CrazyA: I just have to tell all those Sweenett fans out there, It. Ain't. Gonna. Happen. Ever. I'm sorry to say this becuase I want it to happen, too. But I know that it won't. So if you're looking for one of those stories, stop reading now.
Lovett: There's always 'ope... *adorable cockney accent* Don't be so 'ard on Mister T and the readers, you'll make a bad impression.
CrazyA: Oh yeah, I wrote a story... (blonde both inside and out) well ENJOY!

Chapter One: Home
Greenfinch and Linnet Bird

Jasmine's POV-

The grey scenery rolled by as the black taxi drove onward. From what you could see, London was as depressing as stepping on chewing gum. Joy was going on about the house you were now moving in to. It was only a temporary thing, nothing to get excited about. In fact, it was apparently ancient. You hadn't seen any photos of it, but you didn't like its description. Two storey, good views of the city…those were the only good things. There was no electricity whatsoever, so candles it was for you, dear. But you didn't really mind that, you actually liked candles. They were sort of romantic. There was basic plumbing, nothing flash. No power shower like your apartment in New York. And to top it all off, people had died there. In the now sealed-up basement. But that was just a rumour you had heard from one of the kids at school.

"Won't it be great?" Joy asked you. You nodded slightly and continued listening to your iPod, 'Tainted Love' by Marilyn Manson. Joy looked back to you and groaned.

"Can you get those plugs out of your ears for once in your life?" She hissed. Whoever had named her Joy would've got the fright of their lives if they saw her today. You turned down the volume slightly, knowing that it would be confiscated for a whole week if you didn't.

"This is it!" Joy smiled out the window. You rolled down your window and sighed. Just like you expected; grey, boring and bleak.

"They kept the neighbourhood the exact same way it was in the 1800's. They've added schools and hospitals, but nothing too modern." Joy sounded like she was reading out of a book, she probably was. You groaned as you saw a familiar face, a horrid one to be exact.

"Alex!" Joy yelled, waving out the window. You sunk back into your seat. Alex is Joy's boyfriend. They had met on an online dating site, but had only seen each other through webcam. One time, you had accidentally opened one of Joy's emails and found some mind-boggling stuff that was meant to be romantic…it was simple, online shagging. Joy decided that the two of you were going to move over to London, just to be with him. You didn't like him one little bit…

"Hey Joy, hi there Jazzy." You slammed the door shut as you got out of the car, you hated that nickname. It sounded so…sleazy…especially when it came out from his mouth. Taking your iPod out of your ears, you walked over to the moving van and started to find your suitcases. You didn't have much in the way of clothing; it could all fit in one bag. You mostly had furniture, and lots of it. There was your desk, your bed, your armchair, your bookcase and your wardrobe. When you saw it compared to Joy's stuff though, you had nothing. Your stuff was in an antique, swirled sort of design. You pulled out your armchair and started taking it up the stairs. You didn't even bother saying 'hi' to Alex, he wasn't worth it. Climbing up the steps around the house, you opened the door to your new room. Immediately, a strong sense reeled you back. Anger and sadness, rage and sorrow. It was like a ying and yang sensation that came over you. You felt like you were lost at sea, swirling in and out of waves. You felt like you wanted to lie down and cry, but you wanted to beat someone up for no reason at all. You didn't like this sensation; it was taking over your body, your mind, your soul…

"Hey girl, you okay?" a mover asked. You looked up at him and the feeling left. You nodded quickly and walked into the room, sniffing at the aged smell. The walls were painted a baby blue, but the bright color couldn't cover the old people/museum smell.

"Do you need a hand with that?" he asked, pointing at the chair that you were holding above your head. You shook your head and looked around; your whole room was already set up for you. It had taken a while for you and Joy to find a taxi, so the moving men had driven off without you. They must've used the time before you arrived to do your room first; it was very sweet of them.

