[ Hey, guys! I actually updated on a normal schedule! Amazing, I know :p The plan is to update every Friday so hopefully I'm able to stick to that, I'm doing good so far :) I hope you enjoy and thanks for reading! 

Also, this chapter is dedicated to the amazing RachaelMole! For one, for being such a great friend and, two, since you like The Matrix I thought it was fitting to dedicate this chapter to you as the scene I've been telling you about for a long time is finally in this chapter! Thanks for being so great! ^^ And everyone else, please check out her books and her Visible campaign for stories that deal with disabilities and mental illnesses! ]

She was part of the group. And Neo had refereed to her as a "she" like five times or something! Things were looking good. I grinned at her, sitting beside me in the back seat of Neo's car. She looked at me a little funny and then turned away.

Shit. I needed to tone down the weirdness. I had a real shot with this girl, I needed to act smooth. Real smooth. Charming even.

I opened my mouth to speak but caught myself. I was coming on too strongly. I still, of course, needed to be smooth and charming but I also had to dial things back a bit.

But I was so, so bad at that.

I turned away from her and turned my attention to the town passing by the window. It was the day after the new girl's intro to the group and we were on our way to go "night shopping" as we sometimes referred to it.

"Okay," Neo said from the driver's seat, looking back at us through the rear view mirror. "So, this is what we're doing tonight. We are going to just complete one floor."

"One?" Jetta said, surprised. "Neo, we're already behind schedule, we can't afford to go any slower."

"I know. But, I've thought about it, and while I do acknowledge her abilities...I want to be absolutely sure that she can handle it. We'll go slow, just for tonight, and if everything goes well we'll do as many as we can tomorrow night. Sound good?"

Me and Jetta murmured our agreements and the new girl nodded her head. I noticed her slip her hand into her pocket, a habit I'd started to pick up on. She did it whenever she was nervous. Or, in moments of danger and then who knew what amazing thing she'd whip out next. I didn't know a lot about tarot cards but I knew at least that there were a lot of them, an entire deck of abilities at her disposal. I was excited to see them all.

Neo's car pulled up to its destination: the back door to K-Mart. That was their usual routine, they all decided it was too risky to park the car in front of Walmart—a cop could see them and come into the store to investigate. And that would cause all sorts of problems.

Everyone filed out of the car and I started to head around the side of the building.

"Hang on a sec," Neo said as he rummaged around in the backseat. "I've got something for you, new...person. I wasn't sure what would fit you so if this doesn't I'll find another."

He finally found what he was looking for and held out a brand new K-Mart uniform.

#

You take the uniform, turn it over. And on the back, in between the K and the Mart, "ill" was embroidered on.

"'Kill Mart,'" you said in bemusement. "Brilliant. I see why you guys chose this place."

"Put it on!" Link pat you on the back excitedly.

You slip it on over your clothes and somehow not surprising you at all, it fit perfectly.

Link and Jetta clap.

"I gotta say, your initiation was a lot less eventful than mine," said Jetta, looking at Link at the corner of her eye. "You want to know how they brought me into all this Walmart stuff?"

"Oh no," Link said, cutting in between you and Jetta. "We promised we would NEVER speak of that again. Promised. A sacred vow."

"Aw, come on, Link, it's a good story," Neo said with a smirk.

"There, hear that? If Neo is okay with me telling it then you have no reason to object," Jetta stuck her tongue out at him.

"So, okay, they called me, right? Told me to meet them at the K-Mart. So I get there, walk through the front doors and what do I see? These two idiots standing in the entrance way in front of a big red chair, decked out in full Matrix gear."

"And then," Link cut in. "She laughed at us. Can you believe that!?"

"Yes, actually," you say, already starting to crack up.

"Of course I fucking laughed at you. Somehow, they both managed to stay straight faced and Neo asked me to take a seat. I did—still laughing, mind you—and then they dropped another bombshell on me: the entire red pill/blue pill speech, complete with said pills."

Jetta starts laughing now and you can't help but join her.

"Hey, come on, shut up! We committed to the idea, you have to give us credit," Link said, embarrassed. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to make Jello into pill shapes? I had to make my own mold!"

"You actually put EFFORT into it?" You started laughing even harder and had to hold onto Jetta for support.

"And that's not all!" Jetta managed to get out in-between laughs. "Then, Link, he pulls out this skin tight Trinity outfit and says, 'If you so choose to join us...you must wear this.'"

"What?? You mean—they actually bought that for you?"

"That part was all Link's idea—all his money, too," Neo chimed in. Link looked even more betrayed that he was the one to supply that information.

"Hey, it was expensive! I was being thoughtful."

"You were being perverted is what you were being. Admit it: you have a thing for woman in skin tight costumes."

"I DO NOT!" Link protested—a little too forcefully in your opinion. "I was just, I was..." He searched for the right words while you continue to laugh, making him even more flustered. "WE—we were supposed to fight the 'mart in costume, you know! I didn't want you to feel left out when me and Neo had cool clothes."

"'Cool' is so not the right word," you say.

"Why didn't you just get me one that matched the two of yours?"

"They, uh...didn't come in your size, I actually checked."

"Suuuure you checked. Wait..." Realization at what he said hit. "My size? How do you know my size?"

Everyone looked at Link. Even Neo turned to face him, this was news to him as well.

"Oh, I...I guessed." Sweat was visible on Link's brow.

"Bullshit! You're lying!" Jetta stepped forward and grabbed Link's shirt, pulling him close. "How do you know my size!?"

"Okay, okay!" Link said, pushing her off him and retreating to the other side of the car. He sighed. "I asked your mom, alright."

"You asked my mom? And she told you!? You're even more of a pervert than I thought!" Jetta made a grab for Link but he ducked out of the way. She kept screaming at him while Link yelled his apologies.

You and Neo stood together out of firing range, both sharing a laugh.

"Are they always like this?" You ask.

Neo watched them from behind his shades, amusement clear on his face. "Pretty much. Personally, I've always felt a little sexual tension from their fights. Like if any one fight went on for too long it would turn into a make out session."

"Kind of don't want to picture that."

"Yeah, I like them better like this," Neo turned his gaze to you. "So...I guess you're officially part of the group now, Zero."

"Zero?"

"It's what Link has been calling you every now and then. You know, cause of your hat."

"Oh," you said, touching the beanie. Sometimes you forgot it was there. "Duh."

Zero...that felt right.