Two-Faced

[mead1]

Two-Faced

Every man and woman on earth is two-faced. This is not an exaggeration. We put on visages to get our way. We talk differently to our friends then we do to our mothers. Every one of us has a side they show, and many they don’t. What people fail to realize is that the sides we do not show are people too. They speak, think, and live, even when we do not want them to. The faces we hide cannot merely be turned off at the flick of a switch. We must live with them always.

Marty was a quiet loser.

Sam was a pretentious artist.

Aden was a loud prankster.

Kaine was a maniac with a lust for blood.

Steve was a fairly normal guy. And it is with him the story begins.

Steve was working quietly in his cubicle. His boss needed those TPS reports on his desk in two hours. He typed furiously. The text in front of him grew like a living thing. It branched through diagrams, and jumped from page to page. Steve was a genius at his job. He was an efficiency consultant. Not a very interesting job by any stretch, but he had a passion for it. He essentially told other people how to better do their jobs, and he netted a cool 200,000 a year. As the text flew, his thoughts were elsewhere. Specifically, they were at a table. A table that did not exist outside of his mind. A table with five seats.

A loud dispute had broken out amongst the five. They always made decisions by majority agreement. The boss had offended Sam’s artwork in the cubicle. He wanted revenge. Marty just wanted to post about it on myspace. Sam wanted to steal the boss’ wife. Aden wanted to super-glue the boss’ chair while he went out. Kaine wanted to dismember the boss, and use his entrails to decorate the door of the nearby orphanage. Steve wanted to forget the whole thing and get back to work. Aden and Sam eventually agreed it would be best to make it look like the boss was sleeping with the secretary to the rest of the office, then steal his wife when she heard about it. Steve had bullied Marty into siding with him on continuing the work. Kaine was still steadfast in wanting disembowelment. Normally, Kaine could be persuaded one way or the other, but he was determined today to see what the boss was made of.

Steve finally gave in. He proposed they let him finish the work, then he would leave a forged love note from the boss on the secretary’s desk, and if the opportunity arose, make a move on the wife. That satisfied Aden and Sam. 4/5 was plenty. Steve woke up from the daze. He finished his reports in a hurry.

So Steve set to work appeasing the masses. He opened up a new document, and went about acting like his boss in writing. He put in as many “mhm”s as possible, and made the whole thing rather boring. He proposed the secretary meet him at a bar the following night. He then pulled up an internet Thesaurus and replaced every monosyllabic word possible with larger synonyms. Now it looked right. He printed it, folded it, then forged his boss’ signature. This wasn’t too hard, as he had it on every document he had ever received. He got up, dropped it carefully on the floor near the secretary’s desk, where some curious co-worker was sure to find it, then delivered his reports to the boss.

Steve walked home a few hours later. He lived about a block away, and he didn’t feel the need to drive that short a distance. He checked his watch: 6:34. Twenty-six minutes until Marty time. It was generally agreed upon that Steve should have control most of the time. The other four saw him as the one best fitted to keep food on the table. This control came with the stipulation that the others could call a meeting whenever they saw fit, and he would obey the decision. The other four also got their own hour and a half to do with what they saw fit. If Steve was not home in time, due to work, Marty had to settle with whatever time was left. Everyone except Marty had seen this as totally logical.

So Steve got home to his apartment, locked the door behind him, hung up his nice clothes, and stood naked in the clothing room. He needed a full room to accommodate for five styles, each with clothes to suit them. At seven, Steve was no longer there, and Marty went hunting for some clothes. He pulled out a white T-Shirt and sweat-pants that were a brilliant shade of red. Marty never left the house on his time. He had an internet connection, and that was all he needed.

He hopped into the seat and logged on. He hopped onto Myspace to check his messages. He had lots of friends and they all loved talking to him. He never posted any pictures, of course, that could lead to trouble. On the internet Marty pretended he was his own man. He pretended he was a college student who was currently buffing up in preparation of the football season. He pretended he had a lovely girlfriend named Susan. He pretended to drive a beat-up Mercury Tracer LS. He chatted over AIM with people he would never meet. He played some internet games. Before long, his time was coming to a close. He came out of his fantasy land and stood naked in the clothing room at 8:29.

