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Aberrant: 2011 - The Truth About City Lights [Complete]


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The city streets of New York City were something at Lina had once held on high. They were more than she could ever hope to have in her life, something that she wondered if she would ever see. Years have passed since than, and she was part of some elite group of humans if they could even be called that. She felt like she was larger than any city now and more people knew her name than she cared to think about. A lot of people were very, very angry with her, but she lost her sense of empathy towards others. Others feelings didn't seem to matter and she always put herself first.

Right now was no exception.

It was broad daylight, and she was hiding in plain sight. She knew that she couldn't do something as foolish as go to her home, if it was even her home anymore. Going near Ravenshire would be an obvious move for someone trying to anticipate her moves, but it was something she wanted to risk. Besides, she had two new weapons. She'd frequented a few cities on her way to New York, like Chicago, Detroit, Montreal, Buffalo, and Albany. Each time she strolled down the busy streets or through the busy malls, no one paid her any mind for anything other than some little punk kid. One of her new weapons came in the form of a power.

It happened in the first city, Chicago. As she walked into the mall, covered with layers and layers of make-up and clothes, she looked like a doll. It was almost as suspicious as a white-faced girl. As she walked, everyone watched her with curiosity and disgust. She felt embarrassed for such a faulty attempt to blend in. She walked into a store to escape from sight of the masses and the employees were obviously suspicious. She wore sunglasses, obvious layers of make-up, and a dorky looking hat. An alerted security guard requested her presence and escorted her back to his office. After demanding she remove the glasses and hat, it appeared her skin had changed back to its normal, fleshy color. Her aberration had been masked, and she looked just like any other girl. The other weapon was her traveling companion and bodyguard, Vegas. Lina fast-talked her way out of the office and as the guard realized she fast-talked him and went to give chase. He became immobile and now has no recollection of the encounter.

She dyed her hair and bought new clothes. She found that she occasionally needed to refresh her ability that hid her aberrations, but she was very, very thankful that she could. Nobody really saw her, but they just saw some random, average looking girl. And Vegas was a normal looking guy anyway.

When she arrived in New York, Vegas used his contacts to obtain fake I.D.'s for both him and Lina. Lina was satisfied with her picture and her new age of twenty two, so she decided that she would somehow get a hold of Ravenshire. Vegas didn't want her to but he knew it wasn't his decision. They found out, almost immediately, that Ravenshire had been hanging around a club called The Stay, performing with a band. And on the night she braved showing up, she wore a new favorite shirt of hers, a black tight shirt with white skeleton bones printed on the front. They requested her ID, and she passed in for the age of twenty two from a combination of the valid ID and that she was a girl, and girls brought in crowds.

"The Simple Truth.. " Lina said out loud, knowing that Vegas would hear her. "..The bands."

"Don't be harking on The bands." Vegas said. "Besides, would you prefer Simple Truth?"

"No, but I would prefer A Simple Truth." They were closing in on an open table.

"Like A Simple Plan?" Vegas said smiling. He was wearing an open leather jacket with a tight brown shirt underneath it. His hair was messy, and he looked high.

"I see your point." Lina responded, sounding embarrassed and defeated.

She sat down at the small, two chaired table and Vegas walked off towards the bar. She looked around, wondering if she would be able to find Ravenshire, looking for the long blond hair. The club was beginning to fill out with spectators looking to see a good band, but the band was yet to be seen. Lina wondered if they had a backstage, but decided she better not wander. There were a few faces in the crowd who just seemed to be looking for other people.

"They look like undercover cops." Lina said as Vegas showed back up with an open bottle of beer and a water bottle. He passed the bottle to Lina and looked around.

"Maybe looking for underage drinkers." He gave Lina a look. She looked away from him, and wiped some of the white and black hair from her face, her thoughts on if Ravenshire would recognize her or not.

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"Don't live for Love. Love to Live." This was their mantra backstage. The band had taught this little ritual to Ravenshire his second time out with them and it worked. They were ready to go on. The Stay was like coming home for Raven. It wasn't that way for the others. The Stay was just another gig, but it was were their luck had changed and they gave into Daniel for wanting to come back ... at the same price.

