The Technicolor Daydreamer; Folie A Deux.

It was a long, uncomfortable business meeting, pretty much.

Well, despite the chipped wooden table and plastic cups full of beer.
It looked like a teenage mafia council, really.
I'll leave it at that.

Gerard was walking out of the room with me, and I was hoping Mia was nearby.

She wasn't there.

"Do you see her?" I asked Gee.

He shook his head no, and I tried to look over the crowd, but couldn't.

She wasn't there.

Worried, I started shoving my way through the crowd.
I heard a faint 'thump' from upstairs, barely audible above the music.

"Mia! Amia!" Everything started morphing into a blur.

Where is she? Where is she, and is she okay?

The douchey moshpit kids had shoved me back out, and I landed on the floor.

Right in front of that Zacky kid.
If he hurt her...

"Where is she? Where's Amia?!"

I just didn't have time for pleasantries, so I'd grabbed him by the collar and shoved him against the wall so hard his feet were dangling in the air. I felt some rotten bits of drywall hit my shoulder, falling from the ceiling over where we stood.

All he did was smirk.

My stomach lurched, realizing I hadn't seen that Jepha guy since we'd arrived.

No. No, no, no.

Fortunately, Mia came tearing down the stairs just then. Shirt unchanged.

Jepha had, too, but he was in a ball at the bottom of the stairs, and his hands were covered in blood. He looked like he'd been tossed down the stairs, really.

She'd fought him off.
I purposely dropped the kid, hoping he'd feel it in the morning, and raced towards the staircase.

The crowd parted for her, and she ran right into my arms. Shaking all over. But not crying.

Gerard was right after me, and after putting two and two together, mouthed "Let's go."

I handed Mia off to Gerard, and started charging over to Jepha, fists clenched.

That bastard...

I pulled him up to his knees, about to punch, when a pair of hands pulled me back. The little serpent dropped to the ground like a sack of flour. I hope this isn't the start of a very irritating trend. I honestly DO hate interruptions...

Mikey? Toro? What the--

"Don't Frank! Not here!"Oh, God. They followed us here. Of course.

Bob yanked me further back, out of Ray and Mikey's hands. He held me while I tried to wriggle out of his grip, making him stumble forward.

"Let me at him!" I growled and yelled, feeling the seam in my shirt almost give way.
The fact that Bryar was built like a tank didn't make a bit of difference when I got this angry.

Jeph was grinning, through a mouth full of bloodied teeth. I froze for a fraction of a second before the realization hit.

Grinning. The evil bastard was grinning.

Freshly infuriated, I broke free of Bob's grip and tackled him, landing whatever punches I could before Ray pulled me off again. I'd caught a hit to the eye, but Jepha was coughing blood.

I heard all the background noise through the dense, rage-tinted fog of my tunnel-vision, slowly building into a cacophony of angry shouting in the midst of all this.

Though I still don't know how or who caused it, all heck broke loose then.
Maybe someone accidentally took a hit, and it all went downhill from there.
Maybe a drunk got a little too handsy with the girlfriend of some guy who can't aim his punches too well.

Hell, maybe someone just felt like starting a fight, because everyone knows misery's a clingy, bipolar little sap who also gets off on causing other people pain.After all, It's always so much better when you can make someone else feel the hurt that you do, isn't it?

Fists hitting skin. Girls screaming. Furniture breaking. Windows being smashed.

Whoever had been the DJ wanted a piece of the action, too, because he hadn't bothered to stop the music still pumping through the speakers. It was like a bar fight scene in a movie gone wrong.

Regardless, the whole room was filled with a drunken, 40-person Brawl.

The Melee continued until one very angry, very red-faced, very blazed Bert shoved his way to the middle of the room and fired a gunshot into the air to get some control over things, despite the fact that there were probably still people on the floor above.

"WHAT IN THE FLYING F--"

Interrupted by police sirens.
Approaching police sirens.
Of course.

