Well, I had written four and a half pages on February 4th but I accidentally deleted everything while I was half awake. Heh, sorry. Man, did I feel stupid. Oh well, no use crying over spilled milk, eh? Let's get started.
Thank you to Melanie for beta-ing!!!
Previously, in case you forgot like I did (which is sad because I wrote it):
She smiled up at him, "If it is, then it's my fault and I insist that you come to my house so I can dry your pants. You don't need to worry about going around pant less, I'm sure I can find something…though, you are quite tall…"
She walked slowly and they passed the alleyway. A dark figure ducked further into the shadows, but neither Amy nor Zane noticed.
"But you don't have to, if you don't want to! I owe you some food, too. If you come over, I'll make you something to eat. I won't rape you or anything," she said quickly, noticing his doubt, "My mom will be there too."
"Unless you have a previous engagement?" she asked.
"No…" he said.
"Good! Let's go then, shall we?" she said and grabbed his hand.
"Do you live far from here?"
"Kind of, but you need not worry!" she said happily.
"Why?"
She looked at him and smiled, "I'm sixteen. I can drive."
Zane's Biggest Fan
Chapter Three
"I-it's w-way c-c-colder than it was b-before!" Amy shook, her body and jaw shivering violently.
"Well you did say that today was the coldest day of the season." Zane reminded her, his body more in control, "Coldest day and no snow."
"Y-yeah, w-well I w-was hoping it w-was a l-l-lie."
They walked past the small duel arena and crossed into the parking lot. The only car there was a small green Neon.
"T-Thank God!" Amy said loudly and ran toward the car, calling out over her shoulder, "Hurry up or you'll f-freeze like the people on the Day After Tomorrow!"
She was fumbling with a large ball of key chains when Zane got to the other side.
"C-come on, come ON!" she shouted at the keys.
She finally found the right one and unlocked the car. She was already putting on her seatbelt when Zane got in. He was irritated because of his wet pants but said nothing.
Amy then took the key off the key chain ball and tossed the ball in the backseat along with her backpack and purse. The car smelled of oranges and looked very clean. Zane put his briefcase in the back.
"I c-collect key ch-chains." She said as she stuck the key into the ignition. She turned the key and the car roared to life, the lukewarm air blasting. The radio then turned on and screamed, "The mirror stares you in the face and says Baby, uh uh it don't work-"
"S-sorry!" Amy turned off the radio.
"Was that Earth, Wind, and Fire?"
"Yeah…I watched the movie Happy Feet," Amy grinned sheepishly, "And fell totally in love."
Zane said nothing as he buckled up his seatbelt.
"Buckle up, plea-oh, you're already buckling up. Good." She flashed him a crooked smile.
"So," she turned her attention to the car and began to back out, "do you want to talk or listen to music or do you want me to shut up?"
"Talking is fine…"
"It's not my music, is it? Because I don't just listen to hippie music. I also listen to hip-hop, country, oldies, and Spanish music, too."
"Spanish music?"
"Yeah," she said as she pulled into traffic, "Me gusta escuchar Shakira. I like to listen to Shakira."
"You speak Spanish?"
"Un poco. Und Deutsch. Ich spreche Deutsch. I'm taking two languages in school. I'm a junior, by the way. What are you?"
"Well," he said, "if I went to a regular high school, I'd be a senior."
"Cool, cool. Right now I've got winter break. I love winter; it's my favorite time of the year."
"Christmas?"
"Well…yeah but I love the snow and Christmas music…and my birthday is in about a week."
"Oh?"
"Yup," she said as she stopped for a red light, "the big one seven. I can't wait, because even numbers suck."
Zane gave her a quizzical look.
"I don't like even numbers too much. Honestly, sixteen isn't a bad number it's just an even one. Seventeen," she said breathlessly, "what a beautiful number…"
"…"
The light switched and she drove forward. "I'm having a party at a skating rink, though I'm not very good. At skating, I mean. But it's just so much fun! The falling isn't but I've gotten pretty much used to it by now. It's not something I'm good at, skating, but I still enjoy it. Anyway, would you like to come? It's on the seventeenth at seven at Boogie My Skates."
