Status: Working on it!!!

No Longer Saving Yourself

A Little Late Christmas Shopping

"There really is nothing out here, is there?" Alex said lazily, trying to keep awake.

Radio stations were out and Annie had stopped the cd a long time ago. It was already three days of driving in. She could only imagine what the other car was going through. As they made their way out of the state, the temperatures started dropping and they knew that they would need to find a clothing store or a mall soon. The more the boys sighed, she knew they would be better off with the mall so they could find some entertainment too. She agreed that she wouldn't mind a few cd's for the trip either.

"Alex, can you see if you can find a mall or something on that map?" Annie asked, letting out a yawn.

"Really?" he asked excitedly.

"You're annoying me. And you don't want to know how long I've been in these clothes," she said, smiling at him from the rearview mirror." Alex cheered loudly, making Annie flinch.

"Calm the fuck down!" she scolded quietly as Zack stirred in the front seat.

"What are we excited about?" His voice was raspy and whiny, the typical timber of someone who had just been unceremoniously woken up.

"We're going to the mall!" Alex exclaimed.

"A mall?" Zack was immediately awake, looking between Alex and Annie.

"Clothes and entertainment," Annie explained, unable to hide her grin very well.

"Do the others know?" Zack asked.

"Not yet. Let's tell them." Annie sped up to meet the other vehicle. It wasn't like they had to watch out for other drivers.

Zack made the motions to signal Rian to roll down his window.

"We're going to the mall!" Zack shouted over the noise.

Jack immediately started dancing around in the passenger's seat and Rian broke out in a grin.

"We should be approaching one in a thirty miles or so," Alex said from the back seat.

Everyone's spirits had lifted for the next thirty miles. The city wasn't the largest, but it would do. The mall had a few department stores and most likely at least one music store.

The parking lot was deserted; a few abandoned cars but other than that, empty.

"Shit," Annie breathed, turning off the engine. There were several broken windows and doors around the mall's entrance and some of the surrounding structures.

"What?" Zack asked as they convened outside the cars.

"Zombies could be inside." She popped the trunk and pulled out some guns, tossing them to the boys.

"Stay together or split up?" Rian asked.

"I dunno. What do you guys think?" They were silent for a moment or two before they all started talking at once. They all stopped at the same time too.

"Alright, small groups. Reconvene here in an hour?" Rian said, pulling Jack and Alex's hand in the direction of the closest entrance.

"Two!" Annie shouted after them.

"Guess you're stuck with me." Annie and Zack exchanged smiles and followed their friends to the mall. Annie did consider them friends. It was hard not to now.

"Where do you want to go first?" Annie asked as they carefully stepped through the broken door frames. The glass was jagged and broken all around. They had to step through the actual frames to get inside.

"Shoes," he said, looking down at his worn ones.

"Agreed," Annie replied after looking down at her's.

All five looked at the directory and took off to different wings. There was an actual Nike store inside the mall, making it a lot easier for Zack and Annie to stay together and save time. One of the glass panes was broken, a sight they were becoming accustom to.

"Pink?" Zack asked as they walked out of the storeroom with two boxes each. Annie had already ditched her old ones, sporting new pink running shoes.

"They didn't have them in yellow in my size," she said, grabbing a few pairs of socks. He grabbed a few pairs too and they both put their items into bags from behind the counter.

"Next?" Zack asked as they walked out carefully into the big hall.

"Clothes." She pointed towards the department store at the end of the wing. He took her bag from her, causing her eyebrow to raise.

"You're better with a gun than I am. No sense in both of us being half par." She rolled her eyes, taking his pistol.

"Aren't those holsters uncomfortable?" he asked.

"I'm used to it." A few feet from the department store, Zack grabbed her and pushed her against the empty wall.

"What are you-" Annie's question was cut off as Zack dropped the bags and his lips hit hers. She groaned, pushing him off.

"You're wasting our time," she whined.

"I'd rather have you than clothes," he whispered, kissing her again. He pulled away after a few minutes, smiling.

"Let's go find you something to wear." Zack picked up the bags, pulling her into the store. She simply rolled her eyes.

The lights were still on, although a few were burned out. They passed the luggage section and each took a duffle bag. Annie shoved a few into another one in case they needed them for later.

"We have to be careful," Annie said, looking around suspiciously.

"We'll stick together. We'll be fine," Zack reasoned.

Annie led him over to the men's department, gesturing to the array of t-shirts, shorts and jeans. She grabbed the bags from him and let him look around.

"Get a coat too."

Zack quickly grabbed a few of each item and a warm looking coat. He grabbed two packages of underwear before walking over to the women's section.

"I think I'd do better in junior's" she said, walking towards that department. She too quickly grabbed some clothes and a coat before leading him to intimates.

"Do I get to pick something out for you?" he teased, half serious.

"36 C" she said, putting her clothing choices on one of the display tables.

The stores had been surprisingly clean and orderly, making Annie feel a little uneasy. But she was avoiding that subject and was focused on finding functional underwear.

"Here." Zack shoved a few brightly colored, lacy and completely unpractical bra and panty sets in her direction.

"You're crazy if you think I'm walking out of this mall with one of these," Annie said as she looked through his selections.

"Pick one? For me? For later." He whispered the last part quietly, making Annie blush.

"Fine," Annie said, adding them to her pile.

She grabbed a few more sensible items and walked to the fitting rooms. Carefully opening the handicapped one and after making sure it was safe, she motioned for Zack to join her. He raised his eyebrow at her.

"Safer," she reasoned, again blushing. The lighting made it less obvious this time, and she pulled the door closed behind them.

They stood on opposite sides of the large room as they began to try on the new clothes. After taking off the holsters, Annie faltered for a moment before pulling her top over her head.

"Can I turn around? I want to use the mirror," Zack asked from behind her.

"Um, give me a second." She pulled one of the shirts over her head, not bothering to swap out her shorts for a pair of jeans.

"Okay."

They turned around and faced each other.

"You look good in green," he said, walking over to look in the mirror.

"Thanks," she said, pulling the top over her head after a minute and putting it in the duffle bag with her backup shoes.

Zack watched her in the mirror as she pulled another top on and pulled the shorts off. She tried on a pair of jeans before added them to the bag too.

"You might want to try on some other things too," Annie said, standing before him in her bra and panties with her hands on her hips. He had yet to move away from the mirror and consequently her.

"Right," he said, going back to his side, blushing slightly.

Ten minutes later they were out of clothes and all that was left was for Annie to try on the underwear.

"Do you want me to go outside?" he asked, noticing her hesitation.

"No. It would be better to stick together." She chewed on her lip nervously.

"I'll just sit over here. I promise I won't look." He sat down on the large bench, facing away from her. He could hear clothes rustling as she started trying them on. He stayed quiet, ignoring the sounds of Annie undressing as well as his desire to turn around and watch.

"Finding anything?" he said after a few minutes.

"A few. What time is it?" she asked.

"We have a little more than an hour," he said after looking at his watch.

"Um, I think I'm ready. Let's go get some cds." He turned around and took her bag once again.

"I think I saw a music store on the wing the others went towards." After readying her gun, she opened the door slowly. She swung it the rest of the way open and pointed her gun at the form in the doorway.
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I'm not too happy with this one but the deadline is Friday. I'm trying to wrap it up quickly but not too quickly.

Anyone have any suggestions on how to make this one better? I'll probably edit it later.

Sorry it's kind of late too. That whole 4 comment thing didn't work so well. I had more readers than I thought!

Comments are always appreciated :)