Now we're all grown up and we know better
Now we recognize the way things are
Certain boys are just for kindergarten
Certain girls are meant to be alone
But I believe that any dream worth having
Is a dream that should not have to end
So I'll build a dream that I can live in
And this time I'm never waking up

-Kindergarten Boyfriend; from the Off-Broadway performance, Heathers: the Musical

Irina continued to lay on the ground, even after the man had left. Her body struggled to move, and she wondered if that was normal. The man she met seemed so cold and standoffish, looking at her as if she were a burden. Had she done something to him? Irina had no recollection of him; though she had no recollection of anything before her awakening. The man's reaction made her feel a little self conscious, as if she'd already done something bad before she had the opportunity to do anything. If he was already treating her like that, making her feel like she'd already wronged him, as if she were a burden or a grievance, then Irina should expect everything afterwards to be even worse. But she didn't really know anything yet. Irina wanted to believe that maybe things would look up, given the man had a moment to calm down. She'd probably caught him in a bad time.

After taking a few minutes to get her on her knees, Irina slowly lifted her arms to wrap the blanket around her body. She was still shivering, and the thin cloth was doing nothing to warm her body. Taking in a deep breath, Irina could feel the cold air sending chills down her spine. There was definitely something off about the room. Everything about it felt wrong, but she just couldn't put a finger on it. Slowly looking behind her, the young girl could see a long, wide glass tube not far from where she sat. Irina could see clear fluids on the inside, though the grey area near the bottom had a sealed opening. Monitors by the tube showed numbers and frantic lines, blinking lights and other things she couldn't make sense of. Again, it sent chills up her spine. Irina's gaze then went to the large steel door on the other side of the room. There was a keypad on the wall next to it, and it was obvious the door needed to be opened with a specialized password. What was on the other side of the door? Irina found herself getting increasingly curious. Would she be able to see what was on the other side? She'd definitely love to see the other side.

Then she heard a door open, then footsteps.

Irina's breath hitched at that. Her head carefully turned to see the suited man from before, still looking down at her in that same condescending manner. Why was he so upset with her? What had she ever done to him? She got herself all wrapped up like he wanted!

"Are you able to talk yet?" he sneered. His blue eyes narrowed menacingly. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you some questions."

"I. . . .," Irina slurred, her voice gravelly and weak. "Hn. . . .Wha. . . .?"

A frustrated scowl came across the man's face, in which he chose to bend down and yank Irina up by her forearm. The action alone was enough to cause the young girl let out a surprised and confused yelp. She hadn't expected him to react in such a manner, and it made Irina wonder what she'd done wrong. Her entire experience since officially waking up had been less than stellar, which made her feel a growing mixture of uncertain emotions. If this man was so upset with her, willing to make her feel so terrible, then why had she been awoken in the first place? Had he tried creating one thing, but got Irina instead? Was that why he was so upset? Irina couldn't say with exact certainty.

All thoughts and worries aside, Irina took notice to how she easily struggled to keep up with the man's hurried pace. Her forearm hurt from the tight grip he had on it. He was leading her to the stairway he'd come down, presumably to the big room's exit. Maybe things would be better up there. Maybe Irina would have the chance to meet better, nicer people. The man she was with wasn't exactly a ray of sunshine. Once they made it upstairs, Irina found herself being tossed onto the floor, her body aching from the impact.

"You need to understand something, girl," he seethed, his eyes changing from blue to red, causing Irina to shrink back. "I will not accept failure, do you understand me? Despite your inconvenient and unfortunate turn out, you're the only one who's made it out alive. Thus far you've only been a great disappoint to me. I'm wondering if I should terminate you."

Those words sent Irina's heart into a frenzy, her stomach tying so tightly that she felt nauseous. Was he threatening her? Why was he threatening her? What had she done to disappoint him? Those thoughts rattled in Irina's brain, making her body tremble in fear.* She struggled to sit herself up, holding the blanket even more around her. Why hadn't she been given clothes yet? Did the man have any for her? Hopefully he did, Irina was starting to feel a little uneasy in her current condition.

