Laissez les Bon Temps Rouler! (:

[More than Music]

Raiu Wahei

There sure were a lot of people wandering around. His eyes darted around, that low beating in the back of his head telling him it was getting too loud in here. That wasn't good.

'Come on, you can make it a little longer. Just wait 'til Jess gets here, okay? Wait for Jessica.'

Sighing, he looked over as a little guy in a purple suit walked up with a nice looking lady. Raiu thought he recognized the girl's eyes, but only a bit. There was something about the contrast of their eyes... they were two very different people, weren't they? There was a lot of emotion in her eyes, even as she moved towards the food and dramatically fanned her mouth at something hot. Face blank of emotion, Raiu's hands moved to pull out his sketch book. Sitting cross-legged on the floor, he watched them. First he got their basic shapes, which were already contrasting in posture and height. Then outfits and flesh. Details were beginning to come about when someone screamed.

His head began to pulse, but Raiu just squinted his eyes to ignore it. He told himself to hold out. Someone was just being ridiculous. He finished it -- admittedly a bit rushed -- and took in a deep breath to calm down. There were a few more cries, but he couldn't see what was up. Really, he didn't care that much. Screams and parties went together, at least, from what he'd seen. But it made his head spin.

"Hey," he said, quietly, tapping the little purple spotlight. "I wanted--"

Then a gun went off. Raiu jumped, falling backwards into the table. The sketchbook flew out of his hand and slid across the floor, but he wasn't thinking about it when he found himself laying with his face towards the ceiling. The couple hid under the table, and Raiu slid backwards without getting up. He wasn't sure what was going on... he couldn't see straight. Breathing heavily, he sat up, looking over to the middle of the floor clearing out. There was someone on the floor there, bleeding. Raiu laid back, eyes wide. It was suddenly very hot in here.

'Jessica. What if Jessica was over there?'

Had there been only one shot? He couldn't remember. He couldn't hear straight. Pulling off his mask, he closed his eyes tightly.

'It's too loud in here... there's too much yelling, screaming... gunfire...'

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

OOC: Okay, so this is bound to be sad... you've all been warned!
BIC:

Kagayaki Aidou

"I love you," he whispered. "Very very."

He could see her blushing and smiling, and it made him laugh, especially when she nudged him with her nose. “Oh, Kagayaki,” she said, so quiet. “I love you, too. No matter what.” Then she moved away a little, and that took away some of his smile. But she would be back. Yeah, she'd be back in his arms again soon.

“Kagayaki, don't let her pull you down. Whatever she said..it's not the most important thing. If she's angry at me, I don't mind..” She smiled, and he did too, but his heart hurt... He didn't want Cassie to be angry at them. Why couldn't she just be happy for once? “She's just upset because she sees how happy you make me."

Kagayaki laughed, laying back on the sidewalk. "Maybe," he sighed.

"And I can't be mad at her for that.” Amane jumped up, and he watched her with a little smile. “Let's go back inside, Kagayaki! I want to dance!”

He nodded, rolling over and getting up. But there was a loud noise that made him freeze. He looked around for the source, seeing a strange lady standing a ways away. What... what was going on? What did she have? It caught some of the light from the doorway, making his eyes grow wide.

'Gun.'

Then Amane fell, and he knew what had happened. He didn't have any breath, he could't move, just standing there like the idiot he knew he was. He wasn't sure what to do at all... Amane's hands were on her head, and he saw blood was all over her hair and ear.

'No... no she can't get hurt! This isn't right! THIS ISN'T RIGHT!'

Amane's mouth opened, but no sound came out. Kagayaki felt his stomach moving around inside of him, tears coming before he could do anything. This, this was crying. She moved around a little, and he still couldn't move. The lady left and he couldn't chase her.

'What am I supposed to do? What can I do? Jacket. Wrap her up in the jacket. What do people do in shows, in books? What do smart people do?'

He started moving, but back and forth... he started to go towards Amane, then the jacket, then Amane...

'What are you DOING? Help her, stupid!'

“Kaga...y'ki..” she choked, and he felt his knees give out.

He crawled over to his jacket, coming back and wrapping it around her as best as he could. "Here," he squeaked, leaning forwards and kissing her forehead. "I... I'm here..." He wiped his eyes, trying to see straight. "What do I do? What do I do? Oh, I'm so confused..." Kagayaki tried to think... what would Yukito do if Erin was hurt? What would his father do if his mother was hurt?

'Say it out loud. Thinking is too hard.'

"Have... Cold. Gonna be cold... Need... need something on her head... Stop blood..." He looked around, not sure what to do. "Shirt... Shirt..." It was kind of chilly, but he was sure he couldn't feel any colder than he already did. He knew he couldn't tear off his sleeve -- he couldn't, even though he really needed to right now -- so he just took off the whole shirt. The cold air took hold of his skin like knives, but Amane's pain was more important. "Here..." He wrapped it around the side of her head as best as he could, his hands shaking.

