: A/N:-scratches boob- Erm if this is confusing . . . I know. I'm trying to make it as less as confusing as humanly possible. -fumbles through old Pizza boxes and manga stacks- I have some notes here somewhere where I gallantly made an attempt to cease with these stupid Author Notes but c'mon. I know you've smiled at least once. Just a little bit. A smidgen. Teeny tinny? No? -pout- You guys suck. XD! Erm, but yeah I will try to fill you in later in the more confusing chapters. On with the show :3 :

Dead To The World

Chapter five:

Five hours and exactly 46 minutes I had eaten breakfast, talked about our president, got some gas, got a phone number invitation, turned down a phone number invitation, one more Shmernoff, a hot shower, and now I was laying in bed with a slubering cat curled around my ankle. A towel was wrapped loosely around my head as I watched my fan spin around and around, until I had to turn away from sickness.

I curled tightly around my warn fake-fur blanket, finally appreciating the hugeness of my black bed. Size did matter. My thoughts drifted as I laced a finger tip over my healing wound, on my shoulder. Eyes closed as I said a prayer of forgiveness for anything I hadn't thought of; that I might have done. I honestly didn't know why these things were happening to me. Everything was so strange up to about a week ago. Why? What had I done? Was this fate? Would I ever see that man again? Did I care? Yes. Why? I didn't know.

I closed my eyes with a loud and raspy groan, glancing over at the large red blinking lights. Six thirty, one. I sighed, petting my kitty as her ear slipped in and out of my fingers.

"Go to bed." I said to myself over and over. I said it until the words were slow and drawn out, I believe around the thirty some odd time I said it, I actually ended up slipping off.

I woke up to my cell phone ringing, where is it? I wiped at my eyes as I rose quickly, flipping it open as I said quietly.

"Someone better be dead."

"Can you come to work?"

"No." Click. No way in hell- damnit.

"What? I was up till 6:30 last night, got attacked by a wild animal, just got out of a car crash-"

"Oh c'mon, you're still gettin' paid. Don't gemme that bullshit Zowie, ain't gunna get out of it." I growled into the phone.

"I'm the best damned bartender you have, in fact the only who even shows up. You wanna fire me Bub, fuckin' fire me. I'll get another job with better hours, better pay, and better boss. Try me and by God will it happen." He was quiet for a while, so long I'd thought he hung up.

"Alright alright, Sue showed up anyways. Bye." He had the nerve to hang up on me. I shook my head tossing my phone somewhere in the mess of my blankets. Getting up with a crack of my back, smelling fresh . . . was it possible? Fresh coffee?

I followed the smell of coffee until it lead me to the kitchen.

"Wowa, where'd you come from?" Lizzy perked up and over at me through her Mother's Digest.

"Mornin' sleepy head." I tightened my poney tailer, reaching for a coffee cup.

"How'd you get in?"

"I've had a key since you turned 18." She said turning her attention back to her Digest.

"Oh." I sighed, sipping some of the strong black stuff.

"Thanks." I said tiredly as I trudged to my computer. Perks of having High Speed, internet's always on. I signed on to my Ebay account, looking over my recent sell.

"How was last night?" Lizz called from the dining room.

"It went alright . . . kind of strange." I said softly, clicking and squinting my eyes at the name. Under My Skin.

"Who's this?" I whispered to myself, opening the latest painting I'd done. It was an abstract of a pregnant woman laying on a checkered floor, looking up through big baby-blues entitled, "Lost and Undefined." It was originally made for Elisabeth, but it was a little more out of the norm for her tastes. It didn't bother me, naked pregnant posing wouldn't have fit in her picket-fence scenario, anyways. No fouls, no harms. I clicked on the buyer's info, and got nothing. Didn't sell anything, didn't buy anything.

"Must be new." I muttered to myself through a gulp of rich coffee. Payed through . I hovered the mouse over the name curiously, clicking Reply. I jumped when an IM popped onto the screen.

"Jesus." I said to myself, brushing away the scolding coffee which was now on my white nighty shirt. Perfect.

"You okay?"

"Fine." I called over my shoulder. Squinting to read the name of the person, Under My Skin. You wanna talk about strange?

UnderMySkin 11:32 A.M. Good morning.

AbstractoftheMind 11:32 A.M. Good morning? Lol.

UnderMySkin I love the painting.

AbstractoftheMind Oh, thank you very much. I try.

UnderMySkin Indeed, inspiration?

AbstractoftheMind A friend actually, pregnant.

UnderMySkin You are very talented.

AbstractoftheMind Again, it's very appreciated. Painting's my world.

UnderMySkin Sounds like a passion.

AbstractoftheMind I like to think so at least, nice wording.

UnderMySkin Excuse me?

AbstractoftheMind I meant I liked how you put it, it's the word I would have chosen. Passion.

UnderMySkin Isn't that what it is for you, though? Your passion?

