Hey guys, here's a new addition to the chapter. I've also added more narrative to the story, it doesn't necessarily mean there's less dialogue (well actually there is). I just think by adding more of a narrative would add some more pop to this story. P.S. to anyone who was confused about the last chapter...I usually add line breaks to make sure there aren't any confusions when fantasies come into play but for some reason they don't show up on nifty. So i hope that helps explain that issue. Other than that, I hope you all enjoy this story!
Chapter 14: Trouble at the White Rabbit Ball
"Hey Blaine, I'm not trying to sound inconsiderate but are you sure it's alright if we go to the WRB with you?" Declan asked as he wrapped his shiny red tie around his exposed collar. "The invite was just for you."
"I'm sure it'd be okay. I mean Annie doesn't seem like the kind of chick that would be angry if I let my brother and his friends come with me," Blaine replied shinning his black loafer. "It is Cupid's birthday and all."
"You do know Cupid isn't real, right?"
"Of course I do, I was just joking."
Declan's brows furrowed in disbelief then rolled his eyes as he knocked on his closet door. "Are you almost done in there, Sugar Bear?"
"Yeah, I'm just trying to remember how to tie my tie." Ryan shook his head as he heard his nickname pass through his boyfriend's lips. It had been months since Declan used that nickname and Ryan was just getting used to not being so brutally embarrassed.
"Sugar—Bear?" Blaine thought to himself as he continued to shine his loafers.
"So tell me about this girl, Annie. What's she like?"
"She's an Asian cutie and she's really shy."
"Is that all?"
"Well I don't really know much about her. We just met last week for a couple minutes."
"And she gave you an invite to this White Rabbit Ball? She must really be into you to invite a total stranger."
"What can I say? I'm a chick magnet," Blaine gloated.
Declan's closet door opened and Ryan stepped out dressed in a fitted all black suit with a shiny red bowtie and black loafers. His hair was subtly styled with his long black bangs parted to his left, the tip grazing the edge of his round jaw.
"How do I look?" Ryan asked as he slowly turned.
"Perfect." Declan walked over to his boyfriend and kissed him on his forehead. Declan was dressed in a similar attire but with a regular tie.
Blaine slipped into his loafers and stood to look at his brother and Ryan. He smiled and patted both of their heads. "You two really are perfect for each other."
"Thanks Blaine," Ryan said nervously. "If someone had told me that you would be saying that to me several months ago, I would be laughing in their faces right about now."
"What can I say? I'm a new person," Blaine gloated yet again. "Where's Riley?" Blaine looked at his wristwatch and realized that they were on schedule and had about five minutes left to spare till they had to leave.
"I don't know. He said he'd be here once he convinced someone to be his date." Declan rolled his eyes. His best friend has been going on a downward spiral ever since he got involved with Emilio. His grades had been falling at an incredible speed and he hardly ever showed up for class let alone school. It was a good thing that football season was over because at the rate he was going he would have had to suck up to a great degree or get kicked off the team altogether though Principal Masur would never let that happen.
The three of them walked down the stairs and sat in the lobby waiting for Riley and Emilio to show up. Declan looked at his brother, his feet would not stop tapping the white tiles as if they were banging tiny little foot drums. Feeding off his brother's impatience, he began to quickly text his best bud. Ryan looked at Declan and sighed. Valentine's day is supposed to be a day where couples express their love for each other to a highly exaggerated state but Ryan did not feel like he was celebrating that with the way his boyfriend was acting. Ryan walked up to Blaine and sat on one of the arms of the black leather chair.
"Hey Blaine, you are okay with my brother driving us to the ball right?"
"What?" Blaine looked like he just woke up from a dream, or more like a daydream. "Oh yeah, it's no problem. I see him every day for art. Why?"
"Well you two seemed really close till last week. I hardly see you two hanging out around school anymore. I thought you two got into a fight or something."
"Did he say anything?" Blaine asked turning his attention to his brother.
"No, more like he hasn't said anything. Ever since I told him that you were invited by a random girl to a ball, he hasn't said anything else to me. It makes for really difficult daily conversations."
"Well I don't know what to tell ya. I have no idea why he would be that way, honest." Blaine was lying through his teeth and Ryan didn't notice a thing. In fact, when Ryan told Fang about the ball Fang went berserk on Blaine the next following school day. He demanded an explanation from him as to why he would go to some petty ball with a stranger, let alone a girl when he obviously has been vying for his love.
"All this time, I thought you were obsessed with me. When all along, you just wanted to fuck with my head!" Fang yelled. "What did I do to ever make you lose interest in me?"
