Thanks everyone for their patience! I'm sorry that I took so long (I won't give you a list of excuses this time lol).

Again, I really appreciate your encouragement and support, and I really hope you enjoy it!!

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I squinted at the bright lights in the hotel lobby... if all this fancy shit could even be called a lobby. Plush velvet covered sofas sat in a waiting area on top of the lobby's spotless white carpet (apparently nobody used their shoes to actually walk outside...). The reception desk was made of marble and there was a large chandelier hanging from the ceiling, giving the whole room an extravagant feel.

Aside from the hotel staff, there were other people in fancy suits and dresses standing in the lobby. I would have felt really out of place if I weren't wearing an expensive ass suit too. "Damn... Smiles must really be loaded." I mumbled to Shawn.

"Wait until you see the event room." He mumbled back. "The hotel's website advertises it more vigorously than their actual hotel rooms."

I looked around the room at all the swanky furniture and people as Shawn and I walked up to the front desk. The receptionist smiled at us respectfully. "What may I do for you sirs?" She asked.

Shawn wordlessly slid our two invitations across the marble table. A serious expression passed over the receptionists face as she studied the invitations. After a moment, she looked back up with a smile. "Alright then, the event you're attending is on the top floor. Please use these keycards in the elevator for access." She instructed, passing us back two keycards along with our invitations. Shawn took them back without a word.

"Thank you." I told the receptionist as I walked away to follow Shawn. If he was going to be a rude little shit to everyone, than I at least had to help make up for it.

Before we approached the shiny double-doors of he elevator, Shawn lightly tugged on my arm and pulled me to the side.

"Okay, let's go over everything one more time. If anyone asks for you name, just say it's Luke Reed. I'll be Thomas Reiner." He said with a tense expression.

"Alright, got it." I replied.

"Good, now what's the max distance away from me that you can be?" He asked anxiously.

"Uh, ten feet?" I guessed.

"One foot, Jake." He corrected angrily.

"Come one; we just went over this in the car." I sighed in aggravation.

"Obviously not well enough, or you would've remembered." He insisted edgily. "One foot, got it?"

"Yeah, right, got it." I said agreeably, resisting the urge to roll my eyes.

"Alright, what will you do when someone hits on you?" He quizzed. What the hell did he mean by 'when'?!

"If someone hits on me, I'm supposed to pretend we're dating or some shit." I answered.

He nodded. "And if we somehow get separated?"

"I'll look for you."

"What if someone tries to take you anywhere or attack you?"

"I'll run or try to shoot them." I said, suddenly overly conscious of the gun tucked in at my lower back.

Shawn looked a little bit more relaxed. "Alright, I think that we're ready to go then." He said, pressing the elevator button. Damn, he was seriously worried about what would happen... not that I could blame him. I guess the only thing I could do to calm him was listen to what he said (and avoid being too much of a smartass).

Once the elevator dinged and the doors opened, we both stepped inside. Shawn swiped the card he got from the front desk into a slot by the buttons, then pressed floor 32. The small lurch as the elevator started its ascent was amplified by the anxiousness that I could feel deep within my stomach.

I took a deep breath. "Shawn." I said.

"Yeah?" He asked in a cool tone, though his eyes showed deep unease.

"It'll all be okay." I assured simply. It was a lie, but this asshole needed some damn encouragement. "Because we're the most stubborn bastards in this damned hotel." I added truthfully. I guessed that finally being confronted with the event in reality- outside of his thought-up scenarios- left him feeling suddenly unprepared.

He laughed. "That's true." He said. "But the rest was a lie, wasn't it?" He asked, raising his eyebrows expectantly.

"...Yes." I admitted. We'd just fall into a rut if I lied about lying.

He stared at me for a second before sighing. "I'll let it slide, since it was for my sake." He said.

"Did it help at least?" I sighed, watching as the floor number neared 30.

"Yeah, thanks Jakey." He said sincerely, smiling. "I'm absolutely ready to cut down any motherfucker that lays a hand on you."

"For once, that's kind of reassuring." I said, letting out a small chuckle.

The elevator dinged, and the doors slowly opened to reveal a small hallway leading to a large double door. On either side of the door there stood a buff security guard wearing a suit and sunglasses (even though it was night-time and they were indoors...). I followed Shawn as he composedly walked across the carpet to the guards.

"Invitations?" One asked, holding out his hand expectantly.

Shawn handed him the invitations, which the guard looked over briefly. The guard then nodded to the other, and they opened the double doors. "Have a pleasant evening." The other said in a gruff voice.

