Flying Blind Ch. 01

"And if anyone has a problem with that, then I wouldn't want them as a friend anyway. I honestly don't think any of them will though. You might have to fight to keep Anthony from humping your leg --"

"Ewh!"

"Hey, I've almost got him to leave me alone."

"How'd you do that?" Madison laughed.

"Being gay."

Madison's mouth dried out. "You are?"

Heda heard that pause. "Crap, I should've told you," she said, heading for the door. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"No!" Madison said. "I guess I just didn't guess. I mean, I've got sonar, not gay-dar."

Heda actually broke out laughing and, try as she might, Madison couldn't help but join in. Madison was wondering if she should say something. 'No,' she decided. 'You don't want a pity date, and she probably wouldn't be interested in you anyway. Just . . . play it cool.'

"Okay," Heda said at last, "Friday evening at nine p.m. Invite Sasha and Billy if you like, but you ARE going!" She wasn't sure if it broke blind-but-not-really-blind person protocol, but she gave the girl a friendly hug.

'She feels nice,' Madison thought. "Meet you here?"

"Sure, I'll pick you up. Later!" And with that, Heda was gone. She was feeling so much better than she had earlier, and was humming a song all the way back to her own dorm.

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The Cold swept along the ground, drifting through the empty night towards a particular place. The first message had been sent, but only the first. It didn't think the message had been understood, so he would make the next one louder . . . more powerful. The sound of it would curl up in their throats and sing. Oh, how it would sing. The Cold was in front of a building, and it knew it would find what it was looking for inside. It made sure it was alone, then blew down the door and hurried inside. There was something it needed to find, and it did not have much time.

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Friday night . . .

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"Crap crap crap crap crap!" Madison said, before finally acknowledging that she had nothing really good to wear for a night out dancing. Billy and Sasha were in the room somewhere, and she was sure they were making fun of her somehow. Since she'd been cursing up a storm for about ten minutes, she hadn't been using her echolocation to keep track of them.

"Sweetie, you can borrow something of mine if you like, but I think you look adorable right now," Sasha said, grinning from ear to ear. Billy had told her about how Heda had been watching this young woman, and she was now all on board with his plans. It helped that the two girls were already spending time together. Heda had come over a couple of times after practice to either Madison's dorm or to the station. Madison chattered about music, Heda talked of literature, and the two of them met in the middle on a number of other subjects.

"I look like I always look," Madison grumbled. She had a very small variety of clothing options, seeing as she couldn't see color and hated shopping. She was wearing black tights under a modest sheath dress. The dress was green, or so Sasha had told her . . . not that it much mattered. All her dresses looked pretty much the same, and she always wore tights underneath her clothes, except when she was working out. "Damn it, why did I agree to this?"

"Because you like to dance, you want to make more friends, and you like the loud music," Billy said.

"I was being rhetorical!"

"You weren't doing it very well."

"Screw you turtle boy."

"Calm down children," Sasha interrupted, amused as always by their banter. There had been a time when she'd been insanely jealous of the obvious affection the two friends had for each other, but then she'd found out that Madison was a lesbian and was no threat to her relationship with Billy. They'd been best friends ever since. "Madison, take off the dress."

"What?! No! Why?"

Sasha dove into her friend's closet and found a pink long-sleeved shirt and a presentable white corduroy skirt. "Here, this will work."

"Billy's still here."

"He won't look, I promise."

"How do you know?"

"Because if I catch him scoping out other girls, he knows that I'll gouge his eyes out. For his own good of course."

Madison smiled as heard Billy shift on the bed, then shot out some sound waves to verify that he had indeed turned away.

"And I thought you trusted me," he grumbled.

"I love you and you are a wonderful human being," Sasha explained, "but you are still a male and therefor a pig."

"Your logic is flawed."

"Do you want sex later? Or ever again?"

"Your logic is as sound as it always is."

"Thanks," she said, then realized that his statement could easily mean something else entirely. She smiled at him though he couldn't see it. She had long since realized that she could never verbally out spar him unless he let her. She then made a "harumph" noise and waited for Madison to remove the dress. Sasha then helped her friend into the pink shirt, tying it off in the middle rather than tucking it into the skirt. "Okay Billy, what do you think?"

