Author's Note: I bet you all thought I'd died, or totally forgotten about this story. Well, I didn't. I remembered, but I needed to get 'Switchblade's Story' and 'Hittin' The Road' off the ground. Anyways, here's Ch.9. See?! I haven't died after all. Hope y'all like it! Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: Y'all know the drill. I don't own squat. (Cries in a corner) Wish I owned just ONE newsie, just ONE! Wait…if I did, I'd keep them all to myself, and y'all would hate me…but I still wish I owned them.

DAVE

Ow. My head. Really. Fucking. Hurts. That's what happens when you pass out, I guess. Just before my consciousness came back, before I opened my eyes, I felt someone's lips on mine. Really nice, a soft kiss, like you might give a lover, or a sleeping child. Then, I kissed back, and the delicious pressure disappeared. I opened my eyes and looked around. Blink was the only person in the room, and he was sitting in a chair watching T.V. "Hey Blink" I managed, through very dry lips. He looked over at me, hopped up, and strode over to the bed. He looked down at me and smiled. He had a gorgeous

smile…God, what am I saying?! Everything about him was gorgeous, down to his eye patch and his constantly untied shoes.

"Hey, Davey-boi! You're awake! How're you feelin'?"

"Like shit. Hey, just before I woke up, I'm pretty sure I felt someone kiss me. Was that…" I had to stop to lick my lips. "Was that you?"

He turned a brilliant shade of crimson. "Blink?" I asked again.

"Grief makes people do some weird things, "he said, by way of response.

"It wasn't all that weird" I said softly, then realized he'd heard every word.

He smiled again. "So…how's your head?"

"Feels like Dutchy took his drum mallets and pounded on it for a few hours. Where is everyone?"

"They all succumbed to hunger. But don't worry, I made Spits go get me some food, 'cause I wanted to be here when youse woke up." And he flashed that brilliant smile again. "Believe it or not, we happen to care. And Spot feels super bad about all this."

"Spot gave me the shot, then…I can't remember anything else."

"That's cause you passed out, goofus."

"That'll do it, huh?"

"Yep" he replied, looking down at me, relief written all over his face. "You thirsty, Davey-boi?" he asked.

"Parched" I answered. "Got any Pepsi?"

"I'll go get some, there's a machine down the hall."

"OK, thanks."

"No problem" he said, and then pausing in the doorway, he said, so quietly I almost couldn't hear, "Mi amor."

My heart caught in my throat. My Spanish was terrible, but even I knew 'mi amor' meant 'my love'. Did that mean…Blink loved me? Or was I just nuts, hearing things? I decided to believe he really had said that, which gave me a very good rush of endorphins. But that still left the question of whether or not I was actually gay. So I asked myself a couple of questions:

1). Was I attracted to Blink?

2.) Could I see myself committing to him, even in the face of torment and harassment?

3.) Was I in love with him?

#'s 1 and 2 were a big, fat, "NO DUH!", but #3 still needed some time. I mean, love is a BIG commitment, one I'd most likely be ready to make in a month or two.

This isn't to say we can't flirt and make out.

CHAPINITA

"She bangs, she bangs, oh baby" "God, I hate Ricky Martin!"

"And, Lord, I've been a long time gone!" "AAAH! Country!"

"With the lights out, it's less dangerous! Here we are now, entertain us!" "Ah, Nirvana. Better than nothin'."

In case you were wondering, that was me flipping through the radio stations in my car. I'm not totally crazy, after all. But I am Guatemalan, which entitles me to be a little loco. FEAR ME! And speaking of flying Asian monkeys…I'm kiddin' but I have seen a winged monkey. Don't tell me you've never seen Wizard of Oz! HELLO! Good movie. Awesome flying monkeys.

"Fly my pretties! FLY!" My cell rang in my purse. Oh, joy. My mother.

"Hola, mami. ¿Como estas?"

"¿Donde esta?" my mother almost shrieked at me.

"On my way to St. Joe's to visit one of my friends who was in an accident."

My mother has a soft spot for hurting people. I knew that'd soften her up.

"Well, you make sure to bring him some flowers, or something. Make him feel a little better, ¿Comprende?"

"Si, mami. I'm at the store, I'm gonna go find him something, OK?"

"Alright. Hasta luego."

"Hasta luego." I found him something within my budget and drove over to St. Joe's. I found Spitfire and everyone else in the cafeteria. Where else?

"Hola, fuega. ¿Como estas?"

"Asi-asi, ¿y tu?"

"Bien. Como esta Dave?"

"We don't know if he's woken up yet. We left Blink with him, in case he wakes up. We don't want the poor guy to wake up all alone."

"How considerate, fuega. Can I go give these to him?" I asked, holding up the flowers.

"Sure. Let's get going."

