"Get out of here." The words were spoken coldly, emotionless, forcing their way
out between the lips of Janet's mother.  The door slammed shut- "You two sluts
get out of my house!"  Moon and Janet separated their naked bodies in a rush,
their minds racing, dressing as quickly as they could.  They were both cold with
shock, and Janet started to cry, the shock of it hitting her like a ton of
bricks.

"Mom-"

"I don't want to hear it- you know I don't like your goddamn bisexual shit, and
now I catch you fucking that slut in my house! Get the FUCK out of here!" 
Janet's mother was yelling, banging against the walls and throwing objects in a
tantrum.  Janet and Moon heard glass shatter against the door of Janet's room,
and Moon shivered in fear.  Janet's face was white.

"We've been going out for a long time, Mom- we haven't been just fuckin--"
Janet's words came out in short shrieks of sobs, and Moon was crying too. They
were dressed now, and Janet was getting furious at her mother's prejudice,
throwing her closet doors open and tossing her favorite clothes on her bed.

"I SAID I DONT FUCKING WANT TO HEAR IT!  GET THE FUCK OUT!"

"FUCK YOU!"

Janet was surprised by the severity of her words, but she knew she meant every
word as she started to throw clothes into her backpack.  She took some makeup-
concealer, eyeliner and lip gloss- and tore the pictures hanging on the walls,
tossing them angrily into her backpack.  Moon was standing helplessly, her
beautiful face contorted in pain and anger.  She was gathering up Janet's
belongings and stuffing them into her backpack, too, knowing what Janet liked the
best from their long friendship.  Finally, Janet threw her black lipstick on top
of the whole pile, and tenderly put her small stuffed puppy in the front pouch of
the bag.  She took a thick wad of money from the top drawer of her dresser, and
shoved it down her front jeans pocket.

Janet's mother was in her bedroom now, still screaming and yelling in hysterics. 
Janet's father was woken by the noise, and he could be heard trying to calm down
Janet's mother.  There was another loud shattering of glass, and a few minutes
later, Janet's father opened Janet's door.

"Honey, you know your mom doesn't mean it, she's just upset-" his face was
tearful.

"I love you, dad, but I'm getting the fuck out of this twisted household.." Janet
said bitterly, tearfully, hugging her father and walking out of the bedroom-
heading to the front door.  Moon looked at Janet's father pitifully, saying in a
small, mousy voice-

"I didn't mean to cause trouble, sir.."

The face of Janet's father was sad, and he gave a tight smile before he turned
and walked away.  Moon ran to catch up with Janet, and got into Janet's car just
as the tires of the 1989 Ford Probe squealed out of the driveway.  They were
alone in the cold night.

"Hon.." Moon said softly, and Janet was hiccuping with sobs.  "Let's go to my
house.. we can get cleaned up and calm you down.."

"YOUR mother didn't give you this kind of shit."  Janet was gasping between
words, and was indeed trying to calm herself down unsuccessfully.

"My mom was married to a woman for 11 years.."

Janet was silent with surprise.

"You know my aunt?"

Janet nodded.  Moon went to visit her aunt every few weekends, staying with her. 
Janet used to joke about how her aunt had joint custody of Moon due to the
frequency of her visits.

"Well, she's not really my aunt.  She's my mom's ex wife.. She raised me with mom
until she was about 8 years old."

Janet was quiet, concentrating on the dark streets of the city, paying no homage
to the stop signs or speed limits.  In a city that never slept, it was 3am, and
everyone was at home asleep.  Or having sex.  Janet didn't particularly care at
this moment.  She sighed, and her sigh was caught in a choking sob.  She flicked
on her turn signal, beginning the trek to Moon's house.

"I'm sorry.." Moon sighed quietly, and wiped a tear away from her cheek. She
reached out for Janet's hand, and squeezed the clammy fingers.

"It's not your fault.  You know what happened when she found out I was bisexual,"
Janet said quietly.

"No, I don't."

"Well.. this girl came over to my house when I was bout 14.  And we started to
flirt a little, and we kissed a little.  We were trying to piss her boyfriend
off.  Anyway.. she was in my lap, and I was cuddling her, when mom came to the
basement and saw us.  Well, she didn't say anything then, but when I talked to
her later, she called her a slut.  She called me a slut. She said that bisexual
people were only sluts that didn't give a flying fuck who went into what hole."

"Ah, Janet, I'm sorry.." Moon's tone was sympathetic.

"Stop saying that!" Janet snapped, then softened.  "Sorry.. none of it's your
fault.