"…I'll think about it…"
"You don't have to skate. You don't even have to bring a present. Just you being there will be enough for me. It'll be my Golden Birthday. Seventeen on the Seventeenth."
"You're slow."
"Eh!?"
"You're a slow driver." He clarified.
"Woah, dude, I'm not slow: I'm safe. Do you know how many suicidal idiots are out there, just waiting to pounce in front of my car?"
"What?"
"Suicidal freaks just waiting for me to speed by. Then BAM," she hit the wheel suddenly, making Zane jump, "Splat, they're dead. Not uh, buddy, not on my watch."
"Has that ever really happened to you?"
"No but-hey, are you laughing at me?"
"N-no…" Zane chuckled.
"You are…well, it's not funny."
"I know…but you…you're weird."
"You think I'M weird?"
"Yes."
She grinned, "Well, I am so I'll give you that one, but I mean, seriously, there are some real freaks out there."
"Just waiting to jump right in front of your car."
"Yes, just waiting to jump-hey!"
They pulled in front of a homely yellow house. Amy drove into the driveway and turned off the car. She was putting the key back on the key chain ball when she said, "Well, we're home. I-I mean, MY home. Not yours, mine."
"Ready to get out?" she asked.
"I guess…"
Amy reached into the back and grabbed her purse and backpack, "Okay…"
She opened the door and got a face full of cold air, "Shit! That's COLD!"
"You have a foul mouth," Zane said as he got out of the car, flinching.
"I'm sorry! I'll stop if it bothers you!"
"I was teasing. I've heard worse at Duel Academy."
"O-oh…"
He followed her to the front of the house where she rang the doorbell.
"Trust me," she said after seeing his questioning look, "it'll be a lot easier to have my mom answer the door than me trying to look in my Key Chain of Doom."
"Mreow…" a large Burmese cat jumped onto the porch.
"Hey Mama Kitty!" Amy greeted as she bent down to pet the cat, "what are you doing outside, hhhmmm?"
"Mreow!"
Amy purred back, her mouth forming a small 'o' as if she were blowing out a candle, her tongue thrilled creating a thick, cat-like purr.
The door swung open and the cat ran inside. A warm fragrance greeted them both as a woman popped out.
"Mom!"
"Amy!"
Amy and the woman who opened the door embraced as if they hadn't seen each other in days.
"Come in, come in," said the woman beckoning them both in, "I'm so glad you're home because the weather is supposed to get nasty soon"
The woman disappeared and Amy gave Zane a small push inside.
As soon as they got inside the house, Amy and Zane were bombarded with cats.
"Mreow! Reeaaaaooowwwww!"
"Hey guys!" Amy bent down to pet a timid tortoise-haired cat, "I'm home."
"You…have quite a collection of cats." Zane said, stunned.
"And it doesn't smell like it, does it?"
Zane was surprised; there was no smell of cats, just cinnamon and apples. "No."
Amy smiled as she pulled off her shoes, "Thanks. Believe it or not, we have five litter boxes and five cats. But we won't have five anymore, soon"
"Why?" asked Zane as he took off his shoes and coat.
"Because Mama Kitty is pregnant," answered Amy's mother as she came back in the room, "Hi, I'm Nancy and it's nice to meet you. Would you like some tea?"
"Yes, thank you. I'm Za-"
Nancy cut him off, "I know who you are. I think everyone in this house knows who you are, cats included."
Amy blushed and looked away from Zane's gaze, "Oh?"
"Is green tea okay?" Nancy asked, heading toward the kitchen.
"Yeah." Zane said and Amy made a face.
"Green tea is gross," she explasined, "I prefer cold ice tea with a lemon and Sweet and Low."
"Let me show you the house." She said as she turned into a room, cats trailing behind her.
"This is our living room," she said as she picked up a fat Maine Coon.
Zane looked around the room. It was a medium sized room with pale tan walls covered in pictures. Two gray cats jumped unto the off-white couch and curled into two gray balls of fur, watching Amy and Zane closely with their large amber colored eyes.
