REPOST The Narrow Walk 1a/15 (3 sections to pt 1)
darqstar
I am not the author of this story. The author is
JF Jackson (jj...@ici.net) I am posting it for her.
I dropped the ball on this story big time. I should
have been posting all along, but things got busy
and I stopped. Those that have seen this story on
Shifting Sands, just delete these posts. The WHOLE
story is finished and will be posted.
THIS STORY IS RATED R FOR SEXUAL CONTENT AND
ADULT LANGUAGE AND SITUATIONS! PARTS WHICH
CONTAIN R RATED MATERIAL WILL BE CLEARLY MARKED.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
One last note: This story does have what many
have deemed as Scott Bashing. You've been warned.
If you're a big Summer's fan, avoid it.
Warmest Wishes
Darqstar
****************************
DISCLAIMER: The X-Men belong to Marvel Comics. Darkstar/
Rhiannon belongs to JF Jackson.
THIS STORY IS RATED R FOR SEXUAL CONTENT. IN
PARTICULAR, CHAPTER 3, 7 & 11. IF YOU
ARE UNDERAGE OR OFFENDED BY SUCH THINGS, THEN
PLEASE DON'T READ THIS.
The Narrow Walk
By JF Jackson
Pt 1a/15 (Three parts to part one. This story has 15 chapters)
Funny, he never expected the end of the world to be
quite like this. He always thought it would be
brighter and flasher. He certainly didn't think he'd
end up in a cheap bar, trying to drink his sorrows
away.
Of course most people wouldn't even say the world had
come to an end. If they even knew of his situation,
they'd say he was suffering a broken heart. The
cruder ones would say he was the latest resident of
dumpsville. But what did anyone else know?
On his table were two shots of whiskey and a mug of
beer. He picked up the first shot glass. "Dis is for
you," he whispered, then chugged it, feeling it
burning down his throat.
Before his eyes finished watering, he picked up the
second one. "An dis is for Joseph." He sent the
second drink to keep company with the first. "Some
might say de better man won."
He could still recall the look in her eyes when she
told him. Sorry, yes, Rogue was a true lady, and a
true lady did not take pleasure in causing pain. But
beyond the sorrow, the regret, their was a sparkle in
her eyes, a spring in her steps, a general radiant
glow about her. She finally realized the truth in her
heart, she loved Joseph.
"Score one for de master of magnetism, score zero for
de Cajun t'ief," he muttered. He looked around to see
if anyone was staring at him. No need. This was the
type of place where someone drowning their sorrows
and mumbling to themselves was the norm.
He chugged down his beer and looked around for a
waitress. They were hard to tell from the clientele
in this place. Gonna get good an' drunk, he thought
to himself. Celebrate Rogue an' Joseph's good
fortune. Long life an' happiness t'both of dem.
He wasn't drunk yet, but he was well on his way.
He managed to get a waitress attention and get
himself another beer. Better cool it on de shots. I'd
hate to get sick an' pass out b'fore midnight. It
would be too.. embarrassing.
He lit up a cigarette and leaned back in his chair.
The place was filling up steadily, not unusual he
supposed, for a Saturday night, but some of the
clientele surprised him. There were the usual
assortment of biker types, but mixed among them were
college students, business men, blue collar workers,
couples on dates. This struck his interest, but
didn't hold it for long... why should he care? He had
more important matters to concern himself with.
Wallowing in self pity is an all consuming task.
At nine o'clock, the place hushed down to an almost
silent level. Remy looked around, puzzled. There was
nothing he could see to signal this "quiet moment."
Nothing. The stage, to the immediate left of him was
still quiet. He could feel something in the air,
radiating off several of the patrons.
Anticipation.
What dese poor slobs got t'be lookin' forward to in a
place like dis? He scowled. It wasn't fair that
people could be looking forward to something when the
world--at least his world had come to an end.
The already dim lights in the place dimmed further.
The anticipation level went up at least five notches.
Suddenly the stage area, which up until this moment
had been pitch black, lit up, reveling, of all
shocking things... a band! Three men with guitars,
one with a drum set, one with a keyboard. They looked
for all the world like a typical bar band. Grungy
clothes, three with long hair, two shaved down to
nothing but a stubble of color.
The blue lighting suddenly began flashing and the
band broke into a song. He didn't recognize it, but
it had a powerful, rather driving beat to it. He had
to admit, the band was good, but he didn't think they
quite warranted this level of excitement in the
place. The people around him were staring at the
stage, as if it held some sort of secret to the
mysteries of the universe.
When did de world get so hard pressed for
entertainment? he wondered. He realized then that the
anticipation hanging in the room hadn't diminished,
or even leveled. It was steadily rising.