When Sam woke up, he was excited. He had spent the whole day planning for his time. He threw on some old raggedy clothing bought from goodwill and pulled out his pencils and canvas. Sam only did pencil works. Never in color. He believed he could leave the viewer to interpret the piece more themselves this way. He drew today a portrait. It was a picture of Steve’s boss. The picture was fantastically detailed. Every bit of the pudgy man was created in spectacular likeness. The boss was seated at a tall desk. He was twiddling his thumbs. On his desk lay a stack of papers and a coffee mug. The office looked exactly as it did in real life. Then Sam began work on a figure behind the boss. He labored over this figure. Little more then a shadow, but visible. Poised, with a knife, about a foot behind the boss. The man was Kaine. Sam took offenses to his work very seriously. The picture completed, he placed it in the only free spot in the main hall. The walls of the hall were covered in sketches of all things. Sam didn’t often draw death, but he had a special loathing for the boss. After it was fitted perfectly in the hall, he realized he had only about twenty minutes left. He made himself some coffee and relaxed for about fifteen. He admired his work. Someday, the rest of the world would see it. At 9:59 he stood naked in the clothing room.

Aden awoke and threw on a Hawaiian shirt and some jeans. Tonight he was going to have some fun at the expense of others. He left the apartment, locked it behind him, and went to the bar. The five had agreed that everyone would answer to “Steve” while conscious and in public to avoid complications. Well, Kaine always went by Kaine, but that was his business. Aden pulled one of his favorite props from his pocket: a twenty-dollar bill. Aden took out a pen, scribbled something, then carefully glued it to the floor behind one of the larger men, not terribly well, but glued so it would stick until someone really tried. After doing this, he ordered a drink, and sat down a table away to watch. Some man about his height was the first to see it. The man bent over to pick it up, careful not to disturb the larger man. When it wouldn’t come up, he repositioned himself so he could put more force behind his pull. The man accidently bumped into the large man, who turned around and bellowed “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TRYING TO DO?” The large man had had just a bit too much to drink that night, all the more fortuitous for Aden. The smaller man smiled and said he was picking up the twenty to return to the large man, who had obviously dropped it, and apologized for bumping into him. The large man looked quizzically at the twenty, pulled it up, and read what was scribbled on the back.

“Hey big fella, I like the way you look, let’s meet tonight at the ridin’ dirty.
-Love Chester”

It should be noted at this point that the “ridin’ dirty” was the city’s largest gay bar. The large man looked at the bill, then at the foolish grinning smaller man. He looked between the two, wondering what would cause the man to think such things about him. Aden left as the first bone-crunching blow landed. He would have stayed to watch more, but his time was running low. He went back to the apartment, locked the door behind him, and stood naked in the clothing room at 11:29.

What Kaine did is Kaine’s business, and his alone.

The Five slept one in the morning. They had to get up at eight the next day to be at work by nine. Seven hours was plenty.
--

Ok, so that's the first bit. At this point, the next section will be outlining the birth of one of the personalities. I will leave it up to you guys who it is.

Obviously, Steve is the original, and I'm saving Kaine for last.

Would you like to hear about the creation of Marty, Sam, or Aden?

[Tibs]

lol dat was gud maek sure you finish this one lmao

p.s. aden

[mead1]

Originally Posted by -Tibs-

lol dat was gud maek sure you finish this one lmao

I probably won't but I'll write atleast a little moar.

[JurseyRider734]

Aden

[Omeganitros]

That was so rad.

[Pumble]

Aden for more clever reference placement and possibly a light-hearted romp

[Omeganitros]

Marty, because I want to see how someone goes from being a regular joe to a loser.

[MagicCarpetRide]

I can't believe i got myself to read the whole thing! You made me read ALL that you should be some kind of author like...

[iggymatrixcounter]

Is it a coinsidence that his alternate personality names spell Mask? (marty, aden, sam, kaine)

Definitely want to learn about aden as the story should go from humorous to serious (since kaine is last).

[mead1]

Originally Posted by iggymatrixcounter

Is it a coinsidence that his alternate personality names spell Mask? (marty, aden, sam, kaine)

YOU CRACKED THE SECRET CODE

Yeah, that was intentional.

EDIT: Also

I'm writing the birth of Aden right now. Because I feel like writing and he's currently winning.

[Tokzic]

AND HE WOKE UP AND IT WAS ALL A METAPHOR

Intriguing. Do go on.

[jadez03]

Very good. I liked the TPS reports reference, made me smile.

Can't wait till Aden and Kaine are introduced.

[mead1]

Aden: Part 1

15 years prior

Steve had just enrolled in St. Margot’s High School. He was a sophomore this year. His first year had been spent at L. Tyler James, and that had been a good year. He hadn’t been the most popular kid ever, but he had a few good friends. That was before. He had moved 1600 miles, and hadn’t had the chance to say goodbye to most of them. His family, now in witness protection, could make no contact with those they had left behind. The man his father had testified against had connections. The last thing they wanted was anyone knowing where they had gone. So here was Steve. More accurately, here was Steve, Marty, and Sam. He had two “friends” that would be with him always.

