By the time evening rolls around i know that the others are getting suspicious of how close me and Party are getting. From the way his hand brushes against mine for a little long than it should even now and then, or the way he wraps an arm around my waist as we're eating dinner. I even lean my head ever so slightly on his shoulder when we all sit down around the campfire. When he starts to play with my hair Ghoul notices, and obviously can't take it any longer. 

"What exactly's going on between you guys?" He asks through a mouthful of food "You disappear off together at the club, and then again today, and now you're acting all sappy around each other - what happened?" 

Obviously he's referring to how i had been so intent on not forming any close relationships, but now here i am with Party's arm around my shoulders, his jacket keeping us both warm. So much for that vow. 

"Me and Spark are together" Party shrugs, although he makes it look like he doesn't want to talk anymore about it, which i appreciate. I don't really want everyone to know about how i broke down outside the club yesterday. "I was going to tell you earlier but you were all pretty busy today." 

"About time" Kobra grins in the light of the flames "I could tell you liked her since the moment she saved your butt."

"Really?" I smile at Party "You've liked me since then?"

"Of course" he pulls me closer "How could i not fall for you? A beautiful blue haired killjoy comes out of the blue and shoots down that drac with one shot before disappearing again? I didn't exactly stand a chance."  

"That's cute honey" I chuckle, brushing the dust off of my jeans "and as much as i want to stay and talk, i'm going to bed. We're setting off early tomorrow after all." I look at them all to check no one is going to argue with the fact we're leaving in the morning, but they all just nod. 

"I fuelled up the trans am earlier on, we're all ready to go" Ghoul nods. "All that's left to do now is rest up. If tomorrow goes well then we should be in and out within the day, but we have to be prepared. If we have to stay in the city with the droids then you won't be getting much sleep." 

I don't bother asking why not, i can take a few good guesses. The slums of battery city don't exactly sound like a comfortable place to sleep, so i just cross my fingers that everything will go well and make my way inside, feeling Party's eyes on my back all the way up to the door. Even once i've climbed into bed, feeling the covers wrap around me like a cocoon, i hear him pass by my door and pause for a good minute. I think he's going to come in for a moment, but he must change his mind as he carries on down the corridor towards his own room, leaving me with a ache in my chest. 

Is it bad that i kind of wanted him to come in? I guess not as we are seeing each other now, although what that incorporates i don't know. Once upon a time, before Better Living Industries and the fires, it meant going on dates, holding hands and being cute. Nowadays? I don't know. How do you have a relationship in times like this? 

With a sigh i roll over and go to sleep, trying not to over think. Unfortunately for me though, my dreams aren't quite that peaceful. 

"I'm so hungry" Morgan groaned, walking beside me. The two of us were trying to find some sort of shelter and failing miserably. Instead we were trekking along the long, dusted highway with sweat pouring down our weak bodies and our tongues dry from how little water we had consumed. 

"That makes two of us" i sighed, pulling at the straps of my rucksack. I turn and see him struggling along, and reach out to squeeze him lightly with one arm "Come on, we'll find somewhere soon. Just keep walking." 

"You don't need to pretend with me" He pulled away from my embrace ever so slightly "I know you feel you need to because i'm your little brother, but i know what's going on. We haven't seen any other people out here in days. We ran out of food yesterday afternoon and the water won't last much longer. Face it - we're done for." 

"No" i growled determinedly "We're going to get through this. I'm going to look after you, i promise. We'll find food and shelter, we'll get fresh water and we WILL survive. And you know why we're going to survive?" he shook his head "because we're not going to give up. We have to keep fighting - okay?" 

He nodded once, picking up his pace ever so slightly so he was walking beside me instead of behind. It was a small difference, but it meant a lot to me. It gave me hope that he was going to be okay, which was the main thing i cared about. 

I'm awoken the next day to Fun Ghoul banging on my door three times. 

"Wake up or i'm coming in and dragging you out of the bed" he yells, waiting for my groan of a reply before walking off down the corridor, in search of food no doubt. I throw the covers off, letting them fall in a heap before i all but lunge out of the bed, not wanting to get caught in that limbo of tiredness where you can't be asked to get out of the warm bed. There's too much to do for me to be able to afford to be lazy. 

