Click.

The small flame was extinguished.

...Click

And again, it returned to life.

Blaise sat on the lowest metal platform of a crane in the middle of the city, accompanied only by his beloved lighter and the breeze that had followed him all the way from the suburbs earlier on that day.

It was around midnight now, and at at least a hundred feet off the ground, it was getting pretty cold.

Blaise didn't care.

He had some thinking to do.

There'd been an invitation through his door about three days previously. It came from a name he'd never expected to see again, a name he'd pushed from his mind for fear his temper would get the best of him and he'd do something he'd regret.

Delilah Black, the very man himself.

Just thinking that name made Blaise's skin crawl with fury; like a few dozen tiny vipers were darting across his body.

The last week altogether hadn't been the best for Blaise, and the gathering at Black's manor only brought it all together in a torturous bag of unease.

It didn't help that, earlier on that day, he'd had a conversation with his ex-girlfriend that hurt him a lot more than he'd been expecting it to.

It was just the icing on this exploding cake, the frosting to top off what, so far, was shaping up to be a truly terrible month. He leaned into the sturdy metal column to his left, reliving the events of that evening in his mind.

~~

It had started with a text early that afternoon - seemingly innocent enough, but the prickle of doubt that had blossomed in the arsonist's stomach upon reading it made him reconsider its meaning:

Hello Blaise,
Dear, I know you're busy but can you come and meet me at Hot Pot Cafeteria at 7 o' clock in the evening?
I have something to tell you that's been eating me.
Baby, I can't think properly, my mind ain't at peace, I'm losing control from things around me and that's not my style.
I need you to listen to me.
I'll be waiting for you.

ILY xx
Your Dex

Blaise had read it over a few times. He hadn't seen Dex in a few days, and he'd had a feeling things were off somehow. He'd been busy, anyway. It wasn't like he felt she'd been avoiding him.

What could she want to talk about? Where was this going to go? The words 'I have something to tell you' didn't bode well with him. He had a feeling he wasn't going to like much of what she had to say.

Nevertheless, he'd taken a breath, and typed his reply.

I can do that.
I'll see you there.

ILY xx

He hadn't been able to think about anything else all day, no matter how much he'd tried.

He'd caught a bus at half six, just outside of his apartment, and had stared out the window as it had trundled through the city, making its painfully slow way towards the cafe.

As it drove, he caught sight of a torched STOP sign he'd set ablaze a few weeks previously. The sight of it filled him warmth.

God, there was nothing in the world better than fire.

Not five minutes later, the bus squealed to a stop outside of the cafe. He could see the outline of someone who looked vaguely like Dextrous through the window.

He was a couple minutes early, but then, she'd always been punctual.

Blaise pushed the cafe door open, and as the cheerful bell sounded, he felt her eyes land on him. Immediately, he forced his muscles to relax. He had to remain calm. No matter what.

He turned to meet her gaze, and their eyes locked across the room.

She waved.

He smiled.

She smiled back, in a guarded, emotionless kind of way. That was when he knew without doubt that this wasn't going to go nicely.

Blaise sat down across from her, and before he could say a word, a waiter appeared and asked for their order. Dex ordered two coffees; one black, one with a touch of cream. The waited nodded, and left.

Dex took a breath, and then she spoke, "Um...Blaise, I know this will be awkward, but I have to say it."

He waited with bated breath, his eyes narrowing with confusion. Don't say it.

Dex looked up at him, again meeting his eyes. There was something he couldn't read in her gaze. What was going on?

"I..I want to break up with you. I've fallen for someone else, and double boats aren't my thing." She closed her eyes. He knew her well enough to realise she didn't want to see how she'd hurt him.

As she'd spoken, Blaise's eyes had narrowed. This was all out of the blue; from how oddly she'd been acting, to how suddenly this had all come about.

"Someone else?" Emotions whirled within him - as usual, anger was the main player. He could feel his heart beating in his chest. He worked to keep his face devoid of his real feelings, one eyebrow slightly raised as if he was concerned. "Who is this person?" Why did Blaise need to know? Well, that depended on her answer.

It had been quite some time since Blaise had felt a connection to someone as he had to Dextrous. It was difficult to maintain his apparent calm when really, he was already planning how much fuel he'd need for this blaze.

Tears sparkled in Dex's eyes, Blaise could see, when she opened them again. Her hands shook on the table. "I'm sorry...but I should keep it secret. I'm afraid that you'll go and hurt him." She didn't meet his gaze.

In all the time he'd known her, Blaise had never seen Dex look so vulnerable. She always met his gaze, always challenged him. It was part of the passion that had drawn him to her. Why was she acting like this? He had enough worldly sense to know he couldn't press her here. If this was what she wanted, maybe he should leave it be, at least for a while.

Either way however, there was something amiss here. He would find out what, soon enough.

She looked at up with him as if surprised, and as their eyes met again, Blaise could've sworn he felt something break. A muscle in his cheek twitched. Just a bit longer, last thing you need to do's make a scene. Don't need her knowing what she's done.

He folded his arms slowly, malevolently, across his chest. Dex knew a bit of his history - the less than legal kind - but he'd been careful not to tell her everything. There were some things better kept to himself.

