Date: Wed, 6 Jun 2001 09:42:11 -0400 (EDT) From: Rune Therain Subject: Shadows of the Past 2 And now the unleashing of the backlogged chapters shall begin. This is the second chapter, which I'm sure most of you have figured out. It does say part two after all. The usual stuff still applies to this story. Let me know what you think. If you hate it, let me know. If you like it, definitely let me know. You can reach me at either Mist_dark@hotmail.com or Mist_dark@yahoo.ca Since I check both of them your chances of getting a response are pretty darn good. As for the disclaimer, it's the same as always. I don't know them and as such if they're gay I don't know about it. If you are too young, or it's illegal in you area to be reading this, I'd advise that you leave (or at least not get caught). If homosexual themes offend you, I'd leave as well, and find out how you got here so you don't do it again. That's all the talking I'll do for the time being. Rune CHAPTER TWO The headache was gone when Chris woke up the next morning. As he pulled himself out of bed he gave silent thanks to the person that had invented Tylenol. He made his way to the bathroom that was attached to his hotel room. One of the nice things about touring was that hotels always had hot water. It was something that he'd decided long ago. However, exhausting a tour was, the hot water made up for it. At least in part. Chris stared back at himself from the mirror while he waited for the water to adjust to the temperature he wanted. He knew he wasn't the best looking of the group, but he wasn't without his own charm. It was his eyes that he liked most about his face. They were so deep a brown that they almost looked black. Someone had told him once that you could get lost in colour of those eyes. He'd forgotten who'd told him that, but he'd always remembered it. The shower worked the kinks out of his muscles and did wonders to relax him. His muscles were almost always a little tight when he first got out of bed and if he'd been out the night before they were even more tense. He was halfway through his shower when the events of the night before came back to him. Each of the events played out in his mind until he came to their rescuer, Cody. A smile crossed his lips when he thought about Cody. He didn't know anything about the guy other then his name and that he was an incredible fighter, but he was infatuated. The worst part was that he knew he was infatuated. A warm flush crept across his body as he thought about the way Cody's skin had felt when they'd shaken hands. The flush sent shivers across his skin and he quickly adjusted the water temperature to deal with his growing arousal. He didn't have time to deal with it himself. In less then two hours he had to be at the studio with the rest of the guys putting the finishing touches on a new track. They were hoping to be finished the entire album by the end of the year, but the upcoming tour might push the finish date back a bit. After they finished the track they were going to work with a new dance routine. When he finished his shower he threw on jeans and a t-shirt before grabbing his keys and racing from the room. He made his way down the garage level of the hotel and found his car exactly where he'd left it a few days before. As a rule Chris hated driving in the cities that they always traveled to on tour. But the guys had to be up earlier then he did so he agreed to drive himself to the studio. Justin collapsed on the couch in the lounge of the studio. He closed his eyes and tried to stop the exhaustion feeling from creeping all over his body. As a general rule he didn't feel this tired, but the last few days of practices had really worn him out. The only one that had more energy then he did was Chris and even he looked tired. With a great deal of effort Justin pulled himself into a sitting position when he heard the door open. A moment later Chris and Lance came through the door bickering about something. "What are the odds of you letting this go?" Chris asked. "Next to none," Lance smiled sweetly. "In fact I'd say none." "Figures," Chris muttered. "Forget what?" Justin asked. He didn't direct the question at just one of them, but Lance answered. "Chris' finally saw someone who he thinks is cute, but he doesn't want to admit there's anything there." "Our Chris?" Justin asked. "As in the one in this room, has found someone he thinks is sexy?" "I know it's hard to believe," Lance said. "If I hadn't been there I wouldn't have believed it myself." "So what's he like?" Justin asked Chris. The brunette sighed deeply and sat down in a chair. "Since Lance won't let it go, you might as well know too. Last night we got attacked going to Lance's car from the club." He held up a hand to cut off Justin's worry. "We didn't get hurt. A guy showed up and kicked their asses." "That's not all of it Chris," Lance cut in. "The important part is the guy who stepped in to help us out. He's about five foot six and has short blonde hair. Brown eyes and a silly grin." "Doesn't sound like Chris' type," Justin said with confusion. "That's because that's not what he looks like." Chris walked across the room and punched Lance before forcing the blonde to sit down. "His name's Cody. He was closer to six feet, probably a little over, and has light brown hair. He wears his hair long and his eyes are blue. He was dressed in black and was a fantastic fighter." He flourished before sitting back in his chair. "Happy?" He asked Lance. "Very." "Impressive," Justin said. "Think you'll see him again?" "Not likely," Chris said. "Other then our names and physical appearances we know nothing about each other." "Of course your face is plastered all over the place," Lance pointed out. "The odds are he'll be able to find you if he wants to. And who wouldn't want to?" Chris rolled his eyes. "I'd ask if you stop, but I know you don't." "Well as much fun as this is," Justin said as he pulled himself off the couch. It took him three tries, but he did it. "I think I'll go find the others. We should get back to the hotel soon and get some rest. I'd