The TV was huge; a big screen with cabinets underneath for storage. One door was open, revealing a Play Station 2, Game Cube, and tons of games. The TV was blasting the news; "A wind chill of negative four-" Amy turned off the TV and threw the remote unto the couch, startling the cats, who ran to the corner.
"Sorry." She said to the cats.
There was an off-white chair in the corner next to a lamp and nightstand.
The pictures on the wall were mostly of Amy and her mother, together or with other people. There were a few that caught his eye, however. There was picture with Amy and a girl who looked a lot like her swinging at a park.
She saw him eyeing the picture and she came up next to him, "That's me and my cousin, Katie. She's in America but I think she may come over for my birthday. You're probably wondering why we're here when our family's in America," she said after she noticed that he opened his mouth, "my mom works as a welder, which is why she's so skinny, and got transferred here to Japan by CAT. We've been here for a few years now."
"No," Zane said. "I was wondering if you had any dogs."
"Oh. No, we've only ever had cats."
"Than why…?" he pointed to some pictures with Amy and dogs.
"Do you remember when I told you that I walked everyday? Well, it's my job. I'm a professional dog walker at JAWS."
"JAWS?"
"Yeah, Japan Animal Welfare Shelter."
"An animal welfare shelter…named JAWS?"
"Yeah, funny, huh? They're a no kill animal shelter and I love animals and needed a job. They liked my credentials. I speak Japanese, English Spanish, and some German. I'm a huge asset to them. I sometimes help translate. I also clean out cages, bathe animals, and walk the dogs."
"Oh…have you ever been bitten at JAWS?" Zane asked with a small smile.
"Oh hardy hardy har. Yes, actually. But only when we play around. See, there's me and Tokyo, there," she said pointing at a picture of her hugging a medium sized black and white mutt, "he's my favorite. And there's me and Osaka, she's a sweetie…"
"Tokyo and Osaka?"
"Yeah, we name them after places at JAWS. People can rename them, if they want to, but those are our names for them."
"I see…"
"Tea's ready!" Nancy called from the kitchen.
"I'll show you more later." Amy said as she walked into the kitchen.
The kitchen was smaller than the living room but with the table in the front of the kitchen, the room seemed even smaller. It was a pentagon table with five chairs in front of the windows in front of the house. There was a steaming teacup on one side of the table.
Amy took a Pepsi out of the fridge and sat down across from the cup. Nancy sat in the middle and both women looked at Zane expectedly. He sat down with his now damp pants and politely drank his tea. Nancy was the first to break the silence.
"Well, Amy told me you were tall but I never imagined how bony you looked."
Amy choked on her Pepsi and started to cough. Her mother hit her on the back hard, THUMP THUMP THUMP, and Amy's eyes watered. She gasped for air as Nancy got some paper towels.
"M-mother, that's a rude thing to say!"
Nancy wiped up the Pepsi mess and said, "Well, daughter, he is. I know you were thinking it."
"Well I wasn't going to say anything about it!"
Ringringring ringringring
Amy and Nancy stopped arguing and looked over at Zane and said in unison, "That's not us."
Zane reached into his pocket and pulled out his dark blue cell phone. "Excuse me," he said as he looked at the name.
It was his boss.
"O-Of course! You can go to the living room, if you'd like," said Amy.
Zane was walking out of the living room when he heard Amy say to her mom, "Oh, hey, I know what I am now."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, I'm not obsessed. I'm well-informed."
Zane answered the phone as he walked into the living room; "Hello?" said the irritated voice on the other end.
"Hello Mr. Takahashi." Zane said as he sat down on the couch. The Burmese cat, Mama Kitty, sauntered over to him with a "mreow." She jumped on the couch and sat on his lap and purred, her big belly heavy with kittens.
"What happened, Zane? You lost again. Are you doing this on purpose? As a publicity stunt? It's not working. You better win this next one or it's your last with me."
"Mr. Takahashi I-"
But it was too late, Takahashi had hung up. Zane gently pushed the cat off of him gently and stood up.
