A/N:  Okay, second chappie up already!  YAAAAY!  *throws confetti and does the "Second Chappie" Dance*  Yah.  Anyway.  This one's pretty long, though it doesn't get much accomplished.  I meant to have it be mostly them at their first stop of the night, but I barely got into that.  I had too much fun developing the relationship between Freddy and Zack, and each of them and Freddy's landlady.  Yeah.  So I hope you enjoy it anyway.

            Dedications:  PhoenixFireBlack.  I talked to you almost the entire time I was writing this and you were so enthusiastic about it and everything, so you're all special and stuff!  YAY!  That's why the bar is named after you.  Yeah, anyone else reading this, the bar they go to?  Yeah, it's named for PhoenixFireBlack, so y'all better show her some R-E-S-P-E-C-T, if ya know what I'm saying….;D

            Disclaimer:  I own neither Freddy nor Zack, nor School of Rock.  I do now own Grease or the song "Look at me, I'm Sandra Dee."  I also do not own an Ooompa Loompa, though that has nothing to do with this particular fic.

            Claimer:  I do in fact own Mrs. Roberts and her fabulous chocolate chip cookies, along with her stellar wardrobe (hey, it's 8:00 p.m and she's a middle-aged woman…cut her some slack!  She just wants to relax!).  I own her apartment complex, Freddy's t-bird, his parents' silver Volvo and Zack's P.O.S pinto.  I also own any and all of Freddy's hair care products, his phenomenal wardrobe, and his towel.  Ooooh, I love the towel!  Yeah.  I guess I own the Screaming Phoenix, but I bequeath half of it to PhoenixFireBlack, since it is named for her.  We therefore have co-ownership of the Screaming Phoenix.  Oooh, yeah!

            Now onto the fic!

~*~

Zack pulled into Freddy's driveway just as the clock changed from 7:59 to 8:00 on the dot.  He parked the car next to Freddy's beat up old T-bird and couldn't resist looking appreciatively at it.  Despite the faded black paint and the numerous dents and scratches, it was still a beautiful car.  Freddy was doing his best to fix it up, but at the moment, it wasn't running.  He was using one of his parent's old cars, a much more conservative silver Volvo.  Zack's own car was an old blue pinto, a graduation present from his parents.  It was in good condition when they had given it to him, but it wasn't in very good condition now.  He climbed up the rickety old steps and rang the bell once; then he couldn't help it, he turned his back to the door in order to gaze at Freddy's car again.

            The door opened behind him and he turned about, huge grin on his face, but he was in for a bit of a surprise.  It wasn't Freddy at the door; it was his landlady. 

            "HI, Mrs. Roberts!  How are you?" he asked cheerfully.  The woman stared at him grouchily from under a head full of rollers.  She had a coffee mug in one hand and the television remote in the other; her pale blue bathrobe was tightly tied shut and she was wearing a pair of light pink terrycloth slippers.  When she realized it was Zack, her expression changed completely.  Her eyes widened and a huge smile spread over her face

            "Zackary!" She jumped forward and threw her arms about him, hugging him so tight he thought he'd choke to death, but he couldn't help but smile.  Mrs. Roberts loved him almost as much as she loved Freddy…if it was possible for her to love anyone as much as she loved Freddy.  "How are you, dear?" She released him and he attempted to force air back into his lungs.

            "I'm good, thanks."

            "I expect you're looking for that Freddy of yours," she said, a secret knowing sort of smile on her face which puzzled Zack.

            "Er, yeah…" he said, but she was walking towards the stairs.

            "FREDERICK!  FREDERICK!  ZACKARY IS HERE!"

            Zack winced as the woman's voice shook the entire house with its volume.  There was no answer.  She turned back to him.  "He's not answering.  Why don't you go right on up.  I've got some cookies in the oven and I have to watch them…make sure they don't burn."

            Zack's mouth watered at the thought of Mrs. Robert's famous cookies, but he managed to tear himself from the kitchen and go upstairs.  As he reached the top of the stairs, he heard music blaring and grinned.  Freddy was blasting the soundtrack of Grease loudly and singing just as loudly and waaay off-key.  Zack opened the door and grinned at what he saw.  Freddy was standing in front of the mirror in nothing but a towel, hair standing up in five different directions and a hairbrush in hand.

            "LOOOOOK AT ME, I'M SAAAAAAANDRA DEE!" He belted, using the hairbrush like a microphone.  His eyes were shut tight like all the best singers on TV, so he didn't notice Zack's presence but continued singing.  "LOUSY WITH VIRGIIIIIINITY!"

            "I think I can fix that," Zack teased.  Freddy's eyes flew open and his entire body (Well, all that Zack could see, anyway) turned crimson in seconds.  Spinning about, Freddy threw the hairbrush at Zack, who caught it, grinning.

