Dali left work in a great mood. Sure, she had failed to acquire the property the Medthanets had been going after but in all fairness, she hadn't even had a chance to compete so how was that her fault?
Besides, in her opinion, she had gotten the better deal. The property she had acquired was adjacent and she knew from the grapevine that the Medthanets would need it as well. Now that she owned it, they would have to meet whatever price she asked for.
It was business and she had perfected the art of buying and selling at her father's knee.
Her phone rang.
"What do you want Mun?"
"Hey babe_"
"Stop. I said we were done ages ago. Why do you keep calling?"
"Really, then why do you keep coming?" She grimaced. He was right. When ever she got the itch, she kept going right back. But that would change soon.
"Just get lost." She cut hum off and took a deep breath. Pete was back. That was all that mattered and as soon as she dealt with the new problem, they would be officially together.
Ae.
Why the fuck was he even an issue? Sheri had told her that she had dated Ae but that he was still hung over his college sweetheart... a man. Please! How could ass be better than pussy? What the hell was up with that? And why was he around Pete?
"There's just no way. None. It can't be Pete. They have to be friends. They just have to." She bit her nails as she stared off into the distance, a frown between her brows.
"Dali?"
"Whaaaaaa!" She screamed at the sudden voice, causing the person to scream too.
"Ohmahgawd! Senna! Don't do that!"
"I'm sorry! You were just standing there so I was just checking to see if you were ok." Senna defended herself.
"Oh. Right. I need to get something to eat. Jeez. I was just lost in my own thoughts. Now I don't even remember what I was thinking about."
"I don't know about you but I was planning to get ramen. Want to come?"
"Hum. I had some yesterday. I think I'll pass. Maybe I'll get some Japanese food instead?"
Senna chuckled. Dali never liked to eat the same thing back to back. "Ok then I'll see you tomorrow."
She left and Dali sighed and headed to her car. This whole thing with Pete was going to drive her crazy. It was bad enough that Pete didn't have much time for anyone right now, but the fact that the toot was sniffing around him made things worse. What if he tempted Pete to turn? That was a thing right?
She got to her car and called another friend.
"Hay Dali!"
"Hey Pineare! Where are you now?"
"On set but I'm on a break. What's up?"
"I know you did a couple of BL dramas_"
"Have you finally gotten over your homophobia and decided to watch one?"
"No bitch. Hell no. I just want to ask you a question. Can a toot turn another man gay?"
"First of all don't say toot. You know how much that annoys me. And secondly, you can't turn what's not there. If a guy falls for another guy but also likes girls then he's bi. If a guy just likes another guy then he's gay. I'm not even going to go further than that because your brain is slow as fuck on these things."
"Could Pete be bi?" Dali whispered to herself as she pondered the situation. Ae was the slightly shorter one. Did that make him the bottom or whatever?
"Who's Pete?"
"Huh! Oh, no one. Another question. If the guy is smaller, does that make him the bottom?"
"No. There's no set rules for this thing. First of all, some men bottom from the top. They control the mood and the tempo in the relationship. Sometimes they are even more dominant than the top."
Mind boggled, Dali stared at her phone. Could the mild-mannered Pete be controlled by the fierce Ae? She could see it happening. That was the frustrating part.
"What do you mean by more dominant?" She had to be sure here.
"You're not that dumb sweetie. They call the shots and make the decisions. You know what I mean. Anyway, I want to know why you're suddenly asking me these questions. What's going on?"
"I really like this guy but I'm not sure where he swings."
"So is Pete this guy your talking about or the person you suspect is his partner?"
"I never said anything about_ Oh whatever. I really like Pete. I showed you his picture ages ago. He's my prince you know, and I just know we'll be together one day but there's this other guy around him and I found out that he's... gay."
"Ok but that doesn't mean anything. They could simply be friends. I mean how long have they known each other?"
"They went to university together."
"There you go. Pete could simply be someone he trusts."
This suddenly made so much sense to Dali who was willing to grasp at any straw. She desperately wanted Pete for herself but she also knew that he had only ever considered her as a friend. She had to make him see that she was available as a woman. That wasn't going to happen if they didn't spend time together.
She started the car with foals in mind and headed for home. Dinner should be on the warmer waiting for her anyway so there wasn't a need to eat... Wait. That's... Fuck! Ae!
Without any hesitation, she pulled over into the nearest spot and hurried into the random restaurant. She pretended to browse the menu as she made her way over to the man.
"Oh, Ae. I didn't know you liked here too?"
He turned and she caught the moment when his face went completely blank. He still smiled and nodded to her thought.
