Okay.

Okay, so…

I'm not gonna lie, in a fit of boredom and writer's block (and not wanting to work while at work, go figure) I started writing something else. Four something elses.

The first is a Walking Dead/Left 4 Dead Cross Over with Daryl and Zoey as the pairing. Zoey swears a lot, Sasha is a useless idiot (and I might kill her in this one) and Daryl is his strange redneck attractive self (I think he is attractive 'cause I keep getting Boondock Saint flash backs – I dunno). Some smut, some zombies and some possible killing of an OC that I both made and cannot stand.

The second is a Skyrim story, starting after the main campaign and the beginning of Dawnstar. Vampires, werewolves, possible Dragon/OC (BECAUSE THERE NEEDS TO BE MOAR!) or Ulfric/OC.

Third is a Brave story, featuring Merida/OC and triggered by mass amounts of Karen Marie Moning books.

Aaand the last is a transformers story, featuring a grown up Annabelle Lennox paired with a bot that still has yet to be decided..

… And I was thinking about doing a Borderlands 2 Story…

._.

Might post one, might post all four (five?). Just a heads up in case anyone gets pissy if stories are neglected. You may nominate which one gets posted; it might or might not influence me to work on one in particular.

Also, Just in Passing is gradually being rewritten. Currently about 1/3 of the way through the first chapter. As well as this story, just a bit of editing here and there.

THEN! To top it all off, I am writing an original story all on my own – there is a significant difference between my fan fiction and my regular writing. Soo…

So yeah.

In total, there was eight people at a designated pit of dust in the middle of nowhere. Two of which were, thankfully, people that Zoey knew as integrating herself with a group of people that she didn't know was always an incredibly awkward time. She knew Keith and she knew Ellis, which was super, but the three other men and two other women were all strangers and, well, the ladies were gorgeous and tan and stick thin.

They were sporting tank tops and short-shorts and Zoey was in her dirty jeans with a new set of boots so her converse wouldn't get muddy while Ellis showed her how to drive the four-wheeler. The ladies didn't seem too interested in the mudding aspect of the trip. They were sitting in a couple of folding camping chairs, magazines and books in respective laps while the three men were unloading coolers from the back of their trucks. There was five four wheelers set out along the trucks, each varying in size and color. Ellis and Keith were both greeted before Zoey was introduced. Jason was a tall, muscular-skinny man with an attractive smile and green eyes. There was Bubba, a mammoth of a man who looked close to a lumber jack with a full beard, thick hair and dark eyes. Finally there was Jimmy who Zoey simply did not like. Shaggy hair and a killer smile accompanied by a too sure of himself cockiness that Zoey found irritating. The two ladies were Jill and Victoria. Jill was a tiny tanned blonde with a perfect smile and a cosmo magazine in her lap, Ellis said that she was Jimmy's sort-of girlfriend ("They get t'gether and call it quits about every week 'er so" he whispered into her ear). The second, Victoria, was a bottle-red head (Or, at least Zoey assumed it was bottled. It certainly didn't look natural – not with those eyebrows), lightly tanned with a thick book in her lap – she was introduced as Jason's girlfriend.

It wasn't until all of the coolers were unloaded that Zoey noticed the gun cases, the bags of ammunition and the earplugs were set out along with the hard weapon cases. Almost instantly, Zoey felt excitement bubble up into her system, knowing that if she couldn't ride on a four-wheeler worth a damn she was certainly be able to out-shoot every one of them.

As the ladies sat and read the men prepped themselves for their fun filled afternoon. Ellis had pulled Zoey over towards the larger four-wheelers, one clearly big enough for two people and walked her through the controls. He showed her how to turn it on, how to put it into reverse, neutral and first gear, then instructed her on how she would get to second and third and then he showed her how she would down shift.

"You ready to ride?" Ellis inquired, dipping his head to kiss her lips. "I will ride us out and you can drive us back in." He took a step back to hop onto the four-wheeler. Zoey crawled on behind him, putting his hands on his hips as she waited for him to take off.

One of the other boys rolled up beside them and Zoey was relieved to see that it was Bubba, his smile already in place as he sat on his own four-wheeler. He had goggles on over his eyes and he gestured for Ellis to take the lead.