'Stupid... Stupid... See if it helps.'

He pulled her into his lap, his lip trembling -- but he didn't know if it was from being cold or from crying -- as he laid kisses on the top of her head.

"No... no leavin' me... No." He looked around, hoping so much that someone would come... He swallowed hard, looking at the door with pleading eyes. "HELP! TASUKETE!" He rocked them back and forth anxiously, his teeth chattering now. "Yukito... Yukito will know. Yukito will come... He'll help us."

[issie]

Jessica Seeley

Jessica had regretted not contacting Raiu when she got to the party vaugely as she got finished with small talk with a couple people she just met. But she missed this. The formals, costume parties, and social events to which she would socialize and have herself known my everyone. Having her little angel had restricted her on these things, but she could never blame her beautiful baby girl for that. She just couldn't. Jess walked away, turning back once to wave at the people she had just spoken to, feeling like a complete social butterfly. Time to find the Raiu. she said to herself as she looked around, a few looked asian, but didn't fit the profile so she didn't waste her time.

Her dress was a deep gold, complimenting the tones in her hair as well as her skin tone. And the halter dress, flowing style made her body look amazing, or so she was told over and over. She also wore a gold mask with details and designes that faded to silver on each end. Her hair was curled and up in a formal bun, with bangs in the front that were slightly curled as well. She also made sure to see that her makeup was perfect, not too much but enough to percieve that she was wearing a bit of something. In her mind, gold was flashy enough, so anything dramatic on her face would just be a distraction to the beauty of the clothing. Jess looked stunning, and she knew it.

And then she saw him, he was sitting on the floor and he seemed to be drawing something. She scowled momentarily, He does[;b] realize that this is a social occassion, right? Taking in a deep breath, she put her best smile on and started walking towards him, trying to ignore the fact that he was being a complete social outcast and rather odd. He seemed so engrossed in what he was doing, that she didn't think he noticed her looking over his shoulder at the picture he was creating. She had to admit... it was really good. Her eyes followed his hand as he started to draw in the details to the page. Her eyes widened. Jess was lucky if she could draw a crooked stick person, her talents seemed to bee all in looks and the other obvious traits that come with being a cheerleader.

The sound of a scream knocked her out of her trance quickly and her hear shot up to find the source of the noise, the hair on the back of her neck standing on end. More screams and she looked between Raiu and the source of the sound. She could see nothing. Maybe it was just some kids getting too carried away? She did the best she could to brush it off, then reached down to tap the top of Raiu's head. "I could stand here all day and you'd not notice me, would you?" she whispered half- jokingly.

"Hey," he said, quietly, tapping the little purple spotlight. "I wanted--"

Then a gun went off. Jess jumped so high, she almost tripped in her heels and had to catch herself on the table behind her, and she saw that Raiu had a similar reaction. She became frantic then, dropping to her knees and watching the book he was drawing in slide across the floor. He was laying with his face towards the ceiling, his expression was one she had never seen on him before, and it was hard to place. She watched as he slid backwards without moving a muscle to get up. She couldn't say she blamed him. She was scared, not for herself, but for her little angel. She had to be okay to go back to her and take care of her. She had to. That's when she noticed that her friend didn't look so good... and she understood why as she followed his gaze to a girl bleeding on the ground. Someone was shot. Her hand flew to her mouth and suddenly she felt very, very ill.

She placed a shaking hand on his shoulder, suddenly not concerned about her appearance at all. "..Hide..." she managed to choke out at the distressed Raiu. "You need to get somewhere and hide. Now." her maternal instinct took over as something in her brain processed him as smaller than what he was. He certainly appeared helpless then and she felt a strong need to protect. "Don't look over there again," she ordered, putting her hand up to block his vision just in case.

"Hide." she managed to say sternly, fighting through her shaking voice as she looked directly into his eyes. Giving him a look that said. 'Now!'

----------------

Liv Aldis

Her eyes were wide as Chance introduced her to the man. “She's a little nervous, you know?” he stage whispered behind his candlestick. She heard him and blushed a little, and the guys laughed. She tried to think of something smart an witty to say, but nothing in English came to her mind. It was a little disheartening, not being able to communicate and understand as quickly as they understood and communicated with each other. All she could think of doing was offering the stranger a small, shaky wave.

"Why would she be nervous?" the guy asked in somewhat of a teasing tone as he placed his hands on his hips and cocked his head to one side. Liv instnctively mimicked this motion, not trying to be rude but doing it without realizing it, because that was what she was used to. "After all, all you did was bring her over to a stranger in a toga and wings and ask him to... OK." 'TOGA' She beamed, happy to know that that was was the robe- thing that he was wearing was called.

