EDITED:17/06/13
Much to Boone's distaste, Annie found a lot of men that she grew 'comfortable' with in a matter of days. She had a way of talking to boys, though coincidentally stumbled around women like a schoolgirl - but soon she had half the population ready for a chat and exchange of pleasantries. Boone found it alarming how easily people were taken in by Annie - and she treated all the others the way she did him. He felt a little better knowing she got a rise from most other people, feeling not as pathetic as he had been lately.
The only man Annie couldn't conquer was Arcade Gannon, a doctor from the Followers of the Apocalypse, who were operating their make shift hospital from an Old Mormon fort. That didn't bother her though, knowing that the man had 'other ways' of getting his kicks. She loved to listen to him talk though, mildly fascinated by his blond hair and his ability to always have the last word.
Two days of running around the town and doing the dirty jobs for the lazy 'upper class', they finally had a total of 1538 caps. Annie had arranged a couple of fake passports from Mick and Ralph's, an odds and ends shop down the end of a deserted street. Freeside had grown on Boone, although that may have just been the lack of want to enter the Strip.
The passports, however, would not be done for another three days.
Boone was laying on the bed, soaking up as much relaxation as he possibly could without feeling guilty. Throughout their 'adventures' in Freeside, the girl had scored them a larger room down the hall. It was somewhat nicer, and the bed was bigger, so there was more space he could keep between them. He had let Annie wander Freeside by herself, under oath that she would carry a knife on her. He trusted her a little more with a knife – knowing that there was a better chance of actually hitting her target with it.
He had polished his gun three times, trying to keep his hands off the drink and busy with something else. When there was nothing to do, there was still always the option of alcohol. He hadn't drank since Carla had died… didn't really want to. Alcohol always made him red-cheeked and giggly, which would be in bad taste around Annie. Boone didn't want to do anything stupid with the girl, especially since he had a hard enough time around her sober.
He sighed tiredly and shook his head – shutting his eyes to take a quick breath. The devil must have heard him, and she burst through the door with an alarming gust of wind and a rush of sweet dirt. It slammed on its hinges, earning a yell from one of the Garrett Twins from the floor below, making Annie swing back around and apologise brightly from the balcony. Returning to the frame, the girl leant against the doorframe with hurried breaths, snapping her garter clips open.
Boone was up on his elbows, sitting up too quickly to hit his head on the bed frame. She snorted at him, his hand reaching up to rub the sore spot embarrassedly. It wasn't often he was caught off guard like that, but then again Annie always managed to surprise him. Catching each other's gazes, they stared for a moment before her lips swelled with a grin.
But she kicked off her stockings, slamming the door behind her, heading straight for the bed. The wild look that she sometimes got was back, making her eyes glint like a psychopath's. Her sudden presence actually worried him, which was a new feeling. Boone really wasn't afraid of anything anymore - not even the thought of his impending doom.
She crawled onto the mattress; eyes alight with something curious and weird. There was something off with the way she handled high-stress situations - they seemed to fuel her mind rather than turn her off completely.
Curling between his legs and sitting up straight in front of him, she began to take off her dress.
"Anna…" He looked like a robot malfunctioning; only managing to blink blankly at her.
"I nearly died today!" She told him, stopping halfway through pulling off a sleeve. "I'm running solely on a high, Boone. Better than chems, Boone; the feeling of taking out three thugs with only a switch blade."
He noticed the scratches on her bare shoulders. However, her dress was just as clean as it had been when she left. Adding the sums in his head, he grabbed the wrist of the hand she was chewing. The contact shocked her, bringing her down a few rungs.
"Did they-"
"No. No!"
"Then why-"
"Because I didn't want to get my dress dirty, Boone. It's the only nice one I have." She huffed at him. "You're missing the point. Even though they were basically useless I took them out with such bravado that I feel like a different person – a better person."
The helpful girl that he had seen not even an hour ago was back in her glazing state. Not even fazed that the force of her stabs had cut her hand open, Annie had stopped grinning and was staring at Boone with wide eyes. Slipping back to the floor, her footsteps padded softly as she walked to the middle of the room, tugging the other sleeve over her shoulder. The dress slipped down her stomach, over her hips and down to her ankles. The elastic from her garter belt hung loosely on her thighs, twisting with the motion she twirled.
"Did I get stabbed?" She asked, piling her hair on top of her head. "Because I can't feel anything now. I could be missing an arm and I wouldn't even notice… Am I missing an arm?"
Boone didn't respond, too overwhelmed with the sudden urge to stand up and take her, pick her up and place her back down on the bed. Boone realised that he was in far too deep already – and it hadn't even been a week. The girl was a beacon of sexuality in his very dry life. He couldn't stop himself from being a human,but the thought of another woman beneath him made his stomach churn. It was far too soon, especially because the thought of even tryingto replace Carla just made him beg for death.
"You're okay. Only a few scratches."
Annie couldn't pick up any discomfort in his voice. Either he was getting better at hiding himself, or she was so full of good feelings that she didn't care.
"I ran back here as soon as I could. It was only down the street. A guy waved at me from an alley to go look at a dead body and then he jumped me."
Boone had already reclaimed his sanity by sitting up straight, placing his feet on the ground so he could find her one of his shirts to try to cover her up as soon as possible. Everything of hers was too short for his taste, and he couldn't ask her to just put her armour back on… If she wasn't going to wear her dress, she was going to wear his clothes in replacement.
She deflected the shirt as soon as he held it out to her, smearing blood on the only clean cloth in his pack. He sighed.
"I'm a woman, Boone, I'll take off my clothes whenever I want." Noticing the blood on her hand, she too began to rummage around in the bags, looking for a doctor's bag. Pouring a cap of sterilizing alcohol into the cut, she wrapped a small amount of bandage around her palm, holding it in place with a rusty pin. She quirked her brows at him jokingly, throwing herself on the bed. "So this one guy grabs me and holds a knife to my stomach, so I turn on the charm you know… you know my charm, right…? He's all for it – they drop their weapons and come for me like fucking animals but they didn't know I still had my knife—and well – did it end badly for them! You should have seen it, I did a great job."
Boone stood in his same place, shirt in one hand, the other free and clenching/unclenching as his eyes drank in the skin on her patterned back. She kicked her legs, burying her face in the pillows lovingly. In the end he had to turn away, heading for the door.
"It's so easy to swing a man. All you have to do is take off your clothes and suddenly everything's a lot-" The door slammed shut, Annie now the sole tenant of their Atomic Wrangler room. "Boone?" She rolled over and sat up, winded by his sudden departure.
She stagged up, pulling on the bloody shirt and peeped out the door. She found him sitting at the bar, feet tucked into the rungs of the stool as Francine Garrett smooth talked him into some sweet drink. Annie felt she shouldn't bother him, so she left him with Old Ben, who also was drinking away his shame.
