Chapter 2: July 4, 2001

Milo hastily opened his eyes, then looked over at his alarm clock.

'Fuck. Fuck. Fuck."

He groggily mumbled to himself as he shot up out of bed.

"I'm going to be fucking late."

He said to himself, then took a drink from a half-empty can of Cherry Coke. He put it back down before he picked up a pair of skinny jeans and sniffed them.

"These don't smell too terrifying."

He put his jeans on, then grabbed his belt as he rummaged through his closet for a shirt to wear. Then after a few seconds, he grabbed his favorite 'Motley Crue' t-shirt. When he started to put his t-shirt on, he spotted his step-sister, Trisha, checking him out and smiled.

"Like what you see?"

Trisha looked down and blushed, then shook her head before she looked back up.

"Yeah sure, Milo. You have the world's sexiest abs."

She sarcastically winked before she walked down the hallway towards the kitchen.

He chuckled as he finished getting ready, then as he put on his leather jacket, his father walked into the room.

"Um, hi, Dad... What's up?"

"Not much, I was just wondering how late you were planning on staying out?"

Henri asked with his heavy French accent as he sat on Milo's bed and lit a cigar.

"I'll probably be home a little after the fireworks are over."

Milo said as he took the last sip from his can of Cherry Coke.

Henri nodded as he took a drag from his cigar.

"Good."

He stood up from the bed and walked out of the bedroom.

Milo just watched his father with a confused expression. He shrugged as he opened a drawer and pulled out his wallet than a pack of Marlboro Reds before closing the drawer. He put the pack of cigarettes in the inside pocket of his leather jacket before walking out of his bedroom, into the kitchen, then he stopped and looked at Trisha with another confused expression.

"Weren't you going out with your boyfriend today, Trish?"

She turned and looked at him with a deep sadness in her eyes. She was doing her best to try and hide it but failed in that effort.

"Yeah, he, um, he broke up with me last night."

"That sucks."

He said with a sympathetic tone in his voice, then he walked over and hugged her. He thought for a few moments before breaking the hug.

"You can come hang out with me, Nemesis, and Sasha if you want."

He offered with a smirk before hopping up onto the counter and sat there as he waited for her response.

"Thank you, Milo, but it's okay, I'm just gonna hang out with Mom and Wes today."

She gave him a little smile. Then she let out a little chuckle as she watched him make a silly face and pick up her coffee. After he took a drink, he stuck his tongue out at her and slowly placed the cup back down. Watching him do that made her cute chuckle grow into an even more adorable laugh.

He smiled at her as she laughed, then started laughing himself, after roughly a minute they both slowly stopped.

"Okay."

He said as he got down from the counter and gave her another hug.

"I'll see you later, Trish."

She hugged him back and slightly started to snuggle her face into his chest, then she broke the hug and smiled.

"See you later, Milo."

She picked up her coffee cup and refilled it before walking out into the living room.

For a few moments, he watched her until she disappeared into the living room. He walked out the front door, then when he got about a block down the sidewalk, he pulled out his pack of cigarettes and lit one.

- - -

Nemesis sat on a bench in the park. She had her headphones on as she listened to 'Bloodflowers' by The Cure, she held her Sony Walkman in her lap. She started looking around the park as she continued to listen to her music. That's when she felt hands suddenly tickling the sides of her neck, which made her jump.

"What the fuck!"

She yelled as she swung around, then when she saw Milo, she playfully punched him in the shoulder.

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

She let out a laugh before she hugged him.

The smile on his face was warm as he let out a laugh and hugged her back.

"Maybe."

After he responded he looked around the park, a confused expression spread across his face.

"Wait, wasn't Sasha coming too?"

He looked back at Nemesis as he asked his question.

As their eyes met, she let out a subdued little sigh before she answered him.

"Yeah, she called me this morning and said that she made plans to visit her grandma today."

"Oh, well."

He shrugged and gave her a playful smile. That's when he noticed her backpack and pointed at it with a nod.

"What kind of goodies you got in there?"

Her gaze drifted to what he was pointing at and smiled before she looked back at him.

"Oh, you want to see what I brought, huh?"

The smile on her face was playful yet devilishly adorable.

A gleam appeared in his eyes as he watched her open the backpack. Then he walked over and watched her pull out a bottle of Jack Daniels'.

"Awesome."

He said with a grin as he went to grab it.

She pulled the bottle away and shook her head.

"No, this is for later, Milo."

"But it's my bottle."

He watched her and let out a light sigh.

She let out a cute giggle as she ignored him and placed the bottle back into her backpack.

"I brought snakes too."

She bent over as she spoke.

As he got up behind her, he playfully spanked her before looking into her backpack.

"I see."

He said with a devilishly, playful laugh.

