Chapter 45

Myka sat quietly in the room, there had been some sound a minute
earlier. The buzz in her ears had started last year, just after the
accident. It was so hard to think through it. Some days it was just
easier to sleep on the couch. There was food, though she would be hard
pressed to remember much of anything. Tim was alive and taking care of
himself...

At least she hoped so.

There was that noise again. It meant something.

"Mom!." Tim huffed. "Didn't you hear the door?" She turned slowly to
him. His tie was around his neck, untied

"Oh...no, I didn't." He doesn't deserve this...

She heard him open the door, but the ringing in her ears started again.
Myka realized that they were still gone.

***

Tim dropped his tie clip when he saw her. Her body seemed to move like a
braided laser, her dress twisted and moved. After a moment of near
hypnosis as he saw the light patterns bend and play, Tim remembered to
invite her in.

Bobbie had teased her hair, going for volume rather than shine. The
dress had enough shine for both of them. She had large sunglasses on,
wire rims and oversized lenses. Heels completed the ensemble. He'd never
seen her in heels as high as this. Or in anything so tight. She removed
her sunglasses

"Ummm... Go ahead and have a seat. I'll be out in a minute. Didn't think
you'd be so early," Tim said, laughing nervously. Closing the door
behind her. "Yeah, she's..." He sighed. "She's having a day. I'll be right
back." He jogged back to his room, making the first of the two loops
that were required to produce a generic knot.

***

Faye looked at the room. The woman Bobbie mentioned, Myka sat under a
blanket. She looked at a small sphere of air directly in front of her.
She sat down right next to Myka.

Myka turned, as if Faye's sitting down disturbed the spiderweb of the
couch she had become attached to. "Hi, Bobbie."

She looked back. Verifying that Tim had disappeared.

"How are you? I mean, Really?" Faye asked.

Myka looked into the deep, blue eyes. "I...I..." She looked distant, not
really there.

"I know what it's like to lose everything." Faye said. "But it's how you
start over that counts. He needs you. Now more than ever, the bakery..."

"But..." she whispered. "It's my fault."

Faye raised her left eyebrow.

"When he called. I knew it was him. I already had the keys in my hand.
They both said 'No, I'll go.' I didn't think anything of it..."

Faye made Bobbie's face fall. First Tim told his story, then this
bombshell? It all seemed clear to Faye now. Colossal communication
breakdown.

"When they didn't come back after an hour I just thought they were
parked somewhere. Just talking." Myka's eyes began to well up with
tears. "After the third hour, and no one answered...When the phone rang.
I just stood there with the phone against my ear. 'No, that couldn't be
right. I just talked to them. When I went to pick him up, I didn't say a
word to him all the way home. I was just in shock. They were my world.
My whole world, and they were just... gone."

"Neither one of you dealt with this well," Faye said evenly. "And you
should have dealt with this together. Everyone chooses a path, their own
way of handling problems. And you both choose not to deal with it." Myka
arched a brow.

"Miz Flaherty." Faye put her hand on Myka's blanketed shoulder. "Myka."

"He blames himself, you know. He still has that card Stephanie made in
his wallet."

"He..." Myka's eyes went wide. Faye saw the irises shift open and closed.

"...blames."

***

Synapses and neurons fired in patterns not run in years. Myka suddenly
sat upright.

"No," she said with finality. "Not his fault."

Bobbie looked at Myka. "You need to tell him, then. He told me about
that night. He kept it bottled. Now you tell me this?"

"Bobbie." Myka blinked rapidly, shaking her head. "You're right... I need
to..."

"Okay, Bobbie," Tim called from the hallway. He looked like he did for
the Winter Ball."

Myka was up and dashing for Tim. She grabbed and hugged him close.

"Tim. It wasn't your fault, or mine. I... I..."

She backed up and looked at her son. He looked so grown up. So much like
his father, he looked older now. There was a look in his eyes, the look
of someone who looked inward and was unhappy with what he saw.

And Bobbie, who was this amazing girl?

And how was Tim so lucky?

"You two have fun tonight. I'll stay out of your way. But Tim. Tomorrow
morning, we need to talk." Myka smiled, happy to see her son happy.
Thanks Bobbie. Who are you, you angel?

***

Tim stood there, eyes like saucers. He jerked his head towards his
girlfriend. "What... How?"

She shook her head. "I'm gonna let you two figure that out tomorrow."

He looked back towards his mother. She was looking at the living room
and looking at the place like it was all new to her. Tim didn't know
what she had said. But, there's Bobbie doing her thing again...

"C'mon, Bobbie. Let's go upstairs."

"Upstairs?"

"Yeah," Tim started. "I've already done all the prep already. Thought
you'd enjoy dinner before the movie."

A look of trepidation crossed her face as she followed Tim up the
stairwell to the roof.

***

When Faye got upstairs, she was reminded of Lady and the Tramp. There
was a small table, replete with a black tablecloth, and chairs, and a
small radio that sat next to the propane grill. How in the hell had he
gotten that thing up here? Faye found herself smiling at the picture of
him trying to get the thing upstairs. Considering that the elevator
didn't go all the way to the top.

After pulling out her chair and letting her sit, Tim grabbed a white
chef's coat and went to work. "Bobbie. First, I want to apologize for
being drunk and just showing up at Faye's like that. That was the first
time I've had a drink since..." His face turned serious, yet caring. His
gestures were open, welcoming, his smile hinted of ultimate inner
knowledge.

"Since I met you, and we opened Cheepskates. I felt alive again, and
then all of this crap happened. I'm just sorry." He was using tongs to
get the steaks cooking in what looked like a saucepan. "There is no way
I'd be in anything like the shape I'm in now if it weren't for you. And
I have no idea what you said back there. You're like the person
whisperer. Everything works out for you eventually." He flipped the
steaks and started cooking bacon in a second pan.

