"Get ready! I brought wine, donuts, and Hot Cheetos," I burst through Ally's place loudly. Those were the three things to Ally's heart: alcohol, carbs, and junk food. That's why we got along so well. I kick off my shoes and run towards her in the living room. 

"My favorites!" Her eyes light up in pure joy at the sight of the bags in my hands. She rushes over to grab the bags before plopping herself on her lush, white carpet. The large carpet covers her living space and envelopes her tall body completely. Honestly, I have fallen asleep multiple times on it since it's so damn soft. 

"You're going to stain that thing," I sigh as she rips open her Cheetos and starts to unscrew the wine cork. Everything she is holding is a nightmare for a white rug. I do not know how she keeps a white rug so clean. 

"I'll be careful," her smile widens as she grabs two glasses to pour the wine in. I watch as she fills the glasses almost to the brim before taking a long swig from the bottle.

"Um...Ally, are you okay?" I tentatively reach over to grab the bottle from her. She narrows her eyes as if daring me to go through with the action. I retract and laugh nervously, which earns me a grin from her.

"What are YOU up to lately?" She grabs the remote and sifts through the Netflix selection.

"Work, school, the same old," I  shrug nonchalantly. I look at it curiously as I wonder if we should talk about the fire, but I don't want to spoil the mood. There's just so many things going on currently. I just need to shove it in the back of my head.

"I know you don't like telling everything about yourself, but sometimes it's like talking to a brick fucking wall." Ally sighs heavily before selecting the movie, Crazy, Stupid, Love. 

"That's a cute one." I nod at her choice. I snuggle closely to her as she swings a thick fuzzy blanket around us. 

I can feel the blood rushing through my veins from the alcohol and heat of the blanket. I soon find myself drifting off to sleep to the sound of the movie background and Ally laughing.

It seems like only minutes have passed by when I'm woken up in a start. I am disoriented as I try to figure out my surroundings. I can hear Ally snoozing on the couch next to me. She's probably sleeping like the dead with all the wine she drank. I look around in the dim living space to figure out what has woken up me suddenly.

Ally lives in a nicer neighborhood where all the houses have high fences and plants to increase the privacy of the owners. There are a couple celebrities who live in this area. I look out through the floor-to-ceiling windows to the backyard as if I sense someone is there. There does not seem to be anything amiss so I  decide to crawl back into the couch with Ally and head back to seep. If anything, Ally's surveillance system might catch something tomorrow. I'm assuming it's just a wild animal or perhaps a temperature change that may have woken me.

I'm way too paranoid. My work is getting to me. 

____

"Good morning beautiful!" Ally beams excitedly when she sees me elegantly fall off the couch and struggle to stand up.

"You're a different species," I grumble as I stare at her peppy demeanor this early in the morning. She's always been a morning person. I rub my tired eyes before plopping down in front of her.

"I made you an iced latte with matcha in it. Here's an omelet with all your favorite ingredients." She sets down my breakfast on her kitchen counter before joining next to me. 

"I mean..you're an angel. Definitely an angel." I eye the delicious goods. "What brings you in such a happy mood?" I ask her mid-chew, disregarding all social table manners in front of her. There's nothing like a good spike of caffeine that will awaken me.

"Well, I got a call from my technician for the club. He has installed the latest surveillance system for the entrance, back, and side entrance. He's also updated all of our current software. It was so expensive but so worth it. My office is as secure as the Pentagon." She seems very pleased with herself as she tells me this. 

I don't want to rain on her parade by saying that there is nowhere in the world that is impossible to get into, the Pentagon included. Of course, that's just because I've seen and read a lot of fucked up confidential things. Regardless, for a nightclub, no normal person will be able to cause any ruckus in there now. 

"So..." Ally leans in with a spark in her eyes, "Do you have any plans today?"

"No?" I cleared my daylight schedule for her, which was just school and more work piling up.

"Good. Good."She nods.

"Okay?" I'm perplexed.

"I really wanted to do a girl hangout with you today. I had a full plan to go to the spa, get our nails done, and shop with you. Now that the club stuff is figured out, there's more work to do. It's rather endless." She looks at me very delicately.

"What do you want? C'mon, spit it out." I sigh, but I can't say no to her.