The fact she thought keeping the guy's name from him would stop Blaise finding out who he was was testament to how little she really knew.

Of course, Blaise said none of this. Instead, he sighed, closed his eyes for a second or two, and then opened them as if he was hurt. It was difficult to show her what he wanted to, especially since her breaking up with him had rocked his cool so deeply.

In the slight tensing of his neck muscles, the square set of his jaw, the riptide of anger he was restraining could be seen. Otherwise, he may as well have been made of marble.

"Really? You think I'd hurt him? I thought you knew me better than that, Dex. I've known you long enough to know when you're lying, too," he replied as coolly as he could, forcing himself to relax his shoulders as subtly as possible.

Controlling rage had never been a strength of his, but redirecting it? That wasn't too hard.

The tears began to fall down Dex's cheeks. She still wouldn't meet his gaze. Was she protecting someone?

"Look, I'm sorry. I neither have any other options, nor am I lying to you." She wiped her cheeks roughly. She didn't seem annoyed to Blaise, just anxious.

The growing crackling sensation in the Arsonist's heart spread through his body like a young flame. Her words burned him. He shouldn't have let her know him - any part of him - if she was only going to do something like this; cheat on him and then break his heart.

Beneath the table, he flicked the lighter in his pocket on and off, on and off. It helped keep him grounded, helped him beat the anger back down.

For now.

"This is all I wanted to say; I'm breaking up with you, and I don't think we should meet anymore. At least...We shouldn't talk for a while. I need space."

"Take all the time you need. I'll keep my distance from you." He took a shaky breath, and offered her a half-assed smile he hoped would make his words believable.

He could give her space. Sure. Space from everyone. He could give her space from himself, and space from the guy she'd met. That should be more than enough space for her.

He would need to scope the guy out, of course, and he wouldn't hurt him - as if. Rage rippled through his skin.

She stood up, standing tall though her eyes were red and she still shook with emotion. "Goodbye, Blaise. It was really nice knowing you. I swear, I loved you with all my heart." And then she turned away, and left the cafe. She didn't look back.

Despite his fury, Blaise's heart ached as she left. It felt like a little part of him had been obliterated by those words.

The Arsonist folded his arms on the table and let his head sink into them, enveloping himself in the darkness for a few minutes to let his anger subside a bit.

'Guess that's why love's dangerous.' He thought to himself. 'It makes you do some messed up shit.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now, here Blaise sat, high up on this crane, with his lighter in his hand, and the smell of gasoline thick on his jacket.

The breakup, and the invitation to Deli's party or whatever that was, had ignited his temper like nothing else could have.

In just a week, the two worst things that he could have imagined happening could have; he'd lost Dex, and a name he'd wanted dead had resurfaced.

He would go to the party, but by the time it was over, he'd have new blood on his name. The rage Dex had stirred would be more than enough for him to whip up some last minute schemes.

He flicked the small flame into existence again, and blew it out a few moments later.

How long had he been up here now? Twenty minutes? That would be more than enough time.

Blaise stood up. A gust of wind rocked the crane. He tightened his grip on the metal, and looked across the city.

The last five hours sure had been a rollercoaster; a twister of wild emotion that had led him into the darker sides of his own mind. He always came up with his best ideas when he was furious, always.

After the cafe, Blaise had run some tests. He'd found a few people that Dex could have cheated on him with, and then he'd picked the one he remembered her talking most about.

Tony something. He lived in the suburbs, not too far from the Hot Pot.

In the end, his anger had gotten the best of him. Blaise didn't care who he hurt, he just wanted to burn something - something big.

Tony's house had been close enough, and according to a recent Facebook update, Tony had been in Croatia for at least four days. It was some kind of family thing - not that it mattered.

Blaise didn't want to kill people, he didn't want to actually hurt anyone.

But, he did want revenge.

It hadn't taken more than three hours all in for him to be at the guy's house. It had taken only a further half an hour to slip through a window and toss a mixture of jerry cans and gunpowder in the bedrooms, bathroom, and kitchen.

He'd left a trail of fuel leading out the back door, and then, from the back fence, he'd dropped a match, and left. Planning it all had made him feel much better, lighting the match and seeing it fall had been the best of all.

Where was the house again? Blaise held tightly to the crane as he searched the city.

There.

It was about a ten minute's walk away from this crane. Darkness had been a great help, but it wasn't completely necessary anymore. He had a mentor to help him out with supplies and plans. It was always fun to work with her.

He could see the house now; a blazing orange ball of flames at the edge of the city. The grass had been kindling, the fence out the back nothing but fuel.

The column of dark smoke rising from the roof was satisfying to watch, so too was the wail of fire engine sirens in the distance. They'd be too late to really do much to help.

The newer builds in the suburbs were all but waiting to be burnt to a crisp.

A smile came to Blaise's face as he sat down again, watching his work unfold. There were patterns in the damage he caused. The trail in the grass out front even spelled DEX in sloped lettering.

He felt a bit better, now, but there was still plenty of rage left for tomorrow, and if it went as he was planning.

Boy, would it be a good show.