Dusk after the party (Open)

[ozrin]

"Dammit.." Drawled a sleepy, groggy voice as it's owner, with his head still buried in his pillow, reached out with his left arm and slapped at the nightstand. Many slaps later, and after a failed attempt caused him to scratch his wrist on the corner of the nightstand, the alarm clock squealed in protest as it was crushed and tossed somewhere across the room. As the simple machine settled onto the polished hard wood flooring, Keane lifted his head and looked to where his alarm clock had been resting moments before. His head dropped back into the pillow with a sigh, "Double dammit."

He hadn't actually intended to break it, but it seemed the tired and not-quite-awake state he was in and the thought in his head to break the thing, was enough to actually make him do it. He didn't react in surprise to this as he had years before when it first happened. It had become a recurring happening, sometimes a most annoying alarm would last a week, other less annoying, but no less effective alarms could last weeks or even months. That particular alarm, he had had for nearly a year. It had the right pitch and tone and the right pattern to it that he hadn't found before. After the grogginess worked out of his waking mind, he'd remember and be grateful he bought a few extra of the same model.

After a few minutes of debating whether to go back to sleep or get up, the covers slid off of him without anyone touching them. He rolled over onto his back, sat up and slid his feet over the side of the bed. Seemingly of their own accord, a pair of deep blue jeans, with a pair of boxers in tow, slipped out of a drawer and 'floated' to him before resting next to him on the bed. He slipped them on then made his way to the balcony and circular stairwell that led down to the main floor of his loft apartment.

Keane leaned against the railing overlooking the main floor. Down below he could see a corner of the kitchen, his entertainment system surrounded by a soft, plush, deep royal purple carpet with a couple couches and chairs set about it. Two ornate glass topped coffee table stood near each of the couches, which left a large area in front of the fireplace open. On a normal day that area would be relatively clear and clean, but not right then. All over clothes were strewn here and there, draped over the furniture, carpet, and tables. There were glasses just about everywhere, accompanied by bottles of one alcohol or another. He followed the path of the destruction around the rest of the floor and sighed. There had been at least thirty people there the night before and by the looks of things, half of them had left without their clothes and most without any undergarments....well, the women at least by the looks of it.

He pulled his eyes away from the floor and looked up and towards one of the large windows in front of him. He stopped and blinked when he saw a neon pink bra hanging from one of the chandelier arms. Blank, blind eyes blinked in slight surprise and confusion at the sight. One eyebrow rose steadily for a few moments, "What the hell....no...never mind, I don't want to know." he said to no one but himself. But if he did want to know, all he had to do was go into his study and look at the security recordings for the loft. There was almost no inch of the place that wasn't monitored and recorded 24/7. Of course if he wanted to he could turn off or disconnect any of the cameras he wanted, from anywhere in the loft. All he had to do was reach through the wall with his mind, and press the 'off' button.

His feet lifted off the floor gently and slowly before he began to float towards the main floor, along with the pink bra he had taken off the chandelier. As he settled onto the main floor he could see impressions all around the room, small phantom flash images of where one person or another had been. After the quick image of them flickered then went away, all that was left was a 'hotspot', the psychic 'fingerprint' that they left. They'd fade away shortly, none of the people that had been at his place had particularly strong minds, nor were they familiar to him much, if at all.

His mind brushed over the area like a feather duster, leaving the heavier objects, chairs, couches, bottles and glasses, where they were while the clothes and any papers were lifted from their resting places. The bra in his hand rose to join the floating mass of clothes that now hovered about ten feet from him. Keane lifted a hand to brush some sleep from his eyes as he thought of what to do with it all.

The same hand he had used previously, he held out a bit to his side. From a small alcove set into the wall behind him, a small metal case sped towards him and dropped into his hand. As it did, the case opened. A cigarette rose up along with a lighter before the case closed and slipped into one of his jeans' pockets. He took both in hand and lit it, slowly inhaling.

