Billy winked at his appearance in the mirror, then frowned. He was one handsome devil but his eyeliner was still off. He sighed and leaned in again, trying to get it just right. If he was going to pull off this outfit then his makeup needed to be on point. He could already see the crowds ecstatic response to his awesome costume and the media attention it would get him. Tickets for his next tour would sell out in an INSTANT after he pulled this off. No matter what his mom or his manager said an occasional stunt like this always made them tons of money. It also gave his adoring fans something yummy to look at.

On his next try, he finally got it the way he wanted it. He stared at his reflection, probably longer than necessary, and made a kissy face, "I am one good looking bro if I did say so myself."

Billy strutted back to the kids' room and opened one of his suitcases. He pulled out a brightly colored shoe box that was hidden near the bottom. From there he took out a pair of black lace-up studded boots that had a short heel and put them on. He checked himself out in the mirror again. Almost perfect. Now he just needed his custom purple and black studded leather crop jacket to be finished by his designer and his sexy punk costume would be finished. Then he could finish his detective costume. The phone downstairs rang but Billy didn't notice. He continued to fantasize about some of his costume ideas and some Spence recommended as he rummaged through his suitcases.

"Baruch! Can you come down here?" his mother called.

Billy sighed and rolled his eyes but stomped downstairs anyway, "Yes, mother dearest?"

"Jane called. She and Hugh are working late so I need you to go to the school and pick up your cousin from school." His mother said as her fingers tapped away at the keyboard. She didn't even bother looking up.

Billy crossed his arms, "Pick up the kid with what? There's no car here."

"Well you'll have to walk then; it's only two miles into town. No one else is available to pick him up and they don't want him walking home alone."

"So you go then. Or call a cab."

"This is a small town, dear, there are no cabs. I'm far too busy coordinating your next few shows with your manager and I have a conference call coming in soon. Besides, I already called the school and gave them your name and told them you'll be right over."

Billy glared, "All my shoes are brand new, I'm not getting them dirty!"

His mother sighed and finally looked at him. Billy could tell that whatever she was going to say left her as soon as she did. Then he realized he didn't take off the makeup yet. Shit.

His mother glared daggers, "I thought I told you to stop this weirdness and where did you get that makeup? You better not have taken Jane's."

Billy glared back, he wasn't going to be ashamed, "No, I didn't take it, it's MINE. I'm Billy Joe Cobra, I can do whatever and dress however I want! It's not like it affects you at all. You're rich thanks to me so why do you care?"

"You are Baruch Cohen and what you decide to do affects the whole family's image. I don't want you putting on any more weird outfits or using that ridiculous stage name. I won't have you jeopardizing everything we've worked for."

"Everything we've worked for? HA! More like what I've worked for! I'm the star and what I want to do with my life is my business. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it's weird!"

She narrowed her eyes, "I just want you to act a little more normal. You want to keep doing music for your career and keep your fame and fortune, right? Lest you end up like your fath-"

"DON'T bring him into this. And I am mega-normal!" He didn't give her the chance to clap back. Billy ran to the front door, threw it open and stormed out.

"Where do you think you're going?!" his mother yelled.

"To pick up Spencer!" he shouted and broke into a run.

It was a mile and a half walk on the old country roads and another half mile through the ratty suburban area. Billy trudged along the old broken sidewalk towards the school. His boots were probably ruined by now but he was so tired he almost didn't care. Almost. He grumbled to himself how this kid better appreciate that the great Billy Joe Cobra came to get him. Thousands of people would kill for the opportunity. Even after having taken a long break halfway there he was exhausted. He feet and legs ached, he was thirsty, wanted nothing more than a deep muscle massage from his personal masseuse and a nap. He swore when he got his driver's license he was buying his own limo and taking it everywhere so something like this didn't happen again. The Cobra wasn't a cardio kind of guy, no matter what his personal trainer said.

At least it took his mind off of the fight with his mom. He balled his fists as he approached the school. It was smaller than he expected, only one story and likely no more than a dozen or so rooms. There was a giant oak tree in the small grassy knoll out front. The school looked older than the tree. A cracking cement patio lead to a pair of glass double doors. He trudged up the doors and tried to fling them open with his usual flare. It was heavier than he thought it'd be and he ended up stumbling through instead. He hoped no one saw that…

"School's about to close," came a hoarse voice.