None of them were very outgoing people. The people he had known before had come to him, through forced groups on projects, friends of friends, etc. Now he had to start over. It was quite a daunting task. He was a member of the art club, but there was like one other person in it, and she wasn’t any more talkative then he was. He knew it was time for a change. One Monday, he dressed different. He dressed more colorful then his normal black shirts, opting instead for a bright red pullover. Most people would consider this insignificant, but it is huge to someone who wears nearly the same thing every day. As he put it on, he resolved today to be louder and more interesting, to make people like him, or atleast to be known. That day he would be someone other then himself. He knew this was exactly the way he had ended up with Marty and Sam, but he didn’t care. He figured it would help round out his personality. As he looked in the mirror before school, he felt a new presence. He left himself, and went to the conference table in his mind.

Marty was dressed in black, as always, and was slouching forward in his chair, half asleep. Sam was wearing a brown woolen sweater. Pretentious artists were rarely seen outside of sweaters. Sam was watching the new guy, who was currently sneaking up behind Marty with a large bucket of water. Steve walked in quickly, and held the new guy back. He woke up Marty, and had everyone take a seat around the table. He gave the new guy the floor to speak. Aden introduced himself as the man to take Steve into the popular scene. He was going to get him all the girls, and make all the boys want him at their parties. He had quite an ego.

It should be noted at this point that this was before Steve was established as having control most of the day. At this point, the three (now four) simply took control when they thought they had something to add to the situation that the current one in control could not deliver. They still voted on the important things, and because of this, Sam was excited. Up to this point, Steve pretty much got his way. Marty was easily bullied if Steve went all “I made you” on him. Sam would have liked to have had a few decisions go his way, but for the most part they didn’t. Now, however, there was another. Sam thought this guy probably had a bit more spine. They could be allies. He had the feeling that between them, they could make this life a bit more interesting.

Steve had already addressed the issue of the voting. He said if ever there should be a tie, a coin would be flipped to determine the winner. Sam thought to himself that ties would come up far more often then Steve was currently predicting. The meeting ended a few minutes later. Aden surveyed himself in the mirror. The three others had laid out the ground rules for him, and he understood them, but he considered them more of guidelines. What would they do, vote him off the island?

Aden walked to school that morning. His house was close enough to school that it only took him about five minutes. He entered the school, cracking his knuckles in preparation for a busy day. Steve wasn’t a bad guy, just not one with much social experience. What he needed was to pull something big. Something that would get him noticed. Get the name “Steve Plexy” out there.

Aden made his way to first period. It was math. The teacher was Mr. Benson. This did not look like the time to make his move. However, he got his first chance, and he took it. They were put in groups for the first time all year. He could feel Steve getting excited at the prospect of having new people who were forced to meet him. Steve was in the backseat this time, however. Aden introduced himself, and immediately set to the task of establishing who he was. They were given about ten minutes to get to know their group members. The other members of his group were a bored fat guy named Drew and a girl named Jessica who was wearing cat ears and insisted that she was Japanese.

They got along alright, and finished the work well within the time. The conversation drifted to Aden himself, and what he did outside of school. This was a tough one for Aden, as his body spent most of it’s time either painting or posting on obscure forums about finger-dance games. He decided it would be best to say he was a writer. Aden decided he had a passion for writing, and pitched himself as such. He talked of ideas he had for future works, and how difficult the writing process was. Drew had fallen asleep and was drooling and snoring at the same time, but Jessica was captivated. Aden evaluated the situation, he decided for Sam’s sake that this was not the girl for them. When she showed him some of her “artwork” (Badly drawn ninjas with headbands), he could hear Sam screaming in anguish. Even Aden had to admit it was pretty bad. Aden decided if given the opportunity, these two would be tossed to the curb.

They presented their work. They were the last group up. The other two had nominated Aden to be the one to present, due to his speaking ability. Aden walked to the front of class, and explained how his group had graphed the equation, and taught the concept to the class. He walked as he spoke, using his hands for frequent gesticulations. The class watched, as interested as students can be in math. When he was done, they clapped. He took a cheesy bow. The teacher walked to the front, and told him that though his presentation was excellent, the math was almost entirely wrong. Aden took this as an opportunity.

