Please forgive my waffling confusion... This is the same chapter that started "I'm Yours," but with a different title.

A big thank you to my beta, The Wistful Bloom.

A thank you to LeBeau54 is also in order, for inspiring this story.

Chapter One

Halloween

Bender ducks under his father's swinging fist. The last hit slammed home, and he'll have a black eye. Normally the old man doesn't hit him where it shows, but he's drunk tonight. Bender manages to get to the front door, a few more blows hitting home, but no more to the face. Once outside, he can outrun the old man, and his father knows it. He shouts incoherently after him, but Bender is gone.

He jogs down the street and takes a right, toward Dan's house. The lights are out, so he picks up a few pebbles to throw at his friend's window. At the third pebble, Dan opens the window and whispers, "I'll be right down."

Bender meets him at the basement door in back. They slip into the tool shed, their usual spot.

"What's up, brother?" Dan asks. "Your dad again?"

"Yeah," Bender responds. "He clocked me a good one, right in the eye."

"I figured you'd need this." Dan hands him an ice pack.

"Do me a favor? Say you hit me. Tomorrow in school, say we got in a fight over the last beer. I don't want to explain this black eye to anyone."

Dan nods. "Your secret is safe with me.

Claire is disgusted with him.

"Fighting like school boys, and over a beer? I don't know if I like this Dan guy," she says.

"C'mon Claire, a black eye is no big deal. And I started it. I got what I deserved. Don't get down on Dan. He's my buddy."

"Well..." She looks at him speculatively. "Maybe a black eye could be part of a costume, for Stubby's Halloween party. Like a boxer or something."

"You still want to go to that party?" Bender really, really doesn't want to go. He's never done well with rich kids.

"Of course. I have my costume all planned and everything. Allison and I are keeping our costumes a secret until the party. She's pretty psyched."

At least Allison and Andy will be there too. Especially Allison. She gets along with the popular crowd about as well as he does.

Saturday night, Claire is waiting for him on her front porch swing. Bender is glad to not have to formally ring the doorbell and present himself to the Standishes. Mr. Standish is okay, but very intimidating.

He looks Claire over. Her hair is teased up into a messy cloud and he's never seen her wear such heavy makeup. Her look includes a multitude of jangly bracelets, huge earrings, torn lace gloves and neon pink clothes.

"What are you supposed to be?" he asks.

"A Madonna fan, of course." She strikes a pose, showing off her outfit.

"Thank god you don't look like that every day."

As she kisses his cheek, she says,"You didn't dress up. I thought you would make a good boxer."

"Nah, being me is hard enough. I don't need to pretend to be someone else." He takes her hand and they go down the porch stairs.

"You know what I'm going to do, Bender? I'm going to drink. For the first time. Is it fun?"

"Yeah, it's pretty fun as long as you don't over-do it. Gotta watch out for that." Bender figures there will be a keg and that is pretty light weight stuff. She should be okay if he keeps an eye on her.

Claire only lives a few blocks from the party, which is in a huge brick house, complete with ivy and an imposing wall with iron palings. The front door is open, so they enter without ringing the bell. It is a wild confusion of noise and color, music blasting, and people in a variety of costumes. Kids are dancing, yelling, laughing, drinking. Several couples are kissing enthusiastically in different corners. Bender steers them through the crowd, into the dining room. He gets his bearings, noting the exits, while Claire looks around eagerly.

"Where's Gina? Do you see Gina?"

Bender has no idea who Gina is so he stands there, Claire hanging onto his arm and craning about, on her tiptoes. He looks more carefully at the people. Richies. All of them, richies. He stuffs down a feeling of belligerence. Maybe they're not all bad. Anyway, he's here now, there's not much he can do about it.

They drift with the crowd deeper into the house, ending up by some French windows. Bender looks out and sees a line leading to a keg under flood lights.

"You want a beer?" He shouts in Claire's ear. She beams at him and nods. As he exits the house, he sees a girl dressed as a witch approach Claire. They air kiss, which annoys him. How can she stand being so fake?

