T h e M a n e a t e r

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o n e

Wanted Man

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Everyday I'm a star in the city

Walk the streets like a wanted man

All the time got my shine lookin' pretty

Motherfuckers all know who I am

-In The City by Kevin Rudolf-

…...

….

Striptease Sunday at Mansion nightclub was specifically closed off for Alden Hayes this week. Common sense would have noted the attention that would bring. The simple fact that it would feed to the romanticized imaginings of what the rogue did once he stepped off the cobblestone campus. The word traveled too fast, it was rapid-fire whenever his name was attached to anything. The scantily clad couldn't handle the growing crowd even as they lined up to enter the foyer. It was obvious drunken claustrophobia didn't mix well with strobe lighting. But, the outcome didn't matter at all to him. Not even the fact that that was the very reason he felt the cold metal of handcuffs on his wrists right now.

The policeman glided past the lineup of underage partygoers. With a tightened mouth of disgust and furrowed eyebrows of anger, he shined his flashlight against each of their eyes quickly. The reddening of his face made it look like he could sense the increase of the BAC as he went down the line. At least Alden managed to hold his liquor respectfully. It came with practice. The same couldn't be said for a guy, seven people down, who fell clumsily during the check as if a weight was thrown onto his shoulders suddenly.

“I could have all of you booked. This is sickening. You can all say bye-bye to college.” The policeman threatened after he finished the check.

Alden smirked. The academy must have instructed them to make those statements every single time. It must be embedded as a mandatory statement in their code of conduct. A little growl to make the teeth of today's youth chatter the moment they stepped out of line. For him, there was no bite and the bark was more of a yelp. The repetition had no effect on him. It never did.

The same couldn't be said for the girl next to him.

Chanel? Chandra?

No, he was pretty sure it started with an S.

Sara? Samantha?

Regardless. Matters of name recall was never his forte. His efforts were futile when it came to remembering the girls who laid underneath him. He never needed to. For a ludicrous moment, he thought that maybe this girl should be an exception. She tried to put up a front. Her mouth in a straight line, her green eyes looking ahead, and her head held up high. He could tell that all she wanted to do was break down. The signs were subtle, but he managed to train his eyes for them over the years. Her knees buckled occasionally, her shoulders were slumped, and he could even see her shaking a bit. The latter was understandable.

There she stood, barefoot on the sidewalk. Her longs legs were bare with her measly halter top skimming just the top of her thighs. The crimson top itself was inside out. He was slightly surprised that the officer didn't ask her to find her pants. Alden didn't mind looking at his creation either.

Since their little escapade had only reached PG-13 when they were rudely interrupted he still had all his clothes intact. Skewed, but intact. He should also note that he had luck on his side. He had been too busy with his own methods of escapism of dim lights and pulsing music on the second floor. His gray eyes followed the gyrations of the women a few feet in front of him, the poles as their props. His hand gripped tightly onto his glass of amber liquid, the other unbuckled the jeans of the girl next to him. He practiced the art of multitasking as the club maxed out at 1 am. The sounds of sirens drowned out the music within the hour. If he thought about it clearly, the bust stopped him from breaking his own fundamental rule: Never sleep with the same woman twice. He paid enough attention in Psych to know that women seeked something entirely different than men when it came to knocking boots.

He had no clue what made him lead her up the stairs again. To try and look across the same canvas again. Through the haze, he realized that last time it possibly wasn't only her. Maybe, this time, he wanted to pay special attention to the details.

The officer started again down the long aisle, but he now had a pad of paper with him and another officer. The one was remarkably shorter than him, waddling to keep up. He must have finished his own group of delinquents near the front. Unfortunately, they had the pleasure of having their arrest broadcast on the main street. The giggles of passing convertibles and laughs of late night swimmers were undoubtedly mocking them. They figured it was still worth it, minus the frisking. Once he was within ear shot, Alden could hear what was going on.

“Name?”

Alden's smirk grew slightly.

He made it to the quivering girl next to him. His pad and paper ready.

“Name?”

“Sofia Levine.” She said calmly. She opened her mouth to say something else, but the officer already moved on.

“Alden Hayes.”

The officer paused, looking up from his paper. For a brief moment he looked up at Alden's gray eyes. Looking for sarcasm or any hint at a joke. There was none. The officer leaned down low to the other and whispered. The scene was almost comical.

The tallest of the two continued down the line as the sidekick looked at him with a strained smile.

“Okay, you're free to go.” His cold, beady eyes didn't match his jovial tone.

There was no collective gasp nor widening of the eyes. They would've been more put out if the outcome hadn't gone that way. All because of who he was.