like to go out tonight, but I'm going to need a nap first." Chris took another sip of his beer and looked longingly into the crowded. He didn't want to admit it, but he was hoping to see Cody again. He knew that the odds of that happening were slim, but a guy had to have dreams. "Hoping to see him?" Joey asked. Chris had completely forgotten that his friend was sitting right across from him. "Huh?" "Cody," Joey said. "Justin mentioned that you'd met him the other night. Sounds like an interesting guy." Chris blushed. "Yeah I am. Hoping to see him that is." He took a drink of his beer and set the empty bottle on the table. "I don't understand it. I know almost nothing about him and I want to know so much more about him." "You're at the infatuation stage of the relationship," his friend told him. "That's just it. We don't have a relationship. I mean I want one, but until we start dating I can't say we have a relationship." Chris shook his head. "I just don't understand it." "You aren't suppose to," Joey said. "If you did things wouldn't be nearly as interesting." Chris was about to respond when a scream cut through the music filled club. An instant later a blonde woman that was dressed in a black jeans and a tank top stumbled into their table. "Sorry 'bout that boys," she smiled sweetly at them and leapt onto the table. She flashed them another smile and Chris noticed the black cat tattooed on her upper arm. The way it looked made him think of the youth he'd seen the night before. The cat seemed almost alive. The woman performed a perfect flying summersault and landed on her feet. She raced for the door and disappeared through it with a few security guards hot on her heels. "What the hell was that about?" Chris wondered aloud. "She attacked Sheryl," Justin said. The blonde had moved out of the crowd. He had an attractive young woman clinging to him. She wore a blue dress and had the darkest hair Chris had ever seen. "She did what?" Joey asked. "Sheryl and I were dancing when she came up to Sheryl and backhanded her. She said a few things and then took off into the crowd when Sheryl screamed." Justin stroked Sheryl's cheek and the rapidly forming burse became apparent. "I hope they catch her." The blonde woman raced across the street with a smirk plastered across her face. There were three guards on her heels. They were all in great physical shape and they'd be able to chase her for some time, but she wanted to have some fun with them. She entered an alley and stopped in the middle of it. She pretended to look confused as to what to do next. The alley was a dead end. "Come on lady," one of the guards said. "We don't want to hurt you, just come with us." "But I don't even know you," she said as she turned slowly. "I'd have to know your name at least." "Just come on," another one said. "How rude," she commented sharply. She reached out and snatched a garbage can lid and threw it at the offending man. She moved quickly enough that he couldn't dodge the attack. A muffled crack was heard when the lid connected with his leg. The man gave a cry and fell to the alley floor while cradling his knee. "Get her," the first guard said. "Gotta catch me first," she grinned. The woman spun and took off toward the back of the alley. Just before she reached the end she leapt, pushed off the back wall and grabbed onto a fire escape. By the time the men had made it to the end of the alley she had already pulled herself up to the first landing. She was waiting for them when they reached the roof. She stood in the centre of the roof with a whip. The guards were struck with two thoughts at once. The first was that this woman suddenly resembled Catwoman and the second was 'where the hell did she get a whip?' "Sorry boys," she almost purred. "I just couldn't resist the chance to play with you for a bit." She cracked the whip to punctuate her point. "Hope you don't mind." She watched the two remaining men fan out with amusement clear on her face. "Just come with us lady," the youngest of the guards said. He didn't want a fight and just wanted to go home. "I promise that we won't hurt you." "Bet you say that to all the girls," she smirked. She cracked her whip in his direction. He threw himself backward to avoid the leather barbs, but lost his balance as a result. "Besides I'm out of your league." She spun around and slapped the whip against the roof. The sudden change of direction made the other man move back. "And you don't have any more of a chance." "Drop the whip," a commanding voice shouted. Two police officers climbed onto the roof. Each of them had their guns pointed at the woman. The woman sighed deeply and dropped her whip. "You picked the worst time to ruin my fun." "Whatever," the female cop snapped. "Point your hands up and step away from the weapon." "You'd almost think I was dangerous." "The man in the alley suggests that you are," the other cop said. "I am, aren't I?" The blonde smiled. "And I'm also very busy. So if you'll excuse me." She bolted for the edge of the building. "Freeze," both cops shouted at once. When she didn't stop both fired their guns. Both shots were intended as warnings. The woman jumped slightly when the guns went off. She slipped on some water that the previous night's storm had left on the roof. Instead of hitting the roof, she slammed into the edge of the roof. Her momentum carried her over the side and she disappeared from sight. No one on the roof moved for a moment. A few seconds after the woman went over the edge a loud crash was heard from the alley she'd fallen into. Very reluctantly both cops made their way to the edge of the roof and looked over. They scanned the alley for a second. "Do you see her?" The female cop asked. "That's not possible," her partner whispered. He wordlessly pointed to the blonde woman. She was standing in the middle of the brightly lit street. She waved at the cops and then calmly walked down the street. TBC What did you think? Yes, I do know that I'm begging here and I wish I could say it wasn't intentional, but it is. I want to know what you think. Until next time, Rune