Hey guys! Brand new story for y'all, which I'm trying to make as least cliche as possible. It's a wild ride, I promise, and it gets better. This is also crossposted on AO3, so if you see it there don't freak. I'm using the same username anyway, so there shouldn't be in issue.

Alice lies in her bed, brown hair curling across the pillow as she tosses and turns. The clock reads 11:12 when Alice's dreams take a turn for the worst.

Bright lights dance behind her eyes and the scent of smoke and fire fills her dreams, her back feels like it's burning, and she convulses like she's been hit by lightning. After a minute, the vivid dream passes and she slumps back down in her bed. A few minutes later it happens again, stronger this time, and she lets out a low-pitched sound, rolling over as her body shakes.

At midnight, the fire returns in her mind, powerful and dangerous, and she feels like she's being ripped apart. Alice rolls again and falls onto the floor.

Alice wakes with a start, green eyes opening wide, breathing heavily. Her back feels raw, like it was dragged through fire, and she picks herself up off the ground. The time reads 3 past 12 and she hisses, pissed that she's woken up.

"Fuck, just great," She moves around the small apartment, throwing the comforter that was tangled around her back on the bed before going into the kitchen and turning on the kettle.

Alice looks at the pile of textbooks on the countertop as she pulls out a mug and a teabag. Her schoolwork has been the last thing on her mind since Pogue, the good-looking Spencer boy she works with, ended up in the hospital. She hasn't been to see him yet, worried about running into anyone else from Spencer.

How do you explain to rich kids that you're visiting one of them because you work together?

She sits down at the table when her tea is ready, strong with milk and sugar, ignoring the textbooks on the counter, and sips her tea. Her mind replays everything that's happened in the last couple of months, from Pogue's accident right back to the incident that started it all. July 14th, when she dropped in the middle of making lunch and started convulsing on the floor. When she woke back up, in an empty apartment because the apartment had been empty since her brother had left for college, there had been an emblem burned into her back.

She's afraid to look again, she doesn't know what she'll see now. Maybe another one, maybe nothing.

Alice sips her tea and blocks it from her mind. It's Saturday, her night off from Brody's and the shop. Tomorrow, she'll be working on Pogue's bike bright and early, before visiting him in the hospital, and then she'll waitress for a few hours. After that, she'll come home, do some schoolwork, and then pass out with enough time to get a decent amount of sleep before school on Monday.

She has everything under control, which was exactly why she feels something would go horribly wrong.

Alice finishes her tea, washes the mug, and climbs back into bed. Tomorrow everything would be better, she felt sure of it.

"Hey Pogue, the receptionist told me you woke up last night," Alice walks into her coworkers hospital room after double checking there was no one else, carrying a vase of flowers and a card. A grunt from the bed is the only acknowledgement he gives her.

"I was at the shop before coming here, Harold wanted you to have these. There's a get well card too," She places both on a small table in the corner, "From all of us."

"How's my bike?" Pogue asks, glancing at the flowers as he sits up and winces.

"I'm fixing her up," Alice smiles, leaning against the table staring at him. "You did quite a number on her, huh?"

"Kate was in the hospital," Pogue defends, "She was hurt. I needed to get to her."

"Yes, and biking at full speed in the rain was the obvious solution," Alice gives him a look, "But you overshot, and instead of visiting her in the hospital you ended up in the hospital."

"You're cheerful today," Pogue ignores her comments, "Just make sure you give me the good pistons, not the shit we typically put in bikes," Pogue frowns at the flowers behind her, "Harold really got me those?"

Alice shakes her head, "Harold got the card. Bailey got the flowers and they decided to merge the two gifts. And don't worry about your bike, she'll ride like a dream by the time I'm done with her."

"Yeah," Pogue nods before looking around the room. "Hey, where'd the guys go?"

Alice frowns, looking around, "What guys? I didn't see anyone when I came in, you know I checked."

Pogue frowns and moves to pull his IV out, "What is with you and not wanting to meet my other friends?"

"Hey, whoa whoa whoa," Alice stops him, "Don't do that. I'm sure they'll be back soon. They must have left for food or something. And I don't want to meet them because they're Spencer kids and I'm not." She sits down on the hospital bed, "Simple as that."

"You gonna stick around and meet them this time?" Pogue teases, a smile barely gracing his lips.

"Not a chance," Alice rolls her eyes, smiling, "I'd prefer not to let them down, seeing as they only know me as 'Al the Mechanic' and not Alice."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Pogue looks back at the flowers, "If you don't stick around, they're going to wonder who brought me flowers."

"Then they can wonder," Alice looks back at the flowers, "I signed the card as Al in case they read it anyway."

"You know, they'd like you if they met you," Pogue grabs her arm as she tries to stand.

"I'm pretty sure they wouldn't." Alice gently removes her arm from his grasp, "But thanks for the vote of confidence." She moves to the door before turning back to him, "Get better soon, okay? The shop's boring as shit without you."

"See you, Alice," Pogue nods, letting himself fall back on the hospital bed.

"See you," Alice nods at him before leaving.

In the hallway, Alice passes a group of 3 boys heading in Pogue's direction. She slips past them silently and easily, a learned skill, on her way to her truck in the parking lot.

Hope you liked it! Please R&R so I get feedback!

-Margii