Previously:

Giselle agreed to host a birthday party for the teenage daughters of Claudia Crane-Shaw, a Highwind investor, but passed the responsibility off to Remy and Elena.

Jonothan Albion pursued Elena, but she found herself drawn more and more to Scarlet Deshpande.

Remy and Elena tried to throw together the last minute party, but found the twins to be a bit on the demanding side...

 

The Bel Ami Club - Back Room

The thundering roar of a tiger snapped Jonothan Albion to attention, his mind a swirl of thoughts about the night's upcoming events and the impending X-Limit opening. He tried listening to the pow-wow occurring between Remy Ormand, that hot chick with the legs Elena Halstrom, and that sassy dyke Scarlet Deshpande. They were discussing the joint birthday party about to occur within minutes at the Bel Ami Club, all for Astrid and Ingrid Shaw, the hottest set of twins Jono had seen since the pair of snow bunnies he had bobbing on his snowboard last weekend.

Or was it last night?

He couldn't remember. But whatever. Even at less than one hundred percent, he was the hottest shit in snowboarding and miles ahead of his old pal Remy in the "keeping it together" race.

"Jono," Scarlet snapped, the tone in her voice one usually reserved for a petulant child, not a gold-winning snowboarder. "Are you even paying attention? You're going to have to escort Astrid and Ingrid once they arrive to the party."

"Got it, don't want to ruin the twins' eighteenth birthday," Jono said. "Dude, it's hard to pay attention when you've got a live tiger right next to us."

The adults glanced over to the cage in the corner. It housed a beautiful white tiger that growled at them loudly while it paced back and forth in its prison. Unsettled, Jono turned back to the others.

"I don't wanna be anywhere near that thing," Jono insisted. "I'm not trying to get mauled a la Ray Horn."

"Nice," Elena bristled. She rolled her eyes at Jono.

This engendered a smirk from Jono. He loved getting Elena all hot and bothered. Or rather, bothered. The hot part would come later. Scarlet noticed the smirk and responded with a narrow gaze of her own. But it only served to make Jono's jeans somewhat tighter.

A threesome with those two would be out of this world...

"Elena, I'm gonna count on you to make sure that none of the underage partygoers are drinking," Remy said. "The last thing we need is Flotsam and Jetsam getting drunk and us getting get pink slips from Giselle."

Elena nodded. "On it."

She shifted uncomfortably in the tights she had been forced to wear, as part of the twins' Circus-themed party. Jono licked his lips, causing Elena to irritatedly brush past him and exit the back room.

"You're a pig," Scarlet muttered, following suit.

Jono laughed as the women departed, then turned his attention to Remy. He was dressed as if he were a Barnum and Bailey ringleader, a full moustache pasted to his face. "Listen Jono, I call the shots tonight, okay?"

"Got it."

They were interrupted as Miles Burke entered the back room, muscles painted on his chest and only a pair of spandex bottoms on. "The twins are outside, Remy."

"Thanks," Remy said, hurrying off.

Miles noticed that he and Jono were wearing the same costume and smiled. "We're twins."

"My face is up here," Jono said abrasively. "And my muscles aren't painted on, buddy."

Before Miles could respond, the tiger growled once more. Both men, feeling uneasy, decided to vacate the back room. Though if either of them had bothered to pay attention to the tiger, they'd have noticed the sense of foreboding within its eyes. And surely, if anyone had noticed that, they'd have known that the night to come was not going to resemble any circus they've ever been to.

 

Bel Ami Club - Bar Area

Josie Singer hated those rich bitches.

At first, she had been willing to go along with Astrid and Ingrid's inane Circus-themed party. She liked Britney Spears as much as the next person, so she welcome the opportunity to dress a little hotter for work without being ogled by the rambunctious guys who wandered over to Bel Ami after realizing Pole Position was not in fact a strip club.

But once she arrived to work today and discovered she had been assigned the role of the Bearded Lady in the Crane-Shaw circus, Josie was ready to crack a bottle over those peroxided twins' heads.

