Chapter 7: The Difference Part 2

I pressed my lips against Brittany's and pulled her against me at the same time. Heat jolted through my body. Not like, horny heat...but yeah a little of that too. Mostly just heat from touching her and being so close. Heat that was leading to that warm and fuzzy feeling, but it was all over my body.

I tilted my head a little so our noses weren't so close together and moved my lips a little. Brittany whimpered and moved with me. I wanted more but at the same time I just wanted this. I parted my lips and let the tip of my tongue poke out. Brittany's lips opened and she practically sucked my tongue into her mouth.

Everything felt good. It was just good and all the stress that was being held in my body melted away. Brittany's hands pulled me closer and I pulled her closer by her hips. Her tongue was wet and warm and she tasted like marshmallows from that damn cereal. But it was okay. I probably just tasted like toothpaste.

I tried to think of love and loving her as I explored her mouth for the first time in three years. I was trying to relearn it. I wanted her to know I didn't forget that she liked the top of her mouth petted or that she liked fighting for dominance.

But I needed to breathe.

I disconnected our mouths and opened my eyes.

"What was that for?" Brittany panted. Her eyes were glowing. Her cheeks were red too. And the tips of her ears. She was so cute sometimes. Fuck it, I'm saying how damn adorable she is. Stop censoring your own mind, Lopez!

I shrugged.

"I wanted to kiss you."

She blushed a darker shade of red and looked to the ground. Some of her hair fell forward and I pushed it back into place, leaning forward and tilting her neck a little. I pressed my lips to the flesh of her neck, pulling her closer at the same time. Brittany tilted her head farther to her right and squeezed me.

I just kissed her three or four times up the side of her skin.

"I like when you kiss me," she whispered, resting her head on my shoulder. I could feel her breath 'hush-ing' out against my collar bone, dipping under my jacket.

"Mm," I smiled and ran a hand up her back. "We should tell Puck that you found the key and the gate's down."

Brittany nodded and sighed softly before straightening.

That feeling that something wasn't right came back, but I pushed it into the back of my mind.

"Puck! Puckerman!" I yelled, gripping Brittany's hand and and threading our fingers. "Brittany found the key!"

"The gate's down, Puck!"

Maybe something really wasn't right...My eyes lowered and narrowed as I pulled Brittany with me toward the back of the store.

There were rows and rows of hunting gear, like backpacks and sleeping bags, and camouflage suits...even some fishing rods. The guns were all along the perimeter of the store, locked away in cases or under display. It was eery to be surround by so many killing machines at once.

"Where is he?" Brittany asked.

"I don't know..."

I knew Puck ran around back. I knew he ran through one of these 'Employee's Only' doors.

"Puck?"I shouted, opening one of the doors. "Puckerman, answer us!"

"Puck! Come out before some lost mall gnome finds you!"

I stopped an looked at Brittany. I thought she was over that.

"What?" she asked squeezing my hand.

"Uh-nothing."

"Puuuuck!" Brittany whined out.

"Where the hell could he be?" I grumbled.

He wasn't anywhere in this employee lounge. My stomach was starting to curl on itself. What if he got himself killed some how? Or what if there were other people in the mall?

"Puckerman!" I yelled, walking back out to the main store and in through another door, which led to some sort of office.

"Puck?" Brittany asked.

"Shhh," he whispered. He was hunched over underneath the crawl space of a desk. Why? Just why?

"Do I want to know?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

"Hey, I thought I heard something so I hid, okay?" Puck said while standing up and dusting his pants off.

"I found the key!" Brittany squealed.

"Yeah, the gate was going down. You probably just heard that...you're turning into Finn."

"San..." Brittany warned softly, squeezing my fingers.

"Sorry," I whispered and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

Puck's eyes were the size of plates. I rolled my eyes and smirked.

"I'm a million and a half times the man of Hudson," Puck said rubbing his hand over the strip of hair on his head. It was getting kind of long and awkward. It was too long for a mohawk not to be spiked up. Grah, I'll say it. It looked stupid.

