The Official Meeting. (1)

Angel and Cecily (Cee-cee-ly) first meet.

Bold= FEVER

Regular = Tag

Cecily glanced up at the bright sky, not minding the long strands of red that poured over her face. She was whistling a tune she couldn't remember, skipping and listening to the blue collar jingle around her neck. Spirituality, youth, truth, and peace. She could agree with all of those of course. A few neighboring pets nodded their heads at her and she waved energetically in return, almost tripping as she wasn't paying too close attention. A small squeak and she regained her posture, blushing lightly and pushing a few strands of hair behind her ear, leaving it exposed and pink like her cheeks. A few of the Rats laughed and shook their heads at her, watching as she sheepishly ran off.

         The city was booming with life already and she was eager to get somewhere today, get something out of whatever life this was that had been tossed her way. Her clothes were fairly new, dirty from wear, but a few of the Rats had helped her put change together and get her a cheap brand tee and some shorts. Her shoes were still torn up, but she could deal with that as long as she wasn't wearing the same moldy winter clothes. Cecily glanced up at a few of the shops, mouth hanging open. She fingered a few of the windows, running her hands along the cool glass and peering through to the jewelry and assortment of foreign foods.

         "Wooooooow!" Letting off a small laugh, she scotched a bit closer and wasn't surprised when a few people made faces and backed off. One guy even kicked her shin! Cecily frowned and rubbed the spot, glancing around for the culprit. It was only a small kick, but something that would surely leave the rest of her day a mess of groans.

         Angel eased back in his oversized executive's chair, making a little more space in between his legs. With one hand, he loosely brushed aside the strands of long blonde hair that fell carelessly across his suit pants. The other hand held an expensive, ornate telephone wired to a receiver on his desk. His cigarette bobbed out of the corner of his mouth with every word he spoke. The voice on the other end of the line seemed distant, tinny, whiney to him. He didn't care. As far as he was concerned, this guy was just another little pecker trying to fleece him of the product he peddled best.

         "F**k you," he said. "I've got a whole pack waiting at the safe house; you’re getting ten for ten thousand. You go to any other of these shitheads on the street; they'd charge you twice that." His free hand returned again to the woman underneath his desk. He instructed her forcefully, pushing her head to one side, allowing the dim table light to glint off her new collar.

         "Look. They're desperate. They have nowhere to go. They come easy to me. And if you think you're gonna f**k me on this one, you can go shove it."

   Angel slammed down the phone, and stood up abruptly. His pet stumbled forward and scrambled to wipe the saliva off the corners of her mouth.

         "F*****g b***h," he raged. "Spit all over my brand new pants. Get the f**k out before I break your jaw so you won't have to embarrass yourself anymore."

         He didn't toss a second glance at the girl that ran out of the room, crying. He withdrew himself into his pants and walked to the window, observing the lights around him.

         "F**k me," he thought. "This place ain't what it used to be. If I don't get more items in stock, I'm going s**t broke. Then I'll be no better than them."

         Jumping to the side, Cecily grasped at her chest and squealed as a girl bolted from the large building in front of her, sobbing loudly. She stood there as if someone had pressed pause on her, listening to her heart rate slowly die down back to a regular pace. The door was inches - inches! - from hitting her square in the face. And she wasn't too worried about the damage to her face, more about the damage she would have to pay for! Making a face, she slowly turned to watch people return to their daily activities. There seemed to be a perfect little circle where she stood in the side walk, everyone avoiding even the thought of accidentally brushing against her.

         An older woman was watching her from inside the glass doors, this oddly disgusted expression plastered on her face. Cecily stared for a moment before she stuck her tongue out, making a silly grin, and wiggled her hands and body back and forth. The woman jumped and quickly turned on her four hundred dollar designer heels, clicking off down the elegant halls. Interest peeked; Cecily glanced around before she slipped through the glass doors. She would be way out of place, she already knew that, but she couldn't help the exciting feeling that something big and interesting was awaiting her! That was, if she could find it before she got kicked out.

         Twirling a random piece of bright red hair in her finger, she glanced back and forth before she ducked into a hallway and ran into the opening elevator, backing against the wall and giggling. The overly dressed elder man in the elevator gave her the most repulsed look she had ever seen! Cecily resisted the urge to outbreak in a more high pitched laughter and clamped her hand against her mouth roughly, stifling her giggles as she watched him quickly turn his head. As soon as the elevator stopped and he stepped out quickly, she followed as well. He seemed to be mumbling to himself about "another one" and "oh boy".