He could toss all the clothes in the trash. Even as he had the thought he decided against it. Though from above there seemed to be more clothes strewn about than there actually was, it was still quite a bit. A large laundry basket shot out from behind a concealed panel that hid and separated the laundry room from the rest of the floor. As soon as the basket was under the clothes, Keane released them to fall into it in a large heap. With another inhalation he sent the basket back to it's dark home. He wasn't sure if he'd actually put it all through the wash or not, or what he'd do with it afterwards, but at least it was out the way, making the destruction go from a tornado to that of having a few toddlers around.

The papers that had remained he brought closer and examined them quickly. With a quick flick of a raised finger one direction or another, the papers went speeding off here and there, where they dropped into piles of their own. Keane took a few more minutes to get the bottles and such picked up and sorted into their designated bins. By the time he was done, he had all but finished his smoke. He flicked it towards the garbage but would have fallen quite short had he not caught it and guided it the rest of the way.

He turned away from the rest of the room and headed in the direction of the laundry room, though a bit to the side. He could easily have gotten what he wanted from it as he had done with every thing else, but some things he was use to and enjoyed doing himself. He opened the closet doors that too were disguised to look like the wall, similar to the laundry room doors. Out came a pair of white socks that went to mid calf, and a white t-shirt. He pulled on the socks first then the tee that hugged his upper body like a glove.

After closing the closet doors he looked towards the door and couldn't hold back what he did next. He aimed then took a short run before sticking one leg slightly out in front of him while leaning back a bit as he slid across the wooden floor towards the door. A childish smile crossed his face and hung there the whole time. When he stopped sliding he was close to the shoe rack. A pair of black leather boots went over his feet before he rose, picked up his leather jacket from a hanger near the door. Snapping his fingers as he reached the doorknob, "Oops, almost forgot." He said to himself again. For a short moment he wracked his mind thinking. When he found was he was looking for in his mind, keys, cellphone, watch and wallet glided from various places around the apartment. Each one hovered in front of him until he grabbed it.

Once he was all good, he slipped out the door and locked up behind him, three deadbolts clicked though he hadn't used the key. He made his way down the stairs, his feet slapslaping on them as he took quick double steps. He reached the underground parking garage and went to his Harley, slipping on black riding gloves. Keane didn't bother with a helmet or other riding leathers, they wouldn't do him any more good than his mind would already. He did slip a pair of sunglasses on, though they were just a formality. His eyes didn't function correctly, he didn't use them to see, but that didn't mean a bug or whatever couldn't irritate them.

With a roar from the beast it woke from it's slumber as Keane backed it up then rode it forward toward the exit. The garage doors slid open slowly and the Harley gave a low rumble of impatience. The failing light of dusk sent long shadows stretching across the ground. Keane smiled at the encroaching night. But he had something to do before he could really enjoy it. Coffee! With that thought he gave the beast under him gas and took off.

[ace]

How Ace had even ended up at the party, she was unsure of. All she knew was that she was there and she might as well make the best of it. She had done well to not drink enough to disable what control she did have over her power, but she did have a fair bit. Unlike some of the other females at the party, her clothes stayed on. All she had really done was shamelessly flirting and down a few shots. Had she been a lightweight then all the energy sources down the entire street would have been blown without as much as a thought. That would have been if she were lucky. Had she not been so fortunate then there would be the possibility of many fatalities. However, it was not the alcohol that left her unconscious. It was a strike to the head with an empty beer bottle, courtesy of a plastered young man. She had collapsed outside, hidden by a hedge and dead to the world.

It wasn’t until much later that the dull throbbing in her head and the bright sun shining past her eyelids and into her irises. At first, she brought her arm over her face to return the darkness, but she abruptly sat up as a sharp pain enveloped her senses. It was then that she noted she was coated in dewdrops and rolled up under the bushes, well hidden from the world. She decided to worry about her setting later. Now, she was too concerned with whatever was causing the distracting pain in the back of her head. She drifted over her scalp, searching for anything that would be out of place when she found it. Amid her tangle of vibrant scarlet locks, a shard of glass had wedged itself into her skull. She winced when her fingertips brushed against it and gently gripped the shard between her forefinger and thumb before she pulled it out in an abrupt and smooth motion.

