Hammers and Strings

William knocked on the door, and we were instantly grabbed and sucked into Butcher's apartment. Personally, I don't like being molested by my friends. Just putting that out there, Sisky.

"You could've just let us walk in," I said, rubbing my arms.

"So...are you two a happy couple yet?"

"No." Me.

"Yes." William.

"I'll take that as a maybe." I glared at Sisky. "Okay...maybe not?" He held his arms high up in the air. "I don't know!"

"How've you guys been able to survive?" I asked when Kate brought William and me some coffee.

"Stole stuff."

"From..?"

"Other people's apartments, duh. If they're going to be zombies, they don't need that food." Sisky crossed his arms. "What about you two?"

"We just ate whatever William had. See? We actually respect the privacy of others." I rolled my eyes. They were desperate enough to steal stuff?

"Because all Lex had in her apartment was alcohol." Oh, thank you, William. Butcher raised his eyebrows. "So, we went down to my place." I still had no idea why he moved into my apartment complex.

"Lexi, you can't drink a lot," Butcher claimed. "I remember you were passed out on the couch after two and a half beers."

"Those were Heinekens!" I protested.

"Whatever. I remember you could only take five shots on your twenty-first birthday." Mike laughed. "We finished the rest of 'em for you."

"No more teasing Lexi," I grumbled, attempting to drown myself within my mug of coffee. It didn't work. William wrapped an arm around my shoulders, but I weaseled over to the other side. Kate smiled at me. "Glad you and Butch are back together!" I commented, changing the subject. "And I'm impressed by how you managed to drag him to Chicago."

"Why thank you, Lex." She curtsied, and Butcher motioned for her to sit in his lap. They're so cute together.

Cue William trying to scoot closer to me. I stood up.

"So what happens when there's someone in the apartment you broke into?" William's curious. This was a legitimate question.

"Well, we almost get shot, and then become really good friends." Sisky pointed his thumb to the door. "That's what happened to me and Bob, who's down the hallway."

"..Or we shoot the zombies down with Butcher's shotgun," Chiz said.

"Oh yeah." Sisky nodded. "We do that too."

"Help me with lunch?" Kate asked, struggling as she tried to stand up. Butcher kept her back, but he finally let her go. I shrugged and stood up too, not knowing what else to do. Kate and I went into the kitchen, and she started to rummage the fridge. She smiled and pulled out a whole chicken, fresh herbs, potatoes, onions, garlic, tomatoes...I peaked in the fridge.

"Is there a mini Whole Foods in there or something?" I squinted in the box, and it was just chuck-full of things. It could feed a small army. "You could feed South Africa with all of this food," I claimed, staring at everything they had gathered from other people's apartments.

"Well, half of it's from Patrick's fridge," Kate said, closing the door. She grabbed the cutting board and a knife. "Help me out?" I nodded. "Wash the vegetables and chop them up for me."

"What are you making?"

"I'm sticking this in the oven, but I need you to wash and chop the garlic and herbs first."

I complied, but stopped. "You got all of this from Patrick's?" My jaw was slightly open. Does he just stock up on food for kicks?

"Well, he said his house was my house, and we needed the food, so I grabbed it." She shrugged, rinsing the chicken and filling the pot with water.

"What are you doing? I thought you were sticking it in the oven."

"I am. After I boil it."

"Why?"

"Because then it cooks faster. Duh." She pointed to herself. "Just leave it to the chef, okay?"

I rolled my eyes and continued to slice the onions. I tried my best to not touch my eyes, knowing that it would be a dumb idea. So once I finished, I ran into the bathroom, which was right next to Butcher's room. I heard some murmuring, and it sounded like Butcher and Sisky were having a small chat.

I stepped out of the room, peaking in on them. The door was slightly open.

"We can't get them back together. If Lex doesn't want that, then we can't force anything. It's just not fair to her," Butcher replied. Sisky scowled at him.

"Of course we can. I'll twist and break her arm if I have to. They're miserable without each other. I mean, you did hear what Billiam said about Lexi's fridge, though, right?" Sisky frowned. "The only way to fix this mess is for them to get back together. Well, not the zombie thing, but you get what I mean."

I stepped away from the door, frazzled. Was I really that needy of William? I just started drinking because I acquired a taste for alcohol after I dumped him. I wasn't miserable. I didn't know what they were talking about.

They didn't understand my side of the story.