When he returns with two plastic cups of beer, Claire is alone again, eagerly looking about. He takes one sip and sputters. It's absolute swill. It's impossible to talk over the music, so he looks around some more. He recognizes some faces from school. Seeing Claire has knocked back her own beer, he hands her his.

That's when Allison makes her entrance. Bender looks up to see her step into the foyer, followed clumsily by Andy. Clumsily because Andy is dressed as a knight mounted on a horse, the horse portion of the costume sticking out front and back. Allison is wearing a strangely shiny, crinkled black dress. It's strapless, with a yellow and black belt. He never knew she had such curves, under her everyday baggy clothes. Then he remembers he shouldn't be noticing someone else's girlfriend's curves.

When Allison greets him, he sees a black flower adorning the neckline of her dress and realizes it is made from a black garbage bag. Her dress is a garbage bag too, and the black and yellow belt turns out to be crime scene tape. Where did she get crime scene tape?

Bender says,"Look what showed up, Claire. It's the weirdest bag of garbage I've ever seen."

It appears Bender is not the only one who notices Allison's attractive shape; all male eyes seem to be on her. Claire grabs Allison's arm and leads her into the dining room, where more people stare at her.

"You look great, Allison," Claire gushes. "It's totally perfect. Oh, you've even got a headband." Her dark hair is pulled back by a shiny black band of garbage bag.

Then Andy approaches, the horse portions of the costume bobbling with his motion. Bender claps Andy on the shoulder and says, "Ride 'em cowboy."

"A knight," Andy responds with dignity. "I'm a knight from Arthur's round table."

"Whose table?"

"Never mind. Let's get some beers for the girls. Where's the keg?"

Bender leads the way to the French doors opening onto the garden. The line moves quickly and soon they have plastic cups of beer. Bender only gets one, for Claire. He's depending on his hip flask of whiskey. Andy parts the crowd with his jiggling horse and they find the girls in a corner of the dining room.

Claire accepts her beer and says, "We need to circulate. C'mon, Bender." She tries to lead Bender into the crowd, but he resists.

"I ain't circulating anywhere."

"Don't you want to meet people?" She asks.

"No, actually I don't. I've seen enough to know who's here." He scowls at the social clumps of well-heeled youth.

"Fine, I'll go by myself," Claire says, a bit tipsily.

Bender takes a swig from his flask and watches Claire move into the sea of people. Then he sees a couple of geeks wearing weird binocular things. As he looks on, one backs into the pyramid of empty beer cans two football players have been erecting. The beer cans fly everywhere. Before he can see what happens next, Claire is back, dragging a girl dressed as a black cat.

Giggling and leaning on her friend, Claire says, "Bender, this is Gina." Claire puts an arm around Gina. "Gina, you're totally the best friend ever."

Gina whispers in Claire's ear and they giggle some more. Bender looks around, trying to spot Andy. Andy at least wouldn't be giggling. Involved in her private conversation, Claire spills her beer when she gestures a bit too exuberantly. Noticing the empty cup, she turns to Bender and says, "Look, it's all gone!"

"I'll get us some more beers," Bender says, glad for a reason to excuse himself. He makes his way out to the side garden and takes his place at the end of the long line for the keg. A short guy dressed as the Incredible Hulk stumbles into Bender as he joins the line.

"Hey man, that's a really good looking black eye. You're dressed as one of those heavy metal wastoids, right?"

Bender clamps his mouth shut and tries to ignore the guy.

"You look just like one of those guys from the back parking lot. Who did your make up? You're with that Madonna groupie, right?"

"She's not a groupie, it's a costume."

"Wow," the Hulk says. "Her costume is as good as yours. She had me fooled. So she did your make up for you? I wish I had thought to go as a wastoid. That black eye is perfect."

Through gritted teeth Bender says, "This black eye is perfect because it's real. And if you don't shut up about wastoids I'll give you one too, without the help of makeup."

Bender's menacing tone seems to break through the Hulk's inebriated haze of good will, and he begins babbling, "Oh, man. I'm sorry. I didn't know. I didn't think one of you would be here. You surprised me, is all." He seems unaware he is making matters worse.

"One of who?" Bender asks. "One of the wastoids from the back parking lot?" Bender is getting louder. "You didn't think one of us scum bags would show up at your pretty little party?"