Alden. The mention of his name brought chills to the students at Laysen, but it also intrigued them. The way the characters of a box office hit couldn't help but press the red button. The way a hiker couldn't help but look down while on a rickety bridge. The way Adam and Eve couldn't help but eat from the Tree of Knowledge. At Laysen, there was no snake to lead them on, they went without persuasion. There was nothing more captivating than something that was forbidden. Something that you knew wasn't good for you.

Hayes. They carried himself as if they was apart of the Order of the British Empire. With good reason. The Hayes name was royalty in their “little” town called Miami. If all the students were born with a silver spoon then the youngest Hayes was given several platinum spoons encrusted with palladium and gold outlining. It was feasible when his father basically sketched out the city's new skyline. When he was practically the engine for Miami's condo boom. That he created the growing skyscrapers that brought new interest and pushed old memories away. It seemed impossible that the same man was responsible for the dwindling crime rate and the clean roads. It didn't seem possible that the same man held office as the mayor of the city also. But, the polls were there.

To say Alden Hayes was a force to be reckoned with was an understatement.

Sofia looked in panic as Alden was released from the cuffs. Maybe she wanted to scream at the injustice. Maybe the breeze from the nearby shore was becoming too much for her. Maybe she expected him to save her from entering the back of the patrol car. That was the most delusional of all possible reasons.

Alden gave no 'thank you' to the policeman. He turned pass the forty or so of the other disgruntled teens in the lineup without acknowledgement. They didn't deserve it.

The purple and red lights suddenly flashed against the night sky and the music mixed in with the thumps of other melodies of the street when Alden opened the double doors. He stepped right back into his escape of swinging bodies and heat.

No one dared to stop him.

…...

“If you would stop yelling maybe I could understand what you're saying!” She screamed right back into her iPhone.

“Sorry, Nevaeh...” He breathed slowly. “Just what the fuck was she doing at 2 am in the morning?” His volume only lowered one decibel.

Nevaeh bit her lip. She wanted to tell him it was no longer his business what her cousin did. Whether she dreamed of seven ponies galloping in a field of daisies or started grinding with seven transvestites on Ocean Drive. She owed him, even if he didn't know it.

“I really don't know Ernesto.” She drawled, rubbing her eyes.

As he started muttering about how 'she had the audacity to go on Striptease Sunday,' Nevaeh zoned Ernesto out, though it turned out to be difficult.

She'd been sitting in her cousin's silver Mercedes for an hour now. The parking lot of Miami-Dade Juvenile Detention Center was oddly packed. At least she wasn't the only one who had to trek out of the way. Still, picking up her phone to hear her screaming aunt on the job in New York wasn't a shining light on her night. Luckily she was already out when her phone rang.

“And you said she's in there for--” Ernesto questioned. She really couldn't ignore him anymore.

“Three hours. Aunt Cara wants her to suffer since she didn't decide to call her first. Did she call you?”

There was a long pause. She regretted asking immediately. Her filter was defective after midnight. She sighed. Who was she kidding? She had no filter.

“No.”

Nevaeh rubbed the scars on the back of her neck before placing her head on the steering wheel. Why does she keep torturing her friend like this? The flood of information needed to be saved for her Aunt's ears only.

She expected no less of the party, but Aunt Cara obviously expected more from her daughter. She must have also expected Nevaeh to keep constant tabs on her cousin. She would if she could because if she thought about it she was indebted to Aunt Cara and Uncle Luca also. After the slam of the judge's gavel that sent her father away in orange also, unfortunately, nearly sent her to a foster home. It took a call from her Aunt Cara that stopped her from spending the next few years in hell. The kindness was unexpected, it made her wary.

Though Nevaeh couldn't remember the last time she'd spoken to her mother. She made sure the moment she stepped into her new 11,000 square foot home that she would make sure her mother could get as far as she could from her father. She wasn't even sure if she managed to keep her promise. She shuddered at what that broken promise could result in.

She shook the though from her head, the action rubbing her skin roughly against the wheel.

“Look, Ernie.” She expected a chuckle, but there was still no sound. “She can handle herself. It just so happens that this...”

Her Blackberry vibrated in her pocket, making her groan. Why the hell would a client find the need to call at 5:17 am in the morning. Time to discuss hours of operation to nocturnal masses of Laysen. Urban legends needed rest too.

“What's wrong?”

Good, at least he wasn't dead, the silence was unnerving.

“Nothing. I just thought I saw a BoB walk out of the jailhouse. Don't have the energy to deal with either of them right now.” The lie came out smoothly. It was always second nature to her, a trait inherited from her father.

