Hello again, for those who recognize my screen name, if not I'll just say hello anyway because I like being polite lol.

Anyway, for those interested in my other stories that are still in progress (Desertion and Opposites to be specific) I know it seems like a long time but I haven't forgotten about those, at least I'm trying not to.

This however, this is an idea I've been toying with and I feel like giving it a go because I've hit a mental wall with the others, so I decided why not give something new a try, if it works it works if not, at least I can say I tried.

I hope you enjoy and it would be greatly appreciated if you could let me know if you did and we'll see where that leads us.

"Fuck you!"

"No! fuck you!"

*BANG

The sound of the loud heavy door slam echoed through the apartment building, there was hardly any doubt that there wasn't a single person in the entire apartment building that didn't hear it, a simple door slam was probably one of the more pleasant sounds to emanate from number 74 on the 12th floor.
She looked to her left and saw nothing but an empty hallway, she looked to her right and saw exactly the same, it was about 10pm at night so most if not all of her neighbours were home, the door to the left of her and the door to the right, even the one directly opposite her, there were people and families behind each one, each with their own story to tell, each with their own lives, but not a single soul had the decency to step outside and see what had happened, maybe they didn't care, maybe they didn't want to, or maybe they were just afraid.

A heavy exhale escaped her mouth as she paused to think, deciding on heading toward the elevator for whatever reason, without an idea where she would go or who she would see, she just wanted to get as far away from number 74 as possible, and she could start by getting down 12 stories to street level.
The entire elevator ride down to the ground floor was silent, aside from the usual whirs and clicks and rumbles of the mechanisms of the machine at work, it was an old elevator and believe me it sounded older than it was.
The elevator stopped suddenly almost as if it had jammed and was stuck, for most people this would be cause for concern but for the people that lived in the apartment building and the common visitors it was the normal, and that's when the doors opened.

She heard the click of the apartment buildings main door as it shut behind her, stepping forward from beneath the shelter she felt the harsh rain immediately, she had already known it was raining long before she found herself down here, but she had no idea just how bad it was until she experienced it first hand, the wind was fierce and the rain was heavy, she was scared, and alone, well... almost alone.
With one hand she pulled her hood up and looked down at the young boy cradled in her arms, he was sound asleep, fortunately, who knows how he slept through what he did but that's a story for another day.
A brief moment of calm washed over the girl as she stared down at him, before another heavy gust of wind and a ferocious hiss from the falling rain pulled her from this, she used her free arm to lift the boys hood up over his head and wrapped the blanket tightly around him, making sure he was secure in her arms, holding him as close to her as she possibly could, hunching over to ensure he was protected from any rainfall as she set off walking.

The entire time she walked warm tears were falling at a gradually increasing pace, a mixture of anger, pain, fear, sorrow and regret all causing the girls eyes to overflow, but if you passed her in this terrible weather you'd never guess she was crying at first glance, but maybe the second glance would do it, especially if you could see the bloodshot eyes, and the bruised cheek.
She walked aimlessly, keeping the boy held as close as she could, faintly mumbling to herself, "don't worry honey, I'll keep you safe, I'll always keep you safe, I'll keep... us safe".

She continued to head down another street with no idea where she was going, I mean where exactly WAS she supposed to go at 10pm at night? she thought about going to the police sure, but she was too scared to do that, so instead she just kept on walking, down whatever street she could, across whatever road she had to, every now and then she would pass someone, maybe just one person or multiple, but none would say a word to her, apart from the group of young hooded boys hanging around on a street corner that noticed her, mumbling about robbing her, identifying her as an easy target, until they noticed the child in her arms, thinking better of it, but they wouldn't help her, instead they'd just wait for the next unfortunate soul to walk down the street.

She glanced down at the boy who was still sound asleep but the wind was slightly pulling his hood down, causing him to get a little wet, the girl immediately used one hand to pull the hood back up, and to wipe the few rain drops from him skin too, not even realizing she was halfway across a road, too preoccupied with the child, "there we go honey, we wouldn't want you to get sick now would we? I told you I'll keep you safe, I'll keep us safe, I promise"

An almighty roar of a car horn sent a shock wave of fear straight to the girls very heart, she heard the screech of brakes and looked to her left to be blinded by the headlights, time seemed to slow down as the car approached, she closed her eyes and gripped the child tight fearing the worst, "I love you" she whispered assuming the car wouldn't be able to stop, the noises of the horn and the screeching brakes stopped however, and the girl realized she was still alive.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?!" she heard a man shout from the car as his window slid down, dimming his headlights to allow the girl to open her eyes without being blinded, but she wouldn't move, frozen with fear, and who can blame her on a night like this in this sort of weather if you were in her shoes with a car only seconds away from hitting you, you'd probably have your life flash before your eyes too.

Slowly the girl opened her eyes, looking down she could see that she was indeed still alive, and she made sure the child in her arms was too, but she still wouldn't move.

"didn't you hear me? I said what the fuck is the matter with y-" before the man in the car could finish his sentence however he was cut off, probably by the passenger.

But the girl standing in the middle of the road was too preoccupied to care, too focussed on the boy in her arms, she held him tightly and sobbed quietly, "I thought I lost you, I'm so sorry, I'll never let that happen again" she spoke and spoke to the child, with the fear that she genuinely nearly died and took the life that had not yet even begun with her, she was so focussed on that she didn't even hear the car door open, until a voice spoke to her.

"Tori?"