AbstractoftheMind If not that, an understatement. I've been paiting since grade school. Goes as far back as finger painting. -chuckle-

UnderMySkin Lol, looks like it paid off. Do you have your own site?

AbstractoftheMind Actually I don't.

UnderMySkin You should, even the ones you've sold already.

AbstractoftheMind That's a very smart thing to say, are you a collector? Or even an artist?

UnderMySkin Not exactly, but I couldn't help but buy your's. The emotions are almost splashed across the canvas. I love it.

AbstractoftheMind Flattering.

UnderMySkin You should be, I'm looking forward to more. I'm sorry but I've got to run, many things to do this Southern afternoon.

AbstractoftheMind You live in the South?

UnderMySkin has signed off. 11:45

I tapped my finger on the enter button, trying to calculate what had just happened. I sure hoped I wasn't getting stalked.

"Do you want to go get something to eat?" I minimized the Ebay screen, stretching with a yawn. I leaned on my elbows uncomfortably.

"Why not?" Seems I'd been saying that alot lately.

"Alright well, go get dressed, I'll do some dishes." She said with a sigh and a wince, touching the lower of her back. I watched her with curiousity, shaking my head slowly.

"I really am happy for you Elisabeth. It seems you're doing very well in life." She looked down at me through the fall of her wavy blonde hair, green eyes sensere and soft. She was happy I was finally opening up, she wasn't one to like being shut out.

"Don't sound so sad."

"Do I?"

"A bit, yeah." She sat back down, looking over at me through thick blonde lashes.

"Talk."

"About what?"

"Anything, everything." I sighed heavily, cracking my knuckles while taking another large gulp of my coffee.

"Alright, just remember you asked for it." I told her all about the car crash, the night after, the week after in fact. The wild animal incident, the weird men I came in contact with. She seemed completley intrigued.

"I didn't even know the Jaguar had more rooms than the main dancing floor." She said with a nail between her lips. I shrugged.

"Neither did I. They must've just built it." She nodded slowly, burning holes through my forehead.

"And the wolf, since when do we have wild wolves in the middle of the city?"

"That's what I want to know, I'll google it later. Find out what kind of pack we carry around here, if any. I didn't even know honestly that we had wolves in Mississippi."

"I knew we had coyotes farther South, when you get out in the boons, maybe even wolves. Wild cats, things like that. But why in the city? Are there woods around the Jaguar?"

"Not that I know of." I said, sitting back down with my third fresh cup of coffee. Was I addicted? Yep. Did I want to hear what else she was about to ask? Nope.

"And the man, we have to find him." I nearly choked on my coffee with laughter.

"Find him? No. Never. The man was naked, in the middle of no where at 2 a.m.. He's probably a phsycho."

"You don't talk about him like he's a phsycho. You get this look in your eyes, and this smile, yeah. You don't think he's a phsycho."

"Sounds like you like him." I said leaning back in my chair as I watched her intently. She had on a loose lavender pull over that I'd bet money on came from the Gap. Blue-jeans with a band around her waist, maternity clothes. Her true white-blonde hair was pulled back in a loose braid, her bangs hanging in her eyes, she'd get them cut soon. She tapped chewed finger nails on her Garfield coffee cup that had sparkly red writing reading, "Have a purrrr-fect morning!" on it. The kind that was way too enthusiastic for any morning, even Christmas. Made you want to hunt down the man who made it, probably turning out to be a depressed balding 50 year old who still lived with his 90 year old Mother. What? Do I sound apathetic?

"Hey babe, he's probably thinking the same thing about you. What were you doing in the middle of nowhere at 2 a.m.. in the morning, huh?" She pressed patranizingly.

"Hey, I work."

"I know that, but did he?"

"Hey! I was fully clothed here! I wasn't the wild one running around with my wang out. So back off." I said with bubbling laughter tightening my throat. She had the same held-back expression on hers.

"Yeah, I can't calculate that one out."

"That's because there's no excuse for running around naked. And because you know I'm right. And it bugs you that you can't figure out some lunaticks motives." She let the laughter fall from her glossy lips so suddenly that it made me break through like a dam, I laughed just as hard. We both laughed until our eyes watered.

"I'm gunna get dressed." I said, shaking my head. She was still laughing when I closed my bathroom door. Maybe my life really wasn't as apathetic as I made it out to be.

: A/N: BWAHAHA! JUST -cough- Sorry about the caps. Just wait until a couple chapters later. It'll be good, I swear it. -stuffs face with popcorn, propping thick glasses back on nose- God, I'm good. Years of Mario and Tetris, years and years alone left with an old school Nintendo and an hp pavilion have lead me to my destiny! -stands tall and shining tears flowing from her eyes, holding her computer screen to her chest tightly, smiling down at her Works Processor.-

Feeding Alex better story. Any questions? Pocky prefurrably. Kthanx you crazy bumpkins. 3 :