"I know things have been bad lately, but I feel good about the future.
For the first time I think that we're all gonna be ok. He transferred
the steaks to a plate and started dumping little cups of things into the
pan. The one with the bacon got some green beans.

Faye looked out at Delacroix. She could smell what he was doing. Hmmm...
shallots and mushrooms. She turned back to him as he dumped something in
the pan and...

FWOOM! Faye jumped as a tongue of red orange flame leapt up into the
air. Tim shook the pan, the flames soon died down.

Putting the steaks back in to the pan, he covered it. Shaking something
into the other pan, he turned to her. "You're the absolute best thing
that ever happened to someone like me. How could I want to throw that
away for Roxx? Within minutes he had the two plates finished. There were
almost mathematically portioned amounts of the bacon cooked green beans
with what looked like almond slivers in them, a medium sized baked
potato wrapped in foil, and the steaks smothered in the sauce he had
cooked them in.

Faye looked at the plate, it was almost art, the arrangement of shallot
and mushroom and the positioning of the green beans left to the chaos of
the universe. Yet there was something deliberate about it, Faye could
see the effort he'd put into this. She softened as she watched him
remove the chef's coat. He filled her champagne flute with the sparkling
cider he kept in an ice bucket.

"Bobbie," Tim smiled. "I present to you Steak Diane, my dad taught me to
make this. Told me that it was the first thing he made mom." He sat down
with his own plate.

Faye looked at Tim from across the table. She looked into his eyes, all
the way in. If she spoke Na'vi, the phrase would mean 'I see you'.
Although that movie only made her want to punch every of those hippy
smurfs in the face, here she was. She finally understood the totality of
what that meant.

Tim's eyes showed the starcharts of his universe. His universe, galaxies
of memories; some good, some bad, some things causing unspeakable
conflagarations. The picture came into focus as though a holusion. Faye
saw the pieces of his life, where they had split and shattered. The
gigantic holes left behind by the losses he'd suffered, and the black
hole his mother had become.

Having been there somewhat, she knew where Bobbie's breaks were. How
things ended with his family, the girl who ruined him. How Robb's life
ended. It had been torture for him, Justice somehow managed to give a
second chance. From how things looked, it was the absolute best thing
that could have happened.

Faye cut into her steak, the meat was at the level of rarity that left
the red center chewy. The sauce was a detonation of flavor. The sauce,
combined with the steak, and the alternating textures of shallot and
mushroom pleasing every individual tastebud.

"Tim, this is...mmmph," Faye said, taking another bite, this one
accompanied by a bit of potato. He smiled at her. He loved to watch her
eat, the way she absorbed each bite. The way she seemed to file away
each detail for when someone needed help...

"Glad you like it." Tim set his fork down. He put his hand on hers.
"Bobbie..."

"You have to know what happened with Roxx wasn't anything I wanted. I
would have rather asked my mom to sign the papers. I meant what I said
before, when I was shitfaced. You do mean more to me than anything.
We're gonna fix all this."

"It's my turn to help you.

"Tim," Faye said. Trying to toe the line between what Bobbie would do,
and what Faye could do. "I know it wasn't your fault. It's just.
Everything came to a head that day. The video, Sylvia, then from all
that directly to you and Roxx."

Easy Faye, don't make any promises.

"Don't worry." Faye smiled. Glancing down, she had eaten everything.
"You're still my guy."

What the fuck was that?

Tim chuckled. "I'll give you my heart. Just don't give me a pen."

Faye put down her fork and looked back up, meeting his gaze again.
"Don't you think a pan would be more appropriate?"

Tim went into a full blown laugh. Faye laughed too, somehow feeling like
she missed the joke. The nervousness of her laughter lost in the joke
she almost got. A squeak cut through the laughter to reveal Myka.

She sniffed the air. "Steak Diane. Haven't had that in years. Did you
like it, Bobbie?"

Keeping her hand with Tim's, Faye turned her head. Flashing a winning
smile, she said. "Yes, I did. He's a wonderful cook."

Tim slid his hand away and was up. "Don't worry, Mom. I've got it. I
made extra. I just..." He stopped just short of putting the remainder of
the sauce on the steak. Tim looked back at Myka.

She smiled an atrophied smile. "Go ahead. Might as well go all the way."

"You okay, Mom?" Tim asked, setting the plate down at his old seat. Myka
sat across from Bobbie. "Yes." She said, looking at Bobbie. "For the
first time in a while. Yes, yes I am." Myka smiled, taking in the
picture of the man he had become.

And his girlfriend, she was amazing. Funny how some things work out.
Jack would have loved her. Stephanie, too... she smiled.

"Don't you two have a movie to catch?" Myka cut her steak. She ate
slowly, nodding approval. "I'll be fine, see you tomorrow. Take care of
her, Tim."

Wide eyed and slack jawed, Tim nodded and turned as he accompanied
Bobbie through the door and down into the street.

***

Bobbie was amazed she wasn't drunk. I guess Faye's body can handle it.
I'm supposed to see how she lives, right? Bobbie was interested and a
little excited to be able to experience that again. The itch on her back
was starting again, finally thawing from the case of near frostbite she
caused by holding chunks of snow over it.

The elevator car was sliding up the shaft, pushing down on Bobbie like
an invisible blanket. It stopped on the correct floor without any stops
this time. Bobbie strode out, still clad in only the furkini and hair
extensions. She knew she looked good, she'd just seen the pictures. The
whole wolf-girl thing was hotter than she thought. She'd been under the
impression that it would be far more annoying, lots of standing around
and being uncomfortable and bored.

