Freak Show | Multiship [C]

Chapter 25 | Falling Apart

Devin walked out of Chris' bathroom after stripping herself of her stage makeup. She was shocked, and slightly embarrassed, to see Kuza sitting with Chris. He must've come in when she was in the bathroom. Chris was the only one she'd let see her without her makeup thus far. To avoid Kuza seeing it, she began to retreat into the bedroom.

"Sweetheart, come here." Chris said.

She forced herself to turn back. Her confidence was low without her makeup or fancy clothes. She approached where they sat, waiting on his word.

"Are you tired?" He asked her.

"No, I just don't like people to see me without my makeup." She responded sheepishly.

"Oh, Dev, you're beautiful even without it. Don't be shy." He sweetly spoke as he grabbed her hand.

"Yeah," Kuza mused, "Don't be shy."

Chris shot him a dirty look, "I'm being generous sharing her with you. Don't push it."

"Sharing me?" Devin asked timidly.

He sighed and pulled her in closer, "Mike has been going through a bit of a dry spell. Would you be sweet enough to help him out?"

"As long as you're okay with it, you know I have no problem with it."

"Good." He stood up and kissed her forehead, "Just head, and make it fast. We have to hit the road soon."

Chris walked to the back bedroom to give them some privacy. Devin grabbed a ribbon of hers from the drawer and tied her hair back. She then got down on her knees in front of Kuza. He spread his legs and let her take over.

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Morning cast down upon Jackson, Mississippi. A city with not much for entertainment, the citizens rushed to the show for some excitement in their dull lives. The midway flooded with people. Some game operators waited for customers to come to them. The more aggressive ones, like Andy, used their flashiness to pull in people.

He jumped up on the counter. In combination with his tall height, he was towering well over people and sticking out. His deep voice wasn't hard to miss.

"Ladies!" He grabbed the attention of a group of women walking past, "You look like you could use a fluffy stuffed cat in your life! Only ten cents to play."

Andy had their attention. The giggling teens approached, examining his booth. It was red and white striped, just like everything else here. Three stools stood in the back with milk bottles stacked on them.

"What do we have to do?" One of the bubbly girls asked.

"Just knock down all three bottles." He said with his snaky smile. "You get three chances."

She put down some coins on the counter, "Okay. We'll give it a shot."

He jumped down from the countertop and took her money into his pocket. Andy handed her over a few softballs, then his sights quickly caught on someone in the crowd. He stood to the side as the girls attempted their try and he watched this suspicious person. He was dressed in all white, just like the man who attacked the others.

Andy watched as the man went into Angelo's enclosed tent. Luckily Ronnie was in the midst of walking past. He grabbed him by the arm, muttering in his ear, "Some weird ass guy just went into Ange's tent."

"I'll go check it out." He responded lowly.

Ronnie broke away from Andy. He weaved through the crowd, getting to Angelo's tent against the edge of the fairgrounds. First, he listened inside to make sure he wasn't interrupting Ange's business. When he heard nothing, he became alarmed and opened the tent. There was no one inside. Ronnie quickly went out the backside of the tent, seeing... Nothing. Angelo was gone.

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"Has anyone seen Angelo?" Ronnie asked as he walked into the freaks' backstage.

"He's not in his tent?" Ashley replied with concern.

"No. Earlier I went in there and he wasn't there. I didn't want to be overreacting, so I gave it a few hours. He never showed back up."

"Take a few people and look through the camp for him." Manson said, "If he's not found by the end of the show, we'll go to the police."

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Ricky sat in the acrobats tent, alone. The others went out to look for Angelo, as he still hadn't been found. He was told to stay behind because he wasn't the strongest, and it'd be for the best the most the freaks stayed at camp. It was for the best anyways. His mind was too consumed with thoughts about Ryan.

He sat in a small cot, writing down his thoughts about the person he'd scared off. Now that his heart had let go of Chris, he could see clearly. Ricky knew who he really was meant to be with. He was just hoping it wasn't too late to win him over. Just as he finished writing the small, powerful note, someone walked in. He quickly shut it and slipped it under his pillow.

It was Kuza who had come in. "They're calling a meeting." He said with a heaviness in his voice.

Ricky nodded and got up, following him to the big top.