Anyways...here's my new story, which is really a spinoff of Two Sided Arrow...if you guys read that story, you should know the background. So here is the cast with some returning stars:
Mel Lam – Nick Cheung
Kathy Lau – Vivian Leung
Adriene “Addy” Lu – Jessica Hsuen
Luke Cheung - Roger Kwok
Neil Chan – Daniel Wu
Jill Cheng – Miriam Yeung
Snow – Joyce Tang
Don – Louis Koo
Gary Chan – Marcos Ngai
Roach – Jordan Chan
Kacy - Athena Chu
Caitlyn - Annie Man
Janet - Angie Cheung
Phil - Wong Hei
Enjoy all!! ^_~
Chapter 1
Mel Lam – Nick CheungMel sat in his own bar drinking beers with his boys but his mind was somewhere else. He missed her. But there he was miles away yet he could not find the part of him which could let go. He knew Neil and Kathy were happy together and he expected them to eventually get married.
Six months had passed by without seeing her sweet smile and innocent face. He missed her terribly but had to remain cool for his boys. They counted on him to be there when there was a fight. Roach noticed that Mel was dazing off again “Hey!” he waved his middle finger teasingly at Mel “What’s with you?”
Mel slapped Roach’s hand away “Nothing.”
“You know what you need?” Roach asked seriously.
“What?” Mel asked before downing the rest of his beer.
He laughed as he answered “You need to get laid!”
Mel chuckled “Yeah…it’s been a while.”
“More like 3 years.” Roach nodded when Mel raised his eyebrows at him “Don’t think I don’t pay attention to you. Since the day you met Kathy, you’ve kept away from women. They all throw themselves at you but you still don’t give a shit. At this rate, you’re gonna turn into a fag!”
“Then Wong will get a chance…” Mel cracked. The two guys busted up laughing. They often joked that Wong was really gay but he didn’t know it.
Roach nodded to the door “How about her?”
A thin girl walked in carefully. Her eyes were cool but her walk had a short bounce. She had about 10 bodyguards with her as she made her way over to Mel and Roach. Mel turned to look at her but then rolled his eyes when he looked back at Roach “Hing Gor’s daughter? I wouldn’t touch her.” He laughed with his head shaking.
Adriene Lu was the daughter of the top Dai Lou of Red Dragon gang; which means she was a higher status than Mel and all his boys combined. She was a spoiled girl that they barely saw. But after Mel’s rank was raised to be right under Hing Gor, she found a sudden interest in him. She had been traveling around the world until she was bored and eventually returned to Hong Kong. She quickly grew adapted to the gangster lifestyle not to mention the respect she got from hundred of men.
She walked up to them with a cool aura and automatically took a seat next to Mel “Hey.” She greeted them shortly.
“Lu Siu Jei.” Mel turned to give her a respectable greeting.
She smiled shortly “Please, my dad’s not around. You don’t have to respect me. Call me Addy.”
Roach raised his eyebrows “Well, in that case. Hey, Mel Gor…what do you think of that chick over there?” he pointed to a girl across the bar. “She’s got a nice set of racks huh?
Mel quickly caught on “Yeah…beautiful…but I guarantee they’re not real. But at least she has some.”
Addy hit the bar table with the palm of her hand “Hey!! I said you don’t have to respect me but don’t ignore me!”
Mel exchanged glances with Roach and turned his body to Addy “Well, you need to be clearer next time.” He smiled “What brings you here?”
She seemed to forget quickly about the sudden outburst “Nothing…just wondering what to do for fun. Daddy won’t let me go anywhere without those 10 clowns.” She pointed with her thumb at the herd behind her.
“He’s just worried about you.” Mel said.
Addy rolled her eyes “I know that. But why do they have to go everywhere I go?”
“If you want to lose them, I’m sure you can.” Roach flicked his lips in a crooked smile. A sly look was on his face.
Addy quickly leaned in “Really? How?” she was interested.
