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dazzledfirestar.livejournal.com) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
marysuevirus2011-05-25 02:35 pm
dazzledfirestar.livejournal.com) wrote in marysuevirus2011-05-25 02:35 pm
Entry tags:
- author: dazzledfirestar,
- character: bobby drake,
- character: clint barton,
- character: dare scott,
- character: haley stone,
- character: jehnna d'abo,
- character: johnny storm,
- character: morgan lafavre,
- character: remy lebeau,
- character: roxxy stewart,
- character: warren worthington iii,
- universe: marvel au
MSV: Friendship Set to Music (Mutant Sue AU - Chapter 2)
Title: Friendship Set to Music Chapter Two: Riders on the Storm
Fandom: Marvel (60s Counter-culture AU)
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: ~3000
Warnings: Drug use, drinking, sex (M/F, F/F, M/M, and every other combination)
Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable. Marvel does. The sues are the property of their originators;![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ladydeathfaerie, ginevrasm, nanaeanaven, sessys_fangirl and dazzledfirestar. I don't make any money from this.
Author's Notes: Okay, important music for this one... Foxy Lady - Jimi Hendrix, Back Door Man - the Doors and House of the Rising Son - the Animals... in that order. LOL And I think everyone (or the Sues at least) are now present and accounted for. LOL Also, I promise not all the chapter titles will be Doors songs. LOL So, enjoy!
She sat, yawning and sipping her coffee on the bigger of the two couches. It had been a long night, after all. Dare wasn’t up yet, and Haley wasn’t really surprised. She smiled into her mug. After the initial bout of fear had faded between her and Dare, things had gone pretty damn well. Johnny had been treated to quite a show as the two women explored each other over and over again. When he’d finally had enough of watching, things got intense… or more so. Haley had wondered if it was the wine and the weed that made it hard to keep track of what happened or if it had been some kind of kismet situation where they weren’t meant to remember more than the blur of skin and bodies and sensation.
She was pretty happy with the blur.
It wasn’t the first time she and Johnny had slept with another person. It actually happened pretty regularly—as most of his band mates would attest to—but it usually wasn’t that overwhelming. She’d felt that sense of belonging before… though she’d never actually mentioned it for fear of making things too freaky for the guys, but something about this thing with Dare felt like the last piece of a puzzle. Something there was going to complete something big. She just knew it.
As if her thoughts had called the other woman into the room, Dare plunked herself down on the opposite end of the couch with a giant yawn. “Good morning.” Haley smiled. “There’s coffee if you want.”
Dare shook her head. “No, I’m cool.”
Haley watched her pick at the shirt she’d pulled over her head, dig in her bag for something, and play with the lighter she pulled out of the bag. The amount of nervous energy around the other woman was amazing. “You okay?”
Dare stared at her for longer than she expected. That couldn’t be a good sign. Haley leaned forward and put down her mug, getting the feeling that a long conversation was coming. “Is this how I’m supposed to pull my weight around here?”
Haley’s brow crinkled. “What?”
“The sex. Is that why… I mean, I can’t really chip in on much and I just don’t get why you guys would… without something…”
“Dare!” Haley reached out and put her hand on the other woman’s knee. “Look, you don’t have to do anything around here. Last night was…” Haley searched for the right word and failed to find it. She sighed heavily. “But if that’s it; if you don’t want to do it again, that’s cool. Really.”
“Really?” The suspicion in her voice almost hurt.
Haley pulled her closer. “Really. Look, I don’t think I have to tell you we’re both attracted to you. But if it’s not a mutual thing, it’s no fun.”
“Oh.”
“You are welcome to stay here no matter what, Dare. You need a roof, we have one.” She shrugged. It really was that simple to her.
Dare seemed to mull that over for a bit. “Okay… well,” she blushed, “I… I wouldn’t say no to all that happening again.”
Haley smiled. “Me either.” She closed the distance between them and pressed a heated kiss to Dare’s lips.
The moment was broken by a whistle from the other side of the loft. Haley pulled back and rolled her eyes. Dare looked up and seemed to notice the other occupants of the room for the first time. She turned back to Haley with a smile. “Johnny’s band?”
