprised she hasn't come out already."

            "Wait, you didn't go in there to see her?"

            "No."

            "Then what did you go in there for mate?" Vincent asked looking Daniel straight in the eyes.

            "I needed to use the bathroom," Daniel lied without batting an eye. Vincent, on the other hand, was looking right behind Daniel at a sign that pointed to the toilet in the waiting room. Silently though, he nodded.

              Not five minutes later, Katelyn Mars walked out of the same door that Daniel had just walked out of. The whole group stood up with smiles all around. She signed a sheet over at the front desk and then, with a huge sigh of relief, walked over to Daniel and his companions. She threw her arms around Daniel and squeezed him as hard as she could.

            "What the fuck are you doing here, you fuck?" she asked him, still holding on to him.

            "Picking your ugly ass up," he answered as she then went on to hug Harriet.

            "Oh, shush, he's just jealous of your sexy ass," chimed in Harriet.

            "Yeah, it sure is a fine one," added Alice awkwardly. Katelyn let go of Harriet and looked over at Alice.

            "Oh well, I don't know you, but thank you for the compliment... I guess," said Katelyn as she took Alice in her arms. When she let her go, she turned to face Vincent.

            "Hello darling," he greeted her with the same hug that she had been passing around.

            "So who wants to go home and put this horrible day behind us already?" asked Daniel as he pushed the group towards the exit, "god knows I do."

            "Don't you dare think you're getting off that easy after sticking your tongue down 'her' throat."

            "Like I said, horrible day," he said putting an arm around her.

              They walked outside, before Alice noticed that she had forgotten one of the members of the unlikely group drooling on an overweight elephant. Just as she turned around and ran in, Daniel's phone went off. He looked at the number, but didn't recognise it at all.

            "Hang on guys," he said as he slowed down to answer the phone, "Hello?" The rest of the group carried on walking to the car, laughing as Katelyn told her story of being brought in. "Yes this is he. What? Ok... Ok... Where?" Daniel reached into his jacket and pulled out a pen and scribbled something on his hand. "Yes, yes, I got that, thank you," he said and hung up. "Kate!" he yelled. She turned around to look at Daniel who looked like he had just seen a ghost.

            "What is it Daniel?"  she asked, with the last real smile she would have in a long time slowly fading off her face.

  “So you decided, with me half conscious, to drive, which you know… and then to take three complete strangers, one of which apparently isn’t exactly on the top half of normalcy, and give them all a ride to here?”

            “You make it sound like a bad thing,” Vincent said, leaning back in his chair. Daniel sighed.

            “Great, but all this still doesn’t explain the countless signatures and… weird crap on my arm, the apparent party we just had, or where the hell you guys met Chris.”

            “Oh right, that. Well…

    The Mad Tea Party.

                They put Daniel, who now was passed out, in the back seat of his car. Alice was about to sit in the front seat when March opened his mouth.

            “Shochgun!” he yelled. Alice rolled her eyes, but sat in the back with Daniel and Mouse, who was half asleep as it is.

            “Oh boy,” Vincent said putting the car in reverse. “Daniel is so not going to like this.” He then shrugged. “Ah well, he’ll have a story to tell his kids.”

            “If he ever has kids,” Alice chimed in. Vincent looked at Daniel, passed out on the back seat.

            “He may not look like much now, but trust me, this guy… this guy is one hell of a dog.”

            “No way,” Alice said, looking at the blob next to her, who had now begun snoring.

            “I’ll prove it to you,” Vincent said and drove off into the night.

                        Daniel put his free hand to his face.

            “Oh god,” he said, Vincent had a huge grin on his face.

            “Trust me Danny,” just as Alice said that, Vincent made the universal ‘don’t go there’ hand sign. Daniel stared at her for a moment.

            “I would prefer it if you wouldn’t call me that.”

            “Right, sorry. Anyway, it gets better.” Daniel sighed.

              They drove up to Daniel’s house. March had opened his door before Vincent was even done parking. When Alice got out, she looked up at the house.

            “What kind of work did you say this guy did?”

            “Bar tender, why?” Vincent answered.

            “Nothing else?”

            “Not that I’ve noticed. The guy doesn’t do much more than eat, sleep and fuck.”

            “And you’re sure that he’s not related to the Sweet and Sour Hares?”

            “Yeah, I asked him that too. Apparently everyone does. He’s not.”

            “Huh…”

            “What?”

            “Nothing,” she said shutting the door. The two of them went and got Mouse and Daniel out of the car, while March ran around in circles.

            “Does he always do that?” Vincent asked Alice.

            “You’re asking me? I just met him, same as you.”

            “Oh yeah, right. Good point,” he said and went back to dragging Daniel. When they got inside, they ditched the two unconscious men on the couch and went to the kitchen to catch their breath.

            “You want anything to drink?” Vincent asked Alice.

            “Nah, I’m good, thanks though.”

            “Ok, well, I’m going to find something to really get this going.”

            “What do you mean?”

            “Well, you wanted to see how great this guy really is, right?”

            “Yeah?”

            “Well, let me just get something.” Vincent ran away and up the stairs. Meanwhile, Alice started looking around the house for a small bit. The house itself wasn’t that impressive, it was large but no certainly no mansion. The major problem was how Daniel, working one of the most underpaid jobs, could have possibly afforded this. She wondered if the fucking that Daniel did could have been paid for. After all, judging for the stories she had heard about the owner of this house and the famous ‘Rabbit’, she began to think it might have just been a possibility.

              “Really, you’re sure you’re not related to the Sweet and Sour Hares?” Alice asked Daniel.

            “I wish,” Daniel said nonchalantly, “you think I would be able to hide a secret like that?” she looked at him without blinking, “you think I would want to?” Still nothing. “Think of how much pussy I would get with that line, ‘I’m the son of the famous Sweet and Sour,’ think of all the wonderful pick up lines I could use, think…” he paused and thought for a moment, “think of all the money I would have, don’t you think I would want to be the lost son of Max and Jo Hare?” she nodded, reluctantly, and looked away.

            “Fine. I guess I’ll have to live with that answer,”

            “Anyway,” Vincent said, continuing.

              Vincent came back down stairs with a big black duffel bag. He dropped the bag with a weighty bang on the table.

            “Impressive,” commented Alice.

            “You have not seen anything yet.”

            “So what’s in the bag?”

            “My dear, you might be a nurse, but back home in England, I made quite a reputation as ‘the pharmacist’.” She tilted her head. He unzipped the bag and pulled it open. Inside were little bags with each and every kind of drug anyone could have possibly imagined.

            “Fuck me,” Alice said in disbelief.

            “Gladly,” Vincent said turning to her and beginning to grind on her. She pushed him off her.

            “Not what I meant. How the fuck did you manage to get that past customs?”

            “I didn’t,” he said grinning.

            “Then… what? You carried cash into the country and then… bought… all of this when you got here?” She was still dumbstruck by the amount and variety of drugs he had in that bag.

            “I would have been stopped by customs for carrying that much money with me.”

            “Then… HOW?”

            “I’ve built up a credit,” he said with a smug grin and picked up a few bags and headed for the blender.

            “Wait… what? You’ve built a credit? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

            “It means my dear, I’ve moved some product in my day,” he said focusing his attention to what he had in front of him. He swished past her to the fridge, got the milk and then walked back to the cooking island where he got a pan and began to heat the milk.

            “Again, Vince, that doesn’t tell me anything.”

            “Hey March!” Vincent yelled while he began putting some weed in a tea infuser.

             “Yes Vincench?” March said popping his head into the kitchen. “Wow tha’s a loch of drugs.”

            “Yes, yes it is. You think you could do me a favor?”

            “Uh, sure?” March responded. Meanwhile, Alice sat down and just watched the events unfold.

            “It’s easy, but just because it’s easy doesn’t mean it’s not important.”

            “Whach do you need?”

            “Take this watch,” he slipped his watch off his wrist and gave it to March, “I need you to find Daniel’s pulse and measure it for me. You think you can do that?” he told him without even as much as turning around to look at him.

            “Uhuh.”

            “Ok, then tell me what I just asked you to do.”

            “Measure Daniel’s pulse.”

            “Wrong,” he said now looking at him, “tell me exactly what I told you to do.”

            “You chold me cho chake this wachch, find Daniel’s pulse and measure ich.”

            “Good,” Vincent tapped March on the shoulder. “Now go.” He stood there watching March understand what had just happened and then went back in picking up two glasses, a scale and a few spoons.

              “Uh Vincent?” Alice asked hesitantly as she raised her hand. “Question.”

            “Yes Alice,” he said, still not looking at anything but the drugs in front of him.

            “What are you doing?”

            “I am currently working on a concoction I started developing when I was in med school. It helps bring out the absolute best in people.”

            “Wait, you went to med school?”

            “Yeah, I did. Remember, pharmacist?”

            “But… I…”

            “Hey listen, you still have that valium in your pocket?”

            “What, how did you know I-”

            “I know a thief when I see one. I also know that’s why you left so quickly.” Her mouth was stuck open, same as her eyes. “Yes or no will do.” She swallowed.

            “Yes.”

            “Good,” he said with a smug smile. “I’m gonna need some in a bit.”

            “Fifchy beachs per minuche!”

            “Five-nul?”

            “Yeah.”

            “Good,” Vincent said putting some more white powder in a glass on the scale.

            “Is that-”

            “Cocaine?” he asked darting his eyes at her, “yeah,” he said looking back. He mixed what Alice could only imagine was weed in the pan with the milk, while he put a few more drugs in the glass where he had just put cocaine. “March?”

            “Yes Vincench!”

            “I’d like my watch back, but also, could you check the freezer for me and see if we have ice?”

            “Sure thing,” he said, passing the watch nervously to Vincent and ran to the freezer to follow his orders. “Yes we do, how much do you wanch?”

            “As much as we have in this bowl here,” Vincent told him passing him a bowl from underneath the stove.

            “Hey Vincent, one other question,” Alice said raising her hand again.

            “Yes?” he responded, again not looking at her but only paying attention to his concoction in front of him.

            “Should you really be mixing that many drugs?”

            “Usually, I would suggest against it, but I’ve been working on this mixture for years, the exact amounts, with the right drugs, in the right way, have the exact effect that I need right now.”

            “And it won’t kill him?”

            “If our theory is correct,”

            “Wait, our theory?”

            “If, our theory is correct,” he started again. “then actually taking this should make you live longer, healthier, and all in all much more… alive.”

            “I swear, you’re making me live up to my name sake.”

            “What do you mean?”

            “Alice? From Alice in Wonderland? Every second with you is just… further and further down the rabbit hole.”

            “Hm. Funny. Anyway. I’m almost done. Can you see if you can wake up Daniel?” he said as he poured the mixture into the blender where he had put the ice. While she went to wake up Daniel, he got a bottle of vodka and poured that in to the mixture as well. The sound of the blender made just about every conscious person jump. He poured the contents of the blender into a cup and walked to his sleeping house mate.

                        “Hey, Daniel, mate. How are you doing?” he asked Daniel who only just had half opened his eyes.

            “Hey,” he mumbled back.

            “Listen, I need you to drink this mate.”

            “Hmm… What is it?” Daniel asked

            “Milk, laced,” Vincent responded quickly.

            “Well, don’t mind if I do,” he said softly. Vincent gave him the glass, which Daniel drank slowly and suddenly he looked pained drinking it, as if he realized that it wasn’t laced with his usual drink. He pushed it away from him. Vincent tried to push it back.

            “I know, I know, just… bear with me for a moment, ok Daniel? Trust me,” Vincent said looking Daniel straight in the eyes. Daniel looked at him, noticing the seriousness in his voice and took the drink into his hands and chugged it until the glass was empty. After a loud belch, Daniel blinked once or twice before he stood up.

            “That’s it. No worries,” said Vincent, holding him up. “You’ve got thi- shit.” Out of nowhere, Daniel fell back onto the black leather couch where he had just spend the last few minutes catching zs and sawing some huge logs.

            “Well that worked like a charm,” Alice said sarcastically.

            “Give it a moment. Daniel stood up too fast. The formula hasn’t had time to kick in yet. Plus, the way he stood up, his blood pressure must have had a sudden-” Before Vincent had a chance to finish his sentence, Daniel stood up in a jolt.

            “Woah!” Daniel said shaking himself. “Wow, what the fuck was that stuff?”

            “See?” Vincent said to Alice while pointing at Daniel. “It worked.”

            “I can’t believe it did,” Alice said in shock, “everything I have ever studied, says that this shouldn’t work. Not even in the slightest.”

            “I know. It’s an anomaly. We don’t know why it works, just that it does. We’ve been working on perfecting the formula for years,” he then turned to Daniel, “Daniel, mate, how do you feel?”

            “Fucking awesome.”

            “Good. Well, listen, you remember Alice?” Vincent said motioning to her.

            “No, but everyone is just a friend waiting to be made, I always say.”

            “I’m glad we agree,” Vincent said with a grin. “Anyway, she didn’t believe me when I told her that you are charismatic, and awesome, and just a real hound dog.”

            “They don’t call me the Rabbit for nothing, my dear,” Daniel said leaning in and kissing her hand. She flashed a look of disbelief at Vincent.

            “I was thinking, maybe we could throw a party. Invite a couple of friends, and-”

            “What time is it?” Daniel asked, interrupting him. Vincent leaned back to look at the clock on the oven.

            “Two sixteen mate.” Daniel reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone and started dialing numbers.

            “Great,” he said with a big smile as he walked away. Vincent and Alice looked at each other in a blanket of confusion.

                        “Please tell me you’re joking,” Daniel said to Vincent, with his jaw practically glued to the floor.

            “What?” Vincent asked, as he was confused by his sudden interruption in the story.

            “What the fuck did you give me?”

            “Just a few things to wake you up, but also boost your brain’s potential. The formula in itself isn’t harmful. It just needs a tweak or two to solve a side effect or two.”

            “Yeah? What side effects?”

            “For one apparently, in some cases, memory loss. Also, it’s not exactly… a good idea to take too much of it.”

            “What do you mean ‘not exactly a good idea’? How much did you give me?”

            “You know how eggs aren’t exactly harmful, but it’s ok to have like three to five eggs a week, depending on who you ask?”

            “Yeah…” Daniel said trying to understand.

            “Same thing. You shouldn’t have too much of this too often. But in homeopathic doses, it’s fine.”   

            “You better know what you are doing.”

            “Always,” Vincent said with a wink.

              When Daniel came back, he was smiling and still had his phone against his ear.

            “How long has he been on the phone?” asked Alice.

            “I have no idea,” Vincent said shaking his head.

            “Are you sure that’s the same guy that was passed out on the couch there?

            “I know, the formula does that. Shocking right?”

            “So now whach?” asked March as he popped his head in between Alice and Vincent.

            “Now, we wait to see what the Rabbit does,” Vincent explained as he recovered from the sudden shock of having March appear out of no where. Daniel walked towards them, still with a silly grin and hung up the phone after saying a few good byes. He then looked down at his watch.

            “And five, four, three, two.” He mouthed the last number and as he did so, the door bell rang. “Convinced?” he asked Alice.

            “Impressed, but not convinced,” she said, being difficult. He walked to the front door and opened it. Guests poured into the house like water breaking through a dam. When Alice and Vincent saw Daniel again, he had a girl under his left arm, and under his right arm, he had two. He tapped the furthest one on the right on the shoulder and pointed to Vincent.

            “This is the guy I was telling you about.”

            “Hello my dear,” Vincent said, charmingly taking her hand.

            “Oh, British, my favorite.” Vincent and Daniel both grinned. Meanwhile, Alice watched as the party expanded to have music and dancing and Daniel was already walking away with both girls and making out with them.

            “Ok… I’m convinced. How did he do this?” Alice asked Vincent, not quite noticing that his face was already being sucked on by the brunette that Daniel had delivered to him.

            “Honestly,” he said, attempting to break free from the embrace of the coed, “I’m impressed. I mean, I knew he was able to do shit like this, he keeps telling me stories of it, but I always thought he used the bar to spark these things. Never thought that he would have been able to get a party of this magnitude going out of nowhere. And in what, fifteen minutes? I honestly wonder who he was on the phone with in those last seconds before he talked to us.”

              “Any idea who it was?” Alice asked Daniel, who was now trying to rub his headache away.

            “Who what was?”

            “The person you called just before the party actually started,” Vincent expanded.

            “You’re aware that if it wasn’t for the fact that I woke up on top of a table, with a cast and confetti and plastic party cups all over my house, I would be calling serious bullshit on the both of you right now, right?”

            “Why?” Vincent asked.

            “Because right now, I don’t remember any of this. Not a single bit,” Daniel stated. In the corner, Madeline chuckled softly. Daniel shot his gaze at her. Everyone else tried to look at what he was looking at, but still saw nothing.

            “Daniel?” Vincent called, drawing his attention back to the conversation at hand.

            “Ready to hear the rest?”

            “Yeah. I’m sorry, there was a… shadow that caught my eye,” Daniel explained giving her a dirty look. She shot him one back.

                        Four hours had passed, March had lost his shirt, while Mouse was being used as a table to hold multiple objects. Alice, who was always known by her group of friends, as a wild child and a creative one at that, suddenly found herself thinking she had jumped into the deep end. Being bumped by random strangers had become a second nature to her already, but the thumping of the music and having her bottom pinched at random times still hadn’t. Vincent was right; to have thrown a party of this magnitude Daniel must have been better at a lot then what she gave him credit for.

            “So Alice, is this a parchy or whach!” March yelled at her. She nodded awkwardly.

            “Excuse me,” a raven haired woman tapped Alice on the shoulder. Her green eyes seemed to pierce her soul. “Have you seen Neil?”

            “Neil? I’m sorry, I’m afraid I don’t know any Neil.”

            “Daniel? Daniel Hare? The guy who threw this party? The guy who owns this house?”

            “Oh Daniel. Yeah uh, he’s over there,” she responded pointing to a couch that housed Daniel, Vincent, and both their ladies.

            “Where?” the raven haired lady asked as she looked slightly off where Alice pointed.

“Come on, I’ll take you!” Alice yelled back in an attempt to be louder than the music. “I’m Alice by the way.”

            “Oh aren’t you just a doll,” the raven haired girl laughed. They got to the two, Daniel had his face in a boob sandwich. Vincent, who was sitting next to one of the girls acting as bread to Daniel’s sandwich, was having a tongue shoved down his throat by the brunette that Daniel had introduced to him.

            “Daniel?” Alice tried to get his attention; no reaction from him though. She pulled the two girls breasts off his face. “Sorry to get you out of your booby trap Daniel, but there’s someone here who wants to see you.” His eyes ice cold blue eyes hit the girl’s piercing green ones.

            “Chris. You made it. How wonderful.”

            “Yeah, well, don’t get too excited Neil. You said you had something of mine.”

            “Ah, yeah, I did. Thank you for reminding me.” He stood up and kissed her until she leaned back. Time, for a moment, seemed to freeze for both of them. For a moment, Alice actually thought that Chris was kissing him back. The second she thought that though, her thought was quickly changed by a fast and loud slap that hit Daniel on the side of the face. It didn’t stop him from going on though.

            “Daniel!” some girl said who was suddenly standing next to Alice.

                        “Oh shit!” Vincent said interrupting the story.

            “What?” Daniel asked as he saw Vincent face grow pale.

            “I just remembered something.”

            “What Vincent?”

            “You can’t remember a single thing from last night?”

            “For the six millionth time, no.”

            “Then I think we should have lead with this.”

            “With what, for fuck’s sake?!”

              Vincent was the first one to notice who it was. He stood up and pushed the girl who was shoving her tongue down his throat off him.

            “Kate! What are you doing here?” Vincent asked. She ignored him and tried push Daniel off Chris. At first it didn’t help much. Daniel had Chris in a very tight embrace and Katelyn’s pushing wouldn’t break that. However when Daniel peeked open one of his eyes, he notice it was Katelyn. When he noticed her, he dropped Chris flat on the floor.

            “Kate! What are you doing here?”

            “A bunch of my friends called and told me there was a party going on at your house, figured I might come see what the fuck you had to celebrate, but if it was fucking this fucking whore, you better fucking break the shit out of this party right the fuck now.” Daniel looked thoughtful for a second, or at least that’s what Alice and Vincent thought, until out of his mouth spewed all the white liquid that was the formula that was giving him the energy to be as lively as he was. The crowd of people around him had dispersed like Moses splitting the red sea.

            “Shit,” Vincent exclaimed and turned to Alice, “ok, so I might have gotten my measurements wrong.”

            “Either that or the Rabbit here just got real nervous real fast.”

            “Me thinks it was the latter,” Daniel added. Before Daniel (or anyone for that matter), could say anything else, they all heard sirens from outside. Vincent ran to the door while he watched everyone else scatter and run away like ants. Christina stood up, as to not be trampled, but more importantly to deal with Daniel. She pulled her arm back to punch him, but just as she let go, he fell on to the couch, making her fist meet Katelyn’s face.

              “...And of course, Kate couldn’t take that so she punched her back.”

            “Which is when I walked in with the cops behind me. See, they were just there to give us a warning that we were being too loud, but when they saw the two of them fighting…” Vincent continued.

            “Wait, if Kate was here… where is she now?” Daniel asked.

            “That’s what I’m trying to tell you; when the cops saw the two of them fighting they tried to stop them and break them apart,” Vincent explained with a painful expression of worry on his face. “That didn’t exactly work and Kate punched a cop.” Daniel’s jaw dropped. “In the face.”

            “That’s where you’re choosing to stop? Then what?”

            “They arrested her for assaulting an officer.”

            “How long ago was this?” Daniel asked in panic. Vincent and Alice looked at each other unknowingly.

            “I don’t know, not very long ago. We’ve been telling this story for… thirty minutes or so now, then it must have been around thirty five.”

            “What? Then how did I end up on the table?” Daniel asked, now confused.

            “After you fell onto the couch and your sister got arrested, I walked them out, trying to figure out where they were going, when she would get released, and so on.”

            “You, on the other hand,” said Alice, taking over, “went back to mumbling, then suddenly got up and said you were going to bed. Except, you didn’t walk to your room, you walked into the kitchen.”

            “So when I came back, I asked Alice where you were, and she told me you went to bed… in the kitchen. And that’s when I woke you up.” Daniel blinked.

            “Wow…”

            “And really that’s why we’re that surprised you can’t remember anything, I mean it wasn’t too long ago,” Alice added.

            “I suppose that makes sense,” he said, scratching his head with his one good arm.

            “Truth of the matter is though, now that they told you, you remember, don’t you,” Madeline said, tracing her finger on his shoulder.

            “Listen, guys, thanks so much for the story, it’s been great to catch up, I feel… pretty ok, just got a huge-”

            “Cock?” Madeline interrupted him. He shook his head.

            “Headache. We should probably-” said Daniel, trying to continue.

            “Fuck?” Madeline wasn’t going to stop anytime soon it seemed.

            “Go get Kate from whatever dungeon she’s locked up in.” He looked around him. Suddenly, Madeline was gone.

            “Yeah. We should,” agreed Vincent.

            “I’m just gonna change and splash some water on my face and then how about we go?”

            “Sure,” Vincent responded. Daniel jumped off his table and went upstairs.

              The second he got to his room, he found Madeline lying on his bed wearing nothing but lingerie.

            “Ok what? What is it?”

            “Oh, nothing. Can’t a lovely little ex girlfriend of yours just… pop back into your life again and want to use this bed for the purpose you really give it?”

            “You could, but meanwhile, you’re just a figment of my imagination. A hallucination I get whenever I decide to part take in Vincent’s vivifying vices.”

            “Oh, big words, did someone eat out a brainiac?”

            “Madeline, leave me alone.”

            “Fine, then I guess you will never know why Chris came out here tonight,” she said, pulling her stockings up.

            “Wait, what?”

            “What what?” Madeline asked innocently.

            “You know why Chris was here tonight?”

            “I also know why you kissed her. Well maybe not, but I can certainly guess.”

            “If you know, and you’re… in my head, then I know.”

            “But do you?” asked Madeline with a grin. Daniel sat down in his chair. He searched his mind but no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t remember. Madeline sat up. “You don’t. That’s what I thought. See, last night, after your little argument with Harriet, you decided to come home and… release some steam, so to speak,” she said looking down in between his legs, “you considered giving some bimbo a call, but considering the time, you would have a hard time kicking them out and we all know how much you hate going to their houses. So you got a bottle of vodka, the leftover of the joint you had from last night and… let ‘er rip,” she said moving her fist up and down rapidly, “Lord knows how you managed to, but somewhere, you found enough passion and conviction in your… playtime, that you broke your arm when you switched hands, by having it in an awkward position between the chair and the wardrobe over there. Then, yes, you called Vincent, I mean, what else would you do, you broke your arm and you were… way beyond being able to help yourself. He arrived and brought you to the hospital. The whole time though, you and me had a lively little chat.”

            “What about?” Daniel asked. Madeline grinned.

            “I’m glad you asked. We were talking about how your life had gone completely down the drain. And I told you that you would probably never rise from this little hell you are in. You disagreed. You also said that you might not have the strength, or will to do what is necessary to get your life back on track.”

            “Chris… if I could…”          

            “If you could see Chris, without turning into a babbling idiot then yes, you could in theory, or at least so you thought, maybe be able to have meaningful relationships again, as opposed to measuring everything and everyone to her.”

            “But then… you disagreed with that.”

            “That’s right. I told you you were way to in love with your sister to have Chris be the problem. Honestly Daniel, I think you better start hallucinating about Freud next… you’re gonna need some help if you want to get into your sister’s panties.”

            “She’s not my sister.”

            “You introduce her as such, everyone only knows her as such. But besides, you know that’s not the only reason that you can’t be with her.”

            “Milo,” they said in unison.

            “As much as you love him, you fear him,” Madeline continued, “you are too afraid of his consequences that might come if you and Kate started seeing each other.”

            “What if there aren’t any consequences at all? Maybe, he thinks it’s a good idea, you know, maybe he thinks that because he knows me so well and everything, maybe he’ll rather have me as a son-in-law than some idiot that got her pregnant, like Joey.”

            “Or maybe, he will think it’s a horrible idea. Because he knows you so well. Because you’re so smart. Because you will break her pretty little heart. Because you just want a flavor of the season, not a flame to last you forever. And that… is what led you to kiss Chris. You wanted to prove to me, the ‘figment of your imagination’ that you were so over her you could afford to see her again. And then you decided to kick it up a notch, you took charge of your life with her around; you kissed her. And then threw up on her. Gotta say, as far as awkward moments to vomit go… you really took the cake on this one.”

            “I… remember.”

            “Thank god,” said another voice, “for a second there I was really worried he wasn’t gonna make it!”

            “Oh shush, some are trying to sleep. Or at least not make a hang over worse,” said a third voice.

            “Personally, I wouldn’t have minded if he would have stayed that way,” said a fourth voice, one that he could actually recognize. It was Madeline’s.

            “I’m just glad I don’t have to show up at work like this,” said a fifth voice.

            “Yeah,” laughed the first voice again, “I can imagine.”

            “Says the guy without a job at all. How are you staying here anyway?” the fifth voice asked.

            “By the kindness of his heart,” the first voice answered.

            “I thought you were chipping in in someway,” Daniel chimed in finally opening his eyes and seeing Vincent in his usual turtleneck, and two other faces that he didn’t recognize.  Vincent smiled in relief. The other two sighed loudly and sat down before Daniel could see who they were. “Can someone tell me how I always happen to wake up on a table whenever I pass out from alcohol?”

            “Can’t answer that, but I can tell you you didn’t pass out because of alcohol, mate.”

            “Well, not just,” said the fifth voice.

            “What’s that supposed to mean?” asked Daniel.

            “Someone went green,” said the fifth voice. Daniel tried to sit up, but couldn’t, because of an unbearable pain in his left arm. He looked down at his arm and noticed a huge pink cast signed from top to bottom. He looked at it, then back at Vincent.

            “Hey, how you doing there, mate?” Vincent said holding his back and helping him sit up.

            “I… woozy.”

            “You would be. Here drink this.” Vincent handed Daniel a glass of water and practically forced it down his throat. He coughed just before drowning. “Sorry, a little too eager. You ok?” Daniel just waved his hand, pushed the glass away from him and nodded. “Here, whenever you feel strong enough for it, you should have this,” he said putting a banana next to him on the table.

            “Bananas are good for you after the kind of party we just had,” said the fifth voice, which belonged to a blond girl sitting in one of the chairs around Daniel. He raised an eyebrow in surprise. “They replenish your electrolytes pretty fast.”          

            “That’s nice and all, but, can someone explain to me what happened to my arm?”

            “That’s kinda been a mystery to everyone here,” explained the blonde.

            “Is it sprained?” Daniel asked.

            “With a cast that size? You have got to be kidding. No man, you broke it. You broke it very nicely too,” Vincent explained.

            “Anyone know how?”

            “You mean you don’t know?” asked the blonde.

            “Would I be asking if I knew?” Daniel asked in return.

            “Fair point. Well, you told us you fell. However, judging from the way you answered that when I asked you that yesterday-”

            “Wait you… who are you?”

            “Memory loss too?” the blond asked looking at Vincent. “He must have been drinking a lot more than we originally thought. I’m Alice, the nurse that took care of you when you came into the hospital with Vincent yesterday, remember?”

            “’fraid not.”

            “Guys! Guys!” Another person popped up behind Daniel, “seriously, this guy has like five hundred thousand million channels on his CH-V!” he paused just long enough to make someone think that they had a chance to say something. Vincent opened his mouth to speak, but before sound escaped his lips, he carried on, “no really, he has like channels from India and China and some Middle Eastern counchry and I think there was some African schuff in bechween there, buch I couldn’ch underschand ich anyway. Besides, all the average channels are in normal English. Oh! Even the adulch channels are unblocked!” again, he made it seem like someone might be able to speak in there, but just as Alice opened her mouth to speak, he shot off words like bullets out of a machine gun. “Oh is tha the coffee tha’s done? Awesomeness!” he ran towards it.

            “Yeah sure, help yourself,” said Daniel as he watched the man, who was tanned very dark and had bleached blond hair. He picked up the cup under the coffee maker and drank it.

            “That’s March. He-”

            “Oh god this coffee is cheriffic!” March burst.

            “He’s been hanging around us since yesterday when you came in,” Alice tried again, “his real name is Mart, but, as you can tell, he…” she looked at him down the cup of coffee, “has a bit of a speech impediment.”

            “Woooooooooooo!” March yelled.

            “What was in that?”

            “Uh, March?” Alice asked him.

            “Give or chake a good seven espressos.”

            “In one cup?” Daniel asked in surprise.

             “With four sugars.” Daniel raised an eyebrow in surprise. “I mighch have been able cho fich eighch buch I wasn’ch sure I would be able cho schir then.” Daniel stopped sitting up.

            “And we let him?” Daniel asked in pure panic.

