Trigger The Years Past - 26. Chapter 26: Negotiations

Miracle walked into the room, they all looked the same, the booths, the glass, the chairs and the phones. He sighed and sat down, looking at Cheston on the other side. He frowned and picked up the phone and brought it to his ear.

Cheston brought the phone to his ear, just as Miracle did. "Hey."

"Hi.." Miracle mumbled and leaned closer. "Not even going to ask how things are. I've been in jail, given only for a night, long enough to know that it sucks."

Cheston barely laughed and nodded. "Yeah, I'm going to have a bail hearing tomorrow. Since we never actually...had a chance to..fix the money and the bank accounts and stuff. I'll need you to post it."

"Of course." Miracle said, then he paused. "Actually, posting bail for you might...not be a good idea." Miracle looked all around the room in a paranoid fashion.

"Why?" Cheston asked.

"Uh...I can't exactly say." He pulled up a bible and laid it on the table. "Just...flip through it...until you find something special." He stared at Cheston. "Though...you probably won't like it."

Cheston looked down at the bible. "I don't get it Miracle, it's assault, I'll hire Quinn, he can handle it, we'll figure out a way to take care of it. You can just say he threw the first hit, self defense, like always."

Miracle let out a breath after holding it, a troubled sound echoed from his chest. "There's more to it, more complications. I can't say anything more, you will understand why, just look in the bible. I've probably not even been discreet enough. Or maybe I'm just being to paranoid."

Cheston, confused, he simply nodded. "Well the guards will make sure that I get it, I just hope that they don't search it."

Miracle looked up, alarmed. "They might search it?"

"Possibly. People could traffic things in here that way." Cheston said.

"Oh no." Miracle frowned and yanked the bible back. "God, how am I supposed to let you know..."

"Why can't you just tell me?" Cheston asked.

Miracle looked up. "You know those three ladies have been spreading more Rumors about me?" His tone heightened when he mentioned Rumor.

Cheston's eyes narrowed. "Oh...really? Do you think other people might hear these...Rumors?"

Miracle slowly nodded. "Yes, it's possible. Maybe I'm being paranoid. So...I need to figure out a way to prove the truth without...antagonizing the Rumors even more."

"I see." Cheston nodded. "Well, I get to talk to my lawyer before the bail hearing, I can have you present, if you want to talk about it?"

"That would be perfect, you know how much they hurt my feelings." Miracle nodded.

"Okay, I'll have it set up, very private. Quinn will call you and let you know." Cheston sighed, not liking, what he now understood, they were dealing with.

"I'll see you then. And I love you...and I'm sorry our marriage is...starting out like this."

Cheston smiled. "Next year, at our anniversary, I hope we'll laugh about it."

"Me too." Miracle hung up the phone, keeping the bible held close to his chest as he got up and headed out of the visitation room.

Barry drove down the road. "So, about Miracle. Given that you...gave me a history lesson on him. I want to know, really, what bothers you about him? You've said that you don't understand...how he does it."

Cody sipped his chocolate milk shake that he bought on his way out of McDonalds. "Pretty much. I mean, Kevin dies, he goes to his new husband, Cheston, I guess as he should. Did I even mention, that's the reason the whole fight even happened? I mean he tells Kevin to go to California, that he'll come the next day with their luggage, but instead, he goes off and marries Cheston?"

"I know that..."

"And what do you think of it?" Cody looked at Barry.

"Well...I don't think I can judge until I know the story." Barry looked at Cody. "I'm not one of those women who gossip and make up tales." He paused. "I'm not a woman at all."

"I get the last part." Cody shook his head. "But then his husband gets arrested, he goes right into your arms? Now I understand, you were just doing a noble thing. I know who you are, Barry, you're a kind man, but really, it's like he went through three men in a twenty four hour period."

"Cody, he didn't go through me. Okay, I shared a room with him, first of all, because the Paramedic said he should be monitored. Now I know, why put you in a separate room? Because, he was only going to be sedated for a night, I wanted us to have our own room until the house is free again. If you wanted to be in the room with us, you should of said something, nothing happened. Second of all, because I cared for all the reasons the Paramedic was concerned about."

"Valid points." Cody said, taking in a deep breath. "I just don't understand it...and I wish someone could tell me."

"Miracle, is not a special angel on this earth like you think he is. There are thousands, maybe even millions of Miracle's on this planet, how do you think male prostitutes work? How do they get johns? Because they attract like magnets, just like Miracle. He is just an attractive person, the only difference is that guys get close to him, they get to know him..and his life isn't the most idealistic. First of all, he gets huge amounts of sympathy, is that really flattering?"

