Belonging

Chapter 5

Letting his mind fly back to that time when he had stumbled onto a beautiful angel that had immediately enchanted him and arrested his attention. He hadn't been with another girl since then, for all that had been on his mind every waking moment was finding her. Her and only her.

Clayton recalled how he had been attending a  post-wedding party thrown by Hank Raymond, one of his few friends in honor of his marriage to his long-time girlfriend. The party had been held at a local nightclub which had been closed to all but invited guests for the night, people from all over the country had come to attend for the actual marriage ceremony had been very small, only close family attended. As he had stood in the corner leaning against a wall and flanked by a few members, beer in hand; he had kept his gaze on the occupants of the party. Constantly observing, watching for signs of threats or danger. A lot of innocents mingled on the dance floor, oblivious to the danger lurking in the shadows. Women threw flirtatious glances at the men as they began to discard their inhibitions, courtesy of the flowing alcohol.

In a twisted way, it was kind of amusing to him. How the men and women would both flock around someone they considered of high rank. Plying with compliments and sweet nothings to gain their favour. So far, none had come after him, which probably had more to do with the fact that he had placed an outer ring of guards to keep away the crowds. He detested crowds and vain, vapid people which they usually consisted of in this kind of an atomosphere. Taking a swig of his beer, he decided to leave. He'd been at the bar for about an hour, which was about as long as he could take. Even for his friend, this was too much to ask. Clayton slammed the bottle on the table and walked past the guards, motioning for them to go do as they wish as he was departing.

Now all he had to do was find the hosts, pay his respects and high-tail out of there. Easier said than done though. Craning his neck he peered over the heads of the writhing mass of people on the dance floor. Finally, he managed to locate Hank halfway across the room. Instantly he rushed over before he lost them again. There was only so much he could bear, and massive amounts of time with crowds was not one of them. As he drew closer, Clayton managed to make eye-contact with Hank and instantly motioned toward the exit situated a few feet away from th bar Hank stood next to. Nodding in acknowledgement, Hank turned to his wife and pulled her by the arm toward the exit, who merely took ahold of the girl she was speaking to and pulled her along outside.

Women. Clayton internally scoffed.

As the door of the exit slammed shut behind him and muted out the sounds from the bar, Clayton sighed in relief and walked over to the three people who had exited before him. The blaring music had given him a massive headache and he needed to get away from everyone before he snapped.

"You can't just get up and leave! We haven't met in so long because we've been in different cities for so long! You must stay Vic." Clayton heard the blond woman squeal as he came to stand by them.

"Ladies." Hank interuppted.

"Stay put. I'm not done."  The blond hissed at the brunette as she turned to face Hank. The brunette stepped to the side to presumably give them privacy, her eyes glued to the ground.

Putting his arm around the blond woman, Hank turned to face Clayton.

"Clayton. This is my wife, Danniella James. Well now she's Dannielle Raymond." He smiled down at her, adoration laced in the smile he gave her.

"Pleasure." Clayton managed to grit out, tired of the need for manners. Giving her a small, close-lipped smile he locked eyes with his friend. Trying to convey how thin his patience currently was. Instantly, Hank managed to pick up on the subtle hint.

"Darling this is Clayton Frost. My boss, good friend and our Leader." She threw a thousand mega-watt smile Clayton's way. Nearly blinding him with her glee.

"So nice to finally meet you! I've heard so much about you, I feel as though I already know you." Danielle gushed.

Oh dear Lord, Why did Hank have to pick someone so nice and annoyingly happy? Now he would have to put up with her too. Great.

"Now now, Ella dear. Let's not get carried away. Which reminds me, weren't you going to lecture Victoria on something?" Hank intervened. Thank God.

Instantly Danniella turned to her friend and resumed her rant. Victoria. A classy name. The girl in question was petite, slim, and had currently hidden her face behind her hair. But from what Clayton could tell, she was beautiful. Oddly adorable in her glasses that kept slipping down her nose as she spoke to Danniella. Something about her seemed interesting. Seemed fresh and natural. Maybe because she was the only one in the vicinity who had actually managed to cover more than a third of her body. Her sneakers, knee length shorts and plain black tank top with yellow coloured denim jacket on top stood out amongst the crowd of scantily crowd women. And he had to applaud the fact that she had more self-respect for herself than most women of her generation. Her black hair was pulled up in a loose ponytail, out of which most of her hair had escaped to frame and partially cover her face.

Hank came to stand by Clayton. Knowing what mood Clayton was in, he didn't try to make conversation. But merely stood next to him and watched the two women in front of them.

"No you can't leave just because you've been here for an hour. You have to stay. You're my only family here." Danniella screeched. For some odd reason, Clayton didn't approve of the way Daniella spoke to Victoria. She was being unnecessarily harsh with someone who seemed to be and probably was so fragile.

"But you said that w-" Clayton finally managed to hear Victoria speak, and her voice was mesmerising. The perfect blend between husky and smooth. He could have listened to it all day.

"Victoria. NO. You're my cousin so you have to stay." Danniella all but screamed.

"But Danny y-" The angel tried to speak again.

"I'm warning you now Vict-" Danniella never got to complete her sentence.

For at that moment, her cousin took off running down the street. Leaving Danniella standing in front of us, too shocked to give chase. Not that she would have been able to in the skin-tight dress and high-heels she wore.

"I'm sorry! I promise I'll make it up to you! I just really have to go!" Victoria shouted as she ran further down the street.

He couldn't help himself, Clayton let out a loud laugh. One of the rare occasions when he had actually laughed out loud. Victoria was a breath of fresh air. Momentarily, Danniella glared at him and turned to watch her cousin get further and further away. He was entranced by her and couldn't stop staring at her as she ran down the street.

"I'm going to kill you!" She finally shouted after her.

"Your cousin is so amazing." Hank chuckled as he wrapped his arms around his wife.

"She's probably going to end up all alone cause of that." Danniella sighed as she relaxed into his hold.

"No she isn't. She's going to be mine." He found himself declaring. She was too pure and too innocent for him. But she would be his nonetheless.