"We open with Crank then Tone Deaf and then take it by ear."

Royoko gave an ear to ear grin. He wore blue plaid pants and a long sleeve shirt with Anime Girl scrawled across the top and an idealized Japanese School Girl underneath. He was thier DJ and he and Ravenshire had been working on Crank for two days. It was as storm session and now it was Royoko's time to shine.

Rose could only grin. She was the bands prefunctory manager and instead of clawing for any place to let them play, they were the ones picking and choosing. She knew it was because of the nova, but she didn't care. She brushed a lock of her spikey pink hair aside as she handled her sticks. Her black leggings had a run in them, her red-plaid skirt was too short and her red shirt was home-made sleeveless. She licked her overly lip-sticked lips in anticipation of the music ... and the applause.

Clive looked like he belonged in a Head band and he was still getting off on having his first groupie waiting for him backstage. It was like suddenly discovering that another person, any other person, knew you exist and he was high on the experience. Clive put on the tie-dyed headband that made him look ridiculous. His worn jeans were torn and marked on with black and red marker. His shirt was a knock off business man attire with a pulled down brown and blue striped tie. His sneakers were black high tops. Clive looked like a goof and he loved it. He said it gave him personality. He was also pretty good with his bass.

The came out and some people in the crowd started chanting,

"Truth, truth, truth," but only a few. The were a poor band - no roadies - so the bassist and the guitar had to plug themselves in before acknowledging the crowd. More people began getting loud.

Daniel was ready to go. He wasted little time on words, because he was here to feel some music.

"Good Evening! Less talk and more action. This is Crank!"

Crank was a fusion of SoHo House Beat and instrumental lightning. The crowd instantly began dancing to the throbbing beat, hands high in the air and bodies swaying. Daniel didn't mind and didn't care. He was here to play music as only a nova could. He stressed his manual celerity and his mental alacrity to their limits to match the spinning tracks layed down by Royoko so that they didn't over-power, or compete, but instead complimented and took the music to new heights. It was magic.

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Lina's throat became dry as she saw the band enter stage. Ravenshire had changed his appearance, not much, but he certainly had. Her eyes fixated on him and she must've gotten a foreign look on her, as she heard a voice in her head and knew it was a warning. What it said didn't matter, but Lina knew it was Vegas. She looked at him cautiously and he was looking away from her. She followed his eyes to a group on onlookers.

Their stare was at her and Vegas. One of them was entirely too familiar, but Lina couldn't place a name or situation. Vegas filled it in for her. "He was one of the guys at the cabin." Vegas mentally said to her. He stood up and walked away. "It's me they are curious about. I'll keep my mind on you, don't make this like Chicago."

Lina was nervous. She'd made it all this way to New York City, and she was almost never away from Vegas. She'd gotten used to his company, and the looming presence he had upon people who might have attempted to talk to her. Vegas had this aura of bad feeling which kept most people away, and she was fine with that.

The band introduced themselves and Lina tried not to stare intently. They didn't take long to start playing, and everyone seemed to enjoy it. Most people were dancing, but Lina could do nothing but watch Ravenshire. She was still hoping he would notice her, but she acknowledged she was just a face in the crowd. She took a swig of the water and stood up. The music wasn't really her thing. She had found that most New York City local bands didn't really do it for her. She caught a few eyes from a guy or three who all seemed to be standing around, taking inventory of tonights 'meat'.

Lina fluidly moved up through the crowd, trying to get to the front. There weren't many people but the considerable concentration seemed to be around the Nova, Ravenshire. Most were women, and Lina wondered if Ravenshire had his own set of groupies. Futhermore, she wondered if Dark Spiral knew about Ravenshire's band, and had been to any of his performances.

Lina blended in with the group of girls, mostly. Not many of them looked like they had a punk attitude, as the SoHo crowd tonight was very glam. Lina would be perfect for it when she lived in the area, but that was a time passed. Lina fixated on Ravenshire once more, dancing and jumping with the tightly-packed crowd which she had taken temporary residence in. She knew that the entire situation would be different if they had any idea that she was a Nova. She was two people back from Ravenshire, but could see him like she was standing right next to him.

