Guess who's back, everyone. ME. I've been on the ocean for a week and had no time to write, but I figured I'd get this one up. If you're wondering, Letters to the Glade will hopefully be updated soon as well.

I must admit, the premise for this chapter probably won't make total sense, but stick with me, I explain it at the end.

Kleptomaniac

Unlike most of the guys in the gang, Gally wasn't a full-on drug addict. He didn't really drink that much, either. But he quickly found out that there are things in this world just as habit-forming as any substance. Things like stealing.
It had started small, on a dare, actually. Somebody had bet him he didn't have the guts to swipe a cheap watch while the owner was distracted. It wasn't hard. He had simply stashed his own watch in his pocket and walked out wearing the stolen one, even buying a pack of gum before leaving. He didn't think twice about it at the time, but it was the turning point. When you steal once, the next time becomes easier.
The second thing he took was a pocketknife, a replacement for the useless one he had. It was shortly followed by bigger, more expensive items; cell phones, jewelry, a couple of bottles of beer. After the first two things, he never kept any of them, and made better money reselling them than he ever would have in a job. And that was his descent. Simple and virtually irreversible.
This time, though, he was aiming a little higher than before. He sat in an alley, not really the dark, creepy movie type, but certainly out of the way. He waited for hours before anyone came by. Finally, when the sun had started to set, a couple of silhouettes appeared. He crept closer to them, and grinned as he realized that one of the figures had a purse barely balanced on her shoulder. Perfect. He stuck to the shadows, slipped up beside them, and lunged. The bag slipped easily off the girl's shoulder and she shrieked and ran.
He prepared to escape, but he wasn't exactly expecting a voice to come from behind him.
"I'd give that back, if I were you." Gally whirled and found himself face to face with a sharp knife. Or, more accurately, a pretty brunette girl with a sharp knife.
"Oh, come on, we both know you're not going to stab me," Gally said, trying to sound as nonchalant as he could with a blade flashing a few inches away from him.
"Willing to take your chances?" The girl stepped closer. "I could claim you attacked me, and no one would ever know."
"You-you're crazy."
She smiled disarmingly. "Maybe. Maybe not. Give that to me so I can return it to my friend, and you don't have to find out."
"I can't. I need the money for my-" he frantically wracked his brain. "-mother's medicine."
"Do you think I'm stupid? I've seen you around, you're part of that gang. None of you need the money, you just steal stuff because you can."
Shuck. Gally made a mental note not to underestimate the next person he met in a back alley. "So what's the deal? I give this back to you, and you...what? Put away the knife, I hope?"
"You give it to me, we both leave, and pretend we never met. Here's your side of the deal, though. You give me your phone number, and the next time I hear about something going missing, you'd better have a good alibi, or I'll be turning you in."
She pulled out her phone, and typed in the digits as he recited them.
Finally, he handed the bag back over to her.
She took it, and said, "Well, you don't seem like an entirely terrible person, so I hope I don't have to talk to you again. I'd prefer not to have to call the police on you." She stuck out her hand and he shook it.
"Um...thanks. Oh, and I'm Gally Richardson, by the way."
"Brenda. Brenda Despain. Remember what I said. Nice to meet you, klepto boy." She walked away.
Well. That had definitely been interesting. He'd have to see how well the whole not-stealing thing worked out, but on the bright side, he wasn't being arrested, and a pretty girl had his phone number. Things could be a lot worse.

This one was a little less canon, but I wanted to reflect the way he changes in the books, and kind of breaks out of the power of whatever has been controlling him, so this was what I came up with. Anyway, I hope you guys are excited for the next, and most likely last, chapter. Quite honestly, even I'm excited for it.
Hope you liked this chapter, please review!