            “You’re free to try and stop him,” said Alice with a challenging look. “Anyway,” she continued, “that over there is Mouse. He has a serious case of hypochondria and paranoia. Seriously. So, we sedated him.” Alice shook a little vial labeled valium and then put it back in her pocket.

            “Please tell me we didn’t raid a mental institution?” Daniel begged Vincent.

            “My little rabbity friend, you really don’t remember anything?” Daniel just shook his head. “Well, what is the last thing you remember?”

              “So then, how is it having Vincent over at your house day in day out?” Harriet asked Daniel.

            “Honestly, I don’t see why you hate him so much.”

            “You weren’t there,” she said suddenly changing the entire mood of the conversation.

            “He told me.”

            “He did?” Daniel nodded. “Still, you weren’t there.”

            “Harry, it was a good long time ago. I mean, despite his overuse of certain substances, he seems to be pretty…”

            “Don’t say it.”

            “Ok.”

            “Ugh!” Harriet said, disgusted. “Vincent Venice Junior is anything but ok. Next to being a total psychopath, he ruined most of our lives. Especially that of Venus. Personally, I think that just having him in town is a little too close for my taste. The sooner he leaves…” She trailed off, but Daniel got the picture.

            “He’s been a very interesting house guest.”

            “I’m sure,” she said, not even looking at him. She was frustrated and from what Daniel could tell, it was about something more than just Vincent staying town.

            “Still on that dry spell, huh?”

            “How about you mind your own business and clean the fucking bathroom where, judging from the screams last week, you practically killed her.” Daniel looked at her for a moment until she started moving again.

            “Alright. I… I guess I will,” he said moving slowly from behind the bar. He got the mop and headed for the bathroom.

            “Daniel,” Harriet called out before he went in, he turned around swiftly, “make sure it’s spotless. I want to be able to eat off it.” He looked down, not quite understanding why she was acting the way she was. “Am I clear?”

            “Yes,” he said softly.

            “I didn’t hear you.”

            “Yes, Queen Bitch.”

            “Alright that’s it. Go,” she said smashing her hands on the sink.

            “What?”

            “Leave. Now.”  He put the mop in the bucket and walked towards the door. He paused as he held on to the door handle.  

            “I’m sorry Harriet. I really-”

            “Out!” she yelled at him. Daniel didn’t want to wait for another second, he opened the door and left.

              “Then yeah, I got home and next thing I know I’m here.”

            “You sure that’s all you remember?” Madeline asked from her little corner. She flicked at the tip of her top hat and looked at him. He looked at her as well.

            “Is he ok?” Alice asked Vincent softly as they watched him focus on a blank spot on the wall.

            “Yeah, apparently whenever Daniel gets high, he hallucinates a bit. Regardless of the drug.”

            “Weird.”

            “Tell me about it,” he said to Alice. “Neil, buddy,” he said turning to Daniel again.

            “So it is you that called me that.”

            “Yes. Shouldn’t I?” Vincent asked him.

            “No. For one, you shouldn’t, but more importantly, why did you?”

            “I don’t know, some chick was at the party here last night, she called you that.” Daniel felt as if the floor had fallen from underneath him.

            “C-Chris was here?”

            “I don’t know what her name was. But she seemed to know you. Like I said, she called you Neil all the time, I guess it kinda stuck.”

            “Just… just, let’s not do that again ok.”

            “Sure thing.”

            “So… anyone wanna tell me how this party came to be, and how we met them, not to mention how I broke my arm?”

            “Sure,” Vincent chirped in.

              Vincent was walking down a street close to where Daniel lived, coming home from spending the last few hours heavily petting a girl down town who he thought might have been the sister of someone who screwed him over on his last drug deal. He didn’t care if it was or wasn’t his sister, either way he got a good screw out of it.  When he finally turned into the street with Daniel’s house, his phone rang.

            “Oh hey mate.”

            “Hey Vince?” Daniel sounded in pain. Vincent stopped to listen to Daniel more carefully.

            “You ok?”

            “Please tell me you are somewhere near by?”

            “Uh, yeah, I am about maybe two minutes away, why?”

            “I need you at home. Like now.”

            “Daniel, are you ok?”

            “Dude, just… Get over here.” Vincent didn’t wait for another word; he hung up and ran the last bit to the house. He fumbled with the key in the lock and ran upstairs.

            “Daniel!” Softly, from Daniel’s room, he heard Daniel try to shout ‘up here’. He barged in through the door to find Daniel lying on the floor, pants around his ankles, and a bottle of vodka on the floor spilt, with a crack through it. The strangest bit of it all though, was Daniel’s arm which was in a position it shouldn’t be in. “Oh God!”

            “Oh hey, finally.”

            “Daniel, let’s not move your arm, alright mate?”

            “Yeah, no I’m fine, look,” Daniel said before trying to stand up using his arm to balance.

              “Seriously though, the crack your arm made at that point was one of the more disturbing things I’ve heard in a very long long time.”

            “Really? I’m that crazy?” Daniel asked looking surprised.

            “That drunk, mate,” Vincent explained.

            “So then what?”

            “Well, I tried to get you to tell me how you had broken your arm in the first place, while carrying you down and into your car.”

            “I let you drive?”

            “Yeah, why not?”

            “You’re British.”

            “So?”

            “You… driv-”

            “Bloody hell, will you get ever get over that you… twat!”

            “Alright alright, so, then?”

                        “Hey,” Vincent greeted the receptionist at the hospital, “Listen, my mate here broke his arm and-”

            “Ok sir, I am going to need you to fill in this form and come back to me ok?”

            “I-” Vincent tried to say something.

            “Form first sir,” she said and closed her little sliding window. He gave her an angry look. Vincent sat down and started to fill in the form as quick as he could. Trying to get answers out of Daniel at this point however, was harder than getting milk out of a rock.

            “Your friend doesn’t really seem able to answer the info you need there,” said a blond nurse who had come into the waiting room.

            “No, not really. You know anybody who I could shag to get some faster service around here?”

            “Well, there’s always little old me.”

            “There are worse people to have to shag,” he said with a grin.

            “You’re horrible, you know that?”

            “Oh my dear, you have no idea.” She winked and stood up straight. She then looked at the receptionist and pointed at the two of them as if to tell her that she was going to take care of them. She led them down the hall and to one of the exam rooms.

            “So, does your friend here have any insurance?” she asked Vincent.

            “Yes,” piped Daniel.

            “Why is he out like that?” asked the nurse.

            “Honestly? I have no idea. I found him at home like this.”

            “You sure?”

            “Pretty sure.” She gave him a look to make sure he wasn’t lying.

            “Alright,” she said before turning to Daniel. “So, uh, what’s your name?” she asked him.

            “Daniel Hare,” Vincent told her, since Daniel was still being a babbling fool, talking to random space.

            “Daniel,” she said, and scribbled something on the information sheet she had taken from them in the waiting room. “Alice,” she then said extending her hand to Vincent.

            “Vincent,” he said introducing himself.

            “You have any clue what he had before this?”

            “I saw a bottle of vodka, that’s it though. But that shouldn’t be doing this to him, this man lives off vodka.”

            “Ok,” she said, and scribbled something on the information sheet again. “Let’s go.” They walked down the hall in a brisk pace. “So you, think you can tell me what happened?”

            “I’ve tried to ask him that, but he hasn’t been able to tell me anything.”

            “Hey Alice” a guy whispered as he passed her.

            “Oh, hey Mouse, what’s wrong this time?”

            “The queen wants to take over the world.” That caused Vincent to lift his head and find out who would say such lunacies.

            “I mean, why are you here today?”

            “Oh, yeah, I have cancer.”

            “Right-o, well good luck with that,” she said and continued down the hall. Vincent, who was helping Daniel walk straight, was surprised by Alice’s lack of emotion towards ‘Mouse’s’ news of having cancer. On the other hand though, he did just say that the queen was trying to rule the world, so he could have been your average, run of the mill crazy person. He looked at her questioningly. “Oh right, that’s mouse. He’s got a screw or three loose. Nothing to be too worried about.”

            “Right,” Vincent said, completely ignoring what had been going on with Daniel and his invisible friend.

                        Madeline stood up straight from her little corner and brushed her long tail coat with her fingerless glove covered hands and sighed. Daniel avoided making eye contact with her. Alice had taken over the story telling for the last part, as she loved telling stories. He looked down at his arm and noticed the signatures of Alice, Vincent and Mouse. He also noticed a couple of drawn phalluses and a few other obscene drawings.

            “I’m guessing that’s when I got this?” Daniel said rising his left arm.

            “Sorta,” continued Alice. “You were remarkably lucky. Normally, it takes us hours to X-ray a patient because, well, everyone wants to be x-rayed. Of course, they all forget how much radiation you get every time, anyway, magically, there was a spot open. So you got an X-ray, and lo and behold, guess what?”

            “My arm was broken?”

            “Twice.” Daniel shivered. “I know, fun, right?” Daniel had an after shock of his shivers.

            “Sooo…”

            “Right, so then…”

              They walked back to the waiting room. Daniel now had a cast and was in a wheelchair, still babbling to the air around him. Alice and Vincent had tried to understand what he was saying and if he was saying it to anyone, but eventually decided it was useless to try.

            “Funny though, he breaks his arm and ends up a wheelchair,”

            “Well, whatever he took… doesn’t really look like he is walking anytime soon.”

            “Probably not.” It was around this time that a heavily tanned, blond guy came running into the waiting room and bashed into Daniel right on his arm. Daniel screamed out in pain.

            “Oh, wow, I’m sorry, I didn’ch see you there.”

            “Dude, what the hell man, watch where you’re going!” Alice screamed at him. At this point one of the doctors came in.

            “Woah, Alice, is this anyway to treat a patient? Now, I know you’re new here, but that’s no reason for me not to be able to fire you for mistreating our patients,” he said holding on to Alice’s shoulder.

            “Oh please, there’s no need to do that,” Vincent said trying to save Alice. “She’s probably just annoyed that she did all the hard work of putting that cast on just a few seconds ago to have my good friend here bump into it.”

            “You two know each other?” the doctor asked.

            “Of course, I asked him to meet me here,” said Vincent, putting an arm around the tanned blond. He, however, was sweating bullets and looking very suspicious. “I swear, he always looks this nervous. Major case of ADD, his parents never knew what to do with him, and I never knew better friends, so yeah, no worries mate, we got it all under control.” The doctor looked like he was going to say something to Alice. “As for Alice here, we’re all good friends.”

            “Yeah,” the tanned blond chimed in, “these chwo used cho be an ichem and everything,” he said putting his hand on Daniel’s casted arm, causing Daniel to open his mouth in excruciating pain again. “High school sweechhearchs. Inseparable.” The three of them (Daniel not included) watched as the doctor got more and more uncomfortable, still not sold on the story they were selling, but he seemed to figure that it wasn’t worth the trouble.

            “In any case, Alice, please be careful, you know you’re already under the microscope for being new.” She nodded and they all watched as he shuffled back into the main building again.

            “Thanks guys.”

            “Waich a second, he acchually baughch tha? We goch a way with this?” he said looking perplexed. He then turned to look at Vincent. “We’re friends?”

            “Every stranger is a friend waiting to be made, I always say mate. Come on, let’s beat it before we get into more trouble.” Alice and Vincent rolled off with Daniel while the tanned blond stood there looking sad. Alice tapped Vincent on the shoulder and motioned with her head towards their new unmade friend. “Well, come on then,” he said to him. The man sprung to life and followed after them with a spring in his step. “If you were to stay behind you’re sure to get in trouble with Nurse Ratched over there.”

            “I’m prechchy sure he was a doccher.” Vincent threw his hands up in the air.

            “Never mind, so, what’s your name mate?”

            “I’m March,”

            “March? Like the month?”

            “No, well, sorcha I can’ch pronounce ch’s.”

            “Ah, I see, Mart.”

            “Yes!”

            “I for one like March better, it’s cool, like you.”

            “Oh, thank you,” he said as he stood still in the parking lot.

            “So,” Vincent carried on, “what were you here for?”

            “I was… OH shich!”

            “What?” Vincent asked, but March was already running back into the hospital.

            “What’s that all about?” Alice asked. Vincent just shrugged.

              “Yeah I must say, it was a little weird, you were just kinda… gone,” Alice explained.

            “I had a good reason.” Everyone looked over at Mouse.

            “Sorta…” Alice and Vincent said in unison.

            “So after he disappeared, I figured fuck the hospital and the fucking doctor there, I mean, I am just a ‘low-life’ intern nurse and that asshole kept on grabbing my ass when no one was watching… I swear, the man has a breath that smells like a dead possum died carrying a rotting raccoon and just…

              After a few minutes March came back holding Mouse so he could walk properly instead of falling over in his state of perpetual sleep.

            “Goch him,” March whispered. Alice looked down in despair.

            “Seriously? Mouse?”

            “Uh, just out of curiosity, how do you guys plan to get back to…” Vincent asked but trailed off as he realized he didn’t know where they were going.

            “I was gonna chake the bus with Mouse, he can’ch really chake the bus by himself afcher a visich cho the hospichal so I came here cho make sure he’s ok.”

            “Awesome… uh…” He looked over at Alice. She rolled her eyes.

            “Fine, we’ll take the pets,” she said reluctantly, and without another moment’s hesitation the five of them were sitting in the car.

              “Hold your horses, you’re telling me, we just met these guys, you,” Daniel said pointing to March, “had just bashed into my arm, and you,” he said now pointing to Vincent, “decided to take three strangers, who you didn’t know anything about other than the fact that one has a speech impediment and the other belonged in the loony bin-” just before those final words had left his lips, Alice jumped up to try to stop him from saying it, but the moment he said ‘loony bin’, Mouse, who had been pretty much passed out in the corner, jumped to life.

            “The loony bin! The insane asylum! The mad house! The men in white coats!” Mouse started yelling, Alice jumped to her feet and got the valium from her pocket and dropped a few drops in a glass of water that was on the counter. Quickly, Vincent and March held Mouse while Alice poured the drink down his throat. Pretty quickly they saw him slow down and drift off to a steady sleep.

            “Well, uh that wasn’t weird at all,” Daniel said while the rest of them caught their breaths.

            “Two things, about Mouse,” Alice started, “Never. Ever. Mention… you know. And two, NEVER mention the Q word.”

            “The Q word?” Daniel asked.

            “Ruler of my country mate,” Vincent said lighting up a joint.

            “Oh the-” before he could say a single thing three hands were glued to his mouth.

            “Don’ch even think abouch ich,” said March looking dead serious.

            “Hm hm,” said Daniel underneath the pile of hands. “Anyway, so you decided, with me, half conscious, to drive, which you know… and then to take three complete strangers, one of which apparently, isn’t exactly on the top half of normalcy, and give them all a ride to here?”

            “You make it sound like a bad thing,” Vincent said, leaning back in his chair. Daniel sighed.

           “Great, but all this still doesn’t explain the countless signatures and… weird crap on my arm, the apparent party we just had, or where the hell you guys met Chris.”

            “You know,” he started saying in between thrusts, “I don’t think my bosses would appreciate to know that my long break is being used to fuck one of the customers in the bathroom.”

            “You wanna stop?” she asked, her voice muffled by the hand that covered it.

            “What? God no,” he said pausing for only a moment. “I’m just. Saying. We. Need. To. Be. Quiet. Er,” he explained while thrusting harder into her each time. He could feel her screams want to burst through his hand. He even feared that he might accidently be choking her by keeping her nose as well as her mouth closed. He quickly convinced himself that if she was, he would just tell her it was to add some kink. He wondered moreover if he was hearing a knocking on the door of the bathroom or if it was him who was getting just a bit too close to the door. However, being that this was only the second time in the whole of his employment with the Bennett’s that he had gotten the courage to actually take a break longer than what they were used of him, he figured, it was worth the risk. Before he even had the chance to finish that thought in his head though, he began to shake. The classical music in his mind had quickly reached a climax and so had the two people in the bathroom of The Place. Her hand gripped the top of one of the stalls, but slipped, causing her to lean forward and lose her balance. Daniel had the opposite, he, trying to keep the two of them balanced all the while, leaned back. When she fell forward, he lessened the grip on her arm and face, which caused him to slip backwards.

              His bare bottom felt cold against the cold hard tiles of the bathroom. He tried to remember the last time he actually cleaned it when Harriet asked him to. He smiled as he remembered that it was in fact the last time he decided to ‘take a longer break’ just over two years ago. Out of breath, Daniel still chuckled to himself as he thought back to the events of that night.

            “What’s,” the girl started, sleepily, “what’s so funny?” She was lying face first on the floor, with her tight yellow and green dress on the small of her back, just above her shiny red behind and her pink lace string around her ankle like the chain of a prisoner of love.

            “Nothing, just thinking of how horribly cold this floor is,” he said before taking a deep breath, “and how it’s doing absolute wonders for my balls.”

            “Charming as always.”

            “One can only try,” he said as she stood up. He too stood up and closed his pants.

            “You think they heard us?” she asked as she handed him his jacket. He opened the door, only to find Robert standing in front of it, attempting to look like he wasn’t just listening in and instead was on the phone ordering Chinese take out.

            “Yes,” he said straightening his jacket and shirt.

            “You want some take out Daniel? I’m ordering Chinese, and-”

            “Moo shu chicken, tell them to make it spicy too,” he said, “Oh and Robert?”

            “Yeah?”

            “You forgot to put money in there,” he told him as he slapped a few coins on the shelf under the phone.

                        He walked back to behind the bar next to Harriet. There was a surprising lack of people around the bar itself, but other than that, the place was packed. He threw a towel over his shoulder and began drying glasses again.

            “So, the blond’s a screamer huh?” Harriet asked him.

            “Jealous?” he asked teasingly. Her eyes widened as she stood beside him and looked around to see who could have heard that.

            “Shh! Will you be careful with how loud you say that?”

            “Oh, so you are jealous?”

            “Rabbit!”

            “Will you relax? Seriously, in this day and age, no one even remotely gives a fuck. In your case, apparently, literally.”

            “Oh haha,” she laughed sarcastically.

            “So you are getting tail?”

            “Did you know the whole place could hear you?” she asked, completely ignoring his question.

            “Really? Well that’s nice. Pass me that glass over there?”

            “It’s actually a bit of a relief,” she said washing the glass before handing it to him.

            “Hearing screams like that in this house? Would have thought that your father and Susan were…”

            “Stop before we have to clean up vomit behind the bar for once, but no, not really.”       “Poor Robert,” Daniel said looking at his boss.

            “Anyway, that’s not what I meant, just to have you back to your old tricks again. After your…” she awkwardly tried to step around actually describing it, “it’s just nice to see you’re doing better.”

            “Yeah, can’t say I’m not getting help.”

            “Wait,” she said looking at Daniel while he still dried the same glass over and over again, “You’re actually getting help?”

            “Yeah… why is that surprising.”

            “You’re seeing a shrink?”

            “What? No! Me? A shrink? What in the world would I need a shrink for?”

            “Oh I don’t know, your abandonment issues? Your complete and utter disrespect for women? Where do you want to start?"

            "Bah, humbug!"

            "Well Mr. Screwed, at this point, I don't care how you get it, I'm glad it's being therapeutic."

            "Suppose I have you to thank for that."

            "Oh yeah? How so?"

            "Well, you remember that guy that was here a few weeks ago?"

            "Which guy? We run a bar/restaurant for college students, save to say 50 percent of our clients are men."

            "Fair enough," he said leaning on the bar, "your cousin, Vincent?" Her eyes were like little squished Oreos.

            "What about him?"

            "Well, you know how I strive to help anyone I can right?"

            "No." He gave her a stern look.

            "Anyway, when you turned him away, I-" Harriet buried her face in her arms knowing the rest of the story already.

            "Fuck."

            "What?"

            "You took him in?"

            "Yeah. He's been helping me get out of my funk."

            "Seriously? He’s your secret weapon on the war against depression? Please tell me you're joking?"

            "Why?"

            "Because here I am trying to give him a hard time, secretly hoping he went on to some weird, remote African tribe in the middle of no-where, continuing his famous path of self discovery and destruction, and here you are giving him a perfect life, showing him how to be a professional slacker for less than three figures a month."

            "Seriously, that's what you pay me?"

            "You've never wondered why we're dying to know how you can afford that mansion you live in?"

            "Mansion? It’s not a mansion."

            "You make peanuts. For what you make, that place is a palace."

            "Hmm. That explains that mystery."

            "But still doesn't explain how you have that house."

            "Some things are better left a mystery." Harriet had a face of curious despair.

              "Hi," a brunette greeted him.

            "Hey there, what can I get you?"

            "Anything you suggest?"

            "Oh, uh... that really depends on your taste."

            "I'm into anything you are," she said in a heartbeat, batting her eyelashes at him.

            "Oh brother, excuse me while I hurl," Harriet excused herself and left.

            "Pregnant," Daniel explained. The girl smiled. "Anyway, uh let me think, how about... vodka and milk? Does that sound like anything you would want to try?"

            "Sounds interesting, and I’m willing to try everything at least once," she said with a cheeky smile.

            "You are unstoppable, aren't you?" She just winked. "I'll get you that drink.” He turned around and got the milk and vodka. While he was doing this, he noticed the girl get something from her bag. “There you go,” he said handing her her glass. She passed him some coins; in between them was a piece of paper with her number on it.

            “Go ahead and keep all of that,” she said, leaving just as Harriet got back.

            “Something’s will never change, will they?” she said as she walked by behind him.

            “I guess not,” he smirked as he stuffed the number in his pocket. He kept looking at the girl as she walked away.

            “I wonder, do you actually call any of these girls back or do their numbers just pile up in your pocket like that?”

            “Sometimes,” he explained not shifting his view, “usually even. It’s rare that I don’t call them back.”

            “Will you call this one back?” she asked, now also looking at her.

            “Possibly,” he said straightening himself up, “Likely. Hey I was just thinking here, you have everything under control here right?”

            “Yeah?”

            “Robert?!” Daniel called across the bar.

            “Yeah?”

            “How long till that Chinese get’s here?”

            “What Chinese?” he yelled back.

            “That’s what I thought. Listen, you got everything under control here, especially with your dad here and all, you mind if I dash?”

            “And you wonder why we pay you peanuts,” she sighed but motioned to the door.

            “You’re a saint,” he said leaving fast enough to leave a dust cloud in his shape.

              When he got near his house, he noticed Katelyn’s car parked right outside of it. Wow, Kate’s been coming over more and more lately, I wonder if she’s alrig- before Daniel could even finish the thought in her head he began to notice when she started coming over with more frequency; after Vincent moved in. He stepped out of his car with a new found speed and curiosity. Upon opening the front door, he hears giggles and what could only have been Katelyn and Vincent shushing each other. He hung his coat with a face that drips lack of surprise.

            “Hey guys,” he says finding both Katelyn and Vincent sitting on the couch. There was a joint in a bowl on the small table before them. They hissed as they tried to hold in their laughter but after in unison greeting Daniel, they couldn’t hold it and burst into laughter. “Well, I can see what I’ve been missing.”

            “Hey, hey, aren’t you home from work early?” Katelyn only just managed to get out in between all her laughs.

            “Technically yes, but I felt that I might be missing some fun here, plus… I felt dirty.”

            “Been carrying heavy shit around?” Vincent asked, seemingly sober.

            “Nope.”

            “Been running up and down a lot?”

            “Not any more than usual.”

            “Then… Oh?” Daniel just raised an eyebrow.

            “Oh? What oh? Daniel? What oh?!” Katelyn asked as she shook Vincent.

            “Is she always like this when she gets high?” Vincent asked Daniel as he took a seat.

            “I wouldn’t know, I have never seen her get high.” Katelyn started playing with Vincent’s long hair. “Honestly, I think you’ve seen her high for longer than I have.”

            “Vinny? Oh Vinny?” Katelyn said sounding remarkably childish.

            “Yes?”

            “Hi!” she said before bursting into laughter.

            “Wow. This is… I wonder if I was like this when I started,” Vincent said pushing her off him and on to the other side of the couch. Daniel had a weak smile and a slight laugh.

            “Now that you mention it, how did you start?”

            “Oh I don’t know, I don’t really remember a lot from then, I pretty much started and smoked up a lot when I first started.”

            “No, I mean, tell me about your life, what caused you to start smoking up like this, is this all you have done and what happened between you and Harry that made her react like that?”         

            “Oh that started… I see,” he said picking up the joint and inhaling for a good long while. “Let’s see.

              “I was born in London. As you probably know, my parents weren’t exactly on the short end of the stick. My father owned a factory and my mother was a chemistry teacher. I remember getting internet in our house years before anyone else in my class. Father was hardly ever at home. When I saw him, we went to him at the office or the park or something like that. He was a very important man. Mother was there as often as she could be, but mainly I was raised by our nanny. Now, before you start thinking about some Mary Poppins like figure or even a Michael Cain, Alfred like thing, quite the contrary. My nanny was a woman in her mid thirties. She lasted with us for quite sometime. I sometimes think that the reason I am now is because of Betsy, that was her name. I had my first sexual experience with her. When I was thirteen. My doing, before you start thinking she was one of those weird child molesters you keep hearing about. She was nice. My sister, Venus, was born when I was nine and thus started the first time my father was at home during the day. It didn’t make things easier for me though. When my little sister was born everything changed, but most of all, my position in the family. That’s when me and Betsy really started to become friends. Everything that was mine, was suddenly hers.”

            “Let me guess, poor little rich kid doesn’t like sharing?”

            “No, not even. I didn’t mind the sharing, in fact, I was all for it. What I minded was my parents giving her all the attention in the world and me none. Growing up with that is a bit of a kick in the gonads.” Daniel tilted his head agreeing. “So that was that. At first I battled hard for their attention. But upon realizing no matter what I did I just wasn’t going to get it from them the way she had it, I began to give up. I didn’t care anymore. My grades dropped, at the age of thirteen I seduced Betsy.” Daniel gave him a look of disbelief. “I did.”

            “Dude, nothing to be proud of. Just saying.”

            “Speak for yourself. Anyway, and then a year later I started smoking. Father didn’t like that too much, especially considering his father died of lung cancer. But by that point, I just… I didn’t care. When I began smoking marihuana the next year, they figured that I needed discipline. I went to St. John’s military school, but within seven months I got expelled. No surprise. I was still smoking up. In fact I smoked more at St. John’s than during any other time in my life I wager.” Daniel simply nodded to Vincent taking pride of lifestyle choices that no reasonable person would have been proud of. “I had been to three other schools by the time I turned eighteen. Those, I will admit, were me rebelling.”

            “Way to own up to your mistakes,” Daniel butted in. Vincent just ignored it.

            “Anyway, me and Venus remained close. She seemed to be the only one who didn’t turn on me. She always knew how to cheer me up. No matter where I was, Scotland, Ireland, anywhere, I would always come home and see Venus.”

            “Something tells me this is where shit starts to hit the fan,” Daniel interpreted.

            “Just a bit. When I turned nineteen, things… stopped being cute. Mother and father cut me out of their will. Best Christmas ever. When I got back to school after the holidays, I ran away and started selling crack. I tried it once… never again.”

            “Just pot then,” Daniel added in. Katelyn, by the looks of things, was mystified by his story telling.

            “I came home the next Christmas, I didn’t have anything, but I thought family was family, even if I had been cut out of the will, at least I could always count the fact that we were still family right? And family give’s each other a place to be for Christmas, right? Wrong. I spent every last penny I had to come see them. But when I got there… I don’t know what happened, but somehow, Venus touched one of the needles or something, but she started tripping. She had one of the worst trips I had ever seen.” Katelyn laughed. “Yes, worse than that.” He said looking back at Daniel. “She was rushed to the hospital. She was fine after a couple of hours but I… I wasn’t part of the family anymore. As soon as Venus woke up, I was kicked out. I tried to talk to her but…” he drifted away as if he was actually having difficulty telling this part, “it was too late, she didn’t want anything to do with me. From then on I hitched a few rides and ended up in Africa.”

            “Africa?” Katelyn asked completely captured by his story.

            “Yeah, not really sure how I got there, but a week after Venus woke up I was in central Africa. I spent a year or two traveling all around it, learning what ever secrets I could. Hell, picked up that clicky language to.” He saw both Katelyn and Daniel’s eyebrows rise. “Now, I’ve been trying to see Venus ever since. I never actually got a chance to tell her I’m sorry.”

            “I thought I saw you call her once?”

            “We talk through the phone every so often, but… I want to really talk to her you know? It’s been years since I have actually seen her.”

            “So Harriet was right?”

            “About what?”

            “About you being out here to find her?” Vincent nodded.

            “Fat bunch of luck it got me though. Though, to be honest, I might have come here looking for Venus, but thanks to you to I have a reason to stay.”

            “Not to mention a place to stay.”

            “Indeed, that too. Thanks again Danny..el,” he said almost slipping. Daniel just winked back at him.

              After a while of smelling it though, the smell bothered him enough to make Daniel drag himself down stairs. He threw on a shirt, only half buttoned, and didn’t even bother with pants. When he opened the door separating the front door from the rest of the house, he found his new house guest, Vincent, on the couch in front of the TV. He waved to him and went into the kitchen, completely forgetting why he went downstairs in the first place. Without even thinking about it, he went to the fridge and cupboard to get his milk and a bowl. When he went to get his cereal he found he didn’t have any anymore. He smelled the smell again, but this time, there was a distinct sound coming from the living room as well; the sound of bubbles. He popped his head into the living room to see what Vincent was up to. On Vincent’s lap, he saw a glass bong; suddenly everything made sense to him.

              “Morning,” Daniel said to Vincent.

            “Oh hey,” Vincent said sitting up and blinking, “didn’t see you there. How are you?”

            “I’m ok. Quick question, do you always smoke up in the morning?”

            “Pretty much, mate.”

            “I see. Well then, next question, I could have sworn I had an open box of cereal, do you by any chance know…” before he finished his sentence he saw it on the small table in front of Vincent.

            “Cereal helps cure the munchies.” Daniel just nodded and smiled.

            “I’m sure it does,” he said taking it back to the kitchen where he planned to finish his breakfast. He sat down and began eating his cereal when Vincent came to him.

            “You always have cereal in the morning?” Daniel nodded while his mouth was still stuffed with food.

            “Yeah, pretty much.”

            “Right,” Vincent said and sat down in front of him.           “I usually try to get it done in peace and quite.”

            “How’s that working for you so far?” Vincent asked. Daniel still hadn’t gotten used to his Brittish accent. He shook his head as he again tried to answer a question with a mouthful of cereal.

            “Not great. Actually, more like hellish each time.”

            “Hmm. Maybe you ought to try some of this every morning instead,” he said, exhaling a puff of smoke. Daniel swatted away the smoke that came straight at his face. “Sorry bout that mate.”

            “Don’t worry about it. Actually, you know what, fuck it, pass the bong over here.”

            “That’s the spirit!” Vincent said standing up and giving him the bong. “Now, you ever done this before?”

            “No, but how hard can it be?” he said putting his lips to the mouthpiece. Vincent tilted his head and lit the bong anyway. Daniel sucked but nothing came up. “Ok… maybe a bit of help.”

