FicWad

Leaving Jim alone at the bar, Kaylee walked to the back of the club following the dark-skinned man. He led her to a door next to the stage and gestured for her to go through. Kaylee wrapped her fingers around the warm doorknob and pulled forwards. A blast of warm air rolled over her face, and a mass of green pushed forwards at her.
“Excuse me?” Kaylee asked, turning to the man who brought her here.
He raised an eyebrow.
“Are you...sure? That this is the right door?” she faltered.
He didn’t answer.
“I’ll wreck up my dress and shoes, if I go through all that. So I’m just...is this the right door?”
The man enunciated slowly, as if Kaylee was incapable of rational thought.
“This Is The Right Door. You Go Through It.”
Kaylee took another sip from her drink and went through the door, pulling it shut behind her.

Trying to keep a grip on her drink and not trip over the potted plants, Kaylee weaved through the foliage. The temperature in this room was considerably warmer than the rest of the club, and she could feel sweat beading on her back and underneath her arms. The band outside was still playing, and the rhythm of the drums pounded through the floorboards. Moving a low-hanging flowering plant out of her line of sight, Kaylee came across a blue armchair, in which slouched a girl. The other girl had blonde hair that had been twisted up on top of her head, and a green dress that was so unseemly that it seemed necessary for the girl to sit just for it to stay up, despite her full figure. Frosty blue eyes took in Kaylee’s attire and her drink.
“Who the hell are you?” the girl asked brusquely.
“Excuse me?” Kaylee responded, shocked.
The blonde girl brushed hair out of her eyes. “Are you too spifflicated or too stupid to understand? Or is it just a mix of both?”
Kaylee’s fingers tightened on her drink. “I was invited here.”
The effect was electric. The tiny blonde bolted up out of the chair, eyes wide and hiking her dress back up to where it was barely acceptable.
“What? What did you say? What was that?”

Kaylee chose not to say anything and merely sipped her drink, watching the blonde go into hysterics quite quickly.
“He doesn’t want to see you! He can’t! He and I, well, we’re friends, the best of friends, and I know him better than any dumb Dora anyway, and he doesn’t want to talk to you!” she said, and then started sobbing.
“Oh, Oh, hey, there,” said Kaylee, putting her drink down on the floor and moving to the girl’s side. “It’s copacetic, dear. What’s your name?”
The girl wiped at her eyes, smearing black tears along her cheekbones. “I’m just so ugly. I’m so ugly and fat!”
“Tinkerbell!”
The blonde froze mid-hiccup, still shaking.
“Bring that new girl back here.”
Tinkerbell brightened. “He needs me! He still needs me! Oh, Thank God! He still needs me!” she twittered, grabbing onto Kaylee’s arm. Kaylee gasped at the sharpness of Tinkerbell’s nails, and tightened her grip on Jim’s napkin.
“Right this way! I can’t believe he wants to talk to you! Goodness, I’m all aflutter!” chirped Tinkerbell, turning enough to give Kaylee a look at her bare back. A Vee-shaped pink scar rambled unevenly down to her tailbone. The skin that puckered around the wound was old, but judging by the pitted skin around it, the wound had been done intentionally. Kaylee couldn’t help staring. Done on purpose, but seeing as the vee was lightest in the middle, it was probably...
Kaylee swallowed.
Self-inflicted.

Tinkerbell was either immune or didn’t notice Kaylee’s rudeness. She dragged the taller girl through a variety of plants, and into a small, overgrown sitting room.
“Tinkerbell! Darling! It’s so nice of you to join me! Now, who’s this?” asked a man sitting sideways on an armchair with his feet resting on the varnished coffee table.
Tinkerbell glowed happily. “I don’t know!” Her expression morphed into sadness. “Please don’t be mad, baby, I didn’t mean anything by it, I meant to ask, but I just--”

“Shut up, Tink,” said the other man idly.
Tinkerbell’s jaw clicked together.
“Now come here and talk to me,” he said.
Tinkerbell dropped Kaylee’s arm and scurried over to kneel next to the man. He ran a hand across her face, smearing the makeup further.
“This won’t do. This won’t do at all.”
Tinkerbell’s head drooped. 
“I’m sorry, baby.”
His hand moved to rub at the left corner of the vee. “Are you?”
“I’m sorry. I mean it. Peter. Don’t leave me.”
Peter smiled. “There’s my girl. Go party with the rest of the boys, huh?”
Tinkerbell shot up to a standing position, and rushed away.

Kaylee glared, feeling hatred bubbling in her gut.
“You monster.”
Peter sat up a bit straighter. “Am I? Well, at least I got an expert opinion.”
Kaylee sank into a yellow sofa opposite Peter, placing her julep on the table. “You know the girl’s carrying a torch for you, and you’re still pushing her around and--”
Peter barked out a laugh. “I’m pushing her around? Listen, doll. Just because the little fool’s hopelessly in love with me doesn’t mean I need to reciprocate. Copacetic on that front?”
Kaylee’s eyebrows knitted together. “No. I’m not. Even if she is goofy for you, can’t you just say no?”