"I...guess not. I mean, not if you're saying it's because people feel sorry for him." Cody said.

"My point, first he's attractive, maybe in a special way, but again, millions out there with a unique attractiveness. Then he gets sympathy for his past, for what was done to him, and whether he knows it or not, he probably uses it on purpose, then it doesn't hurt that despite such tragedies, he does have a nice personality when he's happy, you should know all of these things. The kind of men who are attracted to Miracle? They want someone who needs them, they want someone to save, and take care of. They want a total co-dependent, and that is exactly what Miracle is, even through moments of strength."

Cody nodded as he listened, sipping his shake.

"Furthermore, have you thought about the fact that Miracle sabotages his relationships? Like with Jaemin, from what you told me, he did what seemed like everything he could to ruin that relationship, yet Jaemin held on. You know why that is? Miracle doesn't trust these men, he tests them for everything they are worth, and most of the time, I bet he sabotaged relationships because of that. He lost Sterling because of it, right? But Jaemin surpassed every single test he threw at him, that is why Jaemin is his great love. As for Kevin? He was a test, initially, and it seemed like he didn't care if Miracle was with Jaemin."

"My point." Cody looked at Barry. "Kevin just doesn't care if Miracle is with Jaemin?"

"Some guys are like that, plus, you said that relationship was based on grief from his girlfriends death, he used Miracle to deal with the pain in the same way Miracle used him to test Jaemin. They used each other. Even if feelings developed later."

"Then, why, when the feelings developed, did Kevin not want Jaemin gone?" Cody asked.

"I can't say, I wasn't there. Maybe he didn't care? Maybe Miracle was giving him way more attention. In the end, Miracle sent him away, I guess once Jaemin proved himself." Barry shrugged.

"Okay, that makes sense, it's fair to say." Cody looked at Barry. "So this current mess with Cheston and Kevin, what's up with that?"

"Easy, rebound. Cheston hurt Miracle, he rebounded with Kevin...but then for whatever reason, he forgave Cheston and realized that was what he wanted, he made a choice. Maybe the way he went about it was crappy." Barry sighed, slightly frustrated. "Miracle is not...his life is not wonderful or cheerful, from what I see, from what I know, it's troubled, he handles things awfully, makes bad choices, hell he should probably have a freakin' baby sitter. There is nothing special about him, he's just one of those uniquely attractive people, one in many, but that is just the outside."

Cody looked down. "So...I guess I understand now."

"What did you hope to gain from it? Finding out how he got involved so much? Cody, being who he is, getting involved so much, it's trouble for him. And you? I don't think you could handle it, if you were trying to find out how he did it. He can't even handle it, you knew that yourself, why did you keep your feelings secret all that time ago? Because you knew he couldn't handle one more..."

He looked up at Barry. "I just want to be special."

"You are." Barry said.

"How? I'm just some...person, that's it...just a person." Cody frowned. "Maybe you're only with me because I have a sob story about what Finn did to me."

"I was close to you because of that, I cared for you, I had feelings building deep inside of me, when you'd get high alone in your room, you wouldn't remember it, but I'd go in and talk to you, and you'd tell me all about your life, everything up until the point that lead you to the door step. You needed someone, Alyssa and Finn weren't going to care, but I cared the minute you showed up, you were like a mystery to me."

"Really?" Cody looked up and a small smile appeared.

"Yeah." Barry smiled and nodded, keeping his eyes on the road.

Cheston and Miracle sat down at a small square table in a small yet fancy court office with Quinn.

"So, I have to ask, what is going to happen to Nik, do you know?" Miracle asked.

"He's going away for a while, he broke parole. First of all, he wasn't supposed to have a firearm in his possession, it wasn't even registered to him, it was a street buy. They also found illegal drugs on him." Quinn explained.

"Am I going to have to testify or can I just give Nora a statement?" Miracle asked.

"If it's a self defense, and it in fact ended in a death, you will have to testify." Quinn said. "Don't worry though, it won't be nearly as complicated or intense as the case against Martin, there were three witnesses. You, Barry and Nik, if you all testify that Kevin took the first blow, kept on, wouldn't stop, it's a slam dunk self defense."

"What if Nik tells a different story?" Miracle asked.