            “Here,” he said, plugging the air hole on the side, “now try it.” Daniel did. Vincent released the hole, allowing the smoke to go into Daniel’s lungs. Daniel couldn’t hold it in very long and coughed in the exhale. Vincent laughed and patted him on the back. “That was great mate,” Vincent put the bong on the table and then put his hands behind his head, while Daniel was still coughing his lungs out, “here, put your arms behind your head like this and sit up straight. Good, now cough. See? Better right?”

            “Yeah… actually, yeah it is,” Daniel said while catching his breath.

            “Good. You want some more?” Daniel nodded. “Here.” Daniel put his mouth to the mouthpiece again, plugged the air hole with his finger, and took a deep inhale.

              “Well, fuck, I never expected this place to smell like the whole of Amsterdam,” Katelyn said appearing under the archway of the kitchen. Daniel, upon seeing her, almost dropped the bong from all his coughing. Vincent swung his head around behind him to see who was there, then back to Daniel to tell him to put his hands behind his head. Katelyn laughed and came by his side. “You ok there?” Daniel waved his hand as if to say he was fine while still trying to catch his breath.

            “Yeah, I’m great,” he said in between one or two more coughs. After making sure Daniel was indeed fine, Vincent turned to Katelyn and stuck his hand out.

            “Hi, I’m Vincent,”

            “Hi Vincent, I’m Kate,” she said, taking his hand and shaking it, “Daniel’s…” (Daniel noticed the pause, it’s the same pause he has when describing his relation to Katelyn.) “Sister.” They stood up together. “So, how do you know Daniel?”

            “Ah well, I’m his boss’s nephew.” Katelyn looked confused.

            “Harriet’s or Robert’s?”

            “Robert’s.” Katelyn nodded understandingly.

            “Oh wait, you’re Venus’ brother?”

            “You know Venus?”

            “Of her.” He nodded.

            “So that makes you, Vincent Venice?”

            “Junior.”

            “Ouch.” Daniel nodded now too. “Wouldn’t wanna be in your shoes.”

            “Tell me about it.” After a short moment of noticing that their stare into each other’s eyes had gotten a bit past comfortable, they drew their attention to Daniel who they had been seemingly been ignoring.

              “So super lungs, how’s it hanging?”

            “Well, ah… you know… pretty decent.”

            “That’s not how Harriet tells it.”

            “Yeah? Since when are you and Harry BFF’s?”

            “Since you go weeks without showing up to work.” Daniel shrugged. “You think Milo would enjoy knowing about that?”

            “I just need time.”

            “The ganja helping at all?”

            “Well, I-uh,”

            “Dude? What the fuck, relax, it’s helped me, I just know it doesn’t help everyone.” She looked back at Vincent. “Is there enough to go around?” A wide grin spread on his face like butter on toast.

            “I thought you would never ask. I got this for now,” he said removing a little bag of weed from his pocket.

            “That will do, Kumar, that will do,” she said, took a lighter from her jacket pocket and lit the bong.

            “I think,” Daniel said, pausing in between, “it’s starting to kick in.”

            “You don’t do this a lot do you?” Vincent asked him.

            “Are you kidding? Daniel?” she said, with confidence at first, but then after some thought she stopped and looked at him curiously. “Do you?”

            “First time.” Katelyn raised an eyebrow.

            “That explains a lot. Just relax mate. You still up for more?” Daniel looked unsure for a second.

            “Well, I wouldn’t want to O.D. on my first go.”

            “You’re in luck then Danny boy,” he said and was quickly interrupted by Katelyn who looked up at him suddenly.

            “Don’t call him that, ever. He hates it.”

            “Oh sorry ‘bout that then mate,” he said, putting is hand on his shoulder.

            “You might want to remind him that he should steer clear of Neil as well,” said a familiar voice from the kitchen archway. Daniel looked up at where it came from and saw Madeline leaning there. He sat up and opened his eyes wide.

            “You ok?”

            “Yeah, I’m-” he noticed Madeline putting her finger to her lips and shushing him, “…fine.”

            “Well like I was saying, you can’t O.D. on weed.”

            “Then, I’d like some more.”

             “You sure Daniel? I mean you seem pretty baked right now,” Katelyn asked. Vincent smiled.

            “How about you? You want some more?” Katelyn looked intrigued and took the bong from his hands.

              “So this is what you’ve been up to lately,” Madeline said, “still hung up on chicks you can’t have, and taking in any one so you don’t feel so damn alone.” She walked around the kitchen. “You think he knows about you and Venus?”

            “What about my sister?” Vincent asked, first looking where Madeline was standing, then back at Daniel.

            “Nothing. Nothing at all. Just wondering how she is,” Daniel answered quickly and paranoid.

            “Yeah, same here.”

            “Oh, so he doesn’t,” Madeline chimed in. Vincent looked at her, then back at him again. “And what about...” she drifted off as her rolling eyes fell on Katelyn. Daniel’s face clenched up as if to tell her to stop there. “So she doesn’t know either. That’s quite interesting.” Daniel put his hand to his mouth and started nibbling on his thumb nail.

            “Dude, relax, you’re fine mate. Perfectly safe,” Vincent said looking him in the eyes. Daniel lowered his hand.

            “You know, I really wish I would have had someone like you taking care of me my first time.”

            “Oh? Was your boyfriend not so gentle?” Vincent asked. She looked confused for a moment but then giggled.

            “No,” she said in between laughs, “I mean when I got blazed the first time.” He tried to contain his laughter but couldn’t.

            “You know, you and your brother get high way too fast.”

            “Me?” she asked still laughing uncontrollably. He nodded with a grin. “I’m completely fine,” she tried to convince him while holding back laughs behind a smile.

            “You know you’re cute when you laugh?” She suddenly stopped smiling and tried to hide her face.

              “So tell me something,” Madeline started again, while pulling up a chair next to Katelyn, “all this time that you have been worrying about being alone, and taking on little unfortunate souls like yourself, have you ever once thought about what you did to me?”

            “Yes!” Daniel yelled. Both Vincent and Katelyn looked at him strangely.

            “Yes what?” Katelyn asked, looking next to her where Madeline was seated.

            “I uh…” he looked at Madeline who merely shrugged and stood up again. “Never mind,” he said looking back over at Katelyn.

            “Did you miss me Daniel?” Madeline asked, now standing at the archway again. He nodded this time as to not call too much attention to himself. “Then how about you show me?” she said beckoning him with her finger.

            “Hey guys, I uh… I got to go lay down. I’ll be…” he didn’t even bother finishing his sentence.

                        “Is he gonna be ok?” Vincent asked Katelyn as he watched Daniel disappear into the living room.

            “Don’t try to distract me from the fact that you are obviously flirting with me.”

            “So what if I am?”

            “And trying to improve your chances by getting me high?”

            “So what if I am? Shouldn’t I be?”

            “You think you need drugs to enhance your performance?”

            “Wow… hit a man when he’s down, why don’t you.”

            “What I mean is, I’m pretty sure you could charm any girl without drugs.”

            “So you think I’m charming?” he said with a grin.

            “Your smugness, now there’s something to work on.”

              She waited for him at the top of the stairs, standing straight as an arrow with her hands behind her back. Once Daniel got to the top, he stood right before her, his face millimeters away from her face.

            “Maddy?” he asked, his lips practically touching hers as he moved his. The sexual tension was electric between them.

            “Yes?” Her voice rang with pheromones that Daniel couldn’t resist.

            “Are you real?” he asked closing his eyes. He felt her lips suddenly on his and her tongue wormed its way in his mouth.

            “If I wasn’t, would I have been able to do that?”

            “Depends on how good this guy’s weed is.”

            “Then how about this,” she said, lifting her shirt over her head, exposing her small naked breasts.

            “Believing it more and more.”

            “Then I guess I have to prove it to you, the only way I know how,” she said, dropping her shirt on the floor, grabbing his hand and pulling him along. She dragged him to his room and threw him on his bed. There she lifted up his shirt and as she threw it away, she slammed his door closed. He sat up and kissed her breasts as she straddled him. She threw her red and black hair back then pushed him back down on the bed. “It’s been a while Daniel,” she said as her nails scratched his chest, down his belly, down to the waist line of his pants and undid the button of his pants. She pulled his pants off, bringing his boxers down with them. Without another word or notice, she lowered her face in between his legs and put him in her mouth. Daniel threw his head back and moaned. “God I missed you,” she told him as she took a break but continued her work manually.

            “I’ve missed you too,” he said, sitting up and pulling her closer for a kiss. She sat on him and positioned him in between her legs so all she needed to do was slide down. She looked at him and kissed him passionately. While she kissed him, she, while holding his penis in place, slid down on him. Her mouth opened wide in an inhale as he entered her.

            “Oh god, Daniel! It’s been way too long. You feel way bigger than you used to.”

              Finally, after zigzagging through a crowd, he found her about to walk into the terminal. By the time he walked over to her though, she would already be on the other side of the metal detectors.

            “Venus!” he yelled. She turned her head around looking for where the voice had come from just to see Daniel on the other end of the airport waving his hands above his head. The flowers were a nice touch. Daniel turned as a man tapped him on the shoulder.

            “Excuse me sir, do you by any chance know where the arrival area is?” Daniel didn’t even listen to the whole question. He just looked at the man’s hands and noticed he was carrying a sign.

            “No, no, I’m sorry. Hey listen, could I borrow your sign for a quick second?” The man looked angry and confused.

            “My sign? What? Why?”

            “I need to tell my…” he paused for a moment as he tried to define what he and Venus were, “girlfriend something before she gets on her plane.”

            “You can’t text her?”

            “She doesn’t have a phone on her right now. Look man I’ll buy it off you.”

            “No. I’m not giving you my sign,” he said before he walked away. Daniel looked around him in distress as he tried to find some way to communicate with Venus. He put his hands through his hair as he looked over at her again. She was still looking and waving at him. He signaled her to stay put for another moment. He then, very sneakily, went behind the man with the sign, took the sign from him and ran as if hell were at his heels. Daniel reached into the inside pocket of his jacket to pull out a marker and pulled the cap off with his teeth as he ran. “DON’T GO! I LOVE YOU!” he wrote in large black letters still running from the furiously red little man that chased him. Eventually, he doubled back and put the sign above his head, showing it to Venus. She looked at him, confused at first, and then quite suddenly put her hand in front of her mouth in shock. Next thing Daniel knew he was tackled to the ground by the original owner of the sign. Security rushed to the two arguing men and pulled the little guy off Daniel. The man first kept swinging at Daniel, hoping to hit him one more time as Daniel kept his arms up protecting himself. As soon as both Daniel and the man were on their feet though, the man brushed himself off as if he was alright. Daniel looked to where Venus had just been standing. She wasn’t there anymore. The flight had most likely been called and she was probably already boarding. Daniel looked down in sadness and saw the sign, only now noticing he had it backwards. Another second had gone by and Daniel was punched in the face, causing him to fall again to the floor. He looked up to see the little red man (who looked smaller every time he looked at him again) being dragged away by two security guys. The man screamed and begged that it was Daniel’s fault, not his own.

              Daniel got back on his feet and stood staring away at the empty spot where once had stood Venus Venice. After a while of sadly staring into what was now just a living mass of people, he decided things had really truly ended, picked up the flowers and the sign, and walked through the airport, looking for a café. He soon came across one and took a seat. He took another look at the sign he had just written on and wondered to himself if he really did love her, or if it was just what he thought he needed to say to keep her here. Either way, he thought, it looked like he was never going to find the answer to that question. A waitress came by after a few moments.

            “Good morning sir,” the brunette greeted him. He smiled in response. “Can I get you anything sir?” He had to think about that one for a moment. In confusion and sadness, he looked down at the flowers and sign on the seat across from him. “Sir?” she drew his attention again, interrupting it from his thoughts of Venus and what this meant. He raised his eyes again to meet hers.

            “Yeah, I… don’t think I’ll have anything. I just need to sit down for a moment.”

            “Uhm sir, as much as you brighten up the place, I can’t let you sit here without ordering anything.”      

            “Yeah, figured as much, uh… how about a glass of w- no, uh… coffee. Cream, lots of cream.”

            “Would you prefer a latte?” He paused for another moment to think.

            “No, more like a glass of milk with an espresso in it.”

            “Sir, that is a-”

            “You know on second thought, leave the espresso. Just milk. Glass of milk would be great.”      She gave him a look as if to call him a little crazy before she wrote it down in her notepad and turned to leave. “Oh, and if you can get it for me in a mug, like a coffee mug, yeah that would be just…” He drifted off in front of him again, “great...” he said in a sigh.

                        He had hardly even blinked by the time she came back. She placed the mug of milk right in front of him. He didn’t even acknowledge her existence. She put her hand on his shoulder, finally getting his attention again.

            “Are you going to be ok?”

            “Uh… I…” he looked across the airport and saw Irene, looking much more mature, in a tight dress and heals, rather then her imitation Madeline goth shirt, skirt and boots. At first, he couldn’t even begin to comprehend that she could be there. She turned and started walking, dragging her suitcase behind her as her high heeled shoes clacked against the cold hard floor. Eventually, her eyes met his. He smiled as she started walking his way.

            “Hey you!” she said as she greeted him with open arms.

            “Hey,” he said hugging her back. He pulled up a chair for her and motioned for her to sit down.

            “How have you been? I haven’t seen you in a while.”

            “Yeah, two weeks. Personally, I never thought I would see you again. No I… I’ve been alright, how about yourself?”

            “I’ve been great, I got myself a job and I’m flying out there right now.” Daniel shook his head in surprise to see how well she had been doing, while he had been falling into a well of perpetual self pity for all the time she and Katelyn had been gone.

            “Glad to hear it,” he said with a sad, weak smile and looked back down at his mug of milk.

            “Ok, you wanna tell me what’s wrong?” she said. He looked up, almost surprised.

            “I-uh, what do you mean?” he asked.

            “Oh, cut the bullshit Daniel, you’ve always been enthusiastic and overly charming. Today you couldn’t charm a prostitute if you had a huge roll of hundreds in your pants.”

            “Thanks for that, you always did have a way with words.” She flashed a smile. “I came to see if I could still get Venus’ attention one last time before she left,” he pointed at the sign in the chair next to Irene with his eyes. “Maybe even see if she would stay, but… I don’t know, I guess I blew it. I lost my last chance.”

            “Wow, she really played a number on you didn’t she? I mean you actually look more beat up about this then you do about your sister leaving.”

            “She’s not my sister, you know that… and speaking of things you know, how did you know about Kate leaving?” he asked as the ground shook a slight bit.

            “Who are you trying to convince Daniel, you? Or the world around you that you aren’t secretly some sick pervert that gets off on loving his sister?”

            “I…” The ground shook again. “Are you feeling that?”

            “Don’t try to change the subject, I think secretly, you’re just trying to convince yourself of the biggest lie there could possibly be for you.”

            “Oh yeah? What’s that?”

            “That you are going to end up alone. It’s your destiny. Your parents ditched you, your adoptive parents up and died, your sister can’t stand to live with you, you have driven away every woman that could possibly show any sign of loving you, and yet you want to believe that you’re going to end up… what? Riding off with Grace Kelly into the sun set? Dream on kid.” He felt the ground shake one more time as he tried to stand up and make a run for it, but just as he turned the guy he stole the sign from, now suddenly normal height, punched him in the face so hard that Daniel fell to the floor again.

                        Slowly, Daniel opened his eyes to his dark grey room. An annoying buzzing hurt his head as it was planted on the floor. He blinked his eyes open until he had enough energy to lift himself up and find out where that cursed sound was coming from. He lifted himself up long enough to turn his head around and find his black, flip-open cell phone, vibrating against the hardwood floor. He picked it up, opened it and put it to his ear.

            “Hello?” he said.

            “Daniel? Oh for fucks sake, I thought you choked on your own vomit or something, I was about getting ready to call you an ambulance.”

            “Harry?”

            “Yeah,” she said and sighed. “How are you, you ok?”

            “Um… I… I think so.”

            “Good. Then please get your lazy ass out of bed and come in to your fucking job, we fucking need you here.”

            “Harry, what’s the fucking use?” His arm hit the nightstand, knocking over an almost empty pack of cigarettes on his face. “Fuck!”

            “What?”

            “Nothing, a pack of smokes hit me in the face.” He picked the lighter and a cigarette from the pack and began smoking.

            “Shit, Daniel… I need you over here.” Just as she said that, he noticed two feet standing in his room. He followed the legs up to a small narrow line of pubic hair over a vagina. His eyes trailed more up as he noticed small beads of water still remaining on her beautiful large breasts. Finally, as he looked up a little more, he saw Katelyn still drying her hair. After a few blinks though, he could see that his eyes had fooled him; it wasn’t Katelyn after all. Still blinking like an epileptic nightmare, he gave her a hurt smile with the cigarette hanging off the corner of his mouth.

            “You have some fucked up dreams,” she said, tilting her head.

            “Tell me about it,” he whispered while putting his hand in front of the mouth piece.

            “Daniel, please,” Harriet implored on the phone.

            “What?” he asked having his attention drawn back to the little noise in his ear, “oh, uh… yeah. Sure. Whatever. I’ll be there in a bit.”

            “What’s a bit, Rabbit?”

            “I don’t know, just be happy I’m coming at all.”

            “How about you just be happy I let you keep your job at all? Fuck it, Daniel, I’m coming over.” She hung up before he could say anything. He dropped the phone on the floor as he rolled over and fell, with the rest of his naked body, on the floor.

            “Did you sleep well?” he asked the girl that stood in front of him, bent over, drying her hair. She turned to look at him.

            “What sleep? You, my friendly neighborhood Casanova, just cost me thirty percent of my applied sciences grade.”

            “Wow, I actually got a nerd into bed last night?”

            “I thought you liked the smart ones?”

            “Oh I do, I’m just surprised I got one into bed,” he said as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. The ash of his cigarette fell on the floor next to him. She walked up to him, seductively moving her hips as she took each step.

            “Well, I can tell you right now, it’s about to become two in one,” she said just before she shoved her tongue down his throat. Awkwardly, he tried to kiss her while pushing her slightly away. He eventually gave up the fight and just let her drop him to the floor, hitting his head against the night stand. They laughed for a moment noticing the awkwardness. She sat up, straddling him. “You know, I am kinda glad about last night,” she put in between kisses.

            “Only kinda?” he just barely managed to get out.

            “Hey, you made me fail the test.”

            “Fair enough.”

            “But popping my cherry was totally worth it.” Suddenly, Daniel stopped kissing her and threw his gaze at the bed to check for blood. She was slightly surprised by the sudden change in attention but smiled all the same. “You totally forgot me telling you that I am, well was, a virgin last night, didn’t you?” Daniel’s eyes shot back and forth from the bed and her. She laughed.

            “Please tell me you’re kidding,” he said with a dead serious face.

            “I thought you would be honored,” she said with a huge grin on her face and still trying to kiss him. He, on the other hand, resisted all her kisses until he got a straight answer. She stopped and leaned in to whisper in his ear, “you should see the look on your face right now.” At that moment she felt something move between her legs.

            “Are you-” before hewas able to finish his question, he felt her grab his erection and put it inside her. Both their mouths opened in pleasure. “Kel-” was all he managed to get out before having a hand pushed in front of his mouth. She rode him in a way that made Daniel heavily consider that she might have been a virgin before this. He sat up and pushed her off him, but she just rolled around held him firmly in place with her legs. “Kelsey, will it make any difference to you if I told you that my boss is about to come pick me up to go to work?”

            “You… expect me… to believe that?” she said between moans that matched the thrusts she was making him make. She turned him back onto his back. “I know you tell everyone you have to go to work, just to have another girl in here in less than five minutes. You know what though?” Daniel stopped guessing, and fighting it for that matter, if she was this fixed on getting with him again, let her get it over with as fast as possible. “Not gonna happen with me,” she said with a smug smile just before screaming out in pleasure.

              She rode him vigorously for not even five minutes before he heard the door bell. She didn’t even hear it with all her moaning while fixated on Daniel. She then started screaming louder and louder. Before he knew it, Harriet was standing in the open doorway.

            “Oh for Christ’s sake, is this what you have been doing for the last six weeks?” Kelsey, the no-longer virgin on top of Daniel, stopped rocking back and forth on him.

            “Oh so this is the other girl, I assume,” she said flipping her head back and forth from him to her. Daniel tried to tell her that it wasn’t but couldn’t get even a syllable out. “Well lady, looks like you’re a little early and I don’t do threesomes, so take a seat and wait it out,” she said and started rocking on top of him again.

            “I’m not the other girl and I’m not waiting my turn. What I am is his boss, so if you would kindly get off my employee so he can get his ass to work before I call your parents, that would be just splendid.”

            “You wouldn-” Kelsey started while she turned around to see Harriet with Kelsey’s phone in her hand. Daniel smiled as Kelsey quickly covered her breast and let go of him. She jumped up and started getting dressed reluctantly. “He was an asshole anyway.”

            “No argument there,” Harriet chimed in as Kelsey ran passed her, carrying her clothes. She turned around to see Daniel stand up, naked as the day he was born. “Oh for fuck’s sake Rabbit, cover yourself!”

            “Oh come on, she just got off me, not a single second has gone by. I only literally just stood up,”

            “Still,” she said as she threw him a towel, still keeping her hand stretched out, protecting her view from his exposure. He wrapped the towel around his waist.

            “Thanks Harry.”

            “Yeah yeah, whatever, get dressed.” They heard the outside door slam shut. “I wanna get out of here.

            “Understandable,” he said and watched her go down stairs.

                        A few minutes later he came downstairs wearing sweat pants and a shirt that was at least three sizes too big.

            “Daniel?”

            “Harry?” Harriet sighed.

            “I can’t believe this,” she said under her breath. “Come on.”

            “What? Where?” he asked, confused as she grabbed him by the hand and dragged him upstairs.

            “You can’t possibly expect me to let you go to work looking like that.”

              They got upstairs and after a few quick looks, she tossed some clothes on the bed.

            “There, these are more like the Rabbit everyone knows and loves.”

            “What’s that supposed to mean?”

            “Just… get dressed,” she said and stood there. Daniel stood before his bed, looking at the clothes.

            “You know, if you don’t wanna see me naked, I suggest you get out now.”

            “What? You think I was born yesterday? If I leave you alone you will never get ready, besides, I’ve already seen you naked,” she said crossing her arms. “Much to my discomfort.”

            “Yeah, well, I don’t know how comfortable I feel about having you watch me change. It will change our whole work dynamic,” he said as he put his thumbs on the waistband of his sweat pants.

            “And watching you get ridden by a girl that I’m hoping wasn’t a minor hasn’t?” she shot him a look of skepticism.

            “Fair point,” he said with a shrug, “well, could you at least turn around?” Harriet exhaled and slowly turned around. He started changing, noticing from the corner of his eye that she turned her head for a moment.

              “You done?” she asked impatiently after a minute.

            “Almost, but you can turn around already.” She did. He finished buttoning up his shirt just as she turned.

            “Finally,” she exclaimed, “Let’s go, we still have to pass by the supermarket before going to work.”

            “Alright, sure.”

                        As soon as they got outside, Daniel patted himself and looked at Harriet.

            “I’m not kidding, I forgot my keys inside.” She gave him a look of sarcastic surprise.

            “Really? Well… I guess we won’t be going to work now, will we?” she gave him a moment to open his mouth to try to say something smart, but just before he said anything she reached into her pocket and pulled out his keys. “Like I said, not born yesterday Rabbit. You always pull that. I’m not one of your slutty little bimbos who believe the shit that comes out of your mouth.” Daniel looked down in shame as he took the keys from her hand and got into his car. “You better stick close behind me.” He nodded. “I don’t blame Kate for leaving if this is what he has been like,” she said under her breath as she walked to her own car.

              They got to the parking lot near the bar and both parked. They got out together with Harriet watching him like a hawk.

            “Hey Harriet?”

            “What?” she asked, carrying the bags that they just got from the supermarket.

            “Out of curiosity here, how did you get into my house?”

            “You remember that one time you had sex with the French woman?”

            “Yeah,” he said, shivering from the memories of Otto the octopus.

            “Yeah well, you remember how you ‘happened’ to lock yourself out of your house that day?”

            “Yes?”

            “Yeah, well, you told me where you left a reserve key on the outside of your house so that you wouldn’t have to walk half an hour through the snow naked to Milo’s place.”

            “Oh,” he said searching his memory for anything that might seem like he told her. “Are you sure I told you? I really don’t remember,”

            “How else would I have known?” He raised an eyebrow, agreeing with her argument.

            “Still, you sure?” he asked as she opened the door.

            “Yes, I’m sure.”

            “Oh hey there!” Robert greeted him.

            “Hey Robert,” he greeted Robert quickly before going back to Harriet, “what about my car keys, how did you get a hold of them?”

            “I saw them on your shelves in your room, knowing that you were most likely going to pull that stunt on me like you do with all your girls, I decided to get them before you got the chance. If you would have looked for them before leaving, I would have given them to you, but I was pretty sure you wouldn’t. Looks like I was right.”

            “Fair point,” he said taking the bags over from her.

            “So, anything going on between you two that I should know about?” Robert asked, as he stood in front of the two of them. They looked at each other. She burst out laughing.

            “Yeah, yeah dad, there’s something going on between me and him.” Her father looked confused and turned his gaze to Daniel.

            “Hey, it’s not a crazy leap,” Robert said, following his daughter who had already gone back to serious-work-mode. “Is it?” he asked looking back at Daniel who shrugged.

              “Whatever dad, I’m gonna get things ready, we’ve been understaffed all week with little Mr. Sunshine over there taking his sick days off.”

            “Oh yeah, that reminds me, are you better?” Daniel sniffed and shrugged.

            “Meh, a bit.”

            “Well, maybe some good old fashion work will get you all better,” Robert told him with a pat on the back and walked up stairs.

            “Yeah, who knows.” Daniel said softly.

                        He walked over to Harriet behind the bar.

            “Hey Harriet?”

            “Oh dear god, what’s that- Daniel? Seriously, when was the last time you took a god damn shower?” He lifted his arm to smell his armpit.

            “Uh-”

            “Never mind, too damn long. Listen, you may have the clothes down, but no one in their right mind will buy anything they have to consume from you if you smell like road kill. Go upstairs, I’ll ask dad for a new razor for you, go up and take a shower. I’ll leave a fresh towel and a razor for you on the toilet ok?” He looked down in shame but nodded and went upstairs. Once there, he saw Robert.

            “Oh hey Daniel, you ok?”

            “Yeah, I uh… I need to use your shower.”

            “Ok, well, turn around; it’s the first door on your left.”

            “Thanks,” Daniel said and walked down the hall to the bathroom. It was a small,  entirely blue bathroom. He took off his clothes, piled them in the sink and stepped into the shower. Upon finishing his blue filled shower, complete with blue soap, he got out and saw that indeed, Harriet had left him a razor and a towel on the toilet. He dried himself off with the soft blue towel and lathered himself up for the shave.

                        When he was finally done making himself presentable already, Daniel came downstairs to find that the bar had already opened. A young, long haired man wearing a black turtleneck was sat in between two women. Harriet was nowhere in sight. He walked up to the bar, which caused the young man to look up at him.

            “Ah finally.” The man spoke in a thick British accent, which reminded Daniel of Venus and how much he missed her. He shook the thoughts out of his head. “I was starting to wonder when someone would show up to pour me a drink.”

            “And what can I get you?”

            “Bourbon, couple o’ fingers.”

            “Sure thing,” Daniel said and got the drink for the man while he continued to flirt with the two girls on either side of him.

            “Many thanks my good lad. Ladies, would you like anything? On me,” he said with a wide grin. He took the orders from the girls and gave them. The man nodded to Daniel in thanks, raising his drink as he did so. Meanwhile, Daniel went to one of the tables to clean them. Just before he put the wet towel on his first table though, the man called to him again.

            “Oi, barkeep!” Daniel looked up to see the man waving his arm signaling him over. He walked over behind the bar again. “Tell me somethin’, is this the bar where old man Bennett works?”

            “He owns it yeah, why?”

            “Hey Rabbit, you out yet?” Harriet yelled out as she walked out of the kitchen. Daniel noticed from the corner of his eye how the man suddenly sat up straight making the two girls, who were simultaneously kissing his neck on each side to jump up.  

            “Well, I’ll be a virgin’s bastard. Harry?” Daniel’s eyes shifted to him. He had never heard anyone but him call Harriet, Harry.    

            “Oh god, you?”

            “I take it you two have some history?” Daniel asked.

            “Me and this beautiful dark horse? We go way back.”

            “What do you want?” Harriet asked him.

            “I was just hopin’ to talk to good old Rob.”

            “Yeah? What about?” Daniel took a step back as Harriet closed the distance between him and the man.

            “I was just in the neighborhood, thought I might pass by and say hi.”

            “And you need a place to crash.”

            “What? Me? A- Ah fuck it, yes. Is he in?”

            “Can’t talk to him. And no way that you’re gonna be staying here.”

            “Why not?”

            “Therefore not and if that’s all you came here for, you better get lost. It’s not gonna happen.”

            “It’s because Venus is here, isn’t it? Come on let me talk to her.”

            “What? No. Just…”

            “Oh, come on Harry, let me talk to Robert, plead my case and all?”

            “Not this time. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice…”

            “Harry please? Come on, when was the last time-”

            “Don’t know, don’t care.” She then turned to the girls. “Girls, I know him, and last I saw him he was in the hospital for herpes and about three kinds of hepatitis.” The girls made a disgusted face. The man tried to stop them from running away.

            “You’re a doll, Har,” he said sarcastically. Harriet just smiled.

            “You done?”

            “Please?”

            “Fuck no. Now go.” She walked away.

            “You used to be funner!” he yelled at her and then cursed under his breath.        

            “Never seen anyone piss of Harriet like that except for me,” Daniel said after a moment.

            “Yeah, well… here’s to that,” he said before he downed the rest of his bourbon. Daniel left him alone and started to walk back to clean the tables. “Barkeep, before you go?” he asked, tapping his index finger against the glass. Daniel was half afraid the glass was going to break by the sound the man’s ring was making on that finger. Daniel walked back and refilled his drink. “You can leave the bottle.”

            “I’ll have to ask you to pay that one up front then.” The man looked up at him in slight surprise. Then shuffled to get a wallet from his jacket pocket, it was a large and feminine wallet.

            “Sure thing. That enough?” he asked dropping a twenty and a ten on the bar.

            “Yeah,” Daniel answered and took the money.

            “Keep the change then.”

            “How generous.”

                The rest of the day went by just as any other day would, Harriet avoided the man in the turtleneck, but other than that, the bar was as it was; busy, fast, full. When closing time finally arrived, Harriet shot the man a look, which resulted in him getting up and finally, leaving.             “So you wanna tell me what that was about?” Daniel asked Harriet as she locked the door behind the turtleneck wearing man.

            “Not even remotely,” she answered with a sigh, “I’m just glad he’s gone.”

