Chapter Two

Laura looked over at Sam with a semi-horrified look on her face. "You killed your sister's pet, Sam." She informed him, as though he had missed the whole conversation. "I told you it wasn't a rat."

Sam sighed. "Well, it's a normal assumption to come to when there's a rodent in the house." He defended. "How was I supposed to know Parker let her animals run lose."

"Because she's Parker." Laura told him, rolling her eyes. "I'm surprised she doesn't have zebras in her backyard."

Sam couldn't stop himself from laughing. "C'mon baby." He remarked. "She's not Michael Jackson."

Laura started laughing and covered her mouth with her hands, trying to stifle her laughter. But it was too hard, and she kept giggling anyway. At that moment, the front door of the house flung open and a very angry Parker appeared. "I hear you guys laughing!" She cried, glaring at them. "Is my grief humorous to you?"

Laura managed to swallow her laughter and Sam did the same thing, staring at his rather distraught sister. Both teenagers shook their heads, putting on the appropriate solemn looks. Parker seemed satisfied with their reactions to her angry and ducked back into her house again, slamming the door and no doubt going back to cry over the broken body of her hamster.

As soon as Parker had vanished from sight, Sam and Laura erupted into laughter once more. After several moments of laughter, Laura managed to get herself under control by taking several deep breaths and looked at her boyfriend. "Sam, I really do feel bad about what happened." She told him. "Maybe we should do something."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Like what?" He questioned. "Make her a tombstone?"

Laura raised an eyebrow. "No, that's weird." She told him frankly. "I was thinking more about getting her a replacement hamster." She looked at Sam. "Maybe that would make her feel better."

Sam smiled at Laura and slipped his arm around her waist, kissing her on the cheek. "That's not a bad idea." He said. "It might stop her from killing us, at least."

Laura wrinkled her nose, a look of disgust crossing her face, as she stared into one of the many cages of rodents that lined the back walls of Gomez's Little Pet Palace. The animals were packed from wall to ceiling, crawling on top of each other, eating their neighbors and having children. It was like the streets of downtown Mexico, only a lot worse.

"I can't believe she wants one of these things." Laura mumbled, forcing herself to look away from the cannibalistic animals and over at her boyfriend. "They're eating each other."

Sam sighed and tugged Laura away from the cage. "Parker's hamster was from California, these are from Mexico. What do you expect?" He remarked, showing Laura another cage where there weren't as many animals. "You pick one."

Laura, who had always wanted a pet of her own and had dreamed of the day when she would one day get to go down to a pet store and choose her animal friend, smiled at the task. She knelt in front of the cage and let her eyes roam across the animals inside. One of the hamsters was climbing on top of the metal wheel, planning an escape, while another hamster was crushed beneath the wheel, kicking its legs. She didn't give these animals a second glance. Some of the hamsters were sleeping; one very cute, fuzzy one was washing its ears.

But, Laura didn't pay much attention to that one either. Instead, she focused her gaze on a lone hamster, much smaller then the others, cowering behind the food bowl. She smiled and looked over at Sam. "That one." She pointed at the creature. "Let's get her that one."

Sam, for a second, thought she was talking about the one washing itself. However, he quickly saw that she wanted the one that looked like it was seconds away from dying of a heart attack. Leave it to his Laura to want the weak hamster. "Are you sure?" He questioned gently. "It looks kinda....sickly."

"It's not sickly, it's scared." Laura defended, her brown eyes going wide. "It thinks it's going to get eaten." She looked at Sam. "We have to safe its life."

Sam sighed. "And you think giving it to Parker is going to do that?" He questioned. Laura gave him a look that he couldn't stand, a look that made it seem as though she was dying herself and he knew he had no choice but to give in. And so, he looked over at Gomez and informed the man that the 'frightened' hamster was the one that they wanted.

Gomez threw the hamster in a box and handed the box to Laura. "You want for pet or snake food?" The man questioned Sam as he rang up their purchase.

Laura's eyes went wide and horrified as she looked at the Mexican shopkeeper, who was happily counting Sam's money. "Snake food?" She repeated, looking at Sam.