“Who could go wrong with a toga and wings?!” Chance queried in his giddy voice, and Liv looked at him closely. He really was having such a good time. She loved the cute way his eyes seemed to sparkle when he was happy. She looked at them then, but noticed that the stranger bent down to meet her bright green eyes and she couldn't help the brief feeling of fright that came along with someone she didn't know being so close. But she managed to smile at him, knowing that Chance was right by her and if anything went wrong hed still be right there to help. Instinctively, she reached blindly for her love's hand, needed the physical touch to remind her that he wasn't going to leave her with someone she didn't know. "I, Cupid, do verify that Liv is extremely cute, especially as Mademoiselle Babette, accompanied I see..." he looked over at Chance then, "... by Monsieur Lumiere. I applaud you."

Her brows furrowed, but she managed a, "Thank you... Cupid." she said in her heavy accent, accidentally making 'cupid' sound like 'koo-e-ped'.

“Wooooot!” Chance shouted, making her giggle a little as she watched him do a little dance, then bow in front of the cupid. “I thank you kindly sir!” He said this in an accent she didn't entirely recognize, but decided not to think too much on it. He was always doing something fun and exciting, that was just who he was. Whether it was how he dressed, or what he said.

"You both look wonderful, Liv and Chance, and I hope you will enjoy yourself. It looks as if you have a good start. By the way, my name is Golden, yes, Golden." Liv tilted her head to the side a little. She wasn't good with English names, but she was sure that that was not a common one...

“Golden? Really?” Chance asked, beaming, “It fits you better than peanut butter fits jelly. And you make a stunning Cupid, might I add!” Liv nodded in agreement, recognizing that he was complimenting the man. So his name isn't cupid? She was under the impression that what he said earlier WAS his name. Or was it both? Was it Golden Cupid? Or Cupid Golden? She decided to save herself some embarrassment and not ask.

Suddenly, there was a loud popping sound and Liv jumped, instinctively moving closer to Chance. Her whole body was shaking. She knew that sound. It was the sound of a gun being fired. Her dad used to go outside and shoot random things when he was mad and drunk when they lived without any neighbours. When she heard that sound, she knew to baracade the door as much as she possibly could and hide under her small bed. But there was no door to block, and no bed to hide under. Her whole small frame shook violently. She didn't care if it was just some party prank or just people messing around, or even that she looked rediculus- shaking like that. She was genuinely frightened.

Then, Liv's jaw dropped in pure horror and her face was void of all color. It was her mother... she had found out that she was at the party. She felt numb, and then she saw the person in the floor, there was blood. So much blood.. even in Irene's hair. But she didn't get close to the person she shot... Oh God. Her knees were extremely weak and she couldn't erase the look of horror on her visage. She didn't notice the tears running down her face, or that she was muttering gibberish in Norwegian under her breath.
“There are, Liv,”

Her whole body went rigid and she looked at Chance, stepping in front of him and offering what little protection she could. He was the only good thing she had in this world, and part of her knew her mother would would try to take that away too. “It's time go home.”

She turned slightly to Chance momentarily. "I love you." she managed shakily. She couldn't help but shake as her whole body resisted the urge to run and hide. Every nerve in her body screamed that there was danger. "How could you?" she muttered in Norwegian, loud enough for her to hear. She was numb as she stood in front of the creature that 'raised' her. The object of her terror for years. The reason why even when she was alone at night, she'd wake up screaming from memories and nightmares of what she had done. And she hated her. Hated her with all of her being. "He didn't do anything wrong!

Jumping forward, Liv did something that she never attempted before. She grabbed at her mother's wrist as hard as she could, trying to wrestle the weapon from her hand. "I hate you. Natalie hated you...Just die." She managed in English in the harshest voice she could muster, despite knowing that she was winning the battle of strength. If I die, at least she'll know the truth. Just don't let her hurt Chance. Please let him be safe!

[Elda Forever]

Yukito Maki

Yukito took a drink, not sure what flavor he was tasting exactly, but at least the music sounded semi-decent, albeit slow. He turned toward the orchestra, barely able to spot a cello or a violin through the constantly moving crowd. Then a song came on that felt familiar, and he smirked as he realized they were playing the orchestrated Masquerade from Phantom of the Opera. Catchy.

Masquerade, paper faces on parade
Hide your face so the world will never find you

He had only been over by the food tables for a few moments when she entered the room. Yukito was sure he'd seen her before, but he couldn't put his finger on who she was. It bothered him, and he watched her walk past him with a look like the undead, staring in front of her and those beady, crazed-looking eyes scanned the crowd with a furious look. Yukito took a slow sip of his drink, keeping his own eyes locked on her, something sending the hairs on the back of his neck on end. She had hair that frizzed out, unkempt hair that didn't look washed. Her eyes were wide and a strange grey, her eyebrows high and arched...

Oh, hell no.. he thought, and in the same moment she raised her arm, he recognized her. The last time he'd seen the woman she'd been hanging her head out of a second story window, screaming profanities at him in a language he couldn't understand. He'd been staring up at her, and didn't see Natalie until she barreled into him, saying they had to go.

