For a month or so I was sure people had abandoned the OUATIM fics. When I was ready to commit suicide (just kidding people) I got some reviews that saved the day.

Special thanks to Ditte3, for the many reviews and all the kind words.

Chapter 7) Lair, lair, foul, foul.

There was something wrong. Drastically wrong. And it was not the kid he was worried about it. It was the she, the girly. She was holding back something. The last few days she was on the tip or her toes with everything. And damn, she was a lousy liar. When she thought he was asleep she would call to someone in the middle of the night. In her room on a new mobile phone he hadn't heard before.

'It might just be the Latino Shel.'

'And if it isn't, then what?' He thought distressed, he didn't like the fact he wasn't sure to trust her or not. It had always been on of his tiny little problems. Fuck, he'd grown a habit out of it.

'That's right Shel, never trust a thing.'

'Can you please stop being my fucking baby-sit and start working on a solution.'

'Fine, let's get to the point. Do you really need the girl?'

'Yes, she is my eyes and because of her I don't need to get out.'

'In other words, she has you by the fucking balls? Shel, your trapped by a little girl. She needs to die if you ask me.'

'Drop it fucker, she is not going to die. She is not the problem, at the moment. Lill' niño is.'

'Or someone else…'

'Like who, everyone thinks I'm dead.'

'Don't be so green. If someone has enough dough and guts they'll find out your not quit as dead as most of us want you to be.'

Sands sighted and had to agree.

"Your going again?" he snapped at Lizz when she flee to the door.

"Yes, I kinda need to pick up some things from the pharmacy." She answered a bit distressed by his angry tone.

"Sure, leave me here to rot to death." And he pushed on the volume button of the remote control. A soap opera was on, god how much he hated that.

"Well…" She carefully started. "You can come with me if you have nothing more interesting to do." The girl carefully suggested.

His jaw twitched. "Yeah and get shot to shred or get locked up again, don't think so goldilocks."

She was clearly a bit upset by his hard words. "It was just a question Sands, don't get all paranoid."

He rose both his eyebrows. "Paranoid? Me? I'm not the one sneaking throw the house all day. Don't think I'm retarded just because I can't see a flying fuck!"

Now she was offended for real, he could pick that up by the way her breathing got shallow and her fingers rushed throw her hair. He'd because quit good at estimate peoples emotions by audible bearing, well at least hers.

"You need to get out more Sands." She paused and picked up something from the desk across the room. "It's not good for a person to spend so much time inside, defiantly not for you."

"Sure, admiring the view of the fancy town will make me feel so much better." He sneered sarcastic.

"That's not what I-"

"- Well what the fuck are you saying then?! You want me to get out, why? What's the big catch there Lizzy-O? It's that punk ass no-good Latino wannabe ain't it?! There is something wrong since the day he came around. Did he put you up to something?! Tell me what the fuck IS GOING ON!"

He hadn't realised yet he was standing a few inches away from Lizz, practically screaming in her face.

But she didn't seem that intimated by that, after living so long around him she didn't flinch that much anymore for one of his outbreaks. "I so hope the pharmacy have your meds 'caus your getting loco, again."

It was like she'd soaked him throw with gasoline and handed him a lighter. That tone of hers, so uninterested and casual, like he just asked her for a cup of tea. That… way of getting under his skin, just by ignoring the fact that he was threatening her. Didn't she see how close he was to rip her hairs out, us her body for shooting practise.

Clearly not. Fine, then he would help her see that.

"O, I'm getting there kid and when I'm I damn well hope you're here because I'm feeling trigger-happy." He pointed his index finer against his temple and then at her. "I'm feeling very happy…" Innocent people can die fast you know. Not me, I ain't innocent. But you are. And that little señor is." He smiled wickedly. "But I can make it long, make it hours until I feel happy enough to pull the trigger."

The door closed and well-pleased he pushed his hand in his pocket. 'Turn up the light, Lizzy. I won.'

.-.-.

