Hope you like this chapter! Not one of you answered my little questions! My not so subtle movie reference is that Carrie had hair like Princess Leia and she was played by Carrie Fisher. You should know that! Or maybe I'm just a Star Wars nerd that knows far more than is healthy. The Fallopian Swim Team members are sperm. People actually dressed like that in my school. Anyway, please review because of my friend the hit counter. I won't keep you waiting so painfully long this time for an update.

Iconofcoolness: (ego inflates and fills room. cats are squished) Nooooo, kitties! Anyway, Thankies very much!

Lord Azrael: Shiny indeed!

Golden Wind: I heard about the curse, but I thought that it only applied to the play… Hmmm… I wish I could still trick or treat. I miss it.

Bastet1023: Poor, poor Thwei-Tjau'ke. I have put him through so much indignity. T.J. has to be one of the cruelest nicknames for a Yautja ever.

Kitty Felone: But I want a plushie! Oh well, I have my X-13 and One plushies! (cackles) I shall post ten slightly faster than this because most is written. You will all be surprised…

Tarei'hasan: Unworthy opponent.

Thwei-Tjau'ke: Blood Stone.

Guan-Thwei: Night Blood.

Chapter nine

Matt slouched out of the kitchen and around the corner. Landis stood at the door, embracing Celia. He was also a member of the Fallopian Swim Team. They broke apart and the red-haired boy began tugging Lee back into the living room. Almost immediately, the irritating, jangly pop music cut out and was replaced by a heavy, throbbing beat. Matt sighed, he didn't want to admit it, but Landis had a good taste in music-at least so far.

Thwei-Tjau'ke clicked behind him and said, interest lacing his voice, "M'aat-hew, what is this music? It is very different, very strange."

"This is a type of music called rave. This song is called Zombie Nation."

"I like it." With that, the Yautja elbowed past Matt and into the middle of the dance floor where costumed teenagers were gyrating and twisting to the music. A few shot dirty looks as Thwei-Tjau'ke used his greater size, strength and pointy bits of armor to give himself room. A few just laughed. Thwei-Tjau'ke had stopped in the middle of the floor and was swaying slightly to the bass beat, head tilted upwards slightly. Matt pushed his way in and carefully steered/dragged the Yautja away from the middle earning cold looks and a virulent glare from the crippled warrior.

"Hey, Thwei-Tjau'ke. Don't do that. The oomans think that it is strange." Thwei-Tjau'ke stared past Matt and into the middle of the floor again, looking like he was contemplating going back out. Matt pulled out a chair. Thwei-Tjau'ke looked at it, and then sat slowly with a hiss, the chair creaking slightly. He rubbed his scarred side and stretched the metal leg.

"How did you know?"

"You get irritable and start trying to bite off people's heads when you start hurting. Um, why don't you stay here for a bit? I'm just going to wander around a little." The Yautja nodded impatiently and waved Matt away. He obviously wanted to get back to his music.

…..

Matt wandered around the house, chatting with some of the other guests. Most of them wanted to find out where he got his armor from, but a few genuinely wanted to know where he had been. He had known them in high school and since Celia and he was only a couple of years apart, she knew some of the same people he did. They had wondered where he had been. That was a pleasant surprise, but he wasn't really trying to mingle. Matt really wanted to catch Landis alone, but he always had Celia stuck to his side like glue. Matt growled and went into the amazingly empty kitchen to brood.

Amazingly, a few minutes after he went to hide in the kitchen, he heard: "I'm just gonna get some ice. I'll be back in a minute, hon." and Landis walked in. He stopped abruptly in shock, seeing Matt leaning against the shelves. Matt grinned evilly. "What the hell do you want?" Landis muttered sullenly, slamming his plastic cup down so some of his drink sloshed out.

"Oh, so your friends didn't tell you? Good."

"Tell me what?"

"Nothing." Matt advanced rapidly on Landis, stopping right in front of him. The football player leaned away from Matt, his back pressed into the counter. "Why didn't you show last night, tarei'hasan?" Matt asked coldly.

"I didn't feel like it."

"You made an obligation! You are a coward for not showing!" he hissed.

"Fuck off. Looks like you got your ass kicked even without me being there, Matt." Landis snarled, taking in the faint bruises coloring his face and the scabbed splits on his brow. Matt leaned even closer.

"Actually, I won. Your old buddy Jose's knee will probably never be the same." Landis glared under his white swim cap and looked like he wished to bite Matt. Suddenly, he was struck by an idea. Matt could practically see the neurons sputtering into life.