She pulled out a little bag of chips and tossed it back to him. Then she quickly turned around and grabbed his crotch as a devilish gleam appeared in her eyes.

"Two can play that game."

A little chuckle escaped from between her lips as she moved her hand. Then she turned around and pulled out her purple portable battery-powered boombox.

A tiny smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth as he watched her.

"Fair play."

He said as he walked back over to her backpack and knelt by it, then he reached in, pulling out her little CD case.

"What CDs did you bring?"

She leaned over and pulled the pack of cigarettes out of his jacket pocket. As she pulled out a single cigarette and lit it, she watched him go through her CD case.

"Only the good stuff, duh."

The cigarette dangled from her lips as she playfully smacked him on the forehead. Then she sat on the ground next to him as she pointed at 'Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me' by The Cure, one of their collective favorite albums.

His gaze drifted down to the CD she had pointed at, then pulled it out of the case.

"Awesome."

The word left his lips as he popped open the CD player on the top of the boombox. Then he placed the CD in and gently closed the lid before he pressed play. As the first song started, he opened the little bag of potato chips she tossed him.

She shook her head as she let out a little chuckle before snatching a chip from his hand.

"Mine."

She spoke the single word with a cute, innocent quality in her voice. Then she adorably ate the chip as she looked into his eyes.

The little grin reappeared, again pulling at the corners of his lips. Then he pulled a cigarette out of his pack. After he lit the cigarette and took a quick drag, he leaned over then licked her lips.

She pulled away from him as she let out an adorable little giggle. Then she bit her lower lip as she devilishly looked at him.

"Oh."

"Yes?"

He gave her a wink as the word escaped his lips. He fell backward as she playfully tackled him, and her lips pressed against his.

- - -

Sasha Gray sat in her Grandmother's living room as she waited for her to return with tea. She suddenly snapped out of her thoughts when she heard her Grandma return from the kitchen, two cups of tea in tow.

"Thank you."

She spoke as she stood from her seat to meet her Grandma halfway. As she gently took the cup, she kissed her Grandmother on the cheek.

"You're very welcome, sweetheart."

Judith Gray spoke as she sat down in her comfy chair.

"So, explain to me what happened to your arm, darling?"

She asked and took a sip of her tea as she waited for her Granddaughter to respond.

Sasha looked down at the floor as she thought about her response for a few seconds.

Then she looked up at her Grandma as she spoke.

"Um, I slipped down the stairs at home, I know clumsy me."

After she spoke, she forced out a little laugh to hide the almost painfully obvious lie she had just told.

Judith looked at her Granddaughter suspiciously as she took another sip of tea, then she nodded as she set the cup down.

"You got to be more careful, okay, sweetheart."

She said with a gentle tone of voice, not wanting to make her Granddaughter uncomfortable. She looked out the window and smiled because she knew how much Sasha loved the fourth of July.

"It's starting to get dark. The fireworks will be starting soon."

Sasha's replay of what actually happened to her arm was cut short when she heard her Grandma say those words. She looked up with a big happy smile spread across her pretty face, and a sparkle shined in her beautiful green eyes.

"Awesome, I can't wait."

They sat there and watched their favorite television show, then they both looked up when they heard the first pop from outside. That's when they both got up, tea in tow, and made their way outside to watch the display.

- - -

Milo watched Nemesis as she looked up at the fireworks with a jubilant expression on her gorgeous face. He smiled before taking a drink from the bottle of now open Jack Daniels', then he placed a cigarette between his lips and lit it as he looked up to watch the fireworks, as well.

"Beautiful, aren't they?"

He looked back at her as she spoke and smiled.

"Yeah, they are,"

He spoke before taking a deep drag from his cigarette. Then he took another drink from the bottle before he handed it over to her.

She looked over at it and smiled as she accepted the bottle. She placed it to her lips, then took a drink from it. Her gaze drifted over to him before she quickly snatched the cigarette from between his lips. She took a single drag before placing it back between his lips. That's when they both turned to look at each other. Their eyes met as the song ' Just Like Heaven' started to play again.

He smiled at her as she was suddenly straddling his legs, then he let out a laugh as she playfully pushed him to the ground.

"What are you doing, babe?"

A beautiful smile appeared on her face as she looked into his eyes.

"Milo, I'm gonna tell you something, but only if you promise not to laugh at me."

The words drunkenly escaped from her lips as she rubbed his cheek, then took the cigarette from him.

"Okay, I promise."

He smiled back at her, curious about what she was going to say.

Then she leaned down and pressed her body against his as she whispered in his ear.

"I love you, Milo."

After she spoke, she moved to a better position to look into his eyes and waited.

His gaze stayed glued to hers as his smile grew, then he let out a little laugh before he responded to her.

"I know. You are my girlfriend after all, but I love you too, Nemesis."