“Yeah, most of it. But don’t let them hear you call them that.” Haley laughed softly and turned her gaze back on the guys. “Like what you see, Barton?” Her voice carried over the space.
“You know it, Sweetness.”
Haley smiled and shook her head. They would have continued the usual back and forth if Warren hadn’t counted off behind him. When Haley turned back to Dare, she saw the girl watching the four members of the band that were present with a certain amount of interest. “So, what’s the deal there?” Dare asked and motioned between Haley and Clint.
Haley shrugged, putting on the same air of mild indifference she used when Johnny asked her about it. “He and Johnny kind of… shared me a couple times.”
Dare’s eyes got a little wider. “Oh…”
Haley motioned to the band. “Here, let me give you the important information.” She laughed. “That,” she motioned to the bassist, “is Clint Barton. He’s… well, he’s T-R-O-U-B-L-E. In the good way.” She watched Dare eye up the tall blond and smiled. She figured they’d peak each other’s interests eventually. “Over in the back is Warren.” She pointed to the drum kit behind the rest of the guys and the blond sitting behind it. “He’s… well…”
“Well?” Dare’s eyebrow went up. “Well what?”
Haley seemed to realize how that had sounded and back pedaled a little. “No, no… he’s not like horrible or anything.” She laughed. “He just… well, you know Worthington Industries?”
“Sure.”
“Yeah. His dad owns it.”
Dare’s eyes went especially wide. “Wow… what the hell is he doing here?”
Haley smiled. “I guess he’s playing the drums.” She cast a look at Warren and smiled. “He’s really good too.”
“Yeah, he is.” Dare sat back and listened to the guys for a minute.
Haley finally continued. “And that’s Bobby.” She pointed to the dark haired guy setting up a keyboard. “He’s a sweetheart if there ever was one. And you never have to worry that he’s going to cop a feel.” She laughed again. “Unlike some of his band mates.”
“Wow, an actual gentleman?” Dare laughed too.
“Well…” Haley’s smile faded for the first time in the length of the conversation. “Bobby’s… a little lost in that department. He won’t admit it… but, well.” She sighed. Before Dare could ask any more about the matter, the front door slammed open. “Oh goodie.” Haley rolled her eyes. “I wonder how hung-over he is this time.”
~*~*~*~
Dare barely noticed when the band stopped playing right in the middle of an instrumental riff on Foxy Lady. She was focused on the front door and the man leaning heavily on the frame. “Who’s that?”
“That,” Haley rolled her eyes again, “is Remy.” A long suffering sigh pulled Dare’s attention back to the woman next to her. “If you catch him sober, he’s actually pretty charming. But it’s a big if right now.”
Dare’s eyes followed the man as he entered the loft. Everything about him screamed sex to her. The way he held himself, the swagger in his walk, the fact that his jeans were so tight they might as well have been painted on. He had the kind of charisma that made it hard to notice anything but him in a room if he wanted your attention. “Front man?”
“How can you tell?” Haley laughed.
Dare shrugged and tried to keep herself in the conversation. She reached forward, grabbing a pack of cigarettes in front of her and lighting one. “It’s the swagger. They all have it.”
“Do they now?” Haley’s eyebrow rose.
“You can’t tell me you don’t know that.”
“Okay, fair enough.” Haley laughed again.
“Who de new femme?” Remy smiled in the direction of the couch. Dare was suddenly blushing again. He seemed to be able to make her—and she was fairly sure anyone else—feel like the only person in the room. Or at least, the only one in the room that mattered.
Johnny smirked at him. “That’s Dare. She’s gonna be living here for awhile.” Remy smiled at her again. “Think you can concentrate long enough to actually rehearse here, Casanova?”
“Sure he can.” Clint rolled his eyes and snuffed out his cigarette. “He wants to show off now.”
Remy’s smirk seemed to burn into Dare’s brain for a moment. “No need, mes amis.” He turned the full force of that smirk on her and her breath nearly audibly caught. “No need at all.”
“You can drop the accent, Rem.” Warren shook his head. “We all know it’s not that thick.”
