There Goes the Neighborhood...

Nodding to Meg, you move the chair you had used to block the door, and reach for the handle. Your other hand tightens around the ski-bat, and you breathe in to calm your nerves before twisting the handle and pulling.

All at once, you’re assaulted by a familiar perfume as a human missile with chestnut hair launches at you.

“Oh thank god! Thank you, thank you so much!”

“Heather?” The question is unnecessary; it is most certainly Paige. You’d recognize her hazel eyes in an instant. When she looks up and sees your face, the radiant smile that spreads across her lips is blinding.

The pleasant feeling (produced by a combination of the beautiful girl’s gratitude and the feeling of her tits pressed tight against your chest) doesn’t last long.

“Roomie, good to see ya!” Charlie’s blindingly white grin is enough to turn your pleasant mood to ash and leave a sour taste in your mouth. “I almost thought those ugly bastards caught you!”

“Well, they didn’t.” If he notices your clipped tone, he doesn’t let on. Your eyes fall on the third person who was waiting outside, and you find it hard to know what to feel.

You don’t really know Alex Keane. He’s around the same height as Charlie, black haired and brown-eyed, slightly less muscular and wearing a sweatband that’s as much to keep his hair out of his eyes as it is for catching sweat.. He’s a constant presence wherever Charlie goes, but he’s not as loudmouthed or blatantly obnoxious. Your interactions with him have been fleeting at best, so your understanding of his personality is almost nonexistent. The only indication that he’s not feeling the same confidence as your roommate is the fact that his sweatband is soaked, possibly due to his nerves slowly getting the better of him.

“And who are you, beautiful?” Charlie grins as he notices Meg. “Damn, roomie, have you been holding out on me?” You’re not sure, but you think you can feel your brain cells dying in agony from simple proximity to him. As you glance over, Meg doesn’t even raise an eyebrow as she shoots him the most deadpan look you’ve ever seen in your entire life.

“Meg Rush.” She looks at the four of you and steps back, keeping Trusty aimed at the newcomers. “I think we should close the door and talk in our Don’t Attract the Horny Dead voices, don’t you?”

“Right, right.” Charlie laughs, apparently not noticing or not caring that your sorta-ally is aiming something of unknown purpose at him. When he doesn’t move, Heather simply stares at her while keeping a hand on your arm, and Alex just stares, his eyes flicking between the four of you, Meg’s face twists into a scowl.

“Hey, Barbell, you with the sweatband.” Alex looks a little offended at the nickname, but almost visibly snaps to attention. “Close the door.”

“Uh, right. Yeah.” He’s clearly more than a little preoccupied with the object Meg’s holding, so you can’t exactly fault him for his simple response. As he closes and locks the door, you hear footsteps on the stairwell.

“Michael? Is that you? I think I’ve got together enough for us to make it for a little while, but we might need to raid a supermarket or pharma….” Sam appears on the stairs, her jaw clicking shut as she observes the scene unfolding before her. You hear her mutter under her breath. “Shit. He’s back.”

“Sam!” Charlie cries out again, apparently still not caring that the situation is becoming increasingly uncomfortable. “This is perfect! And here I thought there wouldn’t be enough for all of us!” You briefly hope that he’s not actually stupid enough to be suggesting what you think he is, but the universe seems to take perverse pleasure in forcing you to lower your expectations at every opportunity. “We all need to get our minds off the shitstorm outside, but now we don’t have to share!” You hear Sam squawk indignantly and see Meg frown, but the most surprising reactions are Alex’s and Heather’s. Alex visibly gulps and steps back, as though the added distance will save him from whatever is going to befall his friend, and Paige actually scowls.

“Yeah right, asshole. After you ran off like that?” She huffs, her gaze shifting to you and lingering. “I don’t think I want your… distraction anymore.” You notice her eyes widen as she sees the growing bulge in your pants (because your body is a traitor) and your face gets hot as her tongue draws slowly across her glossy lips. Charlie doesn’t seem to miss her reaction either.

“Oh, yeah?” His voice is low, and for the first time you actually feel threatened by him. There have been times when he was intimidating, sure, but this? He’s never felt dangerous before.

“Yeah, no.” Sam inserts herself into the exchange, arms crossed and glaring. “Care to explain why, Michael?”

Okay, she’s mad. And maybe you should have headed off Heather’s advances sooner. Yeah, this is going to be kinda painful no matter how you slice it.