Billy looked over to see a small receptionist's desk against the wall with some old crone hunched over it. Billy walked over to her and almost vomited. She smelled as old as she looked and he took a step back.

He flashed her the brightest model smile he could muster without gagging, "I'm here to pick up a kid."

She wasn't fazed, "Name?"

"Billy Joe Cobra."

"Afraid we don't have a kid with that name at our school, sir."

"No, that's MY name! You know, the famous pop-star Billy Joe Cobra."

She raised an eyebrow at him. Oh geez, was she as dense as the kid when it came to his fame?

"I need the name of the child you are picking up, young man."

Billy frowned. Oh. "Uh...Spencer Wright."

The receptionist spent an awfully long time looking a list on her desk, "Mmmhhmm...ah yes, he's the last one still here. But I'm afraid I don't see a 'Billy Joe Cobra' listed to pick this child up."

Billy mentally cursed his mother, "Baruch Cohen...The kid is my cousin."

She took a sticky note with his and Spencer's names off of her desk, "Oooohh yes, someone called and said that. Go wait outside. I'll bring Spencer out in a moment."

Billy stared owlishly as she hobbled away and then he pouted. Rude. Whatever. Billy walked back out the main doors and stood in the shade under the oak tree. He crossed his arms and tapped his foot as he considered what to say. Boy was he gonna make sure the brat knew the suffering he just endured. He heard the door creak open and he glanced over his shoulder. The kid was hanging his head as the receptionist guided him out the doors then closed and locked them.

Billy huffed and turned around, firmly planting his hands on his hips, "There you are! Do you have any idea what I went thr-" but the words died in his throat when he noticed the kid had fat tears rolling down his face.

The second Spencer locked eyes with him the kids face twisted and he bolted to the pop-star. Spencer collided with Billy's legs wrapping his little arms around them, nearly knocking Billy over, and he buried his face in Billy's shins. The pop-star blinked down at the sobbing kid. He didn't know what to do. Usually, he had people to deal with stuff like this but out here he was alone. He had been prepared to throw one of his diva tantrums because he'd walked all this way, he was tired, and his new boots were dirty. But seeing the kid latched onto him sobbing made something twist in his gut and he didn't like it.

He bent down, gently pried the kid's arms from his legs, and sank to his haunches to look the kid in the eye, "Heey, Spencil. Uh...I-I came to pick you up…?"

This didn't seem to calm the kid down. Instead, Spencer wrapped his arms around Billy's neck and cried into his shoulder. This was new. Billy rarely got hugs apart from an overzealous fan who would be pried off of him by a bodyguard a second later. His own mother didn't really hug him.

He awkwardly patted the kids back, "Uh...You-you wanna tell me what's wrong?"

Spence hiccuped and only spit out broken words for a moment before he said something somewhat audible, "Th-They *hic* call me a weir-*hic*-wierdo!"

Something in Billy's chest grew tight. Billy pried the kid off of him, put his hands on the kids' shoulders and looked him in the eye, "Who did?"

Spencer sniffed and rubbed his eyes for a moment before taking off his backpack and unzipping it. He reached in and pulled out his zombie action figure which was now broken. "I-I showed ZomBoy f-fer show 'n tell 'n-*hic* 'n they laughed 'n call me weird…"

"The other kids did?"

Spencer nodded, "An' a-at recess they broke him." The kid looked mournfully at his toy and Billy felt a lump in his throat. The kid loved that thing.

Billy glared at the school. How dare they! A small part of him, somewhere in the far, far, far back of his mind supposed it was partially his fault for encouraging the kid yesterday. He wished he could have gotten here sooner. If he had he would rip those bullies a new one. Spencer put the toy back in his backpack, zipped it, and put it back on as he still sniffled and fresh tears ran down his cheeks.

Billy clenched his fists. This wouldn't do at all. He had poured his Cobra Confidence into the kid only for it to get destroyed by some brats. It reminded him too much of the fight with his mom. Billy stood and picked Spencer up, balancing him on his hip. Spencer wrapped his little arms around Billy's neck again and buried his face in his shoulder as his little body shuddered with small sobs. Billy made sure the kid wasn't looking as he flipped off the school, turned around, and stormed away from that awful place.

