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Rose blinked in suprise when she was handed a rusted skillet. Holding it up, above her head, she frowned and patted it against her hand, arching an eyebrow at the bubbly man beside her. "Uhm, Frank? What am I doing with this?"

"Oh," Frank laughed, adjusting the handle. "You're holding it wrong, Rose Petal."

"But, what do I do with it?"

"You hit people with it."

"Hit them?"

"Mhm."

"But... Why?"

"Don't you know the game, Rosie?" Mikey teased, clutching a small pot. "I would've figured from last time, that you'd know some of the rules by now."

"Last time," Rose drawled. "I was hit in the head. I don't remember much from it."

"Oh, yeah." Frank stratched the back of his neck. "Sorry about that, Rose Petal. I didn't mean to hit you. You just got in the way and--"

"It's alright." Rose smiled. "Now. Would someone care to explain the rules?"

Bob smirked, clamping a hand hard on her shoulder. "Just run."

"Run?"

"As fast as you can."

"Run?"

"Yeah. And, don't try to hide -- Someone will find you. You are human, after all."

"But, what do I do if someone does find me?"

Ray laughed. "Attack."

"With what?"

"Your weapon of choice." Mikey pointed to her skillet. "What else?" Mikey glanced out the window and smirked, throwing his strainer up in the air. "Ready?"

"Uhm," Rose murmured. "Mikey? What damage are you going to do with a strainer?"

"You'll see. A strainer can be quite deadly when used correctly." He grinned, bearing all of his teeth.

"Oh."

"Yep." Miley held up his hand, clenching his fists. "Last one standing! Go!"

Rose stood, baffled, as she watched the boys disappear so quickly. They were completely out of her sights in less than a second. She sighed, shaking her head, and ventured off on her own, clutching her skillet close to her chest. Only yesterday, she thought this would be fun. But, now, she couldn't help but wonder what Gerard was doing at the moment.
Her thoughts were disrupted by a loud clanking sound coming from upstairs. Mikey's victory yell echoed throughtout the manor. She didn't even see them going upstairs.

"Oh, my." Rose whispered, inspecting one of the walls. It seemed as if they got a little too crazy and hit the wall instead. Well, better the wall than their skulls. Though, she doubts it would hurt them too much. After all, they were the walking undead.

"Come back here, you little shit!" Bob's voice rang out. "I'm gonna knock your fuckin' block off!"

"No, no! You've got to catch me first!" Frank giggled.

"Come back here!"

"Rose!" Ray hissed, mashing his lips together. "Come on!"

"Ray? What's going on?"

Ray bit his bottom lip, holding in his laughter. "Frank smacked Bob over the head with a vase." Rose furrowed her eyebrows, about to question further, when Ray silenced her. "Mikey's on the move. He's gonna try and sneak you out."

"Sneak me out?"

"Yeah," Ray grabbed her hand, pulling her down a hallway. "He wants to make sure you're getting the full effect of the game."

"Full effect?"

"He's gonna hit you, Rose."

"Oh," Rose frowned. "Oh! Why?"

"That's part of the game, Rose."

"Of course." Rose mumbled, ducking behind a statue.

"Just wait here." Ray instructed. "I'll come back for you."

"Wait! Where are you--" Rose sighed when he turned the corner, nearly too quick for her to see. She pushed her back as close to the wall as it would allow and closed her eyes, listening to the queaks and quakes of the mansion. But, one in particular stood out. It was rough and labored. It grew louder and louder as it turned down the hallway she was in. She could hear the thud of it's feet hitting the ground. It was just about to reach her when... "Oh! Mikey! I'm so sorry! I'm sorry! I-"

"Goddammit!" Mikey cursed, clamping a hand on his forehead. "What the fuck, Rose?"

"I didn't mean to--"

"Bullshit." Mikey snapped. "You hit me in the fuckin' head."

"Well-"

"Well."

"--you were going to hit me first, Mikey."

"Who said?!"

"Ray." Rose answered, pushing herself off the wall. "And stalking down the hallway with your strainer raised up isn't enough of a give-a-way?"

"I was... Checking the pasta."

"What pasta, Mikey?" Rose giggled, arching an eyebrow.

"The--" He stuttered. "Well... It fell out! Alright?"

