Disclaimer: And here we are again…I think you all are smart enough to figure out what I do and don't own. If anything specific comes up that might rise confusion, I'll let you know if I own it or not, okay??? Sheesh….-- (And I still own Candice, even if she doesn't know it yet…)

Chapter 9: The Two of Us

Goo quickly shut the door. Frankie was the last person she wanted to talk to at that moment. She heard an astonished voice come from outside.

"Goo…? Wha…what's going on? Are you okay? Let me in…we need to talk…Goo…? Goo…?" Frankie was knocking (pounding, more like) on the door again.

Goo pressed her back against the door and slid down it slowly, listening to Frankie put up a fuss.

"Goo, I know you're in there! I can see you right there! Come out and talk, okay? I'm worried…if you're not out by the count of FIVE…" She said, switching tactics, "This door will be broken down on top of your head, DO YOU HEAR ME?? ONE…TWO…THREE…FOUR…"

Goo stood up, knowing full well that Frankie would disintegrate the door in a couple seconds, if left out there without a response. Goo decided to do the safer (and cheaper) route, and opened the door marginally.

"Hi, Frankie…What's up?" Frankie stopped in mid charge: she evidentially wasn't going to wait to finish the word 'five' to break down the door. It seemed she was desperate.

"What's up with you, Goo? You've been avoiding me since…never mind since, look, the point is, you've been avoiding us, and I wanna know why!" Frankie was breathing hard from her distress.

"Frankie…" Goo said slowly.

"No, Goo! You need to tell me what's going on now!"

Goo moaned. She really didn't want to talk about this right now. She looked at Frankie for the first time since she entered the house. She saw the concern if her friends eyes and nearly started crying. Suddenly, she wanted to spill everything to her, but didn't know if she could.

"Frankie…uh…uh…do I have to tell you, I mean, your really not going to like it, and I don't mean not dislike it just a little bit, but dislike it, like, a ton, and the stories really long, and excruciating, and…"

"…And you've been holding it in so long you don't know if you can make me understand? I know how you feel." A shadow crossed her face, as if Frankie was remembering a dark secret, or just an unhappy memory. "The thing is you can let it all out. I know; I know what it's like, and the cool part is I'm here for you."

"Marrin's gone." Goo didn't know what made her say it. All she knew was that was the only way to begin.

"Your new brother? Oh, Goo, what happened? Do we need to go look for him?"

Goo told Frankie everything that had happened that night, starting with how Miriam had left and her dad would be working very late. She told of how they'd gone to the Morra-Myfa and gotten extremely hyper. Now she was up to the part on how she'd offended him. (Lazy writing, I know).

"…And I kept telling him that he looked so much like Mac, and that he should stop getting offended by that fact, and he got all defensive and angry, and I understand his point of view, but he really overreacted, and then he jumped out of the pool and ran off, and I couldn't catch up with him, and he wouldn't come back, and now I don't know where he is, and I'm so afraid of what he's doing, or what he might have done that I just can't stand it anymore!" She was talking really fast, like her normal self, and of course forgot to breathe.

"Oh, Goo…what are we going to do with you." It was more of an affectionate statement than anything else. "I get the gist. Common, we're going to go look for Marrin." She started for the door.

"Serious…?" Goo asked.

"Yes, of course I'm serious, now let's move!"

The two of them hurried out to the Foster's bus together, hopped in, peeled out of the driveway, and sped on down the street.

Marrin looked around. It was a dank place this kid, Zayd, had brought him to. It was just an open basement of an abandoned fitness center, although it did show signs of inhabitance. A molded old sofa and armchair stood in the far corner (like, the 'other side of an industrial building' kind of far, not the 'across the house' kind of far). Along with the couches, there was a small TV and a mini-fridge.

"So, you like…?" Zayd walked in behind Marrin. "It's not much, but it'll do until I find somewhere better…"

"It's fine." Marrin only said this because he knew that that would shut him up, not because it was a 'fine' place.

"Well, then, check it out, dude. Don't just stand there." Marrin walked the remarkable distance between him and the 'living' area. He checked the TV; it seemed to be operational. He looked at the sofa, not exactly wanting to expose himself to it just yet, and went to the mini-fridge and opened it. There was only one food item in there that he could see. He picked one of the packages up.

"…Bok-choy?" Marrin said, reading the label.

"Uh…he, he…it-its Chinese cabbage…I'm kinda addicted to it…" Zayd said looking sheepish. Rolling his eyes, Marrin put the bag back in the mini fridge, and stood up.

"Is that all you have?"

"Uh…" Zayd said. "Pretty much…there is some soda in the back, and carrots, probably by the soda…" he smiled shamefacedly again. "Sorry, I should have been more prepared. The guys who are usually here eat out the fridge completely, except for the bok-choy. I'll bring you something tomorrow…"

"Okay…I guess…" Marrin said slowly.

"I don't want to get my Sis upset with me again…I'll be back tomorrow after school, okay?" Zayd stood up from where he'd been sitting with Marrin watching the TV for the past hour.