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You felt the music, the instrument on his fingers, and the song in his ears. His eyes only glanced into the crowd occassionally, making sure that the people were happy.

,,

They were his twin mistresses, the music and the crowd. The music had to be alive and the crowd lively. Right now, he felt like he was doing both. As the song ended, he drank in the emotions coming off the club-goers. It was sweat, a fever-pitch of excitement and ... something else.

Everything flowed and meshed, playing off one another ... except for this one girl. She didn't have the look, but ...

The look of her body, the silkiness of her hair, and the richness of her lips.

If Daniel was capable of surprise, he would have dropped his guitar right there.

He would have most likely taken a few steps toward her, right off the stage.

Instead his mind clicked. A song came immediately to mind. Prophetically, he had just put it on the play list though they had only done it once. Now the groups ability to adapt was going to be called into question, but Ravenshire didn't care.

"This one is by the Cult," he spoke deeply into the mike.

I thought you would be out of my mind

And I would finally found a way to learn to live without you

I thought it was just a matter of time

Until I had a hundred reasons not to think about you

But it is just not so

And after all this time, I still can´t let go

I have still got your face

Pain´ted on my heart

Drawn upon my soul

Etched upon my memory, baby

And I have got your kiss

Still burning on my lips

The touch of your fingertips

This love so deep inside of me, baby

I have tried everything that I can

To get my heart to forget you

But it just can´t seem to

I guess it is just no use

In every part of me

Is still a part of you

And I have still got your face

Pain´ted on my heart

Drawn upon my soul

Etched upon my memory, baby

And I have got your kiss

Still burning on my lips

The touch of your fingertips

This love so deep inside of me, baby

I have still got your face

Pain´ted on my heart

Pain´ted on my heart

Pain´ted on my heart, oh yea yea

Smth in your eyes keeps haunting me

I am trying to escape you

And I know there aint no way to

To chase you from my mind

I have still got your face

Pain´ted on my heart

Drawn upon my soul

Etched upon my memory, baby

And I have got your kiss

Still burning on my lips

The touch of your fingertips

This love so deep inside of me, baby

I have still got your face

I have still got your face

Pain´ted on my heart

Pain´ted on my heart

Pain´ted on my heart

Come on Come on Come on Come on Baby

Come on Come on Baby

Come on Come on Baby

I have still got your face

Pain´ted on my heart

He sang it for her. He all but plucked her out of the crowd and made the song her own. Ravenshire forced himself to look about from time to time. He knew it wasn't safe, but half of him didn't care. She was alive.

Lina, he rolled that name around in his mind and snapshots of their experiences came with it. He wanted more even as he knew it was poison. He had to make up his mind.

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Lina smiled as he seemed to noticed her. More of his attention was diverted to the crowd and when she heard him begin to play she knew he was singing to her. She hid her excitement, though, as hiding her emotions had become standard.

She enjoyed the song, as it felt personal. Everyone around seemed to think that the song was sung personally to them, and maybe thats how he sung it that made that feeling. Lina knew that he knew who she was, and that the song was to her. The words, the way he sung it, everything. It was like he was talking to her. She closed her eyed and let his words flow into her, stealing her emotions away from the place they hid.

She knew she had to get away. She smiled at Ravenshire quickly as he looked her way and took off back towards the bar. Her mood had lightened, and fortunately no one had seen the exchange of a smile. It was so very dangerous for her to be here, with Ravenshire. She'd have to come up with something where she could be alone with him. But now, she hoped he would come speak to her at the bar. She ordered another water and handed the bartender the empty way. He took it with a nod and turned away.

She looked to her left and than to her right. Two empty stools with drunkards on the far sides of each. Everyone focused on the band, she felt alone. She knew that Vegas was still watching her from far away through her mind, but that was little comfort. She could still see Ravenshire on stage, and was happy to be around him once more. She heard a voice to her right, but it was immediately surreal. She ignored it for a time, than it spoke again. "Hey!"

Lina looked, and found that it was one of the eyes that had seen her move to the stage. It was just some guy. Lina half smiled and grabbed her bottle of water.

"Enjoying the band?" He said, looking back and forth between the band and her, smiling like an idiot.