"You didn't have any pasta earlier, Miley."

"Well... Who made you the Questin Queen? Hm?"

"I'm sorry," Rose laughed, holding her side. "You look so angry."

"Damn right, I'm angry!" Mikey growled. "You hit me in the fuckin' head!"

"What's all this?" Bob asked, coming around the corner with Ray and Frank in tow. "What happened?"

"She fuckin' hit me." Mikey snapped.

"It was an accident. I didn't see him, and--"

"You hit Mikey?" Ray asked. "How the hell did you pull that off?"

"W-What?"

"Mikey always beats us." Frank grinned, slinging his arm over her shoulder. "No one has managed to hit him in almost thirty years; Let alone a human. Not even Gerard could get that little freak, and he invented the game."

"Who're you calling little, you fuc--"

"Mikey," Bob laughed. "Enough. Alright? She beat you."

"So... I won?" Rose smiled, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "I really won?"

"I guess so," replied Ray, tossing his weapon to the floor. "Frank got Bob and I got Frank."

"And I got Ray," Mikey mumbled.

"So," Rose shrugged. "What now?"

"Where'd Gerard go?" Bob asked, looking over his shoulder.

"Hunting." Mikey answered, looking Rose over. He nodded his head down the hall and grabbed her elbow. "I need to talk to you. Alone."

"Where are we--"

"No questions." He led them down a short hallwway and into a sitting room. He locked the door behind them and sat Rose down in one of the three chairs. "Rose?"

"Hm? What is it, Mikey?" Rose frowned. "Did I do something?"

"No," He shook his head. "It's about my brother."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"So?" Rose nodded, clearing her throat. "What do you need to say?"

"I've noticed a... Change... In him after your arrival here."

"What sort of change?"

"Well," Mikey pursed his lips, running a hand over his chin. "He's more demanding, for one. Always ordering us to watch after you. Look after you." He flashed a half-smile. "It's kind of annoying, really."

"Sorry."

"No." Mikey grinned. "Don't be. It's a good thing; His behavior."
"It is?"

"Mhm." He nodded. "Don't you see, Rose?"

"See what?"

"How he's changed."

"Well, I didn't really know him before to compare."

"Right," He sighed. "Well, he's a lot less... Violent. Because of you."

"How do you know it's becuase of me?"

"How do you know it isn't?"

"Well--"

"Stop." He laughed. "You can't prove me wrong, Rose. You can't because it's true. Who else could have this effect on him? Not me. Not Bob. Certainly not Ray."

"Frank?"

"Maybe," Mikey smiled. "The point is -- Don't give him anything you're not ready for."

"How?"

"Don't give him your heart, Rose. At least, until you're ready."

"Mikey," Rose mumbled. "I've only just began expressing myself. Why would I ruin it so quickly?"

"So, it'd be a bad thing to love Gerard?"

"What? No. It's just that--"

"You don't want to love him--"

"No."

"Or, you already do?"

Rose arched an eyebrow, tilting her head. "Why is Gerard such a feverant topic?"

"I'm just trying to figure this out."

"Figure what out, Mikey?"

"You. What you want with him. Your intentions. Everything."

"My intentions?"

"Why are you so fond of my brother?"

"I hardly think this is appropriate conversation--"

"I just want to know if your intention's are good." Mikey stated. "He's waited a long time for you, Rose."

"Waited? For me?"

"For someone like you, yes."

"I'm sorry, but, I don't understand."

"You will." Mikey rose from his spot, heading towards the door. "It might be best if you didn't mention this to Gerard."

Rose nodded, watching as the door shut. If she wasn't confused when she came in, she certainly was now. Mikey had left her mind racing with questions. What was his alterior motive behind all this? Did he think this was a game to her? She didn't just hand her heart away. No. That wasn't her. But, she'd keep true to her word and not mention this to Gerard.

Although, she had some interesting questions about his past. And the other women in it.



A/N - Hello, loves! A quick update for you. I realize there may be a lot of punctuation/spelling errors in this chapter. I didn't proof read it before I posted it. I'm getting things ready for August 31st -- That's when I begin college. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as much as I did writing it. Thank you for reading and, please, don't forget to R&R for me! Thank you. xoxo - Esther Rose.