Disclaimer: I didn't own this 4 years ago when I originally posted it, and I don't own it now. I don't think it's possible for a minor to make enough money to buy rights in only four years. Well, at least not legally…

A/N: I am reviving this old fanfic of mine because I kept promising that I would, and Bob doesn't break her promises. She talks about herself in third person, but that's because she is a third person! I have also revamped the original two chapters, but only with minor touch-ups. Please enjoy this psychotic use of my time!

It was the summer of their 15th year. Billy had been sent to military school where he would remain the entire summer. Being as it was, Mandy was lacking in companionship and spent most of her time either alone or with one particular person…

At the end of school, on the last day, Billy's parents had invited his friends from school over to their house for a small party. Among them, of course, was Mandy. Usually being the first to know everything, Mandy was surprised when Billy's mother called the attention to herself and proclaimed that she was making an important announcement. That's when she informed everyone that Billy would be spending the entire summer at a summer military school.

Though normally not one for feeling emotions, Mandy was thoroughly depressed by this. How was she to torment anyone when her idiotic follower would not be there to laugh at the victim until he realized the victim was in pain and then tried to stop her? And who would wake her up in the middle of the night just to ask her for pie? Well, she might could live without those things. But who would be at her side constantly to keep her entertained and not dying from boredom? Summer would be a burning eternity of nothingness without Billy and Grim around to entertain her. Grim, it had been decided, would be spending the summer with Billy.

After the party, Mandy did not return home. Instead, she fled to the one place where she could freely vent her feelings without curious eyes watching - the clearing.

The clearing was a secluded gap in the forest about 20 feet in diameter where no trees grew. When Mandy needed a place to go where she could safely let her emotions get the better of her, she would go to the clearing. No one else knew about it, not even Billy, for she only went there at night. She found that being alone in the wilderness with only stars as light helped her calm down. This was definitely a night that she needed to vent her feelings.

As soon as she reached the clearing, she ran to her favorite tree, an old oak with gnarled, twisted branches and a hollowed out trunk where she could safely stash her necessary items for venting her feelings: a pillow, a blanket, a towel, tissues, and a few punching bags. She immediately went to the punching bags, aiming first at the ever-ready one hanging from a branch. She punched it hard, many, many times, until her knuckles were split and bleeding. Mandy stared at the blood running through her fingers. She just stared at it. Then, with an aggressive howl of rage, she hit the bag again. And again. And again, and again. She didn't stop, even when the blood began to splatter all over her dress and her face.

At about that moment, when the blood became visible even in the dim light, he knew he had to act. Decidedly, the dark figure dashed across the space separating him from Mandy.

Mandy heard something running towards her from behind, but she did not turn around. She did, however, stop punching the bag, and instead held her quivering hands in front of her, still balled tightly into fists. She was breathing hard, both from exhaustion and from rage. She felt the figure wrap it's arms around her firmly, but she did not fight against it. Instead she crumpled to the ground, giving in to the tears. She sobbed into her hair, which had fallen into her face.

When Mandy had broken down, Junior didn't really know what to do. He let her take them both to the ground. The ground was good. It was easier to handle such a situation from a sitting position. He had never dealt with someone crying before, and therefore had no idea what he was supposed to do. Instinctively and without really thinking about it, he began to rub Mandy's back and shush her soothingly. He pulled her closer to himself, all the time rubbing her back and trying to calm her. She turned her body towards him, hair still in her face, and began weeping into his chest. Junior was alarmed, but didn't show it. He continued to rub her back and gently soothe her. After a while, her sobbing quieted and soon stopped altogether. Yet she kept her face rested on his chest, and he kept rubbing her back, although he had stopped talking.

After a few minutes in silence, Mandy spoke up. "Junior?" she asked quietly, smoothly, no evidence of crying in her voice.

"Yes?" he replied in a soothing voice.

"Do you hate me?"

"I do not hate you, Mandy. You are one of my closest friends."

"Will you stay with me this whole summer and make sure I'm not all alone?"

"Of course. Who else is there to be with?"

There was another long period of silence. Then, once more, Mandy broke it. She struggled with the word before finally grumbling, "Thanks."

"No problem."

After a while, Mandy sat up, pulling her face out of Junior's chest. She stared at him through her drenched hair. She noticed that he was bloody, covered in her blood. She let loose a short chuckle. Junior raised an eyebrow at her and she explanatorily pointed at his shirt.

"It will wash. But you are still bleeding. Let's get you cleaned up. Is there a creek around here?"

