Fan Fiction ❯ Friends- The MOVIE!! Wait... no... ❯ Part 3- The Unthinkable ( Chapter 3 )

"I'm glad to finally be coming back…" Pagasis smiled as he stared up at the apartment from his place on the sidewalk. Before, he wouldn't have paid much mind to the place. How it wasn't that large, or how the bricks that kept the place together were starting to chip and crumble apart. Now, it was like he noticed every detail of his home. The good and the bad. It made him truly realize how much he missed it.

It didn't seem like it was too long ago, when he stood in the ally way, defending his friend. It made him glad to know that he did the right thing. It made him even happier to know that he had such great friends who wouldn't forget about him. The hospital visits proved that. He also wondered if they changed any. In any case, he knew that either Esthenia would give him hell for it, or she'd find somebody else to raise her anger upon. He had a feeling that she did. It would have made sense anyway. He was gone long enough for some changes to go on, no matter how short the time may have seemed.

The first person that Pagasis ran into was Mona. She was just exiting from her room, tying her apron on, and heading for work when she bumped into him on his way to the elevator.

"Hey!" she said, dropping her cool attitude and giving him a gentle hug. "It's been a while. I was starting to wonder if you'd ever come back."

"Aw…" Pagasis blushed. He felt somewhat flattered. "I was only gone for three weeks."

"Ha!" Mona waved her hand as if it were brushing away his words. "Three weeks too long! This place was getting way too quiet. It's starting to creep me out."

Pagasis laughed.

"Well, I guess it's going to get loud again." he shrugged.

"Good." Mona said, she then looked at her watch. "Well, I'd better be going. Stop in later on, okay?"

"Right." Pagasis nodded. He pushed the red button, making the doors slide open. "I'll see you around."

Pagasis climbed into the elevator and rode up to the second floor. He decided to go straight to his room and meet Esthenia. He was hoping to catch her by surprise.

However, as soon as the doors slid open, he found himself face to face with Tsuniker and Zera.

"PAGGY!" Zera had thrown herself on him. "You're back!"

Pagasis was a bit startled by this… unsuspected attack, but finally realizing what had grabbed a hold of his waist, he smiled.

"Hey."

Zera let go of him. Her face was brightened with a wide smile.

"We weren't expecting you until later on!" she exclaimed.

"They let me out early." Pagasis said.

"We can see that, you rascal!" Tsuniker said.

Pagasis had a strange feeling that he was about to be hugged by him too, so when Tsuniker held out his hand, he flinched.

"It doesn't bite." Tsuniker winked. "That's down a bit further."

Feeling rather stupid, Pagasis took it, and the two did a hand shake.

"So," Zera smiled. "Are you ready for the club tomorrow?"

"I was born ready." Pagasis replied, giving them a thumb up.

"Good!" Tsuniker said with a grin. "Oh, by the way, Esthenia's home, and I bet you can't guess what she's doing…"

"Ass-hole…" Esthenia thought to herself. She was spending a whole fifteen minutes drowning herself in the shower, and loving every moment of it. Her eyes were closed. She didn't need her eyes to see, besides, water in the eyes doesn't feel too great anyway, only hearing the sound of the running water, and feeling the warm sensation of every drop of it as it touched her skin. Not only did she like the warmness, she liked the clean feeling too. Oddly enough, this was the perfect place to do some thinking. What happened the night before put a lot on her mind. It was bad enough when she had a dream about it when she got home.

She could still feel Terrin's hand on her side. How it perfectly seemed to know where to go and what to do. The mind connected to it made her wonder the most. Had he had that kind of experience already, or did he just do it by instinct? Either way, it sounded good to her. Yet, something else deep inside her told her it wasn't right. She blamed her conscience right away. Stupid goodie-goodie She knew that Terrin didn't like the idea of beneficial friends, but it seemed like there was nothing stopping him. It was all so confusing. The weird part, was that she didn't loathe him.

Yet all her thoughts led back to the one she seemed to hate the most. The one who she hated because of those feelings. When Torrik didn't show up, she felt as if her chest had been crushed, suffocating the breath and every beat of her heart. This, in particular, was why he must pay dearly for it. She didn't want to waste her thoughts and what little compassionate emotions for the likes of him. Many attempts were made to flush him out. Just to forget and move on. Yet, there was something telling her not to give up. Making her hate him even more. What was the difference between him and Terrin anyway? They were both scummy men.

Leaning down, she turned the shower off and reached for a towel, then stepped out of the tub. She wrapped it around herself, then grabbed a smaller one and did a wrap around her hair.

It didn't matter, she guessed. She'd see what fate had in store for her later. Now was the time for getting ready for work. She dried herself a little better, then headed for the door. After opening it, she received quite a shock.

"Yo."

With a small scream, Esthenia stepped back, then thrust her fist out to hit her offender. That sort of thing happened out of reflex it seemed. Then again, what happened next seemed to be out of reflex as well.

"Chill out." Pagasis smiled, he had sopped her fist in his hand.

"Pa-" Esthenia gasped.

Pagasis' smile widened.

"Oh my gosh!" Esthenia cried, throwing herself onto him. "You're back!"

Pagasis didn't bother to let go of her hand. Instead, he held it tightly, weaving his fingers in between hers. He was finally re-united with his best friend. The sister he'd had since school.

