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Aaron came home from the post office feeling pissed off. His check was lost in the mail, perhaps stolen, and he'd have to wait until next month's check. At least Allison's little stint with the eviction notice bough him time. Helene would still be out at her job, where had Allison been all day?

Aaron found his way into the girls' bedroom. Allison sat on her bed furiously painting at a canvas hanging on a large easel. She was going berserk with the red paint, not only with sponges and brushes, but with her bare hands and finger nails she clawed at the paint as she grunted. She stabbed the canvas with a brush slathered in red and yellow paint and ran it down the canvas. She was having another fit.

"Mouse? Are you okay?" Aaron asked warily. Allison turned around to face him. Her face was covered in orange paint. Her scowl lightened up barely when she saw Aaron standing there. "What's the matter?"

"That son of a bitch!" Allison yelled. Aaron nodded.

"Mr. Hottie...I mean, Andy?" asked Aaron. Allison broke down into tears and began crying.

"His fiancée is such a bitch! How could he be in love with her? She accused me of being a whore several times! Andy's changed so much, and not for the better! He's such an asshole! Do you KNOW how hard it is not to punch someone's face in because they thoughtlessly abandoned you a decade ago?"

Aaron shook his head and sat down on her Allison's bed with her. "Mouse, I can honestly say that I haven't felt that way ever."

"What does she have that I don't? Andy must see something in her that I don't have. Otherwise, we might be married by now!"

"Mouse, baby! If you married that guy, you'd never have met me or Helene! Maybe it's a blessing in disguise!" Aaron got up and opened a window. The paint fumes were starting to get him dizzy.

"Maybe so, Aaron. But still, Andy's changed so much! That Vanessa chick kicked me out of the apartment because I fooled around with her a bit," Allison said. Aaron nodded knowingly.

"'I am a witch' or 'I am a nymphomaniac'?" he asked.

"I am a Satanist," answered Allison.

"Clever choice," he said. "Do you still love him?" asked Aaron. Allison frowned.

"No. No, I don't. I've moved on. He REALLY has moved on!" Allison buried her face in her hands. "I don't. I can't love him. How can I? He's not who he used to be!"

Aaron smiled briefly. "What did he use to be like?"

Allison laughed for a second. "He was sweet. He cared more about the inside of a person than the outside. He was really protective and gentle. He would've stepped in front of as moving train for me. But then he abandoned me. Now he's a money-hungry jackass who chooses breasts over brains! Oh well, it's over. I ran out on him this afternoon and don't expect for him to come crawling back to me anytime soon."

Aaron nodded and stood up. "I'm sorry for prying," he apologized.

"No big deal."

Helene appeared in the doorway, still wearing her record store vest. "Allison, Andy's here," she informed.

"Oh fuck it!" said Allison, standing up and kicking the wall. "Throw him out, Helene!" Aaron grabbed Allison's shoulders.

"No wait! Calm down, Mouse, take another stab at the canvas if you want..." he offered. Allison grabbed a paintbrush and swung it at the canvas hard. The brush not only splattered the canvas but also the walls. Thank god for the tarp she'd pinned to the wall. "Mouse, doll. It's going to be okay."

"Stand by in case I need to kick his ass and need backup, alright?" asked Allison. Aaron snickered. Helene nodded.

Allison walked into the living room. Andy was there, looking good as ever. Allison stood her ground. Son of a bitch...that no-good son of a bitch...

"Have you been painting?" asked Andy. Allison was covered in red paint.

"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be fucking your Barbie doll?" asked Allison. Andy double blinked. Here it goes...

"Oh come on! That's not fair Allison, you sound like a teenager! We're adults! Vanessa happens to be very sensitive!"

"Yeah," snorted Allison. "Sensitive enough to call me a prostitute!"

"What's wrong with her? Vanessa is a beautiful woman!" said Andy in protest. Allison grimaced.

"The shell of an M&M may be colorful, but that doesn't mean the chocolate inside isn't rotting," she said. That quote was Aaron's, a result of a night of hitting the bottle too hard. "You are so goddamn shallow!"

"Shallow? Me? Oh come on! You're so quick to judge, Allison!" Andy yelled. Allison shook her head.

"I don't know you anymore, Andrew Clark! What happened to you? Did your first big paycheck blind the big heart that you had in high school? Did your girlfriend take your sensibility and cram it in her DD bra? Did your open mind shut its doors when you opened your office doors the first time? In high school-"

"-In high school? That was ten years ago! We're not 18 anymore!"

"Why did you forget about me?" Allison asked. Andy went silent. "The day you left for college, you promised me you'd call weekly and visit whenever you got the chance! I didn't get a word from you for ten fucking years! How do you think I felt? For a long time I'd thought you'd been killed on the plane to Ohio! But I gave up. I wasn't about to wait! Am I'm sure as hell glad I didn't wait! Vanessa can fucking keep you, because I swear to god if I ever have to look at your disgustingly shallow face one more time, I'll shoot myself!" Allison huffed.

"Oh, that REAL mature, Allison!" said Andy. "You don't know Vanessa, you don't know what I've been through to get where I am the past ten years, so get off my case!"

"Get your head out of your ass, Andy! You make it sound like graduating from college and owning a business sound like torture! Yeah, look at where I live. I worked my ass off for THIS, and you think it was a goddamn walk in the park just because the place is falling apart and I can't afford to even live with a decent roof over my head! Well there are more important things in life than money!"

"Aw, you're breaking my heart!" said Andy. "WAKE UP! It's the 90's! You sound like you're fucking Cinderella!"

Allison had enough of this. She grabbed a lamp from the coffee table and hurled it at Andy. Andy ducked and the lamp shattered against the opposite wall. Andy looked at Allison in horror. Allison hollered, "FUCK YOU!!!!!!!!!!" Andy could have sworn he saw some of John Bender's old fire in her eyes. Andy, infuriated, quickly scrambled out the door. Allison's eyes welled up as she felt a heated pain rush to her head. She sank to the floor and cried. Aaron and Helene ran to her aid. Allison sobbed uncontrollably. Aaron lifted her in his arms and took her to bed where he lied her down and pulled a quilt over her body.

Allison felt her throat getting scratchy and painful. She felt almost like she had the flu. Allison felt asleep around 7 PM and didn't wake up until 10 AM the next day.