"Mreow?" she said, sniffing up at him.
"…"
He pet her and left the room.
"Honey, did you fall again?"
"Eh?"
Nancy pointed to Amy's hand.
"Yeah. I fell and the scab from when I fell the other day scraped off."
"Ouch." Her mother said, making a face.
"Yeah…"
"Sucks to be you," Nancy said with a laugh, "you're so clumsy. Are you sure you want to have your birthday at the skating rink?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine," Amy said absentmindedly, "Is Katie going to be able to come?"
"She can't make it. She has her dance recitals and her Christmas programs."
"Oh," said Amy, looking crestfallen, "okay."
"I'll come."
Amy and Nancy jumped.
"To what?" Amy asked, looking confused.
"To your birthday party. I'll come." Zane said.
Amy jumped up and squeezed him hard, "Thank you, thank you, thank you! Thank you!"
"You're…welcome…"
"Oh this is wonderful! Ich bin sehr froh! Estoy feliz! Das ist toll, ausgezeichnet!"
"Amy you're speaking in tongues again." Her mother said idly as she sipped her tea.
"S-sorry. I'm just so happy!"
"I have to go home now…" Zane said.
Amy pulled away from him, blushing.
"Oh…okay, well, let's get your stuff, then-"
"Oh no you don't!" said Nancy sharply, "It's too nasty for you to be driving around."
"Mom, he has to go home."
"Well then, I'll drive him."
"Mom-"
"No."
"Fine…but I get to come, too." Amy said stubbornly.
"If you'll just wait for about five minutes we can go," Nancy said to Zane. "I have to get the car started so it can warm up. Amy, give me your keys,"
"Okay…" Amy left the kitchen and came back shortly with her Ball of Doom, "here."
Nancy left the kitchen.
Amy motioned Zane with her shoulder, "Come on."
"Mreow!" Mama Kitty came in and twisted herself around Zane's legs.
"Just step over her. Let's go into the living room."
Zane stepped over the cat and followed Amy, "Hey I'm sorry. The whole purpose of you coming over was for me to make you food and give you some--PANTS!"
She left the room. She came back about a minute later with different pants on and dark cargos similar to the ones she had on earlier and a belt, "Here. I'm so sorry I forgot. My pants were almost all dry. There's a bathroom in the hall across from the kitchen."
He left and came back shortly with his other pants in one hand. The other was holding up the cargos, which fit his tallness perfectly.
"How do they fit?"
"They're loose." He said.
She handed him the belt she brought down with her. Mama Kitty came into the room wailing as he put the belt on.
"I think she likes you," Amy said as Zane sat down on the couch beside her.
Mama Kitty jumped on to the couch, situating herself between them.
Amy took Zane's hand, "Feel right here."
She pushed his hand onto the cat's stomach and felt it moving. He received a kick from something inside and jumped.
Amy didn't laugh. "There are about six in there…" she said softly.
"You know, her name wasn't always Mama Kitty."
"Oh?"
"No, it used to be Isis because she looks like a goddess but she kept getting pregnant so much that we changed her name to Mama Kitty. After she gives birth to this litter, we're gonna get her spayed. All of the other cats are spayed. Actually, the two grey ones are hers from her first litter. Their names are Little Boy and Little Girl. The tortoise shell's name is Hitler and the Maine Coon is Guy."
Zane laughed and it was Mama Kitty's turn to jump.
Amy grinned, "Funny names, huh? Hitler got her name because she's mean. She only lets me touch her and when I do, she bites. But not hard, she just holds on to me. I don't know why.
"Little Boy and Little Girl were the runts of the litter and Guy…well…he's just Guy. We plan to name the next male we get 'Man.'"
She grinned, "Just kidding. I think we're done with cats for now."
Amy stood up and Mama Kitty jumped off of Zane.
"Hey, let me show you a trick that they do," she said as she pulled out a small container from the cushions of the couch.
"Kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty!" she called, shaking the container.
A herd of cats came running in the living room, curling around her feet and crying.
"Okay, okay, jeez. Check this out,"
She took a cat treat out of the container and said in a clear, firm voice, "Sit!"