The towel that was wrapped around Esthenia's hair had fallen off, leaving her hair down and dripping wet onto her shoulders. She didn't care though, feeling Pagasis' hand on hers, she felt happier than she had in weeks, knowing that he was finally home and she wasn't alone anymore. Her eyes widened. She understood now.

"Well…" Pagasis said after a long moment. He and Esthenia separated and were now facing each other. "I'm glad to be back."

"I'm surprised you're home so soon." Esthenia said. "I thought you weren't getting out until a lot later."

"Things change." he shrugged.

"Tell me about it…" she sighed while rolling her eyes. She then noticed that she was just standing there in a towel. Her cheeks turned a light red. "Uh…"

Pagasis, who just seemed to notice this too, gulped. His face was just as red as hers. Now what?

"You…" Esthenia hissed, and like a bolt of lightning, Pagasis was slammed onto the couch and tightly binded to it without mercy. "Pervert!"

Pagasis, who was in complete shock, stared down at the duct tape that held him to his temporary coffin. This happened to him often. Normally when he fell asleep on the couch. He sighed after a moment.

"Well… I guess some things haven't changed a bit " he couldn't help but smile.

"Sorry I'm late!" Esthenia said as she entered the bar. She spent about a half hour telling Pagasis everything that happened since he left. Well, everything that she hadn't told him yet.

Mona, who was re-stocking the bottles of expensive drinks, turned to them with a smile.

"That's okay." she said. "I know that Pagasis is back. I suppose you spent all this time either talking, or beating on each other. Anyway, you're lucky that nobody showed up yet."

"Whew…" Esthenia sighed.

Pagasis was by her side.

"Nobody's here yet eh?" he said as he looked around.

Mona shook her head.

"I'm sure they'll be here by lunch like always."

"True."

Pagasis sat down on one of the stools. He had nothing else to do for the moment so why not keep them company? Anyway, he had to start getting used to the fact that everyone was a work. He, himself was going to go back to his job tomorrow.

"So," Mona said, leaning on the counter in front of him. "You're the first customer. What will you have?"

"I just got out of the hospital." Pagasis said embarrassingly. "I don't have any cash on me "

"It's on the house." Mona winked. "After all, I bet that Esthenia's skills for using the grill are not half as bad as hospital food."

"You've got a point there…" Pagasis scratched his head. Just then, a frying pan collided with his head from the kitchen.

"I heard that!!!"

Pagasis smiled. Poor Esthenia. Everyone always seemed to pick on her. Especially one in particular.

"Hey Jack-ass!"

Pagasis' smile widened as he turned in his stool to face Dracos, who'd just entered the bar.

"What's up Drac-ass?" he grinned. "Isn't it past your bed-time?"

Dracos laughed.

"Yeah, I'm looking for Terrin's mother." he said, taking a seat next to Pagasis.

Pagasis just laughed. He kind of missed the way Dracos spoke with his potty mouth all the time.

"So, Zera wasn't drunk when she said you came back this morning." Dracos said. "I guess not." Pagasis chuckled.

"Here you go." Esthenia said, pushing a plate of pancakes toward them. "It's on us."

"Oh, thanks." Dracos said.

"You guys are generous this morning." Pagasis said.

"Well, you know how it is sometimes." Mona said. "Leftovers are the key to generosity."

"So," Pagasis asked as they dug in. "Where's the bum?"

Esthenia, who was headed back to the kitchen, paused for a moment.

"He's still asleep." Dracos sighed. "I talked to him last night when I got home. I guess he was knocked out for being up all day. He feels terrible for not making it…"

"Hmph."

Both boys turned their glance to the girl who disappeared behind the kitchen door. "What's up with her?" Dracos wondered.

"Quite a lot it seems…" Pagasis sighed.

"So this is it?" Terrin was looking up at a tall building. There was a sign that read "Professional Therapy" then underneath was a list of Doctor's names. "I guess so "

A little bell rang when he opened the door and entered the lobby. It looked like any other one with it's cushy chairs and magazine racks. There weren't many people there. Only three other people who were waiting and the secretary who was filing her nails at the front desk.

"Woo I wanna seem like… pot " one of the people grunted as Terrin walked past him. He was a fairly large dragon in a stained white tee shirt.

"Step away from the Psycho…" Terrin thought to himself as he approached the desk. "Uh…"

The woman, who was a rabbit, looked up at him. She didn't look very enthusiastic.

"Yes?"

"Uh, I'm here to see Sheirow."

"Up the stairs and to the left." she said, diverting her attention back to her inch long claws.

"Thank you." Terrin said as he walked over to the carpeted flight of steps.

"Why does that asshole get to go?" one of the people in the lobby complained. "I've been waiting for an hour Wooot! Pot..."

"Yeah!" a woman stood up, violently tossing aside her magazine. "I'M HERE BECAUSE I GET REALLY ANGRY WHEN I HAVE TO WAIT!!!!!"

"Tell me about it " the third said. "My friends and I hate waiting Oh, wait Oh, Phillis, you don't mind? Well all in favor of not wanting to wait later say "AIE!" He paused for a moment until his hand raised. "Aie! Phillis! Come on!!"

Terrin, who was practically bursting inside from holding in his laugher, got to the top of the stairs, went to the door to the left and knocked.

"Yes?" Sheirow appeared at the door. "Oh, hey Terrin. How are you?"

Terrin answered by stepping into his office, closing the door behind him, and letting it all out.