“Sorry sir, but this project was the work of three men, not one man, god’s bowling ball, and a recording of a woman yelling “KAWAIIIIIIIII”

The class laughed. That was what he wanted. People remembered you if you made them laugh. Drew looked hurt. Jessica was smiling and staring at him in an unbelievably creepy fashion. Aden wasn’t sure how he was going to get rid of her, but the presentation was over, as was class. That was tomorrow’s problem. The bell rang and he left class. Jessica caught up to him. She asked for his AIM. Marty probably had one, but Aden sure didn’t. He told her that and hurried off.

The next period was PE. A terrible time to meet people. Aden was by no means in good shape, so they would associate him with his terrible physical abilities if they met him this period. So he kept to himself. Or, he tried to, anyway. The coach had decided that it would be a good day to run laps for an entire period. That’s always instant fun. He ran, quietly, not disturbing anyone, falling far behind the group. Some large kid eventually lapped him. He turned, and spoke tauntingly. The kid was an utter moron. But he was also much larger, so Aden asked his name. The kid’s name was Chester Coverpound. Aden made a mental note. He disliked Chester Coverpound. He disliked him intensely. Still, there was no point in retaliating, as there was nobody close by to hear his witty remarks, and there was a high likelihood of Aden getting the crap beaten out of him. He ran quietly until Chester got bored and left.

The next period was independent study. Steve had taken it because it was essentially a free period. He had one period a day, all year, to turn out a novel. He would be graded on effort. It gave Sam extra time to draw, Marty time to do internet things, and Steve to study for other classes, or some other responsible thing. Steve was working on the novel every few days. It was called “The Best Policy”. Nobody expected him to actually finish it. Being that he was alone in the class, Aden found no reason to retain control of the body for this period. He surrendered control to Sam, since he seemed a more interesting person then the other two. Sam immediately took to drawing pictures of the girl from art class. Aden was amused.

The period ended, and Sam gave the reins back to Aden. Aden walked to the final period of the day (Block Scheduling is rad). It was English. Aden was ready. He had hardly sat down, however, when over the speakers the principal, Mr. Dimes, announced there was a pep rally that day, and that they all must report to the gym at that point. All the students shuffled out of class. Aden felt cheated. He walked to the gym and took a seat on the bleachers. Jessica sat promptly down next to him and started rambling about a full of metal biologist or something similar. He tuned it out and watched the “show”.

There was one of the teachers in a cape made of a quilt. He looked quite ridiculous. The man walked around, and picked people from the crowd for something that was about to take place. Aden thought this might be an opportunity as well. He pulled off the red pullover, and waved it around his head, yelling like someone who actually had spirit. The man called him down, so he stepped up to the group of those already chosen. As it turned out, they were chosen to play a 10 minute game of flag football against the football team of the school. Aden introduced himself, and volunteered to be quarterback. He noticed his buddy Chester. Chester was QB for the opposing side. Aden didn’t expect to win, but he wanted to be visible.
As would be expected, the football team won. The seniors cheered like crazy, and the rest of the school gave a half-hearted round of applause. The teacher was talking to Chester about what a great season they would have. He then walked to Aden, introduced the crowd to him, thanked him for being such a good sport about the whole thing, and asked him if he had anything to say. He said:

“Well, I’d just like to say that High school sports are serious business. They matter a lot. I am sure Chester over there will look at this day as the crowning moment of his life when he’s a twenty year-old married to a cheerleader he knocked up after a game and is working sixteen hour days at Chili’s to make ends meet.”

That got a lot of laughs. From the gangster corner, someone started “ohhhhhhh”, soon, every person in the auditorium joined in the “ohhhhhhhhh”-ing. Aden was proud. Perhaps this hadn’t been a total waste of his time afterall. They would all remember him now. People remembered you if you made them laugh.

He went home that night, told Steve’s mom he was tired and was going to bed early. When he was safely in bed, he went to the table, and to the other three.

Steve was furious. Marty was scared. Sam was amused. Steve went on to cite thirty separate instances that day where he had objected. He went on about how Aden had made a fool of him, and how he would never live it down. Marty went on and on about how Chester would find him sometime after school and beat him down with a passion. Sam just watched. Aden suggested they call a vote as to whether he should be allowed to have reign over the body tomorrow, and then give it back to Steve for the majority of the time. He said he had matters to finish up, and he promised not to make a fool of himself.

Steve voted no. Marty voted no. Sam voted yes. Unsurprisingly, Aden also voted yes.