"G'head," he called out over the sound of his engine and Ellis obliged by getting his vehicle into gear. Without much of a warning, Ellis gunned the engine, his thumb pressing down on the gas as he rapidly shifted through the gears. Zoey couldn't help but grin from ear to ear, holding onto Ellis as they shot through the dryer parts of the path and head-long into the muddy ruts. The four-wheeler suddenly dipped down, muddy water shooting up and over the front of the vehicle before spitting mud in all directions.

Zoey laughed, pressing her face against Ellis' back as she laughed, feeling the mud sling up against her back, her legs and thighs. Ellis shifted his weight, yanked on the handle bars and proceeded to swing the rear of the ATV around to the side. Zoey turned her head just in time to see mud shoot from the tires and up into Bubba's face who, thankfully, had his mouth closed. Not far behind him was Jason and Jimmy, both laughing and trying to kick up as much mud as they could while Ellis proceeded to lead.

xxXxx

By the time they were finished, Zoey was a wet muddy mess. Mud was smeared up along her cheeks, her knees and thighs had a decent coating of muck and grime, as did her back, her arms. Ellis was equally muddy as was Keith and Bubba. Jason and Jimmy managed to make it out fairly clean but that was because they would stop and attempt to clean themselves off; scraping off the mud as they went. Once the lot crawled off of their four-wheelers, the muddy group of men brought it in for a group hug with Zoey stuck in the middle.

This was fun.

Zoey needed this – a break from Sasha's self-created drama. No Spencer, no Ryan. For the first time, in a long time, Zoey felt comfortable in a group of strangers. There was no one here plotting to get into her pants, no one trying to get her to sleep with someone, or hook up or date.

"Alright, so we know you can't drive worth a damn," Bubba rumbled, patting a muddy head on the top of Zoey's head. Zoey huffed, pushing his massive hand away from her though she was smiling. She had managed to get stuck a total of seven times and in order to get out of the muddy hole, she and Ellis would have to get off of the four-wheeler and they would have to push, pull, tug and lift the machine out of the mud while Bubba, Keith and the two semi-clean boys sat back, laughed and kicked up mud. "You ready for Bubba to teach y't'shoot?"

Zoey gave him a wide smile, shaking her head. "Nope. I know how to shoot."

"We'll see about that!" Jimmy called from his truck.

Ellis smiled knowingly then pulled Zoey to him, giving her a quick smooch. "G'head and take a seat while we get the targets set up." She nodded and lingered off towards the two females. Jill and Victoria both looked up as Zoey lowered herself into one of the chairs.

Victoria smiled politely, discarding her reading in order to offer up the greeting. Zoey smiled in return, watching as the older woman looked her over. "Well lookit you, yer a hot mess sweetheart!" Her voice was lilting and soft, very Southern Belle. "If y'need I have my face wash that y'can use." Zoey's polite smile broadened and she looked down at herself, looking at the complete mess she had managed to become.

"I might take you up on that. I wish I would have brought my tooth brush," she offered, hoping to lure the woman into some friendly conversation.

Victoria laughed, nodding her head. "Dirt in yer mouth, huh? I ride every so often but, really, it's just too messy! Dirt 'n' mud in yer hair, in your nose and yer mouth- egh!"

Zoey shrugged her shoulders, watching as Victoria bent at the waist and went through her Coach purse.

"That's why I don't go," Jill offered, popping into the conversation seamlessly. "I barely like it when I get dirt under my nails. Can't stand it." To punctuate the point, she inspected her digits, sliding her thumbnail under her index finger's as if to scrape out some dirt. Her eyes flickered to Zoey just as Victoria was passing a packet of cleansing pads to Zoey. Zoey thanked her and withdrew one before taking the small moist cloth to her face and scrubbing.

"So did I hear right? Yer gonna shoot too?" Victoria asked.

Zoey nodded, examining the pad with an open grimace before flipping it over and scrubbing some more. "Yeah, I am pretty good and since Bubba made the comment about not being able to drive, I figure I ought to show him how to shoot."

"Y'know, Jason has been tryin' t'get me to get my concealed carrier's license but I have never shot a gun and-"

Zoey looked her way, furrowing her eyebrows. "Why not? If I was old enough to get one I would have it already. If you wanna get real technical, you can have one in your car if you don't have your license. Under the castle doctrine it…." Jill was watching with raised eyebrows, and jaw somewhat slacked. "Ha, nevermind."