And when she had suggested the snowboard run? She thought Mike was gonna
have turtles. But the pictures didn't lie. She pulled the keycard from
her left breast, which instantly seemed to wilt at the lack of touch.
Sliding the keycard into the slot caused a warming in her loins. The
click of the lock sounding surprisingly orgasmic. The door opened.

"That you, Faye-faye?" Rach was toweling her hair as she came around the
corner. "I freakin' love that shower. Man, they sure know how to treat..."
She stopped mid sentence and gasped. "Oh. My. God. You're fucking
gorgeous, babe."

Bobbie felt like she should blush. But instead of feeling the rising
heat, a cooling calm spread over her face." She smiled, tilting her head
demonically. Rach walked up to her and stroked a lock of her hair.

"Love the hair. I don't know why you don't ever grow it out." She
reached out around Bobbie's waist and stroked that covered her ass. "The
outfit? How anime of you." Rach giggled infectiously. She kissed Faye,
bending over slightly.

It was weird for Bobbie to be standing here with her tongue halfway down
Rach's throat. Just relax, Faye had to know something like this would
happen, right? But she hadn't said anything. Fuck it, I'm here and she
isn't. She noticed that the tension she felt around Mary was only a
memory. The tension was gone, the touch of alcohol still blazing in her
belly. All the blocks were gone. Her actions no longer dictated by what
she couldn't do. Rach spun away and went into her bag, coming out with a
bottle. "Stole this from home." Rach swung the bottle by its handle. It
was a bottle of Bulleit Bourbon. "Got some Coke from the vending machine
and..." Bobbie didn't hear the rest, she was watching Rach leer at her.

Bobbie came and grabbed the bottle. She opened and smelled it, it
smelled astringent, yet smooth. She raised it to her lips and took a
swig. It burned pleasantly all the way down. It was a pleasure to burn...

The buzz started to come on, and there was Rach. Completely naked, the
water on her skin combined with the colors she radiated caused another
warming beside the alcohol. "So, brave naked hunter," Bobbie whispered
breathily.

"Gonna hunt the big bad wolf?"

Rach coiled and leapt at Bobbie, knocking her onto the bed in a supine
position. Rach's face was there, millimeters. There was a sickly sweet
smell, one that Bobbie instantly paired with the lingering taste of
bourbon as Faye's girlfriend plastered her face onto her own.

Faye's just gonna have to deal. I mean, really? What else can I do here?

Rach was slowly sliding one of the furkini straps down a slender
shoulder, lightly kissing her way toward her neck. The buzz from Bourbon
dovetailed into the sensations of Rach starting to lose her mind as she
flipped.

"My what big teeth you have," Bobbie said.

Smiling, Rach said, "The better to eat you with my dear."

Bobbie wasn't able to keep track of much of anything for the next few
minutes. But the itch on her back seemed to start burning.

***

Kim was coughing as she stubbed out the cigarette halfway. She put the
half smoked cylinder back into her pack. She looked at the bottom of the
bottle. Only two left. Wish I knew where Roxx was. Roxx had all but
disappeared right after her mom threw Bobbie out. Bobbie? Kim thought
derisively. Hah. I bet Robb would have been more fun.

She spat thick mucus into a tissue and lay down. Jesus, must be smoking
too much. She knew Roxx would be around soon, she never stayed gone
long. She took one of the pills to help quell the burgeoning headache.
The small girl ran a hand over her sandpaperlike scalp as she took a
deep breath, resulting in another cough. The curtain of sleep soon came
down, making it impossible to notice the slight wheezing that rasped
under the shallow breathing of her voyage to dreamland.

***

Tim was talking about some of the strange people that had come in to the
bakery. Like the two cops, Officers Hudson and Hobson. Faye laughed at
that.

"They were two of the officers there when Daily Grind got broken into. I
swear, they know everything about cop movies." Tim smiled. "Life
imitates art, right?" It seemed that the two cops had become regular
customers, offering trivia references with a strange twist of fate. They
brought him coffee.

Tim laughed. "You'll meet 'em soon enough. With everything else that's
happened, I thought there was one thing..." He held up a finger. "...that
would cheer you up." He stopped on a dime, stopping Faye with him. He
looked up. The cup, clock, and saucer logo of Daily Grind thrust out
proudly above the glass doors.

"The new doors are much nicer, I really like the frosted work around the
border." Tim pointed out the tiny versions of the logo that sat at
jaunty angles at various points near the perimeter." Tim opened the door
and with a flourish of his hand waved Faye inside. Tim followed her and
pointed at the brand new, bigger pastry case that festooned the counter.
Tim's smile couldn't have gotten any bigger without tattooing it on.

"Tim, Bobbie. Hi." Gilda stood behind the counter. "Usuals?"

"Yes, ma'am." Tim reached into his back pocket for his wallet.

Gilda shook her head, "You two ride free today. Least I can do. You'll
have the order ready by Tuesday, right?"

"Gilda. You can count on it. Right, Bobbie?"

Faye looked at Tim, a little nervous. "Sure thing." She crooked her arm
and punched an invisible attacker in front of her stomach.

Within minutes, they had their beverages. Faye sipped at hers, what
strange beverage is this? It was like Faye thought it would be, sweet.
Surprisingly the raspberry flavor worked really well with Daily Grind's
special roast espresso. After a few sips, her full stomach began to
tingle as the caffeine did its wakening work.

Okay, Bobbie. I'll give you points for this one. The cup warmed one
hand, while Tim's warmed the other. Talk turned to zombies, and finally
Faye was thankful to have a conversational topic she could identify
with. They were discussing the finer points of post zombie afterscape
cuisine when they saw the marquee proudly proclaiming "Two Dawns, One
Ticket." Some people shambled about in zombie costumes, some in police
uniforms, and several sexy zombies. Two tickets greeted them at the box
office. Faye caught Tim looking like he was floating, and, come to think
of it, she couldn't remember the last time she felt the ground under her
feet. She smiled Bobbie's sweet smile, and understood what made some
girls so stupid.