They flipped a coin, and Aden won. He had tomorrow. He promised Steve he would listen to him when he called meetings, and would honor their decisions, and that ultimately, he would not get the crap beaten out of him.
--

So, part one is done. What do the people want to see Aden do with his second day?

[Tokzic]

completely blow it

This is a wicked-awesome concept, by the way.

[Labeight]

I don't know but this is freaking awesome... read 'em both in one sitting and I'm hoping for more

[Jamaican Jew]

Jessica should actually be Chester's girlfriend. (Or Chester should have some sort of crush on her.) If Chester liked her and Aden found out, he could go out with Jessica just to anger Chester, and thwart both the annoying otaku girl and the obnoxious bully with one blow.

[mead1]

Well, the problem being that neither of them are going to be fully realized characters. They only exist for the short section that is "Aden's chronicles of highschool lol"

[Jamaican Jew]

The scenario could easily be summed up in a chapter or less, and would lead to Aden completely blowing it like Tokzic wants.

However, it is all up to you.

[mead1]

Well, the second part of Aden's story isn't coming for awhile. I did end up making her into a real character though.

--

Back in the present

Steve woke up rather tired the next morning. Kaine had gotten home a little late, but none of the other four really wanted to take it up with him. So, time for the first decision of the day, breakfast. The five sat at the conference table.

Steve spoke first. He proposed they eat a light breakfast of eggs. Marty, speaking up on one of the three issues he actually cared about, wanted something bigger. Marty suggested they go to somewhere nice, since there was no work today, and get something gigantic. Sam wanted to go out and get a cup of coffee at Starbucks. Starbucks was always bustling with artsy-types. Aden went along with Sam, as he normally did on these matters. Kaine thought they should find a bum on the street, rip him open, and feast, gaining his soul and wisdom. Weekends were difficult when there were five people to be pleased. Ultimately, since Marty was very stubborn about food, Steve gave Sam control. Sam walked to Starbucks, and bought a six-dollar cup of coffee. It was good though. He sat quietly at the table reading a paper. Stock market was down. The president had done something stupid. Another school shooting. A rash murder a few miles away. The last one caught his attention. Upon further inspection, he discovered the man who had been killed last night was none other then their boss. He heard Kaine laugh. This was more then slightly unsettling to the whole group. Sam set down his coffee and paper. It appeared as though he was staring out the window, but he wasn’t there at all.

Marty was crying. Sam was drumming his fingers nervously. Aden looked a pale shade of green. Steve was twirling a pen. Kaine was sitting quietly on the floor. Steve called him over. This was what they had all been worried about for years. Kaine’s time was not something they liked to talk about or bear witness to. It usually resulted in some poor cat being flayed open in an alley, or something similar. He had never actually killed someone. They didn’t want to think he had this time, but there had been something about that laugh. Something that told them he knew a bit more then he should. Steve kept a semi-level head, and tried to question Kaine. The problem with this was at the core of Kaine’s being. He was pure unbridled violent aggression, with a large helping of cunning. If he knew something, it was unlikely he’d say. Kaine vehemently denied it. He said he had not killed anyone the night before, and that he was aghast that Steve would even suggest such a thing. He gave a spectacular show of shock and dismay at the whole group, and suggested Sam go finish his coffee so they could get out of the stuffy Starbucks. Steve saw there was little he could do. He had regretted bringing Kaine into existence many times. But never so much as this.

Steve made a motion to suspend Kaine’s nightly romps. This was met with great apprehension by the others. They agreed he shouldn’t be allowed to roam the streets, but if his time could be taken away, who was to say their’s was not next? It was a heated discussion. It was interrupted by a voice speaking outside the room. It was calling Steve. Steve got up, and took control.

Steve awoke from his apparent daze to see a tall black-haired woman sitting opposite of him, holding a Chihuahua in her arms. She called him again. He snapped up. He apologized for his inattention, saying he had gotten not nearly enough sleep the previous night. The woman made sweeping gestures with her hands. She said “Well Steve, don’t you recognize me? It’s only been fifteen years.” Steve contorted his face trying to remember. Aden yelled “OH HELL NOT HER”

The woman stood up, and started pacing. “Steve, I’ve never forgotten you. I had to move, and we never got a chance to say goodbye. I yelled at you in the hallway that day, but you didn’t turn around. I guess you didn’t hear me or something. We fell in love that first day we met, Steve. We both know it. It took me a long time to find you again, but I have at last. Now we can be together.”

Steve stood up. He quickly gave Aden control. This was definitely his problem to solve.