'Who is that?' he'd asked.

'My maternal figure,' Natalie had growled.

He allowed her to drag him along, still glancing nervously over his shoulder, 'What did she yell at us?'

'She said not to get me pregnant or we'll regret it the rest of our lives,' came the cold response. 'And believe me, she knows.'

Bang.

The boy hit the ground before most of the people realized what had happened. Yukito's mouth dropped open as he watched him crumple, red staining his white clothing and creeping out across the floor. She'd hit him right in the head. There was no way he could have survived it. Horror started to creep over him, followed too soon by a determined vein of cool denial. It couldn't have happened. He knew that boy. He couldn't remember his name, but he knew him. The boy had just turned and spoken to him a few moments ago, saying something strange about a couple of teens that were standing nearby. How awful is it that I can't remember his name?

Wait, what about the others? He felt his heart stop, his instincts telling him to look for Erin. But she wasn't here. She was safe...at home safe. Where was Cassie? His head whipped around, trying to find her. Hadn't Kagayaki and Amane gone outside? They hadn't come back in yet...had they just gone home? I hope they just went home...Oh my God..

His eyes landed on Cassie's blue gown, and he felt his stomach unclench. We've got to get everyone out of here.

“There are, Liv,” came the slurred, drunken voice. Yukito looked up to see that she had found Liv in the crowd. She looked so small, in her strange costume, hanging just behind Chance. Yukito's breath was completely knocked out of him as he could only stare and watch. “It's time go home.”

And what will you do then? Yukito fell into a half-crouch, sliding behind Irene's view until he had stepped over to where the boy had fallen. He went to his knees, reaching down to check his pulse. Yukito let out a silent sigh. Nothing. Looking up at the surrounding patrons, he whispered, “Get out. Now. Stay low.”

At the sound of shouts, he looked up to see Irene standing directly in front of Liv, close enough to reach out and touch her, the gun still held threateningly close. Liv was telling her something in Norwegian, and Yukito knew her well enough to understand she was angry and afraid. He stood on his feet, moving slowly and glad that Irene was facing away from him as he edged his mask up off his face and laid it across the dead boy's chest. Then he started toward Irene, waving at people to get out the door. Most of them moved too fast, making clicking noises with their heels and making Yukito's heart stop at every rustle or murmur. Shut up, all of you! You idiots! But Irene didn't even flinch, staring coolly at her daughter and cocking the gun again. Another bullet was prepared in the chamber, and Yukito could only pray that it would never leave its new home.

”You lied,” the woman growled, her chin trembling as she seemed to begin to break. ”You and boy. You and parties. You lie, just as sister did!” There was added a few dirty Norwegian phrases, and the hand on the trigger started to fidget. Yukito glanced over to see if Cassie had made it out, and he suddenly realized that he was doing something very stupid.

Unfortunately, Liv did something very stupid first. She reached forward and grabbed her mother's wrist, attempting to take the gun from her. Yukito could've sworn aloud, but he was frozen, just a few long steps away from them both. Chance stood behind Liv, dumbfounded, and several people were still way too close, though they were starting to try and shy away. Especially when the struggle for the gun began.

"I hate you. Natalie hated you...Just die." Liv hissed, a familiar anger and loathing in her voice. For a long moment, Irene seemed to do nothing. She just stared blankly at her daughter, as though not seeing her. Then, Irene hissed a profanity and the gun went off, and it missed.

The hand that had been trying to pull away and pull free of Liv's fingers flew back towards her, the butt of the gun slamming hard against Liv's pale, delicate forehead. Yukito and Chance both cried out, though Yukito was sure she would've aimed next at Chance if she hadn't been so surprised to hear Yukito's voice just behind her. Irene whirled around and pointed the gun into Yukito's face, her brows knitted with confusion. He held up both his hands, now wishing he hadn't come quite so close. I should've taken her down when Liv had her distracted. But there are so many people here...

For a sickening second, a childlike voice in his head asked where all the adults were. Had someone thought to call the police? Was anyone going to help? Why were he and Liv the only ones really acting to stop Irene? Don't be stupid, his mind screamed, You are the adult here.

Yeah, but I didn't expect a psycho shooter to come waltzing in.

“Hello, Irene,” Yukito started slowly, still holding his hands up while Irene gave him a long once-over, trying to place how he knew her. He was half-afraid that using her first name would make her angry, but it just made her suspicious and confused her. “Listen, you don't have to freak out on us. Can we just talk about it?”

Irene's lips pursed. Yukito subdued the overwhelming desire to look down at the ground and find Liv. He was scared to death that she would have no pulse, either. Although he had a little grain of hope for a blow to the head.

How sickening to think - he had hope she survived because he knew she'd taken such hits before.

