Same Band... New School... New Species?!

Same Band...New School...New Species?! - 25

The movie was brilliant. There were a lot of pictures on the red carpet and the leaches especially called for duet shots between me and the guys. I did not like how that confirmed my theory. They were going to start focusing on the couple rumors… ugh.

Not to mention that the guys were all high alert all evening. I had to remind Nix to smile half the time. The magazines would probably depict that as being ‘romantic tension’. I know how they think.

Finally we left the cinema and made our way to a Bella Italia on the edge of Trafalgar Square. We had a table reserved in the quiet little restaurant along with a few of the tables around it so we wouldn’t be mobbed. After signing autographs on the way in we settled down to some of the best pasta and pizza in Traf.

“Hey,” I looked enviously as Nix’s cheese encrusted pasta. “Can I try that?”

“Only if I can have a bite of pizza,” he motioned down at my margarita.

“Deal,” I grinned.

He picked up a generous portion of pasta on his fork and held it out to me. I bit it off, nearly groaning in joy. Cheese is a marvelous thing… I then picked up my pizza and held it out to him. He took a massive bite and sat back triumphantly as I gawked at the shark-sized bite missing out of my amazing pizza…

“That is why you two are the top couple,” Sparrow laughed, taking some pasta off Frost’s plate with his fork.

“Hey!” Frost frowned at him.

“What?” Sparrow asked with his mouth stuffed with pasta, pouting and pointing and Nix and I with his fork. “They did it.”

Back at the loft I wasn’t in as much as I bad mood as I had been previously. It felt good to have gotten out for those couple of hours. The guys had relaxed a little in the restaurant, which helped my mood greatly. Nothing bad had happened, which helped all our moods.

When we finally got up to our rooms I was so tired that I barely made it to my bedroom. Ink and Frost were still wide awake, so they turned the TV on in the living room, Nix and Lyle went to their rooms to change and Sparrow and I were just so exhausted that we just shed our shoes and crashed in my room.

A piercing siren rang through the air. Sparrow jumped up then promptly fell off the bed. I swore to the high heavens, looking around for the emergency. Sparrow and I ran for the door and I nearly fell into him when I tripped on my dress. I threw a split second thought to how wrinkled it had gotten before I smelt the smoke.

“Dammit get the fire extinguisher!”

“Open a window!”

Then Lyle came stumbling out of the kitchen as I went down coughing. My airways tightened, then practically closed, my chest tightened and tears rose. Can’t breathe… I tried desperately to drag air in through my mouth, but my chest was just too tight. Can’t breathe…

“Crys!” Sparrow yelled. “Come on girl, breathe. Lyle get her inhaler!”

I coughed and spluttered, trying desperately to get air into my lungs. The only problem was that the air was saturated with smoke, which just made me cough harder, gasp harder. Can’t breathe…

Then we were moving. Someone, I’m guessing Sparrow, scooped me up bridal style and ran for the door. I vaguely heard it slam open through the thunder of my heart and my spluttering breaths.

“Lyle!” Sparrow yelled, putting me down. “Come on Crys, breathe. Just breathe.”

“Here,” Lyle came running up, I heard his feet against the carpet.

There was a rattling sound, then Sparrow was jerking my head up and shoving something plastic in my mouth. I heard the familiar puff of medication and instinctively breathed in. I felt my chest loosen, but it wasn’t enough. My head was spinning, heart speeding, mind racing. My only thought was ‘AIR’ and blind panic.

Another puff came and I breathed again, this time more deeply. Then I could breathe. My lungs opened up and I had enough room to drag in air. Man did I drag in that air. I coughed, forcing air in by the lungful. Only when I could take a breath without choking on it did I start to relax.

“Crys?” Sparrow was rubbing my back. “Can you hear me?”

I nodded mutely, leaning against him.

“It’s okay, love,” he murmured. “You’re okay.”

There were running footsteps, I vaguely saw the rest of my brothers coming into the hall through my half closed eyes.

“Crys?” Nix knelt down, putting a hand on my shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I managed to croak. “Fine.”

“What the bloody hell happened?!” Sparrow demanded, furious.

“Someone threw a lit bottle through the kitchen window,” Nix sighed, sounding very tired.

“How?” Sparrow asked in disbelief. “We’re on the top floor…”

“They had super-human throwing ability,” Frost said soberly. “Guess who?”

“Great,” Lyle muttered. “At least we know that they know where we live.”

The stair well at the end of the hall burst open and we all looked up to see Darren Cross run towards us.

“We need to get out of here,” he said quickly, then saw the state of us and swore. “What happened?”

“A fire, that’s what bloody happened,” Ink stepped forwards, face half black with soot, visibly shaking with anger. “Our flat nearly just burnt down, what the hell happened to your intel loop Cross? Do you bloody know what happens when Crys gets caught up in smoke?”

“I’m sorry,” Darren Cross said slowly, looking Ink in the eye. “But we have to get out of here now. I’m guessing the fire was just a distraction, they’ll be here soon. We have to go.”

“Then let’s go,” Nix said calmly, stepping forwards. “Lyle, go get some clothes for Crystal.”

He nodded and turned on his heel back into the loft.

“Where are we headed?” Frost asked Nix.

“Out of London,” Nix replied quickly. “Ink, Sparrow, you two take your bikes, go opposite ways through town and meet us at Frost’s house in Leatherhead. Frost you take the train. Do not let anyone follow you there.”

They nodded.

“Go, now.”

“Be careful,” Sparrow said, looking Nix in the eye. Nix nodded and the three ran for the stairs.

“I don’t like us splitting up,” I murmured.

“This is the best way Crys,” Nix told me as Lyle ran back out with a t-shirt and trackies.

“Where is everyone?” he asked, looking around. Nix took the t-shirt out of his hands and shoved it over my head as he spoke.

“Lyle,” Nix looked him in the eye, looking more serious than I’d ever seen him. “I’m taking the van out of London. We’re all meeting at Frost’s house. You need to take Crys and Darren in the ford.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Lyle asked as Nix unzipped my dress and helped me up.

“Yes.”

“Alright then,” Lyle sighed, handing me the trackies. I slipped them on, leaning on Nix, then let the dress fall off.

“Let’s go,” Nix ran for the stairs. “Take the lift.”

Lyle took hold of my arm and ran for the lift, pressing the button quickly. There was a tense silence as we waited for the lift to come up to our floor. All of this had happened so fast… it was hard to believe.

“We’ll be okay Crys,” Lyle told me, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. “We always are.”

“Yeah,” I nodded, but I knew neither of us was convinced.