"Oh " Sheirow blinked. He then looked away. "Yup He's cracked "

"So," Dracos said, leaning on the counter. "Where the nurses hot?"

Pagasis gave a grin then a dreamy look.

"Oh yeah..."

"I wanna be next." Dracos said. "Let's go up on the roof and I'll jump okay?"

"Go right on ahead." Mona said, walking past them with a pitcher of coffee for the costumers in the booths. "That'll be one less thing for me to worry about..."

"Come on..." Dracos grinned. He then used his tail and lightly touched her leg. "You love me admit it..."

Mona paused, staring at him over her shoulder with the weirdest look Pagasis had ever seen. One thing that Dracos failed to realize was that she was standing right in front of him, and she was going to take complete advantage of that. One of the simplest things to do, without dripping the coffee that is, was to sock him in the face over her shoulder with her fist.

"Oww..." Dracos groaned as Mona walked away.

"You're right." she said, not looking back at them. "I wouldn't have anyone to brutally downsize if you were gone..."

Pagasis rested his head on the counter. His shoulders were jogging up and down, showing that he was laughing.

Dracos just popped him upside the head.

"I guess this was worth it after all..."

Dracos turned and Pagasis picked up his head to see Torrik enter the bar.

He looked more awake than usual and his hair was up again. He had a small grin that showed he was amused.

"Hey." Pagasis greeted. "I hear you got some beauty sleep last night..."

Torrik sighed as he sat down.

"Yeah, I feel horrible about that."

"Tell that to her..." Pagasis said, pointing at the kitchen door over his shoulder. For at that moment, it opened, then closed. "Perhaps you should go talk to her."

"Yeah right..." Dracos sneered. "You forget that there are a lot of sharp things in a kitchen, and I'm not talking about her claws."

"I'm not afraid of her..." Torrik said.

"Sure." Dracos said with a sarcastic tone.

"Sure." Mona mocked as she strode past him.

Dracos didn't see her there, and actually filched when he did.

Pagasis and Torrik exchanged a grin.

"Oh boy..." Torrik stood up. He then walked up to Mona who was now behind the counter. "You don't mind if I go back there for a moment do you?"

Mona smiled at him.

"I don't see why not..." she said. "Just don't mess with anything."

"Okay, I will..."

"What was that?"

"I won't."

"Okay."

"Okay I will..."

"You..."

Torrik had a smug grin on his face when he disappeared into the kitchen. He seemed rather proud of the havoc he was already causing. Then again, he had to clear one thing up.

"He isn't wearing his contacts..." Pagasis said as he watched him go.

Esthenia, who was at the sink washing dishes, let out a his when she found out that her water went cold.

"That's just fucking great..." she said. "There's one thing I hate more than dishes and that's bloody cold water..."

"How about people who are annoying?"

Esthenia gasped and spun around. Right away, her face was red.

This made Torrik smile. He always enjoyed watching how many colors her face could turn. It was either red with embarrassment, pink with flattery, green with jealousy, or blue when she was extremely angry and forgot to breathe. He found this rather interesting.

"What do you want?" came her annoyed voice. She turned her back to him. Cold or no cold water, she found an excuse not to face him, and continued with the plates. He was going to pay for what he did. She wanted to see him beg.

"Look..." he said. For some reason, he actually felt a pain when she turned away from him like that. She was actually angry with him. "I'm really sorry..."

Esthenia just let out a sarcastic laugh. Nope, not good enough...

Torrik let out a sigh. He was going to try the direct approach.

Esthenia let out a startled gasp when he appeared right in front of her. She stepped back, trying to figure out what the heck he was doing. Her heart was racing.

"Okay..." he said. "Apparently, an apology isn't good enough..."

"What do you mean?" Esthenia gulped. She was starting to feel the pulse in her neck and wrists from her heart racing so fast. What is he doing?

"What I mean is that I'll try to make it up to you." he explained. This antic was going to turn the tables. It was her turn to beg. "That is if it really meant that much to you."

She frowned at his smile, feeling like a defenseless bunny being stared down by a fox.

"Well... I-"

"Hmm..."

"I know what you're trying to do." Esthenia said, crossing her arms. She was onto his little game now.

"Do you now?" he was actually intrigued. This was going to be better than he thought. Little did she know that he had a counter attack for everything she said.

"Well... yeah." she shrugged.

"You still didn't answer the question."

"What question?"

"Do you want me to make it up to you?"

"Eh..." Esthenia's face grew redder. She had no way around this. In a way, she wouldn't have minded, but then again, it was her who was supposed to be intimidating him. This wasn't turning out at all like she'd planned. It took her a moment to realize that she was staring into dark blue eyes. "Your eyes..."

"What about them?" Torrik asked. "You're changing the subject now."

"Sorry..." Esthenia looked away. He had won.

Torrik, under his triumphant sneer, actually felt a little sorry for her.

"Well, I'm going to that one thing if that makes you feel any better."

"What if it doesn't?" Esthenia turned to him with a grin.

"Well, would YOU like to arrange something?"

"Eh..."

"Hey!" Dracos' voice suddenly shouted from behind the wall. "Are you two fucking in there or something?"

"I don't think so..." came the voice of Pagasis. "I don't hear anything..."

"You're right..." Dracos laughed. "Torrik isn't capable of something like that anyway."

Torrik let out a sigh.