"Can you go watch the club for the day? I sent in some renovators to give the place an extra spruce. They're also taking a look at the damage to make sure it's safe to reopen soon. I also asked electricians to come in to install sensors around the perimeters so it's not as dark. There's also the new security system I need to let the staff know about it. I'm so sorry, but I have to meet and negotiate with some clients today."

"It's fine. I got it." I rush to ease her worries. "I'll head over there after we eat. Now, let's stop talking work." 

"You're a lifesaver. I love you so much," Ally hugs me tightly with appreciation. "And you're right, we need that work-life balance." 

"Have you been seeing anyone lately?" Ally follows up and I almost choke on my drink.

"I haven't the time at all. I have other things to do. Plus, can you imagine my dad's response? He's probably flying over her and jumping out of a helicopter to stop me from dating anyone. It's also impossible to hide anything from him. Remember my prom?" We both laugh about the time when my dad made my prom date almost pee his pants in fear. 

"Okay, I guess.." She huffs, What do we even talk about besides work and romance nowadays?" 

"Well, are you seeing anyone...besides your nightclub," I respond to her previous question.

"No, I haven't the time either. With Peter opening the nightclub and expanding our business, we have so much work to do. Plus, I'm trying to manage this one. One of the clients I'm meeting up with I am buying him out. He's an asshole that made some bad decisions, but he's cunning. That's going to be stressful. The other client is for Genesis Hotel in Beverly Hills. They want to make a deal with us, but I feel like a nightclub in that area could be very problematic."

"Perhaps the Genesis wants something related to the Bautis Hotels? Regardless, have you been exercising lately?" I change the subject.

"Yeah, I've been trying to do yoga in the mornings and then some type of fitness with my instructor once or twice a week. I might need to hire more people to make my life less overwhelming." 

"Wow, you're becoming a rich celeb," I joke. "Who are you?"

"Shut up," Ally rolls her eyes. Sometimes I can tell the wealth bothers her. "Anyways, how's your dad?"

"He's off on some mission saving the world again as battles one evil at a time. Honestly, I have no idea. He sent a letter the other day saying it'd take a while to get back to me. You'd think he would text or call. The guy is so primitive." I huff a little though I know why he doesn't use technology on certain missions. 

"We are here for you, you know," Ally pats me on the head. 

"Thanks, but I got it," I smile kindly. "Thanks for everything, but I should head off soon." I hug her one more time before heading outside. I hop on my bike before heading home first to change.

 As always, the traffic is horrendous but I weave in and out of the way as if I have a death wish. When I'm driving, I always hate how bikers do this. Yet, here I am, not giving a damn.

"Watch where you are going!" Some guy gives me a finger.

I proceed to flip him one back as I zoom off. It's not the first or last one I will be giving.

I relax a bit as I finally see my familiar streets. These aren't the best streets in the city as I'm close to the art district where homeless and art bums hang out. There's no clear line between the homeless from Skid Row to the trendy hipster tourists wandering around. However, the rent is slightly cheaper due to its proximity to Skid Row. I also dig the whole warehouse vibe and overpriced coffee and art scene. I'm a sucker for caffeine.

"Hey girlie," I hear a chorus of hellos from the window above as I slowly pull into my garage. I look up to see three individuals in full drag costumes waving at me.

"Hi ladies," I wave back at my neighbors, "When's the next show? Text me the details and I'll see if I can come." I project my voice so they can hear me from their third floor.

"Of course!" They wink before going back into their apartment. They've lived there for so long and always throw the wildest of parties up there. We share a wall and courtyard space, but I'm the old, stouter building behind them. It's just four buildings filled with misfits and the like.

I yawn and stretch out my arms before I walk to my screen to scroll through my cameras. I don't typically look at my cameras that often, but things have made me paranoid lately. I frown as I realize two of my six cameras show a black fuzzy screen. They're the ones showing the courtyard space and main street, which aren't super important. I do make a note to ask Ally to text me her new surveillance dude's number.

I don't think too much about it before I turn to my dining table. I freeze a little at the yellow envelope resting on it. I distinctly remember only the advertisements and bills I had grabbed the night before. I open the envelope with care before sighing in relief.

It was just a NSA investigative report. 

That's odd.

As I scan it thoroughly, I start to freak out just a little. 

This isn't something I should be reading.

____

A/n

And I'm back. Kinda. Meh. Hi! Hope you are doing well and staying safe during these times.