Two

DAHLIA

     Bringing the cup of milk shakes to my lips, I slowly typed in the words;

'SCORPION'S EYE ORGANIZATION' into the search bar.

Biting my lip, I watched several images appear. There were eighteen logos in all. I picked up the card from my desk, gazing at the logo on it.....a scorpion with it's poisonous tail end curved in a perfect arch where a flaming eyeball was located. I shuddered, placing the card on my desk. My gaze rested on the screen of my laptop.

Scorpion's eye band, Scorpion's eye production company, Scorpion's eye fraternity.......aha, Scorpion's eye organization.

I clicked on it, expecting to get a lot of information but to my greatest surprise, it was a blank page. I picked up the card again.

Something wasn't right about it. I probably should stop trying to figure it out.

There was a knock on the door and I stood up.

"Open up, Lia! It's freezing out here!" Tori yelled from outside.

I smirked and opened the door.

"Why are you coming home by this time, young lady?" I said, playfully narrowing my eyes.

She laughed, plopping down on the bed. "Austin and I went on a date" she said, her cheeks turning pink.

Typical Victoria.

She's my roomie. She's my best friend and she's like a sister to me.

One major thing about her is that she doesn't believe in true love. She has the ability to date three different guys in one month.

"Was it nice? Have you finally found your soulmate?" I teased.

She scoffed, taking off her black jacket.

"As if. You know I don't believe in such nonsense. Look, he was nice and all, but he's not the type of guy I want. He's cute but I want hot guys. He's a good guy but.... I want bad guys" she shrugged.

I laughed, resuming my position behind my desk. I stared at Red's photo, my stomach flipping. He's hot though and he's bad news. Am I actually putting myself in danger? What if he's as dangerous as he seems?

'oh but you love mysterious guys. Dangerous ones too' a small voice said in the back of my mind. 

I'd dated only two guys apart from my fiance.

The first one had been addicted to smoking and had loads of tattoos.

The other one had the classic bad boy look and was part of a gang. I'd nearly gotten myself killed because of him.

The most disturbing part of this is that I still haven't learnt my lesson. "I'm so tired" Tori groaned, rubbing her eyes as she walked back into the bedroom dressed in a night dress. I hadn't noticed her leave the bedroom earlier.

Realizing how tired I was, I stretched my arms above my head, made my hair into a messy bun before slipping the card beneath one of my textbooks. Then I laid down on my bed with a sigh. As soon as my head touched the pillow, it wasn't long before I fell asleep.

***

RED

"Red, wake up! Get your ass off that bed, right now!" 

I groaned, turning away from whosoever was trying to wake me up. "Come on, Red. Don't you have classes today?"

I bolted upright in panic.

Lee was standing at the foot of my bed, his arms crossed.

I ran a hand through my messy hair, grimacing at the pounding in my skull. I was hungover. I know, it's a stupid thing to do especially when I'm having an important test today. The digital clock read 7:20am in bold, red figures. "Shit" I cursed, getting out of bed.

"You idiot, why didn't you wake me up earlier than this?!" I said, moving into the bathroom.

"You aren't the only one who's hungover, keep your voice down!" Lee grumbled.

I cursed under my breath as I brushed my teeth and took my bath. I contemplated shaving the growing stubble on my chin but decided against it. I was already late, what's the point in making it worse? I grabbed a black hooded sweatshirt and a pair of skinny black jeans. I slipped on my black boots, glaring at my reflection in the mirror. My eyes were slightly bloodshot and tired. "Hurry up, douche!" Lee said, grabbing his bag.

"Shut up!" 

He snickered.

"Seriously, you take too long to get dressed. You're probably worse than the girls" 

"Lee, don't make me loose my temper" I said through gritted teeth. My head felt like it was going to split open. Thanks to my hangover.

I got to my feet, swaying a bit.

"Woah, you okay?"

"Just peachy" I mumbled, running a comb through my longish black hair. I flipped the hood of my sweatshirt on, running a hand over my face. "I have your bag with me, you better get your ass to the car....the red Porsche not the Ferrari or the Benz...or...!"

"Shut up! I get it!" I yelled back, shaking my head.

The idiot has the habit of mentioning the exotic cars we both own. I'm not really proud of it. The organization we work for provided us with them because Lee and I are like the top officials or something. Well, that isn't a total lie. Lee and I are top major assassins in the organization. We all have ranks depending on the number of our successful missions. I have never had a failed mission but Lee has had a failed mission.

It's really weird.

Lee doesn't seem to be the type of person to hurt a fly. He looks intimidating but is a huge softie from deep within. However, he becomes an entirely different person when carrying out his assigned missions. We are not saints. We are bloody sinners. I never expected to find myself in that organization but now I'm trapped in it. There's no escaping from it. We're both trapped.

