KILIYOURFACE: Okay, a combination of bad internet connection and writer's block have caused this to be quite late, and for that I'm sorry :( to those of you who actually read this thing...what, like six? I'm sorry for making you wait, especially since the last chapters were so...dramatic. And I'm not even happy with this one, it's far too short :( ah well, I think the block is leaving me, so I'll try very hard to be on time next week.

chapter 21

Monday morning found all of the zoo staff once again crammed inside the tiny office of Bob Fossil. Luckily, this time Howard and Vince weren't the last ones to arrive and so stood in a corner, and Vince was able to actually see the blue-shirted man this time. The din quieted down when Fossil stood up on his chair and began shouting.

"Alright alright, shut it everybody! Now, as you all know, it's been approximately three weeks since our beloved marmosets vanished from this zoo. They have yet to be recovered. However, we have also failed to catch the criminal behind it, and no other animals have disappeared. So, since it's getting expensive to pay you each extra for night duty, I am hereby cancelling it-"

The rest of Fossil's sentence was drowned out by the staff collectively cheering and raising their arms up in the air. A few even hugged. Hey, the nights were getting pretty damn cold. If Howard weren't so angry with him, he'd feel quite sorry for Graham.

Vince, who stood behind Howard, gave him a pat on the shoulder, and the man could feel his grin boring through his back. Vince had only had one shift the entire three weeks. Howard had had four. He could tell the kid was feeling quite victorious with getting away with only one, and Howard enjoyed a little mental image of locking the kid out of the Lodge at night in just his vest and pants.

Returning from the market and swinging by the main office building in order to check for mail, Howard forwent putting away his purchases for the moment and sat down on the sofa, shaking off remnants of snow and opening a letter with frozen fingers. It was from his mother. She used to send one every few days when Howard first moved away, but as the years passed the days between each letter stretched into weeks. Now she sent a long letter every Christmas, containing updates on her and the rest of his family's lives, and inquiries as to how he was faring. Howard also always sent back a reply. That was how it went. The letters also always contained a little happy Christmas card, as the festive holiday was only two days away. Howard and Vince had sat down and come to an agreement that they wouldn't buy each other anything this year, simply due to the fact that they didn't have the money. Still, Howard couldn't help but feel guilty for not being able to afford even a small gift for the kid. He still stood by his opinion that all children had to have presents on Christmas. It was just the way of things.

Howard looked over at the object of his musings, who was up on his top bunk, scribbling madly away in his little notebook. Probably another Charlie adventure. Howard had already read one, and shuddered to recall it. He internally vowed to keep far away from Vince's writings on Charlie. How a fictional bubblegum character could be so goddamn spooky, Howard wasn't sure. And Vince of course made it all the worse by trying to explain to Howard that Charlie was real, and had always been with them, from the very beginning. Howard had shot up off the sofa and angrily told Vince to stop it already. Vince had grinned up at the man and went on to tell Howard about how Charlie loved to watch him sleep at night. Howard wasn't sure if that last part was just the kid winding him up or not, but he didn't sleep well for a few nights after.

Noticing that Vince was nearing the last few pages in that tattered old notebook of his, Howard suddenly got an idea. It wouldn't by any means be a great gift, but it would be something.

The zoo was closed for Christmas day, leaving Howard free to sleep in that morning; or so he thought. A large thump sounded through Howard's sleep-fogged mind as he was pulled to consciousness by someone calling his name and moving about on his bed.

The tired man opened his eyes to the kid bouncing on the mattress beside him. Well, as much as one can bounce on a bunk bed. Once he saw Howard was awake, Vince broke into a wide grin, exclaiming a "Happy Christmas" as he grabbed Howard by the arm and pulled him into a sitting position.

Sleep now gone completely, the older man smiled up at Vince, who was now standing before him, shivering slightly in the cold air of the hut. Howard got up and walked to his dresser, where he'd stashed his secret present for Vince. He felt quite nervous, anticipating disappointment or aloofness from the boy toward his attempt at a gift.

Turning to the teen, who was watching him curiously, Howard held up a new, thick blank book. He had spent nearly his entire Sunday yesterday racing through market aisles, roving up and down the blank books and journals, until he found one he thought the boy would like. It was pink with little punk designs like skulls and guitars, done up in small sequins. It was for little girls, but it was the only one he thought would catch Vince's eye. After all, Howard had always assumed pink was Vince's favorite color, so he just stuck with it. The kid had never said otherwise.

