chapter two: Light-Switch Unfortunately, the days seemed to fly by faster no matter how much Brendan wished they'd slow down. It was a shame really--time never seemed to be on his side when he needed it to be. He had decided to hand the first floor over to Kevin--he'd need it anyway if he was to cook himself and Mina a dinner. Besides, if there was ever any need, there was a fire escape just down the hall that he and Tate could leap out of should Carlson accidentally start a fire that would trap them upstairs. He had everything ready, and was waiting patiently in the last room down the hall--the bathroom. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Brendan?" Tate called softly, setting foot on the second floor. The lights were out--it was nearly pitch-black upstairs. "Are you... here?" Tate asked. It was then that she noticed a small candle on the floor, illuminating a piece of paper beneath it. Bending down to pick it up, she read aloud in a hushed whisper (though she didn't know why), "Greetings, Tate! You've got a bit of a walk ahead of you. Go through the first door on your left... Can't wait to see you. Love, Brendan." Tate nearly laughed aloud. Brendan was being so cute... so cliche. It was very unlike him. Smiling, she took the little paper with her and slowly opened the door to her left. It opened with the slightest creak, and just ahead, Tate could see her next note--it was on a stand this time, and marked by a burning candle in the darkness also. "Hello, again. Go across the hall and into the next room. I'll see you soon, I promise. Love, and more love, Brendan." Tate could feel her face burning like the candle that illuminated the room she was in. She took this paper with her as well and set off across the hall, fumbling for the door knob then pushing it open. Again there was another candle and as she made her way towards it, her foot knocked into something cold and hard on the floor, stumbling over it and sending the mysterious object sliding across the wooden floor. Wincing, she limped over towards the candle and read: "Sorry about the mess in here. Please don't sue me for any injuries that may be inflicted upon you on your way in and out here. But anyways, go back across the hall towards the room on the very right. Love, love, love, Brendan." As much as her toe hurt, Tate was able to muster up a weak laugh as she folded up the note and hobbled out of the room, hoping against hope that she hadn't broken anything. She was quite curious as to how and where Brendan was--she had never before been upstairs in the condo--except for when he and Carlson had first given them a tour of the place. And even if she knew the second floor like the back of her hand, it still looked mighty different in the dark. She crossed over again to the hall, pushing the next door Brendan had directed her to and noticing the lit candle right away. With a smile, she read softly out loud, "Tate, what are you doing walking around in the dark like that? Always, ALWAYS turn on the lights! You never know who could be up here! Now, hurry! Love, love, love, love, Brendan." Perplexed, Tate read the note over again... Brendan hadn't told her where to meet him, but merely suggested urgently that she flip the light switch. Then another thought struck her--Brendan was to meet her here! Beaming, Tate hit the switch.... and found herself staring into a rather enormous and sinister-looking gorilla. Terrified, Tate screamed and stumbled backwards out of the doorway, noting her panic-stricken face reflected in what looked to be the bathroom mirror. Her feet seemed to be tangled though, and she tripped backwards into the hallway. She gaped at the gorilla head, her mouth in a sort of soundless scream. But then a great amount of laughter broke out, and the person in disguise turned out to be none other than Brendan himself. He pulled off Ryan's mask, almost beside himself with laughter. Getting himself together, though, sat on the floor beside her and said, "Are you all right, Tate?" Indeed, she looked quite pale and horrified, and was trembling like some sort of human rabbit. She managed to say in a slight squeak, "Y-yeah, I'm fine." Brendan stood up again and took both of her small hands in his and pulled her up. She fell into him instead of standing on her own two feet and it was then that Brendan became concerned--had it really been THAT scary? Still remaining optimistic, though, he picked her up in his arms and walked into the one room he hadn't told Tate to visit--it was across from the bathroom, and the lights seemed to help him find his way around. What a strange sight it must have been, had any others been around to see them. Brendan was now a simple gorilla-man, for he still had Turner's body suit on. A seemingly faint Tate was in his gorilla-esque arms, and the flames of the lit candles caused their shadows to be eerily cast onto the walls. Brendan dropped Tate on what he hoped was the sofa--the last thing he needed was for him to just drop her in the middle of the room on the floor. He turned the lights on in the room, and when he turned around, Tate seemed to be back to normal--she was gazing around the room with wide eyes. "Like what I've done with the place?" he asked with a grin. Tate blinked and stood up--the walls were painted white, flower petals and buds were scattered all over the tables and shelves, and a red and white checkered cloth was spread about in the center, with a platter of desserts set off to the side, placed between two cushions. Several more lit candles were here and there despite the lights being on, and, Tate lastly noted, Brendan had ditched the gorilla suit for a tux instead. "I love it," Tate said, still quite awestruck. Brendan grinned happily and noticed that Tate was wearing his favorite dress... Of course the dress wasn't HIS, but it certainly was the outfit Brendan liked the most, but only because of its sentiment--Tate had worn it the day she became Ryan's house-warming present to him. It was white with a baby blue ribbon around her waist, and Brendan couldn't remember when she looked prettier. "Happy Valentine's Day," Brendan said, suddenly shy. "Happy Valentine's Day," Tate replied brightly, looking just as bashful. "Well," Brendan sighed, taking a seat on one of the cushions on the floor, "I'd hate to ruin the mood, but, shall we dig in?" Tate laughed and sat across from him on her knees, taking the pillow and placing it on her lap, hugging it loosely. "That was for you to sit on," Brendan remarked, his head tilted to the side. "I know," Tate laughed, reaching towards a cupcake taking a bit of the frosting off the top and licking it off contentedly. "This cannot be healthy..." Brendan laughed. "Since when were you so concerned about your health? Besides, it's Valentine's Day, so that's kind of an excuse to eat all the sweets in Chicago, right?" Tate blinked and asked, "You got me all the sweets in Chicago?" Brendan shook his head. "Nah..." "Oh. I thought so." ".... just the ones I knew you'd like." There was a bit of peaceful silence, and Tate wasn't sure whether to believe him or not. But, as she watched him reach for a small square piece of strawberry cheesecake, she could've sworn she saw him smile. And that was all she needed to see for her to believe him, though she never voiced that she did. However, Brendan knew otherwise... but he also didn't say a word about it. The desserts were just too good, and for what it was worth, going out of his way for Tate was, Brendan thought, probably the best way to go about spending Valentine's Day with her. He just wondered how Carlson was doing downstairs.