Star Crossed In Time

I open the fridge and sigh when I see that it's practically empty... I normally just eat out. I turn around to find Bai Lei still staring at me so I give him an awkward smile while saying "I hope you don't mind going back out... I have no food here."

Bai Lei frowns and says "Do you not have servants? Are you too poor for them?" I shut the fridge and give him a dry look while saying "No one has servants here. You want something, you get it yourself."

Bai Lei frowns again as he says "I'm sure I can find you a few servants..." I put my hand up while saying "Enough, let's go get something to eat." Bai Lei looks like he wants to say something else but he just nods his head and stands up.

He pulls at his pants with a frown. It was clear he didn't like them... "Okay, just like before, you need to stay close to me and keep your mouth shut. Don't touch anything unless I tell you to, okay?" I say looking up into his dark eyes.

He nods once and follows me out. We walk out onto the sidewalk as a woman and her friend walk by with the cutest little fluffy dogs. One was wearing a tutu and the other was wearing a cute little bee outfit. Bai Lei looks at the little dogs with confusion as he says "What are those things?"

I chuckle and say "Dogs, you'll see a lot of that around here." Bai Lei looks back once more before walking behind me with a frown. "How could those be dogs? They couldn't guard or protect anything..." I giggle at him and keep walking.

As we make it further down the street, I see a large portion blocked off with lots of people crowding around. As I get closer I see a large group of people dressed as zombies running down the street with large numbers attached to their shirts.

They must be doing their annual zombie run... I turn back to tell Bai Lei to stay close but he's nowhere to be seen! I look around in a panic, only to find him halfway down the street chasing after the "zombies" with his sword!!

When did he get his sword back!? I take off running after him but he had a large headstart. As I run past someone next to a scooter, I come to a skidding stop. I reach into my pocket and pull out a hundred dollar bill. I hand the bill to the man and say "I just need to borrow this real quick! I'll bring it right back!"

The man grabs the money and looks at me with conflicted feelings as I jump on the scooter and speed after Bai Lei. "Thanks!" I yell over my shoulder as I drive off. I speed down the street and jump the curb of the sidewalk.

Since the street was blocked off, the only way to drive the scooter was down the sidewalk. I honk the little horn to get people to move out of my way as I race after him. "Bai Lei!! Stop right now! Have you lost your mind!?" Bai Lei does a double-take and smiles as he says "A metal steed! Good thinking!"

I nearly crash the thing as I shake my head and say "Just get on!" I go to stop the scooter but he jumps on the back with little to no effort, surprising me. "Hurry or we'll lose them!" I stop the scooter and turn it around as I say "How do you have your sword?" Bai Lei pauses a moment before saying "I can summon it to me at will..." Greeeeat...

I quickly head back to the scooter's owner as Bai Lei says "What are you doing? They are getting away!" I park the scooter and drag him off it as I say "Those aren't real zombies! They're just dressed that way for their marathon." I thank the man for the scooter as grab Bai Lei's hand.

Bai Lei allows me to drag him down the street as he asks "What's a marathon?" I sigh and say "It's something where people run, okay?" Bai Lei's frown grows as he asks "Why are they running? Is something chasing them? Or are they chasing something? I don't understand..."

I stop and turn to him with a twitching eyelid "Get used to it! This is my world where half the shit here doesn't make sense!!" Bai Lei continues to look at me in confusion but he slowly nods his head as I begin dragging him down the street again.

I should have just ordered takeout!! Another group of "zombies" were coming down the street again so I quickly pull Bai Lei into a small pet store. The bell over the door chimes as an old man says "Welcome, let me know if you need any help."

I give him a polite smile as I pull Bai Lei further into the shop. Hopefully, this will give the next group of zombies a chance to run through the strip without Bai Lei seeing. I don't want him chasing them again... As we go back, Bai Lei looks around in fascination.

Birds, bunnies, ferrets, hamsters and many more are found in the store. "You can look but you can't touch the animals okay?" I say trying to relax. Bai Lei nods his head as we make our way through the pet shop.

Towards the back of the pet store, they had large tunnels of fish tanks. Everything from freshwater to saltwater fish can be found in the large tunnels of fish tanks. Bai Lei and I walk along the fish tanks as I finally start to relax.

"I've never seen this many fish at one time... this is magical..." Bai Lei says in a low voice. I nod my head and slightly agree with him. Even when I know how all this works and how it's made possible, I still find it magical. Almost like being in a different world...

Suddenly, I hear water splashing! I turn around and nearly faint! Bai Lei has his arm in the fish tank, trying to grab a three hundred dollar fish!! "Bai Lei!!! Stooooop!!" I hiss in a panicked whisper. He looks to me with an innocent look while saying "What's wrong? I'm catching us something to eat..."