Blaine sighed as he remembered his argument with Fang. He couldn't believe that he was getting yelled at by his crush all because he accepted an invite to a dance. To be honest though, Blaine wasn't quite sure why he had accepted the invite in the first place. For the whole week, all he could do was think why he would accept the invite since he had no dancing ability which is exactly why he never attended any of the dances the school offered: Homecoming, Sadie Hawkins, All Hallows Eve, and he didn't even attend his junior prom, he wasn't even considering going to his senior prom either.
Suddenly the front door swung open with Riley and Emilio stepping inside the Argiris residence. Riley was dressed in similar attire matching Blaine, Declan, and Ryan except he had slightly baggy dress slacks that slouched at his ankles but seemed incredibly tight around his crotch. He also donned a white long tie. Emilio was also dressed the same as Riley except his pants seemed exceptionally baggy and even though he had a black belt wrapped snug around his waist, his left hand accompanied his crotch holding it.
"Took you two long enough," Declan said dryly.
"Sorry, Millie and I had some things to do before the dance." Riley's eyes darted directly at Emilio's crotch as he tried to cover his own forthcomings.
Blaine noticed this and rolled his eyes, sighed, then rose to his feet. "I guess we should go then since everyone's here."
The five of them walked out of the house with Declan locking the door. As they walked down to the garage, they found Fang lying on top of his Red 2010 Honda CR-V. Fang turned to his left side facing the group. His eyes darting to Blaine who quickly turned his head to the accumulating grey clouds. Fang then rolled off of his car, landing gracefully on the concrete pavement. He got hopped into the driver's seat and honked the horn three times. HONK, HONK, HONK! The group quickly stepped into the car with Blaine sitting shotgun, the four cramped in the back.
"So where to?" Fang asked turning his attention to Blaine.
"To the Yamato Hotel," Blaine replied looking at his feet.
"Yamato Hotel? That's in the city. That's at least two hours away and that's without traffic," Emilio barked. "We're going to be late to a stranger's dance."
"Pipe down, Taco Bell," Fang responded back. Fang looked at the clock, six thirty. The dance starts at seven. Fang took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled. "We'll make it on time. Everyone just buckle up and shut the fuck up."
"Fang, what are you going to do? There's no way we're going to make it in time," Ryan asked worried.
"Don't worry, little ones. With me as your designated driver for the night, I promise we will get there with five minutes to spare." And with that Fang stomped on the accelerator and maneuvered out of the Argiris' garage. Everyone quickly buckled up as they were being whipped in all directions in some crazy thrill ride. The belts didn't seem to help at all though. Sure it kept them securely fastened in their place but some were getting queasy with Fang's crazy driving. Fang sped through several red traffic lights and yet no cops were around or chasing them for that matter. Looking through the rearview mirror, Fang saw Ryan and Declan clinging closely together while Riley and Emilio were fondling each other. Just when Blaine thought he was going to puke, Fang quickly jerked the wheel to the left swinging everyone to the left. Fang parked the car and turned off the engine. "We're here."
The group unbuckled their useless restraints and shuffled out of the vehicle. Declan got onto his hands and knees and kissed the stone pavement. Blaine held onto the passenger side door handle as he swallowed his Fang-induced vomit. Riley and Emilio walked to the back of the Honda and right when they were about to unzip their flies, they caught a glimpse of Fang glaring at the both of them through the rearview mirror. They both gulped and walked back to the group after they readjusted themselves. Everyone's shirt was wrinkled due to the seatbelts and Fang sighed. He walked out of his car and locked the doors with his keychain. He examined the group and scratched his head. They arrived five minutes early but they're clothes were fucked up. They did not look presentable. In his peripheral vision, he saw a lean Asian woman dressed in an all black suit with a white blouse and a black skinny tie walking up to the group.
"Which one of you is Blaine?"
Fang recognized the woman's voice and turned on his heel.
"Yuki? Yuki Kirijo?" Fang said dumbfounded.
"Fang Dojima? Or is it Fang Chau now?"
"It's Chau," Fang replied. "What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing. Are you with Blaine and the rest of these kids?"
"Sadly I am. I drove them here."
"Ah and judging by this group's faces, you had one of your crazy speeding frenzies," she laughed.
"Uh do you two know each other?" Blaine chimed in.
Yuki glared at Blaine, which caused him to glare right back at her. She walked up to him with her arms crossed and with her right forefinger; she pushed upon Blaine's forehead causing him to fall back against the passenger door. "Are you Blaine? You look like the kid I saw last week."
"Yeah, what's it to ya?" Blaine barked.
"If Annie hadn't invited you herself, I would beat you down to a bloody pulp. Instead you get to go inside." Yuki looked at the other four and looked back at Blaine. "Who are these four?"
"Their my friends more or less. I invited them."
"Just because Annie invited you doesn't mean you can go ahead and invite other people to a private event."
Fang stepped in-between the two of them and face Yuki. "The other Asian is my little brother. Do me a favor and just let them through."