The big man turned back around and whistled. "As always, your taste is impeccable," he told her, earning himself a quick kiss. "You look great," he told Madison with total sincerity. She looked like the hot young woman that her friends knew she could be. As long as he never used the word "hot" about her when Sasha was in earshot.

"Really?" Madison spun around and scanned herself. If it weren't for the tights, she'd probably never have the guts to wear anything like this, but now . . . it was kind of cute. Then she heard a knock on the door. "She's . . . they're early," she said, hoping her friends didn't notice her stutter.

They had noticed of course, and were delighted. Billy got up and opened the door, but it wasn't Heda on the other side.

"Hi," a young woman said. "Is Madison Sloan here?"

Madison recognized that voice. She'd heard it begging her not to leave it alone. "Carla?" she asked.

"Yeah," the short redhead said, looking around the room. "Sorry, is this a bad time?"

Sasha's brain kicked in just before Billy's did. This was the girl who had been kidnapped and stuck in that damn cage. "Hey," she said, "how are you doing?"

Carla pulled out a little notepad and make a mark on it. She forced a wry smile. "That's the hundred and fifteenth time I've been asked that this week. If I get to two-hundred, I'm buying myself something at Macy's." Her smile fell away. "Sorry, I just sort of have to make fun of things to keep myself from going nuts."

"I'm surprised you decided to stick around this semester considering," Billy said. "It's very brave."

"I dropped by the day you were released from the hospital, but you were already gone," Madison said. "Sorry I didn't get to see you."

"It's okay. You really helped me get through that. I still freak out sometimes, and I don't ever go outside by myself . . . except to come here, but I can't let that thing steal my life. I actually just dropped by to thank you again and see if maybe . . . maybe you'd like to hang out sometime. But it looks like you're already on your way out --"

"Come with us!" Madison blurted. "I mean, we're going dancing, there will be lots of people around --"

"Billy here doesn't dance," Sasha added, looking at her enormous boyfriend, "so he'd be happy to keep an eye on you."

"I couldn't," Carla replied. "I wouldn't want to intrude."

"It wouldn't be intruding at all," Sasha said. "Please?"

"Are you sure?" the girl replied, her eyes brightening a bit. Doing something normal was something she hadn't afforded herself since her captivity and release.

"Absolutely."

"Everyone ready to go?" came a new voice as Heda wandered up.

Carla's eyes opened wide. "Aren't you --"

"Yes, I'm THAT Heda Adler. Wait, aren't you --"

"Yes, I'm THAT kidnapping victim."

"I won't bring it up again if you don't," Heda said, smiling and shaking the girl's hand.

"I'd like that."

Heda looked to Madison and grinned. "Hubba hubba! Looking good bat-girl!"

Madison felt herself blushing. "Don't call me that!" she said, then pointed in the direction she knew Billy was standing. "And don't start singing the Batman theme! I hate that."

Billy was pressing his lips together to suppress the almost irresistible urge to sing that anthem. The last time he'd done it, she'd kicked him in the shin . . . hard.

Madison couldn't help but scan Heda, noticing the skin-tight stretchy pants and adorable peasant top. 'She's way too sexy to exist.'

The five of them headed out to the parking lot where the rest of Heda's new crew were waiting. Introductions were made, and Madison felt more than a little awkward. She had her cane with her and was playing the role of blind girl again, thankful that Heda had apparently kept her secret. Hidden by her sunglasses, she used her echolocation to scan the crowd. 'A most attractive group,' she thought. Most of the guys seemed to scope her out, but whether due to her "hotness" or because she was the local DM was a matter of debate. Heda's roommate Joanna decided that since Heda liked Madison that SHE was going to like Madison. She had descended on both Madison and Carla in the conversational equivalent of an F5 twister, leaving logical carnage in its wake. But she was too damn bubbly not too like, and she had a really nice . . . smile.

On the trip over to the club, Madison found herself in Heda's jeep along with Carla and Joanna. She had assumed she'd be going with Sasha and Billy, but they'd escorted her to the jeep then taken off with Tony and Peter. Not that she minded, since being in the jeep was a hoot. Joanna literally didn't seem to need to breathe when talking, and even Carla was opening up a bit. Madison just turned up the radio once she found a station that everyone liked and a song that everyone could sing along to.

They arrived at a club called Spinsters, and the line to get in was already around the building.

"Holy hell!" Joanna shouted. "I'm going to have to blow someone to get in there aren't I?"