"Nice beard."

"Shut up," Josie said, laughing as Miles approached her at the bar. "Are Paris and Nicole here yet?"

"Yeah, they're outside," Miles said. "Remy gave me a big spiel about not serving them liquor."

Josie nodded. "I got an earful this morning in a text message and five voicemails. But those girls are going to get liquor if they really want it. You know what it was like at that age."

"I sure do."

Miles lifted a crate of vodka and placed it on the counter. Sweat rolled down his forehead as he strained to lift the heavy crate. The act of watching Miles grunt and lift the crate draws an uneasy image of Miles in bed with...

"Oh, gross," Josie hissed. She covered her mouth like she was going to vomit and quickly turned to hide her expression from Miles.

"What's up?"

"Um, nothing," Josie said. "I was just wondering, um...how did your date with the hot blonde go?"

"It went okay," Miles says. "Travis is really cool."

"And?" Josie pressed on.

"And...we had fun?"

Josie could tell that Miles was being coy with her. And though part of her didn't want even want to hear about the date at all, she had to know what had gone on between her friend and her father. But more than anything, she wanted to just come clean and tell Miles that Travis was the deadbeat who abandoned her and her mother.

"How much fun?"

"We didn't have sex if that's what you're getting at," Miles said. "I don't...I don't even think I'm ready for that."

"Good," Josie said, taking a deep breath. "I mean..."

She was interrupted as a bright flash of light hit her eyes, causing a temporary blindness. After rubbing her eyes, she glanced up and saw a man she did not recognize holding a large camera.

"Who the hell are you?" Josie demanded.

"I'm Jay," the man said, extending a hand. "I'm the photographer that Claudia Crane-Shaw hired for the event."

"Nice to meet you," Josie said. "But the girls are coming in that way."

She pointed to the front door, currently surrounded by a throng of teenagers, eagerly waiting for the arrival of Astrid and Ingrid.

Miles watched curiously as Jay hurried off to the front door. Finally, he turned back to Josie. "What were we talking about?"

 

Outside the Bel Ami Club

"This is an utter disaster," Remy groaned, lowering his head in defeat as he watched Astrid and Ingrid fall over one another, exiting their limousine in a drunken stupor. They wear matching day-glow, almost lyrca-ish designer dresses that look like vomit from an American Apparel processor. "How are they drunk already?"

"Because the hellions want to ruin our lives," Elena muttered. "Giselle is going to kill us."

"You're worried about Giselle?" Remy demanded. "I'm more worried about that Claudia Crane-Giant grinding our bones and making her bread."

"We're...nottttt...druuuuunk," Astrid slurred, grabbing at her hair extensions and attempting to straighten them. "I'm just...juuuuussstt...it was a long day! At the saloooon."

"Saloon?" Elena scoffed.

"She meant salon," Scarlet explained, stepping forward to wrangle the girls. "Jonothan, are you ready?"

"I'm ready," Jonothan said. "Elena, maybe you should get inside and handle the kids at the party already? We don't need them getting tanked too."

"Good...good idea," Elena said, almost suspiciously. She wondered where the hell Jono's competence had come from. "I'll be inside."

Remy stepped forward. "All right, now that we're all--"

"And you go inside to announce them," Jono continued, still doling out orders.

"I'm the one running things," Remy insisted.

"Can you two stop arguing like children?" Scarlet asked, shaking her head in irritation.

Ignoring Scarlet, Remy impatiently stamped his foot. "Whatever. I'll go and help Elena."

 

Bel Ami Club

A bass-thumping song played over the club sound system as partygoers, young and adult alike, gathered around the red carpet set up before the front door. The lights dimmed slowly, as a spotlight was shone on Remy. He held a large whip in his hand and outstretched his arms for dramatic effect.

"Ladies and gentlemen, and..." Remy hesitated, not wanting to read from the script provided to him by the twins, but he soldiered on. "...bitches of all ages! Step right up and see the show!"

