The Stand Off by Z. Stefani

turned to look at her for a moment, but her
eyes were locked on the shadow now leaving the room.
     
    She finished the last of the song
then hurriedly left the stage. Her heart raced in her chest as she all but ran
to the front door and walked outside. She felt her heart flutter and her knees
wiggle when she saw him. He stood with his back to her, but she knew that large
frame and dark hair anywhere.
     
    “Hey!” she yelled to get his
attention.
     
    He took his time as he turned to
face her. She stared at him for a moment before she finished.
     
    “Damn he’s still as handsome
as before,” she thought, wishing he’d suddenly become less attractive.
     
    “What are you doing here? I told
you to stay off my property,” she shot at him.
     
    “It’s not your property.
Technically you’re holding an illegal concert on my property.”
     
    “Let me guess, you came here to
try to shut it down?” she raised her chin defiantly.
     
    “Not anymore.”
     
    She narrowed her eyes as his
words seeped in. She wasn’t expecting that response; she was expecting
something more combative or more perverse.
     
    “What changed your mind?” she
asked skeptically, as if waiting for him to crack that smug smile.
     
    “Watching you perform,” he said
as he closed the gap between them.
     
    She stood her ground despite his
overwhelming presence as he drew near. She wasn’t expecting that response
either. She wasn’t sure how to respond. Every conversation they’d had was
combative at best, so this change of pace was making her uneasy.
     
    “You enjoyed it?”
     
    “You were amazing… I like your
band.”
     
    “I’m not my band; it’s their
band. I just write songs from time to time, and I play piano. Why are you
really here? I know it’s not to watch us perform.”
     
    “They’re coming to chain up the
lounge tomorrow,” he almost regretted telling her.
     
    “No.” She shook her head as his
calming effect had suddenly reversed direction.
     
    “It’s already scheduled. I came
here to let you know in person.”
     
    “I’ll cut off every chain you put
up; I have a chainsaw in the supply room.”
     
    “And my men will just replace
them.”
     
    “You’re like the very definition
of the word wrecker. You just wrecked my evening; you’re still trying to wreck
my house and my business.”
     
    “You can stop all of this; you
know what I really want.”
     
    “I can’t do that,” she answered.
     
    “Then I will see you soon,” he
bowed in a courteous fashion before he turned around and walked back over to
his vehicle. She watched him disappear before she walked back into the lounge.
     
    “Was that Dean?” Pixie asked. Her
voice was a little hoarse from singing.
     
    “Yes.”
     
    “Is everything alright?”
     
    “Yes, everything’s fine. I’m
going to get some rest.” She headed towards the stairs.
     
    “Okay.” Pixie nodded.

Chains
     
    Lux woke the next morning to the
sound of her sister yelling her name.
     
    Pixie rushed into Lux’s room with
a look of panic on her face. “Lux, get up! There are chains on the doors!”
     
    “What?” she asked as she abruptly
sat up, her dark hair a tousled mess and her eyes rimmed in red.
     
    “They chained the Lounge doors
up, all of them. No one can get into there.”
     
    Lux jumped out of bed and ran to
the bathroom to brush her teeth and freshen up. When she walked back into her
bedroom, she went to her dresser and grabbed her short, pale grey dress.
     
    “This is so bad Lux,” Pixie
whined.
     
    “It will be fine,” Lux tried to
reassure her as she put on her dress.
     
    “How? It’s totally locked up; the
chains are thick.”
     
    “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of
it,” she said as she slid her feet into her red ballet slippers  before rushing
to the door.
     
    “How?”
     
    “I don’t know yet, but I will,”
she answered as she headed out of her bedroom.
     
    “Kiki tried to pick the lock, but
it didn’t