Disappointment washed over me when I woke to an empty apartment. Ricky had already gone downstairs, I'm assuming. After last night, I was rather worried about him. He swore he'd be okay by morning. Come on? As cute as that face is, I'm not falling for it.

Today was Thursday, my day off. What else do I have to do though? My only friends all work at Voodoo. Angelo left behind his movie collection, considering he doesn't need it now that he's with Chris. He lives in Chris' huge house, on the top of a fancy hill. I'm sure he doesn't miss a few gore flicks.

I started going through the DVDs. All movies I've seen ten times over. Texas Chainsaw Massacre never gets old. I picked up the case, scanning it over. Then I let my eyes wonder. They landed on Ricky's bed, which was made up neatly. Is he just orderly, or does he have OCD? I know the guys told me he has a ton of mental disorders.

Watching a movie would honestly only be fun with him. I don't want to alone, especially a movie I've seen enough to quote scene for scene. I threw it back on the shelf, and decided to go visit him. Because, logically, it makes sense to spend my day off at work. Yeah, smart move there. I don't care. I just have a terrible need to see Ricky. It's a Thursday, so Voodoo won't be busy anyways.

| • |

I've never been this bad about obsessing over how I look... I kept feeling like something was wrong. Everything needed fixing; my hair, my eye makeup, my clothes. I guess it's just me. I look bleh. Too bad for Ricky. I still wanted to see him though... I guess it is dark in the club.

I locked up the apartment and headed towards the stairwell. As I walked down, I could hear the music getting louder. The stairway lead out into a hall, which was apart of the backstage. Mike saw me and walked over. Ugh, I didn't want to talk to him after last night.

"Thought it was your day off." He said, swishing around his cup in his hand.

"I came to see someone. Um, speaking of, I wanted to talk to you about that." I replied. "Ricky told me one of your usuals got a little too rough with him."

He wasn't phased by it. "Your point?"

"My point is, you know that isn't acceptable here." I told him, reiterating things I know Chris has told him in the past. "It's fine if you don't mind rough, but you can't push it on Ricky, or anyone else. I mean, Mike, Matt is scared of his own shadow. You can't do that shit to him."

"Matt will do whatever I tell him." He responded, somewhat proud of that fact.

"That doesn't mean you abuse that power." I scoffed. "What the Hell happened to you, Mike? You've become a fucking asshole."

This wasn't like him. The Kuza I knew was compassionate, intelligent, considerate. Now's he's become a bullheaded bastard!

He burned his eyes into mine. "I got pushed around a little too much for too many years. Finally, someone pushed me over the edge." Mike began to walk away, then added, "I'm done being nice after I've been fucked over like this."

"I didn't do a damn thing to you!" I gasped.

"I never said you did, but I'm not taking my chances anymore. It's a cruel world, Dev. You off all people should know that."

Yeah, I do know that, but I don't treat people like fucking assholes! I let him go though because I wasn't up for fighting with Mike. We do have to work together, anyways. Being on bad grounds wouldn't be the best for us. If he does attempt to sleep with Ricky, or get's him hurt, I will have his head on a platter. His comment, about being pushed over the edge, was a little worrisome too.

He's not my boyfriend, so I'm not going to worry too much about him. Then again, by that logic, I shouldn't worry this much about Ricky. I can't help it! The poor thing has nobody! Even the guys, they care about him, but not like I do. I don't think he's ever known love. At least, not like he needs to.

I was so happy to see him, even from all the way across the club. He looked beautiful tonight. Ricky sat on the bar top, legs crossed, and leaning forward. He had on a black vest, with nothing underneath. His jeans looked painted on. Fuuck.

His smile brightened when his eyes landed on me. I had captivated his attention. Ricky didn't look away once as I walked towards him. There was a biker looking guy to his right, who seemed unhappy with Ricky's abandonment. I sat to his left, both of us ignoring his costumer.

Ricky leaned closer to me, smiling beautifully. "I thought you weren't working tonight."

I set my hand on his knee, causing him to blush. "I'm not. I wanted to see you."

"O-oh." He sheepishly glanced away. I think he was embarrassed by how much he was smiling. "You look good tonight."

"Thanks." I replied. "So do you. How are you feeling?"

"Better." He said.

I didn't believe him but I let it go. "Good. I'll let you get back to work."

Ricky was reluctant. I let my eyes fall on to the bar top, seeing that biker asshole on the other side of him. Something about this guy just didn't set right with me. Maybe it was just jealousy. Ricky turned back to talk to Ryan, and in that time, I caught the guy try to slip something into Ricky's drink. My hands clenched as I tried not to deck him. Ricky turned back around and grabbed his drink.

I quickly grasped his wrist, causing him to spill over his drink a bit. "Don't drink that." I said. "He tried to drug you."

His eyes doubled in size. Ricky looked terrified! I flagged down a bouncer and had the man thrown out. Then I asked Ryan to get Ricky another drink, but he didn't want it. He got off the bar top and ran backstage.