"Thank you." I responded, following Shawn as he stepped in.

Holy shit. Now that I was inside of the room, it was no wonder why the hotel advertised it so heavily. The floor was a spotlessly polished hardwood spanning the entirety of the large venue. Three of the walls were clean windows that elaborately curved upwards to meet a dome ceiling, where a fucking gigantic chandelier hung. Inside of the lavish room, there were large buffet tables, spread out dining tables, a damn bar with endless shelves of alcohol, and a door to a balcony looking out over San Francisco.

"Luke, stay with me please." Shawn said through gritted teeth, waiting for me a few steps ahead.

I silently followed him. As I did, I started to see what kinds of people were attending the party. Scattered around the room, there were a couple of men and women who stood out. They stood tall and straight, wearing extremely expensive-looking suits and dresses. They also tended to have the most people lingering around them. Some of the people around them looked like their bodyguards or employees, and stood around diligently as their employers spoke to others in the room. The rest of the people in the room seemed very wealthy, but not as powerful, and seemed to kiss up to those who were.

"Just like I thought; most of the people here are crime lords or people affiliated with them." Shawn whispered to me. "So, even if a blood-bath somehow erupted, or if someone went missing, it'd never be reported to the cops." He added.

I nodded in understanding, walking next to Shawn across the room. "But that also means that Smile's can't just start shooting up the room, right? He has to maintain good relationships with his... colleagues, doesn't he?" I asked.

Shawn bit his lip. "That's probably true... but you never know with that motherfucker." He said.

Shawn stopped in a less crowded area by one of the tall windows. "If we can, let's try to stay in less crowded space. But every few minutes, we should move somewhere else, that way we won't attract too much attention by staying in one place the whole night." Shawn instructed.

"Okay, when should we leave?" I asked.

Shawn though for a moment. "When others start to leave. But that might be a while."

Shawn and I leaned against the wall as we surveyed the room. Nobody seemed to be taking much of a notice to us. I accidentally made eye contact with one of the more powerful looking men in a nice suit, but after a polite smile I was thankfully able to break it. After a few minutes, something began to bother me; even after I'd scanning the entire room, I couldn't spot Smiles anywhere... which actually concerned me since this was supposed to be his fucking party. I glanced at Shawn to see if he noticed this too. He was able to keep a relaxed face on his features as he carefully looked over the room, but inside his blue eyes I saw deep suspicion. He must have noticed too.

Shawn sighed and pushed himself away from the wall, running a hand through his blonde hair. "Alright, time to get moving to another place. This time, let's act like we're in a casual conversation. Looking too grim isn't exactly a good way to blend in at a party." He said seriously. His expression then suddenly turned into a suave smile. "Let's get going." He said.

I tried and failed to put a casual looking smile onto my face as well. "Y-yeah." I said, sticking next to him as we walked back into the middle of the room.

"Excuse me. " A low voice suddenly spoke from behind us.

We both turned to see the man that I had made eye contact with earlier saunter to us, his entourage of rough looking men trailing behind. The man himself looked to be about in his thirties, and radiated authority and power.

Shawn smiled in a friendly manner. "Ah, Leonardo Picket, am I right? It's an honor to meet you." He said smoothly.

Leonardo grinned. "Yes, I couldn't help noticing you on the edge of the room." He said to Shawn and I. His grey eyes then turned to me. "It's such a shame for two young men such as yourselves to miss out on a civilized party like this." He said.

Shawn laughed. "I guess so. But we're heading to the bar now, I overheard that Manhattans here are very good." He said in a way of politely parting from the man.

"Please, allow me to treat you." The man said, stepping up to us.

"Oh, thank you, but we couldn't." I said with a forced laugh.

"Why not?" He asked, smirking at me. "Go on and let a rich man treat you to a drink, what's the harm?" He said. Why the hell did he want to buy us drinks so badly!?

Shawn smiled again. "Well, if you insist, thank you so much for your generosity." He said.

"Oh no, it's my pleasure." Leonardo said, once again looking at me.

I smiled back awkwardly. What the hell was going on!? Was he trying to... get with me or something!? But Shawn was ten times more attractive than I was! Why wasn't he trying to bang him!?

"Let's go then!" Shawn said in a tone of excitement, waiting for Leonardo to lead to way.

Leonardo grinned, and then led the way to the bar, his entourage following behind. On the way to the bar across the room, I glanced to Shawn with a panicked expression. He just shook his head at me and gave me an 'I fucking told you so' look.

