vampgirl8: Sorry it took so long to get these up-I really procrastinated with re-typing them after they got deleted. But here they are! And now that I've re-typed the missing chappies, you can read them...those of you still following this story, that is. I wouldn't blame you for getting fed up with my procrastination. My account is more or less under a hiatus. I have other things that I've been paying more attention to and writing more for...I apologize heavily for anyone disappointed.

Day Three-Sunday, January 7, 2008

I awoke to the sun shining brightly through the window, landing squarely on my face. The heat roused me from slumber, and I sat up slowly, stretching my arms over my head as I yawned.

Blinking lazily, I looked around the room, basking in the afterglow of a good night's rest.

A knock at the door broke me from my musing, and I sleepily called out, "Come in!"

The door opened, revealing Dad in the doorway. He smiled, tossing the cordless at me. "Phone for you!"

Catching the phone after a bit of fumbling, I glared at him a bit as he chuckled, leaving the room.

I sighed, then held the phone to my ear. "Hello?"

"Morgan."

I groaned inwardly at the sound of His voice. This so figures, I thought. It's like that icon I saw on the internet. *Today's a great day!…Now watch some asshole fuck it up.* Story of my life.

Struggling not to make my irritation apparent in my voice, I answered. "Something you needed, Kevin?"

"Yes," his voice snarled back, "didn't I tell you to clean up after the animals before you left?"

I blinked. "Yes…"

"Then why didn't you?"

I furrowed my brows. "But I did!"

"Uh, no, you didn't," he mocked, speaking to me as if I was mentally challenged.

I grit my teeth, repressing the urge to scream back at him. "Yes," I hissed slowly, "I did."

"Then why is it just as messy, if not even more, than it was when I told you to clean it? Explain that, girl!"

I covered the mouthpiece of the phone, taking a steadying breath before I answered. "That might be because it's a barn, and the animals are going to have some kind of impact on its state of cleanliness. Not to mention, why don't you ask my brother, the other child in the house, who has been there fore the past two days and might know something about it!"

"Stop making excuses, Morgan!" he bellowed. "Don't try to place the blame on others, especially your brother!"

"What excuses?" I yelled back, losing control of my temper, which had been on the verge of snapping since he'd first spoken. "I'm not even lying to you! It really wasn't me!"

"I'll deal with you when you get home, girl."

Click.

I gave an indignant huff of breath as I pulled the phone back, staring at it. I can't believe that jackass just hung up on me! Shaking my head frustrated, I got up and dressed in jeans and a tee, before walking from my room to the kitchen.

Setting the phone down with a bit more force than necessary on the tabletop, Dad looked up from reading the back of the waffle box- 'Leggo my Eggos!'-to give me a knowing look.

"Kevin?" I nodded, and he sighed. "The man just doesn't know when to leave well enough alone."

I didn't answer, holding my chin in one hand with the support of my elbow and looking out the window at the surprisingly sunny sky. The forecast had predicted it to be a bit warmer today than usual, too.

"Hey Dad," I mumbled, not taking my eyes from the window, "can I go to the park today?"

I saw him smile from the corner of my eye, his head nodding. "Sure, kid. Just be back in time for lunch, kay?"

I nodded, jumping up from my seat to grab my hoodie and sneakers. Tossing them on, I walked out the front door with a quick farewell tossed over my shoulder.

The park I was going to was one of my favorites. Even though I was a teenager, that didn't mean I didn't enjoy climbing on the big ass wooden castle thing they had as much as the next person. And the tire swing was made of awesome, too.

It took a while to walk there, but when I did, it was totally worth it. The entire place was empty, so I wouldn't have to worry about feeling stupid or childish if I played around in it, as I would if I was being watched by parents or kids.

Chuckling, I hopped on top of the plastic tunnel, opting to sit for a minute before exploring the wooden castle. As I relaxed, I didn't notice that someone else had entered the playground, or that they had seen me and were swiftly approaching.

"Well, what do you know."

My eyes snapped open and I 'eeped,' jolting so much I nearly fell of the tube.

I glared at the boy in front of me, his silver hair catching and reflecting the sunshine. "Shut it, Zero. You shouldn't sneak up on people like that. What are you doing here, anyway?"

He shrugged, pulling himself up next to me on the plastic tube. "Just felt like taking a walk, I suppose, and suddenly, I end up here. Magical, ain't it?"

"Ri~ght," I said skeptically. "Hey, Zero, can I ask you some questions?"

His lips twitched. "You just did, didn't you?" I glared. "Okay, okay. Yes, go ahead."

I cleared my throat. "Have you ever seen, or traveled down, a yellow brick road?"

He raised a brow. "…no?"