"Where are they? What did you do to them?" Matt was caught off-guard and drew back.

"Nothing that won't heal." The red haired boy stood straighter.

"You are such a fucking liar! What did you do? I swear if you did anything serious, I'll call the fucking cops."

"Landis? What are you doing in here?" Celia called. Matt flinched further away from Landis.

"Oh, hi Matt. What were you doing in here?"

"We were talking." Matt said through clenched teeth.

"Cool." Lee said, leaning close enough to him to hiss in his ear, "Take your friend up to my room if he wants to eat. He looks hungry." before she walked up to Landis.

"Alright, I'll do that. Bye Lee, bye Landis." Matt said, shooting a glare at him. He wondered if Celia really knew how much he hated Landis. The Celia that he had known before wouldn't have been able to hide her opinions, but she had changed. She was smarter, more mature, more political in her actions and much, much less naïve. Maybe she did know and was waiting for the right time to tell him what she thought. Maybe she didn't. It would be something to think about later.

…..

"What do you want to try?" Matt asked Thwei-Tjau'ke in Yautian. He held an orange plastic plate and a pair of tongs.

Thwei-Tjau'ke questioned, "What is that?" He gestured towards a large party platter of rolled cold cuts with a small pyramid of orange and white cheese heaped in the middle.

"Those are cheese and cold cuts." replied Matt. "I don't think the chemicals in the meat would be good for you, but the cheese should be safe." He nabbed a few cubes and deposited them safely on the plate. As Thwei-Tjau'ke chose his treats, Matt regulated his choices; the last thing he wanted was a violently ill alien, although Thwei-Tjau'ke might not react the same as Guan-Thwei. "And but not least: Drinks." Matt grabbed a bottle of beer, a wine cooler and a cup. Then they trooped upstairs to where the warrior could safely remove his mask without causing a riot.

Thwei-Tjau'ke sat down on Celia's bed, rubbing his scars and eyeing the food. Matt set it down while the Yautja removed his mask. He selected a pretzel, carefully sniffed it, then gingerly bit off half.

He chewed for a moment before making a face and declaring, "I do not like these; they are unpleasantly salty and coat my mouth." Thwei-Tjau'ke set the uneaten half down on a napkin with a look of such deep disgust that it made Matt grin. Then he picked up a cube of cheddar. Thwei-Tjau'ke seemed to like that one. Then he moved on to sample the rest; chips, cookies, snack mix, veggies and dip and cut up assorted fruit. He didn't like the chips, part of the snack mix or the cookies, so Matt ate the untouched food. It worked out well. He held up the bottles.

"Which would you like?" he asked. Thwei-Tjau'ke looked confused. Of course, both would look virtually the same to him. "Let's try you on the beer." Matt said, twisting off both caps, then offered the beer to the warrior. He made a face after sniffing it. The wine cooler was the same.

"I will have water. I don't like the smell of those drinks."

"Suit yourself." replied Matt, taking a swig from the cooler. "At least you have good choice when it comes to beer." He got up to fill the plastic cup with water from the tap in Lee's bathroom. "There's candy there if you would like some." The Yautja made an interested noise and soon the room was filled with the crackling of wrappers and noisy eating. Matt shook his head and leaned against the window frame, looking out at the diminishing crowd of darting children. He half wanted to get Thwei-Tjau'ke to come to the window just to scare them, but dismissed the idea. "So how do you like your first ooman party?" he asked after a few long minutes. No answer. "Thwei-Tjau'ke?" he asked, turning. Matt stared at the sight before him. The warrior was fighting with a piece of gum and losing. It was caught in his pointy teeth and had ensnared three of his mandibles. Long strings stretched to his claws. Thwei-Tjau'ke shook his hands but only succeeded in getting the gooey pink offender stuck to his chin as well. He looked up at Matt pathetically. "You retard!" Matt laughed, throwing a fistful of napkins at the trapped Yautja.

…..

Downstairs and de-gummed, Matt and Thwei-Tjau'ke once again wandered the large house, mingling and listening to the dance music. It turned out that the Yautja like techno and rave music as well as rock. Despite Landis, Matt was quite enjoying himself again, until someone dressed as Freddy Krueger came pelting downstairs and shoved his way into the mass of dancers and shut off the music. There were the expected shouts of displeasure and virulent name-calling and many other signs of displeasure.

Freddy waved them into what passed for silence and yelled, "It's the fucking cops!"