Disclaimer: Don't own a thing.

Zack's Penny

Be Boring

Chapter 1: The Unknown Reunion

~*~Zane

The first floor was nearly filled with people by the time I got down there. Pushing my way through them, I made my way outside. It's warmer down here than it was on the roof, but it's cold all the same. I passed Syl ushering some people inside while Krit stood behind her and rubbed his temples. It looked like the poor guy was going to blow his top soon if this didn't stop.

Keisha barked eagerly as I reached the door. I hugged her and kissed the top of her head, then stepped back and let her out. She didn't need a leash, she would walk next to me with no problems. She growled threateningly at several people as we passed, but as long as I was next to her she didn't attack. Krit's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he looked down at her. Despite the fact that she was wagging her tail at him, he still didn't seem to like her.

"Did you have to bring that thing inside? Is she going to be staying in our apartment?"

"Only for a little while, at least until I find a place of my own around here."

That pulled Syl's attention away from the swarm of people she was guiding inside. "So you plan to stick around?" I've never seen her look so excited.

"Well, at least until Zack finds out and sends me away."

She jumped forward and wrapped her arms around me, pressing her cheek against my chest. "We'll just have to keep you secret, little brother. Maybe Zack won't find out about you at all."

I was about to say how unlikely that was when Keisha ran off through the crowd, barking and wagging her tail. I pushed Syl away and ran after her, shoving past several startled looking people. I just hoped she didn't hurt anyone. It wasn't like she hadn't done it before.

She finally came to a stop next to someone sitting in the corner. To my surprise, she was wagging her tail when I reached her. I curiously studied the person she had run to. I was guessing it was a girl, but her hood was up so I couldn't tell. The only thing I had to go on was her tiny stature, she was even smaller than Syl. I reached out and tapped her on the shoulder gently. She didn't even look up, but I knew she was paying attention.

"Sorry if my dog scared you, she gets excited sometimes."

"That's okay." The voice that floated out form under the hood was definitely female, it was too soft not to be. It sounded like she wasn't used to talking to people, she sounded a bit nervous to me.

Keisha jumped up and put her paws on the girl's lap, then started licking her face under the hood. I've never seen her act this way around anyone but me. "What's your name?"

There was silence for a moment, then she said "Penny." I almost didn't hear it, she was still speaking so softly. I thought for a moment about a fake name to give her. I don't know why I bothered, but I had the strongest feeling that I had to stick around.

"I'm Jesse," I said after a moment of deliberation. "Are you sure you're alright?"

She shrugged, which I could barely see through the thick coat she was wearing. "I'm just cold."

Cold? In that coat? It had to feel like the Amazon Rain Forest in that thing! "I'll let Keisha sit by you for a while then." I turned and walked away, feeling a little hurt that Keisha didn't need me to tell her to stay, she apparently already planned on doing that.

Krit saw the look on my face as I approached. "What's up with you? Did someone kill your dog? Wait a second, let me rephrase that. Did your dog kill someone?"

I couldn't even smile at that, the girl had thrown me off balance somehow. "No, no one is dead. You might want to think of a good fake name though, it looks like Keisha found someone interesting."

"Interesting how?"

"You know, I honestly couldn't tell you. It's just a feeling I got when I came near her. So, what's your name?"

"Miguel," he said without any hesitation. At the raised eyebrows on my face, he grinned. "I've used it before. I don't know, I guess I like it."

"What'll Syl call herself?"

"Cindy. It's her favorite fake name. Don't ask me why, that girl is just strange."

"Not compared to the one I found. Where's Syl now? She might want to meet her."

Krit pointed through the crowd to where Syl was sitting by a group of little kids. I should have guessed she would naturally migrate towards the little people. Being careful not to startle the kids, I leaned over them to tap Syl on the shoulder and get her attention.

"I think there's someone you might want to meet."

She stood up and moved away from the kids. "Why would you want me to meet them?"

"I don't know, you're good at these things. Besides, I don't know what to do about her."

"Why would you feel the need to do anything at all?"

"I don't know!" I snapped in frustration. I was upset partly because she kept asking questions, and partly because I didn't know how to answer that last one.

She almost took a step back from my anger, but then she nodded. "Alright, where is this person?"

She followed me all the way to the hallway where I found Keisha and the girl, informing her along the way that she had to call me Jesse. They were sitting in the back corner of the hallway, just like before. I couldn't believe Keisha was still by her. Syl crouched down next to the girl.

"Hi. Who are you?"