“Do you think you could maybe, I don’t know… get on with it so we can enjoy the rest of our day?” Haley smiled at the boys and—Dare noticed—batted her eyelashes a little.
“Yeah, I mean… Johnny was on and on last night about how good you guys are supposed to be and…” Dare shrugged, just barely holding back to her own smirk. “I don’t know. Right now it’s looking a lot like more flash than substance.” She looked at Haley who had apparently caught onto her little game. “Maybe I’ll have to find someone else to get my motor running.”
“Yeah, come on, boys.” Haley bit back a smile, or tried to. “Show her what you’ve got.” She let the innuendo hang for a second.
Remy leaned into the guys and they seemed to confer about something. When he pulled back, he moved over to the couch and leaned down over Dare. “You wanna see what I got for ya, chere?”
Dare didn’t falter. She flashed him a smile before leaning into him. “Show me yours and I’ll show you mine.”
Remy’s smile was positively predatory. “Dat a challenge, chere?”
“Damn right it is.” She laughed as he backed up.
He had barely gotten back from the couch when Johnny’s guitar wailed to life. The rest of them followed his lead. Dare saw the smile creep across Haley’s face as the music swelled. She followed the redhead’s line of sight. She was watching Johnny, who was deep into his groove already. But her eyes moved every so often to the bass player. Interesting… Dare smiled. Very interesting.
Her attention was pulled to the one guy she hadn’t really given a look. Bobby was at his keyboards, finally getting a chance to shine a little, and he was taking advantage of it. Dare nodded along to the steady rhythm but smiled at the licks Bobby was getting out of that keyboard.
Then Remy finally demanded her attention. His voice felt smoky; smooth… the best comparison she had was the one time a friend of hers had gotten a hold of some good bourbon. It had that slow burn to it as he stared at her and smiled.
Hey all you people tryin’ to sleep
I’m out to make it with my midnight dream
She felt her cheeks heat up. The guys seamlessly swung into a cover of House of the Rising Sun and she was sold. Johnny had been right. They were good.
Dare didn’t get much of a chance to consider just how good they were as the couch cushion beside her dipped and a striking girl with dark hair and the most amazing eyes she’d ever seen sat between her and Haley. “So I got these.” She handed Haley a stack of paper. “I don’t know if we’re going to get much of a turn out but… it’s a worthy cause, right? I mean someone’s got to care about this stuff. Someone’s got to do something about all this!”
“Right, Rox. You know I agree.” Haley was nodding and flipping through what was obviously a stack of fliers about… something important. “Oh, hey. You haven’t met yet!” Haley raised her eyes and smiled. “Dare Scott, Roxxy Stewart. Columbia’s loudest voice for change.” Haley handed Dare a flier.
“Oh, I don’t know about that.”
“I do. You love this stuff. You don’t love that it needs to get done, but you love having a say. Don’t deny it.” Haley smiled at her friend. “Roxxy’s known me forever.”
“Not forever. Just a couple years. We were in some of the same classes before Haley dropped out.”
“I didn’t drop out. I lost my funding.” Haley’s cheeks burned for a second and Dare wanted to ask what she meant. Haley picked up on that. “My parents kicked me out and cut me off.”
“Why?”
“Because of me.” Johnny pressed a kiss to her temple and sat down in the nearest chair. “I’m a bad influence.”
“Actually, it wasn’t just that.” Haley frowned. “My brother… he was drafted and he’s dead. My parents think that’s just part of being in a war and don’t see a problem with anything. I… strongly disagreed.” Dare watched Johnny slip his hand into hers and she squeezed it like he was a lifeline. She wondered vaguely how long they’d been together. “But that’s ancient history. This--" she waved the flier, “is the present and the future!” She smiled and bent to continue plotting with Roxxy.
Dare noticed the other girl standing near the far end of the couch. “Hey.”
She smiled shyly. “Hi. Umm… I’m just tagging along.”
“Yeah, it shows.” Dare half smiled at her. The girl was dressed pretty primly given the rest of the group in the loft, right down to her saddle oxfords. “Why don’t you sit down?”