"Fine," Yuki replied biting her lip. "But only if you go too, the Nguyen's would have my ass on a sushi platter if I they found out that you returned to only drop off these punks."
"I'm not exactly dressed for this occasion, Yuki." Fang had grey sweats, black and navy blue high top sneakers, and a loose white sleeveless shirt revealing his ripped arms.
"I'm sure the Nguyen's kept your uniform just in case you ever came back."
"I'm not actually coming back."
"It's all the same in their eyes. They still talk about you at the staff meetings every month."
Fang let out a sharp sigh and grabbed Blaine's black tie. "You owe me," Fang growled.
The group then followed Yuki to the Yamato Hotel. The outside look like any other Chinese Temple, it was a chimney-like structure with white bricks and red poles holding up its roof made up of tan curved shingles. Still amazed by its exterior structure, the group was shoved through the automatic double doors by Fang and Yuki.
The group still awestruck with the exterior had their jaws slammed onto the large black and gold speckled tiles. The interior was faintly lit with candle lit lanterns at every corner, softly illuminating the yellow and green bamboo stalks plastered to the wall. There were posters of dragons, tigers, and elephants subtly hanging on the walls. The registry was donned with a three-foot gold Buddha with several pennies and dollar bills resting at its feet. Yuki walked to the registry and a young Asian lady with black hair tied into a bun greeted her. Fang walked to the registry and the receptionist gasped. She constantly bowed to him as she walked backwards to the backroom. Moments later, she walked back to the registry with an identical suit matching Yuki. She handed it to Fang who only let out an annoyed sigh.
"I'll only be a moment," Fang said dryly. "Don't go anywhere and don't touch anything. I mean it, don't touch anything." Fang then hopped over the registry and walked into the backroom.
Blaine looked at his watch and realized that the ball had already begun. He walked up to Yuki with his arms crossed continuing to further wrinkle his already wrinkled white shirt. "Shouldn't we get going? The ball has already started."
"The ball starts when Annie is ready. Don't worry about it so much."
"But the card said—."
"Disregard the card. Annie only put a time because she said it would be tacky to not have one. The ball will most likely start in an hour."
"Are you sure?" Blaine's brows furrowed.
"I'm her personal guard, I'm sure as I'll ever be."
The remaining party walked over to the registry still awestruck.
"How is it that I've never heard of this place?" Declan asked.
"Mai, explain to these punks why they've never heard of the Yamato."
Mai bowed twice and smiled at Yuki and the group. "The Yamato Hotel is an exclusive invite only establishment owned by the White Rabbit Corporation. Other than invites, members with authority are allowed as well which included security guards, chefs, maids, and other hotel related employees."
"Well how is someone invited?" Emilio asked, his hand still on his crotch.
"By one of the higher ups of the White Rabbit Corporation," Mai replied with a smile.
The group except Blaine sighed, as they all knew that their chances to be invited were non-existent.
"Blaine here, is the only one that has been invited out of your five so he is the only one actually allowed in this building. The only reason you all are here is because of Fang."
"What does my brother have to do with this?"
Just then, Fang walked out of the backroom dressed in the White Rabbit guard uniform with an addition to black fingerless gloves and black shades. His sneakers had been replaced with his old black combat boots. Fang lazily climbed over the registry and slouched next to Yuki.
"Fang used to be one of the Alphas here at White Rabbit Corporation," Mai replied batting her eyes at Fang. "Being an Alpha is not only a high honor among the corporation but Alphas are known to be the strongest and smartest among the guard and known for their excellent mastery of martial arts and weaponry."
The group including Blaine stared at Fang who only sighed.
"The only other person to attain such a high honor is Yuki Kirijo."
The group, with their jaws open, stared at both Yuki and Fang.
"Can we just go?" Fang whined. "The quicker I'm out of this wretched uniform, the happier I will be."
"I bet Mai would love to help you with that," Yuki snickered.
Fang glanced back at Mai. She was in a Fang induced trance. Her gaze was fixed on Fang's tush which made him gag. The group looked back at Mai, her chin was resting on her knuckles, her elbows atop the registry desk. Emilio looked at Fang and giggled. "Looks like Mr. Chau has a female admirer."
Yuki began to snicker even louder until it burst into a full on laughter spasm. "Not just her, practically all the female employees and gay men `admirer' him. He's as popular as the actual White Rabbit."
"White Rabbit? Who is this White Rabbit?" Blaine asked.
"I am," a voice said coming from behind Yuki and Fang. Yuki and Fang stepped to the side and Annie was there standing with the same Gothic Lolita dress and parasol from a week before. Riley's eyes widened as he quickly recognized that the White Rabbit and Annie were both Tony. Annie looked up and caught Riley's gaze. She subtly nodded to him and smiled. Emilio noticed Riley's gaze and instantly grabbed Riley's hand. His intimidating glare only made Annie cower behind Yuki and Fang, her head slightly hidden behind Fang's left arm. Yuki let out a slightly annoyed sigh and pulled Fang away from Annie leaving her exposed to the group.
