Tearjerker Masochist

As I sat, watching her eat her chocolate and mozzarella sticks, I couldn't help but feel incredibly guilty.

"Zee?" I grinned.

She looked up, a stick halfway to her mouth.

"Do you remember that bag that I packed for you if we ever had to leave for a few days?"

"Yes..." she said.

"Go get it."

She pouted. "But I don't want to leave."

"We're not leaving forever. Just long enough to take care of some things."

"Things? Like, people things?"

I giggled. "Yes."

Her eyes lit up. "Yay!"

"Oh, that reminds me."

"Hmm?"

I threw her a pack of customized bullets. "They were insanely expensive, but I got you something."

"Ooh, what is it?"

"You'll see. Why don't you go do some practice with your new toys?"

"But I don't want to know yet."

"Well, then go practice with your new gun. It's fun. I practiced with one like it, and it's not really like your others."

"Really?"

"Yup. I just have to do a few things before we go. Get your stuff together, and make sure you have all of the things that I packed for you."

She pouted. "But I don't like that stuff. It's all so... normal."

"I know. You tell me. All the time. And that's not my fault."

"Then don't make me take it."

"I will and am. Just go. I'll be out in about a half hour, and then we can leave, okay?"

"Where are we going?"

"Somewhere you've wanted to go for a long time."

"Huntington Beach?" she said hopefully.

"Nope. Los Angeles."

"Why the hell would I want to go to Los Angeles? All there is there is stuck-up celebrity types..." her eyes widened. "Are we...YAY! I knew I loved you for a reason."

I laughed as she jumped up to get her stuff, then ran back to get her food, taking it with her.

I went to the bathroom, where I'd set up all the dye, getting it ready. I looked at the bottle, deciding if I really wanted to do this or not. Then I got over myself, and did it.

It smelled horribly, and took forever, but finally, I was done.

"Phury!" Zsadist whined from outside the bathroom door. "Are you finished yet?! I wanna go!"

"Do you even know whose house we're going to?"

"No," she admitted, "but I wanna go so I can see how much fun it's going to be."

"You'll love it. Now wait a sec."

"But Phury!"

"Bu Zsadist!" I mocked.

"Fine," she pouted through the door. "What are you doing anyway?"

"Dying my hair purple," I said honestly.

She scoffed. "Seriously, what are you doing?"

"Be patient."

"That word is not in my vocabulary."

"Yes, I know." I rolled my eyes. "I'll be out in a sec."

I put the finishing touches on, then examined it closely in the mirror. "This looks a lot better than I thought it would."

Humming, I put all the stuff up, ignoring Zee's persistent talking. "Don't make me come in there!" she threatened.

"How are you planning on doing that? The door is locked, bolts are all shut, and it's not a wooden door."

I heard her pause. "Phury, get out here!"

I laughed. "All right, I'm coming, I'm coming!"

I opened the door and saw her eyes widen and jaw dropped.

"What do you think?" I asked, striking a pose.

"What the fuck did you do?"

"I dyed my hair purple. What, did you think I was lying to you?"

"Why?"

"I needed a change, and people were starting to recognize me."

"Won't dying your hair purple attract attention?"

I shrugged. "Probably. But I don't intend on letting people pay much attention to me." I bumped her hip and winked. "Don't be jealous."

She rolled her eyes. "Can we leave now?"

"Yeah, let me go get my bag. Grab me an apple from the fridge, will you?" She nodded, and a few minutes, we were in the car heading to LA.