"Don't want to be an American idiot!

Don't want a nation under the new media,

And can you hear the sound of hysteria?

The subliminal mind fuck America...,"

-American Idiot; by Green Day

"Tell me about the accident."

"Uh, well...I-I was with some friends." A pause, swallowing thickly before continuing. "A few of them had been drinking, and I didn't think much of it at the time."

"Why?"

A stiff shrug. "I don't know. It was a stupid mistake on my part."

"Why didn't you offer to drive? Or had you been drinking, too?"

"N-No, I was sober. I, uh, I don't have my license yet. I was taking driver's ed. classes, but I never got to finish."

"Because of the accident."

"...Yeah."

"Do you remember anything from after the crash?"

"Not really." A pause. "I had been in pain for a moment and then it stopped. It was like I went numb and I couldn't hear anything and I couldn't smell or see anything. I don't know."

A nod. "From what we've gathered, you died on impact."

"...I know."

"It's a miracle you managed to be resurrected."

A shake of the head. "I don't believe in miracles." A pause. "Are we done?"

"Yes, I believe we are." Closing her notebook, Dr. Gill looked at Arabella closely, her beady eyes studying Arabella's every movement. "You're free to go now."

~8~

Arabella Montgomery remembered bits and pieces of that night. She remembered hearing her friends' voices, she remembered smelling the strong scent of alcohol, and she remembered feeling immense pain before everything went numb. Sometimes, Arabella got flashes of her friends' faces — her friend, Angeline Spencer, who had been the one to invite everyone to hang out, who was young and pretty and then she became bloodied and mutilated. Arabella's other friend, Winnie, who was an honor roll student and had dreams of becoming a fashion designer — Arabella remembered Winnie's vibrant blue eyes and her honey blonde hair. Then...Winnie's face was covered in blood and shards of broken glass; her honey blonde hair was dampened by her own blood. Sometimes, Arabella remembered hearing a pained scream, but it sounded too far away.

The night Angeline invited Arabella and their other friends over, they had no idea on what would happen. It seemed like a simple get-together — they'd joke around, have some fun, maybe go around town and buy food for whatever they had planned. Except...Angeline's version of a "get-together" involved the heavy liquor her parents kept locked in their liquor cabinet.

Angeline and Winnie were the only ones who got really drunk; Arabella had a sip of some whiskey but left it at that; another friend of theirs, a girl named Georgina, was the only one who had no alcohol whatsoever. As it would turn out, in Angeline's drunken state of mind, it seemed like a good idea for them to go out for a drive. Georgina didn't want to go, but had been hassled into going. Arabella was hesitant, but did nothing to stop the two intoxicated girls from doing what they wanted. In the end, Angeline ended up speeding down a highway, running a red light, and getting hit by a truck at an intersection.

Apparently, Angeline and Winnie died on impact; Arabella didn't die immediately, she eventually bled out from a wound near her stomach not very long after, though; Georgina was the only one who truly survived the ordeal, but because of the severity of the wreck, Georgina's spine was horribly damaged, which left her paralyzed from the neck down.

But that had been what Arabella had been told. She'd been told about Winnie's and Angeline's deaths, she'd been told of Georgina's paralysis, she'd been told she died of her injuries long before paramedics arrived — but how did she manage to wake up?

From what she understood, after being pronounced dead, Arabella's body had been sent to a medical examiner to see the true extent of her injuries. But in actuality, Arabella frightened the medical examiner by jolting out of the metal berth she was on, in complete hysterics, and still in a bit of pain. Unbeknownst to Arabella — though she wouldn't have cared anyway — the medical examiner had fainted.

After finding something to cover herself up with, Arabella had stumbled around the building until someone called the police and an ambulance. The building's security had to restrain her, despite her fear and confusion.

It wouldn't be until much later that Arabella would learn the truth.

~8~

The pictures haunted Arabella the most. Seeing Angeline's car so mangled and broken — it nearly made Arabella faint. She'd been in that car. She had been one of the last people to see Angeline and Winnie alive. And Georgina...she had been paralyzed from the neck down as a result of the accident. How could anyone live that way? How could Arabella forgive herself for letting that happen to her friend? Angeline's and Winnie's deaths...those were on her shoulders. If she hadn't let them drive drunk, if she'd tried convincing them to do something else, maybe none of what happened that night would've happened.

But, the more Arabella thought about it, the more she realized that maybe the accident was bound to happen, regardless of what anyone did.

Besides, if Arabella hadn't been involved in the accident, she wouldn't have been able to figure out the truth about who she was.

(A/N):

If you can excuse the fact that this chapter is long overdue, then I'd appreciate it! If there's anything that came off as confusing, don't hesitate to let me know, okay? That's the important thing.

Do I own anything in this franchise? No. No I don't.

It's been a few years since I've read these books, so if you guys can bear with me — please — that would be amazing.

Let me know if you've got any thoughts/constructive criticism on anything. Stuff like that is welcomed.

Be kind to one another, don't text and drive, and please try not to drive drunk.

Thanks.

Bleu