And, as much as it killed her inner child, and doused the inferno of her
flames down to a mere blaze...

She kind of liked it.

Chapter 46

Bobbie was officially shitfaced, so was Rach. The half empty bottle
stood on top of the minibar next to the five empty cans of Coke. Rach
laughed. As Bobbie stumbled on her way to the kitchenette.

"Fay-fay, I've never asked you this... But, what was it like to be a guy?
You've never talked about it."

Bobbie swallowed hard, her dry mouth not making the activity simpler.
Faye had told her that she knew, and in her drunken state it all fell
out.

"Imagine being at the controls of a giant robot." Bobbie felt her eyes
glaze over. "You're walking through a gigantic city, fighting. All the
while you're fighting, doing good... You're destroying buildings, lives,
at least as much as you're saving. The fights keep coming, so do the
bodies."

"From outside all you can see is the impassive robot. But, inside..."

Rach looked puzzled. Giant Robots? What the hell?

Bobbie shook her head. "Sorry. Everyone expects you to be strong all the
time. And if you're not like everyone else they cast you aside. I never
really was cut out for it, so much. Guys and girls handle things
differently. Seems like I'm better at this..."

Rach watched her talk, there was something. Maybe it was the alcohol,
the furkini she was still wearing, the way the hair extensions caught
the light, or the glaze on her girlfriend's eyes giving the impression
of varnished wood. She got up and went for Bobbie.

Bobbie watched as Rach's colored ribbons became a blizzard of confetti.
She barely had time to refocus her her eyes before she was bowled over,
knocked sideways onto the bed. Rach's mouth was suddenly on hers, the
tongue probing. She felt a hand on one breast, her nipple between two
fingers. She remembered the times Mary had kissed her, how it had felt
wrong. It's different with Rach, there was a slight twinge of guilt that
was immediately relaxed away by Rach's caresses.

"I can't tell you how glad I am that you're not a guy," Rach said,
kissing her again. "I never would have met you." She smiled, bourbon and
coke odors emanating from her.

Bobbie smiled, Rach's hands found new purchase on the breasts she was
rapidly becoming accustomed to. She closed her eyes as she felt her neck
being kissed.

***

Rach was undressing Faye, she wanted her so badly right now. The hair,
the furkini, and the alcohol all mixed into a cocktail of arousal that
Rach had drunk without taking a breath. Faye must have felt it as well,
she seemed all clumsy. Her hands seemed to move awkwardly over the body
she should have known intimately by now. Weird, she's been acting
strange all weekend. Well, with Bobbie staying there, and school, and
who knows what all else?

You're lucky I love you. She looked down at Faye. The girl she loved,
through everything she may or may not have been.

Faye was hers.

***

Bobbie was overtaken by orgasm as she screamed like thunder, before she
could get her mind on top of it, another came. They were coming faster
and faster, and Rach seemed to have no intention of stopping. Soon, the
orgasms started to overlap each other, causing convulsions. The wild
bucking and thrashing finally subsided, leaving Bobbie wiped out. Rach
laughed at Bobbie as her eyes rolled up into the back of her head.
Thoughts of contentment flooded her mind. Since The Switch Bobbie had
noticed that she wasn't held back, there were no compulsions or blocks.
It was similar to the feeling she had after the warehouse party.

Summoning great effort, Bobbie sat up, carrying Rach's face up to her
own, she tasted herself mixed with the sweet, sharp smell of the day's
drinking. It was easy to forget who's body she wore, what with
everything screaming for her attention. She started to pay attention to
the places she could touch that made her dance partner soften and give
up just a little further. Every part of Bobbie's being craved carnal
pleasure with ravenous intent. The burning on her back made her arousal
seem amplified. As Bobbie and Rach tore into each other with no abandon,
the ice in the small hotel cups melted into their respective drink's
third ingredient.

***

"That blood was terrible, it looked like melted crayon," Faye said to
Tim. "And that Krishna zombie? Why were they all green?"

"Well," Tim admitted, "that wasn't exactly cutting edge effects, but the
story and the acting were good, and it's a hell of a swipe at consumer
culture. Romero knew what he was doing, Still think that Day is a little
better though. That guy that played Bub? Now, HE deserved an Oscar for
that."

Faye wanted to facepalm, even though there were zombies being spoken of,
she was lost again. "Although I would love a dubstep version of that
song, it's so awesome cheesy."

"Dubstep?" Tim laughed. "See? This is what happens when you hang out
with Faye too long, and it's called The Gonk." He brought her in for a
hug. Faye felt her body melt into his, a bunch of mismatched thoughts
and emotions played through her mind. Faye had to admit it was a
comfortable place, here with Tim. Even if the movie hadn't been that
great, she was still having a good time.

Since becoming Faye, simply living became a spectator sport. People
coming on to her became an almost daily occurrence, but here with Tim...
He didn't gawk. She didn't remember opening a single door. He didn't try
for the amateur breast grab. Raising the armrest and snuggling was as
far as he ever went. No cheesy whispers of salacious intent. Faye was
aghast, both by the film's mediocrity and Tim's lack of forward
behavior. It was obvious he had learned his entire repertoire of romance
from movies. But, wow, does he understand context. Faye thought, his
taste in films may be suspect... But, here I am, having way too much of a
good time. Faye looked at him with eyes she didn't know existed. This is
nothing to him, he must treat her like this all the time. She looked up
at Tim, realizing that he wasn't anything like other guys. He displayed
maturity and wisdom; she could see that losing half of his family made
him grow up...fast. How the last couple of years had been stolen from him,
mostly by his own choices. Bobbie had brought him back from the brink,
helped him regain what he lost and made him what he was now.