"I've talked to the DA. Honestly he's not to interested in slamming a simple assault, so we agreed to give Nik a reduced sentence for a testimony on Cheston's behalf. In fact, the DA wants Cheston free to continue Martin's trial, that is what he is really interested in. So this should all go really simple, I'd say we got a win already, I doubt we'll even be in a court room." Quinn said.

"It'll probably be like the hearing in Delaware." Cheston looked at Miracle.

"Oh, how could I ever forget that." Miracle rolled his eyes and then looked at Cheston and shifted his eyes to the side twice, as if trying to silently tell him to get rid of Quinn.

"Um...Quinn..." Cheston looked up. "Is this room completely private? As in, no electronic devices connected to the internet? No computers, webcams, cell phones? You did turn yours off before you came in, as I requested, right?"

"Of course, and I honor your privacy in not discussing with me as to why." Quinn nodded. "And no, there aren't any devices in this room, nothing electronic at all, in fact. It's just a table, some plants, decor."

"Can I have a few moments alone with Miracle? I have just one private matter I need to discuss with him."

"Sure, but make it quick, the hearing will start soon." Quinn stood up and made his way out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

Once Quinn was gone, Cheston looked over at Miracle. "So, what is going on?"

"You know how Rumor has the recording of what you and Martin discussed about Lacey?" Miracle asked.

"How could I forget? But it's safe with you. Unless...something else has happened." Cheston frowned and sat back. "What happened?"

"Well, you're not going to like it. Apparently, he sent a copy of the recording to Dizon in case I failed to go through with it." Miracle said.

"Who is Dizon?" Cheston asked.

"The real one who upgraded Issac's app, he's more advanced than Rayne, who was more advanced than Issac. Rayne simply took the credit for upgrading the app, she didn't really do it. As part of the deal for Rayne getting to take the credit and use it to blackmail me for the baby, I had to go on a date with Dizon, the date was the party where I over dosed. Odd thing is, Dizon had the chance to have sex with me and he didn't, he said he didn't want to ruin me."

"Ruin you?" Cheston looked confused.

"Well, as you know, our house is a crime scene, so we had to go get a motel, and I had to be sedated. Barry rented two rooms, but he did have to spend the night with me, the Paramedic said it was for safety purposes, like if I lit a cigarette and passed out, could of happened, you know?"

Cheston nodded. "It's reasonable. Is this Barry trust worthy?"

"Very much so, he's like one of those southern guys you'd find at a mechanic shop and if you couldn't pay the full bill, he'd trust you to come back with the rest later. True blue collar American." Miracle paused. "Is that right? The saying?"

"Uh...it usually refers to a worker who works manual labor, it doesn't have anything to do with their honesty." Cheston grinned.

"Oh, what the hell, you know what I mean. When he gets on the stand and says his oath, well any other time he would mean it, saying Kevin hit you first is rare immorality for him." Miracle shook his head.

"So, Dizon, explain." Cheston waved a hand.

"Right, getting to the weirdness of that. So he said he didn't want to ruin me." Miracle looked slightly off to the side. "I woke up the next morning, an arm was around me, simply figured it happened while Barry was asleep, turned out...Barry was gone, went somewhere with Cody and...Dizon had been laying there like that, who knows how long. Reveals to me that he has a copy of the recording, tells me why Rumor made him the back up, but apparently he has ulterior motives."

Cheston stared at Miracle and after a moment of shock, he spoke up. "That's only going to work for so long, Rumor will want results. And if he can't even have sex with you, what the hell does he want with you?"

"This is the weird part. He wants me for my company, he basically wants an escort, said he is going to rent a third room, that he will text nothing but the number of the room when he is ready to summon me, our phones must be off during our time. He says he wants to know me, he also said he wants me to...be his fantasy."

Cheston stared at Miracle with a confused expression. "This guy is crazy, how can you do that without..."

"Hell if I know, he made some analogy about the nerdy guy that dreams of the popular girl but never gets to actually see her." He shrugged. "Maybe he wants...uh...maybe he wants me to, I don't know, tease him. Whatever the fucking case, unless something has changed, he clearly doesn't want to sleep with me." Miracle shrugged.

"That will only work for so long. Rumor is going to want results...and I'm not going to sit in here forever, bail or not, the case is going to go and finished, and you heard Quinn, the charges will likely be dropped." Cheston shook his head.

"Well, I don't know what to do, if I don't do what he says, he will carry out Rumors plan. And I completely agree, Rumor will eventually want to see results, they will both have to be stopped. Question is, how can you find a mystery hacker? Issac said, if you're a good one, you don't get found."

