- - flashback - -

Everyone hooted and hollered as she pounded the remaining quantity of Tequila in the bottle, cringing as it burned on the way down, mixing with the already excess amount of alcohol she had consumed that night. Raising the bottle from her lips, her head tilted back, she stuck out her tongue, catching the last drop of alcohol before raising her other hand, everyone cheering. She lowered the bottle, practically slamming it onto the coffee table in front of her and cringed, shaking her head and closing her eyes.

"Holy fuck, I'm done guys. I can't do this for another hour with you guys, otherwise I'm gonna end up trying to get into someone else's apartment." Michelle waved a hand dismissively at the offered drink, hearing the boos as two of her female co-workers smashed themselves against her, taking her arms and shaking her to beg her to stay. Shaking her head, she laughed and waved them off, taking her time to stand up from the couch and hope she didn't fall flat on her face at this juncture. Once sure she could manage the walk home, she placed a hand on her friend Christine's shoulder before she was drug into an uncomfortable hug - she adored her, but she wasn't one to show affection to people and since she was drunk, she knew Christine realized she could take her fair share of advantage of her.

Christine gently guided her to the door, stopping in the doorway as the guys in the house chanted her name, turning to look over her shoulder and wave them off for the time being. "Michelle, are you sure you can make it home safely? You're pretty trashed and I've never seen you like this. Is everything okay?"

"Christine…for the love of god…I'm fine, stop worrying about me. I just had a rough few weeks, okay? Let me work out my problems on my own. I'm a big girl."

"I know but--"

"Goodbye Christine!" shoving her friend back through the door, she stumbled down the stairs before stopping and trying to focus her spinning gaze. She took careful, gingerly steps down the walkway out to the sidewalk. Her home was a few blocks away and thankfully she still had the ability to think about what direction to go so she didn't really end up lost.

Amanda sat in the car with John, shaking her head slowly as she watched the next subject stumble aimlessly down the sidewalk. "She couldn't get out of a fucking trap even if she was given full instructions with the way she is right now. I remember those days, this girl is going to get herself killed."

"We won't be doing anything tonight. I simply wanted to get a better idea of her habits."

Amanda looked over at John, shaking her head and sighing, pointing towards the disappearing figure "What exactly is so special about her? She's like half the population her age, why are you so eager to test her? And why so lenient?"

"Amanda. She's tried multiple times to kill herself. If she wants to die so badly, I feel she might as well show me. I have doubts that she's interested in really ending her life but feels life is unfair to her and is doing this to cope with the trauma she's faced." John tapped the steering wheel with his fingers before turning off the lights to the car and pulling out from the alley they were hiding in. "I've spoken to her on many occasions. She has a lot to offer the world but fails to use it properly. She's helped me so I feel it necessary to help her."

"What if she can't be helped John? Then what?" Amanda watched her as they stayed back, following her as if John was intending to make sure she made it to her apartment safely without problems.

John looked over at his apprentice for a moment, grinning that trademark grin before turning his attention back to the street to watch Michelle stumble up her steps, unlock her door, and make it inside. "We cannot help everyone. I have a feeling though she's much more then she pretends to be."

- - end flashback - -

"Hey, you okay? Hello??"

She looked up, shaking her head slowly as she managed to zone out at the most inopportune moment, smiling sheepishly and running her fingers through her hair before pushing a few strands behind her ear. "Yeah, yeah, sorry. I just--"

"Zoned out? I do that too sometimes. Especially when I think of my friend. I swear she has to be dead by now, it's not like her to disappear this long." Christine sighed and leaned against the counter, her eyes red from crying over the disappearance of Michelle and lack of information about where she might have possibly gone.

Michelle bit her bottom lip, frowning a bit before nodding and pulling the hood up a bit tighter. "I'm…sorry. But, you know, don't lose hope. Sometimes--"

"No, I've heard that so many times. There's no hope here, it's been months. She hasn't called, they can't find her. Did you know they found her apartment destroyed? I think someone kidnapped her and…" Christine dropped her face into her hand, trying to silence the oncoming sobbing fit. She had been having trouble focusing on work and even worse, this woman looked so much like her friend that she could hardly stand it.

She sighed and dropped her head, reaching out and gently touching her arm as if making some small attempt to comfort her. When Christine's head shot up and she saw her smile she at least felt some form of relief in her aching heart - she never imagined someone would be so destroyed over her disappearance. Moving her hand away, she took the bag of medical supplies from the counter and nodded to Christine, heading towards the doorway.

"Oh! Wait, you've been here like three times but I don't know your name. Is there someway I can address you? I feel rude."

Pausing at the door, she placed her hand on the handle, pushing it open slightly before peering out the side of the hood, grabbing the first answer off the top of her head. "You can call me…whatever you like." With that she exited the shop, having no real answer to give her and not wanting to spend too much time in the fear that eventually she would be recognized and all hell would break lose.

Okay guys, I'm hitting a tiny little writer's block and although that's not a major issue, I've gathered up enough reviews and information from my readers to realize that a lot of you have things you would like to see me write.

So I'm asking my readers and those who enjoy my stories to please send me PMs with ideas that you would like to see me write about. I'm pretty much open to anything and willing to give a number of things a shot.

I write because I love it but I also love to write for you guys, so drop me ideas, tell me what you'd like and I'll even give you a little shout-out in the beginning of the story to let you know that I wrote it for you.

Aaaaaaand go!