Chapter two...I don't think anyone stuck around for this one. But I'm going to get it out of the way.

This one's for Deetz, because Volt and Lluvy are adorable together.

Cruise, keep moving past them, sweat
No need to stress, we lose
It happened much too fast to avoid the rest
-- Barrio Superstarrio, Pilot to Gunner

--

I woke up on Saturday morning with a disgusting taste in my mouth and an urge to brush my teeth. But I had no desire to get out of bed and leave my warm, cozy nest for cold skin and a minty fresh mouth. I could suffer through the disgusting taste for a few more hours.

I would have rolled over and gone back to sleep if something fuzzy hadn't just abandoned its position as a pillow. My head hit the mattress with a dull plop and I groaned in irritation. How dare my pillow move?

That was when I remembered that pillows were not fuzzy and did not move. Period. So I sat up, stifling an incredibly unmanly squeak, and nearly fell off my bed in terror. There, curled up on my pillow, was a dog. It was smaller than Byakko, with brown spots and a foxy face that I would have made an idiot of myself over if I hadn't been half-asleep and scared out of my wits.

I jumped out of my bed, abandoning the covers to the demon dog that had woken me up, and fled downstairs to nearly crush Jacob, draped loosely over the couch.

"How many dogs does Femi have?" I demanded in a whisper, and Jacob turned his head to look at me. For a moment I was struck by exactly how pretty he was: smooth, flawless skin and high cheekbones and full lips that made him almost feminine, strands of blonde laying messily across his face. He had really, really long eyelashes, I registered faintly as a blush crossed my face and he opened his eyes. Today they were gray, gray and weary and open.

"Uh?" Jacob mumbled incoherently, raising his head to stare at me, one eye still closed and the other only half open.

"Dogs. Femi? How many?" I asked again, a little bit less frightened and a little bit more apologetic. Now I remembered that Jacob had a hard time getting to sleep in the first place, and getting back to sleep would be nearly impossible for him.

"Three, I think," he said, rolling his r's thickly.

"What the hell?"

I looked up and Jacob turned his head slowly. Kaylan emerged from his bedroom, looking frazzled. "There's a dog in my room," he said, shuffling out of the way to make room for the final animal. It was a huge black dog with white and brown feet, tail waving cheerfully as it trotted down the stairs.

"Yeah...she has three, I guess," I replied. Kaylan groaned and came down the stairs to flop on the loveseat, long legs hanging over the armrest. I kind of almost blushed at the way he looked, like he'd just gotten out of bed after doing things other than sleeping.

"What time is it?" Jacob asked, pushing himself half off of the couch.

Uhm...distraction! "About nine o'clock," I replied, looking at the digital clock on the microwave for reference.

"Why is it so dark then?" Kaylan shifted his gaze out at the window. Outside, the howling of the wind and rain beating against the roof answered for him. "Oh, it's raining."

We sat in silence for a few minutes, waking up fully, before I realized I was thirsty. And my mouth still felt awful. And I didn't want to look bad in front of Kaylan.

"I'm gonna go brush my teeth," I excused myself to the bathroom. Kaylan and Jacob remained where they were, half-awake on the couches.

The bathroom was white and bright and too awake for my liking, so I shut off the light. For a moment I was blinded by the sudden transition to darkness, but my eyes quickly adjusted and I managed to brush my teeth in the dark. When I was done I felt much better for it, and with that feeling I went back out into the dark living room.

"Where's Femi?" Kaylan asked, looking up at me as I came back into the room. I stopped and squinted at the alarm by the room door. The red light was still shining faintly.

"In the house somewhere," I replied, shrugging. And then I remembered I was still thirsty, so I went into the kitchen to get water.

I found the fridge in the darkness and opened it; once again I was blinded by the contrast. This action was completely pointless, however, because I needed to open the freezer side to get ice out. Wow, way to go, Anthony.

I found the freezer handle and opened the door, smiling when I finally found the ice. I grabbed a few cubes, berating myself for not getting out a glass first, and turned around.

Illuminated by the light, sleeping soundly on the kitchen counter, was Femi. But of course, I wasn't expecting her to turn up there, so adrenaline shot through my system and I screamed.

"Holy shit!" I shrieked--yes, I did just lose the last of my masculinity--, flattening myself against the cupboards. Femi sat up violently, her eyes wide, and promptly fell off of the counter. I shrieked again, dropping the ice cubes. They shattered on the floor in a manner similar to glass breaking and Kaylan came tearing into the kitchen. (Like my knight in shining armor--I probably would've thought that had I not been terrified out of my wits.

"What happened?" he asked, flicking on the light. He probably wasn't expecting this sight; Femi collapsed on the floor, me backed into a corner like someone was about to attack and kill me.

"Femi...counter...ohmigod!" I choked out, my heart still racing.

"Oh." Kaylan sighed and relaxed. "Jacob's having a nightmare, I think. You should bring Femi out," he advised, and disappeared. Now that I wasn't freaking out, I could indeed hear Jacob's voice out in the living room.

"Femi," I said, crouching next to her. She was awake, orange eyes glittering in the light from the fridge.

"Pull me up, Tony," She commanded, holding out her hand. I took it and tried to stay upright as she hauled herself up and padded into the living room. I followed, standing at the back of the couch as she sat on the floor near Jacob's head. He was shaking, paler than he normally was, his face contorted into an expression of horror.

"Jay..." Femi laid her hand on his head gently, wincing when he flinched. "Wake up, Jacob. It's okay, really. C'mon." In this way she coaxed him awake and his eyes finally opened, frightened and wide.

"What..." Jacob sat up, his hand on his head. "What happened?"

"You had a nightmare," Femi explained calmly. She got up to sit on the couch and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Jacob seemed small and childlike, like a little kid who was afraid of the monster under their bed.

He sighed, and shook his head; and when he blinked and his eyes opened again they seemed clearer, the pupils less dilated. Almost immediately he went from frightened to calm, and I had to marvel at his ability to control himself. "I'm fine. Thanks, Fem."

"Mmhmm," she replied, squeezing him tightly before getting back up. She clapped her hands, looking around at us. "Now, who wants breakfast?"

"I do," I said meekly, raising my hand. Kaylan laughed and I smiled, and even Jacob's lips twitched upward as the somber spell cast over the room broke. Femi grinned and turned away, flouncing eagerly into the kitchen to probably burn whatever she tried to cook. Kaylan followed after her, presumably to keep her from burning whatever she tried to cook, and I found myself a seat at the bar. Jacob stood after a moment and sat down beside me, and in that way we continued our morning.

--

Holy crap. How long has it been--what, months? At least six.

I finished this for all of you who asked me to continue and who supported me. This chapter may not be the best but I'm working on it, and I'll try to keep this up for you.

Three cheers for Anthony and his obsession with pretty blond boys.