Cheston frowned. "I guess play his little game, sounds like he wants...I don't know, sounds like he wants you to just...be his fantasy...not fulfill it. Just one more thing I'll have to forgive, I already forgave you for my mom dying, that's already bending the social rules of normalcy."

"Cheston, I struggle with that, trying to do what seems normal or going with what you feel."

"My mom would want me to be happy." He looked up. "How are you going to feel about it? Think it'll feel like David at all?"

"I don't know, but I have to do it...to protect you." Miracle looked away.

Quinn opened the door. "The hearing is starting." He said as Cheston and Miracle got up to leave the room.

Miracle walked into the room after finding the door unlocked and then he shut it behind him, seeing Dizon sitting on the bed.

Dizon looked up, seeing Miracle. "Delete the text message after I sent it?"

"Yep." Miracle nodded.

"Turn your phone off?" Dizon waved his phone to show that it was off.

Miracle pulled his phone out. "It's off, wouldn't want Rumor finding out." Miracle laid his phone on the dresser next to the television. "You know, eventually he is going to want to see something happen, especially now that Cheston is in jail, and an assault charge won't hold him long, especially with three witnesses who are claiming self defense on his behalf."

"Yeah, that is a problem, sadly." Dizon dropped his phone on the floor and stood up, walking over to Miracle. "I won't get to keep you forever. And you'll hate me when I'll eventually have to do what Rumor ordered me to do."

"Would it be hard to find him?" Miracle asked.

"I wish I knew." Dizon ran his hands up Miracle's arms and over his shoulders to rest on the sides of his neck. "I don't want to waste our precious time talking about him."

Miracle closed his eyes and shivered as he felt Dizon's hands.

"Don't close your eyes, they draw me in."

Miracle's eyes opened and he looked at Dizon. "So...what are we doing?"

"I'm thinking about it." He stepped closer to Miracle. "Just being close to you...it's...I lose my words..."

"Really? Why?" He stared at Dizon, his eyes never straying from him.

"Flawless skin, soft features, eyes that express your very soul..." He pressed his forehead against Miracle's. "I can't get enough of it."

This guy was insane. Miracle stood there, listening to him, his eyes shut when their foreheads pressed together, he didn't like the idea of staring into bug eyes, as the effect caused. "Why don't you just tell me what you want?"

"Is that the world you were brought up in?" Dizon eased back, seeing Miracle open his eyes. "A place where everyone wants something?" He took Miracle's hand and back stepped towards the bed. "I want you to be my dream, that's not asking for much."

Miracle followed him. "Be your dream? How do I do that?"

"Undress.." Dizon whispered. "But stop...just before..."

Miracle let out a breath and pulled his hand away from Dizon and looked down and took his shirt off and then lifted each leg in turn, yanking each shoe and sock off before unfastening his jeans, letting them fall to the floor, leaving him in nothing but a pair of tight white brief style undergarments with the sides made of a see through material. Once he was done, he looked up at Dizon and his eyebrows lifted.

Dizon stared at Miracle, looking him over. "Lay on the bed."

Miracle sighed and walked over and crawled onto the bed and laid on his back, he looked up at the ceiling for a moment, but then his eyes fell on Dizon, wondering what this weird guy had planned.

"You're beautiful, anyone to have you is lucky, Cheston is lucky." Dizon leaned forward, running his hands down Miracle's smooth legs and over his thighs, his thumbs brushing across his inner thighs, causing Miracle to draw a breath in and hold it.

"Can I ask you something?"

Miracle slowly nodded.

"Could you ever love someone like me?"

Miracle let out a breath in a sigh. "Dizon...you're a strange person, I find it difficult to understand you. I mean, you act like you want me...but you don't take me. I don't understand that."

"Because you're like a doll...one that you don't risk taking out of the box and messing up." He moved to lay beside Miracle, propped up on his elbow and then his other hand moved to rub Miracle's jaw, fingers moved along the underside of his chin.

"A doll?" Miracle's face twisted with a look of weird horror. "So, I'm a toy to you?"

"No, toys you play with, toys get broken..."

"What if I told you I was broken?" Miracle asked.

"I would ask, how?"

"When I should of been playing with toys...I was made to do something else instead. And the only label I had for it was love...because that's what he called it." Miracle swallowed nervously.

Dizon's eyes widened. "How could someone?"

"I went to ask...and I just got told...I was a devil disguised as an angel, I make people do things...and then I get away." Miracle's head rolled over and he looked at Dizon.