Tony had gotten out of Sasha's car and said, "You can start with me."

"How would that help?"

"Couldn't hurt."

She glared at him.

"Hey Madison, didn't you DJ here a few weeks back?" Billy asked.

Madison nodded. "I've probably worked here more often than anywhere else. It's got the best sound system in the state from what I've heard."

"I thought so. I think I recognize the doorman from last time." Billy nodded to his girlfriend, and Sasha directed their friend over towards the front of the line, earning them some ugly looks from the crowd.

"Madison?" the big man at the door asked. "I didn't think you was workin' tonight."

Madison could "see" that she was getting seriously checked out, so she tried hard not to react. Barry always hit on her, but never took the hint. But since he never crossed the line and seemed to take her constant rejections in good fun, she still kind of liked him. "Hey Barry. No, I'm not working tonight, but my friends and I were wondering --" She didn't get another word out as a small group came stumbling out of the club, escorted by a bouncer who would look at home as the newest Rocky Mountain.

"Looks like we've got a vacancy," Barry said. "All it'll take is a kiss."

Madison blushed, but didn't want to look like a chicken in front of her cohorts. She made a production of sighing and shaking her head, then gave Barry a quick peck on the cheek and, much to his credit, he didn't try to sneak in something extra. Instead, he raised the ropes while Sasha signaled the gang to come running.

The last one through was Joanna, who looked over the doorman with an impish grin. "Hey, I would've blown you," she said, then jogged in.

"I love you!" he shouted after her.

Inside the door, everyone got wristbands. Over twenty-ones got green, under twenty-ones got white. Anyone with a white band caught trying to buy alcohol or who was even carrying alcohol was escorted off the premises, and the club was enforcing. They'd gotten nailed last semester by local law enforcement, so they were taking extra precautions.

Madison didn't care about alcohol. As soon as the bass overtook her and the music filled her ears, her feet started to move and her body to sway.

There weren't many places where Billy knew that Madison felt comfortable. The big one was her booth at the radio station, one was in her own room, and the third was on the dance floor. He wasn't sure why a girl so filled with self-doubt, and to a certain degree self-loathing, was able to cut loose like she could. But Madison and Sasha actually led the way onto the floor while Billy found a table to act as base of operations. Carla, Joanna, Tony, Kevin, Peter, and Heda were quick to follow. Through the visual feast that was the dance floor, he watched his girlfriend, his best friend, and some potential new friends stomp, clap, and move to their hearts content. Sasha and Madison were wrong when they thought the primary reason he didn't dance was because he couldn't do it. He just thought that watching it was so much more rewarding.

For her part, Madison was content to turn off her echolocation most of the time and just move. She could feel the crowd around her, and knew that Sasha was nearby to make sure no one made any untoward moves. Sometimes she heard the others joking or making crude albeit humorous innuendos, but everything was in good fun. Tony's attention was mostly on trying to seduce Heda anyway, and she teased him outrageously. Carla was dancing with Peter and Kevin in equal amounts, while Sasha stayed nearby. Then, Madison lost track of everyone.

She didn't know how long they'd been there, but Madison was pretty sure she'd been dancing for hours. Her feet hurt and her legs were burning, but she didn't want to stop. Sasha had been forcing her to take breaks to drink some water, but it didn't keep her off the floor long. Those members of the group that could drink alcohol were pretty shit-faced, and car keys had been exchanged. Finally, a slow song came on to give the revelers a chance to rest. Madison felt arms circling her waist.

"Hey Sasha," she said, as Sasha was her regular partner for these songs, allowing Madison to stay out on the floor. "I really --"

"Not Sasha," came a strong, feminine voice. "She said you liked to stay out for the slow ones and then went to talk to Billy."

"Heda?" The bat-shifter's heart rate went from "rapid" to "full out marching band" in the course of a second.

"Yep. Don't mind if I cut in, so to speak?"

"No! I mean, no I don't mind. It's cool." Inwardly, Madison kicked herself. She couldn't have sounded more dorky if she had tried.

"Cool," Heda said, moving closer. 'She really has a nice bod,' the eagle-shifter thought. 'But she doesn't need you drooling over her, so just play it cool. She just needs a friend.'