            “I guess so,” Daniel was very confused as he said that. All confusion aside, he went on with his work. About half an hour later, all that finished, allowing Daniel to go home.

            “Listen, Rabbit, I know life doesn’t exactly look… great…  right now.”

            “Understatement of the century.” Harriet sighed.

            “I know, I know, but… you’re Daniel Hare, The Rabbit, shit always picks up for you, whether I like it or not.”

            “Yeah,” he answered shortly.

            “You’ll see Rabbit, you’ll be better in no time.”

            “Maybe.” She smiled at him, hoping he would smile too, no such luck though.

            “I never would have thought you would have fallen this hard over Venus.” If only you knew.

            “Yeah, me neither,” he said before unlocking the door and opening it.

            “Can I expect to see you tomorrow?”

            “Let’s not over do it.”

            “Fine, I’ll see you the day after, but please, come in. We really do need you and I’m beginning to think you need us.”

            “Yeah. Sure. I’ll be seeing you.” She closed and locked the door behind him. In the light of the bar, he could see the turtleneck wearing man sitting on a bench opposite it. Daniel walked towards him.

            “You plan to spend the night out here?”

            “Why not?”

            “It can get pretty cold, for one.” The man looked up at him as Daniel sat down.

            “Ugh... guess I could go looking for a hotel or something, not like anyone is gonna let me stay with them after everyone thinks I have hep and the herp.”

            “Do you?” The man rolled his eyes.

            “No. That was just Harriet busting my balls.”

            “You wanna tell me what you did to deserve that?” The man looked undecided.

            “Just generally thinks I’m an asshole, me thinks.”

            “Fair enough. That does sound like Harriet.” They sat in silence for a moment. “Ok, listen, if you don’t have anywhere to go to, you can go ahead and stay over at my place for a while. I have a room to spare.”

            “Really? Well, that’s mighty kind of ya. You don’t want me to, like, suck your dick for it, do you?”

            “What? No, god no.”

            “Ah, good. Thanks then.

            “Daniel, by the way, Daniel Hare,” he said sticking his hand out to shake the man’s hand.

            “May I just say, I still don’t see a reason for me being here before this place opens up,” he said, with his eyes more closed than open. She shoved a cup of coffee under his nose. He closed his eyes tightly and then blinked rapidly before he opened them.

            “I swear, I leave you unsupervised for ten minutes and suddenly you’re sleep.”

            “What can I say, it’s early.”

            “It’s three. What time did you go to bed?”

            “Who said I did?” he asked as he stood up with his cup of coffee.

            “Since when?” she asked in surprise and concern.

            “Just yesterday.”

            “Are you sure?” He nodded in response and took a sip of his coffee. “What’s wrong Daniel?” He was about to answer that question when Venus came running down the stairs shouting.

            “Hey Harriet, have you seen my grey bra with the roses? I asked uncle Robert, but he told me to ask you since you do all the-” she said but stopped dead in her tracks when she  whipped her head around to see that Harriet was talking to Daniel, “Laundry.” She smiled awkwardly.

            “Yeah, I’m surprised I don’t get more of a say with things that are going on around here by the amount of responsibility I have,” Harriet said raising her eyebrow and putting down a glass. “I think I saw it last night, I’ll go check. Why don’t you stay here and have a scary awkward moment with him, god knows how many more you will get the chance to have,” she said and left, tapping her cousin on the back as she went up.

            “So, how have you been Daniel?”

            “I’ve been ok, I suppose.” He yawned. “How about you?”

            “I’ve been good, just packing really.” Surprise shook Daniel awake (either that or the coffee finally kicked in).

            “Wait what?”

            “I’m leaving tomorrow morning.” Daniel suddenly felt adrenaline rushing through his veins, as if coffee flowed through them rather than blood. “I thought you knew?” He blinked rapidly. Another person leaving?

            “I uh… I must have forgotten. How long are you going for?” Venus looked confused, she shivered and Daniel understood why she was looking for her bra.

            “Daniel, I’m going back home. This was a wonderful six week vacation, but I’m going back now.”

            “Wow, I uh… I’m sorry, I must have gotten caught up in my own life there for a second that I completely forgot what and when.”

            “Why would you?”

            “I don’t know, I guess I just thought… I don’t know, that there was something here.” She looked down at the floor in sad silence.

            “And?”

            “And what?”

            “Is there?”

            “I… I don’t know, I can hardly ever tell with you… I’m split in between trying to figure out if you’re playing hard to get or not playing at all.” She couldn’t even bare to look at him. “I don’t know… maybe it’s my own fault.”

            “No, you’re right, I… I haven’t entirely been fair to you.” He paused, agreeing, but still confused. “You are…” she paused, to think about her words, “Charming. That’s for sure. Sometimes though, I get the feeling, you’re a little too charming for your own good. And sometimes… sometimes I let my self get carried away by you. I like falling head over heels in love with you.” He smiled. “But sometimes, I feel myself falling in love with you. Often more than I should and then I wonder, how many more girls are there, like me, who have fallen head over heels in love with you, only to be dropped. I mean, you know how you are with women. I don’t need to tell you that. I shouldn’t even have to remind you. After all, they do call you The Rabbit.” He dropped his head in shame. “But, to be fair, I have been paying attention and I have seen how well you have been coming to work more, something I believe Harriet used to complain about a lot. And I have seen you turn down girls asking you out here at the bar. So I can’t say… I haven’t noticed improvement.”

            “Why do I sense a ‘but’ somewhere?”

            “Daniel, no matter if there is or isn’t a ‘but’ at the end of that, I’m leaving. Tomorrow morning. I don’t know what you had in mind, but I can’t do the whole one night stand thing.”

            “You really think that’s what I want?”

            “Come on, seriously, you’re trying to convince me that you would want to have something… lasting?”

            “Would you be that surprised if I said yes?”

            “Honestly? Yes.” It was at that exact moment, when Daniel and Venus were looking at each other without blinking, that Harriet came down.

            “Hey you two crazy kids. What did I miss?” There was a silence as both their stares wouldn’t break. “I missed a serious match of the blinking game?” she said as she went back to putting glasses in place. Venus was the first to give it up, she lowered her eyes and walked next to Harriet.

            “Ha, no. I’m sorry we were just… thinking.”

            “Dangerous thing to do, think.”

            “Tell me about it,” she said as she patted Harriet on the back and went upstairs. Harriet followed Venus with her eyes as she went up without even looking back.

            “Do I need to be concerned?” Daniel shook his head with straight lips before taking a sip of coffee.

                        Hours later, the bar was overflowing with life. Daniel couldn’t remember the last time he had to serve this many drinks, although, to his memory, his work efforts weren’t exactly high to start with.

            “You wanna remind me why there are so many people here tonight again?” he yelled to Harriet as they took on wave after wave of thirsty students.

            “First day back to school. Many people think we deserve a few drinks to celebrate.” A blond that was right in front of him explained. Daniel’s eyes shot over to her. He tilted his head as he tried to think of where he knew her from. “Hi Daniel.” His face dripped with confusion.

            “I know I know you, I’m just having a very hard time placing you in a where and when and who.”

            “I must say Mr. Hare, I’m quite offended. We share a wonderful morning the way we did and you can’t even remember me?” she asked in false shock.

            “I’m honestly sorry,” Daniel said still trying to think of why she looked so familiar. Harriet rolled her eyes and assumed the worst. “I-”

            “Relax, I’m just messing with you, you never even got my name,” she told him, causing him to let out a sigh of relief followed by an even bigger face of confusion.

            “So then why do I recognize you?” he asked confused. Harriet face palmed herself as she heard the battle of the idiots and then went back to surviving the insane battle that lay before her.

            “Well maybe you would recognize me more if I weren’t wearing a top,” the mystery woman commented. Harriet couldn’t take it and butted in.

            “I don’t know how you manage to find such easy and slutty women, but seriously, I’m beginning to wonder why I even helped you with Venus in the first place.”

            “Harriet?” the woman asked. Her little cheeks had grown a little pink since Harriet’s little outburst.

            “How did you-?”

            “Just how I imagined you,” the woman said not having both of them in perpetual confusion, “Beth, Beth Course,” she finally said rolling her eyes, smiling and extending a hand to shake both his and hers. “Daniel here knows me from a party I once had at his place when he returned from one of his many trips to find his missing origin.” Suddenly Daniel remembered a remarkably long and honest talk he had with a silent girl following a crazy night. He blinked and shook his head as he pictured her naked again. “There it is,” she said seeing Daniel recognize her again. “Never thought I would see you again and here of all places. I mean sure I knew you worked at a bar, but the “The Bar”, I could have never expected.”

            “You apparently know very little about him, or have very few girlfriends,” Harriet said. Beth grinned.

            “I don’t know, I think I know Daniel here pretty well.” Daniel flushed.

            “Hey lady, what’s your problem? We’re all waiting to get a drink here!” one customer yelled to Beth.

            “I’m sorry, can you get me a beer? Heineken will do fine.” She waved a few notes of money in Daniel’s face. Daniel gave her the beer, still in baffling silence. “Nice seeing you again,” she said, then turned and left.

            “You know some weird people, Rabbit.”

            “I’ll say,” he said, still with his eyes locked on her.

              The night dragged on and the two co-workers had hardly had a moment to breath in between the constant costumer flow. Around eleven though, there was a slight moment in which Harriet saw a moment to go pick up glasses and plates from tables, even with Susan, her father’s wife helping out with that too. When she came back with a load of glasses and plates, she stopped and talked to Daniel.

            “You wanna tell me what was going on with your little fuck buddy over there?”

            “Want to? Sure. Probably won’t believe me though,” he said as he leaned on the counter drinking a glass of milk still looking at Beth who was starting to stand up to leave. “Quick question, is your dad in?”

            “He should be, why?”

            “Could you maybe ask him to take over from here, I mean, I’ve been here since… well early in the morning for me at least and I’m-”

            “Seriously, you’ve been working here for years and you’re still gonna pull the ‘I’m tired, can I go home?’ scam?”

            “First of all, not a scam, secondly, you have no idea what I was going to say.”

            “Fuck it, go, just… think about Venus.”

            “What about her?”

            “Sometimes I wonder how you have been able to live as long as you have.” Daniel got himself ready and started going around the bar to leave. Just as he was going, Venus came downstairs. “Perfect timing,” Harriet muttered under her breath.

                        “Hey Daniel, can I talk to you for a second?” He turned his head to look at her and then back at the door just in time to see Beth lift her hair out of her coat before she took her first step outside.

            “Yeah, sure, what’s up?”

            “I was wondering, did you mean what you implied earlier?”

            “I don’t know, I mean, I’m still a little uncertain on where you stand and you haven’t really been able to give me a decent answer either.”

            “Listen, you’re right. I haven’t. For reasons that are a mystery to me as well, but, I think that, I mean, would you be able to handle a long distance relationship?” Daniel looked dumbstruck, for years he didn’t have to be monogamous, let alone monogamous and sexless.

            “I don’t kn-”

            “You know what, don’t answer that now. Why don’t you come and tell me tomorrow before I leave?”

            “Uh… When do you leave?”

            “I have to be at the airport at eleven.”

            “Yeah, sure.” She smiled softly. He turned around again and Beth was no where to be seen. He looked around for her shape through the windows but couldn’t find anyone matching her profile. “Listen, I got to run, but we’ll talk soon ok?” Now it was her turn to look confused, she threw a smile on her face to try and keep up the charade that she wasn’t worried. He walked over to Harriet, thanked her for letting him leave and for not telling Venus about anything that happened that day, hoping she would get the hint and left.

                        Once outside he looked around him as fast and as thorough as he could in search of his previously unnamed topless shrink. But no matter how many times he turned his head to find her, she was no-where to be found. He put his hands in his hair in desperation as he turned on his axis a few more times to try and find her. Quickly though, it became very obvious that he really wasn’t going to find her. Saddened, he walked back to his car with his hands in his pockets. When he got there he stopped dead in his tracks as he noticed someone leaning on his car.

            “You know, for a second there I was beginning to think I had actually forgotten what your car looked like.”

            “Is your memory seriously that good?”

            “You’d be surprised.”

            “I already am.”

            “So, whatever did end up happening to The Mad Hatter, did she finally make The White Rabbit come to the tea party?”

            “Go ask Alice. I think she’ll know,” he said pulling out his car keys and opening the car.

            “You like Jefferson Airplane?”

            “I like a lot of music. Come on, if we’re gonna talk about the Hatter, I’m gonna need a drink and if I’m gonna be drinking that much, I’m not gonna wanna drive.”

            “Fair enough.”

               Daniel felt his foot become mighty heavy this time on his drive back home. Beth even turned around and raised an eyebrow as he sped through a traffic light.

            “You trying to kill us?” she asked.

            “I’m just willful.”

              When they got home, Daniel didn’t even bother taking his coat off and went straight for the kitchen.

            “Can I get you anything, Beth?”

            “You know, I’m not sure I like you knowing my name.”

            “Why not?” he asked as he stood in front of the fridge with his hand on the carton of milk.

            “Well, to be honest I was curious as to what you would scream in bed.” The Rabbit had become an owl with how far back his head turned. She tapped her nails on the archway leading to the kitchen and raised her eyebrows for a second.

            “Well, I must say, I’m a little off guard there.”

            “I lied.” Even as he thought of his “possible” relationship with Venus, he dropped his head in the disappointment of knowing she didn’t want to sleep with him. “I knew you worked there.” His head shot up again just in time to see her take off her shirt to reveal she wasn’t wearing a bra at all this time. She dropped her shirt on the floor and walked over to him.

            “Wouldn’t want to lose your bra twice huh?” She just smiled and kissed him.

              They ended upstairs and out of breath faster than he thought. He was still gasping for breath as she, cheekishly, stood up and began putting on her pink lace panties.

            “You’re leaving? Already?” he asked with three breaths.

            “Not at all, but I just feel more comfortable with my panties on.”

            “I gotta say, I have that too,” he said as he sat up.

            “You like wearing panties too?” He blinked his eyes as he noticed the stupidity of his remark. “I don’t know why, but quite a lot of people find it more comfortable in underwear.” He nodded agreeingly. “So you wanna tell me about Madeline now?” He exhaled and fell on the bed again.

            “What do you wanna know?”

            “What do you wanna tell?” she asked sitting in his computer chair in just her panties. Another exhale.

            “I left her.”

            “Good, I didn’t think she was doing you any good.” He looked over at her as if to ask how she could possibly know that.

            “I’m not too happy about how I did it though.”

            “No one is ever happy with how they break up with their significant other.”

            “Suppose you’re right, all the same, this was remarkably shitty. I broke up with her while I was still inside her.”

            “As in…” Daniel nodded. “Oh. That is bad.”

            “Anyway, thing is I don’t even know what stroke caused me to do something that stupid, it’s not like…”

            “Like what?”

            “Did I tell you about my- Kate?” he asked, correcting himself midsentence.

            “Yes,” she said with a smile realizing why he corrected himself.

            “I don’t know… I think… I…” he froze up, choking on the words he was about to say, “I think I’m in love with her.”       

            “Well this is a very surprising turn of events,” she said sarcastically.

            “What’s that supposed to mean?”

            “Let me take away your first fear before I answer that,” she said straightening herself in her seat, “I haven’t been following you around, I’m basing everything I’m saying on that first conversation we had.”         

            “That wasn’t my first fear about you.”

            “Oh?”

            “My first fear is that you would have told someone who I was. As in who my parent’s were.”

            “Ah, no worries there either, I haven’t.”

            “Well that solves one of my concerns.”

            “Anyway, since that first time we spoke, I could have already told you that you were in love with Katelyn. You spoke of her in a way that could have only possibly meant that and what you told me about all your other relationships just seemed to converge on the fact that your relationship with your would be sister was all you really wanted. A lot like most people have that with their mothers. It’s a simple oedipal complex, but since your mother figure is out of the picture, you’ve chosen the next best thing, your sister. In a way it’s a lot like Peter Pan and Wendy.”

            “I think I understand.”

            “Good, so what does that have to do with you leaving Madeline mid-coitus?”    

            “Well, me and Madeline we went to Spain and while we were there all I could think of was how much I wanted Kate.”

            “Got too much to your head?”

            “Yup.”

            “Right. So where is Wendy tonight? I remember her living here.”

            “She did, she moved out yesterday.”

            “Wow.”

            “Yeah. But worst of all was, when I got back here from Spain, I took a girl with me, she looked exactly like Madeline except she was slightly more tanned, she had been staying with me up until yesterday too.”

            “Yaouch.”

            “She was good.”

            “As in… in the sack?”

            “Well there too, but no, I have kinda been trying to be with this girl, Venus, Harriet’s cousin from England.”

            “With a name like Venus, I’m surprised that’s how you know her.”

            “Yeah, you’re not the first one to say that.”

            “Excuse my unoriginality. Anyway, carry on.”

            “So Irene, the tanned Madeline, she was helping me… stay focused on Venus.”

            “You realize how stupid this sounds as you’re saying this don’t you?”

            “A bit.” She gave him a look of sudden understanding. “Thing is though, Venus is leaving.” A nod of understanding with high eyebrows, as if to ask him to continue. “Tomorrow. And to make things even more interesting, she’s asked me to...” He chocked on his words again. “Consider a long distance relationship.” Beth’s face was drenched in wow.

                        “What are your thoughts on that?” she asked him partially thinking she already knew the answer.

            “I think… I don’t know, I mean I have hardly ever been monogamous, but to now also have my partner all the way out there, so, not to have sex at all for long periods on end,” Beth was already nodding her head in agreement, “I don’t know, I don’t know how I would handle it. I mean already, when she was here, I needed Irene to help me stay focused and stuff.”

            “You want my opinion?” He nodded. “I think this Venus chick has too many high expectations from you. Sounds like she wants you to be someone you’re not. I mean you just got out of a very dysfunctional relationshit, with Madeline, to now suddenly be thrown into a relationship where you can’t be who you really are… I just don’t think it would be healthy for you at this point. Even if she does put you on the right path...”

            “I’m afraid you might be right,” he paused, not knowing quite what else to say, “Where have you been all this time by the way?” he asked when he suddenly came up with something.

            “I live on campus.”

            “Wait really? How come I don’t see you at all?”

            “I don’t get out much. I had to be dragged out to go to that party at your place.”

            “Wow.” Again an awkward silence filled the air. “So, is there anything you want to talk to me about? Any issues or…”

            “Nope I’m good. And you’re done?”

            “With?”

            “Talking about all your issues?”

            “Not nearly, but I think this is as close as we’re gonna get.”

            “Good, I was hoping we could go on for round two.”

            “Good morning,” she said as she kissed him on the cheek. Daniel blinked again, now noticing the tan; Irene. He closed his eyes again and smiled.

            “Good morning.”

            “Did you sleep ok?” she asked him in a kind, sweet voice, causing him to drift to sleep and also shake him awake at the same time. He nodded, not saying a word. “Good. I must say, it’s been the second night in a row that you have been able to seemingly sleep peacefully. Usually you shake and twist all night. Must be all those nightmares you have. Or had. Not sure what to think yet.” Daniel slowly opened one eye trying to seem awake enough to have any kind of conversation.

            “I guess…” he yawned, “You were wrong then. I am over her.”

            “Yes.” He blinked his eyes a lot when he heard this, he couldn’t believe she was just going to throw down the towel like this. “But you’re not over your sister.” Daniel felt suddenly awake. He stared at her deep, fiery, grass green eyes. She didn’t blink as she stared into his icy blue one’s either. “Now you’re awake.” She sat up on the bed and began to do her yoga. Daniel sat up as well.

            “What makes you say I’m not over Kate? What makes you say there’s anything to get over with Kate? Wait, Irene, what do you mean?”

            “To be honest, I didn’t know. I guessed. I suspected as much though,” she said as she bent over backwards while doing the splits. “You have this look when you look at her. A look I remember from the only guy I ever really loved.” She sighed and moved gracefully to another position. “You also have the tendency of not wanting me in the same room as her, almost as if you don’t want her to see me. Like you want to hide me from her.” She bent forward and hugged her leg. She then let go and sighed as she came up. “You know what the funny thing is?”

            “What?” he asked, wondering at the same time if she had managed to see this in as short a time as six weeks, if Katelyn knew?

            “I really thought you wanted to be with this Venus chick. But it’s more than that, I thought you might actually have a kinda… I don’t know… ending, with her.” She stretched as she stood up. “Ending is the wrong word, I know, but it’s as close as I can get to describe it. You know what I mean?” she exhaled the last sentence. Daniel looked at her confused and aroused.

              She raised her eyebrows. “Probably not the best time to have this conversation with you. Blood doesn’t even seem to be in or anywhere near your brain. I might have something to do with that. And I suppose,” she said as she kneeled before him, “Since it is my fault, I should help fix the problem.” Without another word or warning, she dropped her head and enveloped his erection with her mouth. He felt the back of her throat as she went lower and he dropped his head back in ecstasy. She bobbed her head slowly on him. He closed his eyes and tightened his lips shut to not let out a moan. She opened her eyes and looked up at him trying to contain himself. She twirled her tongue around as she took him deeper than even she thought she could. Daniel couldn’t hold back any longer and moaned. She smiled as she lifted her head slowly then smiled at him. He, trying to catch his remarkably fast breath, looked down at her.

            “Why did you stop?” he asked, still panting.

            “I wanted to see if it was helping,” she said as she bit her lip, “That and I needed to catch my breath too,” she said and winked, and before Daniel had the chance to say anything else, went back to work. Even then, he tried to speak, but with the breath being removed from his lungs faster than he could replenish it, there was very little he had the ability to say. She smiled in her mind as she noticed the rapid breathing and his inability to make out words and spoke only in monosyllabic, vowel ridden noises. Trying to up her game again, she pulled her mouth off him to lick only his tip before taking him as deep as she just had, containing all of him in her mouth and throat. Then, as she went up again, she went faster and faster to drive him purely mad. Before she thought he would, he came in her mouth. She began to wonder if she had been so focused that she didn’t notice his breathing get faster. That would have explained why it went by so fast, or if she had actually done something in such a way that had driven him off the edge faster than he had with her before. She swallowed like she knew he enjoyed and secretly enjoyed herself and kissed the tip again which made him shiver once more. She licked her lips with a smile. He exhaled as he dropped his arms and fell on his bed.

            “I’m sorry,” he said in an exhale.

            “What for?” she asked as she still stroked him with her hand. He trembled at her touch.

            “Cumming that fast. I don’t remember the last time that happened. It usually takes me forever.”

            “I know. Don’t be sorry though, it was a welcome surprise.” He just exhaled again. “Glad I could help,” she said with a grin and stood up.

              He lifted himself back up with his arms so that he was sat up.

            “I do believe it’s my turn to return the favor,” he said as he leaned forward and kissed her inner thighs. She put her hands through his soft brown hair.

            “You know that’s not why I did it, don’t you?” she said in between breaths.

            “Of course I know that,” he answered in between kisses that went up her thigh, “You know that’s not why I’m doing this, right?” She tried to answer, but before she could, he pulled her panties to the side and began to lick her. Her sighs were answer enough for him and the fact that she was trembling helped his ego too. She started to lose her balance and lean forward, almost falling on the bed. Daniel stopped, kissed her belly button and looked up at her. Lightheaded and woozy, she looked down at him.

            “Why,” she couldn’t finish her question in one breath, “Did you stop?” He turned her around and once the back of her knees hit the bed, he threw her down on it.

            “You seemed to need some more support,” he said as he looked back up at her and while locking his eyes with hers, pulled down her panties. “Plus, I thought these needed to go.” Not giving her a moment to respond whether or not she agreed, he and his nimble tongue went back to work and she shook some more.

              She lay puffing for air as he wiped his lips.

            “Is it,” she started taking a breath in between, “Just me or have you gotten better at that?”

            “Just you,” he said “Using the same techniques as usual really. In fact,” he shot his tongue in and out of his mouth, “Judging from how tired my tongue is, I would say I’m kinda off my game.” She shook her head. He smiled and walked over to his drawers to get a pair of black boxers. “I could get used to mornings like this, you know, mornings of pleasure,” he said as he walked over to her, climbed on and lay on top of her. She sighed and changed her entire facial expression. “What’s wrong?”

            “I wouldn’t get too used to it if I were you,” she said and turned to get out from under him. Daniel looked confused and felt rejected.

            “I… I don’t understand. What’s wrong?”

            “Nothing is,” she stared as she got up and began picking up clothes to wear, “It’s just that I’ve gotten to know you really well in the last six weeks. I understand why people find you that much of an asshole and as much as I agree with them,” he gave her a stern, yet confused look, “I must say I see where you’re coming from and why you do the things you do.”

            “Did you suddenly start following the psychology course over at the university?”

            “No need to, Daniel. Anyone who spends at least three weeks in your life relatively constantly, the way I have, can see it.” She looked over at him and saw his still dumbstruck face. “Look, when you first asked me to stay here, I thought it was because you might want to battle the silence in your life, always have something or someone to take home, so you always had someone to spend the night with or whatever. Of course I was happy to indulge that, hell I got free food and lodging for that. I can’t say that having you, instead of having to have the hard to get routine every night, or ending up with my vibrator, wasn’t a plus. It was. Quite so. But I’m starting to notice something.”   

            “Starting to notice what?”

            “You’re taken. Emotionally, physically, mentally.” Daniel was suddenly not so confused anymore.

            “Kate,” he said.

            “Kate,” she confirmed, “See when you explained about Venus, I… I could understand why you needed me around; you needed something to ease the transition from playboy to family man, but… Venus isn’t your end game. And I get that now, Venus is the distraction. So you need to get your head in the game, go after Venus so you can get her out of your system and focus on bigger and better things.”

            “Kate?” he asked, trying to make sure he understood.

            “Kate,” she confirmed again. He exhaled.

            “Christ.”

            “Yeah. Now here’s the bit that… to be honest, puts a huge bug up my ass;”

            “I thought you liked that,” he said wittingly. She tried to ignore the comment, but he could see how she was imagining it.

            “You are her brother. Now, I’m a very open girl. Very open, but I’m not exactly fond of you going out and making half baked fish babies.” Daniel giggled. “What’s funny?”

            “First of all, half baked fish babies are. Well, I mean obviously humans making half baked fish babies wouldn’t be funny, but just the term ‘half baked fish babies’, that’s down right comical,” he spoke with a dead serious face. “Secondly, yes Kate is my sister, but we aren’t family.” Irene looked confused.

            “How’s that now?” He exhaled with a smile before continuing to explain.

            “Two things, one; I’m adopted.” Quickly Irene’s face changed to one of those of blatant stupidity. “Secondly, when I was adopted, I wasn’t even adopted into her family.” The face of confusion claimed its seat back before the chair even had time to cool down. He waited for her to stop blinking rapidly before continuing.

            “Wait now, how is she…”

            “I was adopted and then my parents died. I went to live with Kate and her father then. Although, in all honesty, by that point I was already staying with them more than I was with my own parents.”

            “Seems weird.”

            “What does?” he asked.

            “Well being adopted by someone only to be spending more time with other people. I don’t know, just seems to defeat the purpose.”

            “I guess it could be seen that way.”

              “In anyway, I suppose that’s better than having half baked fish babies.”

            “Isn’t it just?”

            “Yeah. But then, does Kate know?”

            “No.”

            “Why not?”

            “I… I don’t know, I guess I have always been afraid of what she would say and more importantly, what Milo would say, or do.”

            “Milo?”

            “Her dad. The guy I have learnt to love as a father.”

            “I see. So you have the whole family thing going on with her and her dad, and you…”

            “Have been wanting to get freaky with her since my late adolescence? Yeah. Tell me about it.”

            “That’s some feat though, controlling yourself for that long.” He shrugged and continued to get dressed.

              They both got dressed in silence. It wasn’t until they got downstairs that they spoke again. He got them both coffee and began preparing his cereal. She went for bacon and eggs.

            “But…” she started while mixing her egg. Daniel looked up from his cereal and raised an eyebrow. “Thing is, you yourself must know that any relationship you get into right now will be doomed until you figure this thing out with Kate, right?”

            “You think we could keep it down about that while we’re downstairs, god knows if and when Kate could come down. It’s not exactly something I really want her to hear this way. If she hasn’t already. This house has walls made out of coffee filter.”

            “What time is it?” she asked him.

            “Nine thirty, why?”

            “Kate’s not home.”

            “What?”

            “Last night, when she was explaining to me what was going on, she told me she was going over to her dad’s place tomorrow at eight.”

            “Oh… ok.”    

            “So, again, you know that ev-”

            “Every relationship I get into is bla bla, yeah. I know.” He rubbed his forehead.

            “So, well, I have, while you were asleep, made arrangements to stay at an unnamed hotel.”

            “Wait what?”

            “Yeah. I can’t stay and watch you do this to yourself. I mean, this is amazingly fun, what you and me have, but I can’t watch you bring yourself to failure day in day out. And I know the only reason you really haven’t been putting the moves on Venus is because you have no… no need. No drive. You have something to fall back on. This whole Venus thing needs to happen, yes, but you’re going about it the wrong way with me staying here. So I’m gonna get outta your hair. Make you speed up this process and get with Venus the right way.” Daniel dropped his jaw at not being able to understand what was really going on.

            “So you’re leaving?” 

            “You’re not much of a morning person are you?” she asked shaking her head and biting into a crunchy piece of bacon. “Yes, I’m leaving. You don’t need me hanging around here. Besides, I don’t do too great in one place as it is. That’s why you found me in Spain. I was there trying to get even more away from where I’m from.”

            “Yeah, where is that by the way?”

            “Still not telling you Daniel.” Damn it!

            “Is there anything I can say to make you change your mind?” She shook her head. “Alright. Well, I suppose you’re right. I need to get my shit straight. Thank you for being here though.”

            “Hey, I don’t know about you, but I had fun,” she said with a smile.

            “Oh you have no idea,” he said, opening his eyes wider.

              When they finished eating their breakfast, she went upstairs to change and finish packing. Daniel stayed downstairs to do the dishes. He thought about everything she had just said. Maybe her being around here was holding him back from really being with Venus. Maybe, just maybe with her gone he could focus on her fully. But all the things she said about him and Katelyn, somewhere, he thought it was too soon. He smiled to himself at her comment of half baked fish babies. All in all though, no matter how he thought about Katelyn, he was certain there was no way that she could see him the same way. That of course would be if they managed to work out the problem of outing that to Milo first.

              “So, I’m packed.”

            “That was…” he shook his head as if he was shaking the thoughts out of it, “Fast.”

            “Sorry, I had already pretty much finished packing last night, I just needed to put the things in there from today and make sure I have everything.”

            “Wow, you really wanna beat it don’t ya.”

            “You have to imagine I thought-”

            “Half baked fish babies.”

            “Half baked fish babies.” She nodded with a smile.

            “How about now that you know that there aren’t any half baked fish babies? You wanna stay a little longer?” She sadly shook her head.

            “Sorry Daniel, you still have to get your shit together and I still don’t do well in one place.”