He cracked the whip across the floor. The thundering sound caused the crowd to the clear the area around the red carpet. Remy bounded to the door and flung it open.

The first to enter was one of the bartenders from the Bel Ami, forced by the twins to don a pair of stilts and begin their procession. The bartender struggled to keep his balance, wobbling and shaking as he walked the red carpet.

Once he reached the center of the bar, or the "ring" as it were, he slipped and fell onto his back with a loud crash. Remy winced in vicarious pain, but kept his focus on the front door as the main attraction finally burst into the club.

Jay rushed to the door, snapping photos as Astrid and Ingrid strutted in, flanking both sides of their escort Jono. His muscles glistened under the bright lights, and for added effect, the girls had smeared glitter on his pecs.

"Kill those lights, Astrid!" Ingrid shouted, sticking her butt out for full effect.

"Naomi Campbell that shit, girl," Astrid said, breaking free of Jono as she stomped down the red carpet.

Ingrid followed suit, with Jono trailing behind. As they reached the end of the red carpet, they met a cage shrouded in a black sheet. Jono grabbed the sheet and pulled it from the cage, revealing the white tiger. The audience oohed and aahed as both girls grabbed cage bars and grinded against them like they were stripper poles.

Jono noticed that the tiger was quickly becoming agitated and whispered, "Ladies, maybe you should stop! That tiger looks dangerous!"

"Shut up, spare rib," Astrid hissed. "You're just supposed to look hot!"

"Yeah, spare baby back rib," Ingrid laughed. "I want my baby back, baby back, baby back!"

The girls giggled, pushing Jono out the way as the crowd continued clapping at their antics. Jono noticed a dirty look from both Elena and Remy, so he tried grabbing Astrid by the arm.

"Leave me alone!"

Astrid kicked Jono in the chest, climbing atop the cage. He continued trying to pull her, eventually grabbing at her leg. Astrid slid back, falling on top of the cage, her legs wide open for the audience to see.

"You're not wearing any underwear!" Jono cried. "Ingrid, cover your sister up!"

"Oh my god, she's drunk!" A woman in the audience wailed. "Somebody call 911!"

Ingrid and Jono scrambled to protect Astrid from further exposure, pulling the young girl down from the cage. They just barely avoided the tiger biting at her hair extensions.

"I hate you!" Astrid said, still slurring her words.

She slapped Jono across the face and made a beeline for the back room, her heels clacking the entire way. Ingrid shot a sympathetic look toward Jono before following her sister to the back room.

"Way to go," Scarlet said, folding her arms in disapproval as she joined Jono at the cage.

"It’s not my fault. Save it for Sharon Stone over there," Jono muttered, storming off.

 

Bel Ami Club - Back Room

"It'll be okay," Elena said, making an attempt to calm down Astrid and bring her out of hysterics. "Nobody saw!"

"Everyone took pictures on their camera phones!" Astrid cried.

"Taking care of it as we speak," Scarlet said, entering the back room. "I'm making sure that every person is searched before they exit. Full body searches."

"Is that because you're a lesbian?" Astrid asked, wiping away tears. “Sorry. He told us you were.”

Scarlet cast an accusatory glance in Jono’s direction. "It's because I'm thorough and I get the job done. I need to reconvene with Remy. Can you handle this, Elena?"

Elena nodded. "I'm fine."

Scarlet flashed a smile and gently touched Elena on the shoulder. "Perfect."

As Scarlet returned to the bar, Jono joined Elena and Astrid. He attempted to reach out and touch Astrid's shoulder, but she pushed him away and joined her sister on the opposite end of the room.

"This is turning into a disaster," Elena muttered, shaking her head.

"Get yourself together, Power Ranger," Jono said. "It's just a birthday party."

"Just a birthday party? My life is on the goddamn line, here! This is my job!"

"Aren't you supposed to be co-owner of the Highwind? Because you're related to that crazy guy who tried to kill Giselle?"

"Um...yeah," Elena said. "How did you..."

"There was a documentary."