If Madison's libido had been any more on fire, it would've set off the sprinkler system. 'What is she thinking?' Madison wondered. 'Is she looking at me? Is this a friend dance? Is she hitting on me? I can't do this! I don't want to do this. Oh hell, yes I do. Does she?' Madison parted her lips slightly as she looked up, using her echolocation to map Heda's face.

Heda was looking down at the woman swaying slowly in her arms. She couldn't explain it, but Madison just seemed to fit against her body. 'I wonder if she's into girls at all?' she thought. Almost on cue, Madison's head came up and Heda's eyes reflected off of the girl's sunglasses. The girl's mouth opened slightly, and she just looked so damn kissable --

Lips met. Heda's were curious, Madison's were nervous, but damn if they didn't form a seal that eighteen-wheelers couldn't pull apart. There was a light dancing of tongues as the lights grew dimmer around them, not that Madison would notice. Heda either. The two of them had tuned out the rest of the world. Madison stood up on her tip-toes while Heda held her partner's head still. It was a kiss that didn't so much end as go into remission for the time being. Both of them still felt it . . . knew it was there. And for both, there was a question as to whether or not it would be experienced again.

"Madison," Heda started, murmuring so that only that bat-girl could hear her, "are you --"

"Yeah, I am."

"So was that --"

"Damn good."

"Did you want --"


"To go somewhere else for a minute? Or two?" For a girl who normally only talked in the radio booth, she seemed to have all the right answers at the moment.

"You took the words right out of my mouth," Heda said, touching lips and breathing between Madison's eager lips.

But any plans they had quickly went awry. Another group had made its way onto the dance floor and were carving out their own space. One guy bumped hard into Madison's back, sending her sprawling into Heda, knocking them both off balance.

"Oops," Alvin Hannity said, "I guess I didn't SEE you there," he added, elbowing one of his cronies.

Madison didn't even need to turn on her echolocation to know that the enormous pain in her ass that was Alvin had shown up. "Oh, a blind joke! Good for you! Turned out all those 'Insults for Dummies' books your mother read to you finally are paying off."

"Listen bitch, the biggest joke around here is you. You really need to be careful about the accusations you make, by the way. Saying that I attacked you --"

"You DID attack me you piece of rabid rat shit! And this time --"

"This time will be the same thing as last time," he growled, his friends flanking him. But they were stopped as the group that Madison had shown up with fanned out and matched up. They were actually outnumbered, but Madison's new friends (or hopefully friends) didn't look particularly afraid.

Heda stepped forward and got right in Alvin's face. "This time, she's got a witness who isn't scared of a little puke like you."

Alvin stepped back. "I know who you are and I don't give a damn who your mother is. You don't want to cross me for a little DM like --" He stopped and stepped back three more steps as Heda closed on him. Bouncers were hurrying to the area before a fight of epic proportions broke out.

"I'll say this once and I'll use small words so you understand," Heda said quickly. "You fuck with Madison, and from now on it means you fuck with me. I don't need my mother to kick your ass, and all your family's money will be able to do is pay your hospital bills. You think that you're alpha? Bitch, next to me and Madison, you're the power equivalent of Paris-fucking-Hilton, got it?"

The bouncers arrived. "Okay, no problems here. You have any, take 'em outside."

Heda didn't want to surrender any ground, but she didn't want any trouble. Not here at any rate. She took a quick stomp forward, making Alvin jump, and she knew that everyone saw him flinch. "Too many cockroaches in here tonight anyway," she said, taking Madison by the hand and leading her towards the door. The rest of her gang soon followed.

"I thought Alvin was going to piss himself!" Joanna chuckled gleefully as they hit the cool night air. "I'm going to have to tell absolutely everyone I know!"

"He really is a cock-sucker isn't he?" Tony said

"You've made a definite enemy," Paul said, glancing over at Heda.

Billy was looking at Madison who had separated herself from the group, so he walked over to her. The girl was trembling with anger. "It's okay," he told her in a whisper so that only they could hear. "Alvin's going to have to be a lot more careful from now on."

"I know," she hissed, then sighed, "Am I a total nut-job for being mad that I needed someone else to stand up to him before he took notice? I don't need anyone fighting my battles for me --"

"But it doesn't hurt to have someone fighting them at your side," he interrupted. "You've told me that it's hard to face him all by yourself. Sasha and I have done what we can, but let everyone else help too."