Might as well start talking about your kill-death ratio on Call of Duty, Zoey…

Victoria waved her hands, "No, no, what does that do?"

Zoey cleared her throat, wadding up the dirty face pad and fishing out another just in case. "Um, the castle doctrine basically says that your car is a place where you are allowed to use deadly-force because it's your place, kinda…" she shrugged. "You can have a gun in your car and its fine."

Victoria tilted her head, studying Zoey carefully before smiling wide. "Yer daddy's a cop, huh?"

Zoey nodded, passing the packet back to her. "Yeah… How did you…?"

"Call it a good guess. Maybe you can do me a favor though, huh? When it comes to teaching anyone how to shoot, Jason doesn't have the patience. How 'bout you get warmed up and you give me a few pointers? Maybe Jill can try too, huh girly?"

Jill shrugged. "I don't like shooting."

Just go back to reading your Cosmo, Barbie…

"Zoe!" Ellis called just as Zoey was finished cleaning off her face, the two dirty scrub towels resting on her equally dirty knee. Zoey smiled, waving awkwardly before getting to her feet and approaching the group of gun wielding men. "Alright, darlin', pick your gun. We are starting with pistols."

She inspected the guns that weren't taken, noting the variety. There was a Smith & Wesson .357 Revolver with black finish, a Sig Sauer 1911 and two Glocks one a generation 3 and the other a generation 4. Zoey reached for the Gen 4, knowing that she was more familiar with the weapon. Instinctively, Zoey ejected the clip and pulled the slide, verifying that the gun itself wasn't loaded. She slid the clip back into the gun. Ellis was suddenly leaning down towards her, lips brushing her neck.

"Do that again."

"Ellis!" She laughed, giving him a push with her free hand.

"Yer sexy with a gun," he said quietly, winking at her playfully. Zoey couldn't help the vivid blush that spread into her cheeks. No one had ever, ever, referred to her as sexy. Absolutely no one (aside from guys on xbox live that didn't even know what she looked like).

"Alright, come on. Let's teach you how to shoot!" Jimmy said clapping his hands and snapping his fingers. Zoey frowned, looking over Ellis' shoulder as the man smiled. "C'mon, don't be shy."

Zoey shook her head, huffing out a sigh. "I can shoot you under the table."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Fifty bucks says you can't."

A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth and she set her free hand on her hip. "One hundred says I can."

XXxxXX

Ellis, Bubba and Keith pulled up chairs to sit back and watch while Jason went ahead and filled the other clips with ammo as the two had their little shoot-off. Ellis, personally, was pretty excited to watch his girlfriend with a gun, watching her possibly win some money on top of it was all the better. Jimmy wasn't his favorite person and he was hoping that Zoey would be able to put him in his place. The way he treated women sometimes was unforgivable and he hoped that Zoey would beat him at a man's game.

Zoey pulled the slide and let it slap back into place. With her gun loaded, she gestured for Jimmy to make the first shot.

They had set up a variety of targets, varying in size and distance with the last being an unopened bottle of beer at the furthest distance. Jimmy was sending her a wide smile, shaking his head as he gestured for her to take a shot.

"Go ahead sweetheart, take your time."

"No, no… Go ahead. Show me how it's done."

Ellis crossed his arms, watching as the man took the bait and stepped up to the designated firing line. The first shot was a dead-ringer, center of the target. Jimmy turned and smiled then went to aim for the next, all the while Zoey stood, free hand on her hip, head cocked and smiling wide.

She was excited, and it was obvious.

"Ten on Jim," Bubba grunted, arms crossed.

Keith tilted his head, arms also crossed. "I dunno, Zoe looks real sure, does she?"

"I am obligated t'vote for my girlfriend."

The second shot hit the target, also a perfect shot with the target being two feet further. The third he hit the white ring next to the center, the fourth and fifth were a bit too far Ellis to see and the last shot was the bottle. Jimmy took a breath, peered down the sights and then fired. The glass didn't shatter and Jimmy swore loudly, dropping the gun onto the fold-out table. Ellis looked to Zoey who was smiling quite happily, shifting her weight.