I looked back forward, trying to keep a smiling expression on my face; since Leonardo kept looking back at me. I bit the inside of my cheek in a panic. What the fuck was I supposed to do!? I couldn't just flat out reject a fucking mafia boss- or whatever criminal title this man had. And I obviously couldn't tell him to fuck off like I would to Shawn. And I definitely wasn't going to fuck him.

When we reached the bar, Leonardo politely gestured for Shawn and I to sit. I seated myself onto the plush barstool to the right of Shawn. Leonardo sat on the stool to the right of mine.

"So, what would you like?" Leonardo asked me. I didn't want anything!

"A-ahaha, something virgin for me... I-I can't hold my alcohol very well." I said. The last thing I needed was to accidentally get drunk.

Leonardo laughed. "It's a party, what's the harm of getting a little drunk?" He asked me.

"Trust me, I'd just be an embarrassment to everyone. I'm a really bad drunk." I laughed in a friendly tone.

He laughed again and leaned towards me. "I doubt that anyone will notice." He said in a low tone.

...Why? Why wouldn't anyone notice!? What the fuck did that mean!? I swallowed hard. I turned towards him. He also had a determined look in his sharp grey eyes. This man wasn't going to stop insisting until I took a fucking alcoholic drink. "Um, I guess I'll just have some red wine if that's fine- whatever kind you think is best." I relented.

He grinned charmingly, and then turned to the bartender standing patiently on the other side of the marble counter. "I'll have a mojito, and my friend here will have a glass of your most expensive red wine." He instructed the bartender, before looking over to Shawn, who was talking casually to a pretty young woman who's taken a seat next to him. "What would you like to drink?" Leonardo asked.

"A Manhattan for me please." Shawn said cheerfully. Even though he'd been talking to that woman, I could sense that he was listening to every word exchanged between Leonardo and I. I could also sense that he must be pissed as fuck and struggling not to pull out his gun. I glanced down at his hand to see it curled in a tight fist, knuckles white. Yeah, he was pissed.

Shawn went back to speaking with the girl next to him, and then Leonardo turned back to me. "I forgot to ask, what's your name?"

"Luke." I said, remembering the pseudonym that Shawn told me to use. "Luke Reed. My friend here is Thomas Reiner." I answered. Thank god Shawn gave me a name to use, or I might have said something stupid like John Smith or Peter fucking Pan.

Leonardo smiled. "Your friend said so before, but my name is Leonardo Picket." He took my hand and shook it. "Now, let me be direct. I noticed you from the second that you walked inside the room. To be blunt, I'm quite interested." He stated point blank, sending me a leer.

FUCK. Couldn't he bear to sweet-talk me a bit longer before jumping the fucking gun!? How the fuck was I supposed to react to any of that!? "Ah... haha. Wow, thank you so much Mr. Picket, but, you see, I'm not exactly a consenting adult yet. I'm seventeen." I said.

He just smirked. "The law has never really been a concern of mine." He crooned, leaning in closer. "And please, you can call me Leonardo."

WHAT!? What the fuck!? What the fuck could I say to get this man off my shit!? "W-wow, uhm... I'm very flattered, but why me? I'm sure that there are many people much better looking than me that would love to serve." I said. This was hell. This was fucking hell.

"Hm, I'm not so sure. Most people here are conniving and deeply imbedded inside the underworld. You, on the other hand, have a sort of... innocence that I can't put my finger on." He said, starting to really encroach on my personal space.

Innocence? Where the fuck was he going with this!? Right now he just sounded like an old man who liked to fuck virgins! "Ah, well, thank you for thinking so highly of me- but I'm actually currently dating someone. And because I'm pretty serious about her, I could never betray her by... getting intimate with someone else." I explained. Now, if he still wouldn't back off even after I said that, I was going to either throw up or faint.

Leonardo smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Really? A girlfriend? You don't strike me as the... straight type." He accused in a flirtatious tone.

Oh fuck he had a gaydar! I let out a forced awkward laugh. "R-really? Ah, well, I guess you've got me there. I'm actually bisexual." I lied. Please! Just buy it and leave me the fuck alone!

Leonardo nodded. Thank fuck, he bought it. "So am I. And I actually have a wife as well... and what they never know will never hurt them." He said, taking a sip of the mojito he just received.

Talking with this man was like a black hole of 'we should fuck no matter what'. I swear to fucking god- I could tell him my dong was covered in warts and he wouldn't give a shit! I struggled to think of what I should say next.