            “You’re right,” he said and kissed her.  She moaned in his mouth as he slid his tongue passed her lips.

            “You better be careful with that,” she said with her eyes closed.

            “Be careful with what?” he said as he leaned his forehead on her.

            “Hmm… You’re making me horny again,” she said with an exhale. He grinded up against her.

            “Mmm... how about one…” he stretched the word one for a while, “More go before you go.” She opened her eyes and looked up into his. When she closed them again, he kissed her, she bit his lip. He grinded up against her again. “Now you’re making me quite horny. How about it then? One, more, time?” he said staccato.

            “Yes…” she whispered in an exhale and pushed down the door handle to open the door, but for some reason it wouldn’t open. Daniel, not wanting to bother with trying the door over and over again unsuccessfully, picked her up, which made her gasp and carried her to the couch. He threw her down on it and crawled on top of her. He pulled her shirt off and threw it on the floor next to him, completely ignoring the fact that the blinds to the living room window were still open. She unbuttoned two buttons on his shirt before he just pulled it over his head and started working on his buckle.

              She moaned as he kissed down her neck and on to her collarbone. She grabbed his hair and pulled it as she moaned louder in his ear. He growled when she let it go. Her hands dropped to her waist, where she removed her pants and lay there in her bra and panties. He got off the couch and pulled his pants and underwear off at the same time. While he removed his clothing he put his hand on her panties and felt how wet she had become. One of his fingers went along side the panty line and ventured inside her. He went in once before making sure her clit had enough attention as well. She had shallow breaths and arched her back as he felt her. When she lowered it again, he reached over for him. She wrapped her hand around his penis and began to stroke it slowly. He closed his eyes as he felt her go faster and then slower. She then pulled lightly so that he would move on top of her again. When he was there, she removed her panties, grinding him as she lifted her hip. Again, he closed his eyes as he inhaled her scent.  He positioned and thrust himself in her. They moved together in perfect synchronicity and at the apex of the moment, they came together with loud screams and moans.

              He sat on the couch, with his clothes on his lap after she had left. Her lipstick stained cigarette was still on the ashtray next to him. He looked at it as the smoke trailed off through his living room. Normally he hated the smell of cigarettes in the rest of his house apart from his room, but right now, he didn’t care. He felt the loneliness start to kick in. Without Katelyn, or anyone else other then him, he was left with just the echoes of his shallow life. He almost cried as he thought of how his parents would feel if they could see him the way he was. Quickly he pushed those thoughts out of his head as fast as he could. He picked it up and took a drag. He could taste her lip gloss on it as he did and while he took it all in, put it out. He stood up and walked over to the window, still naked and closed the blinds. He then sighed as he picked up the rest of his clothes, threw them on and headed out the door.

              He drove up to Milo’s house through the pouring rain. It was really coming down on his car. As he came up to the parking lot, he tried to find Milo’s car. To his luck, he saw both Milo’s and Katelyn’s cars next to each other. He parked and thought about waiting for the rain to decrease at least a little bit, but considering how the weather had not improved since the moment he woke up he figured he would just make a run for it.

              He bashed his fist at the door and rang the door bell three times after having gotten a whole kiddie pool’s worth of water over him.

            “Oh come, on open the door!” He shivered just as he saw Milo come to the door.

            “I wish my girlfriend was this wet,” Milo said as he opened the door for Daniel.

            “Oh yeah? You seeing someone again, funny man?” Daniel said sounding half annoyed.

            “I have some prospects.”

            “Always good,” he said and took his drenched coat off and hung it up in front of the stairs. He walked in and saw Katelyn in a short denim skirt and a white shirt. “How did you manage to get through that weather wearing that?”

            “I still have some clothes here. I changed when I got here.”

            “That… makes more sense than you making it through that… I’ll buy it.”

            “Sold! To the man in the soaked shirt.” Daniel nodded in thanks.

            “Good to have you two kids here together,” Milo said, putting a glass of milk in his hands and pushing him down to sit next to Katelyn.

            “Didn’t think you were gonna make it anymore,” Katelyn said. Daniel looked confused.

            “What do you mean?”

            “She’s been waiting for you to get here to make some big announcement.” Milo butted in.

            “How did you know I was gonna come out here?”

            “Educated guess,” she said.

            “So stop busting my fucking balls, my hair is white enough as it is. Out with it.”

            “Well, first of all, I figured since you would both ask what was going on and where I was last week, I figured I would kill two birds with one stone and tell you both at the same time.” Both Milo and Daniel looked at each other in accordance. “So, as Daniel fucking knows, I broke up with Joey yesterday.” Daniel felt his sides. The pain had mostly gone away, but he could still feel it. Milo looked at him questioningly. Daniel shook his head as if to say that he was fine. “Me and Joey spent a week in a hotel just off the edge of town, since I knew that I was going to leave him, I wanted… one last week to get him out of my system.” Again Milo and Daniel both shared faces of compliance. “Seriously, I’m fine, he’s gone and I don’t really feel the pain of leaving him. Probably makes me sound cold, but I had been thinking about it for quite some time now. This wasn’t just done with out any thinking.”

            “Well, while, I’m happy you made a smooth transition, you couldn’t have let us know what was going to happen or where you were?” Daniel asked, again, feeling the soft bruising on his ribs. Katelyn nodded, as if to say that she was going to get there.

            “Yeah, I’m sorry about that, I understand I caused you guys a fucking lot of worry. All that happened there, is that I thought my phone was charged and when we got to the hotel, I discovered it wasn’t and I didn’t bring a charger.” Daniel and Milo looked at each other, both thinking, just as we thought. Milo for a second though, shot Daniel a look as if to ask him what he was thinking when he worried him about her and Joey getting engaged. “Anyway, secondly, and much more importantly, Milo, you know more about this, Daniel, I’m sorry to spring this up on you so suddenly,” Daniel’s hart jumped into his throat, “I’m moving out. I managed to score a little place, furbished and everything. Just needed a fridge really.” Daniel didn’t know where to hide his face. He could feel as it burned red. He held his breath to hide his tears before they rained down his face.

              “Daniel, I’m sorry that I didn’t talk about this with you before, I just… I didn’t wanna impose on you and I could just see how much me being with Joey at your place bugged you, So, I… I don’t know, I wanted to give you your place back.” Daniel nodded, trying not to say anything. “Are you ok?” Daniel quickly thought of every good thing he could think of, unfortunately though, he quickly found that every good moment he was reaching for was sex related, which since it was always for the wrong reasons, only made him feel more empty.

            “What? Me? Yeah. No, yeah of course. No, of course, I’ll be happy to finally walk around naked in my own house again,” he surprisingly managed to choke out.

            “You never stopped.”

            “Eh, I held back,” he said and got punched in the shoulder by Katelyn.

“You know, it’s a damn shame. They just don’t make movies like this anymore,” Milo said as he picked up the remote and switched the DVD off. “Newer movies just don’t have the same… innocence.”

“Yes Milo, I agree. Innocence, that’s exactly what’s missing from movies nowadays,” Daniel said sarcastically.

“Believe what you will, but I think that the innocence we had in them up till the early 90’s was something that made movies a whole lot better.”

“Terminator 2 was innocent?”

“You know what I mean,” Milo said. Daniel laughed.

“I do, I was just messing with you.” Daniel stood up and took his glass to the sink. “So, I was thinking, I better go soon. Awesome and all that you have the day off, but some of us have to work for a living.”

“Yes, because you, of all people, have to go to work,” Milo said standing up as well and throwing his Coke zero in the trash. “Your parents left you with more money than the Vatican. For a couple that loved charity, I’m surprised that they didn’t leave more of that to charity.”

“Yeah, I suppose,” Daniel said as he got a coffee mug and with his eyes asked Milo if he could make himself a cup. “So, you heard anything from Kate recently?”

“No, can’t say that I have. Been more than a week since the last time I heard anything from the girl. But I figured she was on tour or something with Joey and left her charger at home.”

“Yeah… That’s probably it.”

            “What?”

            “Nothing,” Daniel said as he looked down into his coffee mug. “I might have an idea about where Kate is,” he said with a sigh.

            “Oh.”

            “But the thing is…” Daniel hesitated.

            “What?” Milo sounded like he was starting to get mad.

            “I’m just not sure if I do.”

            “Out with it Daniel,”

            “Well, I could swear, the night of the last time I saw Kate, as I was leaving the bar I saw Joey propose to her.” Milo stopped moving and as far as Daniel could see he wasn’t breathing either. “Milo? Are you o-”

            “Joey? And Katie? En- And you’re sure you saw this?”

            “Well What I saw was two shadows that I could swear looked exactly like the two of them and he proposed to her and she said yes. I haven’t seen or heard from Kate ever since.” Milo stood staring into space for a while with out moving still. “Milo are you alright?” Milo still didn’t react. Daniel jumped off his perch.  Milo grabbed his phone out of his pocket and started a call to Katelyn; directly to voicemail.

            “Ok, so you don’t know for sure that this happened?”

            “No I just… I just found it very suspicious considering the timing and all.”

            “Yeah, ok. I understand, let’s not jump to conclusions here.”

            “Yeah, probably best not to do that. Anyway, I gotta head to work.”

            “Great timing, as always.”

            “As always,” Daniel said with a smile.

            “I’ll keep on trying to reach Katie,” Milo said already looking at his phone again.

            “Sure thing Milo. See you later.” And with that, Daniel headed off to work.

              “You want a drink?” Daniel asked Venus. She was sitting across from him, on the other side of the bar. He was working. It was a slow day so far.

             “Sure, why not. Coke?” Venus asked, raising an eyebrow. Daniel turned his back to her to get a glass and then ducked under the bar to get a coke from the fridge. He secretly hoped Venus was looking at him bending over, but he didn’t count on it. He heard Robert cough from the other side of the room.

            “So what are your plans for today?” Daniel asked her. As he turned around, he saw her biting her lip. When she saw he noticed, she stopped and looked away.

            “Not sure, not a lot I guess. Maybe hang out here for a while and bug you. I thought about going to the library and finding some books to read later.”

            “Sounds like fun. Why would you go to the library though, when I have much more interesting books at home?” he said with a smirk.

            “Ha-ha. I don’t think so Daniel.”

            “Well why not? We could watch a movie. Haven’t seen the Merchant in a while.”

            “Excuse me!” a voice said. It sounded rather annoyed. “Who do I have to fuck to get a drink over here?”

            Daniel turned his head in confusion. He hadn’t noticed there was a customer at all.

            “I’m sorry sir, I’ll get right to it.”

            “Good. While you’re at it, I could go for a sandwich as well.” The guy looked at Venus. “Please tell me that that’s not your boyfriend.” Venus smiled.

            “No, he’s not.” Daniel was on is way to the kitchen already, but couldn’t help but overhear the comment.

            “Good. Got me scared there for a second. I mean, if a dude like that can get an awesome lady like you and I keep on not being lucky, well, then there’s a whole lot wrong with the world.”

            Daniel returned from the kitchen. “Sir.” He put down the sandwich and the drink. “If you would kindly sit at a table? I was about to clean the bar.”

            “Will the lady join me?”

            Venus smiled again. “Not this time.” She winked. Daniel just stared at the guy. For a second there, he thought the drink would be ‘accidentally’ spilled all over either of them, but no.

            “Very well then.” Daniel and Venus watched the guy find the table the furthest from the both of them. Robert rushed over the talk to him.

            “Glad he’s gone. Where were we?” Daniel said relieved.

            “You were trying to convince me to go home with you.”

            “Ah, right! So that’s a yes to the Merchant?”

            “Nice try, Daniel.”

            “Has Harriet scared you off with all her stories about me? I told her that corpse was planted there! I had nothing to with it, I swear.” Venus laughed softly at that.

            “Just be happy and content knowing you have another date promised. Bye Daniel,” she said while hopping off the bar stool before Daniel even noticed she had moved.  She’s leaving? Just like that? “What the…Wait!”

            Venus stopped and turned around, “Yes?”

            “You can’t just get up and leave like that.”

            “Watch me,” she said with a wink.

              Daniel was still confused when Robert came up to him. He put his elbows on the bar and just looked at him.

            “Daniel.”

            “Robert.”

            “You completely ignored that customer.”

            “I know.”

            “You have to pay more attention. Best way to go about that would be to pay less attention to Venus.”

            “I know. And I’m sorry, I just feel like, Venus is giving me a chance for the first time and I want to use it properly.”

            “At the same time that’s my niece you’re talking about. Best be careful.”

            “Yes Robert, I will.

            “And try not to let it leak into your work again. If I see you slacking off again… eh… just, don’t let me catch you slacking off again ok?”

            “Sure thing,” Daniel said with a smile. Robert then left again, as Harriet came around behind him, watching as he smiled at Venus as she went up.

              “Hey Daniel, So what’s up with you guys? Venus isn’t telling me much of anything about you two, it’s all very hush hush. I guess Robert and I took the questions a little too far when you were about to go on your first date.”

            “Ha, yeah, a bit. She wasn’t at all happy with it, but I think she will get used to you guys being that inquisitive. And as for me and her, I’m not quite sure what’s going on, to be honest. I mean, I like to think that Venus and I are dating, for real, not just… I don’t know, hanging out or something? But honestly, I don’t know, Harry. She’s a tough nut to crack.”

            “Sounds complicated.”

            “You can say that again.”

            “Sounds complicated,” Harriet said with a smirk.

            “Ha, fucking, ha. Aren’t we funny today?”

            “Yes, in fact, we are. What now? Did you think to ask her what’s going on?”

            “Yeah, because that’s exactly a conversation I can have with her, ‘Hey Venus, I know we’ve only been on one date together, but hey, what does that mean? Are we actually dating now? Or what?’ I don’t know Harry, It’s just majorly weird. Not to mention, that would be one hell of an awkward conversation.” Daniel rolled his eyes as he said that as if to say ‘women’.

            “Want Robert and me to bombard her with questions again? Could be fun.”

            “No! Thanks, but no thanks.”

            “Relax,” she laughed, “I was kidding. Told you I was funny. But seriously though, you gotta find out what’s going on between you guys. This is just too weird, even for me.”

            “Christ, I need a drink.”

            “You’re not the only one. I’ve been listening to this for far too long now. Do something about it Rabbit.” Daniel shot her a stern look.

            “I mean Daniel.”

            “That’s better,” he said.

            “Subtle change of subject here, how’s Kate? Heard anything from her yet?”

            “Nothing,” Daniel said, looking down at the bar, in between his hands.

            “She’s a big girl, I’m sure she’s fine.” I’m not, Daniel thought. He cringed as he thought of what he had seen.

            “You okay there?” Harriet asked concerned.

            “What? Yeah sure,” Daniel answered just a tad too fast.

            “Well then, time to get back to work I’d say.”

            “Sure thing boss,” Daniel said with a wink. 

              The night dragged on without a moment of interest or intrigue. Harriet waited tables as Daniel took care of the bar together with Robert. All together they worked together like a well oiled machine. At around ten, when the place was packed, an unexpected guest suddenly arrived. Joey walked into the room and Daniel at first looked at him with a face of confusion. If he is here, then where is Kate? Joey locked his eyes on Daniel’s. Daniel waved to him as if to call him over. Joey walked, possessed it seemed, with a steady pace towards Daniel and took a seat right in front of him after intimidating the poor soul that had just been sitting in that stool.

            “Hey Joey,” Daniel started, hesitant, not quite understanding why he had to scare off the young man that was seated where Joey now sat. “How are you? Can I get you anything?”

            “How am I?” Joey asked in a slow, calm tone. Daniel couldn’t tell why, but he felt like this was the calm before the storm.

            “Yeah, I haven’t seen you or Kate in over a week. What’s been up?” Before Daniel could understand what happened, Joey grabbed Daniel by the collar and pulled him close.

            “You son of a bitch,” Joey whispered in Daniel’s ear, then pulled him to the other side of the bar. He placed him down and hit him on the back of the head. “Not so fun now is it?” Joey asked. Daniel couldn’t comprehend what was possibly going on. Joey grabbed him by the back of his shirt and dragged him to the opposite end of the bar where he pinned him against the wall with his hand. “I did everything for her! Everything! And now suddenly she leaves me? What did you tell her huh? What?” the crazed and surprisingly strong Joey asked as he smashed Daniel into the wall. Daniel dropped his jaw in surprise. He thought about saying something, but his mind drew a blank. Before he was even aware of it again, Joey’s gloved hand hit his side. Daniel eyes widened in pain. From the other end of the room, Harriet ran to stop him. when she reached Joey and was a bout to jump on him to throw him off Daniel, Joey reached up put his hand on her face and pushed her away. With his arm still pinning Daniel against the wall, he turned to her. “This doesn’t concern you. This is between me and him. I would strongly suggest you to a long walk on a short boulevard.” Harriet looked confused as he got the expression wrong. Harriet, who had just been thrown against one of the tables and had therefore hurt her back, slowly tried to stand up without hurting herself too much.

              Joey, Daniel thought, while still embarrassingly glued to the wall behind him, was a remarkably strong man. It would have seemed that while Joey may not have been the sharpest tool in the shed, he had been working what other assets he did have. Daniel almost wished he had seen one of his concerts, maybe then this wouldn’t be happening. Of course he quickly realized that it wouldn’t have had made any difference.

            “Joey, what’s going on? Why are you doing this?” Joey was in tears. Furious, but in tears.

            “Daniel, don’t you act stupid. Katie was everything to me. Everything! And now she’s gone!”

            “I’m sorry, I didn’t know. As far as I knew she was with you.”

            “There you go again, pretending you had nothing to do with this! Stop that! I’m not an idiot you know!”

            “Could have fooled me,” the words left Daniel’s mouth before he could even begin to think about censoring himself. The next punch to his ribs came not far after the painful realization of how much of an idiot he was to say it. Daniel tried to bend down in pain; Joey’s arm stopped him from completing this task.

            “I am so done with you Daniel and your stupid sensitivity to being called Danny. Yeah, you know what Danny boy, if you dare stop me from trying to be with your sister… Oh… this will seem like the tip of the iceberg.”

            “I think,” Daniel said, sounding weak and in horrible pain, “That you’re bluffing.”

            “You think I’m bluffing?” Another blow to the side. Daniel tried to come up with something witty to say, but he couldn’t. Everything about this had the feeling of a dream. A really bizarre and impossible dream. However, he remembered suddenly that Joey had mentioned that Katelyn had left him. This caused Daniel to flash a smile on his face. This of course made Joey punch him again.

              Harriet had made her way all the way to the other side of The Place and grabbed Robert’s attention to the situation. She warned him that he is tougher than he looks, but that they couldn’t just leave Daniel like that. Robert called the police and as soon as he hung up, headed towards the crazed bassist. Just as he had left, Venus came down the stairs. She put her hands to her mouth in shock as she saw what was in front of her. She tried to run to Daniel, but Harriet quickly grabbed her to make sure she wouldn’t get hurt like she was. As she did, her back hurt horribly.

              Robert walked over to Joey, making sure to be behind him at all times so that he wouldn’t see him coming. Just as soon as Robert got to exactly behind him, he tapped him on shoulder and the second Joey turned around, Robert punched him right in the nose. Joey twirled and fell face first onto the floor. Daniel fell as well, but was still able to put his hands on the floor to stop him from falling all the way. He stood up, feeling his chest where Joey had been holding him in pain.

            “Wow,” Daniel said as soon as he had breath in his lungs again. “For an old guy, you’ve got it where it counts Rob.” Robert smiled.

            “What did you think I attracted girls with, my pretty smile?” he asked sarcastically. Quickly from the corner of Daniel’s eye, he noticed something running to him with great speed. Venus crashed into him and held him close. She sighed with relief when she had him in her arms. Daniel, surprised by the sudden embrace, slowly wrapped his arms around her as he looked at Robert, who wasn’t too pleased. Robert rolled his eyes just as Daniel truly gave into the hug and closed his eyes.

            “I was so worried about you,” she whispered. He had a slight grin, realizing that he had gotten exactly what he wanted; for Venus to show her true feelings for him, but as soon as he noticed it, so did she. “I mean,” she started as she stood up and softly slapped his cheek twice, “I was worried that he was going to hurt this pretty mug of yours.”

            “Yeah I’m sure that that’s it,” Daniel responded with a wry smile. Venus looked bashful, but he could tell she was trying to hide it. “Thank you.” Meanwhile, Robert had begun calming everyone, telling everyone that the fight was over and that they were to get back to their drinks. “Yeah, one round for everybody here, on me,” Daniel yelled over to Robert to save the rest of the night.

                         Daniel slowly then, walked back to the bar with the help of Venus.

            “You can go ahead and take that off my pay check for this month,” he told Robert.

            “What pay check, there’s nothing left to take off,” Harriet said with a sneaky grin.

            “We really are funny today huh?”

            “I was just talking to Harriet,” Robert interrupted, “We think you might wanna take the rest of the night off, but we don’t want you driving, so how about you go up and take a nap until we close shop? Here, take this,” he said as he gave him a glass of whiskey.

            “You can go ahead and take my room,” Harriet said with a sigh of fake annoyance.

            “Thanks Harry.”

            “Now you owe me,” she responded looking him dead in the eyes as Venus helped carry him up. Venus brought him up and laid him on Harriet’s bed. She closed the door slowly, looking back at him with a smile. He downed his drink and closed his eyes as he felt enveloped by the blueness that was her room.

              He woke up, his head bursting with pain. He checked his watch. Two in the morning, around closing time. He sat up slowly and felt his chest. He hadn’t for the life of him ever thought that Joey could have possibly been that strong. He got up and walked downstairs. When he got there it was just Harriet, getting the payment of the last customer before he left. Daniel came down and took a seat at one of the tables. After the last man left, Harriet threw her towel over her shoulder, grabbed a bottle of scotch and two glasses and walked to the table where Daniel found himself.

            “That wasn’t whiskey your dad gave me, was it?”

            “Nope, that was a little Bennett family secret. Just a little something to ensure your date with Morpheus.”

            “Powerful stuff, whatever it was.”

            “I know, the only thing that ever gets me loaded.” 

            “Are you seriously telling me that you don’t get drunk off anything else?

            “Yep.”

            “Look, I just got beat up today, how about we cut me some slack considering all the bullshit huh?”

            “Not bullshitting Daniel. Have you ever seen me drunk?”

            “Now that you mention it, no, but then again for a bar maid, I have hardly ever seen you drink.” Daniel took a sip of the whiskey she just poured in front of him. “Is this just whiskey?” Harriet nodded. “So you want to tell me what’s been going on with you lately? Or are we going to keep doing this song and dance a little longer?” She hid her smirk with the glass of whiskey.

            “I don’t know, in a way I guess I’m just a little jealous of you. You’ve been taking the attention of my dad and my cousin without even trying. Venus is more than happy to see you, and as you saw, she likes you a whole lot more than she lets on. I don’t know, I mean you have always had a way with women, which, being what I am, isn’t easy to watch, but you also have a grip on my family. My dad is coming back to work now and is choosing to be next to you more often than with me. Venus, before we all started playing detective, was only talking about you. It just wasn’t fair. Add that with me not having gotten laid in as long as I have, I mean women have needs too you know.”

            “I know. Hey, if you want I can help you with that.”

            “What?” Harriet asked just as she was about to put the glass to her lips.

            “I can take care of your… urges.”

            “Daniel, this is why I didn’t want you to be going out with Venus. I mean you don’t even know what’s going on between you and her and you’re making a move on me for crying out loud!”

            “I know, I was joking you know that.”

            “Really?” Then suddenly changed her voice to a very sexy one, “because I really do want you to take care of my urges.”

            “Well, I know where you room is, meet you there in five?”

            “Daniel, you need help,” she said jokingly.

            “No seriously though, I thought I was doing better. I still think I’m doing better. I mean sure, there’s someone staying over at my house-”

            “You mean Kate?” Just as he was about to make the stupid mistake of explaining his relationship with Irene, Venus came in and tapped him on the shoulder.

            “Hey you two,” she said with a smile to Daniel. “Harriet, your dad was asking for you.”

            “Alright, I’ll leave you two crazy kids alone,” she said as she got up.

                        “You gonna be ok to drive? Even with that whiskey?”

            “Yeah, I can handle my liquor. No worries there.” She smiled weakly. “Venus?”

            “Yes?” Daniel inhaled deeply.

            “What’s going on between us?” She looked down. “I’m sorry to ask, I just don’t know what’s going on, what I can and can not do, or say, or where we’re going from here. I would just like to be on the same page as you, that’s all.” She nodded slowly.

            “Yeah, I can imagine, I… I don’t know what to tell you Daniel. I think it’s too soon to tell, we’ve been on one date together, I mean you can’t expect me to know if we’re going to ride off into the sunset together.”

            “I don’t expect you to think that far.”

            “You’re right, I’m sorry, I know. I… Let’s just find out in our own due time… I don’t wanna rush this.”

            “You’re right…” he said with a defeated sigh.

            “I think they’re really closing up now,” Venus then said, trying to avoid an awkward silence.

            “Yeah I better head out.”

              As he got to the door, he greeted Robert and told him he was doing better and to thank his wonderful daughter for allowing him to take a breather in her room.

 “Don’t tell me you’re going after my daughter too.” Daniel’s eyes opened up wide in shock as he shook his head. Robert laughed and opened the door to let him out, “See you tomorrow Rabbit,” he said with a wink.

             When he got home he heard noises coming from the kitchen. He quickly headed there after hanging his coat under the stairs. Katelyn was crying while sitting at the table with Irene, but the second Daniel got there, she jumped up and hugged him tightly. It hurt his chest something awful.

              When he was nearly done with his glass of milk, he turned again. This time he saw Venus in a beautiful long black dress come down the stairs. His mouth dropped open as if someone had just tied one of those cartoon lead balls to his jaw. He stumbled as he got to his feet and away from the table he was sitting at, awaiting her. She looked like a dark princess. Her short blond hair was curled, something he had never seen on her before.

              He walked up to her and stuck out his hand as to help her with her last few steps off the stairs. She smiled softly and stood before him.

            “Well, I for one, feel horribly underdressed.” She blushed. “And can I add the fact that you look absolutely astonish-”

            “Don’t overdo it. There’s a reason why they call you Rabbit and not Casanova. That being said, thank you,” she said, at first with a stern face as she interrupted him, but later, as she thanked him, with a shy smile.

            “Shall we?” he said with a bow.

            “What did I say about overdoing it? Let’s go.”

              Daniel was more than absolutely flabbergasted. He hadn’t at all expected to go out with such prestige and when he noticed that the dress was in fact a backless dress, he couldn’t help but wonder, on top of everything else, how she was going to survive the horrible cold that was about to greet her. He put his hand on her back, which made her turn her head and raise an eyebrow at him, he just raised one back at her.

              Once outside, everything was covered in white. For once it wasn’t even the snow that had made it so, but rather the cold, chilling ice that had frosted up the whole town. He looked down at his feet to notice not even his own footprints had stuck to ground from when he had walked in. He smiled at her as he tried to mask his feeling cold.

              They walked onward to the park, where all the trees had lost their leaves and everything was covered in ice crystals. Venus hadn’t shivered at all yet, where as he was shaking worse than a leaf in a storm. The whole world around him was just the same tone of white. Again, he flashed her a smile so she wouldn’t notice that he was uncomfortable. She was the great contrast in the whole scene around him, being that she was all in black and the world was practically glowing white.

              They continued walking for a while, not speaking, Daniel because of the cold, Venus, he didn’t know why. After a while, he noticed another black shape making its way towards them. It looked like a short skirt and a short shirt floating in mid air, with black eyes that floated above them. As soon as it got closer, he noticed that it also had a large top hat tilted above the eyes. Venus, at this point opened her mouth as if to scream, but no sound came from her lips. At first, Daniel, who was confused as ever as to why she was screaming and to what that dark mass that was heading their way was, but once he turned his face back to the mass he suddenly heard Venus’ scream. He also understood why she was screaming.  Before him was Madeline. Pale as the white ice around him, wearing her typical short black clothing and excessive black make up. What confused him was the big black top hat that she had on her head. Soon enough though, it was explained why she had it. She was walking towards them in a fast, steady pace and just as Daniel was about to move out of the way for fear of her bumping into him, she removed her hat and under it was a tea cup that was steaming. With her other hand, she grabbed the tea cup and splashed it on his face. He dropped to his knees as he felt the searing pain of the boiling hot tea burning on his face.

              With a scream, Daniel woke up. His face was still hurting. Not from the tea though. During his nightmare, he had fallen face-first out of bed. He had no idea where his blanket was. Panicky, he looked around him, trying to figure out what exactly had happened.

            “Good morning sunshine,” Irene said with a chuckle, “That must have been some dream. Rough night?”

            “What?” he asked, as his eyes blinked faster than a humming bird’s wings. “What are you doing?” he asked while looking at her. Irene was facing down, her ass high up in the air.

            “Yoga, silly. Never seen anyone do that before?”

            “Not really…” he answered slowly.

            “I’m surprised. From all the stories you told me I figured all your girlfriends must have all been flexible as all hell.”

            “Maddy certainly was…” he responded as he straightened himself and sat on the bed.

            “You said her name again you know. While you were sleeping? Want to tell me what all that screaming was about?” she arched her back downwards and pulled her shoulders up. Daniel watched her stretch.

            “I… It was weird. I was on a date with Venus…” he started. Irene lay down on her back, only to push herself up again into the bridge position. Daniel couldn’t help but stare at her. After all, she was naked. He watched as she pushed her belly up as high as she could.

            “Can you stop that? I’m trying to tell a story here,” he said while shaking his head in distraction, “And you’re making it really hard.”

            “Am I now?” she said with a smirk and a wink. Her eyes drifted to in between his legs. Daniel smiled. “Yes, you are. Can I go on now?”

            “Sure thing Daniel,” Irene said as she positioned herself on the bed, “Tell me all about that nightmare of yours.”

            “Well… so I was on this date with Venus, right? And she looked absolutely stunning, you know, she looked amazing. She was wearing this backless black dress which was way too cold for the weather. And we went outside and I was freezing, but she was fine. Then out of nowhere, Madeline showed up in her usual clothing. She was wearing a top hat. And she threw hot tea at me. That’s when I woke up. And… well, I don’t know. It was weird. After we left the bar, Venus stopped talking. We were just walking and freezing and then Madeline showed up.” Daniel shook his head again. “Thoughts?”

            “You have fucked up dreams sir.”

            “No shit Sherlock,” he said, almost annoyed.

            “You need to find some peace regarding that chick. She is haunting you.”

            “You don’t say.”

            “I do say. Daniel, how do you think you’re going to get this thing with Venus going if you keep on being stuck on this past chick? You need to just let the past be the past.”

            “Irene, I’m done with it. I am.”

            “Then why the nightmares?” she said with a raised eyebrow.

            “I don’t know.” Daniel stood up and walked to his closet and opened it. “Maybe it’s the way things ended. I mean, I was with her for a long time.” Where did all my towels go? he wondered. “Going to Europe was a mistake, I know. I don’t know what I was thinking.” Kate.