"Mildly. I wanted to check out the Nova." She said harshy, trying to be uninviting.

"Oh yeah? His name is Daniel. I can introduce you to him, if you like." He was still grinning like an idiot.

Lina looked at him suspiciously. If he did actually know Ravenshire, it could be a great public reason for her to be around him. Either way, it was going to be funny for her.

"The names Jake." He held out a hand to her.

She looked away from him, smiling. She took a sip of the water. "Come back when the band is done." Her attention was focused on Ravenshire. The man named Jake turned to look at the band, waiting where he was for the band to stop playing.

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"Let's take a break," Ravenshire said to the crowd once the song was done.

He turned and walke up to Rose and her drum set.

"Let's go to the bar."

She was exhausted and saw no reason to argue. Royoko tapped the clubs internal music system and unleashed some canned music. Clive sat down on an amp he was so drained. Raven had hardly broken a sweat.

The group always tagged along together when they were at clubs. It was just something they had started doing and now it was second nature. It was like they were a pack.

It took every ounce of control to not make a bee-line for Lina at the bar. Some jerk had been hitting on he while the music was playing but now had backed off. The crowed glommed onto the band as they worked their way towards refreshment. People were touching them, kissing them, and generally passing on the rooms good move.

Finally, the sea of people came to an end and the bar was within reach.

"Let's go over there," Ravenshire beckonned. He was aiming straight for Lina and the few empty seats around her. As always, he was in the lead. That was more because he was the strongest than any 'follow the leader' kind of thing.

Rose sat down first, next to Lina. She ordered two waters. One went onto her head, cooling her down and mixing with the sweat all over her chest and back. Clive and Royoko went around Lina, taking position at the end of the bar. Waters all around, plus Clive ordered a double-vodka straight. He claimed it was for his singing voice. Royoko remained silent and had the air of contemplation around him.

Ravenshire fained being caught in the middle, leaning close to Lina's back as he ordered his own drink and bottled water.

"Excuse me, Miss. Are you liking the show?" he started out.

"By the way, I'm Daniel," he added and offered his hand.

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Lina had waited for his words. They landed in her ears sweet like honey, and they were welcome. He could have been telling her to clear out of the way, but it was simply enough. She had to make a decision. Play it cool as her instincts told her or act star-struck. Well, it took her this long, she might as well act. She looked around, as if suddenly noticing that all the members of the band surrounded her. She looks timidly at him as if asking if she was in his way, but got a silent reply from him as if it said 'yes, I was talking to you.'

"To be honest, I was expecting more. I came all the way out from my hole on the West Side to see this." She blushed mildly as she took his gently. Her eyes explored the room, finding that many women were staring at her, green with envy.

'And if they only knew.' She heard. It was Vegas. She ignored him.

Lina moved to the other side of Ravenshire, avoiding his hand. "I don't mean to disrespect a nova.. " she went to walk away but turned back to him. ".. In fact.. what makes you so special? Ooh! You're a nova?! What the fuck can you do thats so special that makes all these people want to come here and see you?" She paused than got in his face. The urge to kiss him was stronger than she expected, and she was starting to create a scene. "I know its not play guitar."

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He didn't seem to mind her attitude. If anything, he appeared to draw some mirth from it.

"I write music. Some crazy shit has gone on in my life and I get to act it out onstage."

Ravenshire let that hang for a moment then,

"Wanna dance?"

The dance floor would be camoflague. The sounds would cover any conversation. The moving, grinding bodies would mask any contact they could steal. It wasn't much in the way of hope, but it was what they had ... might have.

Daniel couldn't let himself look around as he was waiting on her reply. Too many eyes would be on them - him. Too many other girls wanting to dance. Too many watchers who kept tabs on what he did. Too many people who made his business their business.

Dancing would be okay. He was always asking girls to dance between shows. Rarely more than once, though. Never more than three times, no matter how much fun he was having. He couldn't let himself have that kind of pleasure - because of her, the other her. Still, he had right now, didn't he?

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She had to smirk, both in and out of this character she was playing. It was a devious smirk, one that only the most convoluted of plans could ever bring about. Here she was, a different her, acting a part that she'd been attempting to perfect. It was a blunt form, which she was beginning to become. Lina was slowly becoming the illegal documentation of a fake name. It didn't bother her in the least.