I'm halfway down the corridor when an arm snakes around my waist, pulling me back to collide with a jacket-coated chest. 

"Hey" Party grins, still holding onto me tightly. 

"You scared me" I glare playfully as he leans forward, nuzzling my neck with a low chuckle "Seriously, don't do that to me when i have a gun so close" i nod to my boot, where the tip of my ray gun juts out so that i can grab it within seconds. 

"Well maybe you should have checked right behind you when you walked out, i wasn't exactly making an effort to creep up on you" He pulls away and starts to walk down the corridor, me keeping up beside him. 

"Oh give me a break, i just woke up" We enter the main diner, where our food is already waiting for us. I try to ignore it's vile taste and instead focus on the maps laid out in front of me. Well, it's my map, but i'm more than happy for everyone to use it. 

"This is our route" Jet see's me looking and points to where a few pieces of blue tack mark out the various turnings we'll have to take along the long, twisting roads that lead through the zones and towards the city. "And this is our destination. The slums of Battery City." I look down at the map, seeing the area marked out to be slums. The buildings are smaller, the streets more narrow, more like alleyways if anything else, but i can't really see a realistic expectation for them. 

"Well then we better get going" I place my empty can on the table "The slums are right the other side of the city, that's going to take quite a couple of hours to get there." 

"She's right, let's get going now. If we aren't in and out by midnight then we'll have to sleep overnight, and as much as i appreciate Neon's help, i don't want to have to sleep on her floor. Last time i woke up with a rat staring at me from across the floor" Kobra shudders, and i almost laugh at how he's not scared by dracs, and yet he is by rats. 

"Is that her name, Neon?" I ask Party as we all trail out the door. He hangs back to lock the place up so i stand with him, whilst the others all scramble into the back on the car, leaving the two of us to sit in the front. 

"Yep. You'll like her and her friends" is all he says before we walk over to the car, me riding shotgun whilst he drives. I've never met any droids before - i fled the city far too fast for any of that. And as i don't really talk to many people i haven't really heard that much about them. Crash had mentioned before that they had human emotions and that you wouldn't be able to tell if it weren't for the pearly glow to their skin, but that's about all i know.

I trust Party though when he says that this Neon chick will be able to help us, so with a sigh i lean my head against the window and prepare for the long ride ahead. 

After a few hours of the same dusty roads over and over again, a crackly radio signal that means the songs are liable to break up halfway through into a static drone, and about a litre so of water, we arrive on the outskirts of Battery City. It takes a while to drive around the edge without being detected, but after a while Party slips the car down a side alley. 

"Is this where we're leaving it?" i ask as the others clamber out. He just pressed a finger to his lips and helps me out the car, nodding slightly only once i'm out. I wonder why we have to be so quiet, but my thoughts are quickly distracted by the girl that steps out of the shadows. 

She's beautiful. Her platinum blonde bob of hair hangs around her shoulders without a single hair being out of place, framing her oval, spotless face perfectly. Her eyes are a piercing purple colour, which is the first indicator that she isn't quite human. There's also her skin, that looks like it's aglow or made from a pearly material. She's wearing a short black dress that comes to mid thigh and a long silver cape that drapes down to her knees, the hood pulled up over her head so only we can see her face. On her feet she wears big, knee high black boots and her hands are covered by gloves of the same colour. 

"Neon" Kobra smiles, wrapping his arms around her in a hug. She gives him a quick hug back before turning to the rest of us, her eyes wide as she scans us all, eyes landing on me for a moment. She doesn't give anything away, something i find a little unnerving. 

"We'll talk later" She states "not here though, it's not safe. grab your bags and follow me. Willow's meeting us back at our place, but for now we have to take a longer route to be safe" her voice is a sweet, melodic one. I don't have much time to take her in though as the next thing i know Party's grabbing my hand and pulling me along after her, down a side alley that can just about fit us. It's clear that we're not suppose to talk, which is proving to be a right pain as i have a whole new bunch of questions. 

Looks like i'll just have to wait until we get to wherever it is exactly that Neon's taking us. 

__________________________________________________________________________

Sorry for the late update - i've just been really busy but that should calm down now :D