She moaned to herself as she glanced around the bed that had been forced upon her last night. A rock left an indent in her back, which she wasn’t very happy about, and her bare legs were littered with bits of dirt and pebbles. Acelyyn stood up and dusted off her legs, her black fishnet stockings having left a small pattern on her skin, but she paid it no mind for it was hardly noticeable. Fishnets always left red marks on her legs, but considering the fact that she had a set of legs that would easily make a model jealous, she wasn’t opposed to revealing them in a more provocative way. Somehow, her silky ruby red stiletto heels were undamaged. Her denim mini skirt was dusty, but that was it. Her jacket, however, was completely destroyed. She found a filled garbage can and that was where she delivered her jacket. She stood and glanced around before snaking her hands up her skirt and pulling down her stockings, not having the patience to carry them around until returning to the runaway’s hideout.

Ace was one of the few girls from the party who still had her undergarments. Upon realizing this, she glanced down her shirt to see that she still had the money she had come to the party with. By the time she stood up, she had managed to rack her mind for surrounding areas where she could get some breakfast. Her stomach was complaining and she wasn’t fond of the abyss within her belly. She stepped out of the driveway and onto the sidewalk. She would have preferred having a ride, for it was the way that she had gotten to the party to begin with. She assumed it would be a living hell getting back.

A car full of juvenile teen boys zoomed past her on the sidewalk, hooting and hollering at her. She wondered why they weren’t in school, but then discarded the idea. It wasn’t the first time an idiot had given her an unbeckoned catcall. However, with the way she was dressed she realized that she needed to expect people to become more idiotic. A libido based on sight would do that to a person.

She wasn’t far from the house when she heard a motorcycle roar to life and zoom onto the road. Ace could have sworn that the Harley had just come out of the same driveway she had exited not long ago, but she paid it no heed. After all, it wasn’t as if someone would recognize her from the party. She recalled the host of the party and wondered if the rider of the steel horse was him. Acelyyn had only met him for a moment and had considered flirting with him, but he seemed far too concerned with the girls who were more willing to strip down. Acelyyn was far from ashamed of her body; she just thought it was far more fun to play hard to get instead of throwing herself at any man in sight.

[ozrin]

It wasn't hard for Keane to understand why some women loved riding motorcycles. As he revved the engine he felt the beast shudder with a deep growl, he felt the power of it's engine, the steel under him. Even before he picked up speed a cool breeze passed by him making him happy he had his jacket with him. Keane wasn't a freeze-baby in any sense, but he much preferred warmth to cold and even with cool air, a brisk gust of air could make it bite as if it were much colder.

He had just come out of the driveway when he noticed a flash of pale, cream colored legs and a shock of red hair in his 'peripheral' vision. Now granted he could see all around him at all times, but just like anyone else, he has an area of focus which is generally in front of him. After the moment it took his mind to realize what he saw and to widen his sight to look back at the woman he could barely make her out. He slowed the beast down as he rounded the corner.

As he did so he did something he had worked on and practiced for years. He pulled up the image of the woman from his memories as if he were looking at her. It's unfair to say some people have a 'photographic memory' and others don't, everyone has it. The only difference is that some have the ability to access it at will, whether by inborn talent or learned trait. The later of the two is the more difficult and takes a long time to learn how to access it.

He realized after a moment that he had that odd sense that he either knew her or recognized her from somewhere. It wasn't a long list to go through, there weren't that many women with long pale legs and had hair that vibrantly red. As he thought that, images flashed through his mind attempting to pinpoint the woman. A few heartbeats went by before the same fiery hair burst into focus, another for the image to expand and fill out and yet another for the entire scene he was seeing in his mind was recognized as the party he had just held.

Two things stuck out as odd as his mind rewound to the beginning of the party then went fast forward through it to the end. The last time he had seen the woman, she had been wearing fishnets and a jacket, both were absent when he had just seen her. He wondered what she was still there, why she hadn't gone home when the party had ended. Sure it was possible she had hooked up with someone, but that didn't track considering the goings on of the party. She didn't seem to have much to drink and wasn't as 'open' as others had been. Of course that might have happened later, there was no way he could keep track of everyone all the time. But still....