Peter swung his legs forwards so he could sit normally. “Try telling her no? Oh honey. Poor, confused honeybunny. I have. And she still couldn’t get it through her blonde skull, even after I had the...bird. God, what was her name?” Peter paused, then snapped his fingers. “Bird! Wendy Bird! And Tink thought I only liked her because she didn’t have wings.”
Kaylee placed the napkin with Jim’s address under her left leg. Somehow, she had a feeling Peter might not want to see it.
“Tink’s fair folk. Lotharian. You know how they are. So she took care of the wings and I jumped Wendy for another couple of debs like yourself. Now look at me. I could be stuck doing nine-to-five in a tiny apartment with an ugly hag and a couple squalling brats. But I’m not. I stuck with the right chick. I stayed with Tinkerbell.” Peter pushed his red-brown hair out of his eyes. “Ain’t life grand?”

Kaylee ran a tongue over her lips. She wished she had brought lipstick, or knew how to disentangle herself from this conversation. “I...understand that you know something? There was a note?” she asked, picking at the hem of her dress.
Peter nodded, grinning. “Yeah. Did you like that? I got one of the Boys to do that. Nibs, I think.” Peter stared over at her, and ran his tongue over his teeth. Kaylee felt suddenly uncomfortable and wished that Jim had come with her.
“Do you know anything about that murder?” she asked, picking her drink up off the table.

“I know a lot of things about a lot of people. Although I’d like to hear a bit more about you,” intoned Peter, sliding a bit forwards on his armchair. Kaylee tried to get a focus on how old he was, but he could have been anywhere between her age and thirty. Her heart seemed to be beating extremely hard, and she nervously took a sip of her drink. “Although I must seem fascinating to you, I think we’d both do better to hear about that murder?” she managed to reply after she swallowed, feeling shaky on the inside but keeping her face calm.
Peter laughed again, the same harsh bark as heard before.
“The girl’s name? Elizabeth Lavenza, wasn’t it? Cousin to that scientist man, wasn’t she? Oh, what was his name?” Peter asked, getting off the chair and moving to a green footstool that was slightly closer. He snapped his fingers.
“That’s it! Victor Frankenstein. First cousins, that’s true. Very close. Although perhaps a bit...too close? For comfort?” purred Peter, sliding over to the end of Kaylee’s sofa.
Kaylee eyed him warily. “Really.”

He made an elaborate show of crossing his heart, although Kaylee doubted he had one.
“True to my soul, dolly. But people have been saying--and you know how people talk--that Frankenstein’s been seen with a very...dangerous and influential person,” said Peter, spreading his arms along the back of the sofa. Kaylee shifted away, keeping a firm grip on Jim’s address.
“Who’s this mystery man?” asked Kaylee, hoping to keep Peter distracted long enough to keep his hands to himself.
Peter cleared his throat. “Well, nobody really knows the name of this particular sucker, but he’s given himself his own title. Jumped up sort of bad egg, eh?”
Kaylee bit back, I could say the same thing about you.

Peter was either immune to her withering look or was too in love with the sound of his own voice to care. “This guy’s name is Twelve Ozzie. But other than that, the man’s a ghost. But everybody knows about him. Worships some Abaiyan’i pagan god and all that jazz,” rambled Peter, subtly moving up the couch. Kaylee took a long swig of her drink, mind chasing over the new information. Peter’s hand landed on her far shoulder, and she started. Peter either didn’t notice or he just didn’t care.
“So Frankenstein’s in deep with this guy, or at least, that’s what people have been saying, and somehow his cousin found all about it. Needless to say,” Peter chuckled, and his arm tightened around Kaylee’s shoulder. “He didn’t take it well.”

Kaylee froze. What on earth was she supposed to do now? Obviously this...Peter wanted something in exchange for this information, but her skin was already crawling from this, so going any further might make her physically sick.
“Why are you telling me this?” she asked him, voice sounding tighter than piano wire.
“Because,” he said evenly, reaching with his other hand to draw circles on her exposed leg. “You have literally no idea what’s coming down the chute. These two jokers are planning something really big, but hell if I know what it is. I’m just letting you know how good it is right now so you’ll have something to look back on.”

Kaylee wanted to push Peter’s fingers away, but before she could, Peter pressed his lips to hers in a kiss. She squeaked and tried to push him away, feeling his tongue rasping over her face. She brought her drink down hard on top of his head and he made a strangled noise at the back of his throat, moving back.
“Ow! My head!”
“Serves you right! You CAD!” Kaylee screamed, throwing the glass and what remained of her drink at him. She got off the couch and stormed back through the plants and out the door to the rest of the club.

Jim was still at the bar, where she’d left him.
“Huh-huh-hic!-hello, Kaylee. I’m a.. a buh-buh-buh-bit schpifflicated,” slurred Jim, looking very relaxed after what looked like a few gin and tonics. He stood up unsteadily and grabbed her face with both hands.
“Wuh-wuh-wuh-hic!-why are you crying?”
Kaylee didn’t say anything, watching Jim’s ugly face turn from foggy drunkenness to foggy confusion, then finally foggy understanding.
“I’ll kill him. Suh-suh-hic!-swear it,” Jim said, folding her into a tight hug.
“Just take me home, Jim. Please.”