She run down the stairs from the apartment. At the last step she sat down and fought to keep the tears in. 'Crazy bastard, I just asked him one question and hell breaks lose.' She leaned on her arm and blew some strings out of her face. 'He's suspecting something. He knows I'm doing something, he might have heard me call Djessy. That's not good.'

She'd kept in contact with her over the last six days, to report any strange behaviour or side effects of the stuff she was giving him. She had stopped giving him aspirins and gave him the 'real deal,' some wacko pills Djessy suggested. They where still a bit illegal in the US, but in Mexico it was easier to get what you wanted. Nobody asks questions as long as you pay them enough.

Still, the pills could have a nasty effect on him, but worse then his own unpredictable mood swings? So therefore she kept in contact.

And they didn't just talked about Sands, but also about her. Surely she never gave away places, names, numbers or whatsoever. She'd picked up some of Sands habits of suspecting a gun at her head every second. She didn't like the fact that she started to be as paranoid as her roomy. And she still wasn't sure what Djessy really wanted.

But it felt so good to talk to some stranger, someone other than Mr. Chaos and Destruction. To talk to a woman, to have someone to listen to her and make some decisions. She'd missed that the biggest part of her life. Someone to get you throw a long day, to give you advise.

'I'm missing a mom.' She thought miserable. It wasn't that she couldn't take care of herself. That wasn't the problem at all, she'd been doing that since she was eight or so. And with Sands around she didn't have to fear for a criminal breaking in. She could only feel sorry for the poor burglar that set foot in Sands' his room.

No, it was more that warm shoulder to cry on. To hug and yell at if something went wrong or you felt bad. To watch a movie with, go buy clothes, bake cookies. Someone to rebel against, stay up late, go out whole night. Get grounded.

She wasn't able to do those things with Sands. No way. He wasn't a very good roll model. Sure, she could yell at him, but he would only yell back twice as hard. Sure, she could come back three your around six in the morning, walking in all tipsy and sick finding out he blew half of the furniture and drunk as much as she'd done all night.

"Lizz?"

When she looked up she noticed Julio walking towards her a bit unease.

"Are you crying?" He sat down next to her and looked rather worried.

"No, it's nothing really." She smiled quickly and brushed the few tears that made it to her cheek away. "I'm fine. Fine as can be." 'If living with Sands can be defined as fine.'

Julio frowned and turned to her apartment. "It's him, isn't it. Did… did he do something to you? Did he hurt you?"

She bit her lip and felt redness start to flush up in her face. "No, no I just…" She tried to smile again. "We just had a little fight over nothing really."

By the look on his face she knew he wasn't buying it at all. 'Crap, how am I going to save my ass out of this?' She didn't want to lie to him. Because with lying is a big no-no, a relation breaker.

That, and she was a terrible lair.

"About what?"

Now she flushed till full house. "Sorry?"

He gave her a long and concerning look. "Where did you fight about?"

She blurted out the first thing that came up in her mind. "P-phonebill?"

His frown disappear while his eyebrow rose. "You where fighting over a phonebill? Why?"

'O shittedi-shit. How on earth will I save myself out of this?' "Yeah, I've been chatting to much lately. You know how girls can be. Talking to much, not watching the time fly by. And he can be so mad when I do that." She started to giggle out of nervousness. Damn it felt like she got interrogated by Sands.

"To who where you calling?" Julio asked, just as sudden as all the cops can do on tv.

"To… my ant. In… the US, so… that's very expensive. And it's my ant, so it's his ex… And he doesn't like her anymore. He kinda… hates her at the moment. But you know sometimes it's good to talk to relatives… And since I don't have that many anymore, it's good to keep in contact." She was surprised of her own acting talent and sneakiness. Not only did she came up with a pretty good reason of a 'normal' fight between a uncle and his niece, but also threw in the 'family matter'. And there was no way a nice guy like Julio would bring up the fact that her parents where both gone. To be sure of that she threw in the last card.

"Sometimes it can be so difficult to live without your mom and dad you know?" To make sure there conversation about the fight was finished she sniffed a bit and looked away. 'That might over do it a bit.'