"I want you to look around." The man's sharp tone caused Irina to flinch ever so slightly. The young girl did just that, taking in the drastic changes in the upper level compared to where she'd been found. It was bigger, more spacious – colored in green and gold. There were no machines, only weird decorations. Again, Irina wasn't sure how to react to any of what she saw. The man's voice carried more, which made the young girl hunch her shoulders in hopes of making herself smaller. She already didn't like him. "You are not to go outside these walls," he exclaimed, waving around him. "You are to stay inside this mansion at all costs. If I find you even trying to go outside you will be terminated immediately. Do you understand me?"

All Irina could do was nod.

-Rainbow-

It took Dusty an hour and a half to make herself leave the Nasty Burger. The fast food joint had become overcrowded, thus becoming too loud for comfort. For the young girl, she had a bad relationship with loud noises, so she tried to avoid loud places or people as frequently as possible. Because of that, Dusty chose quietness. It was relaxing for her, giving her time to think and breathe and not become overwhelmed with everything that's going on. So, when the Nasty Burger started to fill up, and the noise became too much for her, the young girl chose to leave. The one thing Dusty was thankful for was that Amity Park was a very small, very quiet city. Sure, there were those little city noises now and again, but it wasn't frequent and the young girl was so happy she didn't have to deal with those noises a lot. Dusty had spent time in bigger, more populated cities – those were nightmares. She couldn't sleep because of all the noise, she couldn't leave wherever she was sleeping because she was so overwhelmed. That was when Dusty promised herself to never seek refuge in overly populated areas. She'd be terrified out of her mind, too scared to even go out and do anything. So finding Amity Park was a definite breath of fresh air.

On the sidewalks, the young girl could see kids, families, older couples, walking and enjoying each others' company. She could see cars and trucks driving down the roads, she could see all kinds of buildings and homes. It was really nice, and Dusty would appreciate her time in Amity Park for as long as she chose to stay. In reality, however, the young girl knew she wouldn't stay long. She only stayed in certain locations long enough to steal enough money and essentials before hitting the road again. If she stayed in one location too long, she'd be found out, either by him or civilians, and be sent back. Dusty didn't want to be sent back. But, then again, it wasn't like anyone could truly find her in a database. She had no form of identification. No birth certificate, no social security, nothing. Dusty's entire existence was unknown. Civilians who worried about her safety would try and figure out a way to take her home, but she'd have to figure out an elaborate story to make them leave her alone. He'd be able to figure out her location with the help of his henchmen. He had eyes and ears everywhere. That alone was enough to dampen Dusty's mood. She had been relatively neutral for a majority of the day, but thinking about him always put her in a bad mood.

Throwing up the hoodie of her jacket, Dusty hunched her shoulders and started walking. She'd have to get more money before finding a place to sleep for the night. It was only midday, but the young girl liked to stay ahead of the game. She wanted to ensure her safety, to make sure she had somewhere to go to each night, though she made sure to change it for every night she stayed in the same location. She didn't want to catch the eye of any intruders, not wanting to deal with any additional problems. In a city like Amity Park, there had to be abandoned buildings around. Every city Dusty had been to had numerous abandoned buildings. She'd managed to survive living in a few. The only kinds of people who lived or hung out in areas like that were either drug dealers or the homeless, so Dusty found herself in a good spot. She'd be able to scare the dealers off and maintain a healthy level of intimidation over the other residents before calling it a night. At least all the training she had under her belt was useful for something.

(A/N):

I know, I know – this chapter showed the previous one before I posted this one. I don't need constant reminders or any kind of scolding from reviewers reminding me of this. I'm 100% aware of what's going on, okay? I am the one writing the story, so it'd be a little ridiculous if I didn't know what was going on. Other than that, give constructive criticism on what you think of the story so far. What're your thoughts on the characters? What do you think could use improvements?

Nothing in the DP universe belongs to me. All I own are my OCs and the subplots I put in.

How many of you guys heard that Butch Hartman left Nickelodeon? It's kind of sad, he's been on Nick for roughly 20 years. He's made so many of my favorite shows as a kid, and, obviously, DANNY PHANTOM is one of them. What're your thoughts on that?

On that note, I'll see you guys on the flip side!

Chi August