Alright. Here is chapter 2. Hopefully it is loved by many and loathed by few.

And now for your sick pleasure:

Click

She cracked one eye as the lump in the passenger seat shifted. With a small smile she reached over and pulled the blanket down off the top of his head. It had been extremely dark the night before and she wanted to know what the stranger looked like.

"Beautiful." She whispered to herself as she looked over his pale face. She jumped when his eyes popped open with a certain confusion. "Morning!" She said as she gazed into the void of violet.

"It's hot in here." He said groggily, kicking the blanket off. He stretched out then turned and sat up. He studied her for a moment before speaking again. "Your hair is sticking straight up." He grinned. She giggled in embarrassment and quickly brushed her hair down with her palms.

"I was about to comment about how beautiful yours was. It's so damn long." She reached out and pet his head, running her hand all the way to the bottom of his long ponytail.

"Yeah I haven't cut it in years." He replied, enjoying the attention. "I think every day about just chopping it all off."

"Why would you want to do that? I know girls who would go crazy over this hair."

"Because it holds so many memories."

"All the more reason not to cut it." She smiled. "I'm Mako by the way."

He returned the smile and grabbed her hand to kiss her knuckle. "Mako, I'm Duo."

"Well Duo, I think it's time for us to leave this hot car and start our day."

She leaned over the back seat and pulled out a backpack before shoving the blankets into the back. She opened the pack and pulled out two packets of pop tarts. "Hungry?" She asked handing him one. He took it from her and she threw the bag into the back. She grabbed another backpack and slipped out the driver's side door. He followed her out of the car and through the alleyway, popping pieces of his breakfast as he walked.

"Where are we going?" He asked after following her for three blocks. She didn't answer, just continued her light bounce down the street, her short hair bobbing in sync with her steps. He let his gaze fall and watched his feet shuffle along the cracked pavement. Disgusting was the only word that came to mind as he passed yet another pile of old garbage in the gutter. After another two blocks she turned into a gym and Duo was all that much more confused.

She walked through the small lobby, up to the glass counter and hugged the girl there. "Hey Ciel!" She said as she slipped something into the girl's back pocket.

"Hey gorgeous. Who's the hot guy?" She replied and began digging around in her purse. She pulled out a small silk bag and handed it to Mako.

"This is Duo. I met him last night. Long story short, can we use the showers?"

"Of course! My manager will be here in an hour, so feel free to use the floor too."

"Thanks babe." Mako stuffed the bag into her pocket and led Duo away from the counter, down a small hallway and out onto the gym floor.

He stood patiently, making casual remarks as she did her short workout and the two then proceeded to the showers. Duo waited outside the women's bathroom after finishing his shower for Mako to return. He stood there as several women left the room with no sign of her. Impatience finally getting to him, he stuck his head in the door.

"Mako?" He said loudly, his voice echoing softly off the tile. Receiving no response he slowly made his way into the bathroom. As he turned the corner he thought he heard someone crying, he walked towards the sound quietly. "Mako?" He repeated concerned. "You okay?" Duo looked to his left and saw her in a hunched position with her wet hair hanging over her face. He took a step forward as she inhaled deeply through her nose and threw her head back.

"Hey, sexy." She said looking down her nose at him. She grinned and began to put things back into the silk bag Ciel had given her earlier.

"Drugs?" He asked skeptically.

"Bad habit." She replied and walked over to the mirror. She quickly tied her hair up and gave herself a once over. "C'mon then." She collected her things and grabbed his hand. "You're in the women's bathroom." She jokingly remarked as she left the bathroom with Duo in tow. "Though you could pass for a girl with that hair." She laughed at her own joke as she tugged him around the small gym.

Once they reached the front counter Mako handed the bag back and gave Ciel a sly smile. She smiled and shook her head then held her hand out. Mako reached into her pocket, pulled out a wad of cash and handed it to the girl. And in turn Ciel went back into her purse and grabbed another of the same style bag.

"Here, you'll want these." Ciel said as she handed Mako a pair of sunglasses. "You look like shit already."

"Gracias!" Mako exclaimed as she skipped over to Duo and latched onto his arm. "Let's blow this popsicle stand!" She giggled and led him out of the building.

Mako hummed merrily as the two continued down the street, her arms still ensnaring his. "So… Got a day job?" She chirped, turning her head up to catch another glimpse of his shimmering violet eyes. He looked away from her and gazed off into the distance.

"I used to… And shortly after I lost that my girl kicked me out."

"Ouch." She replied softly. "Want me to beat her up?" Her voice rang with hope at the last bit.