"What a shame."

"Shuddup," Jimmy groused. "Go 'head. Hundred bucks."

Zoey stepped up to the firing line and took her first shot. Like Jimmy, the first two shots were perfect, center of the target and from there the distance made them difficult to decipher. However, on the final shot the bottle shattered and, again, Jimmy cursed.

"Fuck," he hissed, kicking at the dirt.

Ellis watched as Zoey remained silent though she was smiling widely, knowingly. Switching the gun over to her left hand, Zoey raised the gun and peered down the sights briefly before looking away, that smirk she had held growing wider and nearly devious.

"Hey. Hey, Jimmy?"

Jimmy turned to her, eyes narrowing. "Oh, left handed huh?"

"And no looking."

Jimmy took a step forward. "Double or noth-" She pulled the trigger and not a split second later the glass bottle shattered, Zoey turned to inspect the damage and she smiled, unloading the weapon and setting it out onto the table. Jimmy didn't move, didn't speak for several seconds before he was turning at Zoey, glaring.

"How the fuck did you do that?"

"Call of Duty," Zoey joked. "I'm like a tenth prestige. No big deal."

"No seriously."

Ellis waved his hands, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! You play Call of Duty?"

This woman was damn near every man's fantasy; the girl who was a looker, a beautiful body with a killer smile who liked fishing, who liked mudding and shooting and video games. She was willing to do things with her man, try different activities that he was interested in. Now Ellis just has to find out something that she liked to do and get out and do it with her. He looked forward to it – hell, he hoped it was a session of late night Call of Duty.

"I'm only a fifth prestige, but yeah."

Keith reached out and nudged Ellis' shoulder, making the man smile wide as he looked towards his friend. It was obvious that Keith agreed, that this was the kind of woman that was sought out. Getting to his feet, Keith lingered down the range in order to inspect the paper targets. Jimmy was still looking at Zoey though now he looked torn between bitter and incredulous.

"No seriously! How!"

Zoey's hands went into her pockets as she shrugged, "Me and my dad go shooting a lot. He's a cop. Used to be in the military. He likes to mix it up sometimes. Right hand, left hand, both. It's really not that hard, you just need a bit of practice."

"Oh," Keith cackled from the furthest target. "Zoey so won!"

Bubba stood, tugging at his pants before he lingered to the weapons, "Alright come back! I wanna shoot now too!"

Zoey moved to the unoccupied chairs to sit down but Ellis jolted forward, looking his arms around her waist before pulling her down into his lap. Zoey yelped and laughed, draping and arm around his shoulders. Ellis smiled, noticing that her face was considerably cleaner than his and he felt obligated to rectify that. With a hand cupping the back of her head and pulled her forward. His lips touched her chin, her jaw and cheek before he nipped at her lip. Just like that she was melting against him, not minding the dirt and the mud that was being smeared against her skin, the dirty fingers touching her hair.

"So turned on," he mumbled, his voice low as he nudged his nose to hers. She laughed, tucking her face to his chest.

"Stoppit."

"I'm serious. You are… "

Beautiful, funny, amazing – different.

Ellis sighed, kissing her again. He was already starting to fall in love with this girl.

Yes, it was much too soon, yes she was young, but the compatibility was nearly perfect, their personalities meshing wonderfully. He smiled, leaning back into the seat. He wasn't in love but he was falling and he was falling hard.

"Alright Zoey, you have to show me how to shoot now!" Victoria called.

XxXxx

As it got darker, a fire was lit, food was prepared, music was turned up and drinks were opened. Shooting was fun, mudding was fun, watching the men prepare the food was fun. It was also entertaining to watch Victoria and Jill drag the boys into dancing. Jill lured Bubba in with a small coy smile and some sweet words and the man was quite pleased with himself when he showed her that he could indeed dance.

Jimmy crossed his arms and glared, watching as his sorta-girlfriend (they had started arguing not long after shooting) danced with the large man. Jason and Victoria were dancing close, hips plastered together. Keith sighed heavily, looking up at the stars.

"I need t'get me a girlfriend," Keith sighed. "Zoe, you got any lady friends I can get in t'touch wit'?"

"In the R-L I got Sasha and Sasha. And you don't want to have to deal with Sasha."

