Alden, Nikki, Spike, Maxine, Colton

Alden
Adriana snored when she slept. Well, less snored and more imitated a jack hammer. I could never sleep when she slept over; not that I complained about being kept awake by a woman but generally, we would be doing fun stuff as opposed to lying in bed, staring the ceiling. Adriana had her arm clamped around my chest so if I wanted to sneak off and catch some shut-eye in the living room, I couldn’t. So my imagination began to wander which inevitably took me to Sasha. She was exceptionally beautiful woman. More beautiful than Adriana though Adriana had this raw, sexual energy about her that Sasha didn’t seem to possess. She did, however, have an actual moral code that she followed vigilantly. For Adriana, the word ‘moral’ didn’t have a place in her vocabulary. I could respect Sasha and I did respect her. Greatly, in fact. Which was why I wanted her so badly. In terms of respectability, most of the girls I had dated came from the lower end of the spectrum. It was unfortunate but they were easy. It does get boring after a while though. Being a successful R&B artist meant that women regularly threw themselves at my feet but Sasha never did. Ever. Glancing at the jackhammer, I made a decision. Adriana had burnt out. I was done with her. Shutting my eyes, I reminded myself to tell Maxine to buy me a diamond bracelet for Adriana. No girlfriend of mine ever left without a....parting gift.

Nikki
“Do you even realize how much money you waste on whips?” I demanded of Adriana. I was auditing her bloody ‘flower shop’. Adriana flitted around her office.

“They’re not whips, Nikki, darling. They’re decorative ribbons.”

“If they’re made out of leather, they’re whips.” I grumbled.

“The men pay extra if they get smacked around a bit.” Adriana continued to speak as if she hadn’t heard me. “You wouldn’t understand, Nikki. It’s too complex for your innocent mind.” I glared at her.

“I’m not that innocent.” I grumbled. Previous experience had taught to mumble my disagreement with Adriana. She didn’t like being disagreed with and her wrath was terrifying. “Addy, I understand...your need for more money. But really, can’t you ask your girls to be gentler with the whips?”

“Oh, stop your nagging, Nikki. I’ve got better things to do than listen to your lectures.” She snapped. “Just finish the damn auditing.” She stomped out of her office. I got the whiff of whorish perfume wafting in as she slammed the door behind her. Adriana’s business was code named the “Flower Shop” but was really a gentlemen’s club for the scum of the male gender. Adriana’s loud laughter floated through the walls and assaulted my ears. In anger, I slammed the books shut. She can do her own stupid auditing. After glaring at the books for a few minutes, I sighed and opened them up again.


Spike
“That thing is hideous. It is repulsive to look at and frankly, is offensive!” I yelled at Andre.

“It’s a work of art!” Andre yelled back. The disputed object was a two foot Venus de Milo statue carved out of marble and encrusted with fake jewels. Phoebe and Connor stood, impassively.

“It’s FUGLY!”

“You cannot appreciate the inner workings of the artistic mind, Spike. I’m afraid you’re ignorant! Completely and utterly ignorant! Phoebe! What do you think of this?” Phoebe paled.

“Uh...my opinion? My opinion hardly matters, Andre.....It’s what Connor thinks that’s important.” Connor shot Phoebe a dirty look.

“I don’t know, Andre. Honestly. If you like it, I suppose I feel the same way.” I sneered at their inability to express their true dislike.

“What they’re TRYING to say is that it is one of the ugliest things they have ever laid eyes on.”
“That’s a little mean.” Phoebe said, softly.

“No one cares what you have to say, Phoebe. You’re the ultimate empath. Always caring about what other people think.” Phoebe threw her hands up in the air.

“I’m not talking to him when he acts like this.”

“How is he being different from any other day?” Connor snorted. “Seems like the same egotistical jerk as always.”

“What do you think of the statue, Grant?”

“It’s naked. I’m not looking.” True enough, Grant was staring at the wall, away from the topless statue.

“Oh, forget it.” I snapped at him. “You’re useless anyway.”

“Stuff a sock in it.” Phoebe replied. “Leave Grant alone. Just because he’s more childlike than others doesn’t mean he’s useless.” I rolled my eyes at her and she made a face at me. I turned my back on her and refocused my attention on Andre.

