Scream Me a Dream

Thursday July 23, 2010
Helsinki, Finland
12:45pm

“Coffee, black.” He said, smiling lightly at the cashier as she handed him the empty cup, before handing her the bills and getting out of line to fill the travel cup with coffee.

“Hei, Ville.”

Ville turned and smiled lightly at the brunette standing next to him. “Afternoon Vedrana, what are you doing here?”

“Getting coffee.” She sang, pouring the decaffeinated coffee into her own cup.

Ville frowned at her as he put a lid on his cup. “Isn’t it a bit out of your way?”

“Not when I just dropped Mige off.”

“Ah.” Ville nodded, he and the band had planned to rehearse for the day as well as start talking about the set list for Sonisphere. Though Ville’s main mission was to get information out of Mige and Linde as to where they had been for the last week. They had been unavailable nearly every time he had called them, and when he had talked to them, they had both been quite shifty in their behavior.

“So what are you up to?” Vedrana asked, as she followed him out of the coffee shop.

Ville stopped and looked down at her amused. “I’m off to rehearsal, you know, where you dropped Mige off.”

“Right…” Vedrana bit her lip. “Think you can skip it?”

Ville blinked. “No, why? What is going on with everyone these past few weeks?” He watched as Vedrana stiffened before relaxing slightly.

“What do you mean?”

“Both Mige and Linde have been acting off, and now you’re asking me to skip rehearsal.”

“Nothing’s going on.” Vedrana laughed. “I just haven’t seen you in a while; I wanted to maybe grab lunch.”

“Lunch?” Ville asked amused. It wasn’t odd for him to go out with his friends’ wives or girlfriends, he was friends with all of them and cared for them deeply, but what was odd was Vedrana actually asking him to skip out on a rehearsal he had called.

“Can we do it later?” Ville asked, looking at the time on his phone. “I doubt we’ll be long.”

“Uh…” Vedrana shifted from foot to foot, before giving a nod. “Yes, sure, that works.”

“Are you sure?” Ville asked with a raised eyebrow. “Or is it really important?”

“No, not important, call me when you get out and I’ll come pick you up.” Vedrana grinned at him, before starting to walk away. “I’ll see you later.”

“Bye.” Ville said, looking at her oddly, before shaking his head and continuing on his way towards their rehearsal space sipping on his coffee. He was about to push the door open when he heard Linde and Mige talking with Gas and Burton.

“No,” Linde said. “We have Toni and Vedrana on it.”

“Is it nice?” Gas asked.

“Really nice.” Mige agreed. “It’s perfect for her,”

“An apartment?” Burton asked

“Yes, it’s in Huvilakatu.” Linde answered.

Burton laughed. “That’s twenty minutes from Ville.”

“We thought of that.” Mige laughed.

Ville frowned, who the hell was getting an apartment in Huvilakatu? Was it Soya? He felt his heart start beating faster at the idea.

“Did she already get it?” Gas asked.

“No, she saw the pictures and loved it; she said she was thinking of talking to her father first to see what he said.” Mige answered.

Ville’s heartbeat slowed down, dramatically, definitely not Soya. He rolled his eyes at himself, before opening the door, causing the room to get quiet.

“Hey.” He said slowly.

“Hey.” They all chorused, staring at him.

“What?” He asked.

“Nothing.” Linde said quickly.

Ville nodded slowly as he took a drink from his coffee, before asking. “So, who’s moving to Huvilakatu?” He watched with a raised eyebrow as Gas and Burton turned away and busied themselves with their instruments, while Linde picked up his guitar and Mige avoided eye contact, looking at Linde to take the lead.

Linde shrugged as he strapped on his guitar. “Just a friend of mine.”

“Do I know them?” Ville asked, bringing the coffee cup up to his lips.

Linde shrugged. “Probably not, so are we going to practice or not?”

Ville nodded taking his place behind the mike as Mige stood and grabbed his bass, strapping it on. “What are we starting with?” Ville asked, not sure what to think of Linde’s dismissal of the subject.

An hour and a half later, Ville broached another subject with Mige as they sat around. “Do you know what your wife wants to talk to me about?”

Mige looked at him with a frown. “No, why?”

“She stopped me at the coffee shop on my way here, asked me to skip rehearsal so we could talk.”

Mige shook his head. “I would have no idea. Are you meeting with her?”

Ville nodded. “Yeah, after we’re done here,”

“Uh…”

Ville looked over at Linde who was staring at his phone. “What?” Ville asked.

“Actually we might have to cut this short, I have to go run some errands.”

Ville frowned at him. “Really?”

“Really.” Linde nodded. “And Mige has to come with me.”

“Both of you.” Ville asked in disbelief as he looked between them.