“Ask Mel Gor.” Roach said quickly as he got up and rushed out of the bar leaving Mel with the walking disaster waiting to happen. Before Roach disappeared he turned back to catch the middle finger in the air from Mel. Roach blew a kiss at him and laughed as he was free.
Mel sighed as he turned to Addy “Don’t listen to him. I can’t help you.”
Addy smiled suspiciously “I think you’re lying. I know you can do it, but you’re just like the other guys. Afraid of my father? Tsk, tsk, tsk all this time I thought you were a real man.” She got off the stool.
“Wait.” Mel stopped her with his hand on her wrist. She knew exactly where to push his buttons “Come on.” He nodded towards the door as they walked out together with the group of men behind them.
“What now?” Addy looked bored when they were out in the streets.
He smiled as he turned to the guys and then back at Addy. Mel grabbed her hand “We run!” he cried as he yanked her along the streets in the downtown area. He knew where there would be a lot of people and where there were shortcuts. Addy cried happily as the two dodged the people. They looked like they just committed a crime with ten men dressed in black chasing after them.
He led them to a long alley and grabbed Addy by the waist as he pushed her behind a huge trash bin “Ew, it stinks!!” she grumbled.
“Shut up!” he snapped as he pulled her behind the bin and the two cowered down to hide from the steps that were inching closer.
“I think they went this way.” A guy said and then the steps began to scatter away.
Addy opened her mouth so speak but Mel knew better as he covered it with his hand. Then they heard a few more footsteps running away. He knew it was safe to let go of her mouth “They’re smarter than you think.” He whispered.
She smiled at him adoringly “You’re smarter than them.” She turned away shyly when she realized they were only inches apart.
Mel got up and pushed the trash bin away “You’re free. Go wherever you want.” He stuck his hand in his pockets and walked away coolly.
Addy widened her eyes as she dropped her jaw “That’s it??”
He laughed “What did you expect? You asked me to lose the bodyguards and I did. Siu Jei, what else did you want?”
She pouted with her arms crossed “At least take me somewhere fun.”
“The places I go are not very fun.” He said solemnly.
Addy rolled her eyes “Please…don’t give me that bullshit. I’m not a regular girl you know.”
Mel pulled out a cigarette and lit it “No…that’s why we can’t touch you.”
“But you just did. Daddy would give you a hard time if he knew you helped me get away from my bodyguards.” She pointed out “Think of the punishment he would bestowed upon you…and your boys.” She nodded with a threatening tone.
Mel knew he was stumped, he took a puff of the smoke “So?”
She smiled happily as she rushed over and wrapped her hands around his right arm as she led him out of the alley “I want to go where you go.” She said sweetly and leaned on his shoulder.
He shifted his shoulder sharply making her cheek bounce against the shoulder blade. She rubbed her face painfully while he pointed to her with his cigarette “You can follow me, but don’t touch me. If your dad sees it, he’ll have my head for lunch.”
Addy bit the bottom of her to keep from grinning “Okay.” She nodded and followed him close behind.
Mel walked towards the more ghetto part of town. He stopped upon an old run down apartment building. He turned and saw Addy wrinkling her nose “What’s wrong? Too low end for you? Go home then.” He snapped his head towards the other end of town.
She stood her ground as she pulled up her chin “No. There’s no place that Addy Lu cannot go.”
“You said it.” He smiled slyly and walked into the building.
Chapter 2
Mel Lam – Nick CheungThere were no elevators, just stairways. He came upon the 5th floor and knocked on one of the apartment doors. The place was smelly and dark. The metal doors even looked dirty. Suddenly the door opened “What?” an elder man asked roughly.
Mel nodded to him “You got chicken soup here?”
The man looked at the two of them suspiciously but eventually opened the door for them. Addy turned to Mel with a winced expression “You brought me here to drink chicken soup?”
He only smiled as he walked through the door and it instantly closed “It’s a hundred for half an hour.” The man said to Mel.
“What the fuck?” Addy exclaimed loudly “A hundred bucks for a bowl of chicken soup??”
Mel looked at her with a smile “You’ve never been to these kinds of places huh?” she wrinkled her brows in confusion and he turned to the head man “Is Snow here?”
