It was a Saturday afternoon. Faith sat at her brother's meet and greet, a bored look on her face, her chin resting on her fist. Her brother, Ashton, and his band had been meeting with fans for over an hour now. Faith pretended like she couldn't wait for it to be over, but in reality, she was just waiting for her to arrive. Guilt gnawed at her gut, she wished she didn't work for her, but it was the price she had to pay.
Finally, she entered the room. Her hair was long and silky, colored a dark brown, almost black. She had tanned skin and chocolate colored eyes. She wore skin tight jeans and a flowery top, a dark leather purse slung over her shoulder. With her, ten or fifteen other girls rushed in, cameras in hand. She walked right up to Luke and introduced herself as "Jenny". Faith knew that wasn't her name, but she didn't dare speak up. She simply watched as "Jenny" pulled the wool over everyone's eyes.
After introducing herself to Luke, "Jenny" pulled out her cell phone and attempted to take a photo with the tall blonde. She let her smile fade and mumbled something about the lighting being "all wrong", before leading Luke into another room, which happened to be empty, and closed the door.
Inside the room, Luke posed with his arm around "Jenny", as she held her phone at arms length. Discreetly, smoothly, she pulled a syringe out of her purse and plunged it into Luke's arm. He fell to the ground and grasped where "Jenny" had injected him. She leaned down next to him, her lips twitching into an evil smile. He looked back at her, panic and innocence displayed in his blue eyes. His chest rose and fell quickly in terror.
"Shh, Luke," she whispered, still grinning, "just relax. Don't try to fight it."
He took a few short breaths before his eyes fluttered shut and he fell back against the floor, unconscious. "Jenny" pulled a look of worry into her face and threw the door open.
"H-he just collapsed!" She cried in mock horror. "Someone call 911!"
That was Faith's cue. She hesitantly whipped out her phone and dialed a number.
"It's ringing," she said.
A gruff voice picked up. "Hello?"
Faith knew it wasn't the 911 dispatchers, for she hadn't called that number. She's called "Jenny's" men who were right outside the building, dressed as paramedics.
Faith mumbled some stuff into the phone, typical of that which she'd heard people say in the movies. She set the device down as the room erupted into chaos.
"Are they coming?" Ashton shouted from his spot, next to Luke on the floor, desperately searching for a pulse.
Faith nodded and swallowed hard. She didn't want to hurt Luke; he'd been like a brother to her, but she had no choice. "Jenny" had an intent, and she wasn't giving in anytime soon.
Suddenly, three muscly men burst into the crowded room, carrying a stretcher.
"Where?" One growled.
"In here," "Jenny" indicated the smaller room with a finger. She secretly flashed Faith a toothy smile, to which the younger girl made a weak attempt to return.
The men disappeared before exiting with the blonde boy on the stretcher between them. A distraught-looking Ashton started to follow, until Faith caught his arm.
"Ash, I think it's best if we wait," she said gently.
He resisted, but eventually gave in, collapsing into a chair next to his sister. She bit her lip, wishing so badly that she could tell him what "Jenny" was plotting.
xxx
the stamps