"Sick minded as usual..." he said, turning away from her and exiting from the kitchen. However, before closing the door, he turned to her and made a funny clicking sound with his tongue and winked.

Esthenia stared after him. She thought about the way he was acting.

"And you're not..." she softly hissed, then smiled warmly. "Asshole..."

"So what you're saying..." Sheirow said. "Is that you can't figure out what it means..."

"I know..." Terrin sighed. "I hate this kind of thing."

"Well, is there anything that's been happening lately that would make you have this kind of thing?"

"Well..." Terrin bit his bottom lip. He didn't want to tell him everything. Then again, Sheirow did this kind of thing for a living and he did trust him. "Kind of."

"I see." Sheirow smiled. "In case you were wondering, I won't make you tell me everything if you don't want to, but it might be helpful."

Terrin heaved a sigh.

"Well, I guess you can say that I'm a little confused." he said. "It was the fourth time I had that dream."

"My best advice it to just go with the flow... I may be a psychiatrist, but when it comes to interpreting dreams, " Sheirow said while taking off his glasses and wiping them on his sleeve. "You might want to take that up with somebody else if you want to get more information. I kind of failed that section in psychology... "

"Who?" Terrin then noticed the glasses. "Why do you wear those anyway?"

"They make me look smarter." Sheirow smiled.

"You're a blue haired fairy horse fucker!"

"At least I screw my own kind every once in a while!"

"You boys are impossible..." Mona sighed.

Dracos and Pagasis both smiled.

"Hmm..."

"Something on your mind?" Pagasis finally asked her. He seemed to notice that Mona kept staring out the door.

"Yeah..." Mona said, folding her arms across her chest. "Umie should have been here by now. She normally comes in for lunch. It's already three."

"I see." Dracos said. "Maybe something came up."

Pagasis didn't feel too much worry. However he did feel a jolt of concern. Since the fight in the ally, he felt as if it was his duty to protect her. Just like he did for Esthenia long ago.

There was a silence for a moment until Esthenia burst from the kitchen with a wet rag and an angry expression.

"IT HAPPENED AGAIN!!!" she exclaimed in outrage. "DO YOU KNOW HOW BLOODY HARD IT IS TO WASH THE FUCKING DISHES WITH COLD WATER?! Ugh, I hate cold water..."

"It's probably the water heater." Mona said with no expression of surprise. "It's located in the basement if you want to take a look."

"Something broken?"

Esthenia turned to the one who spoke.

"I don't need YOUR help!"

Torrik smiled. Turning away from the Pac-man arcade game he'd been playing for most of the afternoon, he sighed and didn't say a word as he walked out the door.

"Wait a moment!!" Esthenia tore after him. "What did I just say you idiot!!"

"She's in a frisky mood today." Dracos said.

"Today?" Pagasis sighed.

"Well, I guess I am crazy..." Terrin thought to himself while walking down an ally. He'd just left the office of Sheirow, who couldn't tell him much about his problem. Terrin started to regret in going there. Though he did trust Sheirow, these were his own private thoughts and he just spilled them like it was nothing. All in all it had been a waste of his time. Wondering why he did it, he soon realized that the reason was because there was nobody at the apartment to talk to. On his days off, he'd sit on the balcony and talk to Pagasis...

"Meow!"

Terrin gasped. He looked down and saw his cat looking up at him with her large yellow eyes.

"Trouble?" he blinked. "How did you... Oh never mind."

Trouble tilted her head to the side.

"Meow?"

Terrin kneeled down and pat the cat on the head. When she started to purr, he smiled.

"I see your point." he said while standing back up.

The cat continued to purr as she weaved herself around his legs.

"I wasn't alone..." he said to her. "Though everybody was gone at the time, you were there weren't you?" He then let out a sigh. "I AM crazy..."

"You don't have to do this you know..."

"Are you still there?"

Esthenia felt a wave of fury.

"Yes!!"

Torrik, who had opened the outside doors to the basement and was already at the bottom of the stairs, looked up at the angry girl, who I might add still was carrying the wet dish cloth that she'd forgotten about, standing at the top. "You want hot water don't you?"

"Well... Of course." Esthenia hissed. "But I think I can take care of it myself. It's probably just a small leak or something."

"Then what's the big deal?" Torrik disappeared into the shadows.

"You!" Esthenia fallowed him into the darkness. It was cold down there. It gave her a chill up her spine and goose bumps on her arms.

"Is there a light switch down here?" came Torrik's voice from somewhere.

"You're impossible..." Esthenia hissed as she instinctively reached over and flipped on the light.

"Just a small leak huh?"

Esthenia let out a gasp.

There was the water heater, and there was the small lake it made that took up the whole corner of the basement. The many pipes that twisted and turned were leaking so bad that it looked like some kind of homemade rain machine.

"Oh, man." Esthenia whimpered. "This stinks!"

"You're telling me." Torrik said. Indeed the water did give the room a mildew smell. He then cracked his knuckles. "Dracos' room is shittier though... I'd better get cracking."

"Then what should I do?" Esthenia asked. She didn't want to feel useless.

"Well, you could find me a monkey wrench and some duct tape if you want to make yourself useful."

"Where would I find that?" Esthenia placed her hands on her hips.

"Oh, right I forgot." Torrik sighed. "You're stuck inside a small kitchen all day where the only tools around you are cooking utensils. You poor confined soul... Try looking inside my truck. There should be some in there."