"I just...I wish I had it more together, you know? Lately it seems like my life has been nothing short of a mess."

"Because you need to take control. Go after what you really want," Jono said. "Let me offer a theory. Do you mind?"

Elena sighed.

"I can see the way you look at me. We’ve got this love-hate thing going on, but you can‘t deny there‘s some sexual chemistry there."

"Excuse--"

"Don't interrupt. So you‘ve been dating this Scarlet person, right? Testing the waters, at least?"

"We‘re not dating--I mean ... I don't know what we are right now."

"You’re straight, that‘s what you are. Your life’s a hot mess," Jono said, laughing. "So naturally you're attracted to the L Word chick who's got it together, thinking she‘ll make it all better. I see it all the time.”

“You see this all the time?” Elena asked, skeptical. "This has been fun, but I need to get back to work," she said quickly, brushing back her hair and heading toward the door. Despite his presumptuous assessment, Elena was surprised to find herself crack a tiny smile.

 

Bel Ami Club - Bar Area

"There's this weird sound coming from the back room," Miles said, joining Josie and Remy at the bar with two new crates of liquor. They were going through liquor like water thanks to the open bar, but that meant their tips were double the normal amount.

"Probably just the radiator," Remy said, scanning the room for the photographer. "Has anyone seen that photographer?"

"The one Claudia hired? He's around here somewhere," Josie said. "What's up?"

"He's the only person that Scarlet and I haven't found yet," Remy said. "And I need to get those photos of Astrid's...um, lady parts...deleted. Otherwise Claudia and my mother will mutilate me and leave my body in a ditch."

"Good luck with that," Miles said.

"Thanks, Wonder Twins," Remy said, heading off to find the photographer.

Noticing Jay near the cage, Remy hurried over and grabbed his arm.

"What's up?" Jay asked.

"I need to make sure you deleted those photos," Remy said. "The ones of Astrid's...um..."

"Vagina?"

"Don't call it that, she's like, twelve," Remy snapped. "At any rate, those could be very valuable to some paparazzi, so...you understand, right?"

Jay remained silent for a moment, and Remy was unsure whether or not he was going to comply.

"Sure," Jay said finally. "But I already deleted them."

"Well, I'll just want to check to make sure," Remy said, taking the camera. "But, um, thanks."

"No problem," Jay said, smiling widely.

 

Bel Ami Club - Near the Restrooms

Scarlet exited the ladies room, drying her hands on her tights since the hand dryers in the bathroom weren't working. As she left, she bumped into Elena, nearly bowling her over. "Oh, I'm sorry!"

"It's okay," Elena said, catching her balance. "How goes the great technology roundup?"

"I feel a little like a schoolmarm, but it's fine," Scarlet said.

"That‘s what you‘re here for."

Scarlet frowned at Elena's interjection.

"That's not what I meant, it's just that...you're good at taking charge, you know?" Elena offered. "I like that about you."

"I can cut loose," Scarlet insisted.

"I know you can,” she backpedaled. “Jono was just saying how you have it all together, and that’s probably what I find so appealing about you.”

"Why do you listen to that pig? He doesn‘t know anything about us."

"He was just rambling. Trying to rile me up," Elena said. "He thinks that I'm...nevermind. Anyway, he was talking about me. And you. And...us."

"Oh. And what did he enlighten you about?"

"He thinks I'm only attracted to you because you’re the stability that I don't have, or some nonsense."

"So, this is like an Oedipus thing? Or an Electra thing? Or...possibly a Gilmore thing," Scarlet said, smirking. "Is he right?"

"I don't know. I haven‘t thought about it that way."

"Well, until you figure that out, maybe we shouldn't go any further with...whatever this is," Scarlet said.

"No! That’s not what I want," Elena said, taking Scarlet's hand. "Maybe we could figure it out … together."

"Or maybe we need someone else."

Elena is taken aback. "Huh?"

"Come on. I'm cutting loose," Scarlet said, taking Elena to the far end of the bar.