Without realizing it, he had come to a stop at the next corner, off to the side while he thought and the beast idled. He shrugged as he turned the corner to circle back to her, 'Couldn't hurt to check.' he thought to himself. As he rounded the last corner he saw the woman again, eased on the throttle and coasted towards her. As he neared her he spoke just loud enough to be heard clearly over the 'purr' (more like a light growling) of the bike, "Long night, eh? I figured everyone had gone home long ago."

[ace]

When the loud motorcycle coasted around the corner, she thought nothing of it. All her mind was currently set upon was getting to the small gas station she recalled seeing on her way to the party. If she had her own car then she wouldn’t have even bothered with walking in her party clothes. She would have at least changed her heels to a pair of flats, but it was either walk in her stilettos or walk barefoot, which she wouldn’t be opposed to were she on the beach or a surface softer than concrete.

She noticed that the back of her head was beginning to moisten and she stopped dead in her tracks, feeling along her scalp until she found the sticky substance that was beginning to make her flowing red locks stick together. Ace rolled her eyes and pulled her hand into her view, only to find it her fingers coated in blood. ’It’s lucky you have red hair, Acelyyn or else people would think you were victim to a random attack.’ she thought to herself. She suddenly paused. Her thoughts weren’t exactly untrue. If one could consider a drunken fool with an empty beer bottle her attacker then she was the victim of a random attack. The mere thought of this annoyed her. Ace wasn’t exactly the kind of girl who found joy in becoming the victim, even if it was because of something as imbecilic as a frat boy with an empty bottle.

A breeze sent a chill up her spine and in a matter of seconds, goosebumps began to cover her flesh and she began to regret getting rid of her jacket, even if it did have a massive hole in the back. Ace wasn’t fond of the cold, which was odd considering the fact that she lived in Canada. However, she only lived with the Runaways in order to keep her power from hurting anyone else. She knew that her powers must have had limits, for every power did. However, she was reluctant to test them. She was slowly teaching herself how to control the energy that seemed to flock to her at her disposal. There was, however, one thing she found slightly humorous about her ability. Her hair was vibrant and bright as it was, but whenever she used her power, even the slightest bit, she would release a sort of glow and her hair would become a shade of neon. She had only seen it herself a few times.

Her attention was arrested when she head the motorcycle return. She assumed that its rider had forgotten something, or wouldn’t have come back so quickly, but she was surprised when he coasted to a stop in beside her. She stopped and looked the rider up and down. She had been right. He was the host of the party. When he inquired about her night, she smiled slightly and shook her head.

“I should have been home hours ago. However, I was rendered unconscious before I could take enough shots to get to tipsy and I enjoyed a wonderful night‘s sleep in a hedge. If I’m lucky I won’t need stitches. But I do need food or coffee or something.” She paused and looked him over. She didn’t even know his name, and she was sure he didn’t know hers. “I’m Acelyyn. Everyone calls me Ace though.”

[ozrin]

There was a few moments before Keane made any reaction to what the women had said. At first he couldn't figure out if she was being smart with him or if she was serious. While he attempted to figure it out he raised an eyebrow at her inquisitively and began to look her over. The dirty skirt and what looked like blood on her hand gave her a bit of credibility. He held a hand out to her, "Pleasure to meet you Ace, call me Keane." He leaned to the side a bit as if attempting to look at the back of her head. Though it was a futile gesture, seeing as there would have to be a mirror behind her, or he'd have to be able to see through her head to see the back of it.

Another brisk breeze swept by as he drew in a breath. The intake of the cool air caused a slight shiver to run down his spine. Though he wasn't cold the breeze caused a vague thought to pass through his mind so quick he never caught anything more from it than to look over the woman again. When he did he noticed the goosebumps all over her skin. In another moment Keane was slipping off his jacket and holding it out Ace. "Well, unless you want to head upstairs to try and stop the bleeding, I was headed out to get some coffee myself." As he spoke he gave his head a bit of a tilt as her in a 'Hop on' sort of way.

[ace]

From the way he looked at her, it was obvious that he thought she was making up a story. She only smiled when he leaned over, undoubtedly looking for the back of her head. “It’s nice to meet you, Keane…again. The story is a bit unbelievable, but it happened. I‘m really not that creative.”

