I ran out to my mom's car, keys gangling in hand. I slid into the driver's seat and Al misted into the passenger's side. He was smiling and fidgeting with the radio. He probably hadn't ridden in many cars I thought. I turned the keys in the ignition and nothing happened. "Dammit," I muttered. I turned the keys again and still nothing happened. I snarled at Al. "You don't have anything to do with this, do you?"

"Why no, of course not. I'm just along for the ride," he said cheerily. "This is quite the predicament though, isn't it?"

I sighed and got out of the car. If we couldn't travel the ley lines, couldn't drive, that left one option. The bus. "Come on," I said. I started jogging to the bus stop and looked back at Al. He still looked like himself, goat slitted eyes and all. "Al, you can't go around looking like that," I said as I pointed a finger at him. He grinned and I turned around, walking this time. When I peered back, he had taken Peirce's form. Good, I thought. At least he's playing along.

We got to the bus stop and I stood waiting. God, this was lame. Al stood next to me with his hands folded neatly in front of him. He leaned over to me. "I hear you meet the most interesting people on the bus. Should be fun." I grimaced.

Thankfully I saw the E10 bus rounding the corner and I checked that my splat gun and handcuffs were concealed. We got on the bus and I paid Al and my fares. The bus was half full and I shuffled to the back. Al sat next to me and I kept my eyes down, not wanting to attract any extra attention. I snuck a quick look up and panicked when I saw people staring at us. Our smell, I realized. I hadn't remembered a scent charm and we reeked of the ever after. A few people stood up and moved to the front of the bus. Great, I thought. Just what I need.

I was struggling to keep my heartbeat regular when I felt a small tap on my shoulder. I looked up and saw a small were, a boy who couldn't have been more than ten. "Excuse me," he said shyly. "Are you Rachel Morgan?"

I felt like I had been caught stealing candy from a candy store. "Um, yeah," I said hesitantly.

The little boy's face brightened. "Can I get your autograph?" he asked.

Al laughed and I shrank back at the sound but the little boy didn't seem to mind. He just stood there, offering me a pen and paper. "Sure," I muttered. I felt my cheeks grow hot and signed the paper quickly.

The boy stared at my signature with bright eyes and the looked up at me. "It is true that you are a good demon?" he asked.

The question shocked me and I looked over at Al. His jaw hung open and then he snapped it shut when he saw me watching him. The bus had grown silent and I knew people were listening.

"I guess you could say that," I said.

Al leaned in near the boy. "And I'm the bad demon," he said lowly, but loud enough for everyone around to hear. His pupils shifted into their demon form and he smiled wickedly. The boy's mother stood up and snatched her child away, moving him to the far end of the bus. The few other people near us started doing the same, terror in their eyes.

"Al," I snapped. "Whatever happened to being a boy scout?"

A wave of ever after shimmered and Al sat next to me in a blue scout's uniform, complete with handkerchief and honor badges. He had changed into his original form and his muscles seemed to bulge out of the uniform. He looked completely ridiculous and I started to laugh before catching myself.

"Al, knock it off," I shouted. There were a few gasps on the bus and everyone was huddled near the front. Not as much chaos as I would have expected actually. The bus stopped and every last passenger quickly exited the bus. I watched the driver sitting stiffly in his seat, face focused in front of him. He hesitated a moment, and then dashed out the front of the bus.

"What the hell?" I said. Al sat next to me grinning mischievously.

"I can't let you go and ruin a demon's reputation like that. A good demon? Really?" He brought a finger up to his chin and mocked deep thought. "I do suppose it could make snatching familiars easier though." He changed his voice to a high falsetto. "Please let me out, I'm a good demon."

I was fuming and made my way to the front of the bus. I sat in the driver's seat and looked at the steering wheel. The bus was still running. I threw the bus in gear and slammed my foot on the gas. The bus lurched forward and I heard a car blare its horn. The steering was hard to manage but we only had another mile to go, I could manage it.

Al came up beside me and I tried to slap his hand away while he pulled the seatbelt over me. "Safety first my dear," he sang. I was going to kill him. I don't know why I had expected anything more from him.

Luffy fan: This was a short chapter but it will hopefully get a laugh out of you. If you liked the boy scout scene, thank starlight2twilight, she mentioned it in the reviews and I loved the idea.

I haven't been updating as quickly because I just started reading Kelley Armstrong's series. I was looking for something to tide me over until the next Hollows release. It was pretty good if you are looking for something else to read but it doesn't move as fast or have as much humor as the Hollows.

I wanted to be sure to include some humor in this story because I think Ms. Harrison does a really good job with it. I almost laughed out loud when I read the part about Al calling Peirce "Rachel candy."