Ellis chuckled, "I can vouch for that." Standing, he grabbed Zoey's hand as the sound of the fiddle came through the speakers, accompanied by a heavy base drum. "C'mon."

"Ellis I don't dance, I am dead serious on this one."

"Whelp, Mister Luke Bryan is going to help you learn how to dance then." He pulled her close, making sure to stand a little ways off to the side from the other dancing couples as his hands slid to her hips, her lower back. He dipped his head down, murmuring the lyrics into her ear. "Gotta little boom 'n' my big truck, gonna open up the doors 'n' turn it up, gonna stomp my boots in the Georgia mud, gonna watch you make me fall in love…"

"I have no idea what I'm doing. The last dance I was involved in was in eighth grade," Zoey muttered, looking down at her feet, their hips. Ellis pulled her close, kissing at her lips as he guided her body into a slow sway.

"Yer fine, now… Country girl shake it for me…"

"I am far from a country gir-" she gave a soft 'eep!' when he pulled her flush against him. "Ellis for real, I really can't dance. In any way shape or form. I mean, I can do Thriller but that's only thanks to Youtube."

It was cute, how skittish she seemed to be over a little dancing, though admittedly the dancing that was going on wasn't exactly innocent.

"Darlin', you cannot tell me that you ain't never seen Dirty Dancing."

Zoey snorted, pressing her face to his chest, "Oh, Jesus."

"Is that a yes?"

"Not my favorite Swayze movie, but I have seen it."

"Whelp, in that case you should know how to dance like they d-" he stopped short, laughing as Zoey pursed her lips and glared up at him. "Oh, darlin', y'know I'm teasin'," he dropped a kiss to her still pursed lips before pulling her into a hug, simply swaying. "Y'ready t'get outta here?" He enjoyed the way she tucked her head under his chin, arms wrapped around him as she sighed heavily.

They were both still dirty and with the gritty feeling on his teeth made him long for a shower and his tooth brush and he knew that Zoey was feeling the same. The amount of times he watched her pick at the dirt on her skin or run her tongue over her teeth was numerous.

"Yeah, whenever you're ready."

He nodded his head, glad that he had packed up his four wheeler and his guns before it had got dark. He pressed a kiss to her lips then released her, though before she broke free he gave a soft tug of her ponytail.

"Y'still owe me a dance."

"Uh huh, sure," she said none committedly, waving him off. Ellis stepped back, walking over to the other dancing couples to let them know that they were getting ready to leave. Victoria instantly broke free from her partner and went to Zoey, arms extended.

"C'mere, girl! It was certainly nice t'meet you!" Zoey awkwardly accepted the hug, nodding in agreement.

"You too."

"Honey I'm gonna add you to facebook and we're gonna have to go out sometime," Victoria said, the kindness in her voice genuine.

"I am only down here for a week or so," Zoey said on a shrug, "But definitely add me." She then waved to Jill and Bubba. "Nice meeting you," she called out and Bubba waved, though he seemed more interested in the petite woman that was holding onto him.

Keith came and embraced Ellis before turning and doing the same to Zoey, kissing her cheek. "I will see you both tomorrow, hey?"

"Sure, what's happening tomorrow?"

"We dunno. Have a good night!"

Ellis guided Zoey to the truck, they piled in and took off.

XxxXxx

"Oh, Jesus," Zoey said on a sigh as she pulled her boots off. "I need a shower."

Ellis was beside her, pulling his boots off and tossing them outside onto the porch, along with hers. He sighed loudly, removing his shirt as he made his way down the hall to the utility room. Zoey followed him, taking a turn into his bedroom in order to fish some clean clothes from her bag. When Ellis didn't reappear she lingered into the hall, clothes under her arm. Ellis was in the bathroom across the hall, pulling a clean towel and a wash cloth from the closet and setting it on the toilet lid.

"I'll let you go first," he said on a smile. "Hop in, pass me your clothes and I will start the laundry."

"You don't have to do that," she said, shaking her head as she leaned against the door frame. "I need to wash more clothes anyway, I was just going to go to a laundry mat and-"

Ellis released a long, loud sigh. "Darlin', we can wash your clothes here." He raised his eyebrows at her. "C'mon, grab your bag and come into the utility room."