"Have you done the other rooms?" you asked. The guy shook his head and gave a friendly smile as he ruffled his dark curly hair.

"We wanted to do your room first, seeing as it was the smallest. Plus," he added in a whisper. "You're a hell of a lot nicer than your mum and her bloke." You smiled at him and put the chair at your desk, which was just in front of the giant window. The advertisement was right; this place had beautiful views…even though they were of dreary London.

"Go and get yourself a coffee or something, I'll take over." The friendly mover smiled at you and walked down the stairs, happy to follow your orders. He was really sweet; he looked about eighteen years old. He might be going to your school, even. You actually looked forward to having him as a friend if he was. But only when he was gone did you notice something, a red chair. It wasn't part of your furniture, all your stuff was in a blue and purple theme. You stared at it, wondering what it was doing there.

"It must be Joy's. The guy must've taken it up here and thought it was mine," you said. You heard a bed frame slam downstairs onto the floor and you jumped at the shock. You could hear Joy screaming about the movers scratching the floor. Sighing, you looked back to the chair…

…where had it gone?

It was right there, you knew it was. It was right in front of your very two eyes. But not anymore…the red seat had vanished from sight.

"I must be out of my mind," you assured yourself. You wheeled over your bag of clothes and started to unpack. Hanging each outfit lovingly in the wardrobe, you only filled up half of the closet. You could hear someone marching up the stairs outside. Turning to the door, you found Alex standing there with a box marked 'BOOKS' in broad letters. He dropped them in the doorframe and walked off. He was sweet to you in front of Joy, but once she was out he could be a right prick. You began to place each book onto a shelf, remembering the stories as you pulled each one out. Tales of Narnia, Hogwarts and the other classics filled your head with memories. After the last book was set, you scanned your eyes around the room. All was well and in its proper place. Breathing deeply, you went downstairs to see if you could help out with something. You bumped into Joy, who was red in the face with rage.

"Oh! Jasmine…did you want to go shopping? For clothes or candles or…something?" she asked. You knew this plot of hers; she would send you out with about £200 or $200 if you were back in America. Then she'd have some 'alone time' with Alex. But you were receiving cash for no apparent reason and you were avoiding Alex, so you were willing to do this for her.

"Yeah, okay…" you replied casually. Joy looked through her wallet and handed you a handful of notes. You smiled at her and walked off as fast as possible. Looking around you, each house seemed to be part of the same bleak parade. As you walked down the empty streets you managed to find the local chippy and a take-away Thai restaurant. Ever so British, you thought in your head. There wasn't much in the way of shops, just little antique stores that didn't really catch your eye. However, there was a dark magic and fantasy store; you might check that out later for candles. But there was one with bright red curtains hanging in the doorframe and gold lettering on the window. Mr Winter's Antiques and Nick-Knacks it read. You could hear chirping coming from inside and it lured you in with its magic charms. The song was coming from a bird that was sitting in a sliver cage on the shop counter. It had a price tag on it for £10, a reasonable price for such a sweet bird. The shop keeper looked up at you and then smiled at the bird.

"I found it in the attic a couple of days ago," he sighed and his wrinkly eyes smiled. "He seems to like you!" The bird was happily singing to you, sitting on his bowl of bird seed. You smiled at him and picked up the price tag, sometimes your glasses didn't exactly work.

"So ten pounds for the bird?" you asked. You didn't want to make any mistakes with your eyesight.

"Yep," the shop keeper replied. You handed him a note and he opened up the old-fashioned cash register. Looking back at the window, you smiled with thought.

"Why 'Mr Winter'?" you asked.

"My father was an icy old coot; he used to own the shop. Back then it was named 'Mr Steven's Antiques and Knick-Knacks'. But when he died, I turned it into Winter's," the shop keeper explained. You nodded and lifted the cage off the counter.