The music slowed down and the lights on the stage
faded out to black. Now Remy was curious. Hope dey
play longer dan dis, otherwise dese people get ripped
off.
Suddenly the band crashed into song, again, the stage
still black as pitch. One of the band members
screamed out, "One, Two, Three, Four!" Before the r
in four finished echoing off the walls, another
member began singing:
"Walking like a man, hitting like a hammer,
She's a juvenile scam. Never was a quitter,
tasted like a raindrop, she's got the look."
The lights came back on the stage and the five member
band was suddenly six. Remy did a double take, member
six was female, although calling her female was a
bare scratch of the surface.
The first thing he noticed was the hair. A mixture of
red and brown, straight, and hanging down to her ass
in a shinning, mass of highlights and waves. As she
moved with the music, the light highlighted it,
making it look like liquid fire. Once he'd taken in
the hair, his gaze took in the rest of her. large,
almond shaped eyes, the corners tilted upward, just
enough to give her a cat-like appearance, high,
cheekbones, full sensual mouth. Pale skin, almost
pearl white. Long, muscular arms and legs, narrow
waist. She was wearing a black leather mini skirt
with a real chain wrapped around the waist as a belt,
hanging low at the sides with a combination lock to
hold it shut, draped off her right hip. On top she
wore a green blouse, the sleeves ripped off, the
tails tied just below her breasts. Her legs were
covered by sheer nylons, and on her feet were a pair
of green pointed toe Ked's sneakers.
She was beyond beautiful, she was beyond sexy.
And... she set his teeth on edge.
He didn't know if it was a hormone rush, or if there
was something else about her, but he knew he couldn't
take his eyes off her. It wasn't just her looks, it
was her presence. "Love me or hate me," her body
language said, "But don't you dare ignore me."
Nobody in the place was either. When the lights
revealed her, and almost audible gasp went through
the place.
The singing continued:
"Heavenly bound, cause heaven's got her number
When she's spinning me around, kissing is a colour,
her loving is a wild dog, she's got the look."
Remy started to wonder if she served any purpose in
the band but eye candy, when she suddenly grabbed a
microphone and sang:
"She's got the look!"
One line, but the moment it began coming out of her
mouth, practically everyone in the place rose to
their feet and started clapping, stomping and
whistling. Despite the noise, her voice sailed out
over the crowd. She only sang one line, then the male
vocalist and guitar player continued, but it didn't
matter.
That one line was sung in the voice of an angel...
and the devil. It was crystal and coal, satin and
sandpaper. Every note pure and clean as a summer
rain, yet sexy as sleek black cat.
He wanted to hear more, but this song didn't seem to
require her to sing much more than a line or so of
the chorus, and a few lines of "filler" sounds. Yet,
every time she sang her bit parts, he felt his heart
leaping in his throat. The other people in the bar
were obviously experiencing the same thing, even the
women. Not just a hormone rush then, he thought
briefly. Who is this?
He realized it was deliberate on the part of her and
the band that all she had was a bit part in the first
song. She was teasing the audience, giving them just
a taste. He wasn't quite sure what she was selling up
there, but it was a pretty powerful substance.
When the song ended, everyone rose to their feet
again, him with them this time, clapping and
stomping. It was clearly not for the band, only for
her. The guitar player/male vocalist knew it too,
because he turned to her and clapped along with them.
"Everyone, I give you Darkstar!"
She smiled, looking out at the audience, letting them
clap for her, cheer for her. Her eyes narrowed into
slits for a moment, as if absorbing, digesting, the
enthusiasm. What she gave the audience, they gave
back. Then, she raised her hands, only slightly.
Immediately, everyone quieted and sat back down. She
smiled, offering her approval, then began to sing
again, this time without accompaniment:
Oh what a night!
Late December back in 63,
What a very special time for me...
As I remember, what a night.
He knew the song, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.
It had been a hit in the mid 70's and re-released a
few years ago. She altered the words ever so
slightly, to fit a female singer:
"Oh what a night,
You know I never even caught his name,
but I was never gonna be the same,
Sweet surrender what a night..."
She moved with the music, not just singing it, but
being it. She wasn't here to merely entertain, she
was taking an emotional journey and insisting
everyone take it with her.
"I... got a funny feeling when he walked me
In the room...
Hey, I...
As I recall it ended much too soon..."
As she sang the last line, her eyes rolled upward,
her lips twisted into a smirk. Everyone in the
audience laughed, the men a nervous laughter as if
she was hitting too close to home, the women as if to
say, "Yes, we've been there before."
Gambit had come to the bar to get drunk and wallow in
self pity, but the plans suddenly changed. He was,
instead paying full attention to this "Darkstar" ~Dat
can' be her real name. Nobody names a child Darkstar.~