"Hey I'm really sorry to interrupt, but I need to go to the bathroom." Shawn suddenly chimed in. Wait, what was he doing? He couldn't leave me alone with this guy!

"I'd better go with you." I said, standing up. "I have to go too, and knowing you, you'd just pick up ten girls o the way back and leave with the car." I said, coming up with any other excuses that I could. I turned to Leonardo and gave him a smile. "Sorry about this, we'll be back soon—thanks again for treating us." I said.

He smiled back. "Please, take your time- we have all night, after all." He said, maybe a bit suggestively.

I nodded, not knowing how the fuck to respond, and started to follow Shawn away from the bar. As soon as we were out of earshot from Leonardo, Shawn started to mutter to me under his breath. "If I had to listen to that bastard flirt with you for one more second, I would've snapped his neck with my bare hands." He growled.

"You think that you have it hard? I don't know the first thing about keeping a horny criminal at bay politely." I hissed back. I now had a hell of a lot of experience at doing it rudely though.

"Your fine ass and fucking mango scented shampoo did this." Shawn grumbled. Okay, he really had to stop obsessing over my choice in shampoo.

I rolled my eyes. "Do you have a plan for when we have to go back?" I whispered.

"Yes. I'll order more drinks, then act extremely drunk so that I can get in the way of his advances without it being suspicious. And we'll probably be at it for the rest of the night, since that motherfucking son of a bitch actually has some taste, he won't give up on trying to get you."

I sighed in relief; that plan actually sounded good. But I wasn't sure how much longer I could politely keep Leonardo at bay when he was so fucking persistent and smooth.

As we neared the bathroom located on the far left corner of the room, there were less people, so I felt comfortable speaking a little bit louder. "By the way, who is that guy?" I asked, remembering how Shawn knew the man's name.

"He imports drugs to the U.S. from Central and South America. He might seem civil, but he uses pretty violent tactics to avoid being conned or ratted out to the feds." Shawn explained. "You've actually handled him pretty well so far, so if you can, try to keep it up until the end of the night." He instructed.

I nodded, that was going to be hard as hell. "Do you think that he'll try to find me after we leave the party?" I asked in concern. I didn't need a middle-aged drug lord stalking me on top of a serial killer...

Shawn scoffed. "Of course he fucking will. When men like him get set on something, they won't stop until they get it." Shawn looked at my fearful expression and placed a hand on my shoulder. "But don't worry, he's going to have an accident inside one of his offices on Monday. An explosive accident." Shawn said forebodingly.

...Well, now I didn't know whether to be relieved of fucking horrified. "But... won't that be difficult since he's, y'know, a crime lord?"

Shawn smirked. "Not really. And I did say that I'd kill anyone who tried to take you from me." He said, holding open the bathroom door open for me.

There was probably no point in trying to argue to keep Leonardo alive, so I didn't try. I sighed in exasperation and walked inside the bathroom. The room was dimly lit, with red painted walls, black bathroom stalls, and shining white urinal. The only person in the bathroom was one guy using a urinal.

Shawn followed behind me, saw there was another person in the room, and then stepped to the mirror. "Man, it's a good thing that I checked myself. My hair is a complete mess." He said, probably just in case the guy pissing thought it was strange to come in the bathroom for no apparent reason. I, for one, actually had to take a piss.

"Let's try to stay in here for a minute maximum; we shouldn't keep him waiting for too long." I said, stepping to a urinal to take a piss.

"Got it! I just want to fix my hair before I go back to talking with... Penelope." Shawn replied.

As soon as I finished relieving myself, I zipped up my pants and turned back to Shawn. "So... I guess we should head back." I said in dread. I really didn't want to deal with Leonardo's crap. I already had one criminal trying to get into my pants- I didn't need another twice my age.

"Um... excuse me." The other guy at the urinals spoke up in a horse voice.

"Yes?" I asked, turning to face him. I froze in shock. "LAS VEGAS!?" I yelled, unable to restrain myself. "What the hell are you doing- Shawn! Put down that gun!" I screamed, putting myself between Las Vegas and Shawn, who'd just pulled out a gun.

Shawn glowered at me. "Jake, get the fuck away from him! If he's here, that means he was invited by Bobby?" Shawn warned. He then glared at Las Vegas. "You. Tell me why the fuck you were invited here. If I think you're lying, I'll be happy to pull the trigger." Shawn threated hatefully. I moved to shield more of Las Vegas from Shawn's gun.