            "Asshole!  You were standing there listening and you didn't even feel like telling me you were there?!"

            "Hell no!"  Zack retorted.  "Why in God's name would I want to do that?"

            "Because it's the nice thing to do!"

            "But then I would have missed the show!" Zack pointed out, trying to suppress a grin.

            "Oh…YOU!"  Freddy grabbed a bottle of hair gel and squirted it at Zack.

            "HEY!"  Zack dodged it.  "You get shit on my clothes and I won't take you ANYwhere!"

            That did it.  Freddy dropped the bottle of gel.  "I'll behave," he said quickly.

            "Good.  You want to get some clothes on, now?"

            "If you LEAVE!"

            "Fine," Zack headed to the door, walking backwards, still facing Freddy.  "I'll just go wait downstairs.  Mrs. R said she's got some cookies in the oven."  Tossing a grin at Freddy, he bolted out the door, slamming it shut behind him.

            "Zack, don't you DARE!  Those are MY cookies!  Don't you fucking TOUCH them!"

            Zack ran down the stairs laughing, Freddy's voice echoing behind him the whole way down.

~*~

            "Are you sure I can't tempt you to have one?"

            Zack stared longingly at the plate of steaming hot chocolate chip cookies that Mrs. R was waving under his nose.  "I…..I really can't.  They're Freddy's; I can't have one before him."

            "Oh, pish posh."  Mrs. R took a cookie off the plate.  "Here."  Without warning, she shoved it into Zack's mouth.

            "MMPH!" he protested, shutting his mouth so that she couldn't stick the cookie all the way in.  He sat there with the cookie hanging out of his mouth, looking (he was certain) like a complete idiot.  At that moment, he heard Freddy coming down the stairs…hell, someone halfway across the state could probably hear Freddy coming down the stairs.  He sounded like a herd of elephants.  Before Zack could do anything about the cookie, Freddy was in the room.

            "HEY!  MY cookies, Zack!  MINE!"  Leaning forwards, Freddy took a HUGE bite out of the cookie hanging out of Zack's mouth.  "Mmm!"  He chewed it and swallowed, eyes shutting in a look of intense pleasure.  "OoooOH!  Mrs. R!" he moaned.  "Your cookies are better than ever!"

            "FREDERICK!  That cookie was for ZACKARY!"  She swatted his arm.

            "Ohh, Mrs. R, you can't be mad at me!" He walked towards her, arms outstretched.

            "Don't you come near me, Frederick you miscreant!" She walked away as fast as she could, but her short legs were no match for the tall lanky Freddy.  He grabbed her and hugged her tightly and she couldn't help but laugh.   He kissed her cheek.

            "Absolutely phenomenal!" he said, releasing her. 

            "Frederick, that cookie was supposed to be for Zackary," she scolded, trying once again to sound angry and failing miserably.

            "Aww, Zack doesn't mind sharing with me, do you, Zack?"  Freddy pulled out the chair next to Zack, spun it around and straddled it, sitting on it backwards to face Zack.  He folded his arms across the back of the chair and leaned over it, grinning at his friend.  "…do you, Zack?"

            Zack chewed what was left of his cookie.  "Whatever you say, Freddy."

            "Oh, you know you like sharing everything with me, Zack, especially when it involves mouths."

            Zack choked on his last bit of cookie; Mrs. R's eyes widened and she swatted Freddy across the back of the head with a rolled up magazine.

            "FREDERICK JONES!"

            Now Zack struggled to stop laughing, but it was hard with that look on her face and the look that Freddy was giving him.  Mrs. Roberts was obviously struggling not to laugh even as she stared at Freddy with eyes wide from shock and a look that said she was trying to look disapproving.  Freddy grinned broadly at Zack.

            "Aw, he's gagging for it," Freddy said.  Mrs. R whacked him with the magazine again.

            "Frederick, you're turning twenty-one today," she scolded.  "I would think you could act a little more mature than that."

            "Mrs. R, I think you forget who you're talking to…this is Freddy Jones, remember?" He waved a hand at her.

            She laughed despite herself.  "I suppose you're right," she said.  "Well, don't you two have somewhere to go?  What do you want to do staying home with an old lady on a Friday night?"

            "Not so old," Freddy said, flirting shamelessly the way anyone flirts with an older friend.  "Never old."

            She smiled.  "Get out of here."

            Freddy complied, grabbing Zack's shirt collar and dragging the brunette to his feet.  He pecked Mrs. Roberts on the cheek.  "Bye!"  With that, he turned and ran out the door, pulling Zack with him, the screen door banging shut behind them.

            "And have fun!" Mrs. R called after them.  Once they were down the steps, Freddy released Zack, giving him a little shove.

            "Sheesh, Freddy, make me choke to death with comments like that!  What the hell were you thinking?!"

            Freddy grinned.  "So it worked."

