Chapter Two – Confusion at Confusion

Recap – Zendall is at a crossroads. No longer having a major Storyline of their own, they have been reduced to being supporting players in the Rylee/Ryannie/Graidan Mess. Zach appears to mind their change in status more than Kendall, who is stubbornly oblivious to just about everything.

--

Kendall spent fifteen minutes at Fusion, shuffling through manila folders that might have meant something to somebody only not to her. Heading a major cosmetics company was nothing if not boring, she thought. No wonder Erica had given up Enchantment. She stared resentfully at the contents of the top folder on the pile. "Midwest Sales Report", she read. "August, 2008." Columns of numbers in black and white. "Color would help," she thought. On the next page there were graphs and pie charts, all of them in bright reds and greens and blues. "Color doesn't help," she sighed, heading down in the elevator to the bar below. "What's it all about, Alfie?"

"Damned if I know," the bartender answered, setting another margarita before her.

She twirled the little pink parasol that came with the big pink drink.

"You should take a business course," the spirit sitting beside her advised. "The pie charts might become more meaningful to you."

She looked up and squinted, the voice strangely familiar.

"Richie!" she exclaimed, recognizing him. "You're dead, Richie. Aren't you supposed to be dead?"

He shrugged. "On this Soap, definitely. But believe or not, there's life after Pine Valley."

"So why are you here?" she persisted. 'Why aren't you haunting your deranged sister?"

Again he shrugged. "Been doing that for a while, but she doesn't need me anymore. She's joined forces with Adam Chandler. They're conspiring to take over Fusion."

That interested her to some degree. "My Fusion?"

"None other."

Kendall sighed. "At least that's a Storyline. Zach keeps nagging me about not having a Storyline of our own."

"That isn't a Storyline of your own," Richie felt compelled to point out. "It's Annie's and Adam's. And maybe Greenlee's and Babe's and JR's. And maybe partially yours. But not Zach's. Not Zendall's."

"Definitely not Zendall's," Kendall concurred.

"Why not Zendall's?" Zach asked, plopping himself on the empty barstool to her left, so that she was sandwiched in between him and Richie's ghost. "Why can't Zendall take over the Take Over Storyline?"

"Because it's boring," Kendall replied. 'And it's stupid. And it's been done to death."

"Unlike the Many Many Many Many Many Many Loves of Ryan Lavery?" Zach shot back.

"It isn't Ryan's fault if the Love of His Life keeps eluding him!" Kendall said tearfully.

"And who might that be this month?" Zach challenged. 'Greenlee the Green Butterfly? Whatever happened to Rendell?"

"I was only a detour," Kendall explained sadly, as if she were reciting something she had memorized.

"You two were really hot together in the day," Richie comforted her awkwardly.

"But Greenlee is Ryan's One True Love," Kendall recited.

"Tell that to my sister," Richie said sweetly, gently rubbing the back of his ghostly head. "Then duck!"

Kendall nodded, finishing her drink in one gulp. "That's what I've been trying to tell everybody! Annie is a menace. She's got to stopped!"

"Kendall, give it a rest!" Zach groaned.

"Richie agrees with me," she offered in her own defense.

"Richie is dead, gone and off the Show," Zach summarized, motioning for the bartender.

"Whisky straight up, Alfie," he ordered. "Hold the little pink umbrellas."

"They're parasols, Slater," Richie corrected him mildly.

"He can't hear you or see you," Kendall clarified. "You're a ghost."

"I can hear him," Zach clarified. "I can even see him. What difference does it make? He's not going to tell us who killed him, so what good is he?"

"Annie killed me," Richie said at once.

"See?" Kendall howled. "I told you it was her! I told you! Didn't I tell you?"

"Too obvious," Zach differed, draining his whisky. "That's what they want us to think."

Richie eyed him resentfully as he dematerialized.

"You wanna go back to the beach house?" Zach asked not too hopefully.

Kendall shook her head. "Sex isn't the answer to everything, Zach. I'm beginning to believe it isn't the answer to anything!"