There was a large group of people crowded around Madame Lerner, the fortune teller hired for the party. Scarlet cleared out the group and marched Elena to the table.

"What's going on?" Elena asked.

"We're going to ask the fortune teller what our future holds," Scarlet said, laughing.

"Are you serious?"

"Partly. But come on, it'll be fun, right?"

"Danger," Madame Lerner gasped, setting her eyes on the two women. "There is terrible danger! Danger!"

Elena and Scarlet eyed the woman with equal looks of bewilderment and suspicion. "Huh?!"

"There is a tree that has fallen...yet there was no storm!"

"Excuse me?" Elena asked. "A tree fell? No storm?"

"That's weird," Scarlet said.

"The tree has fallen, and there was no storm!" Madame Lerner continued. "And there is a large cat! And danger! Evil has come to St. Laurent!"

"Okay, nice show," Scarlet said, pulling Elena away from the table. "Maybe I was wrong about--"

Before Scarlet could finish her sentence, she heard a loud growling noise. Screams followed the growl, prompting Scarlet and Elena to spin around in horror as they witnessed the white tiger breaking free from its cage.

"Oh God!" Elena cried. "The tiger!"

"Get everyone out of here!" Scarlet shouted.

 

Bel Ami Club - Back Room

"You didn't have to help me with the liquor cases," Miles said, heading to the door with Josie in tow.

"I know, but I just...can we talk for a second?" Josie asked.

"Sure," Miles said, setting the crate down. "What's up? Is this about my date? You want me to draw you a diagram?"

"I thought you didn't...nevermind. Listen, there's something that I really need to tell you."

"Let me thank you first," Miles began. "I never would have gone out with Travis if you hadn't pushed me to do it, and...for the first time in my life I feel free, you know? I'm happy just being who I am. Without worrying about labels or letting anyone else decide how I live my life. I've made a lot of mistakes in the past, and this feels like a second chance."

Josie felt as if someone was tugging, no pulling with an iron grip, at her heart strings. "Miles..."

"Wow, that sounded kinda gay, huh?" Miles laughed.

Josie returned the laugh. "Yeah. It kinda did. But I think that's okay."

"So what did you want to tell me?"

"Um...nothing."

As Miles frowned, the door to the back room flew open and Remy rushed inside. He breathed heavily, leaning against the door and trembling with fear.

"There's...a...the...the tiger!" Remy cried.

"What the hell?" Josie demanded.

"The tiger is out there! It broke free! We need to get everyone the hell out of here!"

"Oh God," Josie said, gripping Miles' arm. "We have to do something! We need to call the police or animal control or--"

"We need to not die," Remy insisted.

"Maybe there's something we can use to fend it off," Josie said, heading for the nearby broom closet.

"Oh my God, someone call 911! There's a tiger!"

The three of them screamed as the back door flew open once more, and Jay rushed inside.

"There's a goddamn tiger out there!" Jay cried. "What the hell kind of party is this?!"

"We need to help those kids," Josie said.

"Fuck those kids! I didn't get hired by that little bitch just to get killed!"

"Little is not the word I'd use to describe Claudia," Remy muttered.

"You idiot. I'm not talking about Cl--"

At that moment, the door flew open once more and the white tiger leapt into the room, landing on Jay. Jay's camera flew into the air as the tiger bit into his neck, tearing at his flesh.

Josie shrieked in terror, rushing toward the door with Miles and Remy following her. They slammed the door shut, locking the already dead Jay inside the room with the hungry tiger.

 

Outside the Bel Ami Club

"So he's not dead?" Remy asked, shrugging his shoulders at Jasper Kent. Hours later, the club had finally been cleared out and the tiger wrangled by animal control. Remy was still freaked out by the blood covering his clothing, but he was grateful that no one had been harmed. "We thought he was...is he..."

"He's fine," Jasper said. "The tiger just roughed him up a bit, a la Ray Horn."

"He lost his face?!"

"No, it's just a saying. Nothing but some scratches and scrapes."

"Oh, that's good! That would have been...quite a mess. I guess it looked worse than it was, after all."