“Uh… okay.” She shuffled into a seat near the couch. “I’m Jehnna by the way.”
“Dare.” Her smile grew. “That’s Johnny, Clint, Remy, Bobby and Warren… and I’m guessing you already at least vaguely know Haley, right?” the girl nodded. “Alright then, you’re all caught up.”
“So,” Remy smiled at the girl and she damn near squirmed. Dare couldn’t really blame her. “What a nice girl like you doin’ here?”
“I’m… well, I’m helping with the sit in Roxxy’s planning so… she said she needed to stop by and talk to Haley so… here we are.”
“Rox, stop exposing this poor girl to the wrong crowd!” Johnny smiled at the other woman and she rolled her eyes.
“Jehnna’s a big girl. She’ll be fine as long as you behave yourselves.” She levels all the boys with a look and went back to the fliers.
“So then, I guess the real question is what’s a nice girl like you doing working on protests?” Bobby settled into the last empty seat. “Trying to save the world?”
“Yes, actually.” The girl stood a little straighter. “That’s exactly what I’m doing.”
Johnny smiled. “Well, good luck.”
“You’ll need it.” Clint lit up another cigarette and sat on the floor. Dare watched him for a minute, noting the rather cynical way he was looking at what Roxxy and Haley were up to. Under that there was something else. Something when he looked at Haley or when Johnny touched her. Dare didn’t want to name it—she hadn’t been there long enough yet to be sure—but it looked like something that was dying to complicate things.
Her concentration faltered when that smoky, bourbon drenched voice was in her ear again. “What ‘bout you, chere? You gon change de world too?”
“Nope.” Dare shrugged. “The world’s a little too big for me.”
~*~*~*~
She was tired. She was always tired at this point. Apparently, from the little bit of information she was given, that was normal. Normal. The word mocked her. She’d spent the last of the money she’d taken with her on a cheap room in a hotel. The bedding was dirty; the bathtub had a ring thick enough to write your name in. The place was disgusting.
But it was better than not having a bed at all.
She hadn’t thought finding someone would be as hard as it was. But she didn’t really have a choice. If she didn’t track Dare down, she’d have to go to one of those horrible places they sent girls like her. She shivered. Things shouldn’t have gotten that bad, she thought. Things should have been nice. She should have been picking out dresses for her friends and for herself. She should have been excited and happy about this.
After all, Harry was nice and well off and… he had a bright future. That was how her father had put it. He had a bright future and he could take care of her. Only he wasn’t taking care of her now. Now she was alone and… she was one of those girls nobody in decent circles talked about.
Dare could help though. Something told her that one way or another Dare would be able to figure something out. She was far from any decent circles now since she’d run away. It’d been years but she could only imagine that Dare was one of those people now. Those people her mother crossed the street to avoid, just in case. But she was still her friend. Dare said she would always be her friend and that was what she needed in that moment more than anything else.
If only she could track her down…
She’d gone to the last address Dare’s letter had come from. No one there could help. Not really anyway. One girl who looked like she thought she was floating said she’d left for good because the ‘vibe’ was wrong in that place. She could definitely tell something was wrong and got out of there as quickly as possible.
Though one of the closer to sober people there had pointed her toward a diner not far from the ‘crash pad’. They said she liked the food even though the crowd was definitely on the ‘square’ side of things. She’d had lunch there… and dinner. She couldn’t afford breakfast and stay in the motel. Things were getting desperate. She was sure Dare would show up eventually, but she didn’t really have that kind of time.
She kept asking around. She needed a break. She needed help.
Morgan LeFavre needed a friend.
Fandom: Marvel (60s Counter-culture AU)
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: ~3000
Warnings: Drug use, drinking, sex (M/F, F/F, M/M, and every other combination)
Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable. Marvel does. The sues are the property of their originators;
ladydeathfaerie, ginevrasm, nanaeanaven, sessys_fangirl and dazzledfirestar. I don't make any money from this.Author's Notes: Okay, important music for this one... Foxy Lady - Jimi Hendrix, Back Door Man - the Doors and House of the Rising Son - the Animals... in that order. LOL And I think everyone (or the Sues at least) are now present and accounted for. LOL Also, I promise not all the chapter titles will be Doors songs. LOL So, enjoy!