The man nodded and turned to the hallway “Snow!! You have a customer.”
Addy dropped her jaw when she realized it was a brothel that they had gone into. She turned to Mel angrily “Why did you bring me here?”
He laughed “I recall someone begging me to take them along.”
Snow stood at the hallway with her head tilted, her skirt had a high slit and she wore a tight plain black tank top “Well if it isn’t my favorite customer.” She cooed when she noticed the girl hanging on Mel’s arm.
Addy turned and stared at Snow up and down. Snow walked up to Mel with a sultry look “Hi baby…” she breathed. “You miss me already? I just saw you this morning.”
“Oh, that’s just sick!” Addy groaned with disgust.
Snow turned her head to Addy “What bitch?!” she growled.
Addy turned to Mel and pulled at the sleeve of his jean jacket “Mel Gor…” she whined.
Snow walked over and pushed Addy away before mimicking her whiny voice “Mel Gor….” She pulled at his sleeves making him laugh humorously.
“You’re gonna let her treat me like that?” Addy complained.
Mel put up his hand to silence the girls and then pointed to Addy “You wanted to follow me here. Do you want to watch or join us?” he looked at Addy to wait for her reaction.
Snow wrapped an arm around Mel’s shoulder “I don’t like to share.” She sneered.
Addy closed her eyes with a look of disgust “Oh Shhhh!!! Mel, I thought you were cooler than that. You’re just a typical male.” She stepped back and prepared to leave.
“We won’t see you to the door.” Snow said brightly. Addy turned to give them a dirty look but Snow smiled at her instead making her blood boil inside. After the girl was gone, Snow backed away from Mel and crossed her arms “I didn’t think you would move on so fast…considering you never got the Virgin Mary…”
He laughed “I didn’t. She’s Hing Gor’s daughter, I’m just amusing her for the time being. Nothing serious.” He shrugged as he followed Snow into her rented room.
She shook her head at him “That’s what you said about me and we eventually dated.”
Mel pulled out of his jean pocket a wad of cash “Here you go.”
Snow sighed as she took the money “You don’t have to do this.” She waved the money at him.
“But I want to.” He pointed out. He knew that giving her money every month would not cover her pain but he insisted on helping her stay away from her job. She has not been working for the past 6 months, instead she rented a room in the brothel to sleep at since she could not afford a better place. Plus she refused to have Mel help her out with that too.
“You don’t owe me anything. I chose this road on my own.” She said calmly.
Mel smiled “But I provoked it. It’s the least I can do.” He owed her too much already. “For the past few years, it’s only been harder for you. I want you to save as much money as possible and move out of here.” He looked around the tiny room that looked more like a closet.
Snow shrugged “I’m use to it. I’ve lived my life on the streets for so long, it’s nice to actually have a place to stay.”
“Why don’t you find a nice guy and marry so you can have a better life?” he asked curiously.
“Who would want a retired hooker with no home and who depends on her ex boyfriend who’s a head of a dangerous gang to give her money to buy food? I’d be dreaming if I think it could happen.” She snorted sarcastically.
Mel sighed “You know you can do it…you just don’t want to.”
She nodded “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I don’t want to. Or maybe I’m not ready yet. When I am, I’ll let you know.” He smiled with a nod “Okay, this talk is getting too damn mushy! I have to sleep. I’m gonna go help Dai Lou sell those cd’s tomorrow.”
Mel stood up as Snow walked him out of the room “How is Don? I haven’t heard from him in ages.”
“He’s still alive.” She said nonchalantly “He just got out of prison.”
“Well that’s good. Tell him I said hi.” Mel seldom heard about Don from Snow because she didn’t like to talk about her brother much. He was a troublemaker and if he knew Mel was giving her money, he would definitely ask for a share.
***********
The following night, Snow was walking downtown to see her brother when she was caught in the middle of a burglary in a little convenient store. A guy in a black ski masked rushed out with a bag full of cash while the owner cried “Theif!”