         Fearful that he would call the authorities, she did a small summersault down the opposite hall and slammed smack dead center into a large door. She groaned and gripped her head, falling flat on her a*s and staring up at the door through one squinted eye. The door was open a crack and she got on her hands and knees, grin spread from ear to ear, and crawled across the floor, peeking her head in slightly. A man was standing in front of a window, looking out on the city, and the thought was a bit romantic. She gazed at his back in the same awe she had when looking through the shop windows. He looked so deep in thought! And his hair looked adorably spiky - in a professional way of course.

         "F**k, f**k, fuckity f**k f**k fuckity." It was a word he just kind of tossed around in his head these days. He liked it. He liked the way it offended people. He loved to watch their reactions. Nothing satisfied Angel more than a good old fashioned look of disgust when he threw names like "Fuckhead" at sulking dealers. It meant he was getting to them. "and that," he thought, "is what gets us places. You get to them, they give you what you want."

         He tossed the idea around in his head of maybe grabbing another handful of Hunters off the black market. Sure, they'd charge a pretty penny to bring the rats to him, but by god they'd be the best. The prettiest. The most usefulness. The best F***s. The best gardeners. Whatever the hell they were using them for these days. It didn't matter. They were money regardless of whether or not they wound up dead in the dumpster the next morning or president of the goddamn world.

         It was just as Angel stooped over to place his cigarette butt in the ashtray that he noticed a quaint odor perforating the air. He breathed in a little deeper.

         "Is that... perfume? I thought I told that dumb broad to beat it." He walked over to the door and shoved it open. "That's it, you order a smack in the face, that's what I serve you - wait, who the f**k are you?" All he saw was a mess of red hair. He couldn't see a collar, fortunately, so he decided that he'd give the b***h a sentence or two before he decided whether or not to hit her.

         Squeaking loudly, Cecily jumped back to avoid the door and landed, once more, on her a*s. It seemed like a smack in the face was something that everyone was willing to give her today, living person or object. She blushed brightly and gripped at her chest once more, breathing heavily. One hand was behind her, popping her body up, and she stared up at the male. He was prettier than she had expected and she simply stared at him for a moment, listening to her heart beat in her ears. After a minute of silence, she softly giggled and moved her hand from her chest to rub the back of her neck. She glanced to the side.

         "Sorry sir, I wasn't eavesdroppin' or nothin'. I was just wonderin' . . . hey?" With a bright smile and wild eyes, she looked up at him from the floor and bent forward, placing both of her hands between her legs (since they opened to make a V) and splayed her fingers on the colorfully carpeted floor of the hallway. " Sir, do you know who's the owner of this buildin'? I'm sure he's got some interestin' stories to tell, don'tchya think?"

         Cecily showed off a childish grin to the man, wiggling her toes in her old sneakers. She was sure she looked obscene compared to his fancy suit, but she figured it was worth it, since it looked as if she would be kicked out sometime soon anyway.

         Angel stood expressionless in the doorway.

         "Look, I don't got time for retards like you bobbin' up and down in my office wasting my life. I hear there's a nice place that takes care of retarded people down the street." he cooed, "you just come from there?"

         Cecily blinked a few times and her face flushed. Quickly, she scrambled up to her feet and took a step towards him. He smelt strongly of cologne and cigarette smoke, it was intoxicating, but odd. She wasn't used to it.

         "N-No sir! I ain't mentally ill. I mean, I know where that place is and I know a few of the folks down there, they're awfully nice." Grinning at him, she had to look up to see him. He was nearly a foot taller than her, she was pretty short for her age, and he looked like he might squash her. She took another step closer, trying not to get too close.

         "I was just wonderin' because it looked like fun in here! And - and I ain't causin' trouble, I swear sir. Hey, what are ya doin'?" Cecily stretched on her tippy toes, trying to peek around him into the room. It actually looked... kind of boring.

         Angel let out one of the biggest sighs of his life and reached into his pocket for another smoke. Everything about this obnoxious woman-child was overbearing. Her almost gold eyes, her hair- s**t, he couldn't tell if it was dye or natural or fake or what the f**k. It was all so unnecessary. But all too.....eye catching. He light up and took a drag. He blew a smoke ring into the hallway and said,”

         You lookin for work?" he felt like he couldn't let this beacon of a girl leave the door without at least being reasoned with a little. He was already imagining her burning red hair lighting up a city block through a monitor, beckoning customers into the countless dens of debauchery he dealt in. Sure, she might actually charge (she wasn't a Rat, was she?) but that would be marginal compared to the business prospects.