“Yes.” Linde nodded, putting his guitar in its case. “It’s a two man job.”

Ville sighed. “Seriously, what is up with both of you?”

“What do you mean?” Linde asked.

“You’ve both been acting odd for the past week. You’ve both been busy and every time I call, you’re both monosyllabic. Is everything all right?”

Mige nodded. “Yes, everything’s fine, I’ve just been helping Linde with some Daniel Lioneye stuff.”

Ville nodded in understanding. “That’s fine, you know I don’t care. It’s just you’ve both been acting off.”

“We’re fine.” Linde said, making sure his guitar case was shut, before standing up and going towards the door with Mige. “We’ll get together again tomorrow, yeah?”

“Yeah.” Ville nodded, watching as both of them left, whispering to each other. He turned to Burton and Gas who had been watching the interaction. “So, what do you two know?”

“What?” Burton asked.

Ville snorted. “We all know what Mige and Linde just said is bullshit. Seriously, what’s going on?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Gas said with a shrug.

“Do you know Linde’s friend that’s moving here?” Ville asked.

Burton shrugged. “Just a friend of his and his brother.”

Ville sighed as he stood up, ready to leave himself. “And obviously, today is a day everyone is going to lie to me. I’ll see you both tomorrow.” He sighed before pulling out his phone to call Vedrana.

“I sort of feel bad lying to him.” Gas said once he was sure Ville was out of the building.

Burton shrugged. “This is all between Soya, Mige and Linde, if Soya doesn’t want Ville to know then who are we to tell him?”

“I know it’s not our place, I still feel bad though.” Gas sighed.

XxxxxxX

Linde and Mige walked into the bank Soya had told them to go to, apparently, she hadn’t wanted to talk to her father, something about not wanting to rock the boat, but instead get the apartment herself, with the money she had been saving since she had moved from Helsinki to New York.

“Hei, can I help you?” a blonde woman asked approaching them just as they were going to wait in line to talk to a teller. Linde blinked, looking at Mige who shrugged, before nodding at the professional looking woman.

“We’re looking to withdraw money from our friend’s account, she wants to put a down payment on a flat, but she’s not going to be able to come up here until next month.”

The woman frowned at him. “Where is she now?”

“New York.” Mige answered. “But she gave us the account number and the amount we were to get out.”

“All right, why don’t you follow me, we’ll go to my office and talk.”

Linde and Mige nodded, following her into the office, and sitting across from her desk. “I’m Eira by the way.” She said smiling, closing the door before sitting behind her desk, moving the mouse on her computer.

“Mikko.” Linde said then pointed to Mige, “He’s Mikko too.”

Eira laughed. “I actually know who you two are, my brother’s a fan. I assumed if you’re going to come into a bank, you would want to talk in private.”

“Ah, we would.” Mige nodded. “Thank you.”

“It’s not a problem,” Eira said. “You’re withdrawing money for a friend?”

Linde nodded. “She said she’s been banking with you since her parents started her savings account here when she was about ten.”

“All right, what’s her name?”

“Soya Toivonen.” Mige said, causing Eira to look at him in surprise.

“Ah, that’s a private account.” Eira said, not bothering to open the account, having handled the Toivonen accounts before. “You need to be on the account to withdraw.”

“It there anyway we can do it without her here? She said it was okay.” Linde assured.

“As much as a do trust your word, I’m afraid the only ones authorized on that account are the Toivonen’s, they’ve been banking here for years.” Eira told them apologetically.

“Call her.” Mige said nudging Linde.

“It’s nearly five in the morning in LA.” Linde murmured.

Eira bit her lip. “I would be bending the rules a bit, and I’m really not allowed to do this, but if you call her and she’s able to provide me with certain information, I can authorize the withdrawal.”

Mige nudged Linde again. “Do it Linde.”

Linde sighed, before pulling out his phone and dialing Soya’s number, knowing she would hate them for calling her so early in the morning. He put the phone on speaker, so Eira would be able to talk to her as well. The phone rang twice before Soya answered.

“Mikko?” Soya whispered her voice hoarse with sleep. Linde winced, when he’d last talked to Soya, she’d admitted to having trouble getting to sleep, though she swore it was a problem she tended to have in the summer months when she felt she had nothing to do; he still felt bad for interrupting the little sleep she probably did get.

“Hey, Soya, we’re at the bank.” Linde told her.

“Oh…okay?” Soya said, he could already see the frown of confusion marring her face.

“We’re not able to withdraw the money; we’re not authorized on your savings account.” Mige explained.

“Oh!” Soya said, they heard something that sounded like a slap, “God, I forgot about that,”

“We have Eira here.” Linde said. “She’s been kind enough to help us.”