But Julio didn't seem very aware of her melodramatic act and started to get even more nervous. Lizz took quickly advantage of that.

"Shall we go do something nice, last time I couldn't make it and I'm dying to go do something fun."

.-.-.

He was trying to fix himself some dinner when 'problem-child' came rushing back in. The way she was humming one of her favourite songs (no this time not from Faggy Martin but from Enrique-I'm-gay-but-I-fuck-with-kournikova-Inglesias) made him lose his appetite. Somehow he had the feeling she hadn't been running from there home to the pharmacy and back. Because she'd been gone for three hours or more.

"So I'm guessing they had the meds then, seeming your in such a happy mood." He said, surprised by the eased tone he used.

"Huh? SHIT." He got for an answer.

Utterly slow he turn around and leaned on the kitchen cabin. "Somehow I get the feeling you forgot to collect something for me." She kept silent, standing in the middle of the living room if he heard correctly. He crossed his arms and rose on eyebrow. "Am I correct?"

A sight in defeat, followed by heavy steps into the kitchen. "Yes your right. I forgot to pick up your meds. And yes, before I give you the chance to explode because I held something secret, I did hang out with Julio. And before your nasty thought start to linger we didn't make out. Well we did- Anyway, he taught me how to drive his car."

A bit discussed he tried to ignore the first part of her afternoon-activities. "You can drive cars already, sure you drive like a chick but other then that your quit capable of joyriding."

"I know that and you know that. But he doesn't know that. And I'm barely old enough to drive. And I don't have a driver's license-"

"So you lied to him, tsk Lizzy shame on you…"

"Not lied, just didn't tell him. That's something else Sands." She excused herself.

"I always took you for a honest girl, Lizzy. Where did it go all wrong…"

Now she started to get annoyed by him. "Can you please drop the issue! It hard enough living with you and come up with excuses so Julio doesn't think I'm some weirdo."

Sands held his hands up and made a shushing gesture. Then turned around and started finding his way into the fridge. He grins when he finds a beer.

"What!"

"Nothing, girly. Just wondering how long you'll keep up the act around your lover." He walked by her and razes up his beer. "Cheers sugar, you will need it."

When he sat down in front of the TV he hears her scamper of to her room, not humming nor rushing. It makes his grin turn into a soft chuckle. 'This is going to be so easy.'

'You don't know that yet Shel. Might be the best to keep your mind straight.'

'Why, scared I'll blur out in confessions after one beer?'

'No, more that you'll drown yourself after the next three. Your starting to be a bad drunk.'

'Doesn't bother me and it shouldn't have to bother you since I'm the one in charge.'

'If I let you, soon you'll be puking your guts out. Just like last time.'

Sands sighted and crushed the empty cane. It bugged him the kid hadn't brought any pills on her way back from señor loveless. It bugged him even more he had no control over the voice he started to hear louder. The girl thought he still had half a jar of wicked pills, how could she know he'd flushed them in a haze of smug and drunkenness. Then it had seemed as a good idea. But no he started to pull his action in doubt.

'Bad drunk, bad drunk, bad drunk… Sounds familiar Shelly-bear?'

His fingers clutched so tight around the remote he was sure he heard the thing crack. For a moment the thought of just asking her to get him some stuff lingered in the back of his mind. But no, off course his proud won it from his sense. Manly because he was in lack of it.

'You better keep doing what I tell you to do Sheldon. You better make sure that boy is dead or at least is to scared to show his face around here. Do you understand compadre? He needs to stay away, one way or the other.'

"Yeah, yeah I get it. Boy needs to get out, girl needs to stay in. Christ you hard can it be to break up two teens?"

It took me longer then expected to write this chapter down. Finally I made it. I took me so long because I needed to keep at the storyline I've thought out. The story is still starting up as a matter of fact.

And I'm still in big lack of good beta, so that's why all the spelling sucks. Don't blame the writer, blame… the no-betaperson.

But please be so kind to leave some goodies for me, I need that to exist.

X Nuky