"Naw, she was right. I have to stop 'wallowing in my own self pity' as she put it." He looked back towards her. "I was a guitarist in a band." He said cheerfully.

"Really? Did you write your own songs, or were you one of those lame cover bands?"

He let out a snicker at her question. "We started out as a cover, then moved on to street punk… my band didn't like the stuff I wrote, 'too emo' they said. So after a long argument they told me to leave."

"Ouch again."

"Yeah… You're telling me. After that I got depressed and I guess Sar, which is my girlfriend by the way, just didn't want to deal with the depressed, jobless loser in her apartment anymore."

"And you couldn't either? Is that why you tried to kill yourself?" He nodded ashamed. "Sar will come around. I've known you less that 24 hours and I can already tell you're a great guy."

He contemplated what she said for a few minutes before speaking again. "Obvious subject change, do you have a day job?"

She laughed out loud, snorting lightly as she attempted to catch her breath. "No… I work at night. I was on my way home from said job when I found you. And boy am I glad I got there when I did. I would have hated to wade through splattered brains to get to my car. Plus there's the police and all that shit I would've had to deal with." He laughed at her ramblings.

"You know, I think I'm too chicken to go through with it anyway."

"You pulled the trigger after me didn't you?"

"That's only because you did it first. You showed me that it was possible to survive."

She gave him a questioning look. "You have a forked up mind, Mr. Duo."

"Forked up?"

"Yes, old habit. And don't change the subject! What would you have done if my brains splattered all over the place? You wouldn't have pulled the trigger?"

"Hard to say… When I hit a low like that it's hard to say what I would do at all."

"Yeah I know that problem." She said, unconsciously stroking her fingers down the inside of her arm.

"Cutter?" She looked up shyly and nodded. He smiled warmly at her timidity then pulled his sleeves up revealing the thin red lines underneath. "Same here. You and I seem to have a lot in common."

"You're telling me. It's kinda starting to creep me out."

"Do you believe in fate and destiny?"

"Do you think we're a fated match? That we were destined to meet and help each other?" He nodded. "Same here."

"Don't take this the wrong way, but you've already helped me. You've shown me that it could be worse." After several moments of silence he spoke up again. "So, what do you do during the day?"

"Eat, harass my friends, whatever I feel like doing. You?"

"Watch T.V. or play video games, pretty much anything to curb my boredom."

"Well… I know how to get arcade games for free." He grinned hopefully at her. "Alright follow me." She tugged him down so he was eyelevel with her. "But first I need a kiss." And she turned her cheek toward his face. She giggled cheerfully as he kissed her cheek then dragged him down to the nearest arcade. "So tell me more about yourself."

"Like what?"

"Like why you look so familiar to me even though I know we've never met."

"I was on the news once. Not that you would know, not having a TV and all. Although it was about five years ago, so maybe you did see it."

"You're stalling." She sang. "We're you arrested or something?"

"A couple of times, but not by the cops. I was in the war… as a Gundam pilot."

"No way! That's so cool, the Gundam pilots were like my heroes. I always had stupid daydreams about them saving me." She smiled up at him. "Still do sometimes."

"Well I don't know how good of a savior I am." He laughed. "But I'm good for a friend."

"Sounds good to me." She dragged him into the arcade and wandered around for a while looking for her friend. Once she found him she talked him into giving them a sack of tokens and the two spent most of the afternoon playing arcade games and eating stale concession stand pizza. When they finally left the arcade the sun was low in the sky and it was getting cold.

"Well that was fun, so where to now?" He asked unrolling his sleeves to keep his arms warm.

"We should probably head back to the car. I have to get ready for work."

"You know, you never actually told me where you work. All you said was you work at night."

"Yeah, I know. It's not exactly a job to be proud of."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

They walked in silence back to her home where she changed into some very revealing clothes. After finishing her make up and hair she reached into the glove-box and pulled out the gun.

"Wanna play again?" She spun the chamber and cocked the hammer.

He sat next to her and smiled. "Go for it." She put the gun to her head and took a deep breath. Click. She passed the gun. He spun the chamber again, cocked the hammer. Click. He put the gun away.

She grabbed the small silk bag she had gotten earlier that day and pulled out the mirror and baggie. After cutting two lines she snorted one and offered the other to Duo.

"No thanks." He said, looking away from her. She snorted the second line and wiped the mirror clean.

"Time to work." She said quietly as she put everything away. She turned to look at him and smiled. "So by now you've prolly figured out what I do."

"Either a stripper or a pro would be my guess."

"Yeah… well, I gotta go. I'll see you later." She gathered her things and wandered out of the alleyway.