I sat up slowly, my back being ambushed by a sharp pain. Damn, I thought, I must've passed out in the bathtub last night. I noticed I still had a cigarette butt in my hand, so after giving it a look, I tossed it into the toilet. Slowly I stood up, fighting against the aches rippling through my body. I slumped down onto the toilet seat, looking at my bare feet. Small patches of black nail polish littered my toenails. Maybe I should have Ami redo these for me... you know... once we're cool again... I shook the thought from my mind. Ami had already told me that she forgave me, and that I was okay and that's all that mattered. She even said that everything was said and done, so there was no point in lingering. I couldn't honestly say that I agreed with her. I wasn't okay. There was something seriously wrong with me. I couldn't even deny it. But somehow, when she said those words, it filled me with gladness. I had expected her to give up on me, leave me behind because I was such a lost cause. But she still saw something in me, I could see it... The way she looked at me, her eyes filled with light... If only she would notice the light in my eyes when I looked at her...

I flushed the toilet and washed my hands quickly. I needed to clean up my mess before someone came in and discovered my newest bad habit. Just another item on my list of baggage. Right underneath three years of self harm and near anorexia. I wasn't sure it could get any longer, but then again, there was so much already wrong with me, what was one more problem? I splashed my face with cold water to get me away. Needless to say it worked. I had no towels, so my shirt had to make do. I did have a beat up, stained wash cloth that came in handy when scrubbing the ashes off of the bathtub. They hadn't been there long, so thankfully, it was an easy job. I used some air freshener to get rid of the lingering smoky smell. The air freshener smelled obnoxious, but if it covered my tracks, I could live with it. I briskly left my bathroom and began rummaging through my closet for some clothes. I found the dress Ami had found for me at the mall. I looked at it for a while. Man, these sleeves suck... I thought to myself. ...Maybe I should make some little improvements... I grinned at it before tossing it on my bed. I grabbed a few tools and accessories and began my work.

Fifteen minutes had passed since I began my redesigning. I looked at myself in a large mirror hanging on the wall. The ribbon on the waist was left alone, but I had cut off the sleeves and the neckline so that my shoulders and chest could be seen. I cut up the bottom of the dress to be kind of ragged. After adding a couple fluffy petticoats and some ripped up leggings, I thought I looked pretty bad ass. I thought for once that I liked the way I look. I decided to add a spiky choker with matching bracelets, some spiky toed boots and a skull hairpin. I really liked the outfit. I was thankful for Ami finding it. I fixed up my makeup and left my room behind, taking a strange confidence with me. Kaz passed me in the hallway and turned around to give me a funny look. "Wow, Yumi, what are you so dressed up for?" He had a slightly condescending tone in his voice. Still walking, I twisted back to flip him off. "For myself." I twisted back forward without slowing down, leaving him standing there, puzzled.

I let out a soft yawn as I stepped into the kitchen. Ami was sitting at the table eating a bowl of cereal. She turned around to see who came in, and when she saw me dressed up, she dropped her spoon and her jaw dropped slightly. She then smiled and let out a small giggle. "You look nice today, Yumi. I see you made some adjustments to the dress." I looked at her as I poured some cereal into a bowl. "Yeah. As much as I liked it, the sleeves were terrible. I like this look much better." I gave Ami a quick wink before reaching into the fridge to get the milk. Ami took another bite of her cereal before speaking. "Hey, We're heading to LA today for a concert." My eyes widened a little and I turned to look at her. "No kidding." Ami shook her head and and smiled. "Absolutely no kidding." I smiled back at her and put a hand on my hip. "Aw man, that brings back some really awesome memories!" I couldn't hide the excitement in my voice. Me and Ami had known each other for a while, but the first time we were ever in LA, that was when we promised to be best friends forever.