“Well, it’s great to see you Jessica. Just great. Actually, at the moment I have to go. I think I left my house on fire. We’ll have to catch up some other time. See you later.”

Aden bolted. He flat out ran out of the shop, leaving half a cup of coffee. Jessica yelled “OK THEN I’LL SEE YOU WHEN I SEE YOU THEN!” He didn’t turn, he just ran. He got in, and locked the door behind him. He sank down on the couch. He heard the others calling for a meeting. He obliged and sat down at the table in his mind.

For possibly the first time ever, the other four were doing the same thing. All four men raised one eyebrow and stared at Aden. Marty spoke.

“Double-You-Tee-Eff man! We could have hit that!”

Sam had similar sentiments. Steve sort of wanted to know what he had missed back in highschool. He thought Aden had made it pretty clear that day he wasn’t interested in Jessica. Apparently there had been some mixed signals. Kaine wanted to know why he couldn’t have eaten the little dog she was holding. The other four then raised their eyebrows at Kaine, then went back to the discussion. They all generally agreed it would be wrong to take advantage of someone so obviously out of her mind. At the same time, there was also the mutual consensus that she looked much better then she had fifteen years ago, and that maybe she wasn’t crazy, they did consider themselves devilishly handsome. Aden didn’t agree on any points except that he was devilishly handsome. He spoke with passion. He said she was exactly the same creepy childish person he had shunned years ago, and that spending time around her would almost definitely result in all of their immediate deaths.

Marty promised Kaine if they got with Jessica, Kaine could find some way to make the dog disappear. With two people for his side, Marty called a vote on “hitting that”. Aden knew this had to be shot down. He eventually won over Sam. Steve was already apprehensive, so Aden knew any votes relating to the “hitting” of “that” would sway in his favor. 3/2 in favor of leaving her alone. Aden breathed a sigh of relief. The meeting then turned to more serious matters. Kaine was still an issue. They mutually agreed (Kaine not withstanding) to limit him to the house during his time. Nobody liked the idea. It just had to be done. None of them was sure if he had anything to do with the boss’ recent departure from the world, but until the mystery surrounding that subsided, it wouldn’t hurt to be safe. Kaine was silent.

Sam had asked to go to an art show that night. Since the group had nothing else planned for the evening, it was agreed he could go. The others would just have their time before that. Marty was first. His time began at Noon. The time was extended to two hours on weekends.

Marty decided today he would make a rare trip out of the house. He dressed in black and wore chains. He thought it was outstandingly trendy and cool. He walked to the local Borders. He sorted through the CDs there. Marty took music very seriously. His taste was a little eclectic. Today he picked up the new “Black Rose for my Broken Soul” album. He took it home, posted on myspace, and whined about the day’s missed opportunity. He did other things, but they’ll come up later, and I can’t just reveal what will be a future plot device. To make a long story short, he finished before two, and gave control to Aden.

Aden took this opportunity to relax. He didn’t have anything in particular planned, so he turned on the television. Nothing good is ever on at two, so he flipped on the TiVo and watched some game show he had taped a while back. Before he could really get into it though, the phone rang. They didn’t often get phone calls, but Aden did like screwing with telemarketers, so he picked up. The voice on the other end was all too familiar.”

“Heeeey Steeeeve! It’s Jess. I found your number on the internet, and decided to call you up. Did your house make it?”

Aden did not want to talk to this woman. He opened up to the others to let someone else take control. Nobody wanted to talk to her, except Marty, and Aden held him down. Kaine took this opportunity to jump into control.

“Hello. I believe what I have been entirely incapable of saying is that I in no way want to associate with you. I do not wish to ever see you again. I certainly did not fall in love with you. This being said, if you knock the dog out and leave him in a bag in a pre-determined place, we may have a deal.”

There was stunned silence on the other end of the phone for a moment, and then:

“STEVE! YOU TWO FACED SNAKE! I KNOW YOU LOVE ME!”

Kaine laughed. He had a creepy laugh. It sent shivers down the other four, and across the phone line, Jess felt much less like stabbing Steve and much more like not pursuing this conversation. But her love drove her to stay on the phone. Kaine spoke once more after his fit of laughter subsided.

“Ma’am, you know not the complement you pay me by calling me twofaced. I see no need to continue this conversation any further.”

Kaine quietly hung up the phone, and returned control to Aden. The other four stared at him. Meanwhile, a few miles away, Jessica decided Steve had simply had a bit too much to drink. He still loved her.

--

So, time for another Flashback. Marty or Sam?

[Tibs]

Marty!