Esthenia let out a sigh as she turned and walked back up the stairs and outside. Trying to remember where the truck was, she glanced up the sidewalk. Feeling stupid, she headed up the street to where the apartment was. She'd forgotten that he was still fixing it.

"He sure likes to tinker with things..." she said to herself, trying to keep a clean mind in the process.

After finding the truck and locating the desired items, she headed back. Wondering what he was doing at the time, she went down the stairs and stood there and watched.

"What?" Torrik asked over his shoulder.

"What in hell are you doing?" Esthenia could do nothing else but give him a weird look.

"What does it look like?" Torrik asked casually.

Esthenia couldn't really think of anything this situation would look like. All she could see was a large bed mattress lying on the floor and Torrik sliding it around with his foot. More sick thoughts entered her brain. She tried desperately hard to keep her face from flushing. After a moment, Torrik lifted up the mattress and Esthenia finally figured it out.

"Oh, I see now..." she said, impressed. "That's a pretty good idea."

"Someone had to clean this up." he said. "It smelled like Draco's socks down here..."

Esthenia laughed. She then walked over and grabbed a corner of the soaked mattress.

"Here, let me help you with that."

It was wet, but she didn't mind it too much. It was actually kind of funny trying to fit it back through the door. Esthenia stood outside and pulled while Torrik pushed from the inside. It enjoyed her to see him struggle while he tried to keep his hands from slipping off and hitting himself in the head like he did once already. Apparently, it was harder to get it out then in.

"How did you get it down here in the first place?"

"I kicked it..."

"Where did you find it anyways?"

"Full of questions, aren't you?"

"Just answer!"

"If I did, I'm afraid I'd have to kill you."

"What are you doing?"

Esthenia looked over her shoulder to see Umie standing behind her undoing the shiny black helmet that rest on her head. Wondering how she didn't hear the sound of Umie's motorcycle, she sighed.

"Don't ask..."

"Okay, I won't then." Umie said. She then surveyed the situation. "Well, do you need any help?"

"I think we're okay." Esthenia grunted as she pulled harder. There was a small snapping sound fallowed by Esthenia's yelp a second later. She let go of the soggy mattress, causing it to fall back. Torrik would have caught it alright, only the stairs had gotten wet from the water dripping off it, and he slipped backward having the mattress land on top of him at the bottom. Esthenia didn't pay much mind to it though. She was too busy looking at her hand. "I broke a nail! Damn it hurts!"

"Uh, Esthenia." Umie glanced down the stairs. "I think you killed him..."

Esthenia gasped and peered down.

"Uh... Torrik?"

The only thing the girls could see was the wet mattress. They let out a sigh of relief when an arm reached out from under it and waved.

"At least he's alive..." Umie said.

Esthenia lowered herself down to help him. Only when she took her first step onto the stairs, she too slipped and tumbled down. Landing on the mattress along with the person underneath.

"Well," Umie sighed. "guess you can't say he's okay now..."

Once Umie decided to go back inside, the first thing that met her eyes was a pair of blue ones staring back at her. She tried to avoid his glance as she sighed Mona hurrying from the kitchen to the bar.

"It's about time!" she said. "I was getting worried."

"Don't be worried about me." Umie said, clenching her fist behind her back in attempt to hide it, though she had the feeling that those blue eyes could see right through her. "I just got out a little late because some stupid kids called in a bomb threat for a prank at their highschool."

"Ah..." Dracos sighed, staring dreamily up at the ceiling. "Reminds me of the old days..."

"Yeah..." Umie said. She sat down, making sure that there was at least one empty seat between her and Pagasis. Like everyone else, she wasn't expecting him to come back until later. She wasn't ready to face him just yet. "Uummm, yeah." she said after silence. It bothered her so she wanted to make some kind of sound. "Do you have any idea what they're doing down there?"

"They're fixing the water heater." Pagasis said, taking a drink from his Vanilla Coke.

"Or `supposedly' they are." Dracos sneered.

"Well... It does have something to do with a mattress..." Umie glanced ahead.

"Ummm..." Dracos said while standing up after a moment. "They've been gone a long time... maybe they need some help."

"Yeah," Pagasis stood up too. Unlike Dracos with his sick mind, he had a feeling that Umie didn't want him to be around just yet. "I'll go with you."

"Sure, just leave me here." Umie said with a sheepish smile. She meant it to look like a joke but there was some sincerity in her voice that made Pagasis feel a surge of guilt. She noticed it right away when he glanced over his shoulder at her as he and Dracos headed for the door. "Oh, I was only joking."

Pagasis turned his head and rolled his eyes with a smile as he exited.

Umie sat there for a moment. She didn't know of much to do or say. Mona was in the kitchen getting Umie her lunch so she was alone. She felt somewhat relieved that she could escape those blue eyes for just a moment, yet, she longed for them as well. Feeling confused, she clutched the corner of the counter until Mona walked back out.

"Do you want anything to drink?" she asked, knowing not to tamper Umie too much when she looked so thoughtful.

"Just some tea..." Umie sighed.

"Coming right up."

While Mona was back in the kitchen for that short time, a group of men walked in. They were usually in there about that time of the day. Umie tensed up. She saw them stare at her as they took their seats at the other end of the bar. Realizing that she was still in uniform, she had a feeling that they were loathing her. Wait... was she always this paranoid?

"Here you go." Mona said as she sat the steaming mug in front of her. "Well, I suppose I'd better tend to these guys really quick. Cheer up okay?"