We had met a few months before then, when our recording company decided to make us a two-girl band. To be honest, when I first saw Ami, I didn't think I would like her very much. I wasn't exactly a ray of sunshine, but a ray of sunshine was exactly what she was. She was way bubbly and happy and it honestly made me a bit uncomfortable. But we got acquainted and recorded some music together, her joking and being happy and me just being... well... me. But we were both caught off guard when our new album became an overnight hit. People sent us all kinds of fanmail telling us how wonderful we were and how they would be absolutely thrilled if we toured. Naturally, because of all the positive feedback, the "Big Man" had Kaz, our new manager, set up some tour dates and locations. We were official stars. We still weren't too close, still just new friends. But LA changed all of that. LA was our first stop, and a lot of people came to see us. I didn't really understand how we had so many fans already, but there were at least two hundred people there. We decided to accompany each other for a little exploring around the city. We each knew that we should try to be friends, since we were obviously going to be stuck with each other for quite some time. The air was cool but smoggy and slightly suffocating. I was used to city air, though. I had been living in Tokyo since middle school, after all. After a while, your lungs can handle it. I assumed Ami was also city dynamic, since she seemed unaffected by the air. We made small talk, but it seemed in to time at all, we were wrapped up in a feelings jam. She told me pretty much her life story, about how she had a good home life but was often harassed at school and at work. I ended up telling her mine in return, about my abusive father, how when I was eight, my mother left him and took me with her, about the fake cheating asshole who became my stepdad, and about how my school days were spent beating up the boys and getting suspended regularly. I started to realize during that conversation that we could actually be pretty good friends. We were crossing an intersection when a drunken driver turned a corner at high speed, blowing red lights and speeding straight towards Ami. I pulled her out of the way quickly, and just barely got her to safety. He zoomed passed us, getting t-boned in the intersection by a car unable to stop in time. Ami clung to me, breathing heavily. We both watched as cars ended up crowding the accident, the faint sound of police sirens that were on their way. Ami swallowed and looked up at me, her eyes wide and brimming with tears. "You... you saved me, Yumi..." She managed out between heavy breaths. I blinked down at her, also breathing heavily. "Yeah... I-I guess I did..." My voice stammered and stuttered. We both returned our gaze to the accident, police now blocking pedestrians from entering the scene. After that, we pinky-swore to always have each others backs. We hurried back to the venue and ended up playing a fantastic new show.

And then, three years later, we were still in the band, still best friends. The only difference was that I ended up falling hopelessly in love with Ami. I snapped away from the memory and sat down with my bowl of cereal, taking a huge first bite. "Yeah, I'm kind of excited." Ami's bubbly tone made my heart skip a beat. After a few moments of thought, I looked up at her. "Hey Ami...?" She looked up at me. "Yeah, Yumi?" I hesitated for a second. "I think we should pay a visit to the intersection that began our friendship." Ami thought for a moment, but smiled. "Yeah, that's a great idea." Kaz appeared in the doorway. "What are you two girls talking about in here?" He leaned against the doorway, crossing his arms and smirking. Ami turned around, her smile in tact. "Me and Yumi are just excited to go back to LA!" I added in a nod. "We shoulda gone back sooner, Shortie." I smirked back at him. He gave me a look. "Ha ha. To be honest, I'm still nervous about going to LA after that accident..." I swallowed my mouthful of cereal. "That was three years ago, Kaz. Stop being a paranoid jackass." Ami giggled and chimed in. "She's right, Kaz. It's been a long time, there's no need to get so paranoid." He looked at us for a moment before tilting his head down and sighing. "You may be right... but I still can't shake this weird feeling." I pointed at him with my spoon. "Maybe you just need to take a shit." Ami giggled, but Kaz looked at me grimly. "I'm very serious, Yumi. I feel like this time might not end so well as the last." That shut me up. God damn it, Kaz, way to be a buzzkill... Now I couldn't help but think of terrible things. I finished my cereal and dumped my dishes in the sink. "I'm going to go do some practicing." I sighed, then turned to Ami. "When you're done, you're welcome to join me." She smiled back and nodded. "Okay!" I passed Kaz in the doorway, my smile gone, saying nothing to him. "Yumi..." I heard him whisper. I turned around to see him away from the doorway, facing me. "Be careful in the city." I stared at him for a moment before silently turning back around and continuing to my room.