Someone who was head over heels in love with Bobbie. She's right, two
broken people, broken in different ways. Their pieces do fit together.
This whole date proved it. She would have absolutely loved this. Faye
could picture Bobbie being...exactly like I'm being right now. It was
batshit crazy for her to be doing this but...

Faye reached up, and grabbed the back of Tim's head. Their tongues met,
surging feelings mixed in Faye's estrogen addled mind like melted legos
forced together into a shape that was never meant to be. She kissed him
with a fervor usually reserved for Rach, It took about thirty six
nanoseconds for passions to bloom. Faye was equal parts enticed and
puzzled. She never thought she'd be engaged in this particular activity.

And here she was, with her buttery lips sliding over Tim's, tongues
waggling against each other.

***

Tim had kissed Bobbie before, several times since the Winter Ball in
fact. It felt different this time. Bobbie seemed to favor circling to
the left, she never did that before but...

Oh, screw it. She's here with me, and that's all that matters.

And there he stood with the one person he cared about above all else.
Stomachs full of Steak Diane, bloodstreams full of caffeine. Mouths full
of each other, and surrounded by zombies.

Chapter 47

Bobbie was still drunk, although now drunk also came in other flavors.
Cherry flavored headache, lemon flavored stomach, and a taste in her
mouth that was somewhere between grapefruit and shrimp. She glanced at
the clock and saw that she had two hours to get herself ready. Rach's
breath vibrating a nipple. First on side, warming the windward side;
then the other, a cooling breeze from the leeward side...

Better get up, Bobbie contemplated through the Ache of Life that was a
hangover. In her original body... well, there would be vomit all over the
place for one thing... She disengaged her hand from the place she seemed
to find it every single time she fell asleep. The shower did little to
settle her stomach or her head. She wasn't sure if it was her or the
room, but she felt hot, flushed. There's gotta be something in here
that's cooler. Bobbie wrestled her breasts into the teal top and the
denim mini. She felt the whole room wobble as she did so. Bobbie looked
at the color coded tags on everything and decided that she'd had enough.
The fever was lower now

Screw this. I can decorate the walls a little, too. She looked through
the accessories Faye had sent her with. So many things, I thought
Heather was bad, jeez. Bobbie came away with a thin, yellow vinyl belt
in one hand and a matching green one in the other. One yellow sock, one
teal...

The mirror stared back at her, mismatched socks and the two belts
nestled in the same belt loops. She pulled on the Chucks and looked
around the room. There was a disheveledness to everything. Both Bobbie
and Rach wound up knocking things over in their mad drive for sexual
satiation. While tongues and hands were busy; torsos, knees, and elbows
were busy making work for the housekeeping staff. She righted a lamp as
she got a good look without distractions.

She knew what others saw, the desire they all felt. Bobbie tried to keep
it in the box. Mike, Ailie, and now Rach didn't let her.

And, it was turning out to be more fun than she thought. The alcohol
seemed to be some respite. I think I'm liking this little vacation. Her
expression dimmed slightly. I know it'll come to an end, but I can enjoy
it while it goes on. The grin plastered on her face became a long leer
as she twisted to admire her body in the full length mirror.

Bobbie giggled as she looked at Rach. She had fallen asleep with her
body half off of the bed. She pulled Faye's phone out and snapped a few
photos. Smiling at the thought of some blackmail pics, Bobbie looked at
Rach one more time as she silently stole away into the corridor.

***

The undead gathered at the entrance to the theater, moaning and
chattering. Faye and Tim stood at the center, easily the best dressed of
the whole crowd.

"Alright," boomed from the speakers. 'Mad' Mike Morgan, owner of the
Revival Theater was addressing the crowd. Anyone could see that there
was some kind of costume competition going on that night. "I would like
to say thanks for coming out and making this night a success. Tonight's
winner gets four passes and four combos, and runner up gets a twenty
dollar gift certificate for uhh... Cheepskates." He looked down at the
index card he was reading it from.

Faye looked at Tim. "Yeah," he yelled over the din of the undead.

The contest entrants were lined up. Steampunk zombie, zombie cowboy,
horribly decayed zombie.

And a cheerleader zombie with a partially human head pom poms.

That cheerleader looked awfully familiar to Faye for a second... Stacy
Keebler? What the hell is she doing here? Tim squeezed her from the
side, she was taken off balance and fell into him a little. Faye was
dismayed as she tittered. It was strange to feel this way. See? Boys are
stupid, aren't you glad you aren't one anymore? She remembered telling
Bobbie that not too long ago. Tim pointed through the candy colored haze
of the evening.

"Runner up is..." 'Mad' Mike said, refocusing his eyes on the index card.
"Stacy Keebler, The ravishing, ravenous zombie cheerleader queen."
Applause went up, Tim cheering.

They watched her wave her human head pom poms toward the crowd. Her
blood drenched face and uniform broke where her teeth showed. Faye felt
bile rise up, she'd never gotten along from those long ago days when she
was still trying to figure out how she would endure life in her old new
body. Zoe had managed to stop them from killing each other.

Mike handed her the envelope containing her 'Cupcake Bux' , and Stacy
turned to face the crowd. More whooping and cheers went up. "And the
winner is... Jeb Stilton, the cog covered corpse."

Steampunk zombie made a glittery swagger work as he crossed to the
podium and received his prize from the theater owner. Light caught the
monocle he was wearing, it also glistened. the overly waxed ends of his
mustache. The horde went hysterical.

****

Stacy was pissed, her daddy had gotten her some really cool mannequin
heads from a hollywood makeup department... and this jackass hipster
glues some gears on something and wears a monacle and he wins?