         Blinking a few times, her face instantly lit up. She jumped slightly, her collar jingling under her shirt slightly, and she squealed, dancing slightly in her spot. "Lookin' fer work? Like a job?!" On the verge of tackling this man, she stopped short of her little jig and looked up at him again, face fallen.

         "But sir... only people get jobs." Her cheeks flushed again and she pulled the small collar from her shirt. She glanced around the hallway and looked back at him, bringing a finger to her lips and making a "shh" sound. Her eyes surveyed the hallway quickly again, making sure no one else was around. It was already obvious enough she wasn't a Rich, but she might have passed for a commoner if she didn't have suck knock-off brand clothes and way better shoes, and maybe some jewelry! But the collar itself was a dead giveaway and she knew that if anyone of these bigger people saw she would have the police after her hiney, and she didn't want to go through the hassle of that. Cecily had had her run in with cops enough and didn't want to think about what another encounter might mean. She looked up at the tall man, cocking her head to the side and letting her hair fall where it wanted. Slowly, she reached up and stood on her tippy toes, pressing the back of her hand against his forehead.

         "Sir... you look hot. Are you sick? Or maybe stressin' too much? Sir's should take breaks from jobs with their family." A childish grin spread over her face.

         He couldn't believe it. It was if he opened a window and the wind blew in what he'd stuck his head through guillotines to look for. He laughed. Angel let out the biggest, most booming laugh that had ever shook the walls of this god forsaken city. He was nearly bent double with laughter. His cigarette fell free from his grasp, his tie became crooked. He let out a final cackle and collected himself. He grabbed hold of the collar that hung around its neck. It would restart his business. It'd make him a millionaire. He yanked it in close and said,

         "Oh, bet you're f****n' a*s a job. You, sweetie, you're gonna work for me like no one's ever worked for me before. You, you're gonna drop jaws all around this town, you, you're gonna be a f*****g STAR."

He breathed out the last word heavily. They loved it when they felt cared for, and he knew, oh he knew damn well that her heart was beating a mile a minute. He could practically feel it pumping just as much money into his bank account as it was blood through her veins. He took it by the collar into his office, threw it down on the black velvet couch across from his desk, and sat adjacent.

Author's Note

Spilt it into two chapters. <3

Reviews

[Inyourshadow]

Love the childlike innocent and the street wise main characters, me thinks this may get interesting lol. He seems a real cad though and a little creepy, only futher reading will tell but hey at least she seems a laugh. Nicely penned and love the way you describe every movement of the characters posture, fingers splayed. Look forward to reading deeper. Keep em' coming

[Coyote Poetry]

A very strong opening chapter. I like the way this story feels. It feel cold and dirty. The characters with the wrong desires and aiming at goals for the wrong reasons. It is a dark tale and I like it. A strong ending to a excellent chapter.
Coyote

[Ruth]

Blimey! lol
This is powerful work love..I look forward to reading more! Forgive my abscence, have been so busy lol
The dialogue here is amazingly realistic...wonderful work xx

[Blue Moon Ice Cream]

I really enjoyed this chapter. I like your characters for the most part, although I agree with the other reviewers that Cecily is a bit annoying. She kind of reminds me of the main character (Eliza, I think) in 'My Fair Lady.' I'm still confused about whether all of the characters are people and some are treated as pets, or if Cecily is a dog/cat who can talk and wear clothes, though.

[M Garcia]

This was well written and I'm off to read more.

[.quan.011.]

I agree with Droll Prole. This chapter is well written, but the character are just not great for story. Although I can't wait to read more.

[Droll Prole]

This was well written but Im sorry I didnt like either of the characters, one was annoying and well, silly, and the other was a complete b*****d. I wont say it was bad but it just didnt appeal to me.

[Ashli The Amazing]

nice very nice. kept me reading i really enjoyed it [:

[DarkShines]

Very very interesting. Some points of it I don't have quite figured out yet, but I'm assuming that those will be made clearer later on, so off i go to the next one! yeah this was very well written, good job.

[masqued_muse]

Fever..I JUST READ THE 5 CHAPTERS. i am entranced. you are an awesome writer..please write some more, so i don't have to get a heart attack waiting!! I am soooo in love with these characters. Thank you 4 not getting bogged down in details....think you may have had a few typos or something...i'm rockin' the CONTENT of this piece.you are GOIN' places. girl!