Shampoo awoke all of a sudden and realized it was nothing but a dream.
Biting back tears she collapsed back into her empty bed and tried to get
back to sleep.  Nights were often the loneliest.

        A warm hand touched her "Shampoo, wake up, you're having a nightmare"
        Shampoo sat up in her bed, noticing Mousse sitting right next to her, so
close she could feel his body heat. She looked up, not believing this was real.
She thought it was another dream. Afterall, she had just had a mightmare that
Mousse's coming back was all a dream, that she was still all alone.
        "I-I thought it was a dream" she said, her voice a bit nervous.
        She stared at him as he reached up and pressed a soft hand to her cheek,
smiling when he noticed her gently press back against it. Her skin felt cold,
but it seemed to warm up quickly, so much that a flush of red soon flooded to
her cheeks.
        "Whatever it was, it was only a dream" he said "I'm right here"
        Shampoo realized that there was no way this could be a dream. A dream
can't make her feel the way she did right now, so secure and loved. She could
even feel his warm hands pressed against her skin. Surely, that was real also.
        "This isn't a dream" Mousse said.
        "How do I know?" she replied skeptically. But even if it was, she didn't
want this to end. If she was still living alone if she were to wake up, then
she'll never want to wake up against.
        Mousse leaned forward "Pinch yourself. If you feel the little nudge of
pain, then you'll know this is real"
        Shampoo did so, a bit reluctant. She was scared that if she pinched
herself, and she didn't fell any pain, then this was all another dream. To her
totally and utter relief, she felt the pain.
        Mousse placed his hand over Shampoo's "Now do you believe me"
        Shampoo smiled "So this isn't a dream, afterall"
        Mousse lean forward, kissing her gently on the lips.
        "Of coruse no. I'd never let you down"

Shampoo kept pinching herself to make sure it wasn't a dream.

The orderly looked in through the small window on the door at the
screaming girl.  "Oh oh, she's at it again. Nurse! We need a
tranquilezer in room A-10!"

A few seconds later the nurse accompanied by a half a dozen guards burst
into the room and began the painful task of subduing Shampoo.  By the
time the nurse had sufficient room to adminsiter the dosage, four of the
guards were bloodied and lying outside the room.  Shampoo was one of the
most difficult patients they had.

Sinking back onto the matress, Shampoo murmured, "He's back, he's really
back! He does love me!"

The Nurse reattached the restraints that Shampoo had broken off.  "Thats
right darling he's back." She patted Shampoo's hair down and she exited
the room.  She wondered idly what could've happened to the poor girl to
have traumatized her so.

"Cut!" the director said into the megaphone "That's a wrap. Shampoo, you were
perfect"

Shampoo sat upright in the bed, removing the props the set used as restraints.
They were made of nothing more than a strip of velcro. She smiled to the
director and she got off the bed and proceeded toward Mousse, who had watched
her as she acted out the entire scene.

Mousse smiled at her "You did great, honey. I truely believed you were
suffering. I even felt sad when you pretended you character's lover had come
back"

Shampoo wiped a tear that threatened to fall from her eyes. As she acted out
that scene, she had momentarily thought that she was acting as herself, not some
make believe character that required her to act.

"That wraps it up for today" the director said to Shampoo "We'll see you
tomorrow. You did great. I don't think I've ever worked with an actor that could
act as well as you" 

Shampoo bowed politely "Thank you"

Mousse placed his arm over Shampoo's shoulder as the two of them proceeded off
the set as everyone around them procceed to wrap thing up, putting away the
equipement.

Shampoo tilted her head, resting it against Mousse's shoulder as the two left
the recording studio.

"Shampoo, have I told you I loved you?" Mousse said as he and Shampoo stepped
out into fresh air outside the studio. The sky glowed orange from the setting
sun in the distant horizon.

"No"

"Well, I do" Mousse said "And don't you ever forget that"



-OneShot
Jeffrey Keith Wong: jeffwong@li.net
http://www.rit.edu/~jkw7063/fanfic/index.htm
http://www.li.net/~jeffwong/index.htm
The latter site has been updated on Sept 29th.