"Penny," came the same soft, dull voice. Her voice seemed to have struck a chord in Syl too, judging by the look on her face.

"Well Penny, what were you doing outside tonight?"

"Looking for a place to stay."

"Why?"

"I lived with my brother, but he's gone. Now I have to find my own place."

Syl hesitated, then reached up and pulled back Penny's hood. She got no reaction out of Penny, but the sight of her surprised us. She was absolutely beautiful, there was no other word to describe it. She had shiny, sand-colored hair that fell in gentle curls to her shoulders. Large green eyes were set in a perfect face that reminded me oddly of a porcelain doll. She was very pale, but that didn't take away anything from her appearance. If anything, it improved it. Every part of her was tiny and perfect, from her pouty little lips to her tiny, delicate hands to her slim waist. She had a figure most women would die for. Even though her breasts weren't particularly large, they fit her body perfectly and set off her curves. She was so stunning that even Syl seemed to lose her breath for a moment.

"Is something wrong?" Penny finally seemed to have noticed how we were looking at her. Syl was the first one to recover, I still couldn't get over what I was seeing.

"No, nothing's wrong. Where are you from?"

Penny didn't seem to know how to answer that. "My brother and I traveled a lot. I just came to Chicago because it seemed as good a place as any."

Syl gave a wry smile. "We came to Chicago to escape from someone who wouldn't want us together. He hasn't figured it out yet."

Penny offered a tiny smile, which caught me completely off guard again. She looked even more beautiful when she smiled. Her green eyes twinkled, making her look much happier. It was rather obvious she liked Syl, she hadn't treated me with nearly as much kindness. Syl just has a way with people like that. Most of the time it wouldn't bother me, but I feel different about this girl. Something about her draws me to her, but for the life of me I couldn't tell you why. I'm not a guy who goes for a challenging relationship, so it's not her shyness that's getting to me. No, it's the feeling I get when I come near her. It's like the world just got simpler somehow, but I can't explain how. Damn, this is confusing.

"So, you don't have a place to stay yet?" Syl asked finally. Penny shook her head sadly.

"No, I couldn't even tell you where I am. I just tagged along with the first group of people I came to, hoping they would find a way to get out of the rain."

Syl frowned sympathetically. "You poor thing, you must be freezing!"

Penny just shrugged. "My coat's warm, I'm okay."

Hey, hold the phones. Didn't she just tell me five minutes ago that she was cold? Who did she tell the truth to? I felt even more hurt than before, she had probably been lying to me to get me to go away. What's up with this girl?

*~* Penny

I've never been so uncomfortable. This woman next to me just won't stop interrogating me, the guy standing behind her keeps staring at me, and this dog that keeps putting her front paws in my lap won't stop licking my face. I'm not used to either people or dogs, so this is a whole new situation for me. It's the guy that's really making me nervous. He's really tall, probably about 6'3", which makes him over a foot taller than me. I barely reach 5 foot. He's also extremely handsome, with sharp green eyes and brown hair that's the exact color of chocolate. I saw him smile earlier before he noticed me and saw that he had dimples. His looks caught me so off guard that I feel extremely self-conscious with him staring at me.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm Cindy," said the woman next to me. She seemed to have guessed how I feel. I guess she's not too bad, but that guy watching me is giving me the creeps. She followed my gaze and smiled. "That's Jesse, he's an old friend of mine."

"We already met," I said softly. I had almost forgotten that he'd given me his name earlier, but I had been so nervous that I hardly heard a word he was saying.

"Now," Cindy continued, "about a place to stay. If you want you can stay with me. My boyfriend can go live with my friend here."

I couldn't help but be taken completely by surprise. I'm a total stranger, yet she's kicking her boyfriend out so I can stay with her? "Are you sure about that? Why would you do that?"

For a moment, Cindy didn't seem to know how to answer. "I don't know, I guess I just have a special feeling about you." Her face changed into a beautiful smile. "Besides, do you really want to turn down my kind offer?"

I still didn't know what to say. This was pretty weird, no normal person just lets a stranger into their house to stay. I know I don't exactly have a charm with people, so it can't be my personality. For a second I wondered if she was bisexual, but the appreciative look she gave a tall, dark man walking towards us pushed that thought from my mind completely.

Jesse seemed relieved for the guy to show up. "Hey Miguel, meet Cindy's new friend, Penny."