Cupcakes?? Fucking cupcakes?? Like I wasn't already porking out. She had
gone on a crash diet to make sure she could still get into her old Blue
Devils cheerleader uniform. While it had seemed like a fun idea at the
time, the chill of the night and tightness around the midsection told
her that trying to recapture that part of her life was futile. It wasn't
like the passes and popcorn were high on her list either. But, she
wanted to win, dammit.

She put on her best gracious face and smiled. Accepting her envelope and
standing next to that douchecake ate at her like the zombies she was
dressed as. She was just so... so...

Frustrated was the word she was searching for, she walked heavily
through the crowd. She didn't want to sit through another version of the
same movie she had just seen.

She saw the blond girl, dressed more for the club than the cinema.
Everyone knew who she was. 'nicenaughty' had gotten to the guys at the
community college.

There was a drinking game involving when each girl blinked. Stacy had
been suckered into playing it once. After that hangover, she wouldn't do
that again. Somehow that slut managed to go back to school like nothing
ever happened. Then there was that thing with the bakery. Stacy had
taken home ec in school, but never got the hang of cooking. What was the
point with all the options available?

She needed to make her displeasure known, seeing that girl just having a
good time trying to be respectable. She'd been told that those cupcakes
were the closest thing to heaven she could ever eat. Heaven, angel, fuck
what an act.

Stacy walked right up to Faye and Tim.

"Those..."

****

"I gave him some gift certificates I made. It would have been worth
paying twenty bucks just to get him to mention it tonight." Tim's eyes
twinkled as he looked at Faye, turning her to face him. "I like that we
stand out more than the zombies do."

They did, easily the freshest uncorpses out tonight, There was almost a
Hollywood feel to their dress; when compared to the zombies, hipsters,
and movie lovers. They eyes locked, they smiled at each other. The sound
of a hissing goose knifed the balloon of happy.

"...cupcakes of yours better be good. Fucking swear I'll clip those wings
of yours. Send you back to that porn career. 'Least you'll have a future
there." Stacy was standing there, consigning Tim to oblivion.

Son of a bitch... Faye thought, Stacy put on her best face of disapproval.
The zombie makeup did nothing to help that, Faye burst out laughing.

"Porn future? Oh, that's cute." Faye stopped laughing abruptly and
brought her cold gaze to bear on Stacy. "Our cupcakes are unbeatable, we
make them from scratch. Our daddy doesn't give them to us. We work at
it..."

"...Princess." Faye made it sound like it rhyme with 'cunt' or 'bitch'.

Stacy looked a little stunned. Bobbie wasn't known for her outbursts,
nor was she known for having a forward nature.

Faye was enjoying seeing her off balance, so she pressed on.

"Hey, wha..." Tim began only to be silenced.

"Back off, burnout," she snapped at Tim.

"It's okay, Tim," Faye said, smiling. She turned back to Stacy. "Jealous
that I have a talent? Afraid you're gonna be stuck blowing some boring
guy so just he'll give you shopping money?"Faye was laying into the
zombie cheerleader.

"What, thought I'd just curtsey and bow? Not a chance." Faye leaned into
her.

"Princess." Faye carefully enunciated the word. The undead were starting
to pay attention.

"Okay, maybe I made a bad decision or two along the way. That doesn't
make you any better than me."

"I'm not that person anymore, and I'm through taking shit for it." She
grabbed Tim and kissed him forcefully. He was surprised, but went with
it.

Faye ended the kiss and looked at Stacy. "You better start finding that
guy to blow." She left her arms around his neck.

"Looks like I found mine."

"You BITCH!" Stacy fumed at Faye. She dropped the envelope and brought
her right foot back, perpendicular to her left and bent her knees. She
lowered her center of gravity, Just like her. Sahbumnim taught her, the
angered girl bent her arms at the elbow, ready to give her the full
Keebler fury.

Faye practically screamed with laughter. Tim started to laugh as well,
inadvertently.

"What? You gonna beat up the porn queen and the burnout? I don't care
how good your kung fu is. Not gonna look too good to the other zombies.
You could try it, I suppose..." Faye craned her neck to look at the
overrun of the undead that had started to look.

Stacy looked around nervously. She ground her teeth and started to stamp
her foot. She brought it down slowly.

"That's right, Princess. Don't want your reputation down here with ours.
'Cuz that's the one thing your precious daddy can't buy, is it?"

This is so, so fun. Is it because I can finally put her in her place?

Or because she's wrong?

Stacy lowered herself further and retrieved the envelope. She left
quietly, disappearing into the zombies.

Tim, still trying to calm the chuckling. "Where did that come from? And
who the hell is she anyway?"

"That's Stacy Keebler, and she was a bitch to someone who was really
nice to me when I got to Delacroix." She smiled.

"I stand by my friends."

Tim was still smiling. "I know you do. Best friend I've ever had."

Awww! She stared into his eyes. Faye couldn't remember ever seeing that
look in Rach's eyes.

As if fresh meat had been dropped, the undead shambled back into the
theater. On the way back in, Faye felt some sharp pricking along her
left side. Looking up, there was some hipster looking douchebag brushing
past her. A tinkling on the ground made Faye look down to see the cheap
costume gears bounce on the lightly damp asphalt.

Chapter 48

Bobbie was holding on to the chair as Ailie was pulling the laces on the
filigreed corset she was wearing.

"No, tighter. I will go to the ball," Bobbie said, Ailie laughed out
loud.

"Ye're funny," Ailie said, tying the laces into a bow at the top.
Gasping slightly, Bobbie grimaced.

"Too many fantasy novels I guess." She breathed shallowly. She felt the
cotton vest top shift slightly as she straightened. "My friend makes
clothes. Her mom is in New Zealand for that..."

"Wheel of Ages? I like those films, great costumes." Ailie tied the bow
at the top of the corset. "Theere ye are, I'm off to take care of Luka."

A willowy blond woman with thin features poked her head in. "I heard my
name, did you call me?" she said lowly.