She sat, yawning and sipping her coffee on the bigger of the two couches. It had been a long night, after all. Dare wasn’t up yet, and Haley wasn’t really surprised. She smiled into her mug. After the initial bout of fear had faded between her and Dare, things had gone pretty damn well. Johnny had been treated to quite a show as the two women explored each other over and over again. When he’d finally had enough of watching, things got intense… or more so. Haley had wondered if it was the wine and the weed that made it hard to keep track of what happened or if it had been some kind of kismet situation where they weren’t meant to remember more than the blur of skin and bodies and sensation.
She was pretty happy with the blur.
It wasn’t the first time she and Johnny had slept with another person. It actually happened pretty regularly—as most of his band mates would attest to—but it usually wasn’t that overwhelming. She’d felt that sense of belonging before… though she’d never actually mentioned it for fear of making things too freaky for the guys, but something about this thing with Dare felt like the last piece of a puzzle. Something there was going to complete something big. She just knew it.
As if her thoughts had called the other woman into the room, Dare plunked herself down on the opposite end of the couch with a giant yawn. “Good morning.” Haley smiled. “There’s coffee if you want.”
Dare shook her head. “No, I’m cool.”
Haley watched her pick at the shirt she’d pulled over her head, dig in her bag for something, and play with the lighter she pulled out of the bag. The amount of nervous energy around the other woman was amazing. “You okay?”
Dare stared at her for longer than she expected. That couldn’t be a good sign. Haley leaned forward and put down her mug, getting the feeling that a long conversation was coming. “Is this how I’m supposed to pull my weight around here?”
Haley’s brow crinkled. “What?”
“The sex. Is that why… I mean, I can’t really chip in on much and I just don’t get why you guys would… without something…”
“Dare!” Haley reached out and put her hand on the other woman’s knee. “Look, you don’t have to do anything around here. Last night was…” Haley searched for the right word and failed to find it. She sighed heavily. “But if that’s it; if you don’t want to do it again, that’s cool. Really.”
“Really?” The suspicion in her voice almost hurt.
Haley pulled her closer. “Really. Look, I don’t think I have to tell you we’re both attracted to you. But if it’s not a mutual thing, it’s no fun.”
“Oh.”
“You are welcome to stay here no matter what, Dare. You need a roof, we have one.” She shrugged. It really was that simple to her.
Dare seemed to mull that over for a bit. “Okay… well,” she blushed, “I… I wouldn’t say no to all that happening again.”
Haley smiled. “Me either.” She closed the distance between them and pressed a heated kiss to Dare’s lips.
The moment was broken by a whistle from the other side of the loft. Haley pulled back and rolled her eyes. Dare looked up and seemed to notice the other occupants of the room for the first time. She turned back to Haley with a smile. “Johnny’s band?”
“Yeah, most of it. But don’t let them hear you call them that.” Haley laughed softly and turned her gaze back on the guys. “Like what you see, Barton?” Her voice carried over the space.
“You know it, Sweetness.”
Haley smiled and shook her head. They would have continued the usual back and forth if Warren hadn’t counted off behind him. When Haley turned back to Dare, she saw the girl watching the four members of the band that were present with a certain amount of interest. “So, what’s the deal there?” Dare asked and motioned between Haley and Clint.
Haley shrugged, putting on the same air of mild indifference she used when Johnny asked her about it. “He and Johnny kind of… shared me a couple times.”
Dare’s eyes got a little wider. “Oh…”
Haley motioned to the band. “Here, let me give you the important information.” She laughed. “That,” she motioned to the bassist, “is Clint Barton. He’s… well, he’s T-R-O-U-B-L-E. In the good way.” She watched Dare eye up the tall blond and smiled. She figured they’d peak each other’s interests eventually. “Over in the back is Warren.” She pointed to the drum kit behind the rest of the guys and the blond sitting behind it. “He’s… well…”
“Well?” Dare’s eyebrow went up. “Well what?”
