Welcome to the Dark Carnival

The next morning I was rudely awoken by Monoxide running into my room and jumping on my bed. Not only did he land on me, he also hit J. "Fuck! What's your problem Paul?!" yelled J as he glared at Monoxide. "Geez I'm sorry. I'm just excited for our show today!" he said. I rolled my eyes and got out of bed. "I'm going with you so what should I wear?" I asked, pointing towards my closet. Monoxide's eyes widened as he grew a very evil grin. "Oh no, nothing whorish!" I said, causing Monoxide's face to fall. "Aw fine" he said as he rummaged through my closet.

Looking at J, I saw him sit up slowly. His drowsy eyes watching me, a small smile playing on his lips. "Found something!" exclaimed Monoxide as he handed me a pink spaghetti strap tank with a black tank top with shreds in it to go over it. Then he pulled out an old black and pink Halloween tutu with my black and pink striped stockings. I raised an eyebrow as he handed me a black ruffle bracelet and my black arm warmer with a really old skeleton bracelet I had made years ago. "Why did you color coordinate my clothes? Are you sure you aren't gay?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him. Monoxide laughed and then lit up a cigarette. "trust me Hannah, I am not gay" he said. "It's alright if you were. I'd love to have a gay friend" I said, smiling.

J just yawned, breaking our conversation. "You need to leave Monoxide, I have to get dressed" I said. "Can I stay and watch?" he asked. "no" I said. He tried to give me the puppy eyes but I just shoved him out of my room. Turning to J, I motioned for him to close his eyes. He did as I said and I got dressed quickly. Just as I had gotten my tutu over my stockings, Madrox came charging into my room. "You know you are lucky I had just gotten finished getting dressed" I said as I turned to him. Madrox ignored me, staring at J, who in turn was staring at him. "Oh will you two grow up?" I asked, snapping at them. Madrox broke the glaring contest before smirking at me. "Damn do you look fine" he said, leering at me. J clenched his jaw at the comment and I rolled my eyes with a smile. "Thanks, but now I would like to go eat" I said, heading upstairs to the kitchen.

Alex's mom, Alex, and Rob sat there, smiling when I walked in. "Are your clothes pre-ripped or did you do that yourself?" asked Alex, motioning towards the holes in my stockings and tutu, as well as the slashes in my tank top. "I did the top myself, the others wore with time" I said, putting on my shoes. "So Hannah dear, are you going to the show tonight?" asked Mrs. Abyss. "Yes I am. Not like I have much of a choice, Monoxide and J both told me I have to" I said. "you gave these boys quite a scare the other day" she said. Hanging my head, I felt remorse for my actions. Rob wrapped his arms around my shoulder and smiled at me. "It's ok, you're back now" he said. I nodded and laughed when I saw Madrox run into the room. "I smell food!" he exclaimed. I just stared at him blankly. "He really is a fat kid" I said, causing Jamie to look at me. "you got a problem with that?" he asked, walking up to me and standing over me. Looking up at him, I grinned. "Nope, no problem fat man" I said.

Jamie picked me up and threw me over his shoulder so that I was looking at his ass. "We'll be right back" he said, grinning wickedly as he walked out of the house with me. "Should we save her?" asked Alex. "Nope" said Rob, amused by what he was seeing. Outside, Jamie had me pinned up to a car. "Now, are you going to take back the fat comments?" he asked in what was a rather husky voice. Stunned by his change in voice, I couldn't speak. "Answer me before I find a way to punish you" he said, putting his face closer to mine. "S-stop" I stuttered out. Jamie blinked and then saw the look of fear on my face. "Sounded like your dad huh?" he asked. I nodded and he wrapped me up into a hug. "Look I'm sorry" he said. Shaking off the fear, I smiled up at him. "I know, I'm ok now" I said. The truth was, being around Jamie was intimidating because of his size. You first see him and your like 'he's such a fat kid' but then you hear him and he's loud and obnoxious, never knowing when to shut up. He scared me because he got loud and some of the things he said reminded me of my dad. I was working on getting better, not being scared of him. It's just taking a long time.

I was ripped from my thoughts when I felt Jamie's hand on my ass. Growling, I grabbed his hand tightly and then stomped on his foot. "OW! What the fuck was that for?!" he snapped. "Don't ever touch me without my permission!" I snarled before storming inside. Once I was out of sight, I felt tears start to roll down my face. "Hannah?" came Monoxide's voice as he approached me. "Oh…hi Paul" I said. He seemed shocked but then led me to the bathroom. "I figured you don't want anyone to know you were crying" he said when he caught my curious expression. I nodded and he wiped my tears. "So explain" he said. "James" I said. "He grabbed your ass didn't he?" asked Monoxide. I nodded and he sighed. "Jamie is a pervert, I'm sure you've realized this by now. He really means no harm by it" explained Monoxide. "My father…used to touch me like that" I said softly.

Silence ensued before Monoxide sighed again. "So that explains why you are so intimidated by Jamie" he said, wrapping his arms around me in a comforting hug. "I'm trying, I really am" I said. "I know, so do the others. It's just Jamie doesn’t see the line that he's very blatantly crossing" he said. Another moment of silence and I looked up at Monoxide. "Paul, I don't want you to let the other's know but…I'm leaving when I have enough money to pay for college" I said quietly. Monoxide was still for a moment before placing a kiss on my forehead. "I already figured as much. You should do it, don't give up an education for us. We'll always be here when you get back, ok?" he said.

"That's just it…I don't think I'll come back to Detroit" I explained. "Well then, we'll have to find a way to keep in touch before you leave now won't we?" said Monoxide with a smile. "Thanks for being like a brother to me Paul. It really means a lot" I said. "We family Hannah, you know that" he said before opening the door. Shaggy looked at us with an odd expression. "I need to talk to him in private" I said. Shaggy shrugged before pushing us out and going inside to use the bathroom. "Guess he really had to take a piss" said Monoxide while we chuckled as we went upstairs to pass the time until the show started in 2 hours.