Something about this train of thought must have expressed itself on his face, for Irene lifted the gun higher and another bullet went into the chamber. Yukito's eyes ran across the weapon, trying to figure out how many bullets she could possibly have in there. How many shots had been fired? Two, so far. There could be plenty more in there, but he was guessing eight or nine would be all the gun could hold. Wasn't that the usual amount in a handgun? He wished he'd looked it up. It had seemed silly to know anything about guns before.

“Who are you?” Irene queried, bringing his dizzy head back into the moment.

“Irene, my name is Yukito...” he said slowly, praying that Natalie had never mentioned him by name around her parents. Somehow, he doubted it. “I'm a friend of your daughter. We went to the same school together.” A pause, as she considered. In a slow voice that belied his quivering knees, he continued, though he had no idea what he was supposed to say. “Listen, we can talk this over. We can work it out. Whatever it is that happened, you don't have to bring all these people into it. Just let them go home, alright?”

It was after he'd finished talking that he realized she probably understood even less English than Liv did, and might not have understood what he was saying. Her lips were beginning to twitch in a spastic motion that would have looked hilarious under any other circumstances. “Just put the gun-”


Bang.


~~


He didn't understand. She knew she'd seen him before, but had no idea where. She had thought, up until a few seconds ago, that she had imagined the scrawny boy with the poofy sleeves. Another drug, another trip, right? But once she shot him, right in the chest, she saw that he could bleed. So he must have existed, after all. Right?

Nothing made sense anymore.


The kick from the gun that had aided Irene in punting her child across the face also threw her arm back when she fired at the boy in red, almost smacking herself in the process. The boy hit the ground, letting out a scream of pain that she should have relished. But what about Liv? Someone had to fix her. The girl should have gotten back up by now. She turned around to see a boy dressed as a candlestick was holding her head in his lap, tears streaming down his face as he whimpered like a sissy, asking for her to answer him, to stay with him. Sissy...she'll get up eventually.

She cocked another bullet in the gun, ready to shut him up if he didn't stop his crying soon, but then her angry expression loosened. Liv wasn't getting up. Why wasn't she? She wasn't moving, her eyes closed to the world while the blood began to harden and turn to a deep burgundy crustiness around her brow and trailing down her cheek. Irene paused, not sure what to say or do now. What if Liv didn't go with her? What if she had already been taken away?

That wasn't what she had planned!

Was it?

A siren sounded, stopping everyone in their tracks. The candlestick boy looked up at her, his expression torn as he said something to her. But she couldn't hear it through the blood and the sirens. Growing frantic, she started away from Liv and the boy as if they had suddenly burst into flames, nearly tripping over the boy in red. People still milling around let out gasps as she whirled the gun around, keeping them all at bay.

You don't understand. None of you. My life wasn't supposed to be this way! I was supposed to be something! I was meant to be loved like they love in the movies!

”The movies are a lie, Irene,” a deep voice was saying. The voices continued, saying dirty things to her, reassuring her with kisses and promises and sweet things that went sour once you'd fallen in too deep. The room started to spin and she was weeping, and the sirens were loud enough to split her head in two. And everyone kept bleeding.

She yelled at the candlestick boy, at Liv, at the boy in red that was bleeding on the ground and at the gay boy who wasn't moving. Their faces started to look like men, older men with terrible voices and suffocating breath. Then something moved in the corner of her eye and she jumped, scared, and shot at it without thinking. It hit another boy. So many faces... He was wearing purple, and when her bullet vanished from beneath her fingers at a single pull of a trigger, she saw that she had shot his leg. A girl appeared from beneath the table where she had been hiding, and she screamed, ”Alex, no!”

And Irene couldn't take it anymore. She looked around the room once more, tears streaming down her cheeks before she fell to her knees. Voices thrummed along with the sirens, and she could hear the click of many things, reminding her of the cicadas in the summer time. She had liked them, as a little girl. Irene smiled a little at that, but the expression soon slipped from her face as she raised the gun one more time, to her own lips. Her eyes closed. No one would kiss those lips anymore, they had all been buried. Nobody at all.

For a fraction of a second, she hesitated, her eyelids fluttered, then a shout, and it was all over with one more final sound.

Bang.


Irene and Yukito are both done here, at the moment. I will post with Chance and Lilith when I can! Hope I didn't take too many liberties, loves. D': It's late, I will edit if you see anything that needs to be changed!

[The Phantom of Paris]

Cassandra "Cassie" Wright

Her heart sank as she watched Yukito frown, and before he even spoke Cassie knew that he had been thinking about his next words for a while. This wasn't just residual anger or him trying to get her to see the other side of things. This was what he had been holding in for days, weeks, maybe even months and years of knowing her--all coming out at once with Cassie powerless to stop it. “You are Erin's best friend, and your words hurt her even more deeply than anyone else's. Hearing you blatantly disapprove of her moving in with me hurt her, and hurt us. While you don't have to approve of it, you don't have much room to talk because Aidousan lived with you even before you knew him on the level Erin and I know each other. It's a hypocrisy like your mother would create. Sometimes when Erin needs a friend you are more of a mother to her, and she won't tell you because she's not that way. You broke trust when you carried around for months the things with your mother and with her boyfriend. You broke the heart of my best friend. You're full of yourself and see no pain in your words that you say, and words that you don't. You complain like you're the first one to ever feel the way you do, and you refuse to pick yourself up. You're waiting for someone to take care of you, the way you obviously feel the need to take care of others.”