"Let me get back to you, I've got to get a statement from animal control," Jasper said, heading off.

Remy nodded, then returned to Jono, Scarlet, and Elena outside the club. "Well, looks we still have our jobs. Thank God."

"I've been ignoring phone calls from Claudia and Giselle," Elena said, raising her Blackberry. "I think this has finally hit the news."

"Let's get ready to play damage control," Remy said. "At least these two are okay."

Everyone turned to look at Astrid and Ingrid who were both leaned against the building. Astrid held back Ingrid's hair as her sister vomited into the grass.

"I'll deal with the girls," Jono said, going to approach the twins.

"I just want this night to be over," Remy groaned.

"It almost is," Elena said. "Don't worry. I'm gonna go talk to Jasper."

Before she walked away, she placed a gentle hand on Scarlet's shoulder to let her know that she was genuinely interested in sorting out her feelings. Scarlet got the point, smiling back at Elena.

 

"You girls okay?" Jono asked.

"We're fine," Astrid said, taking him by the hand and leading him away from the building wall. "But I wanted to thank you for that thing you did in there...saving my life from that tiger."

"Technically the guy who got mauled saved your life."

"Yeah...right," Astrid said. "Anyway, I'm sorry I slapped you earlier."

"No problem."

"I'd like to...thank you."

Astrid leaned in close and slipped her hand into his pants. Startled, Jono pulled back, simultaneously pushing Astrid away from him.

"Whoa...what are you doing?" Jono demanded.

"I'm just having a little fun," Astrid said. "That's all."

"You're a little young for me."

"I'm eighteen."

"Even still..."

"Look, I'm a good time, okay?" Astrid said. "And spare me the shit about acting out, and not needing to be so wild for people to notice me, okay? I'm tired of living in this dead end town. I want a hot life and a hot man. I want something bigger...and it felt like you're packing just that."

Jono shifts uncomfortably. "We can't do this. If anyone found out … I'm not about to lose this gig over you.”

"You don‘t have to," Astrid whispered. "And no one ever has to find out."

Jono glanced toward the others, just a few feet away from them. He lowered his voice. "Meet me at the back of the club. Fifteen minutes. My car will be waiting."

"Perfect," Astrid cooed. "Let me get rid of Ingrid."

Elena and Remy joined the two, breaking up their private conversation. Remy patted Jono on the back. "You know what? You did a pretty good job tonight. Thanks for everything. I'm sorry we've been so combatative lately."

"Excuse me," Astrid said, slipping away from the group.

"Yeah, no problem," Jono said, watching Astrid hurry off. "Just trying to lend a hand."

 

Bel Ami Club - Back Room

Her high heels clicked through the blood splattered on the ground as she glided toward the man standing in the shadows.

The original photographer hired by Claudia hadn't been interested in doing Astrid's bidding, so she’d had him fired. Then she got her mother to hire someone else. Someone a little less scrupulous. She needed a paparazzo -- someone willing to take the kind of pictures that could birth a new Paris Hilton.

A new star.

Something Claudia certainly wouldn't approve of.

"You crazy bitch," Jay snapped. "I practically got killed in the scuffle!"

"Shut up," Astrid said. "You're still alive, aren't you? And what's up with that camera?"

"It's busted," Jay said. "All the pictures of your money shot … gone. What am I supposed to give to the tabloids now?"

"Dammit," Astrid muttered. "How else am I supposed to get recognized in this stupid town? I need a record deal or something to get the hell out of St. Laurent. You've got to have a second camera, don't you?"

"I've always got a Plan B. But I didn't take any photos with it. Do you want to stage some more shots?"

"No. My original plan would have been perfect … but it‘s too late for that now. I have another idea," Astrid explained. "Jonothan Albion‘s taking me back to his hotel room. He‘s the closest thing to a celebrity we‘re going to find around here. Follow us back to the Highwind, and I’ll make sure we get our share of scandal for the night. A Plan B of my own," she smirked. “A video camera might be even better...”