Snow looked up and noticed the guy was about the same height as her brother. ‘Shit, he better not be robbing stores anymore.’ She thought to herself while she chased after the guy. “Stop!!!” she cried over but the guy kept running. She didn’t know how long she chased him but they ended up in a deserted alley. The guy turned to her when they reached a dead end “Gor, don’t do this. You just got out.” She coaxed.
The guy muttered under his breath “Crazy bitch.”
“Come on, just put the bag down. No one will know.” She tried again. When he didn’t budge, she let her temper take over “Do you want to go back to prison??!!! You know how hard it was for me to grow up half of my life without a brother?” she cried angrily.
Suddenly she felt a hand over her shoulder, Snow’s instant reaction was to swing her arm around but the person’s hand caught it in the nick of time. “Miss, don’t worry, I’m a cop.” Snow instantly dropped her hand, she recognized him even though they were in a dimly lit area.
“Chan Sir.” She nodded. Then she remembered the robber “Please, he didn’t mean to steal anything. Let him go.” She begged gently.
Gary frowned “I’m sorry. I can’t do that.” He ran over to the guy as the two fought in a short fight. Gary easily won as she rushed over to them. Gary pulled off the ski mask and Snow let out a short gasp. It wasn’t Don after all. The handsome cop looked up at her strangely “You know him?”
Snow shook her head “No, it was a misunderstanding.”
Gary quickly handcuffed him while his other partners came around the corner “Take him back to the station.” He ordered. The guys nodded as they dragged the robber away. He then turned to Snow who looked to be in a daze “Miss…are you okay?”
She shook herself back to reality “Oh…yeah. I’m fine. Thanks.”
“Where do you live?” he asked.
Snow frowned “What’s it to you?” she snapped too quickly.
Gary smiled despite her rude nature “So I can walk you home. This is a dangerous area.”
She looked to the ground embarrassingly while her face cooled down “Sorry…I thought.” He shook his head understandingly while she smiled “Actually, I’m gonna visit someone.”
“I’ll walk you there.” He offered.
Snow turned her eyes away “Uh…sure…” she said reluctantly before walking away. He was so insistent that she couldn’t turn him down. She walked further downtown and eventually came upon the little open market. Snow quickly spotted Don who was trying persuade two school girls in uniforms to buy the latest hits from Andy Lau.
He looked up and found Snow and another guy walking up to him “You…what are you doing here? Making sure I’m not dead?” he asked cruelly.
Snow rolled her eyes “If you were dead, then I wouldn’t have to worry anymore.” She looked down at the pile of cd’s “What the fuck is wrong with you? You just got out, why are you selling these?”
Gary picked up a cd “It’s okay. This is real.” He said to Snow.
“See! Even a normal person can see that. I just got out, why would I want to go back in? I’m not even done talking about you! You still doing that job, you’re gonna end up getting AIDS one day. At least I have a legitimate job. I don’t have to go around and say I fuck people for a living.” He retorted when Snow gave him the evil eye.
She stared at him hard “I did it to support your dumb ass girlfriend and supposedly unborn child who ended up taking all my money to pay for her punk bitch! She wasn’t even pregnant to begin with.” Snow rolled her eyes.
Gary wondered why the two seemed to have some kind of hatred towards each other, but he sensed it was just a misunderstanding. He decided to clear the air for them “Look, if this is a domestic dispute, you should take it home.” He turned to Don “She’s a decent girl, take care of her. She’s still taking you back after you cheated on her, so why are you being such an ass?”
Don furrowed his brows at Gary before turning to Snow with his finger pointing to Gary “Who the fuck is this? Your customer?”
“He’s a cop.” Snow ran her fingers through her hair. She turned to Gary apologetically “Don’t mind him, he just has a potty mouth.”
“What do you mean potty mouth? I don’t care if he’s a fuckin General. I hate cops, just leave my sister alone.” Don warned with his finger pointing directly to Gary.
Gary widened his eyes “Sister? You two are….” He didn’t have to finish since Snow was nodding her head.
“Sorry, I didn’t mention it did I?” she smiled apologetically.