Howard had also bought several pencils in neon patterns as well as a few biros. He did manage to stop himself from also buying markers, Tippex and more. Howard held up the gifts for Vince to see, waiting for his reaction, good or not.

Vince took a moment to just stare blankly at the presents, before moving quickly over to Howard with a wide smile. Taking the presents, he smiled down on them, shaking his head slightly as he set them down on the dresser top. He then turned to Howard with a slight look, smile now to one side of his mouth.

"Thought we agreed no presents, huh?"

"Well, I saw them...um, yesterday while I was out and thought you'd like them. And also, I noticed you were almost through your notebook. Thought you might like something a little more 'official' for writing, rather than an old school notebook."

Howard rambled on, and would have continued if Vince hadn't hugged him tightly, squeezing the last of his breath from his lungs. Stepping back, Vince gave him a half-smile again as he moved his new presents to sit with his clutter of other objects, speaking as he went.

"Well then, it's a good thing I went ahead and made a surprise gift for you. This way we're even."

"...What? You got a gift for me? Vince, you didn't have to do that, I'm twenty-five. And besides, I want you to save up your money-"

"Don't worry, then, cause this didn't cost me a penny. Now, if you don't like it, you don't have to do it, but...I got you another gig at that same place you sang at last time. What do you think?"

Howard couldn't think. How could the kid expect him to go through that again!? He'd damn near had a heart attack the last time! He'd sweated so much the guitar was slipping from his grasp the entire performance! On the other hand...he'd felt so great. When that audience cheered as he finished, Howard had felt on top of the world. So many thoughts began crowding Howard's mind. The man desperately grabbed one to throw out as the seconds passed and Vince's expression began to fall at Howard's silence.

"What will I sing? I don't really know many songs..."

"You'll have time to learn new ones. Or even make one of your own. The gig's not for seven days now. It'll be on New Year's night. Cool, yeah?"

"Yeah...Vince, I...um, thank you. This is, um, very unexpected. But thank you. I...think I'll try to write my own song this time."

"Brilliant! I'll help."

With that, Vince picked up Howard's guitar and sat on the sofa, fingers strumming out small half-tunes, not really knowing what he was doing. Howard opted to sit on the other end of the couch and watch him for a minute as Vince first began humming and then singing another of his weird songs.

"Monkey stole my face, took me down to another place..."

Howard wanted to question the lyrics, but let the kid be as he seemed to get lost in his own words for a few minutes. They then got to work figuring out a proper song for Howard to sing at the gig. When hours passed with nothing to show aside from a few stray lines of poetry, Howard slumped down in his seat. He really wasn't good at this writing business. How the kid could make up lyrics on the spot so flawlessly was a mystery to the older man. Vince seemed to be thinking along a similar vein, by the way he was observing Howard. Suddenly, the boy sat forward, grin coming across his face once more.

"You should sing one of my songs at the gig! No, seriously, I don't mind. 'S not stealin' my songs if I give you permission, right?"

"Uh, Vince, I'm not sure if your songs are...the kind people would expect me to be singing-"

"Exactly! It'll shock 'em! Give you a reputation, and before you know it, you'll be gettin' calls for gigs all over the place!"

Howard closed his eyes, slouching down in his seat and heaving a heavy sigh through his nose. He tried to picture himself, up on stage like before, singing not a refined, soulful song like those of Mr Cash, but rather some backward mix conjured up by this pixie of a person perched next to him. Surprisingly, it wasn't so bad. After all, Vince was right. He needed an image; one that would put him apart from the rest. The worst that could happen would be him getting booed off stage. Swallowing thickly at that thought, Howard mentally smacked himself, internally berating himself to for once take a risk! Take a page out of Noir's book, and maybe, just maybe, he could become famous. That thought had quite a ring to it. Opening his eyes, Howard looked over to where Vince was tearing the skin off of his lip with his teeth, staring off at a far wall.

"Alright. Fine, I'll do it."

This got the kid's attention once more. Eyes meeting, Vince sat up straighter in his seat and grinned.

"Yes! You won't regret this, Howard, I promise."

"Yeah well we'll see."

"Now c'mon, let's get practicin' them lines! How 'bout we use my monkey song this time. I know all the words, of course, it bein' me own song an' all, but you'll have to create a tune to go with it."

The two spent the entire day reciting Vince's lyrics over and over until Howard felt quite mad. Still, he'd be lying if he said he hadn't enjoyed himself, singing into the night hours as the kid enveloped them in his little world of music and colors and face-stealing monkeys.