The Incredible Hulk is now shrinking away, stammering apologies.

"You know what I think about your party and your pansy ass friends?"

Before Bender can deliver his opinion, he is bonked in the shoulder by Andy's horse. He shuffles next to Bender, hampered by his costume, and whispers, "Lay off, Bender. This is a party. You don't want to start a brawl."

Andy says to the Hulk, "Charlie, come over here with me," and herds him away with the horse portion of his costume. Bender watches them go, the Incredible Hulk stumbling and trying to hang onto Andy to keep his balance.

Bender eventually gets Claire's beer and goes back to where they were talking before, in the dining room, but she isn't there. He finds her sitting on the elegant sweep of stairway leading to the second floor. She and Gina are leaning on each other, still giggling. Oh great. But when she sees Bender, Claire launches herself at him. Her impact throws them both off balance and the beer goes flying. Just as well, Claire's drunk. How did she get drunk on three beers?

Slurring her words, Claire says, "Bender, you have to try this stuff. It's called Jager- Jager- Jagermeister. It tastes like cough syrup."

Gina proffers the bottle. Jesus, they've been swigging Jagermeister straight from the bottle? Claire has plastered herself against him.

"Gimme a kiss," she insists. Bender kisses her cheek, but she pulls him closer and kisses him on the mouth. Lord, what has Claire gotten them into?

"I love you Bender. Give me a real kiss."

Just then Andy appears and evaluates the situation. Gina has wandered off, taking the Jagermeister with her.

"I can't leave you alone for a minute can I? You let her get drunk." Andy is disgusted.

"But I left her for-" He wants to explain Gina and the Jagermeister, but Andy is transferring Claire's weight from Bender's shoulder to his own, the horse hampering everything.

"I'm getting her out of this place, taking her home in the Bronco. You stay here with Allison. She's around somewhere."

"Give me a kiss," Claire demands of Andy, then notices she is leaning on Andy, not Bender. "No, not you Andy. Where's Bender?"

Andy shuffles them off, leaving Bender feeling like a shit. He shouldn't have left her alone. But how was he supposed to know about Gina and her Jagermeister? He thought she'd be safe for as long as it took to grab a beer.

Well, there was nothing to be done about it now. Andy's left him here with Allison, so he guesses he better find her so she doesn't get into trouble too. Although he thinks Allison is probably more sensible than Claire.

He makes his way towards the living room, being jostled and bumped by inebriated party goers. He looks around. No Allison. He tries the den and the breakfast room, finally seeing her in the kitchen. She's backed into a corner by a pirate. She doesn't look happy with this attention, so Bender heads in that direction, arriving in time to hear the pirate say, "Hey baby, let's go upstairs. A hottie like you shouldn't be alone." He puts his arm around Allison and she struggles to free herself. Just as the pirate is bending in for a kiss, Bender grabs his arm and twists it behind the guy's back.

"I think the lady doesn't like your approach. I don't either." The guy is up on his toes, trying to resist Bender's inexorable grip. "I think you should find a more willing partner. Stop bothering girls who don't want you." Bender pushes him away and releases him, then turns to Allison.

"You okay? Did that guy-"

Bender is interrupted as the pirate grabs his shoulder and punches him. What happens next is hard to follow but it ends up with the pirate on the floor, straddled by Bender. He has the pirate by his ruffled shirt collar and pulls him up.

"Leave her ALONE." The pirate looks terrified. That's when Andy enters. He rips off the front portion of the horse in his haste to clear the kitchen counter and rescue the pirate. He manages to grab Bender's arm as he is cocking his fist for a punch. There is a confusion of arms, legs and horse costume, then Andy gets Bender pinned, face down. The pirate staggers backwards, into the arms of the crowd. Andy lets Bender up but immediately drags him out of the kitchen by force.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? I told you not to start a fight." Andy is furious as he marches Bender through the dining room and out into the side garden. "First you get Claire drunk, now this. Get the hell out of here. I'm sick of your shit."

"That guy was asking for it-" Bender begins.

Andy ignores this and shoves Bender out a door in the garden wall and slams the door in his face.