Haley seemed to realize how that had sounded and back pedaled a little. “No, no… he’s not like horrible or anything.” She laughed. “He just… well, you know Worthington Industries?”
“Sure.”
“Yeah. His dad owns it.”
Dare’s eyes went especially wide. “Wow… what the hell is he doing here?”
Haley smiled. “I guess he’s playing the drums.” She cast a look at Warren and smiled. “He’s really good too.”
“Yeah, he is.” Dare sat back and listened to the guys for a minute.
Haley finally continued. “And that’s Bobby.” She pointed to the dark haired guy setting up a keyboard. “He’s a sweetheart if there ever was one. And you never have to worry that he’s going to cop a feel.” She laughed again. “Unlike some of his band mates.”
“Wow, an actual gentleman?” Dare laughed too.
“Well…” Haley’s smile faded for the first time in the length of the conversation. “Bobby’s… a little lost in that department. He won’t admit it… but, well.” She sighed. Before Dare could ask any more about the matter, the front door slammed open. “Oh goodie.” Haley rolled her eyes. “I wonder how hung-over he is this time.”
Dare barely noticed when the band stopped playing right in the middle of an instrumental riff on Foxy Lady. She was focused on the front door and the man leaning heavily on the frame. “Who’s that?”
“That,” Haley rolled her eyes again, “is Remy.” A long suffering sigh pulled Dare’s attention back to the woman next to her. “If you catch him sober, he’s actually pretty charming. But it’s a big if right now.”
Dare’s eyes followed the man as he entered the loft. Everything about him screamed sex to her. The way he held himself, the swagger in his walk, the fact that his jeans were so tight they might as well have been painted on. He had the kind of charisma that made it hard to notice anything but him in a room if he wanted your attention. “Front man?”
“How can you tell?” Haley laughed.
Dare shrugged and tried to keep herself in the conversation. She reached forward, grabbing a pack of cigarettes in front of her and lighting one. “It’s the swagger. They all have it.”
“Do they now?” Haley’s eyebrow rose.
“You can’t tell me you don’t know that.”
“Okay, fair enough.” Haley laughed again.
“Who de new femme?” Remy smiled in the direction of the couch. Dare was suddenly blushing again. He seemed to be able to make her—and she was fairly sure anyone else—feel like the only person in the room. Or at least, the only one in the room that mattered.
Johnny smirked at him. “That’s Dare. She’s gonna be living here for awhile.” Remy smiled at her again. “Think you can concentrate long enough to actually rehearse here, Casanova?”
“Sure he can.” Clint rolled his eyes and snuffed out his cigarette. “He wants to show off now.”
Remy’s smirk seemed to burn into Dare’s brain for a moment. “No need, mes amis.” He turned the full force of that smirk on her and her breath nearly audibly caught. “No need at all.”
“You can drop the accent, Rem.” Warren shook his head. “We all know it’s not that thick.”
“Do you think you could maybe, I don’t know… get on with it so we can enjoy the rest of our day?” Haley smiled at the boys and—Dare noticed—batted her eyelashes a little.
“Yeah, I mean… Johnny was on and on last night about how good you guys are supposed to be and…” Dare shrugged, just barely holding back to her own smirk. “I don’t know. Right now it’s looking a lot like more flash than substance.” She looked at Haley who had apparently caught onto her little game. “Maybe I’ll have to find someone else to get my motor running.”
“Yeah, come on, boys.” Haley bit back a smile, or tried to. “Show her what you’ve got.” She let the innuendo hang for a second.
Remy leaned into the guys and they seemed to confer about something. When he pulled back, he moved over to the couch and leaned down over Dare. “You wanna see what I got for ya, chere?”
Dare didn’t falter. She flashed him a smile before leaning into him. “Show me yours and I’ll show you mine.”
Remy’s smile was positively predatory. “Dat a challenge, chere?”
“Damn right it is.” She laughed as he backed up.
He had barely gotten back from the couch when Johnny’s guitar wailed to life. The rest of them followed his lead. Dare saw the smile creep across Haley’s face as the music swelled. She followed the redhead’s line of sight. She was watching Johnny, who was deep into his groove already. But her eyes moved every so often to the bass player. Interesting… Dare smiled. Very interesting.