            "Yeah, it-" Zack stopped talking.  His jaw dropped.  He had finally noticed Freddy's outfit.  "What….are you wearing?"

            Freddy's grin widened.  "Ya like it?"  He did a little twirl.  Zack was speechless.  Freddy was wearing a red shirt with the sleeves cut off, but it was so tight that Zack could make out all the lines of Freddy's finely toned chest.  It cut off a little short and revealed Freddy's bellybutton.  His black pants were baggy and practically hanging off his skinny hips.  A pair of flame patterned converse sneakers and several spiked bracelets completed the outfit.  For once, the drumsticks were nowhere to be seen.  The outfit wouldn't have been too much out of the ordinary if it hadn't been for that shirt…that skin-tight shirt…Zack realized suddenly that he was staring fixedly at the bare skin of Freddy's stomach and that he couldn't bring himself to look away.

            "Zack?  Zaaaaaaaack."

            Zack came to with the realization that Freddy had been calling his name for some time now.  He looked up and found the blonde boy staring at him, an amused look on his face. 

            "You looking for something, Mooneyham, or are you just looking?"

            Zack blushed wildly.  "Nice outfit, Jones, but I didn't think we were going prostituting tonight."

            "Yeah, you just wish you looked this good," Freddy shot back.  Zack tugged on the collar of his shirt.  He was wearing a black Ramones t-shirt and blue jeans with a pair of black vans, nothing extraordinary.  It hadn't bothered him before, but after seeing Freddy's outfit, it bothered him a bit now.

            "Am I underdressed?" he asked nervously.  "I mean, you didn't tell me where we're going, so I had no clue how to dress.  Is this okay?"

            "It's fine, Zack!" Freddy said.  Zack still looked self-conscious.  "It's better than fine, Zack!  It's great!  Seriously."

            "Really?"

            "Really!  Seriously Zack, would I lie to you?"

            Zack smiled.  "Okay."

            Freddy returned the smile, but his eyes were suddenly sultry as he gave Zack a once over.  "You look fucking HOT!"

            "WHAT?!"

            Freddy laughed and headed to the car.  "Come on, Mooneyham, we'd better get going."  He slid into the car and was immediately fidgety, bouncing on the seat and going through Zack's cds.  Shaking his head, Zack slid in on the other side.

            "Fasten your seatbelt," he ordered.  Sighing, Freddy complied.

            "You're such a hardass," he complained.

            "Oh well.  We get in an accident and you won't go through the windshield and that's all that matters."

            "Awww, you care about me!"  Freddy leaned across the seat and snuggled up to Zack.  "How cuuuute!"

            "Get offa me, you big perv."  Zack shoved Freddy with one hand, laughing.  Freddy popped in a cd as Zack started the car.  "So where're we going, anyway?" Zack asked, his voice casual.

            "The Screaming Phoenix…first stop of the night."

            "Okay," Zack said.  He knew how to get there.  He and Freddy has passed it a thousand times, always wishing they were old enough to go…and now they were.  Something was bothering him, though…something Freddy had said hadn't sat quite right.  Then it hit him.  "Wait, FIRST STOP of the night?!"

            "Well, yeah!  Surely you didn't think we were only going one place!"

            "Um….yeah, I kinda did."

            "Oh…whoops."  Freddy sounded anything but contrite.  "Well don't worry.  I won't have you driving all over the state.  And if we go anywhere farther away than you'd like, I'll give you gas money.  So don't worry."

            "But Freddy-"

            "Hey, you said ANYwhere!"

            There was a pause, and then Zack sighed.  "Yeah, you're right.  I did.  And I'll stick to it.  Anywhere you want to go."

            "YAY!"  Freddy bounced up and down and clapped his hands like a five year old.

            Within minutes, they were at the Screaming Phoenix.  The sign blared the name in neon red letters.  Underneath the name was a red phoenix which looked to be-of course- screaming.  It was surrounded by black flames.  Freddy had always thought this was the coolest looking bar ever.  He was out of the car before it had stopped.

            "C'mon, Zack!  Let's go!"  Running around to Zack's side of the car, he grabbed his friend's hand and tugged the brunette up and out of the car. 

            "Hold on, Freddy, I gotta lock it!" Zack barely had time to do that before Freddy was dragging him towards the entrance, entwining their hands as they ran.  Zack laughed, the wind blowing through his hair as they ran together.  They burst through the entrance like cops do in all the movies they watched, like Mel Gibson and Danny Glover would have done it.  Everyone turned and stared at them for a moment before turning back to their drinks or the people they were trying to get drunk, the ones they wanted to go home with.

            Freddy glanced at Zack.  There was only one person he wanted to go home with, though that person was obviously not aware of the fact.  Zack turned and smiled at him, completely oblivious to Freddy's thoughts.  Freddy smiled back.

            "Come on," he said.  "Let's go and get that drink."

~tbc~