“You have a choice, Andre. Me or that infernal statue.”

“It’s an easy decision, Spike. I stand beside my choices. If you don’t like my statue, you can march your butt out of here.” I gaped at him.

“You can’t be serious.”

“Do I look like I’m joking?” I was speechless. I was being thrown out of my very own apartment by a raving lunatic with an ugly statue.

“Fine! Fine! I’ll go!” I glared at Phoebe and Connor who were smirking. “But you’ll be begging me to come back. Just watch!”

“Sure, Spikey.” Phoebe said, sarcastically. “We’ll be on our knees.”

“What will we do without our daily dose of asshole?” Connor said in an anguished voice. I stormed into my room and flung a couple of basics into a bag. They’re all dicks. They’ll want me back eventually. I stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind me, making Phoebe jump in surprise.

“I hate you all.” I snarled as I flew out of the apartment door.


Maxine
I was a genius. That was the fact of the matter. Chelsea was miserable and Colton was miserable. Actually, so was Carson but he didn’t really matter. Colton was reasonable; if I spoke to him, he would eventually see the light and come to his senses. Chelsea was truly sorry and everyone makes mistakes. So I set out of my apartment, mid-afternoon on a Saturday with a purpose. The dweebs were at it when I arrived, bickering over the game controllers. I coughed gently, hoping to get their attention without having to raise my voice. Subtlety is lost on men like them.

“Hey, dumbasses!” I hollered. There was a silence as Kirk, Preston, Jamie and Colton froze to search for the source of the voice. “I might be short and skinny but I’m not that invisible.”

“Oh, Maxine. Hey.” Preston greeted me as he kneed Jamie in the crotch.

“Whoa, Jamie. What happened to your eye?” It was black and swollen.

“Preston.” Jamie replied I waited for some sort of explanation but all I heard were animalistic (think: pig) grunts.

“Colton, can I talk to you?” He shrugged and the boys cheered over having one less competitor.

“Sure. Make it quick though.” He seemed to be much better now. I had seen him weeping on a bench, earlier this morning.

“It’s about Chelsea.”

“I don’t want to talk-” I silenced him with the wave of my hand.

“Too bad. I want to talk so we talk.” He sighed. “Listen. You’re both miserable.”

“I’m fine-”

“You were crying on a bench like a homeless person.”

“I’m fine now.”

“No, you’re not. I can see it.”

“What does it matter? She clearly wants nothing to do with me.”

“That’s not true! She still loves you. She just...went astray, that’s all.”

“Astray? So she wandered into Carson’s arms?”

“If you use that imagery, yes!” I decided to attack him personally. “It’s not only her fault. You’re not exactly the most loving person there is. You’re a workaholic with barely enough to time to eat, let alone care for a fiancée. She was lonely.”

“Why didn’t she tell me?”

“You act as if it’s that easy to talk to you! You ignore things you don’t want to hear.” He sighed and I could see that I was getting through to him. “Come on. Fix your relationship. You want it. She wants it. You love her. You can’t give up on love, just because a little thing-”

“She had sex with another man.”

“Maybe not so little a thing. But still! She’s sorry.”

“Really?”

“She hasn’t stopped crying.”

“Really?” He cracked a smile. Inwardly, I marvelled at the perverseness of human nature; we take pleasure from hearing our loved ones are grieving over us.

“Yes!”

“I want to talk to her first.”

“But are you open to the idea of a reconciliation?” He sighed.

“Now I am.” Bubbling over with excitement, I practically floated back to my apartment.

“Chelsea, darling!” I called out, waltzing into the living room.

“Yes?”

“I just spoke to Colton.” Chelsea raised her red rimmed eyes, sorrowfully.

“What’d he say?”

“He’s willing to talk about a reconciliation.” Chelsea’s jaw dropped and an expression of joyful hope danced across her face.

“What?” From the tone of her voice, maybe that wasn’t joyful hope dancing across. “Are you serious?”

“I negotiated it.” Chelsea gulped.

“Why would you do that?”

“I-I...I thought that’s what you wanted.”

“No, Max.” She smacked her head against the table. “This is the exact opposite of what I wanted.”