Chapter 4

I know it's very short. It was supposed to be longer, but I thought the next part would be better with the next chapter.

Enjoy.

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Why did she think differently? She stood up, put her hood on, and stuffed her hands into her pockets. It wasn't her favorite coat; that one was still at work, so this one had to do.

She followed Zack down the street, a step behind him, like last time. It was a déjà vu, and she was feeling the same. And she had enough with it. It was enough that this was going on as a full circle, again.

Matching his pace, she said, "Why can't you just act normal with me for one time? The more you act like normal, the more you will fit in with your surroundings. Why can't you just let lose, and have fun?"

"Fun is when nobody is in trouble. Fun is when I know you, and everybody else is safe, and alert. That's my only fun." He said it, facing straight ahead, but she knew that if they were at a standstill, then he would've been in her face, like when she had begged him to stay.

"It doesn't have to be like that, and you most importantly know that. Don't you ever just want to go out and dance? Or sit on the beach, or just love somebody?" The last part came out softer than she wanted it to be, but she couldn't help it. Sometimes Zack just got the better of her emotions.

"I don't need love, or any of those kinds of emotions you seem to harvest. There's no use for them. What I want right now is for you to let all that shit go. Get rid of them, and act the way you are supposed to."

So that was it? It wasn't Zack; it was G.I Zack, and all his CO glory. He was in the headset of Manticore, and no matter what she had to realize that he was never going to change.

She stopped walking, and he continued for about four steps before stopping. He did not turn around. He waited, as if she was a staggering child.

"You're heartless, you know that? What's the use in you being here, when all you do is act like you're still there? Why don't you just leave me alone, and stop checking up!" She walked past him, and didn't look back. He was still there, and he was still heartless.

-

Sitting in the laundry mat, alone, later on that day, the clothes were in the dryer, for sixty minutes, and she had anything but time. She sat in the middle plastic chair, of three, between two sets of washers, hood on, and hands in her pockets. Nobody else was in there, and it wasn't even a Friday, or weekend. It was a Thursday.

Maybe everybody was already starting the weekend early? It was very common, if you looked very closely. By Thursday evening, people were ready to party it up, after a, kind of long, work week, in this failing economy.

Maybe it had to do with the carnival coming up. It was nice to have something fun to look forward to. It would've been fun to have Zack there, to go with. Instead, she had to go alone, or with somebody else, that would only be a "second" choice.

Twenty minutes later, she was still sitting there, and all her 'entertainments' got old, fast. Picking her nails, twirling her hair, and picking her lip, she decided enough was enough. The clothes weren't just going to dry faster because she was sitting there. With her stomach growling anyways, it was best to grab some dinner, because when the clothes were done, and by the time she folded them, and put them away, she'd have just enough time to get dressed, and ready for work.

-

It wasn't far, to get food. There was a small pizza restaurant down the long parking lot, and to the right. They had 'straight' food, so she picked up her pace, and headed there. The clouds that were 'supposedly' moving out that morning were back, and now the rain was as well.

Pulling the heavy door open, she stepped inside, and lowered her hood. The frizz ball, she called hair sprang out, in a mess.

The serum didn't help that morning, and the rain just made it worse. Leaving Zack earlier in the morning and needing to cool off, she took a run through the park, and all the way home.

At home, she felt like the mess she felt in the morning; her skin shivered with cold, her head had started to ache again, and she couldn't stop coughing.

"Damn Zack," she grumbled, passing booths of people eating.

"What'd I do?" he said, last booth before the tables.

"Damn Zack," she exclaimed, stopping; letting her arms drop back to her sides, only to come back up, and cross at her breast.

While she was being 'a hot mess,' he was just sitting in the restaurant enjoying a meatball grinder, a salad, and a large bottle of soda.

If only that soda would go to his head…

"Why are you still here?" she questioned.

He took a quick bite out of his grinder, set it down, and using his hands he indicated his meal.

"You know what I mean," she said. She took a seat across from him because everybody was suddenly staring at her, and the little scene that he was causing.

"What other answer can I give you?" he spoke calmly, and casually, like his presence still in town wasn't a big deal.

It was. He usually was gone within a few hours, so why was he staying? Unless something happened. Still she didn't know what happened to him, and why he showed up in his condition.

There had to be a reason. There was always a reason for everything. And though he was a wall, a big, hard, muscular, handsome wall she had to find out what happened. She had to put on an act; like nothing was wrong between the two, even though it wasn't at all, and all she wanted to do was yell at him.

"Everybody's got to eat," she said, though she was thinking, with his casualness, he was in fact pushing her button.

"Listen Zack," she said swallowing her heavy pride, and continuing, in her sincere voice, "What I said before was way out of line."

"Don't apologize for your opinion," he opted, serious face. He continued to eat.

"I don't want to fight," she said. Hands together, on the table, she looked at the little ring on her right pointer; a small Topaz, in honor of her year at the bar, a long time ago; way before she was legal to do so. Malady had gotten it for her, and she liked it, so it stayed on.

"You'll always fight."

"With you Zack. I don't want to fight. We shouldn't have anything to fight about."

"Then what would we talk about?" It might have been a joke, and it was light.

She kicked him under the table.

"Will you stay with me one more night?"

He nodded.

"Great, so you'll be at the bar, and I'll hook you up."

He said, "The only reason I come."

Three jokes in a row, all in the same day, whoa.

"Let me order, my laundry will be done soon." She slipped out of the booth, and up to the counter.

It was hard being the better man, even if she didn't mean it, and was just acting. He was staying for the night, so it was one more chance to find out, really make amends right, and get him to go to the carnival.

That's what she really wanted.

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More Soon. I hope you've enjoyed.