Don didn’t understand why Snow was being so polite “You don’t have to respect him, A Mui.” He pulled her arm and yanked her beside him “My sister is not working anymore. Don’t think because you’re a cop, you’ll get a free night.”
Gary stifled a giggle while Snow turned to Don with her head shaking “What the hell are you talking about? He’s not with me. Chan Sir walked me over here cause he was worried about my safety.” She explained.
“Oh…so you want a free job huh? Well it’s not that easy.” He sneered.
Snow laughed sarcastically “Gor! He doesn’t not want to have sex with me, okay? Just leave it at that!” she sighed before pulling out a wad of cash “Here, this is for you. Get a better job. I can’t help you all the time.”
He was appreciative of his sister but didn’t know how to show it as he slowly took the money but his eyes dodged hers “Where…”
“Don’t worry about it. Just know that it’s legal money.” Snow pointed out more for Gary’s sake than her brother’s. “I have to go home now, but I’ll look for you tomorrow.”
Don nodded “Thanks…” he felt bad for having his sister support her own big brother. He was just starting to get his life in order but he wanted more than anything to find a good job yet he knew people would give him a hard time because of his sentence in jail for burglary years ago. He was actually just the driver in a case that was out of his control. He practically had a gun pointed to his head at the time. Yet the cops would not go for his explanation and he ended up doing 2 years in jail for that. During the whole time he rarely got to see Snow nor did he even see his long term girlfriend who had disappeared long before he even got the first notice of being released early for good behavior.
Chapter 3
Kathy Lau – Vivian LeungKathy sat in her office working diligently on her new designs when she noticed a pair of eyes looking at her. Jill, her assistant quickly turned away. She found it strange since it was not the first time she’s done that. They were constantly having a stare contest of some kind. This went on for months until Kathy could no longer handle the awkwardness as one day she called Jill into her office.
Jill walked in with a stride “Yes Miss Lau?”
“Is there a problem, Jill?” Kathy asked.
The girl shook her head vehemently “No. Nothing. Why would you say that?”
Kathy frowned “Don’t lie to me. Every time I look up, I catch you staring at me. If you don’t have any work to do, maybe you shouldn’t be here...”
She didn’t mean to threaten her but the girl looked at her fearfully “No, please don’t fire me. I need this job. I have a family to support…my mom has cancer and her treatments are very expensive…and my sister…they need to go to school…”
Before the scared girl could continue, Kathy brought up her hand to silence her “Calm down. I never said anything about firing you. I was just worried that you would be bored and eventually quit. But I guess that’s out of the question…”
Jill laughed with relief “Oh…” she clutched her heart “You scared me for a minute.”
Kathy smiled warmly “I would never fire you.” She assured the girl.
“You’re so nice…” she said almost reluctantly “No wonder he loves you so much.”
“Who?” Kathy frowned “Are you talking about Neil?”
Jill nodded with a grin “I always wondered…how is he really like?”
Kathy laughed “If you’re so interested, go ask him yourself.”
Her eyes popped open “Really? I mean, you won’t get jealous?”
“No, why should I?” Kathy shrugged carelessly.
“Okay.” Jill giggled with her hands covering her mouth. She looked giddy and way too perky. “Do you have anything you need to give to him?”
Kathy furrowed her brows “We work in design, he’s a photographer, what would I have to give to him?”
She laughed nervously “That’s right.” There was sudden awkward silence. “Oh crap!!” Kathy was startled and Jill quickly apologized “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. But look at the time. It’s noon. You have to go to lunch.”
“Speak of the devil.” Kathy tilted her head towards the door where Neil was walking in. She got up and reached for her purse “We were just talking about you.” She teased Neil.
Jill looked away shyly “Uh…I’m gonna go to lunch now.”
Neil smiled at her with a nod “Okay, bye Jewels.” It was a nickname he had given her when he first learned she was Kathy’s assistant.