As Billy walked Spencer continued to cry and Billy wasn't sure what to say to make him stop. Seeing the kid so upset wasn't making him feel any better either. He tried asking Spencer if his parents knew about the bullying but the kid said he didn't want to upset them. They had been encouraging him to try talking to the other kids but they weren't into the same stuff he was. Billy shut his trap for a while after that.

The more he thought about it the more he was aware he didn't even know what to say to make someone happy. He had people for this stuff. If he had to do something he usually he just sang and-Wait.

"Lightbulb moment!" He cheered.

Spencer sniffled and looked at him with teary eyes, "Huh?"

"You wanna hear my first number one single?"

Spencer blinked and his little eyebrows scrunched together but he nodded. Billy smiled, took a deep breath, and belted out the lyrics as he bounced the kid along to the beat. After a few lines, Spencer finally smiled. As they continued out of the suburb towards the farms Billy sang more songs for the kid and when he got tired of singing he told the kid stories of his shows. Not all of them were glamorous, but they made Spencer laugh and Billy was more than happy to talk about himself. That and the awful tight feeling in Billy's chest went away.

Billy carried Spencer all the way home. When they got back they went to the play set in the backyard instead of going in. Billy didn't really want to see his mom right now anyway. He continued singing and telling Spencer stories while he pushed the kid on the swing.

"-so then I flung my jacket off but rhinestones and glitter sprayed the audience! Fans were picking it out of their hair for weeks. That's why I now make sure I only have the best seamstresses in the business," Billy concluded finishing telling Spencer one of his stories. The kid laughed until his cheeks were red. He might not have understood everything Billy had told him but it cheered the kid up and that's what mattered-er-at least in the sense that it made the icky feelings in Billys' gut go away.

Billy stopped the swing, "Whelp, I'm all out of stories, cubster. What do you wanna do?"

Spencer thought for a moment, then his face lit up with an idea, but then he frowned.

"What's wrong?"

Spencer got off the swing and retrieved his toy from his backpack, "I wanted to play but he's broken…"

"Well you have other toys, right?"

"I dun wanna play with those," the kid pouted.

Billy frowned and leaned over to get a better look at the toy. One of its arms was missing and the paint had come off in a few spots where it got scratched up. One of the legs was broken but Spencer at least still had the broken off part. But then he noticed areas on the zombie that were intentionally colored red to look like wounds and he got an idea.

He ruffled the kids' hair, "Stay here, short stuff. I'll be right back."

Billy ran off to the house, first going to the garage and borrowing a roll of Hugh's duck tape. Then he snuck inside. His mom was busy talking on the phone so he crept over to her suitcase and found his makeup bag. He pulled out a bottle of crimson nail polish and a bottle of clear coat. He also stuffed a few makeup items in his pocket since he might not get another opportunity to take more later. Billy was surprised she didn't hide the thing yet. He snuck back out and went to Spencer.

"Hey, can I see that for a few minutes?" He asked as he held his hand out.

Spencer frowned and held his precious toy to his chest.

Billy rolled his eyes, "Relax, lil' horror goblin. I'm not gonna break it or anything."

Spencer looked at his toy, then up at Billy for a moment before handing the action figure over. Billy took it, sat on the ground, and Spencer sat across from him. Then he got to work taping the leg back on and painting the red nail polish over the scratches and where the arm was torn off. When he was pleased with his work he lightly blew on it for a few minutes until the nail polish was hard enough for him to apply the clear coat and seal it. Then he gently put it in the playhouse, making sure it wasn't sitting on any parts that had the nail polish.

"There! What do you think? Museum quality work, or what?" he grinned.

Spencer's mouth was agape and his eyes sparkled like stars as he stared at the toy, "He looks more like a zombie then he did before! Cool!"

Billy chuckled, "Well what can I say? The Cobra is a fantastic artist in many ways. But he needs to chill in here for a bit till the paint dries. So we just need to find something else to do. Ok?"

Spencer nodded rapidly before bolting over and hugging him. Billy blinked as he got a strangely warm and fuzzy feeling in his chest. He patted Spencer's back

Spencer shot off him a moment later and looked up at him with big eyes, "Can I show you somefin'?

Billy's face scrunched up, "Uuhh okay?"