Wordlessly, Mandy stood and walked to her tree. She pulled out the towel, but immediately dropped it. She stared at her hands, reached for the towel, had it halfway up, and dropped it again. She snarled in outrage and punched the bag again. Junior quickly picked up the towel and slung it over his shoulder. He then followed Mandy as she led the way through the dark forest. They eventually came to a brook, not knee high. It was clear, but not for long. Mandy rinsed her hands in it and then splashed some of the cool water on her face. It felt wonderful against her skin. Just then she heard splashing and looked up to see Junior lying in the water on his back. He was soaked, but didn't seem to care. He actually seemed to be enjoying it. Then Mandy realized that where he came from there was no water and it was terribly hot. This must be something entirely new for him.

Junior looked up at Mandy and smiled at her. She was glaring at him, not in a hateful way, just in a Mandy way. He smiled again and beckoned to her.

Mandy didn't know what to do. Should she join him or not? If she didn't join him, what would he think? Wait, why did she care what he thought? Because she needed him for companionship, so that she wouldn't die of boredom this summer. Besides, what else would she do if she didn't get in the water? It was simply the most reasonable thing to do: join Junior in the water. Decidedly, Mandy entered the water, walking over to Junior and then hesitantly sinking to her knees beside his floating body. He sat up to where he was her height. Silently, they stared at each other, until it became awkward and one had to break the silence. This time, Junior broke the silence. "Will your parents be angry when you show up after dark and you are soaking wet?"

"They'll hardly even notice. Or care."

"Hmm." Junior didn't know how to reply.

"What about your parents?"

"By the time I get home, I will not be wet anymore."

Once again, they entered the uncomfortable silence. After a while, Junior splashed Mandy in the face. She glared at him, then splashed him in the face in retaliation. They began an all-out water war. When they got tired, they laid together in the murky water. At least the blood is gone, Mandy thought.

For a few countless minutes, they lay together in the water, staring at the partially visible sky. Then it started to get cold, and they had to get out of the water. Mandy was shivering on land, so Junior brought her the towel he had hung in the tree. "Why did you bring a towel? Certainly you never expected to swim in the creek," Junior asked, handing it to her.

"No. I brought the towel for the reason that we came to the creek in the first place." She let him think about that.

"Do you do this a lot, then?" he asked, indicating her knuckles.

"No," she sighed, "But I knew I probably would someday. It's how I am."

"Oh." Again Junior was at a loss for words.

"Why did you follow me?" Mandy asked, changing the subject.

"I, uh… I thought you might, um… might have needed to talk." Junior said quietly. He scratched his head, embarrassed.

"Oh." Now Mandy was at a loss for words. She was starting to feel uncomfortable, vulnerable. She had let her guard slip - shown her true emotions - but didn't entirely regret it. Not yet. I wonder why that is? she questioned herself. Now he knows I'm weak - that I feel emotions other than anger and hatred. She speculated for a moment. Then she remembered, He saw me cry! Mandy was in control enough now to keep herself from blushing of embarrassment. She wasn't about to let herself slip again.

"Soooo…" Junior began, prompting her, "Do you want to talk? We do not have to talk about Billy. Just whatever you want."

"I suppose. It's more logical than just standing here. Let's talk about… politics. What would you be if you could have any amount of power you wanted?"

"Easy. I would be some kind of a dictator over the entire world. Everyone would be my friend, and anyone who opposed or upset me would die."

"Very good. But why settle for the whole world when you could rule the whole universe?"

"Because that is your job. And I am not you. I understand both my rank and your rank in life, and I can fully see that you are much higher than I and quite my superior. I would not want to try to upstage you."

"Indeed, you do understand the order of life. Impressive. Billy never quite got that." Suddenly tears welled in Mandy's eyes, threatening to make an appearance. But just as suddenly as they came, they were gone. Yes, Mandy most certainly did have control over herself now.

Junior looked up at what little sky he could see from the bank of the stream. "It is getting late. Will your parents be worried if you do not go home soon?"

"Like I said, they'd hardly even notice." Then she added, "But we probably should head back up to the clearing." She started walking then, hastily, and Junior had to run to catch up.

"I am curious," Junior began, now level with Mandy, "Why is it that you want to rule the universe? We know I want to because I seek acceptance and friendship. But why do you?"

Mandy said nothing, and they continued to walk, neither looking at the other. Finally, she responded. "I am the dominant. Everyone should know that. Everyone." They continued not to look at each other, even when they spoke.

"What would be your first decree as Dictator of the Universe?"