"He couldn't even deal with enough of this to keep calm...Besides I wouldn't want him with me anyways. He would cry too much."

I nodded. "Agreed."

"So, shooting time?" Puck asked, his mouth opening into a creepy, big-ass smile.


"So what I have is a Glock."

"That mini thing?" I asked, poking at Puck's belt.

"Yeah," he took it out, "it doesn't have a safety and I don't have a shit load of bullets."

"O-kay."

Brittany was sitting back behind us on the counter of one of the registers. She didn't want to learn how to shoot a gun. I didn't really either, but fuck what if a zombie came between us? What if I needed to know how to kill and the fastest way was a gun? I never wanted to be in such a fucking vulnerable position again like with fucking Rodger and Sebastian and Beau. I've never legit wanted to kill someone either...

"Listen, Lopez," Puck growled while popping something into the bottom of his black little gun. "This is a magazine, right? That means bullets and that means it's ready to shoot."

I really couldn't concentrate on Puck too much. He seemed really happy to be teaching me, but that stupid feeling was back. I couldn't help but glance back at Brittany every few minutes to see what she was doing. Mostly yawning...I need to find a damn coffee shop...and sometimes she was blowing wimpy bubbles from her gum. Mint. From under that damn register.

"And you hold it up here," he jammed the gun so the topish overhang was resting in the crook of his thumb, "like this. And wrap your weaker hand around front, like this. And then keep your thumbs pointed where you wanna shoot. Get it?"

I quickly focused on him to see his brown eyes smiling. God damn.

"Uh—yup. I got it."

His eyes narrowed and he smiled. It was like he was saying he knew I didn't.

"I got it."

He shrugged, "Okay. It doesn't really have any buck...or recoil to it. Well, like a little, it's a fucking gun, but it's not bad. It might be for you if you haven't moved that ass of yours since Cheerios practice."

"Fuck off!" I shouted laughing along with him. His happy was like, contagious.

It must have been for Brittany too because she was laughing on the counter.

"I wanna take out that light..." Puck said after a minute. The spaces in the security gate were big enough to fit an arm through, so Puck's gun was no problem. The realization made me cringe a little, but I tried to shake it off. Everything was getting a little too inside my head...Stop Lopez!

"Now just line up that point on the end with the target...and...shoot."

A bang and then glass shattering. One of the lights was out.

"Wow, you're so cool."

"I do what I can. I bet you can't shoot in the same spot."

"What are you betting? Get ready to fork it over."

Puck smirked, "Bread sticks."

"Excusemewhat?"

"Shit, still fucking obsessed? Nah, I have a handful of pocket lint and a dick. I know you don't want either. But you're always welcome to Puckzilla if you ever miss him."

"Fuck off. And don't joke about shit."

He nodded and pointed to the light. "Shoot it."

I grumbled and took the gun from him. It was already...cocked?...or whatever. I pointed both my thumbs forward and focused on the dark spot in the ceiling.

"Weird ass lefty."

"Shut up."

I fingered the trigger with one digit and when I got steady enough-

Bang!

There was no shattering sound, but I saw the glass shake on the lights near it and then as the bullet fell (why the hell did it fall?) it clattered around the glass already on the ground.

"Nice shot."

"Too bad you don't have bread sticks."

The sound was echoing in my ears but I shook it off. It was...weirdly exhilarating. Not that I'd ever be trigger happy or shit. It's just so fucking scary and then it goes off and that damn 'BANG' and it just makes my blood rush with adrenaline.

"I think we should open the gate and go find those shitheads stuck in the food court," Puck said, his smile all mouth.

SCCCRRREEEEEKKKKPPPPPHHHHH

"What the fuck..." Puck mumbled, slowly turning.

I did too and instantly hated what I saw.