Dizon's hand ran down, fingers gliding down Miracle's soft and tender throat and then down his smooth chest. "You could be my angel...for a little while."

Miracle slowly shook his head. "I still don't understand what we're doing."

"I want to kiss you...so softly." Dizon grinned.

Miracle closed his eyes and then suddenly sat up and shook his head. "I don't know what we're doing!" He slipped off the bed. "This is weird. You're just...babbling random things while I lay there! Seriously? That's what I'm doing? I...I can't just lay there, I'm too fidgety!"

Dizon suddenly sat up, alarmed. "Maybe you should go, maybe I should have better planned activities."

"No kidding!" Miracle grabbed his clothes.

"Miracle, wait." Dizon stood up from the bed.

Miracle turned around. "What?"

"I don't want you to go." Dizon walked around the bed and looked down at the pile of clothes clutched in Miracle's hand. "Please?"

"Then tell me what we're doing." Miracle said, his tone firm and angry.

Dizon brought his hands up around the back of Miracle's head and pulled him closer and began to kiss him, softly, gently, as if he could break if he weren't careful.

Miracle closed his eyes, forcing himself to go along with the kiss, his hand let go, his clothes falling into a pile on the second bed within the room. He then opened his eyes as Dizon eased back and ran his hands down his chest.

"Is that better?" Dizon asked.

Miracle frowned. "At least it's something that makes sense."

"I don't have much that makes sense." He looked down. "I just want you with me, it's all I know."

Miracle stared at Dizon and for a moment, he almost felt sympathetic, but he remembered why he was here and what the situation was with this guy, and with Rumor. "I don't know how to be with you."

He stared at Dizon for several moments as he stood there, looking at the floor, unresponsive. "I'm going to go." Miracle grabbed his clothes and quickly yanked his jeans on and fastened them before throwing his shirt on. He grabbed his socks and his shoes and then grabbed his phone on the way and headed out of the room, simply going barefoot across the parking lot to his own room.

"This place is fucking awesome." Barry grinned, walking with Cody to their room.

"Well, you guys were staying in a dump." Cheston grinned, though he had ulterior motives for relocating them, Four Seasons Hotel, well it was big and crowded, yet he was beginning to question the choice with all the internet and WiFi floating around.

Miracle watched Barry and Cody run into their room before swiping his key card and he pushed the door open and headed inside, seeing the living room and his eyes widened. "Now this is a fucking room." He walked through the hall, looking into the bathroom and then moved on into the bedroom and laughed. "The views are amazing!"

Cheston smiled. "Yeah, well, after that experience with Dizon, I wanted to get you as far from him and that scene as possible."

Miracle smiled and walked over to Cheston. "Well, thank you."

"You bailed me out, it's the least I could do...or rather you did it, you paid for it."

"It's our money, and we have to get that straightened out." Miracle nodded. "And I had to bail you out, after that experience with Dizon, I...just no." He turned around, shaking his head.

"Though, I am kind of second guessing myself about this place." Cheston admitted.

"Why?" Miracle turned around.

"All the internet and WiFi floating around here, this whole place has gotta be wired to the world."

"That's why I wrote Rayne a check, child support during the pregnancy, why not? It's possible. She cashed it, and we paid for these rooms with the cash. No paper trail, and so long as we all keep our cell phones off, we won't be trackable."

"And that'll only serve to piss him off." Cheston sat on the edge of the bed. "And Dizon is going to stir. We have to do something fast."

"I can't afford to do another murder and self defense. You grilled me on how many I was involved in, as any good defense attorney would do, it's a pattern, I can't afford to keep doing it." Miracle sat beside Cheston and gently took his hand.

Cheston looked at Miracle. "No, you can't." He looked up. "But then...Rayne could blackmail him for killing Maria."

"How could that work? He would drag her down with him."

"No proof, he punched her on camera, and besides, he's the one that works there, has access to the locker room, the clothes, he got in and got the drug."

"Yeah, he punched her out after they had a brief talk." Miracle slowly shook his head. "Though, he might be crazy enough to be scared into it."

"If you think carefully, you can spin it the right way." Cheston said thoughtfully. "Still doesn't handle our biggest threat. He might just decide to send it to the cops himself, don't really understand why he just doesn't do that anyway."

"Maybe he's not as great as he thinks and cop computers is a big risk." Miracle's eyes narrowed. "What if he's just a scam? What if he could do no more than Issac or Dizon or Rayne? Just because he makes the animations, yeah, it would probably freak anyone out."