Zoey backed into the bedroom, tossing her clean clothes onto the bed in a neat heap (her underwear hidden in her shirt) and grabbed her duffle before following him into the utility room. It was surprisingly clean, the laundry on the table folded up and socks matching with a hamper of clean clothes sitting beside it. Zoey set her back on top of the dryer and tossed her dirty clothes into the empty washer, quickly dispatching what used underwear she had, following it with socks, shirts and jeans, along with her zip up.

"Now go strip."

Zoey crossed her arms, staring at him. "Is this just an excuse to get me naked?"

Ellis snapped his fingers, sighing heavily. "Dammit. Y'got me."

"I knew you were a pervert."

They went back to the bathroom and Zoey stepped into the shower, fully clothed. Watching his silhouette through the shower curtain, she shimmied out of her dirty jeans and her panties, tucking them into the leg of the denim before wadding them up and setting them at her feet. Her shirt and bra came next and, again, she stowed her underwear within her clothes, placing her muddy socks on top as she peaked out at him. The corner of his lips tilted upward and he reached out to take her clothes before leaving the room, door closing behind him.

Zoey huffed loudly, an anxious breath that eased the tension in her gut as she turned the water on. Within minutes, the room filled with steam as she scrubbed at the dirt and dried grime. The water that dripped from her body was brown, sometimes dark and sometimes relatively clear. She washed her body twice, along with her hair despite the mild sense of guilt that came with using up too much of his soap. As she dragged a hand down over her legs she sighed with relief when she noted that they were still smooth, somehow devoid of stubble. She checked her underarms next and was relieved to find the same though she would definitely have to shave tomorrow.

Taking the time for another pass under the water, re-rinsing her hair, she turned the nozzle and opened the shower curtain, goose bumps rising as her skin met with the cold air. She grabbed the towel and passed it over her hair, scrunching the ends in the cloth then ruffling it over her skull before she wrapped it around her body. With her hand clutching the tail to her chest, she opened the bathroom door.

She went to the bedroom to see Ellis stretched out on the bed, only clad in a towel, playing on his phone. There was a moment where she awkwardly stood in the doorway before she cleared her throat and walked across the room to stand on her side of the bed.

Wait…

When did I start considering it my side of the bed?

Her steps faltered and the thought though she didn't stop until she reached her destination. When she slowed to grab her clothes, Ellis looked up at her and smiled. His eyes drifted over her body for a moment before he sat up.

"You're up," she said slowly, trying to figure out the best way to go about getting dressed without making it awkward.

But, really, that's just making it more awkward!

He chuckled, though he didn't make a move to go to the bathroom, he did, however, move over to his dresser to pull out a pair of underwear and then he was approaching her. Zoey held up her hand, holding the towel to her chest.

"Oh hell no! You, sir, are super dirty!"

"Baby, I need some sugar."

"You're dirty and I just got clean! Go shower."

"Baaaaaby!"

"Scoot!"

Ellis was laughing as he left the room, casting a glance back in her direction as he entered the bathroom. Zoey got dressed quickly, wearing a tank top paired with a set of mesh shorts in hope that she would wear them throughout the night. After dressing she pulled out her charger cable and her phone and went about checking on all of her apps.

Facebook featured three friend requests – Ellis, Keith and Victoria.

Twitter was looking rather dull,.

Her Tiny Tower was looking great…

She stretched out on the bed, tapping away at her phone as she waited for Ellis to get out of the shower. If Glock was home (Ellis had dropped the puppy off at his mother's house for the day) she would be playing with him, but instead she was left to her own devices, not quite sure if he was going to want to go watch television, play games or simply call it a night. Zoey was up for whatever; she was tired but she could push a couple more hours into the day.

When the bathroom door finally opened, Ellis came out wearing nothing but his briefs and the towel draped over his head, drying off his hair. When he tossed his towel to the corner of the room, Zoey swallowed, hard. He was on the bed beside her, on his hands and knees, hovering.

"Well, darlin', I think you owe me a dance."

"Um, I can teach how to Thriller?"

"It's either a dance or a round of one on one."

"One on… one?" Man, he was suddenly putting it on hard.

"Mmhmm," He nodded, sitting up. "Call of Duty or Halo. Take yer pick."

Zoey couldn't help but laugh.