Would you happen to have an 'Auntie Em?'"

"No."

"Have you ever in your life been associated with a cowardly lion?"

"No."

"Do you own a pair of ruby slippers?"

"…what…?"

"Have you ever felt the urge to sing corny songs about witches with a large group of tiny people?"

"…okay, there's seriously something wrong with you…"

"Have you ever seen a herd of evil flying monkeys?"

"…are you going somewhere with this?"

I smiled. "Just making sure you didn't jus thope off the set of 'The Wizard of Oz.' That magical comment made me a bit skeptical."

He rolled his eyes at me. "Whatever." He waved a hand. "Continue."

I beamed. "Have you ever met a witch?"

"No."

"Do you have a dog named Toto?"

"No."

"Are you, or is anyone you know, lacking a brain."

"No."

"Is it a lie that your current occupation is as a male gigolo?"

"No…hey, wait a second!"

I laughed, slapping him on the shoulder. "Checking to see that I still had your attention."

He hunched his shoulders, grumbling, "…bitch…a freaking gigolo…"

I jumped off the tube, giving him an amused look as I walked to the castle's stairs. "Coming?"

He rolled his eyes, but followed. "I question your sanity."

I looked over my shoulder at him as I climbed the stairs to one of the towers. "If you think I'm crazy, you obviously have never met my friends. You wouldn't last five minutes with Brandi, Ariel and Samantha. They're the craziest."

He shuddered visibly. "I'll keep that in mind."

Once in the tower, we both just stared off into the distance, lost in our own thoughts for the moment. I don't know what his were about, but mine were currently centered around the boy standing next to me.

How odd is it, I mused, that we keep running into each other? Perhaps there's a sign in this? Then, realizing what I'd just thought, I twitched my right eye just slightly. Shit, I'm starting to sound like some cheap, two-bit romance novel that not even I would read.

Just then, something brown caught my attention from the corner of my eye. Turning, I saw the most adorable little squirrel about five feet away, sitting on the suspended wooden swing bridge. Its big, brown eyes seemed watery and sweet, its fluffy tail swishing behind it as it clutched an acorn to its chest.

"Awwww," I cooed, squatting as I cocked my head at it.

Zero turned around behind me. "What are you 'awwww'-ing about?"

I inched closer. "Look! Isn't it just so cute, Zero?"

He sighed. "A-freakin-dorable."

I giggled, holding a hand out to the little creature. "Come here, little guy, I won't hurt you…"

"Uh, Morgan?" Zero tapped my shoulder. "I don't think you should actually try to touch it."

I bat his hand away. "Don't be silly, it's just a squirrel. And it's so fluffy! What harm could come of it?"

"Still…"

I rolled my eyes. "Seriously, Zero, you're overreacting. I'll name him Jeffrey, just like that one Brandi named last year." I moved just a bit closer. "Besides, what could be bad about such an angelic little squirrel?"

"Demon squirrel," Zero panted from his spot on the ground, clutching me to his chest tightly as I, too, fought to breathe. "Your little 'angelic squirrel' turned out to be a god damned demon squirrel."

"Shut up," I gasped, slapping his arm. "How was I supposed to know it was setting a trap for us with its little friends?"

Yeah, you see, what happened was the second I got about three feet away, the cute little squirrel-the one with the big brown eyes-suddenly hissed, and I swear I saw its eyes flash red.

Zero, being the clever little boy he is, promptly tossed me over his shoulder and booked it, and didn't stop until we'd left the squirrel-and his horde of demonic little follower friends, who had jumped from the nearby trees to join the chase-far behind us.

"I told you not to try and touch it."

I gave an exasperated sigh. "Just shut it already. I get the picture. You were right and I was wrong. Lesson learned."

Zero stood up, placing me carefully on my feet. "Thank you for admitting your stupidity. It does my ego wonders."

I glared. Jeez, what happened to the pessimistic, fangirl pummeling guy I'd met two days ago at the library? That one had been quieter, this one was sarcastic as hell.

Dusting myself off, I gave him a wry grin. "Well, I gotta go. I think I've had enough adventure for one day."

He pat my shoulder a bit awkwardly. "See you around?" I nodded, turning around to leave. I felt his eyes follow me as I left, and once the park was far behind me, I couldn't help letting my smile slip a little bit.

Zero and I meeting today had had such a low chance of happening, that the odds of us ever meeting, again, were slim to none-especially since I was going home today.

In my chest, some foreign little emotion grew sad at this thought.

Sighing I shoved my hands inmy hoodie pockets. "No, Zero, I don't think it's likely we'll be seeing each other soon, at all."

I wouldn't be until the next day that I learned that being proved wrong, isn't such a bad thing sometimes.

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