Without a second thought, she bent over and pulled her hair out of the way of the cut in order to allow him to see it. By her standards, it wasn’t a big cut, perhaps half the length of her pinky finger, but that was all. When he offered her his jacket, a smile teased the corners of her lips. She took it carefully and slipped it over her shoulders when he made his suggestions.

She reached behind her and touched her wound, making her wince out of her own stupidity. “I think coffee sounds great. If it isn’t done bleeding by then…well…something’s wrong with me to say the least.” Ace swallowed a lump in her throat before cautiously straddling the cycle. Once she was on the bike behind him, she was unsure of if she should wrap her arms around him or not. “I haven’t been on a motorcycle since I was seven so I might yelp once or twice.” ’Just focus on not ripping the energy clean out of the bike if he goes over a bump.’ she thought to herself.

[ozrin]

It's a bit unfair sometimes, how little a woman has to do to grab a man's attention. That was about the line of thoughts Keane had as he watched Ace lean over to apparently show him the wound on her head. Milliseconds went by, which seemed much longer, as his eyes roamed over her until his mind caught up with his...well, you get the idea. At which point he pointedly looked at the back of her head and saw a small cut there, perhaps the length of his pinkie-nail, if that. He had leaned a bit towards her to get a better look, "Eugh, head wounds are never fun. Damned things bleed more than they have any right to."

"As long as it's not deep, getting some pressure on it should be enough to stop it from bleeding anymore." He said in response as he waited for her to get on behind him. When she did, he could feel the uncertainty? unease? before she gave her warning about yelping. He couldn't help it, he chuckled, it was just a bit cute. "Don't worry your pretty red head too much, I'll take it easy." Her words had made it clear she was not use to riding on two wheels, at least the ones that move under their own power. Keane had been waiting for her to either grab his belt or it's loops, or for her to put at least one arm around his chest.

He turned his head to look at her a bit and smiled, "Don't worry, I won't bite...too hard." He said as he held his hand out to her, prepared to take it and wrap it around his chest himself. The beast below him growled slightly louder almost as if it knew it was going to be loosed on the road again.

Keane had originally thought to head to a Starbucks or Caribou for a cup of joe, but now that he had company, he thought it'd be a bit nicer to head to a small coffee house less than a mile away. Small in this case was relative. It wasn't part of any chain or corporation, but it had been a house before it had been converted. It always had soft music playing that easily blended into the background and never became obtrusive to the patrons. It served a bit of breakfast and lunch each day, the chairs, couches and recliners set about the place were soft and plush. Sitting around drinking coffee you could often find people relaxing and reading, playing chess/checkers or cards. Some went there to sit and waste the day away, others went there to have a nice place to work and take advantage of the wi-fi the shop provided. While he had once or twice picked up, read and bought a book from their small selection of books against a wall, Keane really went there for the coffee. It was rich, smooth, full of flavor and heavenly. The coffee house had never had a proper name, but had at sometime picked up the title Twenty-Four.

The thought of 24 popped through his head and skidded to a halt before he had even begun to pull away from the curb. "Do you have any particular place in mind?" He asked as he pulled out slowly, easing into the ride. Keane thought it only right and polite to ask, since she was now a guest of sorts.

[ace]

She nodded at his comment, straightening out quickly and flipping her mass of crimson curls over her head and back behind her shoulders, a few strands lingering in her face. She raised her hand to her face and pushed the stray locks out of her hair out of her face, her eyes falling upon his again. “You can say that again. I don’t think it wouldn’t be so bad had I not needed to pull the glass out of it. The little bitch was stuck in there nice and tight.”

Ace smiled slightly and slowly, unsurely, snaked her arms around his chest, ensuring that her hold wasn’t too tight. However, when the bike shifted, her arms wrapped tightly around him, her skin beginning to glow slightly as a telephone wire above them began to spark as if becoming stressed, either by a lack of energy or an excessive amount of it. Her eyes widened and she ordered the energy in the wires to calm, which they did after a bit of thought. She also pulled the energy that was making her glow seep into her reserves, dulling her skin to its ordinary pallor.