"A nova asking a mere baseline to dance?!" She gave a loud guffaw, as if drawing more attention. It was a good way for others to not expect it was her. She looked around the room with her arms held spread out. "I apparently need to give lip to every guy I think is hot." She looked around and spotted at least three woman who were prettier than her, but his invitation was a valid one. So far, everything has been done safely, so long as Ravenshire was still performing his normal routine, and she knew he wasn't stupid enough to go against his routine at a time like this.

"I'll grant you your wish. Maybe you'll be good at dancing." She smirked and walked onto the dance floor. She drew him close, but not immediately making contact. She infused jumping with the rhythmic dancing that was average, giving her a unique and energetic way to move about while still staying in character. It was only a short minute later after checking his moves that he allowed her to move in to contact her. The feeling was what she had spent her time looking forward to since she last saw him. Her other senses were numb in comparison, and each touch echoed pleasure through her nervous system.

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She hid her beauty under layers of deception, but she couldn't hide his memories of her body and how it felt. Her every touch was electric, but it was now more like a painful jolt - a memory knife - than something erotic.

He couldn't have her; not now.

She couldn't have a life with him, and he would feel trapped in a life with her. Were to go?

The dancing was fluid and he let his node flow into their movements, enhancing their chemistry. Only the press of bodies stopped them from becoming a spectacle. What made it seem so unbearable was the lie, or lack of truth.

Ravenshire leanded in at an appropriate moment,

"I can't do this. I want to be with you ... but there is no us if we can't be together."

The words cut him and only spilled out with the greatest of will. They weren't what he wanted to say, but what he felt he had to say.

And he knew the hurt he was causing, but it only mirrored the pain in his heart.

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Lina kept dancing, staring at him. She was expecting for him to say more, much more. The words were a shot in the dark, and Lina was realizing she had just been hit. Her body slowly came to a stop, like it had to work out its momentum. Her eyes were a combination of fear and anger, like a wounded animal.

When she had come to a stop, she was staring into his eyes. She still couldn't believe it. What did he want? Did he want her to go to jail? Did he want her to change into herself? Lina felt the pressure in her face building, and she knew she was going to cry. Her brother disappeared and her boyfriend didn't want to be with her.

"You sure know how to ruin a moment, Daniel." Her voice was wounded, and barely cut over the music. "I'm going to go disappear now. Goodbye."

She stepped past him and towards the door. She back towards him, still moving. She bumped into a pew people, but paid no mind to it. "Goodbye for good." She turned and once she made it to the door, she turned down the street. Vegas was standing in the doorway and watched her go. He took a long stare at Ravenshire, than followed Lina.

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It's not that easy

No it wasn't.

It was a horrible move piled on a horrible move. He ran after her. He artfuly moved the Staring Man. He knew the guy from their meeting at the lake, but not his name. Right now he really didn't care.

"Wait!"

He ran after her and didn't stop until he was at her side.

"There isn't anything more for me to do",

that wasn't lifelong suicide,

"but I was hoping you would do ... something."

He was angry now. She had gone through a great deal of crap becuase of the insanity of his life, but she had been piling the agony on to because of Chicago.

"Come clean. You don't have to live like this. You aren't the criminal, but you're letting this ruin you too, dammit!"

People were looking at them now. Time was running out, if it wasn't already gone. He was out of words too. He couldn't save them and most likely he couldn't even convince her to save herself.

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Lina closed her eyes, and the situation was getting tedious. He told her not to be around, but he just chased her out of the club. He wants her to turn herself in to a list of crimes as long as her leg. She was sixteen and a nova.

More so, she'd grown accustomed to not having papers written about her. She was no longer something that people stopped and stared at. She had disappeared off of the radar of the media and the people. Lina stopped and looked at him. It was a long and sad look. People were walking around them, but were staring at the same time. Her hands wrapped around the collar of his shirt and she pulled him close. Her eyes were full of tears. It looked like she wanted to speak, but her mouth wouldn't let her.

She let go of him, closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Than she stepped away from him and began running down the street, disappearing within a few seconds.

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