BLINK

I swear, I'm eventually going to ignite with all the sparks flying between me and Dave. He is so sweet and innocent. And he's probably a virgin, to boot. If he is…heh heh heh. I'll fix that. If he's not…well, so much the better.

Yeah, I'm a horny bastard. But I'm a horny gay bastard, which makes it even better. Ha ha ha. I got back with his Pepsi, gave it to him, and sat down next to him, so we could talk some more.

"So…didja like the Rainbow Meetings?" I asked, in an attempt to fill the very awkward silence.

"From what I can remember," he said, "They were OK."

"Good. Medda said she'd love for you to come back in two weeks. Think you'll be up to it?"

"I hope so. The doctor said they're keeping me overnight, but I can go home in the morning."

"Well, that's good news!" I said, cheerfully. But to my ears, it sounded slightly strained.

"So…how 'bout those Dodgers?" I asked, laughing. Then I explained how I'd asked him that while he'd been unconscious. I knew I should've kept my mouth shut, 'cause he brought up the kiss again.

"Why, Blink? Why'd you kiss me?"

"Why'd you kiss back?" A question for a question. "I thought you weren't gay. That's the reason you're in here in the first place. You started shrieking that you weren't gay at the top of your lungs. That's how you wound up here."

He looked embarrassed. "I…I don't know. I wasn't expecting it, so I guess…I just rolled with it." He looked apprehensive. "That's not to say it was bad (actually it was rather good), I just wasn't expecting it, that's all."

I had caught up to 'Actually, it was rather good', then my brain shut down from sensory overload. If I was physically able, I probably would've done a cartwheel. Just then, everyone else plus Chapinita came trooping back into the room. A few things weren't right: For one thing, Spot was minus Itey, and that was just weird. Also, Spot looked like he'd been crying. Spot never, I repeat never cries. EVER.

"Blink! Here's your food. You owe me $1.50, that fiver wasn't enough. Hope you didn't do anything I wouldn't have done." There isn't a lot Liz wouldn't have done. She meant well, but she totally killed the mood.

"Hey, Blink" she said casually, "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure."

I followed her into the hallway, and she kicked the door shut.

"First off, I'm sorry I ruined your moment. I couldn't think of a valid reason to keep them downstairs. Second, I walked in and the room reeked of unresolved sexual tension, so we'll try to get you two on a date, shall we? Third, tread carefully around Spot. Itey dumped him, 'cause I guess he thought we were psycho, and he made Spot choose. Spot chose us, but he really loved Itey. But, as he told me himself, now he can go after Jack. And fourth-" She stopped to draw breath. "I broke up with Jack. And now I feel so FREE!" She grinned. "And now I can go after Dutchy with any guilt whatsoever!"

She spun around and around in a circle. She finally stopped, she must've been getting dizzy, and her eyes were crossed. She looked at me, her eyes sparkling with mischief and laughter.

"Ya think after Davey gets out, he'd wanna go to The Human Music Box?"

The Human Music Box is a karaoke bar in the East Village. However, it's a bar. However, my uncle owns it, so my friends and I can come in whenever we want, and my uncle slips us drinks. Saturday and Liz are partial to wine coolers, but I'm more of a Samuel Adams' type guy. I smiled at the thought of the last time we were there. Izzy, Coin, and Liz went up and started singing 'Baby One More Time', and doing a funky routine they'd made up. My smile widened.

"Sure" I said. "Let's go next Saturday night. Maybe we can get him to do a pelvic thrust. Or two. Or three. Or a hundred."

END CHAPTER

SHOUTOUTS:

Turpentinechaser: Glad someone appreciates my randomness as much as my friends. At last, someone who understands me. (Gives you a hug and a cookie) Thanx for the review!

Saturday: I KNEW I shouldn't have made Race your boyfriend. I KNEW I'd get tackled again, this brings the total up to-what? Somewhere around 100? Anyways…glad you love me so much. Hope you liked this!

Sapphy: Glad you like smacking Spot upside the head. I thought of you immediately as someone who could smack Spot and get away with it. LOL! Anyways…yeah…running out of ideas for a shoutout! Thanx for the review!

Elvenrarehunter: You ARE going in, I PROMISE! I'd already written Ch. 9 when you reviewed, but I worked you, Erin Go Braugh, Jinx, Melody, Alaska, and a couple of other people into the next chapter, so you're going in as soon as Ch.10 goes up! Please forgive the monster delay! I'm SOOOOO sorry! Love ya, thanx for the review!

Anyone who hasn't gotten into the plotline yet: Like I said, I'm VERY sorry for the monster delay, you ALL will go in, that's a PROMISE! It's just that I'd already mapped out a direction I wanted Ch.9 to go in, but you'll all get in. Please forgive me! I love you all! (Starts handing out cookies, muffins, and Handi-Snacks)

And a quote to round all this out with:

"I'm not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes out there, because I know I'm not dumb…and I know I'm not blonde." –Dolly Parton