Stuffed, I lean back in my seat and stretch. I’m here in Sam’s with Nicole, having the best time we’ve had in a while.

“So sis, I heard you got in it again with Vanessa a couple days ago,” Nicole said smirking. “You teach her another lesson?”

I sighed and shook my head. “I ducked and dodged, didn’t throw one punch. She looked like she was upset about something that I apparently did. I still don’t know what it was. She was crying and everything, it was pathetic to look at. So I just left.”

Nikki looked at me for a while, as if she were analyzing something. “Very bold of you.” she finally answered.

“Thanks. I kind of regret it now though,” I said, now getting angry. “Ever since then she’s been doing more stuff to me. Worse stuff. Filled my locker with lesbian porn, announcing ‘SEE! SHE’S A DYKE AFTER ALL!’. Flipped my book bag and hid my shit in the boys locker room.”

I looked up at Nikki, who was fighting back laughs. I smiled. “Shut up! It’s not fucking funny! I had to get Raine to get it for me!” She cracked up.

“Oh no, it’s not that! I’m still trying to off of the lesbian porn!” she exclaimed, her voice cracking at the end of the sentence, erupting more and more laughter. I couldn’t help but laugh with her.

Where had this gone? Out laughing, joking and kidding? Our bonding? I hardly remember it existing at all, but I know it did. One of those brief fuzzy memories that you never regard until you have deja vu. I think about how we behaved at my grandmother’s party almost a week ago.

I sat across from Nicole, who was trying to look as interested as possible in Gram’s story about the time she lost 50 whole cents. Oh how tragic. We were at a nice restaurant, and I was forced to dress nicely. So due to my bitchy mood, I had given up looking interested a long time ago. I picked at my food a little, but the thought that my band was playing at The Pit still gave me enough butterflies in my stomach to let me hover above the deep clutches of boredom/depression. I even had the faintest smile on my face the whole time.

I looked over to my parents, sitting closest to grandma who was at the head of the table. My father’s hand was in my mom’s stroking the top of her hand with his thumb. I glance at Nikki, and do a small signal with my eyes to indicate their grossness. She sees and smirks before shaking her head to know we’re on the same page.

I scanned the room, interested in the people there. There was a good looking guy across the room. He glanced at me, and I smiled. This followed with a glance to Nicole, who automatically knew to look over her shoulder. The guy looked at her too, and she did a little wave. I winked at her, and we stifled our school girl giggles.

The night continued like that. Small performances of twin telepathy, and silent conversations. This is how our relationship has been as long as I can remember. Silent conversations. None of them any deeper or any realer than the ones we were conversing at the dinner table at this moment… There’s something about an audible conversation that brings a stronger connection than a silent one ever could.

That’s when the weight of what I had to tell her fell upon my shoulders. George and Tom, whoever they were. Their names still haven’t left my memory. It wouldn’t lose yours either. Not something that important; not to mention recent.

“Hey.. Nik?” I began, trying to find the words to tell her. “You… you remember when I got jumped last Saturday…? Remember, I said I was able to get away, but it was kinda rough?”

That was the story I had came up with when the guys found me. I had to tell them where I disappeared, it would have looked too suspicious. And telling them a couple of stalkers kidnapped me and scanned me with some…thing, doesn’t seem very realistic.

“Yeah, I still can’t believe you didn’t call the cops on that guy,” she said, adding more cream to her coffee.

I shrugged. “Muggings happen everyday in this city. But the thing is… I didn’t get mugged that day…”

She looked up from her cup and looked at me. She gave me a look, as if she were trying to read my mind to find out if I was toying with her. But once the look vanished and a concerned one replaced it, I knew she knew that I was not lying.

“Then what happened…?” she asked leaning forward.

I leaned back instinctively and glanced around a sec to see that Sam’s was practically empty except for an old couple across the diner. “Ok, what I’m about to tell you, you have to promise not to tell anyone else. And please believe me.”
She nodded, her face unchanged.

“Ok…” I started. “Now, I was taken away against my will. At gun point. But they didn’t want any money… They didn’t even want to fuck me…”

I continued to tell her what happened; how they new my name and how they questioned me. I was sure to include the scanner, and how they mentioned ‘its there, but unused’. And the last thing I told her, was how they would come after her if I told anyone.

Nikki stared for a while, taking it in. There was a long, but not awkward, silence between the two of us. She continued to think, before leaning back in her seat and looking down at her lap. That wasn’t good. She only looked down like that when she had done something wrong. Like a small child afraid to tell her mother she broke the vase.

“Raevyn…” she paused, collecting her thoughts. “I need to tell you something...-,”

BAM!

The door flew open and bullets were fired into the wall behind the counter. The old couple were nearly scared into a heart attack as they slowly but surely ducked under their table. Me and Nicole did the same, holding on to each other for dear life.

“ALRIGHT NOW EMPTY THE FUCKING MONEY!” a guy with a horrible haircut said. But for now I’ll call him Hair.

Hair began prodding the clerk with a gun, telling him to hurry up. The other guy looked around for hostages. He saw the old couple, knew they were no threat and kept going. He stopped on us.

“Well what's this? A couple of hot twins. I’ve always wanted a pair,” he smirked.

Remember what I told you what I learned last week? About never piss of the guy with the gun? Well, that completely went out the window.

“And you’ll get a pair once you grow a set,” I snarled. “Keep fuckin looking asshole.”

“Excuse me? Whose in charge here you little whore? Think I’ll have to teach you some fucking manners.”

He reached for my arm when Nicole screamed. “RAEVYN! NO!” I felt her arm grab me around the waist, and that’s when it happened.

Everything seemed as if it was going in slow motion. The robber grabbing my arm, shaking it in an attempt to get me from under the table. Nicole pulled me back and her eyes shut tightly. I looked from her, and back to the robber. Everything sped up again, and he was flying across the room. Not even Criss Angel can leave you with the bewilderment, fear, and astonishment I felt when I saw that.