"Yeah." Umie forced a smile.

She stared down at the mug for a moment before she lifted it to her mouth. Letting out a sigh, she sat it back down and rested her chin on her hands that were propped up on the counter.

"Thinking?"

Umie let out a gasp as someone took a seat next to her. Gathering her pride, she looked away from those blue eyes and stared down at her mug. "I guess so."

"Really?" Pagasis smiled. Like Umie, he rested his head on his hand. "What of?"

Umie hesitated to answer, but the way he was looking at her gave her this creepy feeling that he was reading her mind. Such an eccentric ability gave her the chills. Especially for somebody who seemed to know her just by looking at her for a few short seconds. Somehow though, she felt a sense of relief. Maybe if he knew everything, that would save her the trouble of telling him. Then again, guilt was still grabbing at her stomach, giving her a fluttery feeling.

"So, where did Dracos go?"

"He's helping them remove that mattress that Torrik supposedly kicked down there." Pagasis grinned. "You're changing the subject now."

Umie bowed her head until her eyes were covered beneath her long bangs.

"Sorry."

"Sorry?" Pagasis asked. "About what?"

"I don't want to trouble you with my pointlessness."

"You're not pointless." Pagasis was intrigued. "I'm just simply asking what was on your mind."

"Do you HAVE to know?" Umie hissed.

"Well, no." Pagasis replied. "The answer is merely a necessity. The importance of it is to get you to speak your mind."

"Ugh..." Umie clutched her cushioned seat. She thought really hard. What was bothering her? She couldn't even figure it out herself. "I'm sorry." she said the first thing that came to mind.

"I see." Pagasis said. He smiled warmly. "It's nothing to apologize for you know. Things happen."

"I know they do, but it was still my fault."

"No..." Pagasis sighed. "You were just doing your duty, going by your instinct, and I went by mine. What happened was merely coincident. We both just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Or, it was more like I was at the right place at your wrong time. That seems to make more sense."

"Oh..." Umie saw his reason but didn't want to give in just yet. "Shut up..."

Pagasis didn't say anymore. Not on that subject anyway.

"So, why are you sitting here along?"

"I'm not alone." Umie replied. "Mona's just getting my lunch..."

"You're always alone." Pagasis pointed out. "Tell me... It's funny how you seem not to care about this, but isn't it hard to keep friends if you're so afraid of losing them?"

Pagasis' words hit her with a glancing blow. She didn't say anything to this, but she noticed that he was still smiling. Wondering why he could still even smile after what happened, she half expected for him to be just a little angry with her. It was like he couldn't be sad or depressed about anything. Because no matter how anyone put it, it was still her fault and nothing could change that. Why couldn't he see that and be angry with her? Just leave her alone to wallow up in her shame? Even though Pagasis tried to change the subject, the same thing kept on coming back to her. Everything reminded her about it since that night. "What are you getting at here?" she found herself say.

"I'm just trying to figure it out that's all." Pagasis shrugged. "It's sad to see that someone like you doesn't wish to get attached to people."

"I didn't ask for your help..."

"You didn't have to."

Umie sat there. Somewhat expecting Pagasis to get up and leave, she stared at her empty mug, not knowing when she drained it down her throat.

"Meow!"

Umie and Pagasis looked down at the same time to see Terrin's cat sitting on the floor between the legs of their stools.

"Hey cat." Pagasis smiled down at the purring feline. "Surely Terrin is around if you're here."

"Hola!" Terrin cheered in a high pitched voice as he appeared behind them.

"Good lord Terrin." Mona said while walking out of the kitchen with Umie's chicken sandwich and fries. "What the hell was that?"

"I donno." Terrin shrugged. He then looked down at Pagasis. "So, you're back a little early. Welcome back man."

"Indeed." Pagasis smiled as they pounded each other's fists.

"So," Terrin switched his glance to Umie. "What's up?"

"Nothing." Umie shrugged casually. "Just talking."

"How about you?" Pagasis asked.

"I went to see a shrink because I'm fucking crazy!" Terrin said in the high voice again, making Mona laugh from across the room.

"I can see that..." Umie sighed.

"How's the freak doing?" Pagasis asked.

"He's fine." Terrin replied, knowing that Pagasis was referring to Sheirow. "He's coming here when he gets out to take Mupo home."

"Great..." Pagasis rolled his eyes, but he was still grinning. "It's going to be a bloodbath hug feast in here..."

"Yay!" Terrin glanced at Pagasis out of the corner of his eye. "So, what's everyone else doing?" He asked in his normal voice again.

"Oh." Umie felt a lifting humor. "You don't want to know..."

"What are you doing down there?"

"You're mother."

"Shut up idiot!" Esthenia's voice was heard from the depths of the black abyss. "We're just fixing the water Mupo!"

"Oh." Mupo tried her hardest to see. "Uh, do you guys need any help?"

"No!" Torrik, Dracos and Esthenia exclaimed at the same time.

"Okay..." Mupo's ears dropped.

"Hey, Jack-ass is back!" Dracos called to her. "Go hug him until his liver pops!"

"Yaaayyyy!" was all the three heard when Mupo vanished and the sound of a door was heard forcefully flinging open.

"Oy..." Esthenia sighed.

"Sure..." Dracos turned his glance back at the real problem. He lightly kicked the mattress with his clawed foot. "Okay, so, how did you get this down here again?"

