Gabriel paused briefly in thought. "The whole disappearin' boyfriends thing, deaths in our pasts, lousy jobs and bosseseses . . . And I'll letcha in ona secret. We have one more thing in common." Gabriel giggled.

"What'sthat?" Tegwen said, trying not to return the smile.

"We're getting slobbering drunk together!" She crowed.

"Hey, I didn't get drink!" Tegwen snapped, standing up. Megavolt caught her as she slipped from the stool. Her equilibrium didn't seem very equal anymore after so much alcohol.

"You are too drink, er, drunk." Gabriel objected.

"I'm not as think as you drunk I am, ocifer!" Tegwen sputtered. "What do you mean there's blood in my alcohol?!"

"You're not the ocifer?" Gabriel leaned far forward over her stool and squinted at Tegwen.

"Who's the ocifer? Where's an officicer?" Tegwen looked around.

"Um . . . I really think I ought to take you home." Megavolt said to Tegwen, shaking his head. "You need to sleep this off."

Tegwen finally burst out laughing. "Ahh, that felt really . . . painful, actually," she managed to gasp, continuing to laugh.

"You laugh good...." Gabriel giggled. "I know this guy who laughs like a machine gun. Talk about nasty!"

"Come on, I'll take you home," Megavolt insisted, picking Tegwen up by the arm.

"Oh God!" Tegwen said, through her laughter. "Laughing like a machine gun?! That must be so gross!" She peeled Megavolts hand from her arm "Okay, youknowwhat?" Tegwen slurred. "I'm startingtothink maybe Ishouldgo -- go -- to the bathroom beforeweleave."

Megavolt frowned at her pacing, trying to recount just how much alcohol she'd put away in that petite body of hers in less than an hour. How she could still stand, talk -- how she wasn't unconscious or worse -- with so much alcohol flooding her system, he didn't know. "Uh, Tegwen --"

She didn't seem to hear him. "'Ey Mitch, where'syer bathrooms?"

"Just around the corner," said Mitch, pointing to them. "You're not going to go passing out in there, I hope."

"Pssh," Tegwen replied, making a grand gesture when she only meant to blow him off with a tiny wave. "I'm fiiine." Her voice dropped an octave between the two words. She went to saunter off with a sexy trot but to onlookers who weren't, in fact, completely inebriated themselves, Tegwen staggered the whole way.



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