"I do. This is one of my favorite places. It's weird I've never seen you here thought."
"Hummm. Are you usually here at this time? Actually this is a bit late for me."
"Ah. That makes sense then. I'm usually here much later than this." He turned away when the bell rang but it wasn't his number. Dali took this chance.
"This is a very nice couples place. You and Sheri should try it out." His face stayed blank but his eyes went fierce and she felt her heart leap, in excitement or fear, she wasn't sure.
"Sheri and I don't have anything between us other than a casual friendship, if all that. Stop pushing your agenda."
Now it was Dali's face who turned fiercely cold. She stepped closer into Ae's personal space, her voice getting low and hostile.
"Does Pete even know you have feelings for him? Does his mother? Do you really think it's ok to push yourself at him the way you do?"
"What the_?"
"I can't let you keep doing this. Pete has been my best friend my entire life and I have every intentions of making sure we become more than_"
"That's never_!"
"Who the hell do you think you are!" She hissed. "Get out of his life! You have no right. If you pursue this I will make you_!"
"Number 14!" Ae spun around and collected his food then just walked away. Dali watched him walk out with a triumphant smile. The server looked at her deranged face and felt goosebumps.
"Excuse me miss? Are you collecting?"
Dali turned to the girl with a smile and just walked out. The server shuddered and said a quick prayer because she swore she just saw the devil.
In the car, Dali called Pete.
"Hello? Dali. How are you?"
"I'm fine Pete. I was actually wondering if you could help me out."
"What is it and I'll see if I can."
"Sheri was supposed to go with me to the new Razer Movie Premier but now she has to travel for work. I actually need to go to this since one of my friends is the star."
"Oh. When is it?"
"In a couple of weeks. The Saturday." Now Dali was excited because she was sure she would be walking down the red carpet with Pete as her date, at least until she heard...
"Oh. I'm sorry Dali but I actually have a hotelier's event on that night and I cannot miss it. It's important for work. I really wish I could help you."
"Oh. I'm really in a tight spot now." She gave a soft yet helpless laugh.
"I'm really sorry. Have you tried asking Ten or a few of our other peers. Denn used to like you a lot. I'm sure he would love to go with you."
"Denn is engaged Pete."
"Oh."
"You really need to go to more of our social functions. And anyway couldn't you skip the event? I mean I know it seems silly but I really need you to come with me and I have some things I want to talk to you about."
"Dali_"
"Pete! Did you begin the presentation for the event? I have some information I need you to add to it."
"Can you give me a second Mae? Dali, I really need to go. I'll try to show up at the next social function. I'll bring Ae."
Huh?
Pete got off the phone with a sense of satisfaction. He would later wish he had told Ae the entirety of his conversation so they would be ready.
Dali sat in her car just staring at nothing. Did Pete just say he would bring Ae? what did that mean?
Were the two of them together then? No. That just didn't make sense. She knew Pete had dated. On some visits to his place, his mae had made it clear that Pete was seeing someone. She had spoken highly of the girl to the point where Dali had wanted to slap her.
Was he using Ae as a buffer then? Oh. Maybe Ae was connected to the girl he was seeing. Maybe she was poor. That would make it difficult for Pete. But where did Ae fit into this? Unless, maybe Ae was helping Pete to see the girl? And maybe Pete promised to help Ae date another rich boy? Was it Tin?
No wait. Tin already had a lover. Unless...? What if Ae wanted to get between them? Pete and Tin had always been close. Who better than to help Ae get closer to Tin?
That must be it. But how could a poor girl compete with her? She had the looks and the money and the connections. She had everything. What could this girl offer Pete? She had to show him. There was no one better for him.
Dali merged back into traffic. She got home, ate, and ate, and ate. The more she ate, the more nervous the servers became. People didn't know the secrets they kept.
"I want more of this." Her cold voice broke the silence.
"I'm sorry Miss but_"
"I said I want more of this!"
They all shared a look before the young server tried again. "I really am sorry. This was brought by your mother. We did not make_ Yahhhhhhh!" She dodged the fork Dali had grabbed and flung at her, eyes narrowed in hatred for no reason what so ever. At least it was a fork this time...
"I don't care_!"
The cell rang and Dali glanced at it. Her face did a 180 and she suddenly turned happy and mellow. The servers froze, afraid to shift and change her mood.
"Kara! Where the hell have you been?!" Her voice became high and joyous.
"Girl you know I told you Davis and I broke up right! Well he came back begging on his knees and took me on a surprise trip to Milan! Ahhhhhhhhh!"
"Ahhhhhhhh! Don't tell me! Your engaged!" Kara was always engaged.
