Disclaimer: Would you believe it? I STILL DO NOT OWN ZIGZAG! (Let us hope he's his own person...)

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Chapter 10

'You have no pity on my nerves!'--Mrs Bennet, from 'Pride and Prejudice'

Ricky didn't go back to watching TV. Just in case Anne was still hiding in the shrubbery, watching him (and it wasn't too implausible), he stayed outside. He really couldn't take her much more. To relieve his stress, he lit a cigarette. As usual, it took away any anxiety he might have.

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"Okay, there he is." Nora saw him standing pretty far away, but it was definitely Ricky. You couldn't mistake him for anyone else because of his hair and height. Nora took a deep breath. "Alright. Hi, Ricky. I was just taking a walk and, well, imagine seeing you here? Oh, you live here? Oh. Did you know that you have really nice eyes? I mean, there's one green and one blue. It's a bit... what do normal people call it? Nifty? Cool?" She shook her head. Best to stay with a vocabulary she understood. "Hello. I was taking a walk, just now. How have you been? I've been good. Did you know you have these really nice eyes? They're mismatched, you know? Blue and green." Again, she shook her head. "Alright, he's right there. I'll just-" she stopped. What was that smell? It was... smoke. Her eyes grew large. No. It couldn't be right... could it? He was male, after all, and they could be pretty unpredictable, but could it be... possible?

"Ricky?"

He turned around. Oh, dear, it was him. Hot tears stung at her eyes.

"I... I was going to tell you something, but..." she stumbled, searching for the words. "You... y-you smoke?"

"Well, um..." She sighed. He was starting to talk like her. "Yeah, I guess. What's wrong with that?"

"Oh, nothing," she spat. "Nothing at all. You know, I actually though I liked you for a while? Hell, I though I loved you." Ricky stared at her. She had just swore, hadn't she? "But now I know that you're into this crap. Well, I hope you know it's a disgusting habit. And you're too young, anyway. You're only fifteen." That was definitely PG language, at least. She must have been pretty upset. "Good day to you, sir." She turned around and stormed away, obviously livid.

"Well," he said to himself. "That's a minor setback."

~*~

"I shall kill myself later for doing this," he promised himself under his breath as he dialled Anne's number. Actually, it was her aunt and uncle's number, but she was staying with them. She had left her phone number there when she came by to 'coach' him on the science and nature of girls. There were two rings before someone picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hi, can I speak to Anne?" He tried to sound as innocent as possible, just in case her aunt or uncle were listening.

"She's speaking. Ricky?"

"How'd you know?"

"You're the only guy with my number, and it sounded like you, though no one ever sounds like themselves on the phone. Anyway, what's up?"

"I don't know how to say this, but..." He tried to find the best words to make it sound as though he had been right the whole time and Nora had gone off her rocker.

"Just say it like it was."

He seriously hoped Anne couldn't read minds. "I smoke, okay?"

"YOU WHAT?!"

"Sorry, but Nora found out and she got pretty upset about-"

"I should say she's upset! Her grandmother died of lung cancer and she knew someone who got asthma because of second-hand smoke. Dude, you've just opened up a bunch of bad memories."

"I'm sorry, okay?"

"I'm afraid that I'm not the one you'll have to apologize to. I sure hope you can remember that amazing idea you had, you may very well need it."

He was confused for a moment, then remembered what he had said. "Oh, right." He'd have to think of something fast. Suddenly, a little light bulb went on in his mind. "Hey, Anne?"

"Yeah?"

"D'you have a copy of 'Pride and Prejudice'?"

"Just the movie, but that's back in Canada."

He chewed his lip. "Know where I can get it?"

"The movie or the book, and rent it or buy it?"

"Either, as long as the movie represents the book well-"

"Oh, it does."

"And either, as long as I can see it or read it."

"You COULD try the library. Or just ask me, I've basically had to memorize it when I became friends with Ellie."

"Ellie?"

"Nora. Anyway, what do you need it for?"

Ricky quickly explained his plan, speaking quietly as though someone's hearing it could mean the demise of the human race. He was pretty sure Anne was grinning on the other end.

"No problem," she told him what she knew, also quietly and quickly. Ricky wasn't sure if she was doing that out of excitement or if she was mocking him.

"Thanks, bye," he said, not waiting for Anne to respond before he hung up. He scribbled furiously on a piece of paper, then read it over when he had finished, a huge smile slowly growing on his face.

He laughed triumphantly before he realized what he was writing in. It was a dark green notebook with a matching pen. He shook his head.

"Man, you like this girl too much. You're scaring yourself." Ricky was sure he could hear romantic background music playing.

That was before he realized he had left the radio on.