Miguel's eyes settled on me and I couldn't help but blush under his gaze. He seemed to like what he was seeing and showed it much more than Jesse, but then Cindy stood up and hit him in the arm. "You're only supposed to look at me like that!" I realized he must be her boyfriend. Now I really think she's nuts. Kicking that guy out for me? She needs therapy.

"Don't worry, I'll remember it from now on," he teased Cindy, and they kissed lovingly. I thought it was kind of sweet, but I saw Jesse grimace a little. Did he like Cindy or something? He didn't seem to be jealous, just disgusted by what he was seeing. After a little while he noticed that I was staring at him and he took his eyes away from them. It was a little longer before Cindy and Miguel stopped kissing. When they looked over and saw us staring, they both turned a deep shade of crimson.

"Sorry about that," Miguel managed to choke out finally after almost a minute of uncomfortable silence. I could tell he was extremely embarrassed, maybe he wasn't the kind of player I had first imagined him to be. He certainly looked like one and could get away with being one with those looks. Tall, dark Latin men certainly are able to take any girl's breath away.

Cindy finally spoke, wiping off the smeared lipstick from her mouth. "Jesse, why don't you take Penny up to the apartment? You need to feed and water your dog anyway."

Jesse nodded and stepped forward to pat his dog on the back. Immediately Keisha pulled away from me and turned to look up at him. It was hard to believe he had that much control over her, but he apparently did. He looked down at me for a second, as if deciding what to do, then reached down and offered me his hand. I felt a little nervous, but I reached up and took it anyway.

When he pulled me to my feet, he accidentally pulled too hard and brought me crashing against him. It didn't take him long to step back, blushing furiously, then he mumbled an embarrassed "Sorry" and gestured for me to follow him. We went up several flights of stairs, until I guessed we were on the seventh floor. The door he opened revealed a decent sized apartment that had been very well decorated. Cindy had apparently put her heart into this, if it weren't for the slight draft that I could feel, this would have seemed to be a first-class apartment. There were about five paintings on the wall, a very fancy-looking ceiling fan in the kitchen (which was pretty big considering it was in a apartment), and furniture that appeared to be made out of mahogany wood. I couldn't help but be a little impressed.

"Why did you look so mad when Cindy and Miguel kissed?" I asked a little nervously. I have always hated starting conversations with people I don't know, but my curiosity was killing me.

He looked a little surprised by the question, he didn't seem to have expected to be asked that. It took him a moment to answer. "She's my sister, so I guess I'm a little protective."

That sounded reasonable enough to me, after all, Zack had been extremely protective of me. They even looked somewhat alike, but not much. If he hadn't said anything, I wouldn't have known they were related. I decided to be bold and voice the other question bothering me, maybe he would be able to answer it.

"Why would Cindy throw out her boyfriend so I can live with her?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. By nature, Cindy's a generous person, but this is a little more than we usually get from her. I couldn't honestly tell you why she's doing this. Maybe she snapped or something, I don't know." At my raised eyebrow, he laughed, making himself look even more handsome than before, if that was possible. "Don't worry, I was just kidding. If she hasn't snapped by now, she never will!"

He pointed into one of the rooms on the other side of the living room. "That'll probably be your room, I know Cindy's bedroom is right over there." My eyes followed the direction of his pointing finger, then came back to him.

"Does she have anything to eat? I haven't had any food since yesterday."

Jesse looked a little alarmed at this. "You haven't eaten in over 24 hours? Why not?"

"I ran out of my food and I didn't have any money left."

He hurried to the refrigerator and pulled out what looked like the leftovers of a Thanksgiving meal. After popping it in the microwave, he filled up a bowl of water for his dog. I sat down at the kitchen table and watched as he hurried around, getting stuff for me and for the huge German Shepherd. Right after he had set the plate down in front of me, he said," I should probably go down and help Cindy and Miguel. Do you mind if I leave Keisha up here with you?" He motioned toward the dog. I shook my head, the dog seemed to like me so it wasn't like I was in danger or anything. Nodding in satisfaction, Jesse walked out the door.

I was basically stunned as I started eating. This was all so strange, I still didn't understand why Cindy would do something like this for me. In this day and age, you had to be careful about the people you invited into your home. I ate my meal in confused silence, wondering if I was really safe or not. For one thing, Jesse had said he and Cindy were brother and sister, but earlier Cindy had said Jesse was an old friend. Why did they have two different stories? They hadn't seen my barcode, I was sure of that. I guess I'll just have to figure it all out while I'm here.

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A/N: Sorry that this took a while, I was having major writer's block! As always, read and review!