            “Knowing you? Probably not much.”

            “And thanks again. Did you use all my towels?”

            “Uh... I might have,” Irene said with an apologetic smile, “I’m sorry. I’ll go put them to wash for you.”

            “No, it’s okay. I’ll wait till you’re done yoga-ing and we’ll share one, how does that sound?” Daniel said with a wink.

              “Cereal?”

            “Nah, I’m fine. You?” Katelyn said, looking first at Daniel and then at Joey.

            “No, thank you guys,” Joey answered.

            “Great, more for me!” Daniel smiled. Today was date day and it was going to be great. “So what are you two gonna do today?” he asked Joey, since Katelyn had just taken a sip from her coffee.

            “Don’t know. Suppose we’re staying in,” Joey answered while looking at Katelyn in a way Daniel did not like at all.

            “No gig, or rehearsal, or whatever?” Daniel asked.

            “Nope. Just Kate and me today.” Great.

            “Really? I thought we could go out today. We’ve been staying in for the past three days now,” Katelyn responded.

            “We can do whatever you want Katie.” Joey gave her a kiss. Ugh.

            “What about you Daniel? What have you got on the docket? More lazing it about, and fun day time adult activities with Irene?” Katelyn asked as she took a seat on Joey’s lap.

            “Not quite. I…” he sighed as he thought to himself that he still hadn’t told Katelyn. “I got a date with Venus.”

            “Venus? As in the planet?” Joey asked. Typical bag of bricks, Daniel thought to himself as he rolled his eyes.

            “No, a girl Daniel has been going crazy about since she first strolled in here with her porn star name and her British charm.”

            “Why is Venus a porn star name?” Joey asked again.

            “Venus itself isn’t. But you add her last name; Venice, it becomes awfully comical.” Daniel flashed a look of anger.

            “Anyway,” Daniel said after clearing his throat to stop this horrible foolishness. “I finally got her to go out with me. I’m taking her out to the park near the college, you know, down by the lake where the drama students practice lines and what not?”

            “Sounds like a pretty good idea, you said she was into Shakespeare and what not, so yeah. Good thought. You excited? I mean I know you’ve been waiting for this for like a year now.”

            “Uhuh, quite excited. Never knew I had it in me, but I’m almost nervous even,” he laughed.

            “The Rabbit? Nervous? Well fuck me sideways, didn’t think I’d see the day…” Katelyn said with a yawn. She stretched and Daniel tried not too look at her bare midriff for too long. Not with Joey there. Katelyn gave Joey a peck and got up to put her now empty mug in the sink. Joey followed her there and gave her a hug from behind, kissing her neck, hands around her waist. Katelyn turned around and kissed him back.

            “Having fun over there?” Daniel asked a slight bit irritated. He tried not to let it show.

            “Hmhm,” they both more or less answered. Eventually Joey pulled away.

“Right back, gotta take care of something really quickly,” he said.

“Sure thing, I’ll be here.” She watched Joey leave the room and when she heard the door close she sat back down with Daniel. “Glad he’s gone,” she said. Daniel raised an eyebrow.

“What was that?” he asked confused, “You were just all over the guy and now you’re happy he’s gone?”

“I know. I hate myself for it. I used to like it you know, being all over each other all the time. Something changed. I can’t tell you what, I don’t know.” Daniel just sat there and blinked. What was going on here?

“Uh, Kate? What’s going on? Is everything alright?”

“No. Yes. I don’t know. It repulses me to be this close to him all the time. I don’t know why. It makes me feel yucky.”

“Oh wow. Does he know?” Daniel asked stupidly.

“Does he know? What are you? A fucking retard? You think he would be all over me like that if he knew?”

“Valid point. What are you planning to do about it?”

“Fucked if I know. I’m trying to wrap my head around what it means first.”

“Good luck,” Daniel said as he cocked his head. After a moment though, he noticed something. “Hey Kate, not to say a whole lot or anything, but have you noticed…”

“How it’s exactly how Chris told you things went between her and Sean?” He nodded. “Yeah I have. I didn’t wanna tell you about it at first when I started feeling this way because of it. Thought it would bring back too many painful memories for you.”

“No fucking shit,” he said followed by a sigh.

“I’m sorry Daniel.

“Don’t be. You shouldn’t be. I mean, it’s your life,” he sighed again and passed his hands through his hair. “What happened between me and Christina was just… never mind, don’t let me stand in the way of your happiness.” The way I let you.

“I… I won’t. I don’t think.”

“Good. Then I guess there’s nothing else for me to say other than… Well, good luck.”

  “Good luck with what?” Joey’s empty head had popped up right around the corner without either of them noticing.

“My period starting up next week,” Katelyn said and then turned her head to wink at Daniel. He recovered from his shock of Joey coming in out of the blue with a smile.

“You two talk about that? Wow… you guys have a whole different relationship than I do with my sister.”

“Joey, you’re an only child,” Katelyn said. Daniel had a face of dumbstruck confusion.

“Yeah… I meant, if I would have a sister.” Daniel rolled his eyes.

“So Joe, how about we blow this popsicle stand huh? Leave Daniel and his cereal to their love making?” she asked as she shoved off the counter and walked towards Joey.

“Love-” Joey was quickly interrupted by Katelyn’s lips that overpowered his. Daniel closed his eyes tight with disgust.

            “Come on, let’s go,” she said giving him a kiss on the cheek and pushing him out of the kitchen. She then winked to Daniel again, who had just lifted his head from his hands.

                        Daniel sat alone in the kitchen, his cereal getting soggier and soggier. He just sat there staring ahead, listening to the soft pops of the cereal drinking up the milk. Eventually though, after realizing his loneliness and pity for sitting alone in an empty kitchen while he could have been getting ready for his long awaited date, he began panicking about what to do at the date itself again. With a closed-eye sigh, he stood up and threw the remaining cereal and milk down the drain.

            “Where did I leave that phone….” Daniel muttered to himself. It wasn’t on the charger, its usual spot. He was thinking about his upcoming date with Venus. Maybe the park wasn’t so good an idea after all, but it was too late to back out now. Irene would laugh her ass off. Besides, it was just a dream right? He wandered about the house looking for his phone, thinking of all the possible reasons why the park was a bad idea. He yelled up to Irene to call his cell. Soon after, he heard his phone ring in his coat underneath the stairs. I should not get that distractively happy again, he thought to himself.  He shook his head and started looking for Venus’ number. Scrolling through the contact list, he walked back to the living room and fell onto the couch.

            “Hello my lady, how are you doing on this wonderful day?”

            “Daniel? Hey, I’m fine, thank you. Aren’t we chipper today? What’s up?”

            “Have you forgotten about our date? The one I’ve been promised a long long time ago?” he asked teasingly.

            “I most certainly have not.”

            “Well then, I was actually calling about that-“

            “You’re not cancelling on me, are you Rabbit?”

            “What? Are you kidding?! Of course not. I was just wondering what you wanted to do tonight. I mean, if you had any preference or anything?” he said as he scratched the back of his head in awkwardness.

            “Daniel, as I live and breath, I must say, expected more from you. It’s quite ungentlemanly to not have a plan for a date, especially a first date.”

            “Oh there is a plan missy, just you wait. Even if you would have had an opinion, I would have gone with my plans. I just wanted to be polite and offer a listening ear to suggestions.”

            “Of course the fact that you would discard any suggestions I would give has totally not been taken in to consideration has it?”

            “Well, I wouldn’t discard all suggestions. I would take them into consideration and ‘try’ to work them into my plans. But my plans would still be my plans.

            “Always deeper down the rabbit hole with you, isn’t it.”

            “Just you wait and see,” he said with a grin and hung up.

              He shoved the phone into his pocket and then went towards the tv as he passed his hand through his hair. “Park,” he sighed and looked outside to judge the weather, secretly looking for formations of ice crystals. Upon relooking, he confirmed it to himself with a silent nod, “Park.”

              Hours later, Daniel parked his Audi at the parking lot near The Place. He squeezed the steering wheel between his fingers and could feel it slip from the sweat on his hands.

            “Come on Daniel, get a grip on yourself,” he demanded himself, “It’s a date. Just a date. Nothing more. You’ve done hundreds of these. So why the fuck are you so nervous?” he paused as he waited for himself to agree with himself. “Exactly. Now stop sounding like a crazy person talking to himself in his own car and go get that girl,” he closed with a sigh.  He then finally removed his hands from his car and into his hair.

              As he walked toward the bar, he, paranoid like, checked around him for any signs of ice. Luckily for him though, not even his breath fogged up. He walked through the doors of The Place. To his surprise it was quite empty for a Tuesday afternoon. Nevertheless, both Bennetts stood behind the bar.

            “So, this is a nice welcoming committee.”

            “And a hello to you too Rab- Daniel,” Harriet corrected herself. Robert did a double take as he heard her make that correction.

            “Is she,” before Daniel could even finish his sentence he heard the footsteps of Venus stampeding down the stairs. She ran into the room, grabbed Daniel’s hand and quickly saying some things to Robert and Harriet, flew with him out of The Place. “Well, that was interesting,” Daniel said as soon as they had made it to the outside. He had a shocked face of dizzying confusion. “You wanna tell me what that was all about?”

            “Not really, what did you have in mind?” Daniel stood with his mouth gawking open, not at all understanding what was going on. “Hut two soldier, earth to Daniel, come on, we have like thirty seconds before Tweeddledee and Tweeddledum, come through that door,” she said motioning her head to the door that was simply next to them. Daniel shook his head and walked towards the park. She sighed in relief. “Thank god. For a second there I thought I might have given you a concussion when I ran you through the door.”

            “Can’t say I’m not curious as to why you did that.”

            “Can’t say I’m gonna explain myself.”

            “Then I can’t say I’m not gonna be dumbstruck.”

            “Fair. So what did you have in mind?” she said in a more relaxed tone now that she had caught up with her breath. It was now that he noticed what she was wearing. Much to his joy, a long black, backless gala dress was not even close to anything she was wearing. She was wearing jeans and a sweater. Nothing too extraordinary, but with him remembering his dream, he was remarkably thankful. “What, do I have something on my face?” she eventually asked with his unsubtle staring.

            “Yes.”

            “Then why- what? I do? Where? What? Get it off-”           she said freaking out and brushing her face franticly with her hands.

            “A nose.” Suddenly she stopped swatting herself.

            “You,” she started with a sigh, “I hate you,” she said later on with a budding grin on her face.

            “I like it when you smile,” he said. This blossomed the budding grin, but was quickly followed by a face of sarcasm.

            “Thank you, but cut the crap Daniel, where are we going?”

            “Didn’t I say something about a surprise?”

            “Not really, you just said-”

            “Wait and see?” he said and followed that with a wink.

              They walked together along side the college, making idle chit chat about the first few days when she arrived back in town. She had come just a week before Daniel had returned. She came back because her father was doing a long study in some important field of history and for that they, they being her parents, needed the whole house. Next to that, Venus figured that she might actually want to get a better culture of the world, so why not start easy and start of with the Bennetts.

            “Maybe because the Bennetts aren’t your typical family. Not anywhere in the world.”    “Fair, but I can still look around here. I mean, going out with you certainly wouldn’t have happened in London.”

            “True, especially with your weird left side driving. That’s just awful! How do you even-” he tried to imitate a steering wheel in front of him then shrugged.

            “You’d grow used to them. No worries there.”

              Soon enough he realized that they had gotten to the place that he had been trying to get to as he noticed the abundance of drama students practicing lines. Soon, she began to notice some of the lines as well and a smile ran across her face as she tried to focus and pay attention to what they were saying. Daniel threw a huge smile on his face as he noticed it.

            “Did… did you?”

            “What?” he said containing his smile as much as he could.

            “Plan this?” she said, looking genuinely surprised.

            “Nah, not exactly, I couldn’t pick what they were studying, I just happen to have heard that the drama geeks,” one of them looked up at him and gave him a stern look, “were doing Midsummer Night’s Dream this year. I know it’s no Merchant of Venice, but hey… you get to watch a play come to life.”

            “Thank you, Daniel,” she said after recovering from her original shock of the kindheartedness of Daniel’s surprising actions and then wrapped an arm around one of his, leaning her head on his shoulder as well.

              After walking for a while, Daniel noticed a voice that was brutishly familiar. He figured at first it could have come from any large, rotund thug that school could produce as it gave away football scholarships like candy on Halloween. However, with the vocal breaks and the location, Daniel started looking around him for his old ‘buddy’, Xavier. With a man of that volume, both physically and audibly, it didn’t take Daniel long to find him.

            “So uh, as cute as this all is, I’m thinking, you know, a movie? Some real live non-live acting, would really hit the spot right now.” Venus was slightly shaken up as she lifted her head off his shoulder when Daniel did a heel turn and walked from whence they had come.

            “Uh Daniel,” she started as he picked up the pace. “What’s going on?”

            “Like I said, all this actor spotting has gotten me hungry for a movie. And hungry for food too, now that I mention it.”

            “Daniel, what the hell-”

            “You remember how you freaked me out by rushing me out of the bar? Yeah well, my turn,” he said walking considerably faster now.

              The second they jumped into the car, Daniel stopped panicking and doing things rushed.

            “So, you wanna tell me what that was all about?” she asked him.

            “Honestly, not so much no. Besides, you didn’t either.” She sighed.

            “Ok, fine, so Harriet and Robert might have been badgering me all day, inquiring as to where we were going, what we were going to do, and just… Ugh. I don’t know, awkwardly asking me everything and anything. Overly protective parents.”

            “Nothing from Susan?”

            “Nope. Oh but I did get this from Robert,” she said as she pillaged her purse and pulled out a condom.

            “Wow. Nice. All about the trust I see.”

            “It expired in 1982.”

            “So it’s a relic too. Awesome, you wanna pass by a museum and see how much we can get for that?” She smiled.

            “So what was up with you, why did we suddenly leave the park like that?”

            “I felt rain drops and I didn’t wanna risk you getting wet or what not. Well, wet yes, but not that way.” She rolled her eyes.

            “Really? Did you just say that?”

            “Forget I did.”

            “Even if I could, that doesn’t remotely seem real. It’s not raining.” He sighed now too.

            “Fine, I saw a guy I got into a fight with once and I was afraid, especially with you on my arm, that he would want to relive that wonderful blast from the past.”

            “Why especially with me?”

            “He was mad at me because he thought I had slept with his girlfriend.”

            “Had you?”

            “No,” he answered. She gave him a skeptical look, which he responded with rolling his eyes and turning on the ignition. “Not when he decided to pick the fight with me. After he did though, she left him and spent a night or two over at my house,” he sighed again, but felt much more relaxed at that moment. He looked at her and she looked almost proud of him. “Wow.”

            “What?”

            “I’ve never been able to be this honest with someone except for with Kate.”

            “Who’s Kate?

            “She’s,” he paused, “My sister.” He hated calling her that, mainly because of the way he felt about her, but he didn’t exactly feel like explaining everything, more so because of the explanation of his parents.

              Minutes later, they were across town in a mall. They strolled slowly as if they had never left the park in a hurry.

            “So, to the sorry loser who hasn’t really ever been to London, what’s with your life there?”

            “What do you mean, what’s with it?”

            “I mean…” he sighed in unknowing wonder, “what’s it like? Uh, what are your parents and family like, what’s the school that you go to like, do you have a job up there?”

            “Starting to sound like the Bennetts with all those questions. Anyway, what it’s like, it’s cold. Rainy. Like here, but colder. Parents, hmm, well I have two of them,” she said with a playful smile. “My father is a history professor and my mother is a high school English teacher. I have one brother, Vincent Jr., total junkie, you would hate him. School, I used to go to one of those fancy private high schools, but more recently I was going to college in London. I left for a while to see the world, as I explained. Job, nope, unless you count babysitting and even that is every once in a while.”

              They took a moment and sat down next to each other.

            “You don’t like to share much, do you?”

            “Not much to share. I’m not that interesting.”

            “Which I must say is interesting considering your name.”

            “Here we go again,” she said rolling her eyes.

            “Not how I meant it, I’m sorry,” he said worried that he might have hurt her feelings. All the same though he noticed her hand just lying on the bench next to her. He turned his head to the opposite side, pretending to look around and dropped his hand on the bench as well. He felt nervous again. His stomach clenched and he could feel himself starting to sweat. He even began to be worried that his palms might be as sweaty as the rest of his body felt.  Slowly, his hand inched towards hers. He remembered how this felt back as a kid in elementary school, as he held the first hand of a girl. In his own head he laughed. After a long while, he finally managed to brush his fingers past hers. As he did that he felt himself cower back, but after closing his eyes and remembering who he was, he lifted his hand and wrapped his fingers around hers. Mentally, he gave himself a tap on the back for not having sweaty palms. He then exhaled a large amount of air he had no idea he had been holding and from the corner of his eye he could see Venus smile which gave him reason to rub her thumb with his. His right leg began to tremble from him feeling as nervous as he did.

                        He tried as much as he could to control his leg but it just wouldn’t stick, no matter what he tried. So he decided that the best way to not make her notice his magical vibrating leg was to distract her. So, with the same amount of awkward fear and trembling shivers, he turned his head back to in front of him. Soon, in fact sooner than he had wanted, he turned his head even further to look at her.  He found her staring at a beautiful radiant red dress. But just as soon as him noticing her noticing the red dress in front of her, she noticed him noticing her. Her eyes moved slowly to meet his. Once they had, both felt a strong electric charge that kept their view in each other’s eyes. Both turned their heads and with that belonged to their own place in space and time. Everything around them had disappeared.  Daniel twitched his head forward as her face moved gradually towards his. Her eyes jumped from his lips to his ice blue eyes. Daniel, in one of his forward moving twitches licked his lips. With less than an inch to go, their magic was suddenly destroyed with the loud ringing and hard buzzing of Venus’s cell phone playing Eric Clapton’s ‘Cocaine’. She turned away, raised a finger as if to tell Daniel to give her a moment and picked up the phone.

            “Hey Vince,” she said in an annoyed tone. Daniel wondered if she was annoyed from him interrupting, or him interrupting. He heard the thick British accent come through the ear piece, not being able to make out a single word, not due to the accent, but rather the distance in which the earpiece was from his own ear. Venus gave Daniel an awkward smile and mouthed an apology. “No, not really and I-” she was then cut off by something the person on the other side had said. “No, I understand but can’t it wai- Ugh, fine,” she pulled up her arm to look at her thin watch on her skinny wrist. Daniel looked and found it one of her more attractive features. “Give me 20 minutes or so ok?” She asked as she looked at Daniel questioningly. He nodded with a weak, wry smile, she mouthed another apology to him. “Alright, I’ll… I’ll see you in a bit,” she said and hung up faster than anyone he had ever seen hang up. “I’m so sorry. Would you mind horribly if I asked you to take me home?” she asked after a deep sigh.

            “Of course not.  What kind of asshole gentleman would I be if I turned down a request to take the dame home?”

            “Seems like despite what everyone says, chivalry isn’t dead after all,” she said, pausing in between, “Just buried alive under years of assholes.”

            “Fair enough. Come on, I’ll take you home.”

  The drive back was more nerve wrecking and silent than the drive to the mall. No one spoke a word. In fact, the few times Daniel had stopped and looked at her, he could hardly tell she was breathing at all, but then again, he had to have a few deep sighs to make up for his lack of breathing as well. She sat with her hands between her legs nervously and bit her lip for most of the ride. He had to pull all his control to be able to focus on the road and not on her lip. Once they arrived, they awkwardly sat in the car, neither of them looking straight at each other but rather ahead of one another. After not looking for a while, the sexual tension turned both heads at the same time to look at each other for a moment, but the second their eyes met they both snapped back, opened the doors and got out. They walked side by side, always at least an arms length away from each other. But as they got closer to the door of the bar Daniel looked up at her, which made her awkwardly look at him. They smiled and laughed as the spell of tension broke suddenly. She bumped him with her hip which gave him a wider smile. Once in front of the door they got quite a bit closer. He reached for her hand and held it nervously.

            “Well this was… interesting,” Daniel said smiling goofily.

            “Quite,” she said brushing her hair back behind her ear, “Still, it was fun. Nice. I enjoyed it.”

            “Right, that old cliché.” It made her smile. Now standing one in front of the other, they each started to lean in again. He felt the heat of her lips as Harriet opened the door just moments before they actually connected. Daniel closed his eyes and sighed as Harriet and Venus started talking. After a quick moment though, she turned to Daniel, squeezed his hand, thanked him again and walked inside. He sighed when she was gone from sight.

            “That bad?” Harriet asked as he had his hands on his knees.

            “What? You cock blocking me or the date?”

            “There was no cock blocking what so ever Rabbit. She wouldn’t have slept with you already.” He stood back up straight and thought to himself that in all honesty, neither would he.

            “How do you know that that’s what I wanted,”

            “Oh please. A Rabbit can’t change his fur.”

            “Thanks Tweedledee.”

            “Alright, I’m sorry,” Harriet added with a reluctant sigh, “You’re right, I guess I’m a little quick to judge when it comes to you.” She stepped outside and lit a cigarette.

            “Well this is new, since when do you smoke?”

            “Since a week after Renee left me.”

            “Chick I saw you with a while ago?” Harriet nodded in silence. “That’s been a while. You have one of those for me too?” Harriet gave him a face of surprise.

            “Didn’t know you picked it up too.”

            “I didn’t. Just every once in a while…”

            “Stress relief?” He nodded. “Same.”

            “Can’t say I blame you.” They stood there for a moment in silence. “So,” Daniel started again, to stop the ice from needing to be broken. “Haven’t gotten any since her huh?” Harriet shook her head. “Sucks. I’m sorry. I know your pain.” Harriet let out a loud laugh.

            “Yeah as if! The Rabbit? Knowing what it’s like to spend more than one night alone in his bed? Come on Daniel, who the hell are you kidding? I mean I’m surprised you have lasted this long trying to stay on a straight path for Venus. Must say I’m quite proud.” He looked down in shame.

            “Yeah, it hasn’t been easy.” He dropped the cigarette and put it out under his foot. “Thanks for the smoke,” he said as he started to walk away not looking her in the eyes.

            “Hey, are you,” he turned around “did I say something wrong?”

            “No. It’s fine I just… I’m tired. Been one hell of a day. Heart’s been beating a lot and all. I need a bit of a drink.”

            “You kidding, you’re in front of a bar?”

            “Yeah, but if I drink here, I won’t get home, ’ Took the car.”

            “Ah, I see.”

            “Rain check,” he said turning again.

            “Sure thing,” she said with a sad smile and went back inside.

              He strolled back to his car slowly, almost feeling bad for lying to Harriet. He sighed and put it behind him, convincing himself he didn’t lie, he just implied a non-truth. He kicked a rock in the almost darkness. He followed the bouncing rock to the feet of a couple under a lamp post. He did a double take as he noticed that one of the silhouettes looked almost exactly like Katelyn. The more he looked, the more the male looked like Joey. They were standing close in each others arms. Daniel stopped walking and watched the events pass in front of him. But his mouth soon dropped to the floor faster than a brick falling on a cartoon character’s head. The male dropped to one knee and produced a small box from his pocket. The girl jumped up and down, hardly able to contain herself as she nodded fast enough to make Daniel worry that her head might fly off. Daniel blinked his eyes rapidly to hold back tears and walked back to his car, looking at his phone waiting to see if he would get any texts or calls; nothing.

              He got home, shaking like a leaf, thinking that maybe all his chances with Katelyn would be gone forever. What are you even thinking, you and Katelyn? That would have never happened anyway. You think Milo would have let you be with her? Come on, they don’t call you The Rabbit for no reason. There’s no way that Milo would have ever let his little Alice go beyond the looking glass, fall down your rabbit hole and see what she finds there. She’s your sister for fuck’s sake. He shook his head to stop listening to himself and got out of the car.

                        At home he found Irene sitting on the couch watching some TV. He greeted her, but walked to the kitchen. Took three shots of tequila and followed it by pouring himself his signature drink.

            “So tell me all about your fantastical date with little miss porn-star,” Irene said as he sat down next to her.

            “Awkward. Primarily awkward,” he said in an exhale, “but good. Really good. Almost kissed her.”

            “Tease?”

            “Cock block. Harry.”

            “Sounds like a real bitch this Harry.”

            “Yeah, she can be. She’s often nice though.”

            “Wait, it’s a she?”

            “Yeah. What did you think?”

            “And right after she left, the pilot of the flight I was on came to my house,” Daniel told laughingly. Robert Bennett, Daniel’s boss, laughed whole heartedly as well.

            “You certainly do have a way with the ladies, Rabbit,” Robert said tapping him on the back hard.

              The night times over at The Place were never quiet ones. Especially if it was Daniel and Mr. Bennett closing. Bennett loved hearing the famous Rabbit’s tales. They reminded him of himself when he was younger. The pair had often spent nights discussing each others tricks of the trade. Daniel thought it was because of this that Harriet was able to stand his insane antics. He understood the need to protect family and of course Venus fell right into that category. Sometimes he wondered if, despite everything, he fit in to their little family group. There were certainly enough moments in which Harriet had stood up for him in a way beyond that of friends, which had indeed made him feel like there might be a sense of family waiting for him in the ranks of his job. Besides, the way that Harriet was understanding of Daniel’s ditching work, was far more than that of a normal coworker.

              “Did I ever tell you about the great orgy of 1979?”

            “Wait, there was more than one?” Daniel said looking up all curious.

            “Ha! Good one,” Robert laughed, “Of course there was, but the one in December of ’79 was probably the best of all.” Robert had such a kind smile when he remembered the years gone by, the ladies he had had and simply the times in which he had done everything he had wanted to do. Daniel wished in silence to, one day, be able to be as happy as he was.

            “Well, let’s hear it then. What made the great orgy of ’79 so damn great?”

            “What happened was this. I was all alone here, I didn’t have anyone to cover for me as you’ve had, and there were some six girls, and some three guys or so in here. Now, we were way smaller back then. So nine people in here was a lot. Then at some point, the night was getting late and we were all talking about how wonderful the seventies had been and how the beginning of each decade meant the end of another one, therefore that we should all do as many great things from the ending decade as possible for it to really go out with a bang.”

            “A big bang by the sounds of it,” Daniel said cheekily,

            “Oh boy, you have no idea,” Robert said with a smirk, “So, two of the guys and one of the girls, Clarissa... ohh...” he said as he closed his eyes, remembering it all, “She had it where it counted you know what I mean?” he asked as he pretended to squeeze large breasts and cupped an imaginary large ass. Daniel laughed and shook his head.

            “Yeah, I know the kind.”

            “Oh Daniel, you should have been there. It was wonderful. Anyway, so the two guys and Clarissa, they pulled out twenty grams of god knows what and soon enough, with all of us under the influence of every liquid, smoke-able and edible substance known to man, two of the girls started making out. God knows why I remember as much as I do, I think I had built up my tolerance to... well... lots. So as soon as we four guys noticed the girls making out, the other girls that had been chit chatting and laughing like there was no tomorrow, noticed it to and joined the party. It didn’t take very long before all of us were all stark naked, highly intoxicated and mixing everybody’s saliva with... everybody’s saliva. Oh Daniel, if you could have seen it. I mean bar none, the best night of my life.” Daniel and Robert laughed, but just before they could even let out a second breath of laughter, a loud voice called from upstairs.

            “I mean, my wedding to Susan was the best night of my life,” Robert said loudly so she would hear it. “By far!”

            “Shame I couldn’t have been there Mr. Bennett! I really wish I could have!” Daniel yelled as well, playing along.

            “You think she bought it?” Robert whispered to Daniel.

            “For your sake, I sure hope so,” Daniel said with a smirk.

            “I better run up to check.”

            “Good luck,” Daniel whispered back and went back to stacking chairs.

              Just as Robert went up, Venus came down the stairs.

            “Hey Uncle Robert, you ok?” she asked him as they passed each other.

            “Yeah, just running up to see Susan.”

            “I heard her calling for you, sounded serious whatever it was.”

            “Shit, better keep going then. You have yourself a great night ‘right?”

            “Sure thing Robert, good night!” she said as he disappeared up the stairs.

              “Hey there stranger,” he said as she got closer to him.

            “Hello yourself,” she said smiling. Her hair was wet, she must have just come out of the shower. Her clothing left very little for Daniel to still desire, she seemed to be ready for bed. She wore short pink shorts and a grey shirt with no bra underneath. He almost considered making the horribly cheesy remark about whether she was happy to see him or if it was just cold, but considered the comment to be far too cheesy and also, it was pretty cold.

            “Getting ready for bed I take it?”

            “Just about. Great thing about living above a bar, you always have some booze to help the nights go by.”

            “You do a lot of drinking then?” he asked, leaning on the sink behind the bar.

            “Not really, just some nights, you can really tell you won’t be sleeping, so sometimes a little night cap just helps give that extra shove. You know what I mean?”

            “All too well. So tonight is one of those nights I take it?”

            “Yep.”

            “I see.” She took a seat at the bar in front of him and spun in the bar stool for a moment as she let the awkward silence settle. In a desperate attempt to break the ice, he decided to try something he knew he had already tried, but he figured could be interesting to try again. “You know,” he started hesitantly, “I bet I can read your mind.”

            “Really? This one again?”

            “Oh what, chicken?” he said trying to stick to his guns. She raised one eyebrow and smiled.

            “Fine. I’ll play. What’s the bet?”

            “Again, I’ll bet you a date with me.”

            “Ok, and if I win?”

            “Name your stake,” he said confidently.

            “How about, Mr. I’m-so-brave, I tell you my stake afterward. After all if you really can read my mind, you’ll know if I would be lying about losing or not right?” To that, he had to laugh.

            “Fine, you win, sure thing.”

            “Ok, go for it.”

            “Pick a number between one and one hundred. Now, you know the drill, don’t tell me.”

            “Ok, got it.”

            “Is it 49?” he said without missing a beat, guessing at random. She smiled and shook her head in disbelief.

            “You’re right. That’s incredible. You know, you ought to take that up professionally.”

            “It’s a gift. I wouldn’t want to... I don’t know, be studied by the FBI or something for reading people’s minds.”

            “You think the FBI has nothing better to do than look into crazy little bartenders who can read minds?” she said spinning again.

            “If I would take this up professionally, do you think I would still work here?”

            “Depends on how much you would make off your mind reading gig, now wouldn’t it?” she said in a laugh. They carried another moment of silence again.

              “You know,” he started, braving the waters again, “That is the second date you owe me now.”

            “I believe you are right.”

            “So, any idea when these infamous dates will actually come to pass, if at all?”

            “Daniel Hare, as I live and breathe, are you trying to say I’m not a woman of my word?”

            “Just wondering when I can expect payment. After all, last time I won, you fled the country, probably just to escape paying up.”

            “That’s exactly why I left,” she said smiling, “How did you know?”

            “Like I said, mind reader,” he said, grinning as well. “So, how about it then, when could we go out?”

            “How does tomorrow sound for you?” she answered, looking down at her feet. Daniel was taken a back. He never expected Harriet to have acted as quick as she did, or even at all, even if her secret was at stake.