"I hope that I'll see you more often," he smiled one last time at you. You smiled back as he went upstairs, probably using the bathroom. As you began to walk out of the shop, you stopped dead in your tracks. You could sense something powerful coming from nearby. Looking around, you saw a small black box. It was sitting on the far side of the room on a tiny chest of drawers. It didn't have a price tag on it and it was surrounded by the shadows of the room. You walked over to it slowly, almost afraid of it. You couldn't describe what you felt when you came closer to it, it was the same feeling that you had before in your room. Only this was more rage and anger instead of sadness. You slowly opened the lid, gasping at what you found inside. Two, sharp, shaving knives. They rested in red velvet cloth and shone in the light from an old lamp nearby. You reached out to touch them and recoiled.

"I don't need them," you whispered. You tried to move away, but something made you stay with the precious blades. Take them, something in your head whispered. You shook your head and tried to get rid of the thought. But it remained there, never to be silenced.

"I don't even want them!" you whispered to no one. The old bat isn't here; this is your chance to get them! It kept commanding. Your hand reached out, but you put them in fists and pulled them by your side.

"I'm not stealing anything. I've got Benjamin, and he's all I need," you assured your mind. But suddenly, your hands whipped out and grabbed the box. Before you could do anything, you had the shoved the black chest into your dark trench coat's pocket. You grabbed Benjamin's cage and ran out of the shop, causing the frightened bird to tweet with fright and shock. You ran down the street and turned the corner, only stopping for breath then. Why you had done it, you didn't know. Why you wanted them, you didn't know either. But once you had the little black box in your hands, pure ecstasy and relief came over you. It was like you had discovered the meaning of life, or found the city of Atlantis. You walked down the street as fast as possible, wanting to never go in that shop again. When you finally came back home, you ran up the stairs and into your room. You fell onto the soft doona, resting your head on the pillow. You put Benjamin on your bedside table, where he began to sing merrily as he perched on a swinging bar. The soft tune made you sigh with relief as you lay on your bed. You soon realised that you were going to have to buy some bird seed and toys for him. But that was later, this was now. You could hear Joy groaning with Alex downstairs, they were so loud that it was scary. You wished that you had gone out for longer…but then again, you'd have to face it sometime later. You and Joy were only living here temporarily, and then you'd move in with Alex after about two months or so. This place was only a short stop so that you could get used to this part of London. Life was going to be a living hell…

"Oh Benjamin…" you sighed. "How can you keep singing?" You watched him happily tweet his tune, envious at his abilities.

"You've lived in a cage nearly all your life, how can you just sing? You could fly away, out into the open sky. I wish I could…but I can't. If I can't fly, then teach me how to sing," you said. But then it came to you, you were talking to a bird. This place was really starting to drive you insane. And that's when you remembered the blades. Pulling the box out of your jacket, you opened it and smiled at the shining glories. They glowed in the sunlight, almost smiling. But what were you to do with them? You had to hide them from Joy; if she saw them then she'd freak and become convinced that you're suicidal. You looked over at your desk near the window; you could hide it somewhere there. Walking over to it, you decided that it would be too easy to find if you hid them in a drawer. But under the desk…that was a different story altogether. You knocked on the floorboards, trying to find a hollow space. You heard the empty noise and pulled away at the floor, it was just big enough to hide the box. You took a last look at the blades, picking one up in your fingers and putting it in the bright sunlight. You suddenly felt a sharp pain run through the middle of your palm and warm, acid-like liquid fell through your hands.

"Crap," you muttered. You were bleeding. The red drops of blood trickled down you arm, which you wiped onto your jacket sleeve. You quickly put the stained knife back in the box and hid it in the floorboards. Placing the wood back over the top, you ran to your closet. Pulling out your oldest scarf, you wrapped it tightly around your palm. Joy must never know about this, you thought. You looked through the window, smiling slightly. The sun would soon set, and it would become night. Sunrise, sunset. A new day will dawn, and your new life would begin.

"Welcome to Fleet Street…"