"Yazzzzz bitch. Oh my gawd! You need to come out with me. We're going to a club and then we might go to some pubs and just chill after. Ok? And you need to see this ring! It's so huge!"
"Ok! I need to go freshen up and get dressed! And did you hear? Pete is back!" She walked out of the room without a backward glance and every server in the room felt the release of tension turn them into a trembling mess. Dali's parents were hardly home, especially her father. They both worked hard and had several lovers between them.
Still when it came to their precious daughter, everything was for her and she could do no wrong. If the servers reported any stories, they were paid off or hushed up. One had even tried to bring a case against Dali a couple of years ago. She had disappeared and nothing came of it. Most suspected she was dead but they didn't dear say anything or even do anything. They were literally stuck.
While Pete and Ae were at the pub, Dali was dancing her life away in some club. She drank to her heart's content and got bitchier as she got drunker. With Kara and Dani, Wren and Namia, Dali moved to command the floor and gained lots of attention. At some point, each girl disappeared with a random guy but they all kept coming back to each other. When they were tired of that scene, Kara had her driver take them to the nearest pub.
They barely stayed, not feeling the atmosphere at all. The next pub immediately caught their attention because Wren saw her ex in the window. All the girls went in and sat at the bar before moving over to the seat next to them. They would look at the couple then laugh or make faces, causing the date to be uncomfortable until she asked to leave. Wren laughed as he followed her out, enjoying the mess she just made.
Dali though, had caught sight of something interesting.
She had already had quite a bit to drink at the club and she had even more while sitting there heckling the stupid ex. Now she was sure she was seeing Pete. At least three of him.
"Dali?" Kara slurred out.
"Pete. There." But her hand was shaking so the others weren't sure until Namia spotted him too.
"He was always so fucking hot." She admitted dreamily.
"He's mine." Dali hissed viciously, making Dani laugh. They all knew her obsession. They didn't judge. They had a few of their own. In this sense they were true friends, keeping each other's secrets and hiding their vicious habits among each other.
"Is he sitting in that guy's lap? I hate gays." Kara suddenly said, bringing everyone's attention to the scene.
"He's not the only one. Isn't that the Medthanet druggie, Tin? He's feeding some guy on his lap like a kid. Baby fetish?" Wren made a face and knocked back another shot.
"That's his lover Can. Tul says the guy has no class." Dani slurred then laughed. "No class, lower class. Same thing really."
"I'm going over there." Dali got up, holding on to the table until the wobbling stopped then she walked over. To her horror, Ae and Pete kissed, causing her to freeze on her tracks until Ae got up. He turned and their eyes met. Ae immediately shut down, his eyes going dark. Pete also looked up, then called her name.
It was the catalyst that woke the madness. She launched herself at Ae who easily held her off. Everyone watching saw that Dali attacked Ae. Suddenly the other 4 girls began screaming bloody murder as though Ae was trying to rape Dali right there in front of everyone.
Ae didn't back off thought. He held the crazy girl off while Tin called the police and Pond and Sun stopped the friends from running away. The manager came out and tried to calm the situation down but they were like noisy monkeys, constantly moving and screaming.
Finally the police showed up and with them, Detective Dami and his partner Detective Ling. They took one look at the situation and immediately had the girls led off to one side except for the now crying Dali. Dami spoke to her briefly and her face went from teary to pissed. He had them all tested for blood alcohol levels then ordered them dropped home with an escort.
"Well, well. We met again sooner than I expected."
"So anything associated with us, your going to show up for it?" Tin asked, his face blank as ever. Dami noted Can peeked out at him from behind Tin's back like a cute puppy.
"Hum. Something like that. Having a night out?"
"Yes. Planning our next move right guys?" Pond smirked. Ae rolled his eyes and Sun laughed. Pete let out a small sigh then looked at him.
"Is Dali going to be ok?"
"It depends on how much she remembers when she wakes up in the morning. I'm going to look at the CCTV but I already got the gist of things. Next time, don't be so much of a nice guy Pete. The ladies can easily fall in love with you like that."
He caught the slight widening in Ae's eyes and guessed the other guy had often said the same thing. Hah. Wasn't that funny.
Dali passed out in the car and had to be carried inside. The servants didn't even ask about the police escort and simply took her away. Her parents were immediately contacted and her father got in touch with one of his police friends to see if he could fix the situation only to find out there was nothing to fix. He immediately let things go and went back to his mistress.
Dali woke up the morning and wasn't sure how she got home. It was past midday and her head was pounding.
She couldn't remember a single thing...