            “I uh...”

            “What, suddenly you won’t let a lady pay off her debt?” Again Daniel was knocked for a loop.

            “No, well, yeah sure. Tomorrow. Uh, any time in particular?”

            “How does six sound for you?” For a moment there, he almost though her lips had slurred and she had asked him how sex sounded. Everything felt so surreal that even that seemed possible.

            “Sex, I mean, six, sounds great,” he dropped his head in shame. She laughed and got up from her seat to go behind the bar. She went in to the fridge and removed a carton of milk.

            “Good. Now, try not to keep me waiting,” she said and then bent over deeply to pick the vodka that was underneath the bar, allowing Daniel to have a great view. His heart skipped a beat. She mixed the two drinks together and took a sip, noticing very well how Daniel was practically gawking at her. “I’ll see you then, Rabbit,” she said as soon as she crossed over to the other side of the bar. With the wink of her eye she left and went up the stairs. Daniel stayed staring for quite a while, wondering if what he had just witnessed had actually happened.

              Just as before, they crossed paths as Venus went up and Robert came down. He still had a glazed look as Robert came down, looking tired but interested at what Daniel was staring so intently at.

            “Did my interior wall suddenly sprout wings and become the most awesome thing since sliced bread or did you just smoke the largest blunt in Jamaican history?”

            “Oh hey Robert, didn’t see you there.”

            “I noticed. What’s on your mind?”

            “Oh nothing, just thinking of that wonderful orgy you described earlier,” he said with a wide grin.

            “Told you it was a great story.”

            “That it was,” he said as he continued to stack chairs. “Hey Robert, I was just wondering here,” he started as he unsubtly went back to staring, “Could I have the night off tomorrow? I have something very important to do.” Robert saw through it in a second.

            “What, my niece?”

            “Yes- I mean, no I’m not going to do your niece. I mean Venus, I mean…” he stopped to take a deep breath and start again as Robert stared at him with a raised eyebrow. “I wanted to take her out, properly. You know, 21st century lady and gentleman style.”

            “Yeah? And what exactly did you have in mind for this very impromptu date?”

            “I… I don’t know, I hadn’t quite given it a lot of thought yet. I never expected to get this far.”

            “She said yes?” Robert asked, seeming almost surprised.

            “Yes…” Daniel answered cautiously. Robert sighed as he put up the last chair.

            “Fine. Go. But you better be careful tomorrow.”

            “Yes, sir! Of course I will.”

            “And you’ve got dishes duty for the rest of this week.”

            “I… fine. No problem. You got it.”

            “And the week af-”

            “Now you’re just bullshitting me Rob, come on. Hey it’s been real, but it’s also gotten real late, I’ll be here tomorrow at six to pick up Venus.”

            “You rest well Rabbit,” Robert said with a sour face. Before he could say anything else, Daniel was gone through the doors. As he walked to his car, he could see the last few lights switch off of the bar, and just above it, he could catch a silhouette of Venus sitting on her bed reading a book.

              Energized, surprisingly considering his long day at work, Daniel parked his car in the drive way in front of his house. After stepping out of the car and locking it, he tossed the keys in the air and caught them in his excitement. With a huge grin, he walked into his house, not even caring about the rain outside. In fact, he didn’t even notice it. He hung his coat and went into the kitchen to get a drink. He got him self a liquor and with a grin, walked upstairs. The light of his room was off, which he wasn’t expecting considering Irene’s stay. Well, she could be asleep, Daniel thought to himself. Nevertheless, he walked into the room and switched on the light. Much to his surprise, Irene was wearing a sexy set of red bra and thong panties while being handcuffed to the bed. Impressive.

            “See, I uh… I’ve been in one of these situations once, although it was a slight bit worse,” Daniel said was he remembered his eight legged ‘friend’, “But now I’m guessing, judging from the fact that your heart is still racing and the fact that your panties are still on and the fact that my room doesn’t smell like sweat and other wonderful body fluids, that you did this to your self?” She nodded. “Such a naughty little girl. I do wonder what I should do with you.”

            “What can I say, I can only take so much boredom alone here without you,” she said with a wink and a grin. She squirmed on the bed as he walked near her.

            “Really, this is a nice surprise to come home to,” he said with a smile. She smiled back at him and raised her eyebrows suggestively. “Really, it is,” she squirmed some more. “However, I was kind of hoping we could talk for a bit,” he finally let out in a sigh of awkwardness. To this she raised her eyebrows again, but this time, much less suggestively.

            “Wow, you’ve got to have one hell of a thing on your mind if you’re turning down a half naked girl handcuffed to your bed to whom you can do anything to.”

            “You have no id- anything?” She nodded. “Well, bust my buttons! Why didn't you say that in the first place? That's a horse of a different color!”

            “You have a beautiful mind, you know that Daniel?” she said as she leaned up  for a kiss. He leaned in as well, but then remembered her being locked to the bed and pulled away slowly.

            “This is going to be so much fun,” he said as she dropped herself back on the bed in a sigh of arousal. He leaned down then and breathed on her neck. She couldn’t help but squirm more and even let out the softest sigh of a moan. His hands were all over her body, making her skin crawl with the electric excitement of his skin on hers. Before he could even lift his head from the nape of her neck, all the hairs on her skin stood on end with titillation. The sounds that escaped from her lips, like a virus infected him with endless arousal. He could smell the scent of her perfume clouding his mind with toxic abilities. He closed his eyes with the anticipation of what he was going to do next. At the same time he could hear her hands twist the wood of the bed and the chains of the handcuffs scratch the back of the bed as she squirmed and shook. With his eyes tightly closed he kissed the nape of her neck again and her back arched, making her flat belly meet his.

              His fingers trailed over her body, softly scouting the land, quickly finding the atmosphere to get wetter as the trailed more and more south. When they reached the enemy waistline, they paused and retreated for a moment, as they took their time to explore the salty water that had filled the lake that was her belly button. The anticipation was killing her. So without calling in, the troops moved lower than they dared venture before and made the earth tremble by simply becoming the new kings of the hill.

              She moaned as she welcomed her new captures into a safe, moist, warm, cave. Daniel’s lips met hers in a fiery passion and soon the two lovers were trapped in each others excitement, one turning the other on simply by being turned on. His fingers explored deeper into their newly found home and she shook more. Her breathing became shallower and shallower as his hand felt around with his fingers still inside her.

              “I think I want to release you now,” he said in between breaths.

            “Really?” she asked as she squirmed up against his crotch.

            “Yes,” he was barely able to let out of his lips. He swallowed deeply. “After all, it looks like it’s going to be difficult to get the last remaining bits of clothes off you while you’re still stuck onto my bed.”

            “Then I guess you’ll just have to uncuff me, won’t you?” she said and moved her head in a way as to point out the location of the key on top of his desk. He got up, removing his hand from her panties, which made her sigh and shake again and picked up the key. He then took a seat at his desk. He looked at her with a mean little grin.

            “Or maybe I should just leave you there, craving for more,” he said as he put his feet up. “Making you want me from a far, not giving you a chance to touch yourself, or me.” The look on her face was to die for. 

              The sun had almost began to rise when they finished. Both of their bodies were now beaded with sweat. She reached over to the night table to get her cigarettes and lit one up with a match from a match book. She looked over at him as if to ask him if he want one as well. He nodded. She lit another one for him.

            “You know, for a non-smoker, you’ve been smoking a lot.”

            “I know, it comes and goes, it’s not a habit that really stays with me for very long, but here and there I like smoking. Just not for too long at one time.”

            “In other words, you’re too cheap to buy cigarettes so you just bum them off who ever has some.” Daniel shrugged. “Anyway, before this whole thing, you said you wanted to talk about something?”

            “True, I did. Something really surprising happed while I was at work today.”

            “Oh?” she asked as released a large puff of smoke.

            “So I talked to Venus today, and I don’t know why, but I tried the same pick up line as when I met her the first time and somehow, magically, it worked. Again! Big difference is, she actually agreed to go out with me this time.”

            “This is the same Venus that you’ve been obsessing about for a while now?”

            “Do you know any other Venus-s?” She made a look as if to say that he made a good point. And besides, I wouldn’t go as far as to call it obsessing,” he said and waited for her acknowledge that as well. “Anyway, she actually agreed to go out with me. And we have a date for tomorrow.”

            “That’s pretty last minute.”

            “Yep, that’s why I wanted to talk to you about it, I mean, I actually like this girl. I can’t just do something quick and sudden, you know, your typical wham, bam, thank you ma’am routine. So I… I don’t know, it’s been quite a while for me, since I’ve gone on an actual date and all instead of just picking someone up taking them to my place and just getting to know each other quite well physically.”

            “That’s the fastest and most fun way to get to know them.”

            “Right?” he said and took another drag from his cigarette. He thought a little more about how he had gotten to know Venus and came up with an interesting idea for a date. “Oh, here’s an idea, she’s quite in to Shakespeare, how about I take her out into the park where the drama students practice what ever they happen to be practicing that year. It’s romantic and thoughtful and-”

            “Way too much for a first date.”

            “What?”

            “Personally, I think a dinner and a movie works just fine.”

            “Dinner and a movie? Seriously? What is this the 80’s? Come on, you’ve got to be kidding me, it’s possibly more cliché than a black trench coat. Try giving me something more unoriginal.”

            “Coming from the guy with the black trench coat?”

            “Not the point.”

            “No, actually it is the point. Clichés are cliché for a reason. Don’t fight it or deny that you’re into it. It always comes back to get you,” she said with crazy eyes.

            “That’s a really scary thought.”

            "A break?" A voice asked behind him, he jolted around from the mirror.

            "Been there long?" Daniel asked Irene, the tanned Madeline. She nodded.

            "You know, you're cute," she said, stepping closer to him.

            "How so?" he asked as he let her put her arms around his waist.

            "Practicing your break up like a little school boy. That's adorable. I knew you've been meaning to do it for days now."

            "I'm sorry. I know you-"

            "Again, I was standing right here, I know. Yes I was hoping to have a place to crash for a while, but I never considered this to be a permanent arrangement. I thought I could maybe stay a week and it's been a week. Danny, it's cool. I'm not exactly looking for a long term thing either. Just thought you and me could enjoy each other's company while we did.”

            "Daniel. Never Danny," he corrected her in a break between kisses.

            "Fair enough. So how about a shower before I pack my things and go?"

            "Oh yeah, sure," he answered and started leaving the bathroom.

            "I meant with you silly." He smiled smugly, then turned around and kissed her.

              After the shower, the two of them got dressed and went downstairs as he insisted that she have some breakfast before she left. He had his usual cereal. She had scrambled eggs.

            "So, who's Madeline?"

            "What?" he asked shocked. How did she get that name?!

            "Madeline, you mentioned earlier that you were just coming out of a serious relationship, was she the girl you were dating?"

            "How... do-"

            "You've been saying her name in your sleep."

            "I sleep talk?" She shrugged.

            "Sometimes."

            "Well yes, she is the one I got out of a hard relationship with. It's hard to explain what happened."

            "You really don't have to," she said as she flipped the egg on to her plate. "I don't need to know everything about you. And like I said, I’m not looking for anything serious right now either. I was just asking because you said it quite some nights."

            "You've only been here for seven days," he said, half asking her.

            "Six."

            "No, you've been here for seven, Friday, Saturday, Sun-"

            "What I mean is, of those seven days, you've said her name for six nights. I think it was only Wednesday night you didn't."

            "You've got a scary memory you know that?"

            "I know," she responded with a smug smile.

            "You know it's not that I don't want to be in a relationship, and it's not that I'm not looking for anything serious now, in fact, I-"

            "Let me stop you right there, when I said I didn't want anything serious, I wasn't trying to protect your feelings or anything, I'm really not looking for anyone right now."

            "I know. That's not what I was going to say, I was going to say that, I kinda had someone in mind."

            "Oh, right, yes. Of course, that makes sense," she said and quickly took another bite of her egg. "Well, whoever she is, she's a very lucky person to have your attention."

            "Wow, I don't think I've heard that one before. Thank you."

            "It's well deserved Daniel."

            "Only from what you have seen Irene."

            "True, but you can fake being mean, you can't fake being nice." That's one way of looking at it, he thought as he heard that.

            "Thank you." She just winked back.

            "So I really ought to be going. I have to start looking up hotels and the likes. You mind if I use your computer?"

            "Oh yeah, make sense. Feel free." She then got up and left to his room.

              He ate his cereal, more like merely poked at it without actually eating it. He thought to himself about all the things he had done, to Madeline and Christina. He wondered if his parents would have been at all proud of him.

              “The car was a bit of a dick move.”

            "You deserved it though."

            "I never said I didn’t. I just… I want you to know how sorry I am."

            "Yeah... here it comes.”

            "The truth is, Madeline,” he looked up at Katelyn who was still sitting at the bar behind

Madeline, I wish you knew Kate, “I love you.”

            "Oh my god, really Daniel? Really? I can't possibly believe..." Daniel drifted off. He could hardly hear her happy cries of joy any longer. His eyes were focused on who the words were really for; Katelyn sitting across the bar. He had locked eyes with her since he had told her that he loved her. He felt more paralyzed than anything else though, like a deer caught in head lights. He asked himself if she had actually been able to understand what he meant, and if she understood who it was really meant for. Secretly though, a very very quite voice in his head wondered if she felt anything like this back. Most of all though, he wasn't even worried about her reaction. That, he could grow over, but he was most worried about Milo's reaction. As far as Daniel knew, everyone, and by everyone he particularly meant Milo, saw Daniel and Katelyn as brother and sister. And yet for as long as he could remember, truthfully, his love had been none other than her. She had stood by him through thick and thin, no matter how awful his actions, she stood by him. She would yell at him when he deserved it and was always the first one to tell him he had done something wrong, but she always stood by him. "... So what do you think?"

            "I completely agree."

            "Good, then I'll go home and start planning those tickets."

            "Wait what?"

            "No, don't worry about it, I know you can't possibly make enough money working at this dump," he could see Harriet already get mad enough to kick her out. He gave her a reassuring look. "So I'll just use the money I've been saving up from all my birthday parties and stupid babysitting gigs."

            "Wait you babysit?"

            "Of course. God, you're able to afford rent on your house working here? You must have had an amazing deal on that house."

            "Yeah well..." he looked over at Katelyn, who went back to her drink, "yeah, I did," he said with a fake smile.

            "Hmm, good for you. Anyway, yay, Europe. I'm so happy Daniel, you have no idea." She got up, gave Katelyn a huge smile and walked out.

              "Smells like some heavy thoughts there Daniel," said Katelyn who stood in the archway that lead to the kitchen where Daniel sat.

            "What?" he said being awakened from his little flash to the past.

            "Never mind. So she seems nice. How long will she be staying?" she asked him as he went back to eating his breakfast. She started making her cup of coffee.

            "She's getting ready to leave now, actually," he said with a mouth full of cereal.

            "Oh. Shame." He looked at her, stripping away the sarcasm from her voice. She noticed right away and felt the burn of his look. "Come on, she looks too much like our all time favorite lolita."

            "So?!" he exclaimed.

            "So it isn't healthy."

            "Just ‘cause I'm sleeping with someone that looks like my ex doesn't mean I'm in an unhealthy-"

            "Relationship? Yes of course it does, it means you can't get over her and you are trying to merely find a replacement for her."

            “Then it's a good thing that I'm off looking for bigger and better things, now isn't it?"

            "Oh? Like what?" Katelyn asked as she got her coffee mug with a sexy male stripper.

            "Well, for one, I was the one who asked Irene to leave."

            "Oh so that's her name," Katelyn said almost to herself. He gave her a look of disapproval.

            "Secondly, I did that so I could persist Venus."

            "So, you do know she's back," she said with a smile, "I wasn't so sure with Irene staying with us for so long."

            "Thank you for that, by the way."

            "For what?”

            “Suggesting I go to the bar last week. I probably would have taken forever until I would have noticed that she was there."

            "Eh, what are friends for right?"

            "True that," he said getting up and putting his bowl in the sink. "Listen, I'm gonna go help her with her luggage,"

            "Sure thing, I'm going out to see dad anyway."

            "Oh, wait for me, I wanna see if I can catch a lift with him to go pick up my car."

            "I still can't believe she did that to your car."

            "I can. She's crazy that way."

            "Certainly shows." He got up and left after Irene.

  He got up there and she was on his computer looking up hotels. Her bag was already packed. His room was light with the sun flooding through the windows. He walked up behind her quietly, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her head. She hummed ever so slightly as he did.

            "Everything working out ok there?"

            "Hmm," she continued to hum with her eyes closed, "I've got a place to stay tomorrow already, it's not too far for me."

            "Is it well priced?" he asked as he kissed the nape of her neck.

            "Hmmm... not as well priced as staying with you would be, but, oh..." He kissed her neck while his hand dropped down into her shirt, under her bra and onto her breast. She moaned into his ear. Suddenly he stopped.

            "You ready to go already?" he said with a smug smile and sat on his bed.

            "You are a very very mean boy you know that?" she said getting up from the desk.

            "Me? A boy?"

            "Fine. A man. A very," she started by seductively getting closer to him, "manly," she kissed him deeply and put her hand in between his legs, "man," she ended by biting his lip as she pulled away from him. "Yep, all ready," she finally answered, very pleased with herself as well. He shivered with his eyes closed as she stood up straight. He growled.

            "Now who's the mean one?"

              They went down stairs together, Irene went in to her car and Daniel and Katelyn into Katelyn's. Irene smiled at Daniel and drove off to her mysterious destination. Katelyn noticed Daniel looking at her and made a slightly witty comment about if he wanted to run off and be her prince in shining armour. Before he could answer though, she had already begun to drive off towards Milo.

            “You really like this one, don’t you?”

            “Who, Irene? Hmm.. I don’t know. Guess I just hadn’t thought about it that much yet.”

            “Hmm... forget I said anything.”

            “Ok...”he said lengthily, not quite comprehending her remark.

              Milo was happy to see both of them. As per usual, he made a comment about how bad the weather was and then invited them in.

               “So tell me, I was expecting to see Kate, but what brings you to this neck of the woods today Daniel?” he said as he sat himself down on the couch with a ploof.         “To be honest, I was kind hoping you guys could drop me off at the mechanic that has my car hostage.”        “Oh yeah, sure thing. Just sit down for a moment. I haven’t seen my two kids in over a week. A father needs to know the happenstances that occur in his children’s life. You guys want a drink or something?”

                                    “Yes please, I’m parched,” Daniel said.

                                    “I could actually go for a drink as well,” Katelyn said while getting up again. “Why don’t I help you in the kitchen.” Daniel was surprised at this, but didn’t think much of it. He looked around, half expecting Fatty the cat to show up. The sudden feeling of being home came over him again. He could remember his first memory of meeting Milo. He heard Katelyn and Milo talk about going on some errands in a bit. Daniel got up to look at some old family photos. He saw himself as a youngling, holding Fatty. Just how old is that cat actually, he thought to himself. The first time Fatty had rubbed up against his leg.

                                    “…but I had no idea fridges were this expensive.”

                                    “Ah, we’ll find you something. How about we go get that drink back to Daniel now huh.” Fridges? he thought to himself, what on earth are they talking about? He had no idea there was something wrong with his fridge. Oh well, whatever.

                                    “Hey dad, did you know Daniel found himself a clone of Madeline?”

                                    “Wait what?”

                                    “Kate, that’s bullshit and you know it,” Daniel said annoyed.

                                    “In all fairness, she looks exactly like a tanned Madeline. She stayed with us for over a week. You seemed almost… happy while she was there and sad when she left,” Katelyn countered.

                                    “Could someone please update the old man sitting here?”

                                    “It’s nothing really, I found Irene in Spain and we came back together. No big deal.”

                                    “No big deal? Daniel, when was the last time I saw the same girl come home for a week?”

                                    “Wow, a guy is not allowed to have fun anymore huh. Something deep must be going on if he does have fun.”

                                    “All I’m saying is that this hasn’t happened in a while. Maybe she’s good for you, at least for some short period of time. Why did she leave anyhows? Vacation time is over?”

                                    “It’s been a week. We’re both not looking for something right now. It was fun, she had to go,” Daniel said even more annoyed.

            Milo watched the conversation go on without interrupting. He looked puzzled though.

                                    “So son, if this Irene of yours is really no big deal, then why the heated argument that she is, in fact, no big deal?”

                                    “I… What?” Daniel said confused, not aware of how defensive he was being.

                                    “Yeah, you’re desperately trying to convince us she was not important to you.”

                                    “Because she isn’t!”

                                    “Isn’t, not wasn’t,” Katelyn noticed.

                                    “I hate you guys. Fine, maybe I got a tiny bit more involved than I wanted, maybe she made me feel good. So what? She was good in bed.”

                                    “As if that’s all there was to it,” Daniel shot her an angry look, “All I said was that Irene seemed to make you happy, Daniel, that’s all I said,” Katelyn noted, “you were the one to decide to turn this into a big deal. Meaning I was right, as always.”

                                    “Well, if she is making you as happy as this one says she is, I’d suggest you get her back quick,” Milo said, giving Daniel a look.

            Katelyn looked at the clock mounted on the far wall. “Hey, I think we should start to leave, the stores will be closing soon.”

                                    “And I still want my car back today,” Daniel added, glad the conversation was over.

            “Sure thing kids. Let me grab a coat and we’re good to go.”

                        He drove his newly fixed car to the parking lot behind the bar. He kept the steering wheel in his hands for a little longer. He felt the power that was the car he had in his hands, and remembered for a second that it was exactly this power that got his parents killed. He remembered how the power had ripped the famous Max and Jo, Sweet and Sour, from the world. He felt remarkably selfish to even feel like it was done to him for even the blink of an eye. Especially since he couldn’t take it on himself to admit he was their son. But he did miss them. He missed them a lot.

              He walked up to the bar and saw the reason he had come in there for; Venus, sitting at one of the tables studying away with a guy. He smiled, didn’t give her much more attention, as he strolled to the bar where he greeted Harriet with a great big smile.

            “The Rabbit, reporting for duty ma’am,” he saluted.

            “Cut the crap Daniel, what’s the deal?” she said, not even looking at him.

            “Did I miss the memo in which I got fired?”

            “No. You’re actually here to work today?”

            “Surprising as it may seem; yeah, I’m here for the gig.” Harriet sighed. “Is something wrong Harry?”

            “No,” she said as she released a sigh again, looked forward, blinked her eyes about half a million times and went back to scrubbing glasses. “No there isn’t. Fine, lets get to work, how about you take over these glasses, I’ll go back to the kitchen and do the dishes there.”

            “Sure thing,” he said sounding defeated, “listen, Harry, if you need to... I...”

            “Daniel, I’m fine ok? Can we just... go back to work? That would be lovely.”

            “Ok,” he agreed, giving up.

              He cleaned the glasses the way he had done numerous times and served a drink or two before Ms. Venice shook the hand of the young man she was sitting with and he left. She turned around and walked over to Daniel who was at the bar washing glasses. She sat at one of the bar stools and played with a straw.

            “You tutor now too?”

            “You work here now too?” she replied complacently

            “Well you know how it is, ‘ boy’s gotta earn his bread and butter.”

            “And a girl’s got to eat.”

            “Hm, well, maybe the boy can share his bread and butter so the girl can eat.”

            “That’s the third time you’ve asked me out Danny.”

            “It’s Daniel. Please, don’t use Danny.”

            “Anyway, I just... I don’t know. I am really busy and I can’t really just drop all my responsibilities to be another notch on your bed post.” Daniel was shocked to hear her say it like that. Trying to mask his real emotions, he carried on.

            “You know you still haven’t really said no yet.”

            “I haven’t really said yes now either, have I?”             “So why don’t you?”

            “Like I said, Rabbit, I just don’t have the time to be a notch on your bed post.” She downed a glass of water she filled for herself, splashed him in the face and went up stairs with her books.

            “Girl’s got to eat... fuck that,” he said under his breath. He then paused for a moment as he picked up the glass Venus had just drank from. Wait a second... what does she mean by simply become a notch on my bed post? There’s no way she can know that. I have been sending her emails for months, making sure that those kinds of stories wouldn’t reach her. On top of that, we’ve only been occupying the same city for a week now, there’s no way she could know that. ...Unless... He yelled out for Harriet. Most of the costumers at the bar turned their heads to see what the commotion was about. Harriet came out of the kitchen, her dark hands covered in soap bubbles.

            “What is it Rabbit?”

            “Actually it’s exactly that,” he said dunking the glass in the water.

            “Uh... what?” she asked, with a confused look on her face.

            “You calling me Rabbit, why do you call me that?”

            “Oh come on, you know that. You have a reputation, everyone knows that. It seemed fitting. Come on you can’t possibly be complaining about that.”

            “Well I am.”

            “Tell you what Rab-” Daniel shot a look at her, “Daniel, how about we save this for a more... appropriate time?” she said and motioned her head to the door, which was becoming dark with the amount of students that had finally been released from the confounds of their lessons, and were in need of social interaction at the local watering hole.

            “Fine,” he said slightly upset, “let’s do this.”

              Daniel and Harriet worked the rush shift, the way they always had, one or two glasses may not have survived the glorious battle, but in the end, the battle was one that was to be called lengthy and tedious, but also victorious. Day became night, and soon the crowd began to die out. The fires of thirst were quickly extinguished by the dynamic duo and their magic hose of beer. With the bar’s life slowly coming to a close, Daniel finally found his time to talk to Harriet again.

            “Listen, Harry,” he started as he got next to her when the last customer had gotten his drink and went to his table. “I was thinking about Venus.” Harriet shot him a look as if to not let him get started. “Well, after this whole... Madeline bullshit... I know I...” She now gave him the look to go on, and see where this would take him. “I mean, why did you tell Venus to stay away from me?”

            “Really? Two obvious questions in a day? And both with the same answer? Wow, you’re really on a roll today aren’t you?”

            “Seriously Harriet, what bug is nested in your ass for winter?”

            “Alright listen, there’s nothing wrong with me, so stop asking, and as for you wanting to use little Ms. VV’s Vajayjay as your own personal toy? I’m going to suggest you do it with someone who isn’t family of the people you work with.”

            “Harriet, are you displaying jealousy?”

            “Displaying- Daniel? Come on!” Just as she said that, he remembered something. Something crucial.

            “Harriet?”

            “Rabbit?”

            “A long time ago, you asked me for a favor. A very... risky... favor. And I told you, that one day... you would owe me a favor.”

            “Yeah... so? Where are you going with this?”

            “I want you to drop the ban on Venus seeing me.”

            “What! That’s silly! She has no ban.”

            “No? Then it’s simple, you’re going to put in a good word for me so that she feels inclined to be able to go out with me.” Harriet’s face when bright red with anger. “That’s the favor I’m calling in,” he said dominantly. He towered over her. As they stared each other down, they suddenly heard a voice come from next to them.

            “I know it’s tradition to do pistols, but how about, shots at 20 paces?” Venus said. Neither of them dared to move even their eyes. It seemed as if they were even going as far as to hold their breath. Venus raised an eyebrow at the impressive lengths that they were going to for whatever it was that she had walked into. “OK you two really need to relax or something before someone pops a vein.” With one more second of glaring at one another Harriet broke the stare contest.

            “Fine. Whatever, do what you want!” she eventually yelled. Just before Daniel had enough time to open his mouth wide enough to yell something for the whole room to hear, she asked Venus to leave so they could speak in private for a moment. With another confused look in her eyes, Venus reluctantly agreed and left. “Ok. Fine, you win. I’ll agree to this, but there’s one condition.” Daniel raised an eyebrow. “If you’re going to go after her, you better be doing this right. And she better not be a rebound. I need to know you’re serious about this.” Daniel grabbed her by the shoulders to hold her still so he could look her dead in the eyes as he said it.

            “I am serious about this,” he paused and just looked into her eyes, she looked at them untrustingly but in the end agreed.

            “Alright. Fine. I’ll take your word for it.”

            “Good.” She now went back to work and so did he.

            “Just...” she started again after short pause, “Rabbit, please don’t fuck this up and break her heart?”

            “Harry, I told you, I’m going into this legit, not to fuck around.” She released a sigh of discomfort.

              He wondered how he was going to keep on this so called righteous path, when he remembered Milo’s words from earlier in the day, well, if she is making you as happy as this one says she is, I’d suggest you get her back quick. “Anyway,” he started, “before you start ranting at me and what not, I was thinking maybe I would leave now, give you girls some alone time,” he said with a look as if to remind her of what she already knew too well. “Besides, I just remembered something I really have to do.”

            “Oh?” Harriet asked.

            “Katelyn asked me to pick her up after her date tonight, so, you know, I got to beat it.”

            “Hmm. Go on then, I live here, I might as well close up. Run.” He didn’t need a second invitation.

                        He got into his car, really taking in the smell of the car, and the sound that the engine made as he turned the key in the ignition. He drove home, checked his computer history for where Irene booked her hotel, and drove off into the night towards it. When he got there, he noticed the cheap road side motel look that it had going for it, and realized that maybe Irene was just making the best of a bad situation by staying with him. He walked in and went to the reception, the clerk was a young man who seemed bored to death.

            “Slow night huh?”

            “You said it bro,” the young man said to him.

            “You’re stoned out of your fucking mind aren’t you?”

            “Shuuussh.”

            “I see today is my day for deals and getting my way huh,” Daniel said, putting his hands in his pockets.

              Harriet and Venus put the chairs on the tables as they finished cleaning up and closing up the bar. Venus was still confused from the flurry that was the day. She never quite understood what to think of Daniel and his antics.

            “Hey cus?” Venus started.

            “What’s up?”

            “What was going on there between you and The Rabbit earlier?”

            “Me and Daniel? Oh nothing serious, just a staring contest. I suck at it.”

            “Really? Never would have pegged you to be a bad staring contest player.”

            “Because that’s a quality you can actually peg on people?” Harriet said almost laughing.

            “Sometimes,” Venus winked. “Seriously though, what’s the deal with him? I mean... I don’t know how to act around him.”

            “How do you mean?”

            “After what you told me last year not to under any circumstances to fall for any of his tricks. That he would simply make me another notch on his bed post. That was the exact phrase you used.”

            “Really? I did? Hmm didn’t really mean to,” Harriet said, hiding her face, hoping she would buy it.

            “You were very serious about it when you said it. Like I should keep a major distance from him, but... I don’t know he doesn’t seem like that. Or at least, not with me.” Maybe I was too quick to judge him, Harriet thought to herself, which was quickly retorted by her denying that.

            “I don’t know, I mean if you wanna start seeing him, I’d say do it. I’m not going to stand in your way.”

            “Harriet, you are aware you were the only thing ever standing in my way of seeing The Rabbit right?”

            “I’m sorry, I didn’t know I was being that intense. I was probably just joking, I might have taken it too far, I’m sorry,” Harriet now had her back to Venus so that she couldn’t see how much she was over thinking this deal with the devil. Venus meanwhile stacked chairs on the other side of the room with a face of utter confusion.