We snuck out a back window just as the door got rammed open, where Gerard had managed to hand Mia over to me, then get his car and bring it around to the dirt road behind the house. So had Bob, Mikey, and Ray's ride.

She wasn't shaking so much as wheezing, her eyes unfocused and concentrating on something in the distance as she gasped for air.

Panic attack.

I lifted her up and swung her into my arms, carrying herbridal style to the car while trying to run. Emphasis on trying.

"We'll talk about this tomorrow!" I yelled as we all scrambled for the car, leaving the commotion behind us. The cops were trying to bust open the back door now.

There was a large amount of muttering, but no actual protests as we dove into our respective cars, just as the rotted old door hit the ground.

Gerard wordlessly peeled off and down the road as I buckled the seatbelt around Mia and myself, with her curled up in my lap in the middle back seat.

Finally, some less-polluted air. I was still winded, though. My body can barely handle my own weight, much less someone else's. No matter how badly I wanted it to be otherwise.

Gerard turned on the radio, just to give Mia and I some privacy, and kept his eyes on the road.
I noticed his knuckles were white where they gripped the steering wheel.

"You okay?" I murmured softly to her. "Are you hurt?"

"Just shaken," she whispered. "A little bruised."

"I'm sorry. So, so sorry." I really am.

"For what?"

"Not being there." I should have. Really should have.

She looked up at me, eyes blue-gray on account of the moonlight.

"You tried to help. There's nothing to be sorry about," he fingers gently prodded a sore spot on my cheek. "I went on my own. You even tried to talk me out of going in the first place. So stoppit." She smiled slightly.

I smiled back a little, hesitating.. "Okay."

We both fell silent, our eyes locked and no sound except for our breathing and the radio.You could cut the tension between us with a butter knife. Our breathing picked up a little as we leaned closer, and then...and then...

...and then I let out a pothead giggle.

Way to ruin the moment, self.
Is it my fault you sound like a five -year-old girl?
Screw you.
Fine. It's the only action we'll be getting anyway...
You're so effed up.
That means you are too, idiot.
And speaking of idiocy, she's still looking at us, you dolt.
Do something.

Oh. Right.

I bit my lip, my cheeks burning as I kept staring into her eyes. She giggled back, then we both leaned in closer. I paused.

Do it. Uh-uh. Do it. Nope. Do it. It'd be impolite!

....I did it. Ha! Yes!

I kissed her. I can't believe I kissed her.

Never kissed anyone before.Well, there was that one time with Gee when we were five....but that doesn't count. And I don't remember it all that well.

Feels nice. I see why people like it so much.

Felt like an electric current was pulling us together.

Thoughts, ricocheting, heart pounding.

She half-gasped into my mouth. Surprised, I guess.

I kind of caught myself off-guard.

Unconsciously, I'd pressed her closer to me. Eyes closed.

She had her hands around my neck, slender fingers twisting themselves around a tuft of my hair.

Feels really nice.I want more.

This wasn't heaven, but it was pretty dang close. My mind felt like the contents of a lava lamp.

Gah, I've been wanting to do this for a while.

Not just...kiss anyone. To kiss her.

Her lips melded with mine perfectly, soft and warm. Moving in unison.

I hope she didn't mind--I kind of, um, forgot to breathe--
So I traced her bottom lip with my tongue. And exhaled a little at the same time.
She made a tiny gasping noise again, running her tongue over my lip ring.
I shuddered, to say the least.
I pulled away then.Didn't want to, though.

Wait! One more.

I pressed my lips to hers, firmer. But still gentle. Careful.
Okay, maybe just two more?
One, two.
A bit more...feverish that time. Mmm.
Alright! a third. But that's it. I'm putting my foot down.

...

Dangit, four.

And then I pulled away.

Heh.Hehe.Who said lip rings got in the way?

We were both breathing hard, with zombie!Gerard still driving us in the front seat.
I looked down at her, she looked up at me.

It was a wordless moment.
Was she angry? Surprised? Hope she didn't think I was taking advantage of her.

"Needed that," she mumbled with a small, embarrassed giggle.