"Your seat Miss. Valentine"

"Oh well you're too kind" she gushed as the gentleman pulled her chair back for her, taking a seat he gently pushed the chair back underneath her, she couldn't hide a smile and even a little giggle as the gesture touched her, before he took his seat opposite her, smiling as he looked her in the eyes.

"You look lovely tonight" he started, taking her hands from across the table with his own.

"Stop" she giggled a little, looking down before looking back up, "you mean that?" "of course I do" he reassured her and she just laughed again.

"And of course, congratulations on the new record deal, I'd say that calls for the finest bottle of champagne they have in this place don't you think?"

"James please, I'd love a drink but I have work tomorrow, and plus you're driving remember" she sighed a little thinking how good a nice cold glass of champagne would be right now but knew it was the smart choice, "yeah I guess you're right right Cat, okay, a glass of wine it is, but you owe me sex tonight then" he smirked a little as Cat's cheeks flushed a shade of red, "James!" she gasped in a hushed tone, staring at the boy opposite her who just smirked and laughed at his comment, and it wasn't long before Cat did the same, shaking her head to regain her composure, "fine, a glass of wine and sober sex it is" she remarked with a raised eyebrow.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, causing the edge of Cat's lips to curve up into a tiny smirk as she heard a familiar phrase that reminded her of her time back at school, "that sober sex usually lasts about five minutes" Cat said with a giggle, looking him in his eyes, "yeah well, you'd know how I felt if you were in bed with a girl as sexy as you" he said looking down a little feeling emasculated.
Cat reached across the table and put her palm on his closed fist, making him look up at her, "I'm kidding" she said reassuringly, "but I mean, five more minutes is all I ask" she teased with a little wink, "when we get home you'll be begging me to stop" he teased back at her and Cat raised her eyebrows, "can we stop talking about having sex now please? the waiter will be back any minute" Cat laughed a little harder taking a sip of wine, "okay, less talk more action, and there will be plenty of just that later tonight young lady" he teased one final time before the waiter returned with their orders, meaning Cat couldn't shoot him a smart ass comeback even if she wanted to.

The pair proceeded to enjoy their meal and savour one another's company for the first time in a long time, they were both far too busy with work, Cat because she was an aspiring singer/songwriter and James because he worked at the record label Cat was signed to, but not as an artist he was in charge of promotions and public appearances, tours, performances and signings, pretty much anything an artist would do to promote their new single, aside from going on tour he was the man that would organize everything.

With one final mouthful of wine Cat put her now empty glass down on the table and looked across at her boyfriend, "so sex now?" he asked, she just laughed about it "really? right here? you'd do me over this table?" "I think that would take a few more bottles of wine first" he laughed and so did she, leaving the money for the bill along with a tip the pair stood up and headed out to the car.

"I can't believe how bad the rain is" Cat moaned as the pair drove home "my dress is ruined" "relax its fine, your dress just needs a wash that's all, and your hair and make up look just great" James laughed slightly and Cat quickly went to her purse and retrieved her handheld mirror, quickly getting a look she noticed her hair looked like she had been in the shower and all they did was walk to the car and two long streaks of mascara ran down either side of Cat's face, "oh my god" Cat shrieked as she assessed the damage, James just laughed about the ordeal, "relax, I still think you're pretty, besides its not like we're going anywhere anyway" he said momentarily taking his eyes off the road to look over and make sure Cat wasn't upset.

"You're such a sap" Cat giggled and looked at him "yeah but it made you smile" he winked at Cat and she just giggled a little more turning to look at the road.

"JAMES!" she shrieked at the top of her lungs as a silhouette appeared in front of them walking across the road, he immediately slammed on the brakes and hit the car horn as hard as he could.
Cat held her breath as the sound of the brakes and the horn were the only things heard, hoping with everything that she had that the car would stop in time, fortunately for her and everyone involved it did.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?!" James yelled from the car as his window began to slide down and he reached for the door, "James, don't" Cat reached across and put her hand on his knee, fearing that he would get out of the car and confront the person, Cat didn't want that to happen.

He could sense her fear and stopped, looking back at her, "probably just some idiot too messed up on whatever drugs they can find anyway" he sighed as he dimmed the headlights to see the person standing in front of them hadn't moved at all, they were keeled over slightly holding what seemed to be just a blanket against their chest.

"What should we do?" Cat asked as they both stared at the person.

James leaned towards the opened window and tried to get her attention again.

"Didn't you hear me? I said what the fuck is the matter with y-" "wait" he was cut off by Cat as she briefly saw a glimpse of the persons face as they looked down at the blanket they had held tightly to their chest.

Cat reached for the door slowly, never once taking her eyes off of the person in front of the car, "Cat what are you doing?" James asked but Cat didn't respond.

Slowly, she exited the car and tentatively walked forward, she could hear heavy breathing from the person who appeared to be sobbing, holding the blanket as tight as she possibly could, Cat also heard faint mumbling but couldn't quite make out what was being said.

When Cat felt she was close enough to the person, who was still completely lost in their own world, sobbing into the blanket, she gathered her breath and said her name.

"Tori?"

Well, that's where I'm going to leave this one for now, I hope you enjoyed it and it would be appreciated if you could let me know if you did, I'm not demanding reviews so if you don't want to you don't have to, its just nice to have that reassurance that people do enjoy my work, and of course if you have any critiques feel free to point them out so I can do my best to make my writing better.

Again there's no guarantee I'll carry this story on, just an idea that's being tested I suppose, if you like the concept and want to see more just let me know.

Thank you for reading :)