"Pet." Sam clarified quickly. "Definitely a pet."

Once the hamster was purchased, Laura and Sam were all too eager to leave the store. Laura opened the cardboard box and peeked down at the hamster, who was sitting in one place looking a little too stiff to be alive, but she didn't seem to notice. "I think I will name you Fido." She declared to the little creature, who didn't move.

Sam looked over at his girlfriend. "Honey, it's not your pet." He told her. "Parker might not like the name Fido." He had a feeling this was going to happen; he should have just picked the hamster himself and not let her get too attached.

Laura looked at Sam with those wide-eyes again. "I wanna keep it." She mumbled.

Sam took the box from her. "I think I'll hold it." He mumbled, closing the box. Laura didn't look too pleased by losing the box but didn't say anything. After all, the hamster was to cheer up Parker.

When Parker answered her front door, she almost slammed it shut in the faces of the two teenagers that were standing on her front stoop. "What do you want?" She snapped. "I don't have any more pets for you to kill."

Laura looked at the blonde with a hesitant, but still adorable smile. "We brought you a present." She informed Parker. "To say we're sorry."

Sam nodded his agreement. Parker's face lit up. "A present?" She repeated happily. "Is it money?"

"Not exactly." Sam said. It was just like his sister to be ungrateful before she even got her present. He handed her the box. "Here."

Parker eagerly took the box from her little brother, though she was already disappointed because she knew there weren't going to be twenty dollar bills inside. Upon opening the cardboard flaps, she let out a scream and tossed the box back to Laura. "What is that?" She cried, upset. "You guys are sick."

Confused, Laura peered into the box and her mouth dropped open. Sam didn't think it was possible for someone to go that pale that fast. "Fido!" She cried and dropped the box to the ground. She looked at Sam with tears in her eyes. "He's dead!"

"What?" Sam questioned, confused. "We just got the damn thing. I've had fish that lived longer then that." He picked up the box and looked inside; sure enough, Laura's little hamster was lying on his side, stiff as a board with wide eyes.

Parker glared at her brother. "I know you don't like me, Sam, but you don't have to take it out on innocent little hamsters." She snapped.

Sam would have been able to protest if he hadn't been so busy comforting his suddenly distraught girlfriend, who was acting as though she had known that hamster all her life. Parker, however, wasn't in the mood to give him the chance to defend himself as she pushed him out the door and slammed it in his face. Sam stood on the front stoop, staring at the closed door for a moment. Seconds later, the door opened again and Laura stumbled out, pushed by Parker, with the dead hamster in her hands.

Laura looked at Sam. "That didn't work." She mumbled, sounded like a defeated child.

Sam sighed and said the words he never thought he would said. "Back to Gomez's Little Pet Palace."

Parker was engrossed in the very interesting, and very important topic Is My Brother-in-Law my Baby's Daddy? when the door bell rang. With a groan, she rolled off the couch and headed for the door. She wasn't at all surprised to find Laura standing on the other side, looking like she had a ticking bomb strapped to her back.

"Parker," Laura whimpered, trying not to make eye-contact with the girl. She couldn't believe that her supposedly loving and caring boyfriend had made her give his sister the second replacement hamster while he hid in the bushes. Laura didn't think Parker was any less likely to hit her, but she did figure it wouldn't be as hard. "This is Barbary-Allen." She handed the older girl another cardboard box with shaking hands. "She wants to live with you now."

Parker took the box slowly and glared at the brunette. "Lola, if this hamster is dead, you will be too." She said before opening the cardboard box. The hamster inside was not dead, but was happily running around the small box, looking for a way out. Parker's face lit up. "It's so cute!" She cried and went to hug Laura. Laura quickly backed away.

"I gotta go." Laura said before Parker could step any closer and with that, took off running down the driveway.

Parker was surprised to see Sam's head pop up from the middle of her bushes. "Laura?" He called, confused. "Where are you going?" He stumbled out of the bushes, falling several times, before he managed to make it to the street, where he followed after his girlfriend, dragging branches after him.

"That is so weird." Parker mumbled, before stepping back inside and shutting the door