“That was strange.” she stated, her eyes, still fixed on the wire, her voice exceptionally nonchalant. After all, she had been acting for long enough to give a convincing performance at the drop of a hat.

She swallowed a lump in her throat when asked about where she wanted to go. “I was honestly just on my way to the gas station, but anywhere you’d like to go will be fine with me. I’m generally not picky as long as the coffee isn’t black. It’s too bitter then.”

Anticipating another jump from the bike, her hold on him tightened again and her face clung to his shoulder, her gaze fixed at the road in front of them. “Sorry, I’m only used to having certain things in between my legs.”

She had been talking about the horse she used to ride all the time before her power emerged and she hid her face in his back. “Oh god, that sounded terrible.” Ordinarily she would have laughed, but now she was too embarrassed to do so. However, she was certain she would laugh later, but now wasn’t the time.

[ozrin]

Keane looked up sideways at the wires above with an odd look. One eyebrow raised skeptically in it's direction as they moved further away from it. Without realizing it he found himself nodding to Ace's words, "Yeah, strange. Maybe a transformer blew somewhere close..." Which he did not believe one bit. Keane had never heard of one blowing without the loud boom to go with it. He just didn't have any other idea what might have done it. He hadn't missed how her skin had begun to glow, but he wasn't going to be rude and say something about it. With another small look back over his shoulder, "I'll have to check the loft out when I get back."

It was about then that he realized Ace had wrapped her arms around his chest and waist rather tightly. It wasn't uncomfortable, nor was it any what painful, just tight, strong, soft and warm. Even though he was just wearing a Tee, he could feel the warmth of her hands on his chest and the closeness of her body to his. Keane might not been a hormone driven teen anymore, but women like Ace were not something you encountered often. It wasn't difficult to let his mind wander a bit, going over her image in his head, eyes tracing the lines and curves of her body.

Because of the distraction he was giving himself, he nearly missed what her answer had been. "Huh," He whispered under his breath, 'Oh right', "Hmm, well there's this little place not too far. 24, ever heard of it? Don't worry about it being black or bitter, any kinda blend you want with anything extra you'd want, they probably got ya covered. I haven't had a bad or disappointing cup since I found the place a few years ago."

With a small bump in the road Ace clung even tighter which almost caused an 'oomph' to escape his lips. “Sorry, I’m only used to having certain things in between my legs.” He heard the words come out of her mouth, it was her voice, but her could hardly believe what she just said. Was she coming onto him? A Freudian Slip? Or just a really bad use of...

Before he could finish the thought, "Oh god, that sounded terrible." Yeah, bad choice of words. It seemed his own pause of surprise was long enough for her to realize what she had said. He turned his head to look at her just as she moved and burred her head in his back. Both of his eyebrows were raised and a slight smile creased his face as he began to chuckle a bit. "Since your words gave the wrong impression," He laughed a bit softer as he turned towards the road again, "What did you mean?"

It didn't take long to reach 24. As he neared the small parking area for bikes and motorcycles, he slowed down quite a bit, coasting most of the way as he took the smoothest path to the parking spot. "Do you prefer to sit inside, out, or a little of both?" He said as he nodded his head and motioned with an arm towards the three-season porch deck.

[ace]

She shook her head at this. “No, I think it was just a power surge or something. It shouldn’t hurt anything.” Ace caught herself saying this and bit her tongue. She hoped this wouldn’t make him assume that she was what she was. “My uncle was an electrician.” she stated suddenly, as if as an explanation. It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t why she knew what had happened to the power lines. If she was lucky he hadn’t noticed her faint glow, but she wouldn’t count on it. She could only hope.


Acelyyn realized his sense of distraction and furrowed a brow, but brushed it off when he continued. “You’re the local. I’ve learned that when it comes to food, unless it’s mainstream, you should always trust the locals. If you think it’s a good place then I’ll trust your judgment.”

Still embarrassed, she proceeded to explain. “I used to go horseback riding every summer so I’m used to riding living things. Those horses and I used to rip the ground to shreds in the summer, but I don’t really ride anymore. I’d like to though.” She would never admit it aloud, but she would miss it more than nearly anything in her old life. The only thing she would miss more was performing.

