~a/n: righty-o then. Chapter 2 is happening right now, as we speak. I have to add to the list of disturbing subject matter: yaoi (gay). That said, enjoy chapter 2.

C h a p t e r T w o : T o b e H o l l o w

Tocuna rolled over in the bed and buried her nose in the pillow. Silhouetted next to her in the city lights was Flo, her slightly skeletal frame rising and falling at steady interval.

She could remember a time when she so much skinnier, so much smaller. Flo used to cry sometimes, telling her she was tired of almost losing her, that she didn't want her to kill herself.

But you were killing yourself too, Flo thought, you were slowly dying in your own way. You can call it what you want, baby, but you were nearly dying.

They said she was stable too, that she could handle life with another person. They told Tocuna that she was rehabilitated. She was still healing, but with some help she could manage living normally. They were mostly right, too.

After Flo was out of the hospital, Tocuna insisted that they move in together. Having someone to huddle over like a hen with only one chick seemed to give Flo more control over her own life. After all, what Flo wanted all her life, the whole reason why she had a problem with eating in the first place, was control. She didn't care what she looked like, she just had needed something of her own that only she could be in command of. It brought her comfort in an otherwise chaotic existence, but had spiraled out of control too fast to keep track of.

Once they moved in, Flo learned that she would have to have control of Tocuna, the neurotic manic depressive that needed a watchful eye. Tocuna, who had been told of her girlfriend's need of control, had played it up just a bit, with the desired results-- Flo had something to live for, something to control.

They took care of each other, each clinging to the other for the support and structure they needed. This was more than a simple romance--they needed each other more than anything.

Tocuna rolled over, checking the clock. 4:13 am, and she had to be at work in the morning. She rolled over and laid her head on Flo's chest, collapsing into a dreamless sleep.