Kathy and Neil walked out of the building together hand in hand. It’s been almost 1 year since they got together. Their lives had changed tremendously and not to mention the Triad life was no longer lingering around them. Her mind was on Mel again. She found herself thinking of him very often. But every now and then, she would remind herself that Neil was her boyfriend, she should treasure the time they spent together. But to her it was too much, they saw each other at home and went out to lunch everyday together. It was only a matter of time when she would start to feel suffocated.
Neil was talking on about some photo shoots that he had to do that morning but Kathy was in her own little dreamland. He nudged her when she almost hit a pole and he had to pull her away “Oh…” she said with no surprise.
“Anything wrong, honey?” he asked sweetly.
She shook her head “No…I’m fine. I was just thinking about something.”
“You mean someone?” he assumed.
Kathy sighed “Neil, I don’t want to argue with you about that again. Why do you have to bring him up?”
Neil quickly stopped in his steps and let go of her hand “Why do you always think about him when you’re with me?” the two often avoided saying Mel’s name just in case any of his enemies were around.
“I don’t think about him.” Kathy lied, but he already caught it in her eyes. She let out a long sigh “I’m sorry…it’s just…”
“Just what?” he pushed.
Kathy looked up but then shook her head “Nothing.”
“You can’t let go of him, can you?” Neil asked.
She turned her head away but did a double take on a girl that was snooping on their conversation. Jill was wearing glasses and holding up a magazine and popping her head up every so often. Kathy had enough of the whole mess. She marched over to Jill and pulled down the magazine she was using to hide herself “Okay, Jill. That’s enough. Why are you always following us?” Kathy asked flatly.
Neil rushed over to the girls “Jewels? What are you doing here?”
Kathy rolled her eyes “Don’t be so naïve Neil. She’s been following us like this for the past three months.” She pointed threateningly to Jill “You’re lucky I never pointed you out, but this is getting ridiculous. What is so interesting about us?” she asked bluntly.
Jill shrugged nonchalantly “It’s not you.” She said to Kathy. But her eyes had moved up to Neil’s face.
“I see…” Kathy nodded and slowly turned her head to Neil. “Looks like someone’s got a crush.” She smiled at Neil despite their earlier argument.
Neil looked at Kathy worriedly “Honey, don’t be mad…when she told me, I said that I was already in a serious-“
Kathy put up her hand to stop him “Wooh, wohh…she told you?” her brows lifted questioningly.
“Well, yeah…” Neil frowned at Jill “I thought you said she knew?”
Jill smiled crookedly “Whoops… I may have forgotten that tiny detail…”
“This is great…” Kathy shook her head unable to believe the situation they were in “My assistant has a crush on my boyfriend and my boyfriend knows about it but decides not to talk to me about it…how long has this been going on?” Kathy crossed her arms and her left leg began to tap against the cement.
Jill looked at her worriedly “No Kathy…it’s not like that. Nothing’s going on. I just have a tiny…little crush on Neil.” She squeezed her thumb and index finger together to show her how small it was. “Just because it’s lasted since high school doesn’t-“
Again Kathy put up her hand “Okay…now I’m totally missing something… you, went to high school with us?” she pointed to her and Neil.
Neil nodded “I thought you knew.”
Kathy laughed sarcastically “Apparently YOU did…” she sighed as she rubbed her forehead with frustration “Is there anything else I need to know?”
Jill smiled brightly “No. But you should know that I am planning to steal Neil away from you. And by the looks of your arguments, it’s gonna be easier than I thought.”
Neil laughed. Jill sure had a way with her words. Out of all the times that he’s spoke with her, he noticed that she was adorable in her own special way. She was often there to comfort him when Kathy had to work overtime and he wanted to stay back and wait for her in the office. Kathy turned to Neil with her eyebrows raised “You find that funny?”
Neil’s smile quickly faded “Well….yeah…”
She snickered at the two of them “That’s just great. You know, I don’t feel very good. I’m gonna go back to work, why don’t the two of you go to lunch together?” with that she walked away.
Jill was beaming while Neil turned to Kathy with an exasperated “Don’t turn the finger at me. You’re doing the same thing!” he yelled but Kathy kept walking.
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