A Massively Messy Messie Mess

Chapter 1 - The Black Keys

New York City. The city that never sleeps.

Many bustled through the streets during the late-night hours, as the city lights invited everyone to come out and have a good time wandering from one hotspot to the other. Amongst the crowd, a bespectacled crimson-haired young man walked down the path to the subway entrance just ahead, looking behind him every so often. With the bust of Terminus greeting him at the top of the steps, he headed down, his feet light, almost gliding across the stone and metal.

The station was still pretty crowded to the right, even for this late in the evening. Looking to the left, there was only a single girl standing near one of the pillars, and he could tell that she was a bit taller than he was. She was raven-haired, and it covered the right side of her face. She carried an overall goth aesthetic, judging by the dark eyeliner, nails and lipstick. That, coupled with the all-dark clothing, made her appear almost grayscale. The one thing about her that did not seem to match was the scarlet dragon tattoo on her right arm.

She stared at the rails, likely listening in for the train, but then directed her gaze at him. As soon as their eyes met, hers looked startled, before she turned and started walking away. He watched her retreating form for a bit and then began following her at a distance. She picked up the pace somewhat, while he kept at the same speed trailing towards her. She looked behind her and once again gave him that alarmed look, full-on sprinting. So he decided to throw caution to the wind and likewise ran full-speed, catching up to her with ease.

"Think he's still after us?"

She grinned and looked behind her once more.

"I think we lost him."

They both chuckled as they got on the train right as it left. They sat down on an empty corner of the car, catching their breath as the train took them away from the mess they had gotten themselves into.

"Good evening we are having, it seems, Jess."

"Indeed it seems, Mags. Now, at least."

She giggled as she nudged him in the chest with her elbow.

"Oh c'mon, it's been a fun game of tag to play while gambling with our lives."

He crossed his arms while setting his right leg up on his left.

"Well, the part where I fell in the fountain was definitely not one of my most dignified moments, as I recall."

She full-on burst into laughter, almost losing her balance on the train seat. He held her before she could fall, groaning at how she found hilarity in his misfortune. He could notice some stare at the odd scene, averting their gaze soon after.

"Hah-hah, I got all wet, comedy gold. C'mon, it's not that funny."

She was leaning onto him for support as her maniacal fit of giggles kept turning her face a darker and darker shade of fuchsia each passing second.

"Ok, ok, prō Juppiter, calm down. Lest you rush to meet your dad again so soon."

At the mention of her father, she restrained herself in an instant, though her chest still spasmed a bit from the giggles begging to be let out.

"Well played, Jessie, well played."

"I learned from the best."

He gave her a cheeky smile and she raised her brow.

"If you think a compliment and a smug grin are all that's gonna take to get us to have s-"

Before she could finish the thought, a giant bear-like hand engulfed in dark flames burst through the ceiling. It left a huge open gap in the middle of the car, even as the train continued to travel forward like nothing happened. All the occupants on the other side of the car fled at once to the next one, panicked.