"Jake, what the hell are you doing here with the guy from P.E?" Las Vegas asked in shock. "What the hell is going on with you?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but Shawn cut me off. "I think that the guy with the gun will be asking the questions, ass-hole." Shawn said, struggling to point the gun past my ducking around to protect LV.

"Okay! I'll answer them! Just put the gun down before someone else steps in and we have an all-out gunfight between gangsters out there!" Las Vegas insisted.

Shawn narrowed his eyes hatefully. "I don't fucking think so, instead you can just answer my questions just like this. Jake, move out of the way." He commanded.

Instead, I clumsily whipped out the gun that I had. "Put the fucking gun down Shawn. Let's just have a fucking conversation with him." I said.

"Jake, you're not even holding that right, and the safety is still on." Shawn said in a deadpan. "Now come here."

I thought for a moment. Too much was going on all at once. While I wanted to know why the fuck Las Vegas was here just as badly as Shawn, I also knew that Shawn wouldn't think twice before shooting Las Vegas in the head with minimal provocation. Anyways, first things first was getting Shawn to put the gun away.

"No." I told Shawn. I then turned my head to look at Las Vegas. He'd cleaned up for the party, and was wearing a tailored suit with his brown hair slicked back. "Las Vegas... You probably figured that something has been going on with me. Y'know, since I hitched a ride with you whilst covered in blood." I said. I figured that I could start off by giving a vague explanation to trigger one from him.

"You mean you weren't killing pigs with your hillbilly friends while skipping school?" He asked sarcastically.

I nodded. "Well, that has a lot to do with what's happening now... kind of." I said. Really, the only thing connecting those two events was the gun-wielding psycho in front of me.

"Jake... I think you're in over your head." Las Vegas said, keeping a close eye on Shawn.

"I know that I fucking am." I sighed. "But what about you? Why are you here?" I asked.

Las Vegas sighed. "I've been in over my head for a hell of a long time. Years, actually." He said. "I'm here because some ass hole told me that I had to."

"See, Shawn? He's in the same situation as us." I argued to Shawn.

"What? That didn't give us anything useful. And he could fucking be lying." Shawn said, keeping his gun raised. "And I haven't heard an answer as to who made him come."

"I'm not lying! Please, just put down the gun before someone notices." Las Vegas begged, looking at the ceiling.

"Shawn! Can we pick this back up later if we need to?! We have more important shit on our plate!" I argued with Shawn. I wanted to know the details about why Las Vegas was here just as badly as Shawn did- but there was a time a place! And this certainly wasn't fucking it.

Shawn narrowed his eyes at Las Vegas. "...Give me your invitation." Shawn demanded.

Las Vegas looked confused, but silently got it out of his suit pocket.

"Now hand it to Jake to read out loud." Shawn added.

Las Vegas handed me the card. I looked over it. "Dear Roy Boyle, You are cordially invited by Bernard Alco to attend his dinner party, hosted on the thrity-second floor of the Layland Hotel in San Francisco, blah blah blah. Why is this important?" I asked, looking up from the card.

If Shawn glowered deepened intensely. "Jake. Get over here now." He said steadily, keeping close eye on Roy.

I frowned. "Why?"

"You need the invitation to get in here. The woman at the bar showed me hers- and it read that she was invited to accompany some other rich guy to Bernard Alco's dinner party. The card that we received means that that fucker personally invited us... And it's the same as his. Meaning he personally knows Bobby."

My eyes widened in shock as I slowly turned towards Las Vegas, who was staring at Shawn with an equally shocked expression. "Wait, how do you know Bobby's real name?" He muttered. "No, wait... if you were both personally invited, then..." He suddenly snapped his eyes towards me. "You guys need to get out of here, now!"

As soon as he finished his sentence, the bathroom lights suddenly blacked out, engulfing the three of us in darkness. There was then the loud bang of the door being opened, then a resounding gunshot. I heard Shawn yell "shit!" before the bathroom felt like it was filled with people. I tried to pull away from the hands of all the newcomers, but my head was sharply pulled to the side and I felt a sharp prick in my neck. Then I blacked out.

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...did I set a new record for a cruel cliffhanger?

Anyways, thanks again for reading and encouraging me to write!!! And since winter break is coming up, I'll be sure to update then!

Also, if anyone wants to see the planning that I did for the chapter (ok no they're just horrible notes):Bar talk with Leo starts getting too saucy. Shawn fakes needing to take a leak. Bathroom. BOOM LV was taking a piss. Drama. Leonardo's ass will get axed at a later date