"Nay," Ailie said. "But, I'm ready, nonetheless. Faye, this is Luka."

Bobbie extended her hand. "Luka? Do you live on the second floor?"

Luka's face fell. "How did you know?"

Bobbie laughed. "Suzanne Vega told me."

"Who's that? She one of the other models?"

Bobbie laughed through her nose. "I'll be out on the set while you get
her laced up." Faye looked at her costume; It was obvious that there was
going to be more lacing going on for Luka. She could smell a pungent
tang underneath her perfume...weed, she's high. The perfume of the
cannabis rousing something timeless in her. She walked into what looked
a perfect lady's sitting room. Merchant Ivory, eat your heart out. Mike
was already there, setting up his cameras.

"Oh, hi. Faye, I'm glad you're here." Mike looked tired, but still
moving. "There was supposed to be another model, but she dropped out.
Divas, am I right?" He tightened the last knob on the tripod

Mike continued, looking through his light meter. "So, you know who
Oswald Van Der Haven is? Probably not, but..."

"The software guy? Sure, what's he got to do with anything?" Bobbie was
puzzled.

Mike sighed. "Yeah, I guess it's always been his dream to own a magazine
like this. So, he's making a test issue."

He continued. "L33ts and G33kz, he's calling it. Supposed to be like
Playboy for nerds. I think it's a great idea, but this steampunk shoot
is taking it too far. All that brass is messing with my lighting.
Basically, The idea here is you're having Sunday Tea in the sitting room
here. "Steam and Sensibility is what we're calling this one, We've got a
college dorm room set up on the other side."

Bobbie chuckled. Costumes? Sets? Faye gets to do this all the time...

And she never wanted this, talk about being unappreciative.

***

Bobbie could smell the marijuana on Luka's breath, just as she was sure
she could smell the bourbon on hers. Their faces were so close together,
she could almost see how soft her lips were, felt her chi, her prana...

Her heat.

Their corsets touched. Luka brought up a slim hand and rested it on the
buckle holding the shoulder harness on. The clicking shutter made her
think she was radioactive, infecting her with her sensual fallout.
Bobbie was so turned on, her rigid nipple finding the need to press
further. Opening her eyes, she noticed shadows of reds and pinks. The
look on Luka's face looked like it would welcome her lips. Rachel? Oh,
Faye won't mind. She must do stuff like this constantly.

Bobbie leaned forward and kissed Luka deeply, tasting both the weed and
the strawberry ice cream she had eaten earlier, Luka responded by
pulling on the strap, causing the shoulder harness to come off in one
piece, one of the gears ripping the corset. Bobbie shot an arm around
her waist and looked up at the blond girl, the multicolored dreadlocks
they had put in behind the goggles and under the Lolita hat she wore.
The corset fell away, exposing Bobbie's right breast. The nipple poked
out like a curious animal, wishing to join the hunt. The sharp marijuana
taste lingered on Bobbies tongue, her lips.

Widening her eyes, Luka responded appropriately. Stealing a glance,
Bobbie noticed that the colors were gone. Like kissing her had made them
go away. She remembered how she noticed that sometimes that the
darknesses she saw would change and lighten when she helped people and
when they ate the cupcakes.

Cupcakes? Who gives a shit about cupcakes?

***

Mike watched through the lens as the corset fell away. The quickly
moving shutter captured every tiny detail. He kept shooting as he saw
Faye kiss Luka. Holy shit! Who the hell is this girl?

The two girls made out and drank tea, The shoot was over before Faye
noticed. And Luka seemed a little out of sorts.

"Okay, thanks. That's a break. Ailie should be here in a moment. I need
to get my power cord, be right back."

"Hey, Luka," Bobbie whispered. "Didn't mean to freak you out, just
seemed right..."

"...and it looked to me like you wanted to."

The blond girl smiled, her cornflower blue eyes grinning at Faye through
the rainbow of dreads. "Yeah," she said, drawing the word out dreamily.
"I'll bet those shots look boss." Her drawl gave her words a slight
lilt.

"Hey Luka."

"Hmmm?"

"You have any more of that pot? I haven't had any in so long, and when I
tasted it on your breath..."

"Oh, sure," Luka said, going into her hemp purse and produced a small
box. She reached inside and handed Bobbie a joint. "My family grows it
for medicinal purposes. I say screw it, I just like to get high. This is
a stressful job."

"Thanks," Bobbie said, she took the wide tube and secreted it away in
her belongings, looking forward to an evening to remember. She thought
of Rach earlier with the bourbon.

Tonight's gonna be fun.

***

This is gonna be fun. Rach stood at the top of the run, she was still a
little buzzed and headachey. Nothing could clear her head like drifting
down the snow that would be gone in three days, but not too good for
boarding tomorrow. She couldn't believe that she drank that much with
Faye. She had woken up stiff in an awkward position, I know as sure as
shit that she's got pictures of it in that damn phone of hers; adjusting
her goggles, watching the amber color overtaking the bright, white
blanket. She pushed off, slightly wobbly. Her boot scuffed the front of
the leading edge, knocking the board a little to the right. She got her
foot on the board and let physics take over. The lack of friction caused
the board to acquire speed, a little faster than she was ready for. Her
intestines buckled briefly as she listed to the left. Tacking back and
forth, she eventually righted herself just before the small mounds of
snow grew larger at the periphery of her vision.

Rach felt her mistake as soon as she launched the board aloft. She
couldn't get her nose up in time and it caught the snow at just the
wrong angle, levering her face into the snow. Her momentum carrying the
back of the board over her head.

Where is my mind?

"Ow..." A collision with the snow.

"Oof..." The ground smacked her again from a different angle.