              “So I was looking for a girl who came by around here earlier today,” Daniel told the clerk.

            “I can’t really tell you that man,” the young man said as he sat up, “I could get fired.”

            “And you couldn’t get fired if someone made an anonymous tip that you are stoned right now?” Daniel said threateningly. The man caved and started going on the computer in front of him.

            “So what’s this girl’s name?” he said with a sigh. Daniel smiled.

              He walked to Irene’s door and knocked.

            “Room service!” he yelled as he got to it. He heard the TV go off and footsteps come to the door.

            “I don’t remember ordering any room service,” she said just before she opened the door in a long shirt and short pyjama shorts. Her face of surprise was worth the trip.

            “Complimentary, for our really hot guests,” he said with a grin. “Is that any way to be dressed to open the door to room service?

            “How did you-”

            “Browser history,” he said and glued his mouth to hers. She breathed in as if she hadn’t taken a breath in weeks. They toppled on the bed and quickly clothes were peeled of bodies and just as soon as it started, they were lying in the bed smoking a mutual cigarette.

              “You sure we’re allowed to do this in here?” he said taking a drag.

            “Oh yeah, I deactivated the fire alarm when I got here this afternoon.”

            “Good job.”

            “Yeah, I thought so to, if I do say so myself,” she commented as she took the cigarette from his hand.

            “So I was thinking, maybe you could stay with me a little longer. I could use someone to throw ideas off of and you look like you could use a place to stay.”

            “What? What made you change your mind?”

            “Eh, who can tell, I think it might have been something someone said, but either way, I’d like you to stay.”

            “That’s sweet of you, but I already reserved my room for the next week or so.”

            “I know, I took care of it right now at the lobby, you’re free to leave the second you want.”

            “Look at you being all mister pro active.”

            “So what do you say? You coming with?”

            “Let’s say I do, don’t think I’m ignoring the fact that you are a major creepy stalker.”

To my dear readers, my absolute grandest apologies for being late today, I simply lost track of the time. Hope you all enjoy the new chapter, and the new season that lies ahead of us. 

Always,

              “Still awake there?” the voice next to him asked. He whipped the tear from his eye before he turned. He saw Madeline looking back at him just before she turned to put her eyes back on the road. He quickly blinked his eyes as his breathing quickened. After the double take, he saw the real person who was driving the car; a tanned redhead Daniel met coming back from Spain. Yeah, now I see her.

            “Yeah. I uh... great. Yeah. I’m doing great. Are you? You ok? You want me to drive?”

            “Relax Daniel, if I didn’t know any better I would have thought you were nervous.”

            “Me? Nervous? You obviously haven’t been with me for very long,” he said raising an eyebrow to the thought of him even being nervous.

            “Well then, I suppose we’ll just have to change that, won’t we?” she said grinning.

"I guess we will," he murmered. He gave her a wry smile and turned to look out the window again. With a sigh he reminded himself that he was back home. As they closed into Daniel's hometown, they passed a tree with pictures, flowers and a few people. Daniel held his breath.

"What's going on here?" the tanned redhead asked. Daniel felt a chill.

"That's where Max and Jo Hare, the two members of the band Sweet and Sour, died." All the oxygen had left the car. He hated being asked about them. He was never quite sure how to respond. More often than not he would pretend that he wasn't their son. He didn't want the pity. Most of all though, he didn't want to be known for them. He wanted to be his own person.

  An awkwardly silent half hour passed before they arrived at his house. A slight moment of dread hit Daniel as they were driving down his street and he saw two cars next to Katelyn's. Really made yourself at home now, didn't you Kate? He pointed to the house as the redhead drove and parked behind one of the other cars there.

"I thought you said we would have the house to ourselves," she said in a dissapointed voice.

"That's what I thought. It seemes my sister brought home some guests."

"Then she'll be busy for a while right?" The redhead asked while reaching for the zipper of his pants. 

"Y-yes," he said shakily while the girl went right for the goods. He didn't need long to realise that this was only going to be awkard and unenjoyble for him and pulled her face up even before he was up. "Listen, as much as I'm enjoying myself," he lied, "I can't help but think what might happen if my sister stops being busy." Honestly, he couldn't have cared less. Katelyn had seen him in much more compromising positions than getting a blowjob in the passenger seat of a car, and he had seen her in things much worse as well. "Maybe, you could give me a call some time this week and we'll continue this then?"

"Yeah because I haven't heard the 'I'll call you' line before," she said looking half way between shocked and disapointed. Something that wasn't helping him to not see her as Madeline.

"I don't think you heard me correctly babe, I'm going to give you my number and you'll call me later this week and we'll meet up. Sound good?" She pouted a bit, but didn't put up too much of a fight. On a piece of paper she had lying in the car, he quickly wrote up a random string of numbers and gave it to her. She smiled, gave him one more long kiss before he got out of the car and waved as she left. He looked up at the clouds. They were just about ready to burst. "Yep, bye bye vacation time," he sighed as he put his key in the lock.

  Upon opening the door he was quickly greeted by a sound he used to be very accustomed to, but hadn't heard in a good long while; Katelyn's moans. He hung his coat under the stairs and, while shaking his hung head, walked slowly through the hall that led to the living room. Just before he opened the door he heard the moans become muffled. When he walked into the living room he found Katelyn to be quite occupied with the pleasing of two men. The one that was standing naked behind her, while still thrusting, saw Daniel as he walked in. He didn't bother to stop, but then again it didn't really seem like it could get worse. Katelyn was the last one to notice. When she did, she removed the man from her mouth and pushed the one behind her away from her as well. She went redder than Karl Marx.

"Well, this wasn't exactly the welcome I was expecting. But then again, I don't know what I was expecting," Daniel said with a crooked smile and backed away into the kitchen. He could hear soft moans to some deity, although much less plesant than earlier.

  While he was getting his cereal from the cabinet, he heard the sounds of hands slapping bodies and the clumsy sound of awkward feet stumbling the infamous walk of shame. With a bittersweet smile Daniel felt bad for the two men that had gone from having their family jewels tended to, to being thrown out in to the horrific weather that he had just bade farewell to. He quickly felt better when he remembered the monstrosities that were their cars. I wonder what Kate sees in them, they're obviously overcompensating, he thought with a slight chuckle. He heard the front door slam, only because the door was heavy, not because of the force that was used to close it and soon after, he saw a red Katelyn covered only by a jersey slowly appear from the corner. She brushed her hair back, lifting the jersey up for a moment, flashing Daniel crimson lace panties, proving that the jersey wasn't all she choose to cover her lovely body. Judging from the gum drop buttons that were pointing straight at him though, he could certainly tell she didnt bother to put on a bra.

"So, had fun while I was gone?" he said smirking.

"Oh ha motherfucking ha. We've both seen each other in worse situations," she said crossing her arms after noticing how see through her rag was. The Mars family heavy language, hmmm it's good to be back.

"I don't know, an air lock? That's a new low. Or high, depending on how you look at it. For the both of us." She looked at him with a stern face. "I'd offer you breakfast, but it seems like you already got your protein in this morning," he said, whiping the corner of his mouth, hoping she would get the clue of the white glob hanging on her face.

"You're enjoying this way too much." She got the hint. "You weren't suppoused to get back for another six weeks. What the fuck Daniel?" He smiled. “What? Did things go wrong in paradise?" Daniel raised his eyes up at her from his coffee. From her point of view he seemed angry, inside however, he felt meloncholy. "Not so good from the other angle now is it?" He looked genuinely sad. Her smile dropped to a frown when she understood that things might have been a bit more sensative than she thought. "Daniel, what happend? Why are you here so early?  Where is Madeline? Why..." she trailed off as if to think of what she was going to say next, but Daniel had already inturputed her.

"We broke up," he said still looking down into his coffee. He flashed back to everything in his head. "In Spain. We didn't even get to Rome. Well, at least not together. I didn't want to. I got the first plane back home. I don't know where she is or how she is." It had been a while since Katelyn had seen him this paralized. About anything.

"Do you wanna tell me what happend Daniel?" she knew to be careful, even if both of them knew how much he and Madeline could have never been together for much longer, this obviously affected him more than she thought. Daniel nodded.

  They, being him and Madeline, had arrived in Spain. They had already been through London and Germany, and Rome was to be their next stop, with their final stop in Paris. Madeline was loving every new experience. He was happy. They were happy. The sex had been crazy enough to raise the bill in pretty much every hotel they had stayed. Pictures had been taken of them together, not only during the moments of sex. Smiles were constantly on their faces. When they got to Spain though, he saw someone that could have easily been Katelyn's doppelganger. It also didn't help that, soon after, he got a text from Katelyn asking how everything was going.

"But I don't know, you know? Suddenly there was someone there that reminded me of..." he paused for a moment, then continued, "Someone, and then that night, back in the hotel, all I could see was her and not Madeline."

"So what, that's nothing new for you. You always picture other people, don't you?" He wanted to deny it, but he couldn't.

"Meh, sometimes."

"Really? I don't know maybe I've been with Joey for too long," she said twirlling her hair, "Anyway, go on."

  They crashed in to their hotel room. Daniel couldn't even begin to hide his arousal. They had been lip locked since they left the restaraunt close to where they were staying. Even there they had been all over each other. Daniel could feel her hair against his face as they lost their balance and fell into the room. He smelt her smell of sex, perfume and spicy food that they had been eating all day. It was intoxicating to him. She rolled on top of him and closed the door with her feet. 'God Daniel,' she whispered in his ear, 'You have been all over me today. Whatever it is that made you like this, you better do again." She dug her face into his, her hands franticly removing the buttons on his shirt. He, likewise, was removing her clothing faster than he knew he would have been able too. When she tried to remove his pants, she pulled him up and pushed him on to the bed. He smiled from ear to ear. He lifted his bottom as she took of his pants and kneeled before him. After also pulling his boxers down so she could have him in her mouth, he tossed his head back in exquisite bliss. When he brought his head back to look at her, her straight neon red hair had become a dark brown, almost black and curly. A lot like Katelyn's. Exactly like Katelyn's. When she came up for air, he was still looking at her and suddenly it wasn't Madeline at all that was there between his legs. It was Katelyn. His jaw dropped with surprise. 'You ok, Daniel?' he heard her say. Even that was in Katelyn's voice. He took a double take, shaking his head and blinking his eyes rapidly.  'Yes, of course, just had something in my eye.' She didn't even need his permission to continue, she just dove in and started again. He still couldn't give up seeing Katelyn there. He had fanatized about her many times, but always by himself. Never before had he seen what could have been actually her. Madeline stopped. She stood up in front of him and took of her skirt. Daniel moved to the middle of the bed to accomdate her better. Once he had, she jumped on top of him, now only in her bra and panties. 'Looks like for once you're completely naked before I am.' She smiled. By now, with the addition of that comment, he began feeling uncomfortable and began to show it. Madeline, however, was far too preoccupied to care. She unclasped her bra and pulled her panties aside so he could get in her. She slid into him with ease. She was remarkbly wet and the blowjob earlier had certainly helped. She rode him with a passion he had never seen before and while Madeline had not been the softest lover Daniel had had, he was certain that hotel security was going to be knocking on the door at any moment looking for the pig he was sacrifcing in his room. All the while though, he tried with all his might not to moan Katelyn's name. Eventually, she had picked up his head and brought it between her chest. While still seeing Katelyn instead of the nubile goth that was physically overpowering him, he pushed her away from him. The first time she hardly felt it; she was too close to orgasm and therefore now had his head in a death grip. It was only at the second time that she manged to feel it and stopped. 'What's wrong?' she muttered despreately trying to catch her breath. Daniel, also trying to catch his breath, tried to find the right words. 'I,' he started after a long while, ' I can't do this,' he eventually let out. 'I can't be with you anymore. I should have seen it earlier I know, but... I'm sorry. I just... I don't love you.' Her face at that moment was one of total and utter shock. She couldn't quite comprehend what was happening. Suddenly her breathing was the last thing she was worried about and her controlling her tears became her number one priority. 'I'm sorry Madeline, I just... he closed his eyes. When they opened, it was indeed Madeline, sad, sweaty and out of breath, that was sitting on top of him, 'I can't keep lying to you like this.' She instantly threw herself off him, almost kicking him in the face. He leaned back to miss her legs. As she stood there, naked, except for her dead Hello Kitty panties, he knew that he was not going to like this. No rest for the wicked, he thought. This one I fucking deserve. 'Fuck you Daniel,' she said after brushing her hair back with her hands and holding them there. 'Now two weeks into our trip, you fucking decide... what? That you fucking hate me enough to break up with me while you're fucking inside me? What the fuck Daniel.' He had his mouth open as if to say something, but he knew there was nothing he could have said to fix this. Well, maybe, but nothing he wanted. 'You know what? Fuck you. I dont care about your shit ass job at the fucking bar, I don't care how poor you are, you find your own way back.' She said, tossing his clothes in to his suitcase and throwing him and them out of the room. 'I never want to see you again you fucking asshole!' she yelled as she tossed him out, he tried to grab on to her and say something. 'No, don't you fucking touch me! Get the fuck off me!' she yelled and threw him out of the room. The slam of the door echoed through the hall. Other occupants of the hotel opened their doors to see what was going on. Daniel just stood there, naked, with his two suitcases. He waved to them, as if to tell them that everything was alright and then opened one of the suitcases to get dressed. Once he did so, he got dressed and bought himself another room for the night.

  "I checked her room the next morning and she wasnt there anymore. God knows where she went. I got on a plane that same afternoon."

"Well, you were right about one thing." She stood up and got her self a new cup of coffee.

"What's that?"

"This one, you fucking deserved. A seriously dick move. But I am sorry you deserved it. Incidently, who was it?"

"Who was what?"

"Who was it that you were thinking of while you were in bed with Madeline?"

"Oh uh, well..." you. "no one you would know."

"Kelly?"

"Kelly?" he paused as if to think, "Oh Kelly!" Kelly was one of Madeline's friends, one that had caused a particular spot of trouble. "No, not Kelly."

"Oh. Whatever, good riddance. Oh!" she said sounding dissapointed at first and later sounding remarkably proud of herself.

"What is it Lassie? Timmy fell down a well?" he teased her. She stared him down with a patronizing look.

"No, but pass by The Bar later."

"Isn't it The Place?"

"Oh well yeah, it... I don't fucking care, just... pass by there later," she said sounding mysterious.

"I was planning to, but... uh, why do you want me to go there?" Katelyn downed the rest of the coffee and put the mug in the sink.

"I just know that um, Harriet's been asking about you," she said with a smug smile. "Besides, I think you could use some work to take your mind off things."

"Probably right," he said and went back to finish his soggy cereal.

"Hey, I didn't see your suitcases, where are those?"

"Well I," he paused, looked around him and then suddenly remembered that he left them in the car of the girl who looked a lot like Madeline. "Fuck." Really wish I had given her my real number now.

  Daniel decided, since Kate was so insistive, to go directly to the bar. To his surprise, the horrible management decision to name it ‘The Place’ once they had started serving food as well as drinks, had remained.  He shook his head, and with a smile, sighed as he went through the front entrance. The main room was nearly empty; a few tables here or there were having a few fries while looking over notes and one man that he didn't recognise drinking by himself. Due to the lack of customers, Harriet’s eyes shot to the door when he passed through it. And they opened wide. When she saw him, she immediately made a face as if to say 'oh crap' and started swatting him away as he got closer.

"Now now, is that anyway to greet a fellow co-worker?" Daniel asked as he got closer, "Especially one as great as me."

"Oh Rabbit, why do you always avoid me when I need you to be here, and when I want you to stay away do you come here with such persistence?"

"That's just our little dance, honey bunny," he said with a wink as he sat on a bar stool near her. "My usual?"

"Get it yourself," she said continuing to clean glasses, "And after that, why don't you go see your sister?"

"Kate? Seen her. Passed by home before I came here. Saw lots of her, no worries there," he thought back to seing Katelyn sandwiched betweeen two men. He shivered in disgust.

"That bad huh?" she asked noticing his shiver.

"Oh you have no idea," he said going through the fridge and getting the milk. He noticed that Harriet's head kept shooting to the stairs that lead to upstairs living area. He shook his head.

"Yeah?" she asked distractedly. She shot her eyes back at Daniel. "How about Milo? You been around to see him yet?"

"Not yet. But I will, just wanted to pass by my favorite co-worker first and see when I could get back to work,” he said as he sat down and took a sip from his drink.

"Yeah, I'm sure that's it. You know he's actually been down here saying how much he missed you"

"Who, Milo?" Daniel nearly choked on his drink in laughter."Yeah I'm sure he did." 

"Regardless of what he said or didn't say, the fact that he was down here means he was missing you."

"You wanna tell me the real reason you don't want me here?" She looked flabbergasted and didn't know how to answer. Luckily for Daniel, she didn't have to, the reason came down the stairs,

"So, Harriet, when are we gonna head out?" The voice was a welcome voice to him, so was the face that said it. It was Venus, Harriet's cousin from England. Harriet hung her head in disappointment.

"I see," he said with a smug smile. Venus was about to ask Harriet what was wrong, but suddenly realised the reason for her heavy head.

"I thought he wasn't coming back for another six weeks?" Venus asked her cousin.

"Wow, is anyone happy to see me?" Venus did her best to hide a smile.

"We're... ecstatic to see you, Rabbit, but pray do tell, why have you returned from your ‘honeymoon’ to the anti christ so soon?"

 "You're as subtle as a bull in a china store," Harriet flashed a fake smile at him, "but we split up and I didn't feel like traveling around Europe."

"Wait, where abouts did you go?" Venus asked. Daniel could tell where this was heading.

"Oh uh, Paris and... uh... Rome. I ended the trip in Spain though."

"Oh, thought maybe you would have passed through London."

"I was going to, but you know how it is, I had to cut my trip short to come see you." Daniel's eyes burned into Venus'.

"Always the charmer, Rabbit," Harriet hissed, then pulled Venus aside. Daniel walked around to come to the other side of the bar and get himself his drink. By the time he was done pouring it, they were done talking. Venus told him that it was nice seeing him again and then left for the rooms upstairs.

  "So, what's wrong Harriet?" Harriet's head shot up, her curly black hair springing around.

"What do you-" she started before being interrupted again by him.

"Come on, don't bullshit a bullshitter, you're better than that."

"It's nothing, not really."

"Alright, well, whenever you get over your holy than thou attitude, how about you give me a call huh." He downed what was left of his drink. "Listen, you obviously don't want me here, obviously because of little miss sunshine over there. Have fun on your guy and girls night out. I'm gonna go see Milo. You might have been right, he might actually miss me."

"Say hi to him for me, Rabbit?"

"Sure thing."

              Daniel got outside with a slight change in the weather. Just as he walked out the door a pool of water fell out of the sky. Great welcome back, he thought to himself, but then remembered that his parents, Max and Jo, loved the rain. He looked up and smiled. “Thanks guys,” he said as he looked up and carried on his walk to the bus stop.

  "Well, this is a surprise."

"Hey Milo."

"Hey Daniel, come on in you seem wetter than a slut's honey pot," he said while opening the door wider. Daniel came in and gave him a huge hug. He paused as he gave him an extra squeeze. Secretly, he had missed Milo a lot more than he would admit.  "You ok Daniel?" Daniel just nodded. "Good. Come on in, I'll get you a towel, don't sit on anything. Just stand right..." he positioned him on top of the indoor mat, "Here," and ran up stairs. Daniel looked around him as he shivered. He saw pictures of Milo and Katelyn when she was a baby, god Milo was young then, Daniel thought. There was only one picture of him with Daniel's parents, Max and Jo. Daniel smiled however as he saw the pictures of himself. Before he even came to realise it though, a towel had hit him in the head and over his eyes. "Good, dry yourself off and come on in," Milo said as he rubbed Daniel's head with his huge hand. "It's good to see you again Daniel."

  Daniel walked into Milo's living room with hungry eyes. Almost as if he was rediscovering everything once again. He laughed as he saw the fake fire place to his left, gawked as he saw the biggest flatscreen he had seen to his right. As he passed one of the three couches in Milo's living room, Milo gave him a glass of milk.

"It's laced. You'll need the super healing powers of vodka to survive that cold," Milo said as he sat down on the couch next to Daniel's. "So tell me how was Europe? And what the fuck are you doing here so soon? I figured you wouldn't be back for another 6 weeks."

"What's with the 5th degree? Can't a boy come home early from his trip with out being treated like a criminal?"

"A boy? You? You aren't a boy. You, my friend, are a man. So shut up about being a boy and spill already." Milo's skinny cat jumped on his lap. "Fuck, Fatty, get off! Go see if I'm around the corner! Go! Sh!" Despite feeling bad for the poor cat, Daniel couldn't help but laugh so hard milk almost shot through his nose.

"You are so mean to that cat Milo, seriously."

"Seriously, it knows I'm kidding," Milo said as he watched the cat jump on to Daniel's lap. "So, you gonna keep me in suspence, or you going to spill the fucking beans already?"

"Europe was good. I got to see the sights, and it was pretty nice sharing it with Madeline. But we split up in Spain; I caught a plane back here soon after."

"Good for you! Why did you do it? Some other hot chick around the corner you  wanted to have a go at, was she staring at the waiters in France all wrong? Oh no don't tell me! She didn't want to have a threesome with you and a hooker in Amsterdam! Am I right?"

"None of the above Milo, I couldn't be focused on her. I was thinking of someone else while we were having sex."

"Close enough. Well, good riddance. She wasn't any good for you I'm glad she's gone."

"At least I can always count on you to make a bad situation good," Daniel said in a bittersweet tone.

"What bad situation, this is one hell of a celebration boy!

"Sure thing Milo. How about you, how are you doing? How have things been around here?"

"Well you know, same old same old, It's kinda lonely without you and Kate around. But that's life."

"Hasn't Kate come by then?"

"Oh no, she has, it's just she used to live here, now she doesn't."

"I see. Well I'm back now."

"That you are, that you are." He paused as he took a sip of his diet coke. "So," he eventually said, slapping Daniel on the leg, "What do you have planned for now?" Daniel took a sip and thought.

"Nothing really. Thinking about going back to work at Bennet's -"

"Did they change the name again?"

"Well no, but with the Bennet's being the only constant thing in that place, I think it's safer to call it that than any other name."

"I loved The Bar. Sure it sounds lazy, but at the same time, it's easy, simple and kinda classy."

"Except that The Bar was always anything but classy."

"True." Another pause.

"So yeah, just that really. Going back to the bar, see what's what, who's who and get back on the horse."

"Didn't know you were off it." Milo said with a chuckle.

  Daniel looked outside and saw that the weather was still grim. He thought to himself how taking the bus was going to soak him till the bone. He also figured his car should be ready by now.

"Hey Milo, care to give me a ride to pick up my car?"

"Now that there sounds like a lovely idea," Milo said, but than quickly rethought. "Hm, wait, are you good to drive?" Daniel shuffeled to his feet.

"Yeah, easily." Milo gave him a stern look. "No really. I just stood up too fast I swear." Another stern look.

"Come here, let me smell your breath, the guy at the garage will never let you drive if you smell of vodka." Daniel got closer and opened his mouth. "Hmm, regardless of your ability to hold your liquor, I think it's about time I take you back home. You won't be able to get your car back smelling like that." Daniel put his hand to his mouth to smell his own breath and shrugged. He didn't think it was that bad, but then again, he figured he would hardly be able to sense it himself. "Come on, I'll take you home. If you take the bus you'll get a fucking pneumonia before you ever reach the bus stop." Daniel smiled and followed him to the door.

  They got into his old timer Mercedes and headed back to his place. The rain hadn't stopped. In fact, it had only gotten worse. "Alright, let's roll out," Milo said when they were both strapped in. As they drove, the dark rain that hit the car made Daniel feel like he was in a war zone, being shot from every possible side. He looked up at the clouds and even though the sun was probably only starting to go under, with the dark clouds pouring down the way they were, it felt like it was much much later.

  "So you'll never guess who's back in town," Daniel eventually said, killing the silence that was dominating the car.

"The pope?" Milo guessed.

"Never knew he came out here in the first place. No, Venus."

"Venus? Why does that sound familar? Oh wait, right! That one with the weird double initials, what was her last name?"

"Venice. That's right."

"Venice!" Milo scoffed and shook his head. "I still think that it sounds like a horrible porn star's name."

"And yet, she is anything but."

"Oh? An innocent?"

"By the looks of it," Daniel said, but then paused to think. "Or at least, I think so. Not quite sure."

"How do you mean, 'not sure'? You usually have a nose for this kinda thing.

"Yeah usually, but now I really don't know. Most of the time she seems really innocent, but then she gives me a look or a comment that is just too flirty."

"Oh I know the type. Hmm, that's tough. Well, time will tell right," Milo said with a smile.

"I guess so," Daniel replied and looked out the window again at the liquid bullets falling from the heavens.

"So at least you have something to take your mind off the Mad Hatter huh?" Daniel chuckeled awkwardly. "Or at least someone." Daniel nodded.

"True."

"You got a play in mind yet?"

"Letting the chips fall where they may."

"Hmm. Interesting," Milo said. The rest of the short ride to Daniel's home was done in silence.

  When they got there, Katelyn's car was gone and all the lights were off. Despite all of Daniel's complaining, he hated coming home to an empty home. Especially if he knew that Katelyn would be the one he would be coming home to.  Although, in all honesty, this isn't how he wished it would have come to pass. "Well then Daniel, it's good to have you back son."

"Thanks dad," Daniel said throwing his arms around Milo.

"We can go pick up your car tomorrow if you like."

"That would be great."

"Cool. Just give me a call when you go pick it up."

"Sounds like a plan, thanks."

"Good night then," Milo said. Daniel stepped out of the car after giving a slight nod in response. Daniel hid under the porch and waved until he could only see Milo's tail lights.

  He sat at home and realized he couldn't even unpack his suitcase since that was gone. Great, I'm gonna have to go shopping for all that stuff again tomorrow, he thought with his lips in a thin line. He walked into the living room, called for a pizza and started watching TV. Relaxing, he ate his pizza with glass of vodka and milk (vodka being the primary ingredient this time) and watched whatever brainless show was on TV. He began to feel himself zombifying and slowly his blinks lasted longer and longer. Just before his eyes fully closed, he heard the front door slam. Katelyn had obviously come home. He was really happy to see her again. Even if the last time they saw each other they didn't part ways in the best of ways, he was happy she was here. "Oh hey, I was beginning to wonder when you would be home."

"Yeah, I uh," he started as he streched. "I went out to see dad after going to the bar."

"Yeah? That's good. How is he?"

"Pretty good from what could tell. I didn't stay there very long." She sat next to him. Her smell intoxicated him. She reached over and grabbed a slice of pizza.

"So where have you been?" he eventually managed to say after enjoying his view and the smell that was surrounding him.

"Well, I went ahead and did the groceries. I know you usually did them online, but I still prefer to do it the good old fashion way. After that, when I came home and found that you weren't here, I went to look for you at the bar."

"We really ought to stop calling it that."

"Yeah, well, what do you suggest?"

"Bennet’s, considering how they are the common denominator."

"Fair enough. I guess I just got used to calling it The Bar." She looked him plain in the eyes. Her beautiful milk green eyes piercing his cold blue eyes. Slowly, he felt hypnotised. He wasn't sure whether it was vodka that was getting to his head, or the sleep, but he felt drawn to her. At one point it even seemed like she was drawing closer to him. He blinked his eyes fast to shake himself out of whatever trance he was in and looked back at the TV. She lowered her head and then looked up at the TV with him. After a moment, she leaned her head on his shoulder and nuzzeled it in place. "So what are we watching?"

"Nothing really," he said grabbing the remote that was next to him and changing the channel. It turned to a movie where the main characters were getting closer and closer for a kiss. He felt her hand on his and turned his head to see her. His eyes met hers again and, soon enough, he was back in the same trance. Just as the two actors on screen began to kiss, he felt Katelyn's head come off his shoulder and pull closer to his face. Before he could even process what was happening, he felt drawn to her as well and soon their lips had met. Her smell intoxicated him some more and her kiss felt eletric. He felt her lips pull away. He kept his eyes closed as he caught his breath. When he opened them again she was still in front of him. Obviously this was no dream. Before he would give himself the chance to overanalyze how wrong all this was, he put his hands behind her head and pulled her close again. Her lips parted to give space for his tounge. He replied by massaging her tongue with his. He could feel himself get more and more dizzy with the events he thought would never happen. Soon enough though, the dizzyness became nausea and he found himself feeling sick. He pulled away from her, mumbled, "Gimme a second" and ran to the bathroom. Just in time he threw up inside the toilet bowl. He had seen enough people mess up with something like that before, he knew the last thing he would want would be to have to clean up that mess. In between hurls he thanked the gods for not having thrown up over Katelyn. That would have been something hard to explain, he thought. He caught his breath from the vomiting and soon enough he felt like he was done. He still sat there, disoriented and confused. Soon enough he heard a knocking on the door, only it didn't sound like the door. It sounded like someone knocking on glass. He reached for the door knob and opened his eyes. He shook himself and realized that he was still seated on the couch watching TV. He heard a few more knocks and realized that there was someone outside his window.

  He went to the front door and opened it to find Madeline waiting there. "Hi," she said. Again, not expecting it, he blinked rapidly. She remained in front of him. Disorientated by the life-like dream he had just had, he slapped himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming. "Wow, didn't know you thought so highly of me you had to make sure I'm not a dream," she said with a smug smile.

"Well, you know, weird dreams lately. Uh, what are you-"

"Thought you would be missing your suitcase."

"My... suit-"

"Poor boy probably still half asleep. Here maybe this might wake you up," she said as she leaned in and kissed him. When she eventually pulled away he saw her in the light and noticed her tan. It was the girl he had picked up at the airport that had given him a ride home. He sighed in relief. "Wow... that's uh, some welcome," she said slightly upset.

"I'm sorry. I'm happy to see you. And thank you for bringing that back, I don't know what I would have done without it. But how did you know I was home?" he said as he planted another kiss on her.

"Oh I didn't," she said and followed that with a deeper longer kiss. "I just guessed that you might be home at ten thirty." Her hands were undoing his buttons now.

"That's a... fair point," he said, helping her with his shirt and removing her shirt as well.

"So," she panted, "How about that sister of yours?"

"What about her?" he asked not quite understanding where the questions were heading.

"Is she home?" she asked with a smug smile after biting his lip.

In the off chance you guys do check this, I would like you guys to know that I when I said you reminded me of characters, I didn't mean Madeline. And the male character will only be introduced later on this year.

Thanks so much once again,

Always,

Quite simply because that which is written here is going to be different from the novel. I wrote this as a series. I didn't have the funds to film/air it, especially not where I'm living, so I wrote it down and presented it in written form. I still plan to make it in to a televised series but that will take me quite some time. In that line of thought, I always saw each chapter I wrote as episodes; A string of separate stories with a beginning, middle and end that are connected (I hope that makes sense.... it does in my head). I hope this answers your question.

Always,