Spencer's face burst into a gin and he grabbed Billy's hand. Billy stood up and Spencer tugged him towards the woods. After shuffling through the brush for a minute they came across a deer path. Spencer let go of Billy's hand and started running down the path. Billy jogged after him.

They walked for a while until the path let out onto a dirt road. Woods surrounded them on both sides. The father they went the thicker the woods became. It was getting a little creepy for Billy's liking so he stuck close to Spencer. Eventually, Spencer turned down a hidden path and they came to an old iron gate and fence. Ivy and shrubs were beginning to take it over so he could barely see through to the other side. Billy blinked at it as Spencer ran forward and moved a couple broken iron bars out of the way.

"This way!" He shouted as he slipped through.

"Ah! Wait for me, lil' dude!" Billy ran after the kid and squeezed through.

Billy stumbled and almost ran into a dirty car but stopped himself. No way was he getting his gorgeous outfit and beautiful skin covered in that filth! Besides, if he got hurt he'd make sure the driver would have to deal with his legal team. He stepped back and took a better look. The car wasn't moving and no one was inside. It was also rusty and missing a door and all the windows. The wheels were also gone too so it was sitting on cinder blocks. It looked like it had been there a while.

He looked around and saw more stuff like it. Old vehicles and random junk in huge piles all around him. It was like an area of the woods had been removed, a fence put around the perimeter, and trash was airdropped in. One or two small trees had started to regrow among the junk and one was growing through a car.

"Billy!"

He jolted and looked over to where Spencer was peeking out from behind a large container and waving to him. Then the kid then disappeared behind it.

"H-Hey, wait for me!" Billy ran after him. Spencer led him through the maze of junk and to a wall of containers. A tarp hung down from one near the bottom; Spencer lifted it and crawled through a hole. Billy blinked and followed him through. On the other side was a square area cleared of any junk. Along one wall Spencer was sitting inside a cardboard box that was turned on its side. A couple of decorative pieces of fabric draped the box.

"This is my super-duper secret hiding place!" Spence declared as he held up more monster themed toys, nick-nacks, and notebooks.

Billy blinked, "In a...junkyard?"

"It's not a junkyard, there's a house nearby but no one comes here anymore so only I know about it but now you do too. It can be our secret fort! But we can't tell ANYONE."

Billy's mouth opened and closed like a fish but nothing came out. Something fond, yet sad triggered inside him. He never had a fort as a kid. He remembered talking about making one with his dad but that was before… Billy looked around at the 'fort'. It wasn't like the one he'd dreamt of as a kid and imagining Spencer playing alone inside a cardboard box was kind of sad. The kid was almost cool enough to be a bro and shouldn't be playing in a simple box.

He crossed his arms. "It's not good enough!"

Spencer frowned, "Wha?"

"It needs to be more awesome! Bigger! Flashier! And there's no one better than the Cobra to help you!"

The frown on the kids face dissolved into a huge grin, "Really?!"

"Really!"

Spencer cheered and ran back out of the fort with Billy. The pair hunted around the yard for a while looking for materials and objects they could use. They found some chairs and shelves and dragged them into the fort. Billy found more decorative fabrics and objects to add some pizzazz while Spencer found a small crate to store some of his stuff in. But as evening crept upon them and the sky turned orange Billy decided it was time for them to head home. He didn't feel like poking the bear that was his mother again and making her mad for keeping the kid out late.

Spencer pouted as he held Billy's hand and walked down the dirt road. He glanced at the retreating iron gates behind them, "It's gonna take FOREVER to make the fort…"

Billy thought for a minute, "Since the Cobra is so generous he's gonna come back while you're at school tomorrow and keep working on it so we'll have more time to play. Cool?"

Spence beamed up at him, "Really?"

"Really."

"Yay!" Spencer shouted. He let go of Billy's hand and started running, skipping, and jumping up the road and laughing. Billy smiled as he watched him and that strange fuzzy feeling returned. Ok, so maybe the brat wasn't so bad...

After they got home Spencer finished his homework, they had dinner, and then as they ate dessert Billy grabbed some of Spencer's movies and brought them down to watch one. Jane was busy taking care of the baby upstairs, Billy's mom was still glued to the phone and laptop in the kitchen, and Hugh was in his garage so they didn't have to worry about anyone else. The two sprawled out on the couch and munching on dessert as they watched a movie.