"That sounds fine, just bring food, okay?" Marrin said, jokingly. He thought of another agreement between a human and an imaginary friend he'd once had had; it too entailed meeting after school. Zayd gave another tentative smile as he left the dank room.

Marrin was glad he was finally gone. He wanted some time to himself. Extremeosaurus fighting…that is so wrong! He knew that Mac wouldn't approve of it, and he himself didn't quite know if he liked the idea. I'm not Mac, so why should I care what he would think? This should be good. Somehow, he thought that if he did this, it might further separate himself from Mac. I don't wanna be Mac, so if I want to prove that I'm not him, then I have to do this… His thoughts went mostly like that for the rest of the night, him trying to justify his actions to himself, before he realized what he was actually doing.

"Hey, who am I trying to prove this is right to? Ugh, I'm such an idiot! Why do I talk to myself like this?"He sighed.

"Maybe because you know it's wrong…" a voice said from nearby.

Marrin yelped and jumped up from the couch. "Who said that? Come out, or I'll…I'll…"

"No, you won't, Marrin. I know us better than that." Marrin located the voice. A small figure stood leaning on a pillar twenty feet away.

"Wha…? What do you mean…ugh…who are you…wha-what do you mean by you know us better than that…?" Marrin was breathing hard now. He knew he didn't want the answer to any of those questions.

The figure looked up at him, stepping away from the pillar and into more light. Marrin felt his stomach drop to his knees. It was someone he hadn't seen in four years. He felt his jaw drop open, but didn't have any will power to close it.

"You look shocked, Marrin, any reason why?" The boy smiled his sweet, knowing smile.

Marrin was utterly speechless.

"Ah, you don't say…" Mac said. That's okay; I know what you're thinking. 'How can he be here? He died four years ago' and yada, yada. It's okay."

"Why are you here?"

"You're lost, Mar. You need to find out who you are, and now you're resorting to drastic measures to do that."

"You're dead, Mac, what do you know? You were 10 when you died; 10! How would you know what I need even if you were still alive?" Marrin was getting hostile.

Mac looked at his feet. "I wouldn't have known what we need when I was 10, but we've done a lot of growing since then. And even if you don't know what we need, have you ever considered that I might?" Mac smiled up at Marrin again.

Marrin was getting irritated again, beyond his control. He put his hand on his head, and ran his fingers through his hair. "How would you know? And stop referring to you and me as one being! I am not you!"

"Mar…"

"No, Mac, you're dead! Dead! D-E-A-D, got that? I'm not dead, that's why we aren't the same person, get it?" A silence followed that was so dense, that it seemed loud. The sheer intensity of it pressed on their ears.

"Don't get in the extremeosaurus fighting, Mar. I don't like it, and I know you don't either. It's just another form of gambling, only this type inflicts bodily harm and maybe even death." Mac prompted the conversation on, but Marrin couldn't handle it anymore, and thought the exchange should be over.

"SHUT UP!!" He snapped. Mac looked hurt, and turned away. He started walking to the East wall.

"I get it. You're not ready to talk. I'll see you around, 'kay, Mar?" His body started fading out as he walked.

"Bu…wait, Mac…" Marrin called out, but it was too late. The little brown haired boy was gone. He sat down angrily on the couch, and leaned his head on his hand. He was surprised to find tears stinging his face.

What was that supposed to do for me? Was it supposed to make me feel better? Well, it kind of failed! Crud; what am I supposed to do now? Thoughts of doubt and anger swirled around in his head until he fell asleep on the couch.

Goo and Frankie had been driving around for a good fifteen minutes before any of them spoke.

"So," Frankie finally said, breaking the silence, "I have a question for you."

Aw, crap. Goo thought knowing exactly what the question would be. She nodded at Frankie, letting her ask the inevitable question.

"You said that you kept calling Marrin Mac…" Frankie faltered.

"Yeah…?" Goo prompted, wanting to get it over with. "Go on…"

"…Well, a few days ago, a boy bumped into me while I was getting groceries, and I mean bumped into me, hard. While we were picking up the groceries, I was cursing at him and getting really mad, until I got a look at his face. His face…Goo, it looked exactly like Mac's." They were at a red light then, so Frankie looked around at Goo, who just gave her a 'go on' look.

"Well, Goo," She said turning around to drive again, "I kinda followed him in the car, and, well, I saw him go into the Morra-Myfa with you." Frankie raised her eyebrows at Goo in the review mirror, wanting some help or input or any verbal response from Goo that she could get. Goo wasn't feeling very complying at the moment, and decided to let Frankie suffer. The red head sighed.

"Goo, is Marrin…uh, well…an…imaginary friend?" Frankie looked frightened, as thought Goo might start yelling at her, or call her crazy, or something. Goo, for some odd reason, wanted to laugh. She hadn't felt this free for forever. Frankie knows! Everything's going to be okay now, if we find Mar, that is.

Frankie gave Goo a meaning full look. "Well…?"

"Yes, Frankie; Mar is an imaginary friend."

A/n: Wow. This chapter was hard. Now, Inhale...Exhale...hmmm...Feel better? Well, too bad! XP Just wait, things will pick up in the next chapter. Don't forget to R&R!!!!! Any questions? -spaz!!-