Anyway.. she was in my room.  There was this stereo that I had just bought, for
about 125 dollars, and she picked it up and threw it at my head.  It broke.  I
still have some pieces.  She threw all my CD's, and tapes at me.. smashed most of
them beyond recognition."

Moon was silent for the rest of the ride to her home.

-=[*]=-


Janet pulled the vehicle in Moon's driveway, and parked it.  They both got out,
and pulled their backpacks out with them.  A light in the small trailer flicked
on, and a face appeared in the window.  Moon's mother, Jenny- her face was
surprised at her daughter's girlfriend and her daughter coming home at 3:30 in
the morning.

They were greeted at the door by Jenny's waiting sentence- "what happened?" The
look on both of these girls was woeful, and Janet was still sniffling and crying.
 Jenny ushered them inside, dressed only in a T-shirt in the cold trailer.

"We had a little ... falling out with Janet's mother."  The sentence was as blunt
as a hot knife slicing through butter, and Jenny's face went wide with concern. 
Janet said nothing, and dropped her bag onto the floor of the tiny living room.

"Did she find out?"

"She came in when we were doing it," Moon said quietly, matter-of-fact.

Jenny sighed.  This sentence, if uttered to Janet's mother, would have evoked a
horrific, beast-like response.  However, Moon's mother was incredibly liberal
(too liberal- Moon had to raise her younger sister practically by herself), and
in fact supported their relationship.  That's the way she was at, at their age.
Janet collapsed on a couch, weary .  The last hour had felt like 50.  Moon opened
the fridge door and handed Jenny and Janet both beers, opening one for herself
with a sizzle.

"And well," Moon continued, "She said for both of us sluts to get out of her
house.. So I guess.. Well.. I don't know what's gonna happen now."

Moon's face was tense, serious, and she lifted her beer and swallowed a quarter
of the can in a gulp.  Janet followed suit, and Jenny sipped the beer quietly. 
Moon sat next to Janet, pulling her close, holding her. Janet's body was rigid
and numb with shock.

"Wonder if she wants me back."  The sentence was more of a statement than a
question, and she was shaking her head as she said it.  Neither Moon nor Jenny
offered their opinion.  Janet finished drinking her beer, holding the cold can in
her cold fingers.  She reached over and took Moon's beer, draining the rest in a
few minutes.

"Well you know you can stay as long as you want to, Hun- any friend of my
daughter's is a friend of mine.." Jenny offered quietly.  Janet nodded. "I'm
tired.."

"You want to go to bed?" Jenny asked gently.  Janet nodded, and Moon nodded too. 
She reached up her hand and gently wiped another tear off of Janet's cheek. 
Janet's expression was cold now, and numb.

"What's going on?" Moon's brother, awakened by the noises, had snuck into the
living room.

"Go to bed!" Moon growled at Rob, and he made a face at her, starting to leave
before he noticed the beer.  "HEY! Mom, if she gets to have beer-"

"She's got 4 years before she's legal, and you've got 11."  The sentence was
tired, and well-worn from Jenny's mouth.  Rob gave an "Aw!" and left. Jenny stood
up, and said, "I'm going to go check on Angel, and go back to bed.  Holler at me
if you need anything."  She left the room.  Janet watched her leave, then stood
up.  She went to the pantry, and pulled out a vodka bottle wordlessly, and walked
to Moon's room.  Moon followed silently.

"When you're Russian, drink as the Russians do.." Janet gave a weak smile as she
took a healthy gulp and laid down on Moon's bed, head supported by a posturpedic
pillow.  Fire raced through Janet's throat in the comforting way that it did
anytime that Janet felt unhappy, and Janet reveled in the feeling.

Moon took a drink from Janet's flask, and undressed for bed.  She put on a long
shirt that reached to her mid-thigh, and crawled tiredly underneath the covers. 
Janet slumped her shoulders as she sighed, took another swig.  She sat up for a
few minutes, taking a few shot's worth of vodka quickly and easily before she set
the bottle on the floor to take off her pants and shirt.  She got underneath the
covers with Moon, and placed her cold feet on Moon's calf.

"HEY!" Moon laughed, pulling away.  Janet grinned, stuck her feet between Moon's
thighs, and held Moon as she squealed.  When her feet were warm, she released
Moon's arms, and turned on her side.  Moon snuggled close to Janet, spooning her
small body tightly, and put her arms around Janet's small waist, pulling her
close.  Janet pushed her body back slightly to cuddle against Moon.  Moon pushed
Janet's hair away from her neck, and kissed the back of Janet's neck
comfortingly.  Moon murmured softly, "I love you," and Janet took a deep breath,
closing her eyes.  Janet was held by Moon until she drifted into a slightly
drunken sleep, her rest that night plagued with nightmares and sweat.