Billy picked out a campy looking movie about a person trying to teach a zombie to perform so they could use it as a kind of roadside attraction to make money. Currently, the person was trying to have it play an ancient looking keyboard piano.

Billy snorted, "Look at that hunk of junk. My Dad had a keyboard like that."

Spencer looked up at him, "How come your mom came but not your dad?"

Damn. He didn't mean to let that slip, "He uh...can't come unless he turns into one of those," he pointed at the zombie on screen.

Spencer cocked his head. Billy grabbed one of the VHS cases with a ghost on the front and pointed at it, "You know...He got himself ghosted like this just minus the haunting part. Get it?"

Spencer's expression got more confused and he shook his head.

"Seriously? Dude, you love zombies and ghosts so you can't tell me you don't get it. I mean you've had to have seen a body before, like in a coffin or something in one of those movies, right?"

Spencer thought for a moment, "Mmm, but they always get up. But my old math teacher, Mrs. Smith, didn't last time I saw her. She was sleeping in a coffin, like a vampire! But she didn't get up. I shouted and everything! She musta been really tired. Or if she was a vampire she prolly was waiting until night time. Mom and Dad didn't like that though so they said I can't go see Mr. Flannigan on Saturday. Can your dad not come because he's a vampire too and can't come out till night time?"

Saturday, right, the funeral; he'd almost forgotten. Billy frowned at the kid and ruffled his hair, "Nevermind, kiddo. You'll understand when you're older." So Spence was still a little too young to understand that real death meant you didn't come back as a ghost or a zombie. Maybe he better leave that explanation to the kids' parents.

"Oh. Is it cuz you don't get along like you don't with your mom?"

"No, we did. At least I think so. He's been away a long time; I haven't seen him since I was like, your age, so I don't remember much. But he was the one who started teaching me to play the guitar."

Spencer gasped with excitement, "Was he good like you?"

Billy smiled, "Not according to my mom. She used to say he wasn't good enough to even do small gigs. But it was more like a hobby for him anyway, his day-job was something lamesauce," he snorted, "Kinda like what your parents do. Mom was the one who saw that I had any real talent and she took me on this talent show and that's how I became the awesome Billy Joe Cobra you know today."

"Maybe you can teach him to play better when you see him again!"

"Yeah…"

The two continued watching the movie in silence until Spencer started drifting to sleep about thirty minutes later. Billy turned off the movie and carried the kid upstairs where he ran into Jane in the hall.

"Oh! Thank you, Billy. Jessica just did not want to go to sleep tonight," She laughed as she took Spencer.

Billy shrugged, "No biggy, Mrs. Wright."

"You can call me Jane, dear, it's ok! Oh, and thank you for picking up Spencer today. His father and I were so thrilled to hear he finally has a friend. We were getting worried that he might be having problems at school. We were afraid his interest in horror was scaring the other kids off. Oop! No pun intended," she giggled.

"Ah, uh, nothing to worry about! He's mega-normal, just needs a little confidence boost. The Cobra's giving him some pointers," he forced a grin. He didn't know if he should mention the bullying if Spencer didn't want him to. Should he?

She smiled, "We're so fortunate he has you to help him."

Ouch...If nothing else came from this trip Billy was pretty sure he at least had a firmer grasp on this 'guilt' feeling.

"Oh! Perhaps you would let me practice styling your hair while you're here! I can make you something 'hip' for your next music video. Have you ever tried dying your hair blonde?"

"Uuuhh, thaaaanks, but I have a stylist."

Jane pouted. Ffffu-there was the guilt feeling again.

"You'll make her jealous with your...awesome styles, is all! Don't wanna hurt her feelings, do we?"

"Oh of course not!," she giggled, "Silly me. Well, I better get Spencer washed up and put him to bed. You sleep well, too, and don't be afraid to ask if you need anything, ok?"

Billy nodded and watched her take the kid into the bathroom before he went back downstairs to collect the VHS tapes. As he came down he spotted Hugh on the floor looking under the coffee table.

"Uh...You ok, Mr. Wright?"

Hugh popped his head up with a bright smile, "I'm perfectly fine, sonny! And call me Hugh! Mr. Wright was my father."

