*Hey guys! This chapter will be super rushed, as I only have about a half hour before I have to go, so I hope it turns out okay anyway! Thank you SO MUCH for the awesome reviews! Hope you like this!*
*Chapter Five*
DAVE'S POV
Is it really so wrong for me to want my girlfriend and my adopted pseudo sister to be friends?
As I walked into Atomic Comics, I really had no idea how huge a catastrophe was ahead of me.
Last night had ended with painful "ice facials" for Mindy and me, per Alicia's instructions. The swelling on both her black eye, and my numerous punch-wounds had gone down considerably, but there was still no hiding our injuries, especially coupled with Alicia's two broken fingers.
All Alicia and Mindy could think of doing was rushing out of Marcus's place about an hour earlier than they needed to, to "work on an extra project, no time for breakfast."
I just pulled a beanie over my swollen eyes, and just tried to stay out of my dad's sight before meeting Alicia and Mindy prior to school.
I strolled in, and at first I was delighted to see that my girlfriend, Katie, was sitting with Mindy and Alicia.
Alicia and Katie looked like they were hitting it off, but Mindy was scooted as far away as possible in the booth, arms crossed, pout in place.
"Hey," I said, sliding carefully in next to Mindy. "What's…what's going on?"
Mindy's scruffy pigtailed head whipped around to look at me.
"Oh nothing," she said. "Katie was just regaling us all with the fantastic story of the new kid who gave me a wedgie yesterday."
I did a double take.
"Someone gave you a wedgie?" I was shocked. "And…and he's still alive?"
"Yes," Mindy said, smiling scarily. "But he…is a woman now."
Hell, I believed it.
"It was hilarious!" Katie was saying. "Because-"
"Katie," I interrupted. "I don't think Mindy wants to talk about this." I gestured to her small hand, which was feverishly clenching and unclenching around a butter knife as if she was going to flip it into the air, catch it with her teeth, and then nail Katie in the forehead with it.
"Okay," Katie surrendered. "What do you want to talk about then?"
Mindy didn't say anything, but she released the knife.
"Maybe…" Katie continued. "Maybe you want to talk about your dad?"
The knife was back in her hand in a flash, and I grabbed her arm to stop her from killing my girlfriend.
"Mindy-"I said.
"Show's over, mother fucker," she said over me.
"WHAT? Mindy, what did you say to me?" Katie demanded.
"Katie, Mindy's had a really rough couple of days," Alicia said, trying to smooth it over.
"You're eleven!" she shrieked, ignoring Alicia. "What the fuck makes you think you can talk like that?"
"I'm just doing what my daddy taught me!"
"Well, your DADDY was fucking CRAZY!"
I knew she had crossed the line.
Alicia, who had just met her, knew she had crossed the line.
And Mindy, most of all, knew she had crossed the line.
She sat back for a second, seemed to rouse herself, and was still.
And then in a flash, she was out of her seat, leaping across the table, and grabbing Katie around the throat, silverware and glasses flying askew.
"I'm gonna fucking kill you," she said sweetly, and Katie's hands vainly attempted to push Mindy away, her eyes wide, and her mouth gaping open.
"Mindy! Shit!" Alicia dragged one of Mindy's hands away. "You're not in costume," she whispered in her ear, barely loud enough for her to hear. "If you blow your cover now, we'll never get that Red Mist guy."
Freaking out, and not responding nearly fast enough, I reached out to try and pull her away, but she was back in her seat.
"I'm sorry, Katie," she said, smiling like a mix of Barbie and Sylvester Stallone.
Katie was coughing and clutching her throat.
"You are fucking insane," she said. Then she pushed out of the booth, and started to leave.
"Katie…" she didn't answer me. "Damn it, Mindy."
"Did you hear what she said?"
I sighed and got up to follow her out.
"Katie!" I said again.
When she turned around, her eyes were brimming with tears, but she looked pissed.
"That…." She said, pointing. "That is not a little girl. That is a fucking assassin."
"No, she's….you're right. I know."
"She is fucking crazy."
"What, like her dad?" I said. "She's not ready to talk about that yet, okay? Bringing it up will only make her crazy."
"Yeah, well she doesn't need anything else to make her crazier," she snarled, brushing a tear away from her a narrowed eye. "I was just trying to help!" she moaned.
"Well-"
"Look, Dave," she said. "I know she's like a sister to you…but I'm done trying to be nice to her. If you're with her, you might as well be invisible to me. Next time you want to see me, make sure she is way the hell away."
"Katie-"
"See you around, Dave."
She left.
Goddamn it, Mindy, I thought. What the hell am I gonna do with you?
ALICIA'S POV
Mindy's small, pale face was beet red with anger, and she looked like she seriously would have killed Katie. I felt bad for the girl- she seemed nice enough, though obviously out of Dave's league.
"Mindy," I said. "That was fucking crazy. You were really gonna kill her, weren't you?"
"Yeah, probably," she admitted.
"Okay, can we save that for the bad guys next time?"
She sighed, and turned away from me.
"Look," I continued. "I-" I paused, and slid the butter knife out of her grip. "I know she shouldn't have talked about your dad like that. But you can't just go around strangling people in comic book stores. That's how we get caught."
"And what would you know about that?"
"I…well, nothing. But I want to help you. And I can't if you're in juvie."
She didn't say anything. I stared daggers at the back of her head, hoping she would turn around and face me.
"Mindy-"
"Alicia," she said, turning around finally, her eyes alight. "Look, there's only one thing that will make me feel better right now."
Dave came back to the table as she smiled, Chucky-creepily at me.
"And what's that?" I took the bait.
"I think its time for your first training session."
*What do you think? It's a little shorter than usual. Like I said, I'm cramped for time…Hope you liked it. Comments, suggestions? Please keep reviewing!*