I swallowed two aspirin tablets, chugging down water from a water bottle.

By the time I got to the car, Lee was sitting on the driver's seat. Hey Jude by the Beatles was playing aloud on the stereo.

"Took you long enough" he frowned, putting on his seat belt. "I'm gonna drive, seeing as you look really horrible because of the hangover" he said.

I rolled my eyes, resting my head on the glass window.

He sped off and I closed my eyes. He was going over the speed limit but who cares?

Lee drives like a lunatic.

He'd failed his driving test twice and had only gotten lucky on the third attempt.

"We're here" 

I sat up and opened the door.

"I'll see you later, buddy" Lee said and moved to the other departmental building. 

I managed to get to the lecture hall and write the test.

The rest of the classes went by in a thick blur and soon, I was having a break. I went to the quiet campus park, and sat on one of the wooden benches. I brought my lighted cigarette to my lips, closing my eyes as I exhaled through my nostrils.

Slowly, I felt myself begin to relax. My eyes popped open when I heard footsteps coming from my left.

It was the girl I'd bumped into yesterday. She looked exceptionally beautiful today with her hair in large braids. She noticed me and froze, her eyes avoiding mine. I smirked, watching her quietly. Her face went pink and I chuckled, amused.

I knew she'd been eavesdropping on Lee and I.

I knew she had my wallet and my card with her.

She's such a curious young lady and it only makes me more interested in her.

"I know you've got my card and wallet" I said and she paled considerably.

"I will like you to keep it safe and sound for me" I said, a smug grin appearing on my face. Her eyes went wide, jaw slackened.

"W-what? Did you just say-"

"You heard me right" 

"What is this? A trick?"

"No, it's not a joke. What's your name?" I said.

"You're not scared that I might give it to the police?"

I gritted my teeth.

Stay calm, stay calm

"I know you won't" I drawled.

"W-what? W-why?"

"I trust that you're smart enough" I said, her expression turning to a shocked one.

"You're a psychopath" she hissed and I laughed.

"Honey, I've been called worse" 

She gave me a disgusted look and stormed off.

I like her.

She's fiesty.

***

DAHLIA

I groaned with frustration as I rubbed my temples where an ache was forming.

How the hell was I supposed to do the assignment lying on the table that was due to submit by the next day? I was feeling so tired and sleepy and was literally nodding off on my chair. I blinked and sat upright, my droopy eyelids slipping close once again.

I patted my cheeks, willing myself to stay awake. Tori was lying on the bed, deeply asleep and the time was twenty minutes past ten. "Fuck this" I muttered, rising to my feet, groggily. I needed to get caffeine somehow because I was feeling really sleepy. I decided to go to a nearby drug store to get some caffeine. So, I shrugged on my jacket and slipped out of the house, into the cold night. I'd barely walked fifteen feets when I heard heavy footsteps to my right. I froze, my fingers curling around the pepper spray bottle in her pocket. There was a loud groan and someone muttered a curse. With my senses fully alert, I could hear heavy breathing. Then, out of the shadows emerged a dark figure. He was dressed in black, a huge stain taking over the left side of his sweatshirt. I gasped when I realized who it was. His solid posture was half bent over a wall. The muscles of his back and shoulders moved fluidly. It was him. Red.

What the hell was he doing?

I stepped closer, my curiosity growing. He turned as if he'd sensed my presence. He was pale, awfully pale, I noticed.

There was blood stain at the corner of his lips.

"W-what happened to you?" I asked, my eyes wide.

He remained silent, his gaze resting on me.

I noticed that he wasn't clutching his side any longer. So, I let my eyes trail downwards, an involuntary gasp slipping out of my lips when I saw the deep cut across his torso. It was bleeding badly. I felt sick at the sight of so much blood.

"Red-"

My statement was cut short when he stumbled forward, falling right into my arms.

I let out a shriek, steadying him. "Red?"

There was no response.

I could feel his warm breath against my neck. I shivered as his long eyelashes brushed my skin.

"No hospitals" I heard him whisper feebly, his voice so low, I thought I'd imagined it.

"No hospitals, please" he breathed and passed out.

With fear pulsing through my veins, I decided to take him to my house. I couldn't just leave him especially with how much he was bleeding.

  "Hey, you've got to help me here. You're too heavy. It's not my fault that you're really muscular" I said, panting slightly.

As if he'd heard me, he stumbled upright in a semi conscious state. I supported him as he leaned heavily on me, his breathing laboured.

"Almost there" I panted as we moved down the street.

We got to my house and I opened the door, laying him down on the floor.

I stared at him for a minute, hoping that I wouldn't regret helping him.