"He would have to do more than that to make an entire grapevine think he's the top of it, depending on how big this grapevine is." Cheston looked at Miracle.

"Unless the grapevine is a rumor...made by Rumor." Miracle's eyebrows lifted. "Maybe he met Rayne, Dizon, Issac, a few others on the net, just convinced them of this big organization, you pick the right people, they fall in, it's no different than getting the right people for an occult."

"Miracle, maybe tomorrow, it's time for you to check on your baby and our surrogate." Cheston grinned. "And ask a few curious questions while you're at it."

"That's subtle." Miracle pushed his shoes off and shifted sideways, crossing his legs indian style and then he leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Cheston, resting his chin on his shoulder.

"Your sarcasm, I love it." Cheston smiled and then leaned forward, lightly pushing Miracle back on the bed as he kissed him, his feet shifting about as he shoved his own shoes off and then he rolled over to lay next to Miracle.

He laughed, wrapping his arms around Cheston as he fell into the kiss, pulling him closer and then he sighed as Cheston rolled over onto his back. "I feel like we deserve a second honeymoon after all of this."

"Where to?" Cheston grinned.

"New York...do some things there that I want to do and then..." Miracle looked up at the ceiling. "Well...then, I can't think of a nice place around there to go. I mean I want to go to New York...for closure and stuff, you know? I guess that can be another trip. I'd want to go to...Japan!"

Cheston's smile relaxed. "We can go to New York any time you want." His grin then returned and he laughed. "Japan? Why?"

"To see all the haunted places? You know? And the stuff...all the stuff to see, like the temples, and the shrines, and villages, screw the cities. I want traditional Japan at it's finest." Miracle smiled.

"Well, it's time to do what I've planned." Cheston sat up.

Miracle looked up, curious. "Planned?"

"You said you contacted Rumor, what did you do? How did you do it?"

"Uh...I went to my laptop and...I kinda just talked to it and hoped he monitored it." Miracle said.

"I got Quinn to get your laptop out of the house, thankfully we'll be able to return soon."

"So, you're going to contact Rumor? Then he'll know you're out of jail!" Miracle shook his head.

"That's what I want, negotiations." Cheston got up and walked over to the desk and grabbed the roller suit case and laid it down and unzipped it and pulled the laptop out, sitting it on the desk as he pulled the chair out and sat down, opening it and turning it on.

Miracle sighed and got up, grabbing the plug from the suit case and he hooked it up to the wall and then plugged it up to the computer. "So you won't run out of battery."

"Okay, well, it's going to pick up the WiFi, I want you gone while this happens, so go down to the restaurant, get something to eat? Maybe have a few drinks at the bar?"

Miracle frowned. "This better not end in horror."

"What's he going to do? Point a virtual gun at me?" Cheston grinned.

"Maybe, then make the monitor look broke and get it stuck that way." Miracle walked out of the room and headed out.

Cheston laughed, watching Miracle go.

"Miracle?" Barry shut the door as he stepped out into the hall, seeing Miracle had stepped out and moved down the hall a slight distance.

He stopped and turned around to look at Barry and his eyebrows lifted. "What? Isn't Cody going to miss you?"

"He's enjoying a bath, I told him I was going for a few drinks." Barry walked over to Miracle. "I wanted to finish talking to you."

Miracle grinned. "The conversation might not flow the same. I'm not high anymore, I don't even remember what we were talking about."

"That's okay, I actually don't either. We can...pick up new."

Miracle looked at the door to Barry's room. "You know...years ago, I failed at frauding a psychic." He looked at Barry. "Yet I get this vibe..."

"What kind of vibe?"

"You tell me, is there anything that should be of interest to me?" Miracle asked.

"Well, I left your room before you woke, obviously."

"Yeah, and guess what happened?" Miracle grinned. "You don't know him, this guy, Dizon, he slipped into the bed, wrapped his arm around me...and he laid there, and watched me, for however long it had been since you left."

Barry suddenly looked concerned. "What the fuck? Are you..."

"He didn't do anything, he's just weird..." Miracle shook his head. "So...you left...because?"

"I had to talk to Cody." Barry sighed. "He has this...envy thing for you. He thinks you're this special person that gets guys to just..." Barry softly laughed. "I don't even know how to say it without it sounding stupid."

"Metaphor it." Miracle crossed his arms.