"I kicked it."

"You dumb ass." Dracos said. "I highly doubt that."

"Hey, at least you didn't get squashed under it..."

"We can't just leave this down here." Esthenia hissed. "It's starting to stink."

"Yeah, you can smell it on dumb fuck too..." Dracos sneered.

A hand with all fingers down except for the middle one appeared from behind the tangle of pipes behind the wall. While Esthenia and Dracos dealt with the mattress, Torrik was fixing the water heater.

Dracos returned it and turned to Esthenia.

"We could cut it up." he said.

"With what?" Esthenia folded her arms across her chest.

"I donno." Dracos shrugged. "A chainsaw or something?"

"Who in the hell has a chainsaw?"

"I bet Zera would..."

"Let's burn it."

Esthenia turned to the pipes.

"You know, out of everything you've suggested in your pointless existence, that's not a bad idea." she frowned. "But the fact that you seemed to overlook was that we're in the basement of a building."

"Glad I could help..."

"With what?" Esthenia hissed.

"By making you actually say something that took a little thought..."

"You!"

"Okay kids." Dracos scratched his head.... "Well, look at the bright side. At least we aren't stuck down here ourselves."

At that exact moment, there was the sound of an engine and a horrible crash as the front end of a van and a pair of tires came halfway into the basement entrance.

So startled, Esthenia nearly jumped into Dracos' arms and Dracos nearly hit his head on the ceiling.

Torrik let out a sigh as he looked around.

"Has anyone seen my monkey wrench?"

"Holy shit!" Esthenia exclaimed. Her hair was sticking out in several directions including the light orange fur on her arms like she'd received an electrical shock. She ran to the stairs. "Sheirow!?" she called up the stairs. "Are you okay?"

Sheirow stepped out of the steaming van as the others came running out from inside the bar.

"What the hell?" Terrin's face was white.

"I'm okay!" Sheirow smiled as he waved at them all. There was a stream of blood running down his head.

"Oy..." Mona rubbed her temples. "This isn't as bad as it looks... there's no place like home, there's no place like home... oh... what the fuck am I saying? SHIEROW YOU IDIOT!"

"Are you okay honey?" Mupo ran up to him.

"I'm fine." Sheirow said, almost at the breaking point of laughing.

"Uh..." you might want to move that..." Umie said while pointing at the van. "There's somebody down there."

"We're going to die down here of stinky mattress fumes..." Esthenia sighed as she slid down the wall and onto the floor.

"Man, that dude's driving is worse than my father's was..." Dracos sighed. He was at the top of the stairs examining the vehicle that found its way there. "When he was DRUNK!"

"You seem to take after him..." Torrik grinned as he appeared from the corner. The water was finally fixed.

"How nice..." Esthenia softly hissed.

Torrik let out a chuckle as he slid down the wall next to her.

Esthenia felt a little strange, knowing that his eyes were on her. She hugged her knees.

"Do you want something?"

"Obviously?"

"Eh?"

Torrik sighed and stared ahead. There was a tense look about him that didn't seem to suit him. "You're goofy..."

"I'm not." Esthenia puffed up.

Torrik just let out a chuckle.

"You know, it's funny..."

"What is?"

Just when Torrik was about to open his mouth to speak, Dracos appeared in front of them.

"Come on lazy ass." he said, beckoning him to come. "They told us to push while they throw it in reverse."

"I'm coming." Torrik groaned when he stood up. His words were quiet, but enough for Esthenia to hear as he walked away. "Just when I'm about to say something... people show up..."

"Today was stupid."

"No, it was interesting..."

"Yeah?" Esthenia peeked behind the door. "That's because you were in a hospital for three weeks with nothing else to look at but your own feet and a bed pan."

"And the nurses..." Pagasis chuckled.

"You men..." The bathroom door closed.

Pagasis sat down his magazine and let out a sigh. He stared at the blank wall for a moment, wondering why he and Esthenia didn't own a TV... Then again, a window would have looked better in that particular spot. However, nothing was more entertaining than sitting on the fire escape with Terrin and watching people get their heads shit on by a flock of devious birds. As Pagasis sat there humoring himself, the silence was broken by the sound of a shower turning on. Pagasis' thoughts converted to something else.

"BOO!"

Pagasis nearly jumped when a face appeared from behind the wall. He clutched his chest and let out a long steady breath. "Don't do that to me Zera!" he exclaimed. "You nearly gave me a hernia!"

Zera laughed as she walked in and sat on the sofa across from him.

"What `cha doing?" she asked.

"Uh... sitting here I guess..."

"I see." Zera smiled. "I'm bored. So, I decided to come and bother you!"

"Oh, I see." Pagasis smiled. His good nature overlooked the fact that there was a hole in the kitchen pantry that led to Zera and Tsuni's room and that they could walk in at any moment's notice. Most people would have been angry about it.

"I'm surprised you aren't mad about me barging in." Zera said. "The other people who used to live here didn't like it too much."

Thinking that either Zera had read his mind, or that he could predict what people were going to say next, Pagasis shrugged. "I'm used to it."

"So, excited about tomorrow?" Zera asked.

"Yeah, it sounds like fun." Pagasis nodded. "I haven't been to a place like that in years."

"Since high school?"

"Yeah." Pagasis looked away from her for a moment and peered out the window on the other wall. "Hey, Zera?" he asked, still staring into the red city horizon.

