*Hey hey…so I thought I'd be able to freak some of you out, but I guess you guys are too good….hope you like this!*

*Chapter 11*

MINDY'S POV

Click.

Okay, so the gun wasn't loaded.

Alicia's eyes were huge with fear, but hell, she was still alive.

I had known the gun was out of bullets, but I had to admit that for a second it felt good to just… feel like I was gonna kill someone.

And for a second- for one brief, blissful, ignorant second- my Tyler anger was gone.

Alicia, however, did not share my relief.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing? She demanded, swatting the gun out of my limp grip with an angry swipe.

She scrambled up, and headed, dazed and pissed, for the door.

As she held the handle, about to leave, she turned her bloodied face to me and sighed.

"I'm all for training," she said. "And vengeance on the guy who did all this shit to you…but you really crossed the fucking line tonight."

The door slammed shut.

I looked over at Dave who was laying forlornly on the ground, after having lasted pathetically about half the time Alicia had, but after all, he was still here- not running out on me like Alicia had.

I guess after the beating she took from me I couldn't blame her, though.

"Mindy," he groaned, holding his stomach as he struggled to stand.

I slowly gathered all of the guns into my bag as he stared at me, looking like shit.

"You are out of fucking control," he continued.

Tyler's face swam weakly in my head, but I finally shut him out of my mind.

"I know," I said.

DAVE'S POV

The next day, I have to admit I was pretty worried when I saw Mindy and Alicia talking in the quad at school.

They looked riveted on each other- Mindy looked apologetic, shrugging her shoulders, and gesticulating weakly. Alicia looked pissed again, gesturing wildly, stomping her foot, and glaring.

They were drawing a lot of attention- the cute new girl, and the intimidating fifth grader she was living with, engaged in a verbal bitch fight over God only knew what.

I carefully made my way to the crowd and over to them.

"Hey guys," I said slowly.

They didn't even seem to notice me as they remained locked in their intense conversation.

"I. Am. Fucking. Sorry," Mindy said. "How many fucking times do I have to say it?" she demanded, clearly frustrated now.

"Until I believe you," Alicia replied. "And until I believe I can trust you again, because you seriously were gonna fucking kill me last night, weren't you?"

"Look," Mindy sighed, and dropped her hands. "I was pissed about Tyler and I took it out on you. I'm sorry, and it won't happen again."

"Who the fuck is Tyler?"

Mindy sighed, and suddenly looked eleven, as she should.

I guess its hard to look younger than thirty when you're flipping a balisong around and gunning down the forces of mobster-evil.

"He was this guy that I thought I…I don't know, liked or something," she said sadly, sinking down onto a bench, and resting her elbows on her knees.

Alicia slowly sat down too, her anger clearly evaporating, and being replaced by concern.

"Tell me about him," she said slowly.

I watched in awe as, over the space of about five minutes, they collapsed into a girly tangle of heartbreak and comfort.

They had gone from Alicia being pissed about Mindy trying to kill her, to Alicia counseling Mindy though boy problems.

I stared on as Alicia hugged Mindy, feeling her pain, and trying to forgive her for everything.

I would never fucking understand women.

Even less, when Katie walked over to me.

She looked tired, haggard, and there were dark circles under her eyes, but other than that she looked…like Katie. Like my girlfriend.

And I missed her, in some ways.

"H-hey," she said nervously.

"Mindy's right there," I said, right off the bat.

"I…." she paused. "I know. Can we…talk?"

I stared at her.

Here was the girl who had cried as I got my ass kicked in a live internet broadcast, the girl who had helped nurse me back to health, the girl who had adopted me as her gay best friend, and then boyfriend.

But also, here was the girl who wouldn't listen to me when I told her to leave Mindy alone, the girl who kept pushing my adopted sister until she snapped (or strangled), and held me responsible for Mindy's actions, which she had even provoked.

The bell rang suddenly, making my decision for me.

I tried not to look into her eyes, and instead focused on Mindy and Alicia walking happily away together, friends again.

"Not now," I said. "Maybe later."

I turned and walked away, wondering, once again, what the fuck was wrong with me.

ALICIA' S POV

Mindy, Dave, and I met at the factory again, and I was…scared, yeah, but I also believed Mindy when she aid she was sorry and wouldn't do it again.

I have to admit that what made me believe her was when she told me about that Tyler asshole.

I was inadvertently touched by how she trusted me enough to open up to me about him- she was clearly not the type who liked talking about boys.

So yeah…it made me want to trust her too.

"You better keep your fucking promise," I said, shrugging on my familiar Kevlar vest, and pausing to pull out a few bullets left over from last night.

"I will," she said, smiling. Actually smiling. She really did mean it.

Dave sat down on the ground to watch as Mindy loaded a gun, and actually waited for me to grab one myself before she shot me in the shoulder.

I rolled behind some boxes, as usual, recoiling from the pain, and I leaned over the other side, shooting.

It would have been a perfect hit, but Mindy shot a bullet perfectly towards it, and they collided midair, WANTED style.

I ran out from the other side of the boxes, and she shot me expertly in the chest as I fumbled to reload my gun. In the ten second space between leaping into the air and landing painfully on my side, I shot again, and struck her precisely in her Kevlar coated heart, and I smiled, before I hit the ground, and the pain took over.

It was less intense than yesterday's, for sure, but still…it was enough.

I was smiling, and almost crying at the same time, and my hip hurt too much for me to want to get up.

And I trusted Mindy not to attack me when I was down this time.

"Dave," I heard her call," a smile in her voice. "Alicia would have just shot me in the heart if I wasn't wearing a vest."

I watched her, horizontally, as she flicked the bullet out of her vest, and let it fall to the ground.

She walked towards me, and held a hand out.

Later, Dave would tell me she was quoting her dad, but even before I knew that her words seemed weirdly profound.

"Tool up, Alicia," she said, helping me to my feet. "Its time to get bad guys."

*Did you love it? Review, favorite, and let me know! Suggestions are always welcome, as usual.*