Fleur-de-lis

Exalt the fallen angel

John's p.o.v

It had been four days since Van had Started working at Gomorrah and the investors were due to show up tomorrow. Khalil had been working to help Van with his stage fright and now that he knew Van's secret, Van trusted him a little bit more. I was still devoting time to supporting Van for now but I'd have to start looking for my own job again soon. For the first time in a while, it seemed like we didn't have a single problem on the horizon.

"We have a problem." Khalil says, appearing at my side.

"Tell me you're joking." I say.

"Bernie just got off the phone with the investors. They had to reschedule for today."

"Fucking hell." I sigh. "Van's not ready yet, is he?"

"Honestly, if he was completely ready tomorrow it would've been a small miracle." Khalil says. "He's better at managing his fear but he's far from over it."

I give a groan of minor annoyance. "As long as Van stays afraid of his past he won't feel comfortable drawing attention to himself. I wish there was a way to get him to dance without having to think about it."

Khalil's eyes suddenly light up and then fade into concern.

"Wait, you had an idea just now, didn't you? What're you thinking?" I question.

"No." Khalil says. "It's messed up and it's stupid."

"Still." I reply. "It's better than just waiting to fail."

Khalil tenses his jaw. "Well...There's a closet down stairs that's actually a lift that brings the pole on stage when we need it."

"Oh." I say, catching on to his thought process. "How would you even keep him from noticing?"

"The lift is quiet and smooth going. A blind man wouldn't know he was on it." Khalil says. "But Van isn't blind."

"Yeah." I say. "...Unless...you blindfold him?" I purpose, not actually that serious.

"How would I convince him to do that?" Khalil questions.

"Van trusts you now." I comment. "I'm sure he'll believe whatever you come up with."

"He won't trust me if we do this to him though."

"Probably not." I say. "Should we even...?"

Khalil rubs his temples in an attempt to relieve the stress this was bringing. "I think so, but..."

"If we don't then it'll likely be a lot of hard work down the drain. If we do, we'll be pieces of shit." I comment.

"It's worth it if I can help my man." Khalil says. "Anything to keep his dream alive."

"Bernie?" I question.

I had caught on to the fact that Khalil and Bernie were more than just colleagues. I didn't really claim to understand how their relationship worked but I didn't really care to.

"Yeah."

I take a deep breath. "I want Van to be able to put his past behind him but I don't know if I could risk sacrificing his trust."

Khalil puts a hand on my shoulder. "It's not something good people would do, but... If we don't do something, you guys might not be the only ones forced to find another job." He looks over at the other guy's who were all hanging around the mostly empty club."

"I can't worry about other people Khalil." I try to argue.

"You're still a Christian, right?" Khalil asks.