“Oh, hello Eira.” Soya said.

“Hello, Miss. Toivonen.” Eira said with a smile. “I’m willing to bend a few rules; I just need to make sure it’s really you on the phone.”

“Of course. What do you need?”

“Your social security number, for one.”

“I’m assuming you want my Finnish one,” Soya laughed, “Just a minute let me get my wallet.” There was a quiet shuffling, before Soya came back on the line, reciting a series of numbers, and causing Eira to nod.

“Wonderful,” Eira said smiling. “Is the address your parents provided still the same?”

“It is.” Soya said. “As is the phone number and the men sitting across from you really are my friends.” Soya laughed. “I’m not saying any of this against my will.”

“Good to know.” Eira laughed, before clicking a few buttons on the computer, only to frown. “Ah, Miss. Toivonen, it doesn’t appear like I’m going to be able to authorize the withdrawal.”

“Oh? Is there a problem?” Soya asked.

“Ah…” Eira hesitated, looking over at Mige and Linde, before speaking. “It doesn’t look like the account has anything in it.”

There was quiet on the other end for a few minutes, causing Linde to lean towards the phone. “Soya? Are you still there?”

“Yes, sorry. There’s nothing in the account?” Soya asked, surprise lacing her voice.

“I’m afraid not, it looks like everything was taken out of the account in…” Eira frowned as she looked at the dates. “In May”

“May?” Soya asked. “When in May?”

“Looks like half was taken out on the 12th, and the other half on the 20th.”

Soya was silent before speaking again. “When was the last deposit on that account?”

“It looks like May as well, by a company in New York. The money was taken out nearly two days after.”

“Does it tell you who?”

“Who took out the money, Miss Toivonen? Only two other people are able to touch this account.” Eira pointed out.

“Yes, which of the two did it?” Soya asked sharply, causing Linde and Mige to look at the phone in surprise, while Eira looked taken back. Soya sighed, having heard her tone of voice. “Sorry,” she said quietly. “I didn’t mean to snap, does it by chance say if my mother or father took the money?”

Eira swallowed, before looking back at her screen. “It looks like your mother did.”

“Paskiainen!”(son of a bitch!) Soya yelled causing both Mige and Linde to stare at the phone in shock at Soya’s curse. “Did she transfer it?”

“No, there’s no other activity in any other of your families accounts. I’m so sorry…”

“Oh! No!” Soya said quickly. “It’s is most definitely not your fault! I’m sorry I had you go through all of this.”

“It’s not a problem, I would say we could go through the other accounts, but it doesn’t look like you’re authorized on any of the others.”

“Conveniently.” Soya muttered. “No, it’s fine, I’ll figure it out, thank you for everything Eira.”

“Uh…yeah thanks.” Mige said standing as Linde grabbed his phone, thanking Eira as well before they both made their way out of the bank towards Linde’s car.

“Soya, are you still there?” Linde asked once they were in the safety of the car.

“Yes, still here.” Soya murmured. “I can’t believe this.”

“What happened?” Linde asked.

“I don’t know.” Soya said quietly. “This isn’t the first time my mother’s taken money out of my savings, but usually it’s little amounts and she tells me when she’s done it.”

“Soya, how much did you have in there?” Mige asked carefully.

“Nearly two million.”

“Dollars or Euros Soya?” Linde questioned.

“Dollars.” Soya said quietly.

Linde blinked. “Jesus.”

“Why the hell would she take all of that out?” Mige asked.

“I don’t know.” Soya sighed. “I really don’t know why she even touches that money, it was started when I was ten, and ever since I moved out here, my father puts in two hundred each month, I’ve put in nearly half my pay check into that account ever since I started dancing professionally at eighteen. If money gets taken out, its usually small amounts, never the entire thing.”

“Soya…” Mige ran his hand over his face tiredly. “I think you need to talk to your mother about this.”

“I think so too.” Soya sighed.

“Look, in the mean time, Mige and I will put the down payment down on the flat.” Linde told her.

“No, no. I’ll get this straightened out.”

“Soya, it’s not a problem,” Mige assured.

“What will Vedrana and Toni think when they see you paying for a flat for me?”

“That we’re doing you a favor Soya.” Linde said. “It’s not like they don’t know what we’re up to.” Linde looked at Mige before looking back at the phone. “I think…I think maybe it’s time to get Ville involved.”

“No.” Soya said quickly. “No one tells Ville about this. He already hates my mother.”

“With good reason.” Mige muttered.

“Do not tell Ville about this, please.” Soya pleaded. “I’ll get this taken care of and call you back later.”

“Soya.” Linde sighed.

“Please, Linde, Mige, please; just let me handle this all right? I’ll get back to you later.” Soya assured before she hung up.