"But..." If I don't take care of them, who will? That's the way it's always been, and it hurts to know how right you are, but I can't let you know that you're right, I can't!

Yukito didn't give her a chance to defend herself--not that she could. “You don't have to agree. And you don't have to understand. But it makes a world of difference if you stop trying to make people agree and try to love people precisely where they are at. The day Erin and I were back together again was not the same day I apologized to her."

"Of course. Because you and Erin are obviously the poster couple for perfect relationships, and everyone should try to follow your example! How could I forget that?"[/b]

On and on it went, both of them lashing out at each other in a way that they had never done, even though she could tell from the spark and bite in their words that it was long overdue. For the first time, Cassie was letting her jealousy and spitefulness shine through to someone other than herself, and she hated how ugly and hateful it made her look to him--to all of them. This wasn't how tonight was supposed to go, not at all.

“I've got to go make rounds,” Yukito told Cassie, his words sharp and biting. “We can dance later, if you still want to.” He turned away too quickly to see the wounded, disbelieving look on her face that she shot at him. Had she heard him right? Did he honestly think that a dance was going to solve anything? Or did he want his words to make her so miserable that she felt compelled to dance with him or something, because she couldn't find anything better? Cassie blinked away the furious tears that crept into the corners of her eyes before running out of the room and into the nearest ladies' bathroom, leaning up against the counter for support and glaring at herself in the mirror. This is what you've become, Cassie. An ugly, hateful, lonely Cinderella all by herself at a party.

She couldn't face her reflection in the mirror, and she couldn't stay in that bathroom all night. Without bothering to wipe her eyes or touch up her makeup, she made her way back to the main room again, stopping short at the scene she saw before her. A woman who looked like death warmed over was pointing--Is that a GUN?--at a girl in a maid costume. Except it wasn't a girl, Cassie saw as the woman pulled the trigger in what seemed like slow motion. It was Jodie, Jodie Watanabi, the boy from school who had put a band-aid on her paper cut and told her about his dreams to be a nurse. She let out a strangled scream that apparently only she could hear as she rushed forward, her legs refusing to work properly. She saw the gun go off, saw the bullet strike him square in the forehead, saw the light and laughter go out of his eyes in a single instant. Cassie knew without looking that he was dead, that he would never giggle with his friends again and that he would never get the chance to realize his dream.

She stopped short, staring in horror as blood poured out of the wound, covering the ground around him. Cassie watched TV, adored medical shows like Grey's Anatomy and House. She was familiar with the shootings used to boost ratings during the May sweeps months, could deal with cliffhanger endings over season finales over who lived or died. She could handle fiction and television. This was real life, and a commercial didn't come along to interrupt the nightmare that was unfolding right there before her eyes. A handsome doctor with perfect hair didn't emerge to save the poor boy bleeding on the ground, and he didn't open his eyes and say that it was all a mistake, a dream, an act. It was real. And still the blood kept coming.

She was trapped, immobile, an Ice Queen frozen by her own coldness. Her legs wouldn't move as she saw the shooter speak to a trembling girl who could only be Liv, judging from her unmistakable green eyes. No! Not you too! Chance stood next to her, and out of the way, unnoticed behind the madwoman was Yukito. Stupid, brave, wonderful Yukito, trying to be a hero once again. He was whispering words to the frightened crowd around them, trying to get them to leave even as his eyes remained fixed on the psycho holding the gun, the monster that had killed Jodie.

Most heroes are dead, Yukito. Don't you know that? You can't save us from this. So don't try.

Cassie still heard music, but she wasn't sure if it was in her head, the haunting, discordant Phantom melodies running through her paralyzed brain, or whether the orchestra was actually still playing behind them, offering them music to die by like on the Titanic.

Yukito took one step forward, but Liv got their first, lunging for the gun in an attempt to knock it out of the monster's hand. "No..." she croaked, her legs managing to take one feeble step forward. She heard the jumble of English and whatever Liv's native language was but couldn't make out a single word. The gun went off again, the bullet smashing into the ice sculpture nearby and shattering it. Cassie screamed as she felt a few of the tiny shards embed themselves in her bare face and arms, but after a second she didn't feel the pain nor could she hear her own voice. Slower than what seemed natural, she watched the gun ricochet backwards and hit Liv in the face, drawing blood there as she crumpled to the ground. She heard both Yukito and Chance cry out, and suddenly the gun was pointed at Yukito.

Cassie's heart stopped.

Erin.