"She looks really familiar," Ryan told Declan.
"I know right? Like we've seen her before," Declan added.
Riley shook his head after hearing his friends talk about Tony in his alter ego getup. If anything, he was actually quite amazed that Tony could sound exactly like a girl after undergoing puberty. "I guess it pays to be such a dedicated actor," Riley thought. Riley also felt Emilio's jealousy as Emilio stood behind him with his strong arms wrapped around his chest. Annie walked up to Blaine and held his hand. "Shall we?" she said innocently.
Annie led Blaine to the hotel's convention area. The fifteen-foot tall red doors were sealed shut but it was obvious to any human being that the party had already started inside. Two large male guards stood in front of the doors, both were armed with a sidearm hanging from a holster wrapped around their waists. Yuki and Fang showed their respectable IDs also Annie revealed her presence. The guards bowed to Yuki and Fang and pushed the doors open. The group was let in and the they all dispersed inside, Declan and Ryan dove straight to the food carts, Emilio and Riley glided to the dance floor, Blaine and Annie walked to the balcony, and Yuki and Fang stood by the now sealed red doors.
"So where are the wretched Nguyens'?" Fang asked with his arms crossed.
"Somewhere here. Possibly amongst the crowd."
"You don't know? What kind of Alpha, let alone guard, doesn't know the exact location of one of the corporate heads?"
"One that doesn't care for them."
"When did they change the corporation from Yamato to the White Rabbit Corp?"
"About a year or so after you quit. Plus they started using Tony as their mascot."
"Speaking of Tony, I thought he was called Andros not Annie."
"His parents forced him to create an alter ego so he could do be more than a one dimensional actor. Androgynous is Tony's male alter ego and White Rabbit is Tony's female alter ego," Yuki explained.
"But he calls himself Annie when he's the White Rabbit? I know he's not that dumb to just come up with a name so similar to his male counterpart."
"He came up with Annie when he met Blaine. It was kind of a spur of the moment type name, or so he says. I think he should just change it to something more relevant to White Rabbit."
"How about Lady Bunny?" Fang suggested.
"Isn't that a name for some drag queen?"
"Isn't that what Tony basically is right now?"
Yuki stayed silent as she listened in on her earpiece. Fang studied her as her light brown eyes moved to the direction of her earpiece. She looked so serious yet calm and collected. Fang noticed that she had her sidearm at her side, but it was strange to Fang because he always knew her as the close combat type guard. Blades were more her style, blades and fists. Fang patted his sides and realized he forgot his sidearm in the armory. Yuki slowly exhaled and looked at Fang.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"I seemed to have forgotten to equip myself with the proper gear," he laughed.
Yuki stared at Fang for a few seconds then sighed again. "Just go to the registry and tell Mai that to go play fetch."
"Oh ha ha, very funny Yuki," Fang said dryly. "I'll be back real quick." Fang pulled the doors open and walked to the registry. Mai was still there, scribbling down in her notebook. Fang tapped on the desk and Mai looked up. She smiled nice and wide, revealing her yellowish teeth.
"Is there something I can help you with, Fang?" she asked.
"No, I just need to get my gear in the armory."
"Oh I can do that for you," she said as he backed away slowly to the backroom.
"No, it's alright. I can do it myself." Fang hopped over the desk and walked into the backroom and closed the door behind him. Fang let out a sharp exhale and wiped the trickle of sweat from his brow. He walked passed the lockers and to the steel door which had the word "Armory" branded into it. The door had a fingerprint and retinal scanner panel to the right of the door. Fang pressed his right thumb onto the panel while widening his eyes for the retinal scanner to scan. A red laser swept across Fang's eyes and a bright white light scanned Fang's thumb. ACCESS APPROVED. Fang stepped back in front of the steel door and he could hear the multiple gears and shafts moving within the door.
Suddenly the Armory door revealed a small bulletproof window. Fang lifted up the window and his gear slid out on a metal slider. On the slider were the standard sidearm, an electrical shock baton, and a sheathed blade. Fang holstered his sidearm by his side, his baton within his suit jacket, and his blade resting horizontally on his lower back. Before leaving the backroom, opened up his locker again and took out his earpiece. Fang leaned against his locker and realized how funny it was that he was back with the corporation once again, even though he swore he wouldn't return. Fang placed his earpiece into his ear and walked back to the registry. He noticed that Mai was slumped against the desk. He found it strange since she wasn't the kind of girl to ever do that on the job, so he tapped her shoulder and she slumped to the ground. Her throat had been slit. Fang pressed a button on his earpiece and said, "Yuki, we have a Code Red. All guards prepare for lockdown."