"Okay, he thinks you have this way of...making guys metaphoric slaves for you. Like hypothetically, if the supernatural existed, he would think you were some kind of special being...and I tried to tell him that you were just one of those uniquely attractive people out of thousands that...he just hasn't met."

Miracle's eyes widened. "Wow..."

"Then he asked how you got guys to fight over you and fall in love with you and die for you...and.." Barry shook his head and looked up. "I told him that...you just met certain types of guys that...actually got to know you. I told him there were guys out there that were hookers, just as attractive, they just draw the wrong types of people."

Miracle frowned. "Cody, doesn't know a thing. He should of seen my life back in Australia, he wouldn't of thought I was a supernatural being then. I met all the wrong kinds of people, hell, he even saw the video of me and Daniel, I wasn't treated special by him."

"You just...bump into certain people, luck." Barry stepped closer. "He has a hard time seeing it that way. He wants to be like you."

Miracle looked up at Barry. "He wants to be like me? Then ask him...does he want to walk into the room and find you with a gun, and hear the bang when you shoot yourself in the head." He turned around and headed down the hall.

Barry followed after Miracle and quickly fell in line beside him. "Good point to make, only if he ever brings it up again. I won't voluntarily bring up the subject."

"So what do you want to talk about, Blue Barry?" Miracle grinned.

"A nick name?" Barry chuckled.

"Why not? I like it." Miracle shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

"Then it will be." He nodded and stopped at the elevator and pressed the down button.

"You know, I saw a movie, I forgot what it was called. These three people got stuck in an elevator...and this one girl had asthma, and the jack ass guy of the movie, threw her inhaler out of the top of the hatch to make her climb up." Miracle said.

Barry leaned a shoulder against the wall next to the elevator and crossed his arms. "Yep, that's a jack ass."

"What would you do...if you were stuck in an elevator?" Miracle asked.

Barry took a deep breath. "Depends on who I was in the elevator with?"

"Well, you'd be in it with me, we're about to get on the elevator." Miracle said.

"You're going to curse it!" Barry laughed. "And besides, we don't know if people are already on it."

Miracle rolled his eyes. "That's right, we don't know. So just assume it was us."

"Well, first I assume we would try the elevator phone. If that didn't work, our cell phones. So that's a three percent likely chance of making contact to be saved."

"None of it works, like the movies." Miracle said.

Barry grinned. "Well, then we sit, we talk, I guess we discover things about each others lives while we think of ideas on how to get out."

Miracle turned towards Barry and grinned. "Then we get exhausted of that."

"We lay quietly." Barry said, his grin slowly fading. "Face to face...my eyes looking into yours."

Miracle's grin was nothing more than a faint hint by now. "And then?"

"I go to kiss you, it's a crisis, none of it matters..."

The elevator door chimed. "But before it happens, we're rescued." Miracle's grin returned and he grabbed Barry by the arm and pulled him onto the elevator and hit the button for the first floor, the doors slid shut.

Barry laughed and stumbled into the elevator and looked up. "Now, what if it really happens? I'm so going to blame you."

"If it happens...and we get saved...after we have the time we want, maybe you won't regret it."

"You're married. Doesn't that matter?" Barry asked.

"If Cody told you enough...then unfortunately, you know my habits. Life with me...Cheston is going to have to keep me on a short leash." Miracle frowned. "Jaemin had to, sometimes he just didn't do it."

"Miracle, you were a teenage kid, you are holding on to who you were. How much do you want to grow and change?" Barry asked.

"It feels uncontrollable." Miracle leaned back into the wall. "Like I am who I am and...I can't do anything about it. Do I want to? I don't know, being who I am...it keeps things exciting." He looked up at Barry. "I like the thrills."

Barry slowly nodded. "I get the sense that you want to, you just fear losing the fun. Maybe you even fear losing the interest of others? I mean...tell me, how would you feel about us, if you were to be monogamous with Cheston?"

Miracle took a deep breath as he thought about it. "Well, we would be limited, I couldn't surprise you, I...could just talk to you, there would be no passion, no heat, no intensity." He looked at Barry. "No wonder if we will ever actually happen."

"And if we did happen, then what?"

Miracle grinned. "Then, like before it happened, anything is possible, always. Like how I came back into Kevin's life, the way I surprised him, it was because there was no boundary that I couldn't cross."

"You risk a lot for those so called thrills." Barry looked up as they neared the first floor.

"I know." Miracle said.

"Yoohoo, Rumor, it's on. Got something that pings ya?" Cheston stared into the webcam.