"Heh, ok...Hugh." God, it felt awkward, "So why are you on the floor?"

"I'm looking for my duck tape. I could have sworn I left it in the garage but it's not there."

Billy winced, "Oh, I know where it is…" he trotted out the back door and retrieved the duck tape and the now dry ZomBoy from the playhouse. He ran back in and handed the duck tape to Hugh.

"Sorry, I borrowed it to fix Spencer's toy. The leg broke," he said and pointed at the tape on the zombie's leg.

"Aaaahh, I see! Normally I don't let anyone else touch my babies but if it's for Spencer's sake then it's ok. Thanks for fixing it for him."

"Yeah, no biggy…"

"Hey! Since you seem to be a bit of a do-it-yourselfer too how'd you like to see my projects? Come on, I'll show ya!"

Before Billy could say anything Hugh was dragging him to the garage. Hugh stuck him in front of the robot thing he saw bringing his luggage in yesterday. He watched as Hugh used the duck tape to fix a broken piece. He listened as the man babbled confusing terms like he was trying to teach Billy how to fix something. Then the machine subsequently broke apart again.

"Aww, phooey! Oh well, I'll just have to keep trying. The Hugh-Man is no quitter! My old man always told me to keep doing or die trying. It's something I tell Spencer all the time. I can tell you're that type of go-getter too! It's a family trait," he said and patted Billy on the back.

Billy cocked an eyebrow but slowly nodded. What an odd man. He glanced around the rest of the garage and focused on a barrel looking machine, "What's this do?"

"That's my smoothie maker!"

Billy blinked, "It looks like a small cement mixer."

"That's because it used to be. I refurbished it. Here, I'll show you!" but before Billy could say anything the man was off again and returned with a random assortment of ingredients a moment later. He handed some to Billy proceeded to stuff some in the barrel. He gestured for Billy to do the same and Billy dumped the rest in. Hugh turned on the machine. At first, it spun nice and slow, gradually mixing the stuff together. Then something sparked on the machine and it began to spin out of control. The centrifugal force flung the mush out of the barrel and all over the garage. Hugh turned it off but not before the two were covered in the smoothie.

"Whoops...heh, sorry about that, sonny."

Billy twitched. Well, his outfit was already dirty from his exploits today so he didn't care so much about that.

"No worries," he whipped some of the concoction off his face with his finger and tasted it. It was pretty good and not a bad way to make a smoothie in his opinion. He might need to consider getting his own 'smoothie maker'. Billy went back inside the house and upstairs to bring the tapes up to Spencer's room and take a shower while Hugh was busy cleaning the garage.

He grabbed his music-themed pajamas from his suitcase and went to the bathroom. When he got a good look at himself in the mirror he cringed. He looked awful! Not only from the smoothie but his clothes and arms had dirt all over them. His eyeliner had run and smudged so his gorgeous face looked more like a raccoon. He made a mental note to buy waterproof eyeliner next time. Billy suddenly realized the Wrights didn't mention anything about the makeup.

As Billy stripped off the dirty clothes and got in the shower he couldn't help but think about how weird today was. And just yesterday wasn't he ragging on spending time with these people? Not only did Spencer trust him enough to take him to his secret fort but somehow the kid got him to talk about his dad, however brief. He never even did that with the closest people in his entourage. Now Jane and Hugh were trying to include him in their activities too. It could be because he's famous and they wanted to get his attention but he found that he actually, kind of, might just enjoy it. A little. A tiny, tiny bit.

When he finished and went into the kids' room and to one of his suitcases instead of the bed right away. From a hidden pocket, he pulled out a guitar pick necklace. He had made it out of the first guitar pick he ever used: an electric blue sparkly one his dad used to start teaching him how to play. It wasn't as cool as the one he wore now, a blue one that was made with his face logo on it, but for some reason, he still held onto this one. Then he shook his head, stuffed the necklace back in the pocket and flopped down on the bed, pouting. Why was he having these sentimental thoughts now? They were making him feel weird. He should be focusing on stuff like his next tour and what he was gonna wear.

"G'night, Billy," Spence called from the bed.

Billy jumped a little and looked over at him to see the kid smile. He smiled back, "Night, Spence."

Ok, maybe the Wrights weren't so bad after all.