"Shit." The board landed one way; her ankle twisted the other, she felt
pain spread throughout her foot as it grew warm and began to swell in
the constraint of her boot. It hurt, bad. She started to get the boot
off and pack it with snow to keep the swelling down the second she
stopped rolling. Rach unzipped the cell phone pocket on her jacket and
called Faye.

Faye'll be here soon, she always comes running.

It took over an hour and several calls before the rescue team came to
get her. She was treated and taken back to her room. She lay on the bed,
still loopy from the painkillers they gave her. Rach looked at the empty
bottle of bourbon. Ugh, not drinking for a while. The hangover was gone,
replaced by the dull throb of her sprained ankle and the sickly sweet
feeling of the Vicodin.

With clear thought impossible, Rach felt sad. Where was Faye? She felt
alone, morose.

She looked at the phone and saw the eight missed calls. C'mon Fay-fay,
where are you? All Rach wanted was to be in her girlfriend's arms, and
it appeared that fate would cruelly snub her today.

***

Tim and Faye were walking through the zombies on the way out of the
theater.

"Fast zombies are just better... Nothing happens, then BAM, they're
everywhere, like ants."

Tim looked puzzled at his girlfriend. "Really? Hmmm. See, I think the
slow zombies are better. They're out there, they're a threat. They'll
munch on your ass. But, it's the five assholes you locked yourself in
with that you have to worry about. Romero's are more like character
studies in miniature."

Faye wanted to roll her eyes, but couldn't. As nerdy as this
conversation was, she still felt herself hanging on every word. As much
as she wanted to continue to argue for the more ambulatory undead. Faye
couldn't find the depths of her endless snark available to her.

"Bobbie," Tim began, stopping at a street corner. "I'm really glad you
came out with me tonight. After that bullshit with... that girl." He
clinched his jaw.

"Forget it," Faye said, knowing that there was no way Bobbie wouldn't
forgive him. She smiled, "Besides, you don't think I'd let you treat
another girl like this, do you?" Tim smiled dreamily back at her.

A small part of Faye's mind couldn't believe she was falling for this,
even as it was happening. He's a walking chick flick. And she knew it
was real, she felt it deep in places she didn't like to talk about at
parties. Faye, snap out of it!

But she couldn't.

She kissed him, the corner bathed in the green glow of the streetlight.
They stood there so long that the light became yellow, then red, with
Faye falling for a guy. She wondered about Rach and Bobbie, and how hard
they all had fallen in one way or another. A fleeting thought of what
Bobbie and Rach might be doing kissed her mind. Zombies both fast and
slow dominated the conversation for the next few blocks, when Tim pulled
keys out of his pocket.

"I know you haven't been here since..." He trailed off. Faye looked up and
recognized the logo. "Just thought you'd like to take a look." He opened
the door and flipped some breakers on, the production area glowed dimly
with the light of the ovens. Music started to play through some speakers
that must have been hidden."

Let's dance in style/ let's dance for a while

Bobbie felt Tim's hand on hers as she was pulled close to him. There was
a woody, leathery smell under his aftershave. They danced, Faye tried to
fall into rhythm and must have stepped on Tim's shoes about six times
before they fell over crashing onto the floor in a heap.

Laughing.

Faye could feel him stiffen as she lay atop him, the smile in both their
eyes joining into a greater aura. She reached down and grasped his thigh
as she bent to kiss him again.

And again, tongues probing, Faye felt a hand slid up her left side
inflaming feelings that she recognized. She knew how her body was
responding. Generally anyway, the sensations were cleaner, more focused.
Passions bloomed as she brought her hand up to his neck. She had the
other sliding up the inside of his suit jacket. She needed to be closer
to him, and after everything that happened tonight. She wanted to in the
worst way, it was a hungering need she was familiar with. She knew the
usual method for alleviating the pressure, and Faye knew how it was
supposed to work. At least I think so...

The thought of holding a penis again was already weird enough, and the
fact that it belonged to someone else filled her with dread, excitement,
and guilt. Bobbie..

Ok, I'm not done with you, but think about this. Who are you helping
here? Bobbie or yourself?

Oh, shut up.

Tim felt her hand going for the belt buckle, he abruptly stopped and
tried to back away through the floor. Faye's face became a mask of chaos
and confusion as Tim slowly extricated himself from Faye.

"No, Bobbie. I..." Tim's eyes misted. Faye was both disappointed and
shocked.

"I don't deserve it yet. Things are still too fragile. I care about you
so much." Tim said, lightly wiping his eyes on his sleeve. "I don't want
to lose anyone else who's important to me."

Faye stood, still wearing a puzzled look. But... how...? She didn't
understand, wouldn't any guy jump at the...? Weren't guys mostly selfish
pricks? But not this one. Tim stepped forward and held her close, his
erection the furthest thing from her mind. She texted Nick and they held
hands in the oven glow until he arrived.

"Bobbie, you were a better dancer before. What happened?"

Faye creakily smiled and said, "Must be the dress, It's so tight."

"You really are beautiful, you know that."

Faye blushed. It wasn't the vapid comments she usually got. The loud
sound of Detroit came around the corner and stopped at the front door.
Faye kissed Tim one more time before leaving.

"See you tomorrow, Bobbie Blue." Tim winked as he drew out holding her
hand as long as he humanly could before.

A smiling Nick greeted her as she entered the car, which he had cleaned.
Stooping over, he waved. "Hi, Tim."

"Hey, Nick. Good night, Bobbie."

Tim closed the door and watched them rumble off.

After turning the corner, Nick noticed that his passenger was staring
out the window.

"So, how was your date?"

"Tim is just the sweetest..." Faye choked up.

Nick smiled. "Glad you had a good time.

Faye continued to stare out the window. He really is so... Faye, come on!
You're not gonna fall for this...oh, never mind. I'm done with you...

The rest of the short trip home was spent in silence.