She never should have fought with Yukito. She never should have gotten separated from him, because now he was going to die and it was going to be her fault, and she would have to tell Erin that. And she knew Erin wouldn't get over losing Yukito. Not this time. Not like this.

Never.

“Hello, Irene,” Yukito's voice carried across to her, and Cassie dimly realized that she must have been moving forward, because she was now several steps closer to the madness before her. Dimly, she realized that Yukito knew this woman's name, that he knew her somehow. “Listen, you don't have to freak out on us. Can we just talk about it?”

Chance was cradling Liv on the floor, trying without success to wake her up. Cassie wanted to help him, but she was frozen again, locked in place as she watched Yukito try to negotiate with a murderer. “Irene, my name is Yukito...I'm a friend of your daughter. Don't make friends with her, Yukito! What the hell are you doing?!

"We went to the same school together. Listen, we can talk this over. We can work it out. Whatever it is that happened, you don't have to bring all these people into it. Just let them go home, alright? Just put the gun-”

There was a deafening bang then, and Cassie screamed for real as a crimson blossom of blood appeared on Yukito's shirt, spreading outward more quickly than she would have thought possible. Her legs kicked into gear as she shot forward. Her high heels slipped on the blood covering the floor around Jodie's body and her ankle buckled beneath her, but she continued on, crawling to kneel at Yukito's side. She didn't feel her ankle at all. "Yukito!" Ignoring his screams of pain, she pressed her hands together over the wound, crying out in horror when the blood seeped through her clasped fingers anyway, drenching her hands and the front of her dress. "Come on, Yukito, come on! Come on, stay with me, come on! Come on!"

The blood was still gushing through her clasped hands, pouring out as if someone had turned a faucet on full-blast. Cassie heard the sound of another bullet being cocked into the barrel of the gun but didn't react. If the woman wanted to kill her, then let her. At least she would die trying to save her friend, trying to save the love of her best friend's life. That was far better than running away and then dying.

She needed something else to stop the bleeding, and her blood-soaked hands went to the long, full skirt of her dress, pulling as hard as she could at a spot just above her knees. The delicate fabric came away easily, although she wasn't sure if adrenaline had given her newfound strength like it had during the fire or if the dress really was that fragile and easily torn. Just like a human life. She tore until it all came away in one mass, revealing her bare knees below the jagged ends of the formerly-pristine blue cloth. Cassie wadded it up and pressed it to the wound, not looking up as the madwoman retreated away from Chance and Liv, coming so close to Cassie and Yukito that she was sure that she was going to blow Cassie's head clean off. But she kept on moving, waving the gun to keep the crowd away, and Cassie shouted to Chance, not caring if the woman heard. "Chance! Is Liv breathing?" When there was no immediate answer, she tried again. "Chance! Check to see if she's breathing!"

The woman was yelling again, and another gunshot went off. Cassie looked up from where she was applying pressure to Yukito's chest to staunch the blood that continued to flow, her eyes locking on a boy in purple who was screaming in pain, clutching his leg. ”Alex, no!” a female voice screamed as a girl appeared from beneath the snack table, a voice that Cassie recognized even through the pain and anguish and fear. Lilith.

The smell of blood was everywhere, choking the air in Cassie's lungs, and still it kept coming--from Yukito, from the boy's leg, from Liv's head where the gun had struck. She heard sirens and could have wept with relief, but the tears were nowhere to be found, and there was nothing to be relieved about yet. Not when people were bleeding and dying right in front of her.

The woman fell to her knees in front of the thinning crowd, and suddenly Cassie saw what was going to happen before it did.

"No!" She could have darted forward, knocked the gun out of her hands before she had the chance to do it, but that would mean leaving Yukito, would mean the pressure would be lifted and the blood would be able to flow fresh once again. She couldn't leave him there to die, she couldn't.

So she watched as the woman lifted the gun to her lips, watched as the trigger was pulled for one last time. She heard a voice screaming as the back and top of the woman's head exploded in a volcano of crimson, and dimly she realized that it was her own.

And then it was over.

The gun fell to the floor beside the woman's body, so close to Cassie that she could have stretched out one bare leg to kick it away, but she didn't. She looked wildly around at the crowd, which was still screaming and sobbing, trying to figure out what to do next. "Someone see if the police are here yet!" she screamed at no one in particular, never taking her hands off their spot over the gunshot wound in Yukito's chest. "And the paramedics! Someone go get them! They'll die if you don't! Go!" She looked to Lilith and the boy that she had called Alex, her eyes widening as she realized how much blood was now flowing out of the wound in his leg. "Tourniquet! He needs a tourniquet before the paramedics get here! Come on! Chance, how's Liv?! Come on!"

She didn't know how long it took before the doors burst open again and the paramedics rushed in, not even stopping to take stock of the situation. "His name is Yukito Maki and he was shot in the chest at point-blank range," Cassie managed to say. "I can't move my hands from where they are, he won't stop bleeding..."

