TOMMY - ONE WEEK LATER
I'm trying hard not to laugh, I really am but I've never seen Kira so indecisive! Zedd finally convinced her to let him buy her a guitar and now Pina, Dar, Zedd, Hayley, Jason and I are watching her bounce all over the music store as another guitar catches her eye as she abandons the one she was just testing.
I almost lose my control when Dar mutters, "By all the hells she is worse than you in a weapons store, brat. Can't she just pick one and we can go?"
I can't help it - I have to pick at him a bit. "I didn't know you were that eager to go hang out with the other kids." At his slightly confused look, I remind him, "Don't tell me you forgot, Goldar. We're supposed to meet up with the rest of the kids when we're done here for dinner."
He curses under his breath in three languages before he sighs heavily. "Go ahead and laugh, brat. Wait until we go to Eltar and you have to deal with Zedd's family. Chances are we'll both be wishing we were back in this damn store for hours on end."
This sobers me a bit. I do want to meet his family, but it makes me a little nervous just the same. After all, it would be nice if they like me, hell, even accept me. I know it won't matter to Zedd, but he really doesn't need another reason for them to reject him.
"Dar, don't torment him like him that" Pina chides softly but sternly.
"I'm not tormenting him, the female child is tormenting me" Dar grumbles. "Besides it's true about his parents you know. Chances are by the time the first meal rolls around he'll be ready to leave and you and I will be doing everything in our power not to kill them for upsetting him and in turn Zedd."
"Still" Pina mutters. "No use worrying him about it before we're even there. Besides they do anything to upset him, Zedd just might let us kill them this time. It's sort of a win when you really think about it." Oh brother, this is going to be a long visit I can feel it.
My attention is drawn away from the two plotting individuals and back to the teenager when she addresses Zedd. "Okay, I think I've decided."
"Take your time and be sure" Zedd cautions her. "You'll hopefully have this for a long time and I want to make sure that you're happy with it."
She shoots a quick look at Dar. "No, it's fine."
"Ignore him" Zedd commands. "He'll deal. Don't get 'fine' - get the one you want."
I catch her covert glance at one that she hasn't even bothered to ask the clerk to look at. I can see the price tag from here and I can guess why. It's at the top end of the price limit that Zedd gave her. As she turns away to look again, I nudge Zedd. When he looks at me, I nod at the guitar that she glanced at. Under my breath, I say, "That one."
Zedd nods and then says, "Kira, what about that one?" He looks at the clerk. "Let's see that one."
Despite the girl's protests, the young man retrieves it. As I move to stand next to her, I hear her soft sigh. I know she wants it. Lightly, she strokes her fingers over it. Quietly, I say, "Try it out."
"I don't have to" she says back, just as quietly. "I've tried it before. Dr. O, it's too much. I can't let him do this. And besides, I'd need to buy a case for it and extra strings and - I can't afford it right now."
"Zedd can and he'll pay for them."
"Then I have to get a different one. He gave me a limit-"
"For the guitar" I remind her gently. "He won't expect you to buy the things you need to take care of it, Kira. Trust me, I know him, and it would miss the point." I grab a nearby stool and set it next to her. "Play something for me."
She hesitates for a minute before picking it up and settling on the stool. She strums it for a minute before launching into a song I haven't heard before.
I see that you wanna get lost inside me
Too many words
People say too many things
They take you away
Whether you wanna go
Let it all sadden
Drown your tears in my hair
They're just words
(Just words, you can say anything)
So talk to me
(I swear they won't hear you)
I promise no one else will hear
They're just words
(Just tell me your fears and your dreams)
It won't hurt me
(Won't hurt me, don't worry)
So if you wanna say something
Just say it, say it to me
Whisper to me in the voice
The one that's only heard by me
Tell me all the things you only told me in your dreams
Whatever you say
I won't leave
I won't judge you for what you believe
Be it good or bad
It's all the same to me
They're just words
(Just words, you can say anything)
So talk to me
(I swear they won't hear you)
I promise no one else will hear
They're just words
(Just tell me your fears and your dreams)
It won't hurt me
(Won't hurt me, don't worry)
So if you wanna say something
Just say it, say it to me
Oh yeah
So baby just scream and shout
Anything to get it out
Maybe even throw things
Hurt my feelings
Zip it up, said enough
But you know it's not enough
Don't you know by now
Forgiveness, it's a steal
They're just words
They're just words
(Just words, you can say anything)
So talk to me
(I swear they won't hear you)
I promise no one else will hear
They're just words
(Just tell me your fears and your dreams)
It won't hurt me
(Won't hurt me, don't worry)
So if you wanna say something
Just say it, say it to me
Say it to me
Words...