That didn't sound good. Zach took a deep breath. There was something new on his mind. In spite of himself, he had been reading the Message Boards. "Kendall, are you leaving the Show?"

His question hung heavily in the air.

"Ryan told Greenlee that he loves her," Kendall answered him, as if that was an answer.

"There are rumors that negotiations aren't going too well with the Idiots in Charge," Zach pursued, ignoring her meaningless evasion. "The Powers That Be. You know who I mean."

"Greenlee told Aidan for some reason that Ryan loves her and Aidan beat up Ryan," Kendall continued.

"Good," Zach said, meaning it. "Somebody should beat up Ryan. Everybody should beat up Ryan. Regularly. We should all take turns."

"I don't know how this will end, Zach! Annie is completely crazy yet Ryan is determined to make his charade of a marriage work!"

That did it.

"How about OUR charade of a marriage?" Zach demanded, sweeping her roughly into his embrace, which caused both of their glasses to crash heavily to the floor, where they smashed into a zillion glittering pieces. "Too late to make our marriage work, Kendall? Too late to make US work?"

He kissed her hard, as if their world was about to end, as if this was the last time he would ever hold her, feel her against him, mold her body to his, inhale her, taste her, forget where she began and he left off.

"Is it a matter of money or do you just want time off to do other things?" he breathed when they came up for air."

"I dunno," she confessed. "My Agent only tells me stuff on a need-to-know basis. Zach, don't you think Ryan deserves to be happy?"

Zach knocked two more glasses off the bar.

"Easy!" Alfie pleaded at the sound of their crash. "Broken glass don't pick itself up!"

"I'll have my men sweep up the pieces," Zach offered apologetically. "Kendall, let's go to the beach house. Last time I think we nearly had a breakthrough."

"No doubt about that," Kendall recalled. "I couldn't walk right for two days." She frowned. "You know, Zach, Ryan should never have told Loony Annie that he remembers now that he's in love with Greenlee."

Zach couldn't believe his ears. "Kendall, this isn't Junior High School!" he heard himself bellow at her. "You know how this is going to wind up, don't you? Ryan, Greenlee, Aidan and Annie are going to blame YOU for butting into their lives!"

Two more glasses broke all by themselves.

"Why would they blame me?" a perplexed Kendall asked. "Oh, that's right. I always get blamed."

"Not by me!" Zach cried out, grabbing her as only he could. "I'm the one whose always been on your side!" He let her go, deciding to take another tact. "By the way, Spike told me to tell you he misses you. Ian seemed to agree with him. He'll be talking and walking any day now. They'll probably SORAS both of them before we know it. Kendall, remember Spike? Remember Ian? Remember me?"

A far-away look came into her gorgeous eyes. "I can't believe how Aidan went after Ryan after Greenlee told him what Ryan told her. About him loving her, I mean."

"I know that's what you mean," Zach sighed sadly.

"I hate hitting," Kendall declared. "Why do men like to hit?"

"Because we're violent bastards," Richie's disembodied voice replied matter-of-factly.

"Zach, did you hit Aidan when you found out that he and I – uh – uh – "

"Went all the way?" Alfie asked helpfully.

"That only happened once!" Kendall said in her own defense. "And it would never have happened at all if I wasn't pretty sure that Zach was dead and if Aidan wasn't pretty sure that Greenlee was dead. Aidan and I were simply mourning our lost loves." She sniffed at the painful memory. "Zach, did you slug Aidan after you found out that he and I --?"

"Naturally," Zach recalled. "It made me feel worlds better. Nothing clears the air like a right hook to the jaw." He looked at Kendall then as if he were wondering something.

"Forget that," she instructed. "Or else I'm outta here BEFORE my contract is up!"

--

Will Zach slug Kendall into realizing how much trouble they are in, or will he only grab her, push her and drag her around like he usually does? Will Kendall suddenly realize there is more to life than pie charts, margaritas and Rylee? Will either one remember what we can't forget – how amazing Zendall was and can be again if only --? If only.