This chapter is rated E for "Eloquent Character Bonding".
Otherwise known as "the chapter were Aria and Mei get along and get drunk while everyone else figures out what the fuck they should do next".
I apologise in advance for my terrible rendition of drunken speech.
Thump.
The sound shocked her from her sleep, a layer of sweat covering her skin as she breathed in gasping breaths. Neither Wendy nor Kit stirred from their sleep, leaving Aria to wonder if she'd been hearing things.
The tap-tap-tap on the side of Wendy's bed begged to differ.
Aria tried to move, roll over on her other side, but found herself frozen in place. She tried to calm herself, let in deep breaths and steady her breathing. Once she knew she was calm, she went to turn again. No movement. Releasing a frustrated sigh, she took in a breath and prepared to wake Kit. Just as she was about to ask her to get up, she felt something brush her hair back behind her ear and heard the unmistakable wheezing of the undead. Cold air hit the shell of her ear, the wheezing turning into a voice she knew she'd never hear again in person.
"Be quiet," Holly's raspy voice whispered. "The monsters will hear us."
Trembling with fear, Aria did the first thing her instincts told her to do.
She screamed.
Iza's eyes snapped open when she heard the scream, nearly shoving Alec off the couch as she sat up. He awoke with a start, demanding to know what the scream was about, but already Sora was shooting off of her seat and speeding up the stairs to get to the bedrooms. The duo on the couch looked to each other, fighting away embarrassed blushes, and hurried to follow the talkative girl.
Upon arriving at the bedroom the scream had come from, they saw that it wasn't just them who had awoken. Mei, Freddy, Jun, and Roberto were all hurrying for the door, concerned for what was going on. The burst inside, spotted the three girls on the floor, and finally registered what was going on.
Aria sat curled in on herself, sobbing loudly as she chanted over and over, "I'm fine," to the two younger girls comforting her. Kit patted her on the back as Wendy continued to ask if she was sure she was okay.
Once Aria quietened down, a thought struck the group. Had any undead heard her? Did she give away their location to potential attackers?
As though answering their thoughts, a loud banging sounded from downstairs. Someone was trying to get into the house. Thinking fast, Kit stood and readied her gun as Alec and Mei whirled around with their bladed weapons at the ready. Mei went down first, axe at the ready, as Alec hurried behind her with his sword held tightly. Kit followed, as did Roberto and Freddy. Iza made her way into the room with Sora and Jun, then closed the door behind them as the five members of their group made their way downstairs.
They barely made it past the living room before the front door was forced open, six men and two women stumbling inside with guns at the ready and shouts to get the attention of whoever called for help.
Guns were pointed in their direction, people wearing masks screaming at them to drop their weapons. Alec was quick to drop his sword, commanding everyone else to lower their weapons as well, and held his hands up in the air. Roberto was quick to obey, nodding and setting his katana down and looking to Freddy to do the same with his guns. Kit was reluctant, but did so as well, and all that was left to put down their weapons was Mei. She held on to her axe with determination, glaring icily at the intruders, and immediately began to let out a small snarl.
"Mei," Alec hissed. She ignored him. "Put it down, Mei." He still received no response from her. "Mei!"
As though setting her off, Mei jumped at his shout and lunged for the nearest intruder. The woman let out a breathy laugh and was quick to grab ahold of Mei's arm, flipping her onto her stomach and knocking the wind from her chest. The axe was then taken from her and throw to the side.
"Who screamed?" a man demanded. Everyone was silent, waiting for something - they weren't sure what. "I said, who the fuck screamed?" he repeated, louder this time.
Mei groaned from her spot, glaring up at him. A small amount of blood was on her lip, a sign she must've bitten it on her way down. "It was the fucking schizo," she snarled. "Why the fuck do you wanna know?"
She didn't get an answer, instead one of the women demanding to know where 'the schizo' was. Alec pointed (reluctantly, however) to the stairs and said, "First room on the right, with the names of children drawn on the door. There are five others in there. We're all a group."
"Right," the woman left said. "That's what the last group told us."
Shaking his head, Freddy began to speak up. "We mean it!" he insisted. "We've been travelling together for nearly a week now!"
The woman was having none of that, pointing her gun at the fourteen-year-old and practically yelling at him, "Shut up before I put one between your eyes, Junior!"
Freddy silenced himself immediately, watching her gun nervously as they waited for their comrade to confirm the location of their group. This was the first time he'd ever been on the other end of a barrel, he realised, and he wasn't sure he found it as thrilling as the preferred end.