Words...
Words...
Say it to me
Say it to me
Partway through the song, Zedd came up and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I slip my arm around his waist even as I realize the other couples are doing the same. "She is highly skilled, isn't she" the Eltarian states softly, seeming rather surprised now as I think he's yet to truly hear her play in person.
"She's very talented" I agree just as quietly. "She'll go far in life with the right encouragement and support."
"Agreed."
When the song ends, we all applaud her. She sets the guitar back on the counter with a smile.
"Is that the one you want?" Zedd asks.
She looks at it longingly once more. "Well, I do, but-"
"No buts" he says firmly. He turns to the man behind the counter. "We'll take it and anything else she needs for it."
He looks at Zedd, disgustedly. "It's not for sale."
Zedd and I exchange puzzled looks. "It has a price tag on it. How is it not for sale?"
The man snatches the instrument off the counter. "I said it's not for sale!"
Kira's face falls and there's no way I'm going to let this go when she helped me. "Get your manager. Now."
He folds his arms. "I don't have to!" Oh hell, yeah last time someone used that line on Zedd, that wasn't me, it resulted in-
Before I can do any more, Zedd's hand shoots across the counter and grabs his collar, yanking him forward until they are nose to nose. His voice is deadly quiet. "Summon your boss." Well on the plus side at least he recalled to grab the shirt this time and not the guy's actual neck.
"Let go!" He struggles for a minute. "Mr. Hastings!"
"Zedd, let him go." I set my hand on his arm. "Remember, things are different here."
"I know, that's why I didn't snatch him around the throat this time" Zedd protests, looking hurt that I seem to think he's not recalled our lesson from the bar when someone accused him and Goldar of cheating at cards. Which in fairness I'm still not certain they weren't. Still Zedd releases him on my command as an older man comes out of the back room. "What's wrong, Ben?"
Ben gestures at Zedd. "He grabbed me!"
I speak up. "Only after you refused to get your manager." I turn toward the newcomer, pointing at the guitar. "If that's not for sale, then why does it have a price tag on it?"
He looks confused. "Of course it's for sale. Ben, why would you tell them that it's not?"
"I'm not selling it to a couple of deviant faggots that are messing around with a child!"
I can almost hear the humans' jaws drop at this statement. I know the Eltarians probably don't know the derogatory things that were just said, but I can see when they process that he just accused us of mating with Kira. Before we can react, Mr. Hastings turns to us. "I am so sorry about that. I'd certainly be happy to sell it to you. Ben, go in my office and I'll talk to you in a little while."
"No! You can't! A couple of limp wristed queers and their little toy have no business-"
To my surprise, the older man spins on him, fury on his face. "That is enough! You have no idea what you're talking about! You are fired, now get out of my store!"
"What?! You can't!"
"Actually he can, and if he didn't I could cause trouble for both of you" Jason states calmly pulling his badge from his pocket.
Snarling at Jason and no doubt realizing he's a bit more screwed than before, the clerk is clearly not happy. "You're a cop."
"No, I'm above the cops, and those two you just insulted, are my family. Annoying family at times, but still family. Now you have about ten seconds to get out that door before you'll be wishing Zedd had finished you off when he'd grabbed you. Because what'll happen to you if I take you in, oh man, you don't even want to know."
Ben heads for the door, cursing the whole way. "If I ever see you fairies again, I'll kick your asses and show you how a real man behaves!"
Somehow, I'm not all that surprised when Zedd says, "Why wait until you see us again? If you think you're man enough, why not do it now?"
I can feel how angry he is, but there's no way I'm going to stop him this time. Unless… I turn to the man behind the counter. "Do you have security cameras?"
He smiles. "Yes, but they only record about a hundred feet past the door."
Looking to the next hurtle, I'm not overly surprised to see Jason give me a slight nod. "I didn't see anything, bro."
I turn back to Zedd and give him a short nod, "Just don't kill him, understand."
"You never let me have any fun." Despite his slight pout at not being allowed to remove the man's organs, I don't miss the evil grin that crosses his face as he confronts the antagonist. "Well, shall we take this outside?"
Ben cracks his knuckles. "Definitely." Oh brother, he would have been better off with Jason booking him on some insignificant charge as even if Zedd promised not to kill him, I know he's going to regret facing off with my mate very quickly.
"Uh, before you do, let's make this slightly more fair" Jason says, amused. "How about just Ben and Zedd - one on one?"
"Just makes it easier to kick his little nancy boy ass."
"Why are you checking out my ass?" Zedd says, in fake astonishment. The rest of us burst into laughter as we follow them as far as the door, Mr. Hastings coming around to join us. Zedd stands calmly. "Go ahead. Whenever you're ready."
