A/N: HEY GUYS!!!! HOW ARE YOU ALL DOIN'!? Thank you all who reviewed

Whoa, this place is a dump I thought as I walked off the dock. Well it's a lot better than jail. I traveled down the nearly empty streets, looking for a reasonable place to stay. I settled on Ms. Lovett's Pie Shop, one of the not-so-trashy buildings. I hesitantly knocked on the front door. It looked almost empty inside.

Just as I was about to knock again, a tall, pale man opened the door. He looked straight ahead. He turned his black eyes down to me when I cleared my throat. Oh my, I've never felt so short in all my life.

I took this moment of his confusion to study him. He was tall, thin, pale. Black hair framed around his shadow-y face. When I looked back up into his eyes they were no longer confused, but angry.

"Why are you here?" he asked, dangerously low.

"Well, actually I was wondering if you would….um, maybe grant me a room to stay in, sir. Please, I have nowhere to go and-"he cut me off with a raised hand, his white shirt sleeve falling to his elbow in the process.

"What is your name?" he wondered, curiosity instead of anger.

I looked into his eyes, trying to decide if I could trust this man. I figured I've got nothing to lose. "Sarasponda James, sir," I answered truthfully. When he didn't answer, I added, "and you?"

"Sweeney Todd." He answered flatly.

"Ah, Sweeney Todd," I mumbled, savoring the taste of his name on my lips. I decided to let him speak.

"Um…….. Ms. James, shouldn't you be with your suitor?" he asked nervously, his voice wavering. "Husband?" he questioned.

"No, I don't 'ave one of them." I responded sadly.

I turned my gaze to his arm, there was something I was all too familiar with, scabs on the inside of his left forearm. Before I could look further, he waved me through the door, closing and locking it behind me. He finally dropped his pale arm, pulling his sleeve down over his milky skin.

"Do you cook, Ms. James?" he asked, harder this time.

"I believe I can," I mumbled, looking down, shyly. He roughly grabbed my chin with his right hand, forcing me to look into his frightening, black eyes.

"You look at me when you speak with me," He growled angrily, his cold breath hitting my face.

"Yes sir," I also growled, returning the anger. I suddenly had the impulse to do something very improper. I decided against it. He dropped his hand.

"Fine then," he mumbled, defeated. Then he looked down.

"Oh, so you get to look down when I talk to you. Hell no!" I yelled, probably waking up the whole block. "And another thing, I cook very well, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!" I shouted, having no idea why I was getting so angry. I then grabbed his chin, pulling him down so he was level with me. "Now I may be smaller than you," I began again, calmer now, looking into his hard gaze. "But I can do a lot of damage if I am treated badly." I concluded in a growl, pushing him away from me. He stumbled a couple feet.

"SO CAN I!" he barked, louder than me. He walked to me; I backed up against the counter.

He leaned down, and I leaned up, gaining courage once again.

"And so begins the stare off." I said at a normal volume. He narrowed his cold eyes, so did I.

Now we were only a mere two inches away from each other. His formerly hard eyes began to fog with something between sympathy, pity and…. lust? He leaned down further, close to my ear.

He suddenly spoke in a soft voice. "You can stay," he whispered in my ear.

"And if I change my mind," I mumbled, shakily. He chuckled lowly.

"I don't think you'll want to," he purred into my black hair, brushing it away from my now red face. He brought up his scarred arm up to my cheek, softly caressing.

Then he suddenly pulled away completely. Stepping back a couple of feet until his back collided with the far wall. I cocked my head to the side, silently questioning, not daring to look away.

He spoke really fast, "Ms. James, you may stay here. Your room is in there." He said pointing to a small hallway. "The first door on the left. Ms. Lovett is no longer with us; you are welcomed to her things. Tomorrow is market day; you may buy food to cook with. There will be money on the counter tomorrow morning. I'll see you at lunch, which you will be cooking. Good night." He finished, going outside, locking the door behind him, then walking up the outside staircase, leaving me wondering about his change in mood.

I walked where he pointed, into the first room on the left. It was relatively large with at least a queen sized bed with lovely black silk sheets. A dresser was sitting in the far corner with makeup sitting atop of it. It looked as though this Ms. Lovett had just disappeared, without taking anything. Oh well, beggars can't be choosers.

I walked to the full length mirror and looked at myself. My curly black hair cascaded down my back. I curiously pulled one of the longer curls down, it almost reached my butt. Wow, I needed a haircut. I turned my attention to my pale green eyes which had large dark circles under them.

And on that note, I walked to the dresser, opening the top drawer, silently praying Ms. Lovett wasn't abnormally tall. I found a long black night gown. I set it atop the dresser and pulled of my reddish-brown dress. I stepped into the nightgown and pulled the long sleeves down a little past my wrists, covering half my hands. The bottom of the night dress draped over my waist and hips and dragged a couple inches past my feet in a little train.

I looked towards the closet door and sighed, too tired to look at the rest of my newly acquired clothes. I kicked my old dress towards a random corner and crawled into the silky sheets, trying to shield myself from the cold air.

It took me a long time to get to sleep. The last time I glanced over at the wall clock it was one twenty. Before I felt unconsciousness take me I felt my thoughts drifting to my new housemate upstairs, Mr. Todd.

A/N: well there you have it!!!!!!

Chapter 2! Yay!

Please review and I'll give you a half empty can of mountain dew!!!!

Good day. Good night. God bless.

-Logan

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