“I wouldn't want to deal with them at any hour.”

Good, now he was effectively communicating. Maybe she didn't need 'How to be Someone's Friend for Dummies' after all. Now to get him to end his pity party once and for all. It was going to be time consuming. After two weeks of this constant step-by-step process, she never found a fool-proof way to cheer him up. To help him find a way to just feel better. It was easing little by little, but she could see why psychologist had one of the highest suicide rates. The duty of taking on someone else's problems was new to her. It was enough to drive anyone insane, but she could handle it.

There was a repetitive bang on the passenger side window.

Never mind.

She picked her head up from the steering wheel to find the green eyes glaring at her. She clicked the button to unlock the doors.

Then her cousin took it upon herself to erupt in a flood of expletives the millisecond she plopped onto the leather. It was the noise of a banshee, Nevaeh stopped herself from pushing her out of the car.

“Who the hell is that?” Ernesto said.

“I can't stand this shitty ass place! I can't take it anymore.” Sofia squealed fastening her seatbelt. Nevaeh was surprised the glass didn't break.

“Is that Sofia? Nevaeh?”

“Aren't there other things to check up on! I'm pretty sure someone just got fucking murdered within a 5...10...at least a 20 mile radius of us!” Sofia continued. She slammed her hand against the dashboard before screaming at the impact. Nevaeh jumped, nearly dropping the phone.

“What's wrong with Sofia? Is she hurt?” Ernesto shouted, she could practically see him jump up.

“All those damn people who had no right to be at that party! Slutty whores!” Sofia slammed her hand against the dashboard.

“I swear Alden is using everything he can to get to me! Sofia? Tell me, is she hurt?”

Nevaeh's temper kept flaring with her attention being pulled in different directions every two seconds. She would've have laughed if it wasn't for that.

With Sofia slamming her hand repeatedly against the dashboard, cursing every name at that party and Ernesto's incessant nagging, Nevaeh clicked.

“One more word and I swear that I will..!” Nevaeh screamed louder than both tirades.

“Damn, Nevaeh. Why are you screaming in my ear?” Ernesto interrupted, inhumanly reaching her high point.

Nevaeh hung up and then started the car. Maybe she did need to borrow that book.

Her cousin stopped hitting the car, obviously trying to take Nevaeh's cool down methods didn't help much, but the screeching did.

Nevaeh sped way too fast out onto the street. This district of Miami wasn't exactly the best place to be in with the kind of car she was driving.

Another grating silence. The hum of the speeding car was the only thing that Nevaeh could hear. Sofia kept her eyes straight ahead in a daze, her curly hair and make up were more than a mess. She would've thought she spent three years in the center instead of three hours. Nevaeh had a feeling that her time in confinement wasn't the only thing that had Sofia looking distraught.

A strong sense of protectiveness filled her veins immediately despite her attempt to push it down. No matter how much she tried, the familial bond she felt could never hidden behind closed doors.

“So can you tell me what happened at the party that lead you to a cell?” Nevaeh asked, cringing afterwards. She sounded like her Aunt. Blame it on the lack of sleep.

The hum of the car was still the only thing heard, but she did manage to get a noise from Sofia. A cross between a groan and a grunt. Nevaeh nearly missed it, but with a quick look at her cousin there was something incredibly off.

“Or you could at least explain to me why you have no pants on?” Nevaeh said as she sped around a swerving driver.

Sofia muttered something.

“What?” Nevaeh was too busy flicking off the hazard.

Sofia turned to Nevaeh, her green eyes tearing up, but her voice held all her pent up anger. It even made Nevaeh take a double take.

“I need you to help me destroy Alden Hayes.”

Maybe urban legends didn't deserve rest.

…...

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Author's Note:

Hiya!

I hoped you all liked this chapter! Let me know what you think! Oh and yes there is a club named Mansion on South Beach with a Striptease Sunday...*cough* I don't own that club, iPhone, Blackberry, or Mercedes for that matter.

I'd also like to note that Miami Beach and Miami have two different mayors in real life, but for the sake of simplicity in this fic the two cities will be under one mayor. Which I kind of think they should be, but I digress.

Thanks for reading!

Thank you so much to CrystalBall, DramaticIrony, Imminent Paradox, California Pepperberry, Ms. Poe, MelDolly, Spicy Hotty Shawtty Naughty! I love you all dearly!!

CrystalBall: I tried to take it and flip it! I'm glad you like it! Hopefully, this chapter didn't disappoint!

^_^