Ben launches at my mate and I have to fight back a protective growl. Zedd sidesteps him easily, causing Ben to stumble as he goes by. Zedd moves to a new position and waits for Ben to attack again. Ben throws another punch and Zedd moves once more. This time when Ben flies past, he loses his footing and falls, bouncing his face off the hood of a nearby car as a crowd of onlookers are already gathering, most seeming rather amused by my mate's non-aggressive way of beating the hell out of the other guy. Or rather letting him beat the hell out of himself. This continues for a while until Zedd gets bored laughing at him. Coincidentally, Ben's tired of being made a fool of in front of half the town by this time as well. "Fight me, you sissy!"
"Are you certain? You seem to be doing a fairly good job of fighting yourself. I'd hate to interfere" the Eltarian mocks, ramping up Ben's anger further as this gets him a round of laughter from his audience.
"Always the showman isn't he?" Jason asks me in amusement as well.
"Only when he has an audience" Dar agrees. "Well, or thinks he'll get free drinks from it."
"That's definitely true" I agree.
"I said fight damn it!" Fuming and apparently not realizing that he's openly now become the attacker and in front of witnesses, the clerk's behavior makes me realize that something Zedd has told me in the past does ring true. Humans are easily manipulated by their emotions, as all Zedd's honestly had to do to get him to this point is calmly avoid being hit.
Glancing discreetly to me for confirmation, Zedd shrugs when I give a minute nod for him to go ahead and finish it. "As you wish." He takes a shot of his own, finally, and Ben hits the ground. He pops back up surprisingly quickly and swings at Zedd again. This time Zedd simply catches the other man's fist and squeezes for a minute before shoving him back with enough force that he lands several feet away on his ass. Zedd fakes a yawn. "You're boring me."
Snarling and truly losing what little control he has left, I see the glint of something in the man's hand as he gets back up, taking a moment to place what it is.
"Zedd be careful, he has a blade" Goldar calls, thought seems fairly unconcerned. "Last thing we need is to spend the hour in a medical facility because you need a tetanus shot."
"In truth we are getting hungry, my friend, a trip to the local healer would kind of prolong dinner a bit" Scorpina adds.
"Fair enough." Looking at the box cutter with little concern, Zedd raises a brow. "Seriously? If you're going to pull a weapon on me at least have enough dignity to use a real blade."
No responding but instead running at Zedd foolishly, my mate is fast to disarm him and one beautifully executed roundhouse kick later and Ben is taking a little nap on the pavement.
Smirking in satisfaction as the crowd cheers, Zedd takes a pleased bow seeming to be rather amused by the attention before heading back to the building and giving me a reassuring smile. "That was fun, are there anymore dumbasses like him I could make look stupid? I want to make more of them look stupid."
"You're ridiculous" I accuse, though praise him slightly for not killing the man when he easily could have.
"Oh they loved it, fighting these creatures and entertaining them is almost one in the same."
In a few minutes, we're back down to business. Mr. Hastings hands a small card and a pen to Kira. "If you could fill this out, young lady."
She looks puzzled. "What for?"
"Large ticket items like this, I keep track of - serial numbers, who bought it, when, how it was paid and so on. That way if the items are ever stolen or someone uses a stolen credit card, I have information to help the police."
Kira nods and fills out the card while he fills out the sales slip. He gives Zedd a total that makes Kira's jaw bounce off the counter. "Zedd, are you sure?"
"Kira, I told you - don't worry about it. You have been a great help since all this began and besides my mate considers you family. If he considers you family, I consider you family, and despite my rather selfish motives where most things are concerned I do take care of my family."
Mr. Hastings looks up sharply. He picks up the card that she's filled out and looks it over. "Ford? Are you related to Elias Ford?"
Surprised, Kira nods. "He was my grandfather."
The older man smiles. "So that was you playing the guitar earlier?" She nods again. "You have his gift."
"You knew him?"
His smile broadens. "I was much younger than you when I first heard him play in the clubs. He was damn good, but he gave it all up for your grandmother so that he could marry and take care of her. Come by when you have time and I'll tell you stories and show you some pictures."
"That would be great! Thank you!" she beams. Soon we're headed out. I notice that Ben's gone. Hopefully the jerk just left and isn't intending to come back. I look back toward the store to see Mr. Hastings locking the door and flipping the sign to closed. I'm slightly worried about the older man, but he gives me a cheerful wave and heads to the back. Shaking it off, I turn just in time to see Kira hug Zedd. He looks a little uncomfortable and thankfully she keeps it short enough that my jealousy doesn't kick in. I shake my head, knowing that the rest of the night is either going to go really well or very, very badly.