Voices spoke to her and tried to move her hands away, but she resisted. "No! No! I have to stop the bleeding! He'll die if I don't! No!"

A pair of hands came over hers on Yukito's chest, pressing down hard and preparing to take over her job, and Cassie felt strong arms take hold of her own and lift her away from the scene, leaving her to look back at the wreckage left behind--Yukito, Chance, Liv, Jodie, Alex, and Irene.

I *think* Cassie is done here and we're transferring all interactions with her to the hospital, but PLEASE let me know if I'm wrong so I can fix it!

[GGJ5]

Alex Pierce

The operator picked up quickly, and just as quickly Alex rattled off the answers to his questions. "There's a woman with a loaded gun here and she's already shot one person, at least." He gave their location as quickly as possible, following the operator's orders to stay out of sight, at least for the time being.

Told help was on the way and he should get off and find safety, Alex followed the orders one last time. He put the phone away, feeling the heat under the table and the strain from being crouched below there for so long. More people had picked up on the idea, and it had become crowded. He could no longer see out of the bottom of the tablecloth anymore, and that did not sit well.

With a pointed look at Lilith, he emphasized quietly, "Stay here." Alex began to back up out from under the table, slipping around the back of it as silently as his currently-flamboyant state would allow. Once the psycho was in view again, Alex halted, his eyes glued to the scene. Two crazy kids not too far off his own age were playing cops and... therapists... and it was confusing, and Alex was slowly beginning to believe the girl was the psycho's daughter, or at least the woman was deluded enough to think that. Nothing made sense.... Not that the girl could be her kin, or that the guy he'd once played Frisbee with was attempting to disarm her... The level of surprise made Alex leave what was left of his safe haven and step out. What are you doing?!

The woman was going berserk, and Alex's heart thundered in his chest. She was going to off herself now, like all the famous rampages ended, right in front of them all... No...

At that moment, Alex discovered that karma was a lie. A vicious crack broke through the air, and he hit the floor before he felt the impact. The ripping pain doubled with Lilith's sudden cry of, ”Alex, no!” But he wasn't responding. He was too busy reeling from the stick of dynamite exploding inside of his leg. Anything he'd experienced before paled in comparison to this, now, here. More shots were going off, at least so he thought, and Alex prayed they missed all their targets.

Medics where there, though Alex had no idea when they'd suddenly appeared. Time had gotten all screwed up, and later he blamed the insane rush of adrenaline for it. They were doing what paramedics do, taking his blood pressure and making sure he was responsive (he was-- he felt every explosive movement they did to and about his leg), and loaded him onto a gurney. A gurney. And into an ambulance. Alex was groaning inwardly. Who would tell his family? How would they react? He would be scaring the living daylights out of them, a cause of weeks' or months' worth of nightmares.... It was never supposed to end this way. And now he wouldn't be able to check on anyone else, not Lilith or Yukito or the small girl who wrestled with the woman, or anyone else.... The last thing he wanted was to be the headliner on the ten o'clock news....

Done here??

[More than Music]

Raiu Wahei

"I could stand here all day and you'd not notice me, would you?"

He started trying to get the attention of the guy he'd been drawing, in the back of his mind narrowing the options of who the girl behind him was. His thoughts didn't finish, not even his sentence, as the sound of a gun exploded through the room. Raiu stumbled back, as did the girl behind him. His head started pounding wildly, and he couldn't think straight.

Concentration going in and out, vaguely remembered gunshots and looking over and wondering where Jessica was. Then he saw her face by him. She was here. She was safe. One improvement was good, for now. He knew Jessica was safe.

"...Hide..." she growled, but he couldn't move. "You need to get somewhere and hide. Now." He could hear her, but he couldn't react. His eyes flashed over, seeing the purple spotlight kid fall to the ground as a bullet buried itself in his leg. Raiu's eyes widened and he could've sworn he heard Lilith's voice... "Don't look over there again," she ordered, putting up her hand. He nodded, wanting to move but unable due to his shock.

'Move... limbs... so useles...'

"Hide." Her eyes were commanding. Like Clarence.

'Well, there's a thought. Would Clarence be stuck in place right now? Clarence grew up with yelling his whole life, and blood... He would be protecting Jessica right now. He would get her somewhere safe and go after the shooter with his bare hands and stern voice. I'm not as strong as he is, but I can stay with Jess. I can.'

Taking in several shaking breaths before he managed anything much, Raiu slid back to Jessica. His eyes darted back to where the bathrooms were. They could make it. It was only a few yards. They'd be safe out of the way here. Another gun shot made up his mind.

'Right now, Clarence is probably dodging bullets and hiding from gunmen. You can handle one. Do it. Do it now.'

"I have an idea," he whispered, nodding his head towards the bathroom. "I can make it. Can you?" He met her eyes.

'I want to keep you safe like Clarence would. Please. Trust me. Call it a leap of faith.'