Her attention was pulled to the one guy she hadn’t really given a look. Bobby was at his keyboards, finally getting a chance to shine a little, and he was taking advantage of it. Dare nodded along to the steady rhythm but smiled at the licks Bobby was getting out of that keyboard.
Then Remy finally demanded her attention. His voice felt smoky; smooth… the best comparison she had was the one time a friend of hers had gotten a hold of some good bourbon. It had that slow burn to it as he stared at her and smiled.
Hey all you people tryin’ to sleep
I’m out to make it with my midnight dream
She felt her cheeks heat up. The guys seamlessly swung into a cover of House of the Rising Sun and she was sold. Johnny had been right. They were good.
Dare didn’t get much of a chance to consider just how good they were as the couch cushion beside her dipped and a striking girl with dark hair and the most amazing eyes she’d ever seen sat between her and Haley. “So I got these.” She handed Haley a stack of paper. “I don’t know if we’re going to get much of a turn out but… it’s a worthy cause, right? I mean someone’s got to care about this stuff. Someone’s got to do something about all this!”
“Right, Rox. You know I agree.” Haley was nodding and flipping through what was obviously a stack of fliers about… something important. “Oh, hey. You haven’t met yet!” Haley raised her eyes and smiled. “Dare Scott, Roxxy Stewart. Columbia’s loudest voice for change.” Haley handed Dare a flier.
“Oh, I don’t know about that.”
“I do. You love this stuff. You don’t love that it needs to get done, but you love having a say. Don’t deny it.” Haley smiled at her friend. “Roxxy’s known me forever.”
“Not forever. Just a couple years. We were in some of the same classes before Haley dropped out.”
“I didn’t drop out. I lost my funding.” Haley’s cheeks burned for a second and Dare wanted to ask what she meant. Haley picked up on that. “My parents kicked me out and cut me off.”
“Why?”
“Because of me.” Johnny pressed a kiss to her temple and sat down in the nearest chair. “I’m a bad influence.”
“Actually, it wasn’t just that.” Haley frowned. “My brother… he was drafted and he’s dead. My parents think that’s just part of being in a war and don’t see a problem with anything. I… strongly disagreed.” Dare watched Johnny slip his hand into hers and she squeezed it like he was a lifeline. She wondered vaguely how long they’d been together. “But that’s ancient history. This--" she waved the flier, “is the present and the future!” She smiled and bent to continue plotting with Roxxy.
Dare noticed the other girl standing near the far end of the couch. “Hey.”
She smiled shyly. “Hi. Umm… I’m just tagging along.”
“Yeah, it shows.” Dare half smiled at her. The girl was dressed pretty primly given the rest of the group in the loft, right down to her saddle oxfords. “Why don’t you sit down?”
“Uh… okay.” She shuffled into a seat near the couch. “I’m Jehnna by the way.”
“Dare.” Her smile grew. “That’s Johnny, Clint, Remy, Bobby and Warren… and I’m guessing you already at least vaguely know Haley, right?” the girl nodded. “Alright then, you’re all caught up.”
“So,” Remy smiled at the girl and she damn near squirmed. Dare couldn’t really blame her. “What a nice girl like you doin’ here?”
“I’m… well, I’m helping with the sit in Roxxy’s planning so… she said she needed to stop by and talk to Haley so… here we are.”
“Rox, stop exposing this poor girl to the wrong crowd!” Johnny smiled at the other woman and she rolled her eyes.
“Jehnna’s a big girl. She’ll be fine as long as you behave yourselves.” She levels all the boys with a look and went back to the fliers.
“So then, I guess the real question is what’s a nice girl like you doing working on protests?” Bobby settled into the last empty seat. “Trying to save the world?”
“Yes, actually.” The girl stood a little straighter. “That’s exactly what I’m doing.”
Johnny smiled. “Well, good luck.”