The reaction was instantaneous, all of the cats, even pregnant Mama Kitty, sat down.
"Good kitties...up!" she said and the cats sat back on their hind legs with their paws off the ground. All except Mama Kitty, she just mreowed as if she was saying, "You know I can't do that."
She gave each of them a treat and picked up a gray one and set it beside Zane.
"And for the finale…" She took out another treat and put it on her shoulder, "Little Boy…up, up, up."
She tapped her shoulder and the cat sat on the couch, motionless. Then, in a flash, he was climbing up her side and eating the treat on her shoulder.
"Cool, huh?" Amy said as she put Little Boy down, wincing from his clawmarks.
"Yeah," Zane said, staring at her. His biggest fan, this cat trainer/dog walker was defiantly an eccentric girl.
vrais a pleche dar numa numa i-ay
"Hey that's my phone! Hello? Hey mom, yeah we're coming."
"That was my mom; she said the car is ready." Amy informed Zane.
They got their coats and shoes and walked out the door.
"Oh my god, it's COLDER THAN IT WAS BEFORE!"
Amy sat in the back while Zane sat up front with her mother and gave her directions.
"Hey, give me your cell phone, will ya?" Amy asked Zane, poking his shoulder.
"Why?"
"'Cause I wanna put my number in it. Or you could give me your number so I can call you if something comes up before the party."
He handed her his blue phone and she punched a number in and called her phone. By the time she was done exchanging numbers, Zane had directed Nancy in front of a huge mansion.
They stopped in front of the iron gates.
"State your name." a voice said from no where.
"Zane Truesdale."
"Oh, welcome home Mr. Truesdale. Your mother was getting worried."
The gates opened and Nancy followed the road that led right in front of the house.
"Wow, Zane! I've seen pictures of your house before, but it's more beautiful in person!" Amy said in awe.
"Thanks. Thanks for the ride, Mrs…"
"Nancy is fine. And you're welcome. It was nice to meet you."
Zane nodded as he got out of the car. Amy got out too and smiled, "You can call me anytime."
"Okay."
She gave him his phone and waved.
"Auf wiedersehen!"
He went up to the front door and gave his hand a small wave.
He opened the door and walked inside.
"Zane!"
"Hey, bro!"
His mother and Syrus hugged him as soon as he took off his shoes.
"Where ya been?" asked Syrus.
"With a friend."
"Oh?" Syrus gave him a cheeky grin, "Was it a lady friend?"
Knock, Knock!
Zane's mother answered the door, "Hello, come in."
"Thank you."
Zane turned around quickly and Amy smiled, "Hi Zane. I'm sorry to intrude, but you left your briefcase and pants in my car."
She handed him his things and turned to his mother and said, "You have a lovely home, by the way," and left.
Syrus was staring at the door, "Wow, Zane. I was joking earlier but it's gotta be serious if you're leaving your pants in her car."
What I meant by Amy purring is basically she's thrilling her r's, making them deeper, her imitation of a cat's purr.
Ich bin sehr froh! Estoy feliz! Das ist toll, ausgezeichnet! I am so happy! I'm glad! That's great, outstanding!
Well that's chapter three.
Bailkatans: Thank you so much! I have a beta now, but thank you for the offer!
Shade: Thanks, and I totally will.
WhiteAsukalover: Sorry to hear you don't like Hell Kaiser because he will definitely make an appearance in the future. But, I hope that you won't lose interest in this!
Hinyuriohi56: I'm glad! I hope you continue to read and review!
AlukaKaiserin: Somewhat akward…?O.O; …thanks…?
Please review!
Also, thanks to those who read but are either too shy or lazy to review. 87 hits! Thanks, Ghost Readers!
Dani
PS: I GOT A PERMANENT BETA! She's a friend from my school and totally tore this chapter up! She really helped me a lot so if it was good grammar wise, thank her.
February 22nd, 2008
Verdana size 10, 16 pages, 3,863 words.
Striving for excellence motivates you;
Striving for perfection is demoralizing.
-Harriet Braiker