The desktop remained normal and a simple smilie with arms and legs appeared with a neutral facial expression, it's mouth moved as Rumor spoke. "Yes, it pings me. You guys have been giving me the run."

"For your money? As the saying goes. That is what you're after, right? Money? My money?"

"So you're Cheston..." The smilie's eyes widened. "I knew Miracle would cave."

"Yeah, I know that you have a recording of Martin and I, and that you know all about Lacey." Cheston sat back. "My moms dead, Martin is sure to get convicted, so I'm set to gain everything. You wanted to share the estate with Miracle?"

"Right, your mom died, my condolences." The smilie closed it's eyes and a single tear fell from one eye and disappeared. "That was the plan, to share the estate with Miracle."

"What I don't understand, if you're this super hacker, why aren't you off cleaning out banks or crashing wall street?" Cheston asked.

The smilie smiled. "That will come, maybe. Consider this...practice?"

"What if I made you a better offer?"

Rumor laughed. "I'm listening."

"The entire estate, plus everything I currently own, all of the money I have, my car, my house...everything. All of it..."

"Wow...you really don't want to go to prison. So, the streets better?" The eyebrow raised.

"Street? No, we would have Miracle's parents..and in a short time, I would gain enough money to get us another place, we would be starting from the bottom, sure, but yeah, it beats prison."

"What if I wanted the law firm too?" Smilie grinned.

"Why would you want that?" Cheston's eyes slightly widened.

"Well, I'm no attorney, but owning it would pull in an on going income for me."

"And let me guess, you'd fire me? Why? What do you have against me?"

The sound of a pop was heard as Rumor popped his bubble gum. "When I clean house, I really like it...clean."

"Fine, you get the law firm too, and I'm out."

Rumor laughed. "Man, you are so desperate. If Miracle is smart, after this, he would pawn off that ring for a rare dinner at the steak house, and maybe find a new man while he's at it. Though, is Miracle that smart? He didn't know about that photo copy of his diary that you had saved on your computer. I can't believe you copied the whole thing."

"You went in it. So you got it?" Cheston asked, a sigh escaped.

"Well, I deleted your version, of course they say nothing is ever truly deleted, but they would have a hard time unscrambling it. I have a virus that can take out a hard drive from any recovery process, all you recover is trash."

Rumor cleared his throat. "Imagine taking a hundred images, overlaying them ontop of each other, fading each into each other and then enlarging them into gigantic pixels and picking out one colored pixel, copying that color over all the pixels, combining the images into one and then shrinking it into one seemingly square pixel. Do you realize how much time it would take someone to restore the images to their original state? If that's even possible. My virus can do that to a whole hard drive, but when I concentrate on one file..."

Cheston slowly nodded. "So that's what you did to the photo copy?"

"Yep, it automatically goes through internet images, saves however many I input, and goes through the process, stacking all the images ontop of the original, being that photo copy of Miracle's diary, to which, it stacked all of his entries ontop of eachother too, including, his dirty little secret, Jordan and Kyler...but I took a pretty clean copy for myself."

The Smilie danced. "So yeah, we're talking an entire photo copy of a diary and a hundred random images all blended together and fucked up like a blender. So...even if you save yourself, you can't save him. And don't withdraw your offer, that will destroy you. So...save yourself, and risk him...or save him from my uncertain decision and damn yourself."

"I don't get it, you just want money, why do you have to hurt anyone?" Cheston asked. "What? Do you just want Miracle for yourself? Want me to sacrifice myself so you can have him? I mean, to save myself, I have to give you everything, but Miracle, you wanted to share. And by share, was that split? Or get together?"

Rumor was quiet for several moments. "I like being vague, but if you need an answer, settle for power."

"Why not fuck Dizon's world up? Do you know that he wasn't going to follow your plan either? No, he was blackmailing Miracle into being his weird obsession." Cheston's hands balled up, squeezing the arms of the chair.

"Really? Well, while that angers me, Dizon has nothing to work with. Unless I go into his computer and dig into it and find that log he deleted, of course, that sets Martin free, but it would send Dizon and Miracle to prison together."

Cheston's teeth clenched. "Isn't there anything else?"

The smilie rubbed below his mouth thoughtfully. "Nope, sorry, nothing else, those are the three options as of right now. And like I said, Miracle going to prison, that's a toss in the air, I don't know if I would do it. He's not easy to want to hurt."

Cheston frowned. "I'll get back to you on that." He then grabbed the top of the laptop and slammed it down on the keyboard, shutting it.