“You’ll need it.” Clint lit up another cigarette and sat on the floor. Dare watched him for a minute, noting the rather cynical way he was looking at what Roxxy and Haley were up to. Under that there was something else. Something when he looked at Haley or when Johnny touched her. Dare didn’t want to name it—she hadn’t been there long enough yet to be sure—but it looked like something that was dying to complicate things.
Her concentration faltered when that smoky, bourbon drenched voice was in her ear again. “What ‘bout you, chere? You gon change de world too?”
“Nope.” Dare shrugged. “The world’s a little too big for me.”
She was tired. She was always tired at this point. Apparently, from the little bit of information she was given, that was normal. Normal. The word mocked her. She’d spent the last of the money she’d taken with her on a cheap room in a hotel. The bedding was dirty; the bathtub had a ring thick enough to write your name in. The place was disgusting.
But it was better than not having a bed at all.
She hadn’t thought finding someone would be as hard as it was. But she didn’t really have a choice. If she didn’t track Dare down, she’d have to go to one of those horrible places they sent girls like her. She shivered. Things shouldn’t have gotten that bad, she thought. Things should have been nice. She should have been picking out dresses for her friends and for herself. She should have been excited and happy about this.
After all, Harry was nice and well off and… he had a bright future. That was how her father had put it. He had a bright future and he could take care of her. Only he wasn’t taking care of her now. Now she was alone and… she was one of those girls nobody in decent circles talked about.
Dare could help though. Something told her that one way or another Dare would be able to figure something out. She was far from any decent circles now since she’d run away. It’d been years but she could only imagine that Dare was one of those people now. Those people her mother crossed the street to avoid, just in case. But she was still her friend. Dare said she would always be her friend and that was what she needed in that moment more than anything else.
If only she could track her down…
She’d gone to the last address Dare’s letter had come from. No one there could help. Not really anyway. One girl who looked like she thought she was floating said she’d left for good because the ‘vibe’ was wrong in that place. She could definitely tell something was wrong and got out of there as quickly as possible.
Though one of the closer to sober people there had pointed her toward a diner not far from the ‘crash pad’. They said she liked the food even though the crowd was definitely on the ‘square’ side of things. She’d had lunch there… and dinner. She couldn’t afford breakfast and stay in the motel. Things were getting desperate. She was sure Dare would show up eventually, but she didn’t really have that kind of time.
She kept asking around. She needed a break. She needed help.
Morgan LeFavre needed a friend.
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i'm seriously loving this, hon. but you know that. right? it is all shades of awesome. really.
and now that everyone is here, you can start getting into the meat of the story. (forgive me. my brain isn't quite functioning well enough to really be coherent.) seriously. i love this. can't wait for the next one.
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I'm glad you're loving this. And yeah, now we can get down to some actual story... or smut at least. LOL Hopefully the next one won't take too long. :)
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Love how you're bringing everyone together and I think Dare's right - the world IS a little too big. ;D)
And there's nothing wrong with using Doors songs for titles. Nothing in the slightest!
Another great chap, sweetie!
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I'm glad you liked it! I'm having way too much fun with this. Hopefully the next chapter will come soon too and we'll get some actual plot down. Hopefully. lol
Well, I do intend to use many different song titles... but yeah, nothing wrong with the Doors at all! ;)
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I has a cause - Yay! :D Poor Jehnna is out of her comfort zone. lol And ... is Morgan preggers? Harry ... Harry ... Harry Osborne? Hmm... this should be interesting.
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You do has a cause! :D I'm sure Jehnna will be okay eventually. But yeah, she's definitely out of her comfort zone. lol We'll see more of them in the next chapter, I think.
And Morgan... yes, Morgan is in trouble. And Good guess! LOL I needed someone who would be enough of an entitled douchebag to drop her like a hot potato. Harry did the job. LOL
Glad you liked it! Hopefully there will be more soon!
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Now I'm definitely hooked. Can't wait to see how all this works out. I'd love to see and hear the band too. I like the music choices, really adds to the flavor.
Good work!
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Mmm... the band. :D They are just too much... LOL I'm honestly just throwing on a playlist and going at it, whatever plays and fits gets in. lol
Glad you enjoyed it, hopefully there will be more soon.