They waited for a few more minutes, listening to the sounds of the woman talking to the group in the children's room, and all at once jumped when a sudden shout came down to them.
"We've got a bitten one!"
The girls screaming for the woman to let go of Iza was all they heard after, Aria finally snapping out of her shock and letting loose a shout loud enough to summon the undead to her. She ordered her to let go of Iza, but apparently the woman wasn't willing to do so. The sounds of tumbling and falling filled the air, and soon enough the carrot-top and the woman were rolling down the stairs and throwing punch after punch at each other. Aria finally managed to get the woman underneath her once they hit the last step, and immediately pulled out her dagger and lunged for her throat. The guns suddenly turning in her direction were all that stopped her from breaking the woman's skin and tearing out her throat.
"Put the dagger down, sweetie," the other woman said. "We're here to help you."
"Fuck off!" Aria ground out. "You were about to shoot our friend without even asking what happened to her!"
"She's bitten-"
"She dislocated her fucking shoulder, you twat!" Barely looking up from her position, Aria announced, "Mei! Get up there and comfort her. She needs you right now."
Not needing to be told twice, the dark-haired girl stood up weakly and hobbled over to the stairs as fast as she could, taking them two at a time. The guns remained pointed at Aria. She didn't seem to care.
"Now you guys listen, and you listen good," she growled. "As group mother, I will not hesitate to stab a bitch, maim a bitch, or set a bitch on fire and roll them down a hill for the zombies to eat. So you all better put your guns the fuck away, leave my family the fuck alone, and be on your merry little way before I rip this bitch's throat apart bit by bit."
Almost immediately, the group lowered their guns and raised their hands in surrender. Alec saw his chance, looking to Roberto and nodding to Aria straight after, and then the boys were on her and pulling her off of the woman. Aria kicked and growled, landing a weak punch on Alec's brow, but was nonetheless pulled back and out of harm's way. The group let out a relieved breath, the woman scurrying over to them in a panic as she tried to get out of Aria's sight.
"You heard her," Alec said, grunting as he tried to hold the raging carrot-top back. "Best be leaving before she gets loose."
Kit and Freddy nodded in agreement, slowly inching towards the trio whilst keeping their eyes on the group. Two of the men nodded, pulling the woman to her feet, but one of them stopped in his tracks and stared down Alec with narrowed eyes.
Another member nudged his shoulder, just as he said, "Alec? Alec Takahashi?"
All of the teens froze, staring at the group in confusion. "What?" Alec said.
"Guys, it's Alec!" The man held his arms wide, laughing, before he took off his mask and grinned. Aria cringed (as did Roberto, Kit, and Freddy) at his startling appearance - his scab-riddled face and near-toothless grin - but otherwise kept silent. "Alec, it's us! The Grey Coats!"
Almost immediately, Alec dropped his hold on Aria and let out a small breath. "No way," he muttered. "That you, Tatsuya?"
Tatsuya nodded enthusiastically. "You bet!" He gestured to the rest of the group, naming them one by one. "We lost most of the gang, but we managed to get these guys out of trouble. We've got Mori" - he pointed to the closest man, who wore a red demon-inspired mask - "Shizuo" - a blonde man removed his mask, revealing a sneer hiding behind it - "Koyatomi" - the man beside Shizuo removed his grey mask, revealing a rather pretty face beneath - "Ryuo" - a short man waved to them, barely removing his mask - "Renji" - the tallest man nodded, also not removing his mask - "Aiko" - the woman Aria had jumped cowered slightly - "and Karin." The woman beside Aiko saluted lightly, nodding to the group.
All at once, four confused sets of eyes flew to Alec for confirmation. Alec stood stunned, a small smile creeping onto his face as he memorised the names. "Sweet," was all he said.
Oh, how that set Aria off into a rage. "Sweet?" she repeated, appalled. "Sweet? Fucking 'SWEET'!?"
"Aria, calm down," Alec said. "I know these guys - they're good people-"
"They tried to shoot Iza because they thought she was bitten!"
Alec sighed, once again trying to calm her down, but Aria was quick to shut him up. She raised her fist, aiming a punch to his face, but ended up sending them both to the ground as he tried to stop her assault.
Aria was surprisingly a lot more vocal about her arguments against the Grey Coats, especially in regards to Alec saying "sweet" upon finding out who they were. She certainly wasn't happy that they tried to shoot Iza, and she was beyond displaying the rage of a thousand burning suns towards Alec's overly relaxed take on the situation. The morning ended, quite frankly, with Alec sporting a bruised cheek.