Her arms tightened around him again when he came to a stop before she released him and swung her leg over the side of the bike, placing her feet on the ground carefully before nearly tumbling over. She caught herself, hoping that he hadn’t seen before straightening herself out and answering his question. “I like both. It’s a little chilly though, so I think I might prefer inside today.”

[ozrin]

"Horses eh," He said with a mix of surprise and respect. "I've never ridden one and honestly the things are a bit intimidating to me. The last one I was around, I barely came up to it's shoulder." He let out a small chuckle. "I can deal with people of all sorts and situations, but I keep a respectable distance from animals that big. Odd no?"

"I think I'd find it disturbing to ride something I didn't have full control of and had a mind of its own." Ace seemed to think she wouldn't be able to ride again for quite some time. That made him feel a bit sad for her and wanted to help, but really, its not like he could really help much. He was also curious why she wouldn't be able to. He wanted to ask, but he thought it might be a bit rude and intrusive if he did. 

He hadn't had time to make up his mind whether to ask or not before they had arrived. As Ace slid off the bike he noticed her begin to stumble even though he hadn't been facing in her direction. His arm had moved automatically towards her to help just as she recovered her balance. Trying to cover his movement as best he could Keane rested his hand on his lap as Ace answered. 

"Inside is probably best then, especially with your head." He slid himself off the bike smoothly with practiced familiarity. Putting the kickstand down he began to move toward the building. "How's that doing by the way?" He asked as he gripped the door handle and opened it for her. 

Just inside was a young woman sitting at a small greeting desk. She had bright blonde hair framing a round face, her bright green eye mirrored her large smile. "Hello Lilly, you doin  good?" He asked though he knew what her response would be. She gave him a knowing look when she stood and spoke, "What kind of question is that Keane? I'm doing great, and you know it." Keane could easily imagine her sticking her tongue out at him.  She embraced Keane in a friendly hug. "Missed ya at the party Lil. Ya should have come, there were some guys I'm sure you would have liked." She sighed a bit, but not heavily, she'd heard the same words many times. "You know me, a total part animal, that's me. Can't leave the little ones home alone now can I?"

Before he could counter with his familiar 'babysitter' line Lilly turned from him to look at and face Ace squarely, cutting him off. He put her hand out towards the woman. "Sorry didn't see you there at first. Always a pleasure to see a new face." Lilly's voice bubbled and practically overflowed with friendly welcomings. "Welcome to 24. I'm Lilly, nice to meet you...." She trailed off waiting on Ace. 

[ace]

She laughed at his words. “they’re really just like big puppies with hooves instead of paws. You just need to know how to train and handle them. The big ones are the most fun, but I guess if you’re just learning the little ones are less nerve racking. Should I ever have access to stables again and if you’re feeling up to it I could give you lessons.”

Ace smiled. “I like feeling as if I’m part of something else. Something living that’s bigger than myself. It’s probably silly, but that’s how it is.”

Her fingers found the cut on her head again and she concealed a wince before bringing her hand into her view. There was still blood, but not as much. “I think the bleeding is stopping. It should be ok…I think.”

Ace smiled and shook Lilly’s hand, forgetting about the blood coating her fingers. “I’m Acelyyn Keir.” She suddenly remembered the last time she introduced herself fully other than to Keane. He didn’t seem too zealous about the musical theater world so it was unlikely he knew her full name. “You can call me Ace though.”

Suddenly, she perked up and hesitantly glanced over her shoulder. Someone was drumming on the table, and she knew that rhythm. The drummer seemed to occupied to notice her, or the mention of her name. She, however, was not that stupid. “Not good.” she whispered to herself before scurrying behind Keane, hoping that she wouldn’t be noticed.

“Sorry, it’s kinda a long story. I highly doubt you‘d want to be bored with the details.” she explained briefly, hoping that her vibrant hair wouldn’t give her away like it always did. The tale was actually quite and elaborate and interesting one, but they didn’t need to know that. For all they knew, she could have seen an ex boyfriend, but that wasn’t the case. She was increasingly tempted to embrace the drumming man, but she knew it would lead to more exile. She was better off with all her friends believing her to be dead.