It was too simple for my brain to handle. It was simple, simple, simple. So fucking god damn simple! My stomach wasn't curling or twisting or anything. My throat was tight but my stomach...the image wasn't even registering enough to have a reaction, it was so wrong. The gun didn't register in my hands either. My own fucking fingers didn't register to my own fucking muscles.

"Shoot it..."

It was all mumbles and hesitant and made me want to puke right there but my stomach was still so normal. I could hear my blood pumping in my ears.

"Shoot it."

Brittany wasn't moving!

She was sitting there like frozen or something, but please just god fucking move! Move! Move! The zombie was starting to get all nasty. His skin looked yellow and his eyes were all dark and sinking in. He was just dirty too and the beard on his face was hanging off in patches. Ugh. I needed to puke.

"Shoot it!"

It didn't matter though. It had that fucking crowbar that I'd dropped when I kissed Brittany in his fucking hand. I wasn't good enough to shoot a zombie from so far away and not kill Brittany.

Oh fucking god. Her face. Her face was so scared and rahhh! I can't, I can't. Please move! It was all wide eyes and pale, pale face and terrified eyes. Horrified.

The gun wiggled in my hand. My fingers tightened over the warm metal as I raised it.

But god damn the fucking thing already had a hand on her and a fucking mouth. Oh my god.

The tears blurred my eyes as I raised the gun and took a deep breath. Shit, calm down. Look. Look! Just look and aim and do whatever the hell else you do to shoot a fucking gun. Fucking move your own finger!

It was quick, like a snap. The body is what I aimed for. Brittany's arm is what his damn teeth aimed for. The roll of the gun in my hand was like fire. I heard the shriek that cracked open my heart and the gasp that had to be my own and they "shit" that was Puck's.

I blinked again and Puck was next to Brittany, attacking the zombie with the crowbar. I rushed forward, my muscles feelings stiff, but my mind slowly coming back.

"Oh god, oh god, shit, shit, shit," it all kept getting passed my lips.

There was splatter of blood on her face, neck, shoulder, and arm. Why did she take that fucking jacket off? Fuck. There was a ring of puss or ooze right below her elbow. There was blood on her pants too. It was deep, dark, dead. Dead blood all over her. It smelled, she smelled like it. My stomach finally caught up to me and lurched.

Was she bit? Did it bite her? Did it's damn teeth stick into her skin?

The questions assaulted me as I swallowed back a gag. Her face was gone, like no emotion at all. She was all stiff and her arm was shaking. Please, please tell me she wasn't bit. She wasn't blinking either and her lips were so tight together and her eyes so blue they screamed innocence. And that screamed it should be you at me. It should be you, blue. That was the fucking color of her eyes.

My fingers ran all over the dying body fluids on her arm. I didn't care anymore. If her eyes screamed that what would her brain be thinking? I needed to make sure she was okay.

There were no holes or tears on her arm, anywhere. I made sure. I rubbed all over her, my hand getting covered in too warm blood and slime from it's mouth. I held back another gag.

"Go get paper towels," I told Puck when he was done. When it was dead.

"I don't..."

"Just get something to wipe this off with!" I hissed, hoping Brittany wouldn't hear for some reason.

He nodded and took off.

"Britt, you're good, okay?" I whispered, trying to decide if I should take her shirt off or not. It had blood on it. I didn't even see where I hit the fucking thing. Why the hell did so much blood just gush out like that?

"Brittany he didn't bite you," I said louder, more forceful. She was okay. She needed to know she was okay. "I'm so...so so-sorry that happened."

I wiped my hands on my sweats. It stained in and left my hands red.

"Shh...okay? Right? I'll help you wash it all off. I promise. I-I'll carry you back if you need me too."

I didn't think I could carry Brittany back. I would be able to carry her on my back maybe, but I didn't know if I could make it to the mattress store. It was almost on the other side of the mall. It wasn't that she was heavy. It was that I was so out of shape.

She nodded stiffly but kept shaking.

"I found these!" Puck huffed, handing over a box of tissues.