The group was split in two at this point - those who sided with Alec and his belief that the Grey Coats would be useful to them, and those who sided with Aria and Iza when they said they didn't like the group. Wendy had decided to stay with Iza, unsure of the newcomers, and Sora had gone to negotiate things with Alec in regards to their own group. Roberto and Jun were getting to know the Grey Coats, purely out of curiosity and absolutely no interest in joining them whatsoever, while Kit and Freddy stayed off to the side and considered taking a neutral stance. Aria had settled herself in one of the bathrooms, curled up in the corner as she heard whisper upon whisper coming out of the walls. It was stressing her out, making her feel somewhat vulnerable, and she wished Daniel were there to make it go away.
The door was opened lightly, Mei popping her head into the room to see if anyone was inside. Upon seeing Aria, she scowled and moved to leave, but paused when she really took a look at her. Letting out a small, reluctant breath, Mei entered the room and closed the door behind her.
"Heard you punched the fuckin' asshole named Alec today," she said, leaning against the bathtub. Aria grunted in response, barely lifting her head to look at her. "Wow, and here I thought you'd try and defend his honour or some shit. Not even gonna argue over the fact that I called our 'oh so glorious' leader an asshole?"
"I really could not give a fuck, Mei," was all she got in response. Mei frowned, about ready to make a retort back at the girl, but sighed instead. What was the point? She wasn't going to get much of a fight from her, and it looked like she was still beating herself up over the fact that the Grey Coats were in the house thanks to her scream.
Maybe Mei would leave her alone today.
"I hear you drink," she said, casually lifting the bottle she'd smuggled up with her. "I was gonna finish this off myself, but I suppose I can share."
"You suppose?"
"Mm-hm."
Aria shrugged. "Whatever."
Taking that as a yes, Mei opened the bottle and took a swig. The burning taste in the back of her throat caused her to let out a loud "bluh" sound, and she hurriedly passed it to the older teen to have a drink.
Within an hour, they'd gone through the bottle and were giggling on the floor, somewhat tipsy but nowhere near drunk.
"What was that shit w' you this mornin', Skitz," Mei slurred. Aria shoved her lightly, fighting back a smile of her own.
"You know how- How you call me a skizzo an' shit?" Mei nodded, leaning back against the wall. "Well, you were bloo'y right, mate," Aria laughed. "I woke up an' - an' I just couldn't move an' shit. Wanted t'ask Kit - Kit-Kit-Kitty - for help to ro' me o'er, an' then I 'ear this fuckin' thumpin' sound from Wendy's bed."
"Holy shit!" Mei gasped. "What was it!?"
"Didn't see!" Aria began gesturing widely, hitting her arm on the towel rack. She didn't seem to notice. "I 'eard this shufflin' an' then somethin' brushes m'hair back an' then somethin' breathes on th' back of m'fuckin' neck - mate, it was fuckin' freaky!"
Mei gaped at her, her mouth forming a perfect 'O' shape. "Oh shit!"
"Yeah - an' then - this is the kicker, Mei, like fuck me it was fuckin' freaky as shit - I 'ear m'sister whisperin' t'me all 'th' monsters will 'ear us' an' shit."
"An' then you fuckin' screamed!?"
"An' then I fuckin' screamed!"
The younger girl flailed about, rambling about how terrible Aria's fucking schizophrenia was. Aria mock-cried as she did this, speaking in what sounded like Old English and quoting Hamlet at least once. "'I am thy sister's spirit!'" she wailed, twisting the line to suit her own issue.
Within the next hour, they were leaning against each other and staring at the roof. Both were tired, done with the zombie apocalypse, and wanted desperately another bottle of whatever Mei brought up with her. Aria sneezed a couple of times, to which Mei had grunted out a small "bless you" every time.
"We need more booze," Mei said. Aria agreed, patting her arm not-so-gently.
"Meiiiii," she whined. "Go grab more."
"Noooo," Mei whined back. "It's your turn, Lambert."
Aria smacked her arm. "It's 'Schizo', to you," she grumbled.
"Bitch, I'll call you what I want."
"But I like Schizo! It's like- Like our thing!"
Mei went over the sentence, narrowing her eyes in thought. Her first reply was, "That sounds so gay, Lambert," which was then followed by, "I will let you have the first three mouthfuls of whatever you grab if you get it for us."
"Make it five."
"Six."
"Deal."
"What?"