"Yeah?"

"Is it so bad... to be beneficial?"

"Oh." Zera smiled. "Wow... that's a F.A.Q..."

Pagasis looked back at her. Who else asked her that he wondered.

"Well, it all depends." she said. "If you think it'll ruin your friendship with somebody then it's best not to go about it you know... but if you stay friends for that small fact... you know, freedom. Well, then it's not so bad. Anyway, some people do keep it a secret. You never know for sure."

"I see."

"Hmm?" Zera tilted her head a she examined his hidden expression, sadness. "Something going on between you and Esthenia?"

Pagasis felt his face flush. He couldn't help but smile.

"No..." he shook his head. "Ha... She'd kill me... anyway, no. Don't worry about it. I was just curious I guess."

Zera couldn't help but wonder. Did he actually look sad for a moment? She knew that Pagasis and Esthenia both had a history of showing no sorrow. Yet one was for the better, and one was for the worst.

Pagasis smiled.

"Thank you Zera." he said, his smile brightened. "I think you helped me."

"Glad I could help." she hunched her shoulders with pride. "Well, I'd better head back. Tsuni is probably home and I wanna play with him." She stood up. "I'll see you tomorrow okay?"

"Yeah." Pagasis waved as she disappeared around the corner. "Funny girl..." He then looked back out the window. Her statement about benefits gave him some thought. If she had Tsuniker, and Mupo had Sheirow... Then the others... Esthenia and Umie had somebody for them as unknowingly did Terrin and Torrik. Dracos made him wonder the most.

Pagasis suddenly tilted his head back on the rest and started to laugh silently. He'd just figured it out and it was the most hilarious thing in the world at that moment. Such a funny thought made him want to die with amusement. Dracos did have somebody, but it was a secret. It had to be. Since nobody seemed to know. For some reason, Pagasis did.

After a moment, Pagasis straightened up. A new feeling took over him. Was it loneliness, or was it relief? For at that moment, he realized that he was all alone in the picture. This strange love triangle that came and wrapped itself around his friends.

The scenery outside was starting to fog up with a dense shadow as nightfall slowly appeared. About ten minutes passed before Pagasis had woken up by a soft tapping on his face. He opened his eyes to realize it was water, and that Esthenia, with her wet hair and nothing but a towel, was leering over him.

"You did it again..." she hissed.

"I what?" Pagasis felt a binding sensation as he tried to sit up. "Oh... damn..."

Esthenia laughed as she headed for her room.

"And the mad Duct tape queen strikes again!"

Pagasis wriggled in his cocoon.

"More like the mad Pyro-ductaping- woman who doesn't even ASK if I'm asleep or not!"

"Come off it..." came her voice from behind the door. "You were asleep. Admit it."

"Yeah, yeah." Pagasis decided to poke a little pay-back. "I guess you're in a feisty mood tonight."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Esthenia came back out.

"I donno." Pagasis smiled as he stared her from head to toe. He wasn't being perverted. He just knew it would make her angry. "I mean, maybe something happened today that made you all... rawr!"

Esthenia walked up to him and stepped on his face.

"Shut up!" she hissed.

"I can see up your towel!" came Pagasis' muffled voice.

Esthenia removed her foot.

"You think I care about that?" she asked. "How long have we been living together?"

"A while..."

"No shit." she sighed. "I suppose I can't rely on YOU for anything can I?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Pagasis' eyebrow raised. In his head it was more like; what the hell are you doing?

"I'm surprised I haven't taken advantage of you yet you know..." Esthenia sighed. "The other way around I suppose." Pagasis said.

Esthenia stared down at him. She then walked up to him and sliced off the tape that bound him to the couch.

"You know what I realized a couple nights ago?" she asked.

"What?" he asked while sitting up.

"How you and Terrin can be so much alike at times." her ears pressed back. "That's why I don't hate him."

"I see. Well, I guess that makes us special." Pagasis rolled his eyes.

"Why?" she frowned. "Why can't you be a normal guy for once? I mean... Normally, when you live with a guy they expect more after a while. You however..." she looked at him sternly. "Are you gay? At least I know that Terrin is into women..."

Pagasis nearly fell off the couch.

"What?" his face was pink again. "No way!" he stood up.

Esthenia giggled.

"You know what?" she smiled. "I'm glad... that you aren't like them. Maybe it's why we're still together."

"Maybe." Pagasis shrugged.

"Can I... uh, do something?" Esthenia asked.

"Uh, sure..." Pagasis' eyes shot toward the window for a second. "What?"

Esthenia took a step toward him.

"You know, I've been wanting to do this for a long time..." she said confidently. "There is somebody out there for me... but before I take that step toward him, I want to take my last one toward you first."

Pagasis' eyes grew wide as she leaned forward and kissed him. How strange... yet nice. The feel of her lips and the taste of her breath... It made him relax. Was this something that ran through a guy's mind in this situation? He'd never been in contact with a woman like this before so he was unsure, but one that was certain, he wasn't complaining. When Esthenia backed up, her face was red. She looked happy, however. "Well..." she said. "I suppose I'd better get something on huh?"

Pagasis nodded. He then smiled warmly.

"Thank you."

Esthenia nodded as she disappeared behind her door.

Pagasis sighed.

"Well..." he said to himself. "One thing is for sure... I can see why they go nuts for girls like her..."

He thought of Umie.