My lip twitched and my face contorted as I shot a glare at him, grabbing the box. Tissues wouldn't soak up all this nasty bodily fluid! Couldn't he be smart about something else besides how to survive fucking zombies?

"We're going back," I said.

He nodded.

I pulled out a bunch of tissues and quickly let them absorb the blood on her face and under her jaw and neck. I wiped at the rest on her arm and didn't bother with her legs. She was still shaking.

"Is there anything out there?" I whispered, grabbing Brittany's jacket and helping her into the sleeves. Which was fucking hard when she was sitting on the counter and so much higher up than me.

"No, I checked three times already," he said while wiping off the crowbar with a wad of tissues.

"That gate takes forever to open. The control box is in the display window."

Puck nodded and placed the crowbar on his belt, along with his gun I saw, and walked over to the entrance. Brittany wasn't starring into space anymore. Her eyes were just scarily empty.

"Brittany...let's go. I promise I won't let anything happen to you, I swear. I-I love you and I would never let one of them hurt you."

She nodded and it was so stiff I felt like it was just the motion and held no meaning.

"I promise," I whispered, pulling her off the counter.


"Are you gonna talk to me soon?" I asked.

I was washing Brittany's hair in the employee bathroom at the mattress store. We pulled a chair in so Brittany could sit down while I did it. She was wrapped in a towel. I helped wash the blood and ooze off her.

She shrugged her shoulders, her closed eyes flitting across the lid.

I was in new clothes already. I just washed my hands and splashed myself with water before changing into more sweats. I wanted to...pamper? Brittany when I helped her. I wanted to ease her out of the shock. But it was like it was permanent. It scared me. That made me think maybe she wasn't over her parents just yet. Which made me doubt she would eat anything now.

"Puck went around the whole store and made sure there's no way for more of them to get in."

She nodded a little as I scrubbed at her scalp with the fruity shampoo I picked out for her.

"He found some other cool stuff too. Like a radio and some CD's. He got some dried fruit from some store too."

I started to rinse the suds out of her hair. Maybe she was falling asleep? I wrung the water from her hair and patted it down with a towel, easing her head out of the sink.


"Good shooting," Puck whispered in my ear.

I couldn't figure out if I should glare or not, but whatever I did when I looked over at him had my eyebrows scrunched up and my mouth set. It made him laugh.

Laughing seemed so impossible.

I walked over the bed Brittany was in and pulled the mismatched blankets back. The radio was turned off, not that we really used it yet, and the crowbar was right beside my bed. Puck had his gun tucked in boot beside his bed.

"B?" I whispered, sneaking under the blankets.

Her body was curled in on itself and she was only dressed into a tee shirt and sweatpants. I had layers on with my sweatpants. In the back of my mind I wanted to be ready to move. Even though I knew we probably wouldn't be moving tonight. That would be stupid and stupid and, oh yeah, stupid.

Brittany turned and snuggled into my side.

"I love you."

I wrapped my arm around her and let my hand wander under her tee shirt. I scratched at her skin from the base of her spine to the base of her neck and shoulders. She sighed against me and blew warm breath on to my already warm skin. Her forehead was mushed up against my chin. I didn't care that it was uncomfortable for me. All that mattered was her.

Everything that ever mattered was her.

Which was why I had to pull the trigger.

To save her.

I had to try and I would do it again. It was mostly adrenaline though, and the thought fresh in my mind that I had hit the same spot as Puck just a minute before. This was all getting risky.

I scratched around her back a few more times and then let my hand rest lightly against the small of her back. I closed my eyes.


Hey! this is shorter than the norm by about 800 words...but i figured if I update twice this week you guys would probably like more plot devlopment than 4k chapters that stick to one point in time. Which DO you prefer?

And concerning guns, I know next to nothing. Please don't hold me to it, googled it and tried my best :)

Leave a review and thanks anons for reviewing like always and those who have favorited/alerted!

Wake me up with reviews please :D

xxRose