Aria didn't reply, however. She was already standing, stumbling toward the door as she picked up the empty bottle on the floor. She squinted her eyes at the label, frowning, and hurriedly made her way downstairs to raid the kitchen. Alec and the Grey Coats were there, discussing fuck knows what. Aria didn't care.
"Hey, Aria-"
"Horse cock."
She opened the cupboard and reached inside, smirking to herself at the confused silence she got in return. Oh, how she loved shutting people up with two words.
"Seriously, Aria-"
"Pygmy goats."
"I need you to-"
"Banana hammock."
"Oh my fucking God-"
"Arse tit."
Alec threw his hands up in defeat. "Fuck it, do whatever you want."
Aria grabbed the first two bottles she could find, pleased with the size and alcohol content within, and finally turned to face the group at the table. She lifted a hand to her head, nodded, and said, "Tips fedora."
And like that she was back in the bathroom, giggling uncontrollably. "You heard all that, right?" she asked Mei excitedly. Mei nodded, fighting back her own giggles, and fell to the floor as she clutched her stomach.
By the time they were halfway through the second bottle, Aria was pulling at Mei's suspenders with a suspicious glare aimed at them.
"Why d'you even wear these?" she demanded.
Mei swatted her hand away, only to begin fiddling with the suspenders herself. "'Cuz they're fuckin' cool," she grumbled. "Why're you always wearin' stripes, huh?"
"Make me look taller!" Aria said, gesturing wildly once more.
"That's pinstripes, dumbass."
"Oh." Aria thought for a moment, letting out a loud hum. "They make m'look bigger?"
Mei scoffed at her, raising a brow at her. Aria didn't seem to want to change her reasoning, and Mei was quick to dash it. "You're as skinny as I am - why the fuck d'you want t'look bigger?"
"No, no, no," Aria insisted. "I want t'look bigger."
"The fuck are you on about?"
Aria groaned in disappointment. "Never mind!"
They finished the second bottle in silence after that, occasionally commenting on how the bath looks super fucking clean and that the owners must've filled it with bleach or something every second day. Mei retorted that she thought twins owned the bedroom Kit and Wendy were in. Aria said it could've belonged to an older and younger sister duo. At the mention of sisters, Aria's expression changed rapidly. Tears were rising in her eyes and soon enough she was sobbing on the floor with Mei staring awkwardly at her.
"Uh…" She held out the third bottle, a tight grip on the neck as she said, "Want the first chug?"
Aria took it without hesitation and guzzled a good third of it in one breath. Mei applauded her and took her turn.
The conversation soon picked up again, this time about Alec. Mei had asked Aria what she thought of Alec, to which Aria had said, "No'too 'appy with 'im righ' now. Wha' 'bout you?"
"Eh," Mei grunted. "He can be an ass an' he always stand's up t'me when I do m'shit an' stuff."
"That 'e does."
"An' it feels weird, y'know? Like- Like- 'E just pisses m'off but I wanna touch 'is ass. Y'know?"
"No…"
"Like fuckin' damn, son."
"Mei."
"An' I think 'e might be the first person t'actually stan' up t'me like that an' shit. Like he just ain't afraid o'me or somethin'." Mei gasped, quickly pointing to Aria and staring at her with wide eyes. "Y'don't- Y'not- Are you afraid'a me!?"
Almost immediately Aria wrapped her arms around Mei and spoke in a cooing voice. "Course not!" she insisted. "You're one'a my babies! Mumsie's never afraid'a her babies!"
"I've never had dedica- Dedi- D- Real deal momsie b'fore," Mei laughed.
"I had one," Aria sighed. "She was cool. A big, ginormous worrywort. But she was m'mumsie." Patting Mei on the head, Aria grinned and added, "Tell Mumsie 'bout this boy y'crushin' on, Mei-Bell."
"He's a fuckin' ass. I also wanna touch the ass."
Aria patted her head again. "Look, bu' dun' touch. Wait 'til he dun' 'spect it - an' then go in f'the kill!"
They took another swig from the bottle at that, laughing loudly as they continued to talk.
By the middle of the afternoon, they were drunker than they'd been hoping to get. Aria began questioning why Mei slept in the bathtub, and Mei told her it was painful but worth it. Worth the feeling of waking up with the first shower, first fixup in the mirror, and first call for the toilet.
Aria demanded they share the bathtub. Mei agreed and worked out a very drunkenly-planned fitting space.
Soon enough, they were passing out in the bathtub on their own ends, snoring away as everyone else gathered around the kitchen for dinner.