Mandy chuckled darkly, "So many things. I think I would start with the eliminations, weeding out the weak from the strong."

Hesitantly, Junior furthered it, "Dare I ask, what would you do with the weak?"

Mandy shrugged her shoulders, "I'd put them to work in the fields, give them jobs that the strong shouldn't waste their abilities on. But it would be wasteful to kill them, if that's what you were asking. I'd only kill those who were of absolutely no use to me or that hindered my reign."

"What would you do about heirs?"

"I wouldn't need an heir. I would - will - find a way to make myself immortal."

"Living forever is no fun."

"What does fun have to do with power? 'Fun' is not what I'm concerned about."

"What are you concerned about, Mandy?"

She halted abruptly, but Junior didn't miss a beat and stopped just as she had. Mandy stared at him, and Junior couldn't read the expression on her face.

"Power," she answered simply.

They continued to stare at each other, not moving, barely breathing. Then Mandy replied, "What would you do for an heir?"

"I do not need an heir. I am immortal."

"Exactly. Why then do you ask me of an heir if you know immortality by-passes that necessity?"

Oops, Junior thought, horrified, Does she know? Junior mentally kicked himself, Idiot! Now she knows! Wait, maybe she does not yet. Of course she does, idiot! She is not an idiot, unlike you!

"I - I…" Think! he commanded himself. "I-y was just curious. Yeah. The thought of anyone being good - or evil - enough for you was just hard to imagine." He grinned innocently.

Mandy saw right through his façade. She knew what he had unintentionally been hinting at. But she decided not to let him know she knew, not yet. She put on a façade of her own, using a face that expressed her false lack of knowledge. "Oh," was all she said in a light, resolved tone. Indeed, she had mastered her deceptiveness well.

Internally, Junior breathed a sigh of relief. That was close, he told himself.

They continued then to walk to the clearing. When they reached it, they seated themselves under the tree. They sat cross-legged, facing each other.

"What else shall we talk about? Other than the future?" Junior prompted. "Oh, I know! Let's talk about the good times. You know, fun memories with our friends and such."

"I'm a 15-year-old girl bent on world domination. I don't have fun times or friends to share them with."

"And I am a – technically speaking – 15-year-old boy bent on world domination. I am also an immortal demon with 'scary' tentacles. And I will tell you, I have had some rather fun times."

Mandy considered that for a moment. "I'm not really one for reminiscing, but I'll try. You start."

"Um, okay. Well, there was that one time when that whore Mindy was messing with us at lunch, and I got so annoyed that I electrocuted her and she stopped breathing…"

"Yeah," Mandy laughed briefly, "I remember that day. That was a great day."

"Your turn," Junior said.

"Okay. Let me think. Um, that day in seventh grade, the day before the dance, when I decided to wear make-up – and I still don't know what I was thinking – and every single boy (well, except for two) in the school asked me to go with him. That day was great because I told each one that I would go with him, and then I didn't show up at all. A gym full of kids ready to dance and every single one was a boy!"

Remembering it, they both burst into fits of laughter. [A/N: Oh, no! Every time Mandy laughs, a third-world country explodes.]

"Yeah," Junior cried through his cackling, "That was great!"

Quickly, they sobered themselves and returned to the conversation. "Let's see," Junior pondered, "How about that time when we turned Irwin into a spider –"

"And Billy wouldn't talk to him for a month." Mandy concluded. "That was okay, but not as hilarious as the time we tricked Mindy into a date with Sperg by completely changing his appearance with a potion."

"Oh, I remember that. They went to a movie together and in the middle of it, the potion wore off…"

"And she leaned over to kiss him, but when she looked up afterwards, she realized who he was!"

"That was the greatest prank we ever conceived together." Junior exalted.

"Yeah," Mandy sighed, "Those were the days. Torturing others and always getting away with it. Good times."

Junior smiled. He looked up at the cloudless, starlit sky, then sighed. "It is late. Father's going to be angry if I do not get home soon."

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow, then. Will you be there in the morning to see Billy off?"

"Of course. I am his cousin after all."

"Will you miss him?" Mandy unwillingly asked after an awkward pause, only to be answered by another one.

After a while, Junior sighed and responded, "Yes. I will miss him greatly, but he will be back before the first day of school. Three months without Billy will not kill me."

But will it me? Mandy questioned herself despairingly. No. she decided firmly, I can make it without that idiot for one entire summer. It won't kill me, either. But still she had doubts.

A/N: Okay, this was the first chapter of my first real fanfic. I hope you liked it. Remember to R&R. Mesa likes da reveiws!