Linde put the phone in the cup holder before leaning his head back on the seat.

“What are you thinking?” Mige asked.

“I’m thinking that this is a much more serious situation than Soya is letting on.” Linde muttered.

“Do…” Mige sighed. “Do you think we should involve Ville?”

“Do I? Yes.” Linde snorted. “Will we? No.”

Mige shook his head. “This is such a fucking mess.”

XxxxxxX

“So, what did you want to talk about?” Ville asked as he thanked the server as she set the food in front of him and Vedrana.

“Is it such a crime to want to have lunch with a friend?” Vedrana asked.

“No.” Ville said slowly, biting into his sandwich, he chewed thoughtfully before swallowing. “It’s just odd that you want to have lunch now, we’ve all been back for nearly a week.”

“I have this thing called a husband, I don’t know if you’ve met him.” Vedrana teased, pushing her hair back away from her face. “I think he comes first, but, I really wanted to have lunch with you.”

“All right, so…how are you?” Ville asked.

“I’m fine.” Vedrana smiled. “You know Mige’s been talking non-stop about Soya.”

Ville looked at her and grinned. “Everything makes sense now.”

“Oh come on Ville!” Vedrana groaned.

“I’m sure that whatever you want to know about Soya, Mige is more than willing to tell you.”

“But I want to hear about her from you, you’ve been so quiet about her.”

“And?”

“What’s she like? Mige just says she’s shy.”

“For the most part.” Ville agreed with a nod. “But once she gets used to a person, she tends to come out of her shell more.”

“So what’s she like?” Vedrana prodded.

“What is it you want to know Vedrana?” Ville laughed. “‘What is she like’ is a very general question.”

“What’s her favorite color?”

Ville frowned, that really wasn’t a question about Soya’s personality, but answered anyway. “Blue, all shades, though she tends to lean towards the lighter tones.”

Vedrana raised an eyebrow, “Really?”

“I notice things.” Ville muttered, biting into his sandwich again, while Vedrana chewed thoughtfully.

“Does she like the vintage or is she more modern?”

“In how she dresses or…” Ville frowned confused by the question.

“In the way she dresses.” Vedrana nodded.

Ville shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Oh come on Ville, you just said you notice things, obviously you notice things about her.”

Ville sighed. “She’s a bit more conservative in her dress I guess, lots of jeans.” He thought about her attire at the recital. “Lot of lighter colors too.”

“Any black in her wardrobe?” Vedrana asked, knowing that a lot of Ville’s wardrobe was black.

“A bit, mostly in her jeans and pajama tops.” Ville said smiling fondly when he thought of the shirts Soya had stolen. “She likes the lighter colors though, when she dresses up.” He remembered the dress she’d worn the night she left Finland, and the other dresses he’d seen her pick up from the stores when they’d been younger.

They had all been in some ivory or cream tone, same with when she had dressed up for the showcase he had attended. He thought back to the week before when he had talked to her on the web cam and he had caught a glimpse of the silk top she had been wearing then remembered the dream he had had on the bus and how similar the two tops had been.

“Cream.” He said his voice a bit hoarse.

“Cream?” Vedrana asked.

Ville blinked and gave a short nod, clearing his throat. “Yeah, her dresses, when she used to go to parties with her family, they would be in a cream tone, her bedding in New York is that color too.”

“Oh.” Vedrana said in surprise. “What else is in her room?”

Ville looked at Vedrana. “Why?”

“Just wondering.” Vedrana said innocently. “A bedroom says a lot about a person.”

Ville grabbed his water, and took a drink, looking at Vedrana before shrugging. “In both bedrooms she had iron beds.”

“Both?” Vedrana asked.

“In New York and in her bedroom at her parents’ house.”

“You were in her bedroom at her parent’s house?”

“Once,” Ville admitted. “Both of her parents were gone, and she had to grab,” Ville frowned, as he thought back. “A school book, I think; she dragged me up as she searched for it. She had an iron bed frame.”

“Same with New York?”

“Mmmm.” Ville agreed. “She had this vintage purple chair in her room too, and one of those older free standing full length mirrors.” He gave a laugh as he remembered the conversation he had with her in her room and how she had teased him by telling him she had been meaning to get a stuffed animal in her room. “And a stuffed fox.”

Vedrana snorted. “Peas on a pod, both of you.”

Ville grinned, “Most of the time. She’s very proper as well.”

Vedrana smiled lightly at him. “You really like her, don’t you?”

“I thought that much was obvious.” Ville grinned, looking at his phone as it vibrated against the table. He frowned when he saw that Josef had sent him a text message, opening it, his frown deepened when he read it.

Call Soya, I think she needs you right now.