Same disclaimers apply!


Dani lightly sipped at her lemon tonic while waiting for Madison to come back from the restroom, nervously scanning the room for anyone that looked serial killer-like. None of them set off an alarm so far, but it still didn't calm her nerves.

"You know, if you're just gonna be a Debby Downer the whole night, you might as well just go. I can take a cab," Dani snapped out of her zone at the sound of Madison's voice.

"Oh hey, you're back."

"Will you stop looking over that shoulder already?" Madison dramatically rolled her eyes and ordered her second Screwdriver.

"Maybe I would if there wasn't a fucking serial killer on the loose!" Dani grumbled.

"There are a ton of bars in Miami for this killer to choose from," Madison smiled and thanked the bartender for her drink before taking another sip. "The odds are in our favor. Have a drink, Dani. Relax. Bartender! Bring my BFF a drink, please! It's her birthday! On me!"

"No, no, no, it's not my birthday, don't listen to her," the brunette quickly motioned to him, awed at the bartender completely missing the neon green wristband marking she was underage. "I'm just her driver…"

"Fine then, for me!" Madison waved her glass in the air, ignoring her roommate. "Another one, please!"

"No, you're good for now," she shook her head once again at the bartender, grabbing her friend by the wrist. "Let's dance, yeah?"

"Yeah!" Madison giggled, willingly going with her as Katy Perry's "California Gurls" came on.

Dani swayed her hips along with the music, water in one hand and Madison's hand in the other, making sure she didn't fall over. This had been a monthly tradition between them on either the first Thursday or Friday of the month, ever since their first party together; this semester they'd gotten lucky enough to get Fridays off, much to Dani's relief. She couldn't stand the thought of cramming her work on Sundays again.

"Hey Dani!" Madison interrupted her train of thought, the way she often did, drunk or sober.

"Yeah?" she yelled back over the music.

"Do you think California girls are really like that?"

Of course you'd ask that. "Like what?"

"Do they really wear Daisy Dukes with bikinis on top?!"

"Okay that's it, I'm cutting you off," she reached over and pried the drink from Madison's hand, becoming annoyed at her significantly lower IQ as a result of her intoxication. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom, alright? You gonna be okay for like 2 seconds?"

"Yeah, go, I'll be fine," Madison giggled before waving her arms in the air. "Have fun peeing!"

Those 2 seconds turned into about twenty minutes as she followed the line for the women's room, which circled around the bar.

"Is there any other restroom besides this one?" Dani grimaced, subtly crossing her legs together.

"If there was, do you think we'd be here?" one of the girls turned around to glare.

"No," she breathed in and out, placing her hands on her hips as she scanned the crowd for her friend, whom she could still spot dancing, but this time with a significantly older guy. He appeared to be in his forties, and she could've sworn she saw a gold wedding band on his ring finger.

She proceeded to jump up and down to catch her attention, but to no avail; there were now much taller people blocking her line of sight.

"Hey, it's Madison – or Mads – sorry I missed you," Madison's voicemail greeted her. "Leave a message. Bye!"

"Mads, whatever you're thinking of doing, don't do it," she warned her. "Call me when you get this, okay?"

"Are you gonna go or what? Cuz I'm starting to piss…"

Dani cringed, relieved that a stall opened up, as the girl behind her proceeded to pee on the ground, causing everyone around her to scatter in multiple directions.

Being the only sober one among a bunch of drunks had its perks, she observed. She laughed to herself as she eavesdropped on a fight that she was sure had broken out outside in line when one girl had accidentally lost her balance and another girl mistook it as her trying to cut in line.

After quickly drying her hands with what happened to be the last paper towel from the dispenser, she glanced at her phone, frustrated that Madison hadn't called back. She loved her friend, but having to look after her nearly every time they went out often got tiring.

"Hey, um," she searched for the bartender's nametag, "Pablo?"

"Ah, you!" the bartender greeted her. "What happened to your hot friend? The blonde?"

"Actually, I was hoping you could tell me," she scanned the crowd once again to make sure she hadn't missed her. "I just left to go to the bathroom, and when I came out she was gone. She isn't picking up her phone, and I'm afraid something might have happened to her."

"Haven't seen her," Pablo shook his head. "If she'd left through the front I woulda caught her. The pathway's been pretty clear for the past half hour or so. If she left, she probably went out back."

"Where do you think you're going?" the security guard at the back stopped her as she approached the back door.

"I'm actually on my way out, but have you seen my friend? Long, blond hair, red dress, silver shoes? She might've left with a guy…"

"Do you know how many chicks pass by here that look like that? And do that? Quit wastin' my time," the burly guard snapped, taking a bite of his donut.

"Do you know that a simple 'no' would have been just fine?"

"Alright, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave…"

"Don't have to!" Dani yelled back, stressed about finding Madison and annoyed at the security guard's lack of helpfulness.

Normally she was good at staying calm in tense situations, but her temper would often get the better of her, especially when it came to people close to her. With past experience on her side, she should've been confident that Madison would be back within a day or two, like she always had since last year, accompanied by some wild story about with her night with a hot guy or girl. But this – this was different, and she hoped against hope she was wrong and merely paranoid about the blond-targeting serial killer on the loose.


Just a few quick notes, this does take place during season 5, but for the purposes of this story, the order and/or outcome of events might be a little different. It should be pretty clear which case will come into play here, so don't expect anything from the other one, though it might be referenced sometimes. Obviously this won't compare to the brilliant writing of the show in terms of twists and stuff, but I hope you're enjoying it anyway. Thanks for reading!