So … I'm sorry for that long wait. I was sort of stuck and then I started some other stories and I really got into the PJO/HOO fandom this year and that's taken up a LOT of my time and anyway chapter 7 is finally here, but it's a bit of a space filler.

Before I begin, I've gotta ask: Who's been watching TDPI? Cuz I actually LOVE IT! 3 See the thing with TDROTI was that I really hated most of the characters, and then All-Stars came out and it was just terrible, especially the finale (that is why couples aren't supposed to make it to the finale together. It ends up like that) Anyway, TDPI. I actually didn't plan on watching this season, but I was home and the tv was on and it announced that it was premiering that night and I'd had no idea so I decided I'd watch it and I ended up really liking it. My immediate fav? JASMINE! And Jasmine and Shawn are the perfectest couple EVAR! I'm not going to say what I was going to say here, but I will say it in the end note, so if you haven't watched all the episodes up to this point, there's a SPOILER in the end note, so don't read it. Anyway, on to the story.

She awoke to a ray of sunlight shining through the open blinds on the right wall of her enormous room. She yawned and stretched and went through her morning yoga routine and breathing exercises before showering and dressing and starting her day with a light breakfast of toast and poached eggs.

Things were starting to feel normal again, but there was still a large gap in time floating in the back of her mind. Everyone had been telling her that her memories of a kidnapping were only a dream she was remembering, and the more she heard it, the more she believed it.

Nearly a month had passed. Since then she had resumed her work, finally dropping the case after she'd gotten the same result after trying to meet with whoever the murderer was. It would be the first time in her life she could remember giving up on something, especially something this big.

She could remember the meeting well. Even though it had resulted the same way every other one had (with absolutely nothing accomplished), things had still gone a bit different.

That night had been chilly, a crisp wind blowing through the town. She had decided not to tell Vera about the note she'd found in the office. It would take her a few days to re-organize the mess she'd created, but at the time she left it as it was.

She had argued with herself the rest of that day about whether to go at midnight or a quarter to two, like the note had said. She eventually agreed on 12, but then another issue arose. The note had only said to meet outside. Where outside, she had no idea. It could have meant outside the building she worked at, or it could have meant outside her house on the edge of town. "Outside" was too broad a term. So she ended up outside her work office at half past eleven, bundled up in layers of shirts and a thick winter coat. Orange and white light glowed faintly around the sides of the building, proof of the upcoming holiday that the town so loved: Halloween.

During October, their close-knit community got together for countless parties and gatherings, sometimes just to decorate together. There wasn't a single building that didn't participate in trick-or-treating, whether it be a store or a house or an apartment. Courtney and Vera would even take the time to make Courtney's house into a haunted one for the children every other year. This year wasn't one, however, so she did her part by providing candy for the little ones.

Her mind strayed from fun and treats to the darker sides of Halloween. Horror movie marathons, pranks, and ghost stories. She'd never been very fond of anything macabre. She didn't believe in ghosts or anything, but a good horror movie could have her up for three nights straight. Of course it wasn't like she'd watched one since Duncan. She'd dropped anything that would remind her of his cheating ass.

Since she couldn't think of enough positive, she tried to stop thinking entirely. She looked down at her watch. It read 11:56. Now that she thought about it, though, waiting outside her office building might not do anything. The killer could strike anywhere. She sighed and tilted her head back, taking in the sereneness of the night. At least it was quiet. Into her head crept thoughts about being abducted in an alley. She was a pretty decent martial artist but it might not be enough if she was up against a gun. She hadn't thought to bring one herself. This whole night wasn't planned out thoroughly enough, but she didn't want to risk going home just yet.

Right as it turned 12, as if on cue, a motorcycle sped by the building and turned right down an alley stopped behind the building across the road from Courtney. She tugged her coat around herself more tightly and shrank back against the wall behind a dumpster. She heard the engine cut off and held her breath. But there were no more noises. She looked around the corner as carefully as she could. It had started to snow –it tended to snow pretty early where she lived – which made it hard to make out the figure of a bike. She sat back and took a slow breath. This time she'd take a better look. She leaned around the corner, even more carefully than the last time, but still couldn't see anything. She was wearing heels, which was a pretty stupid decision since she wouldn't be able to run if anyone were to sneak up on her. And that's precisely what happened.

As soon as she turned around someone jumped out of the shadows whisper-shouting "Boo!"

She had to push her fist into her mouth to keep from screaming, although the trashcan she backed into made enough noise as it was. Tears pricked her eyes, more from anger than fear. Of course she was angry. This was such an undignified way to die.

But nothing happened.

Nothing.

Except for a soft chuckle. Which turned into a fit of insane laughter. Courtney's first thought would've been Vera. She definitely recognized the laugh. It just … wasn't Vera. Of course, she thought. Once she'd regained her footing, she crossed her arms and cleared her throat. The guy in front of her wiped the rears from his eyes and sighed. "Hey Princess."

She glared at him for a little while longer. Until he started laughing again. At that point she just turned and walked away. "No wait," he trailed after her, composing himself. "What are you up to this early in the morning?"

"Early in the …" she muttered. "Oh. Nothing. Why are you stalking me?"

"Stalking? I just happened to … pass by. Y'know, taking a nice ride through the town beneath the moonlight," he said, still smiling.

Courtney sighed again. She didn't have time for this. Maybe she'd go home and come back at a quarter to two with an actual plan and the proper attire. What she knew was that she didn't have time for the buffoon in front of her.

"Whatever you want, I'm sure it's not worth my time."

"I beg to differ."

"Beg to differ? Look, Duncan, I'm kind of busy right now –"

"Busy?" he cut her off. "Doing what? Standing here?"

"Obviously, I'm –"

"When you could be helping me?"

"… Helping you what?"

"Catch the kidnapper?"

Her head started throbbing again. She really needed some answers. "Okay. How about we make a deal? I tell you what I know in exchange for … answers to a few of my questions."

"Can I throw something in the bargain?"

She hesitated. As long as it wasn't something too bad, she guessed it would be alright. "Okay, bite."

"You take a ride with me through the town. On my bike."

"No," she said immediately. "I promised you before I would never take a seat on that thing again, and I intend to keep that promise."

"Keeping promises from a dead relationship? You've still got it bad, huh?"

"What? What are you talking about? All I said was –"

"Doesn't matter. Are you in or out? Or should I say on or off?"

She glared at him. With both Vera and the police refusing to provide any legitimate information, it might've been her only chance to fill in some blanks. But motorcycles … she may have been okay with riding her own, but riding with Duncan on his "modified" Harley Davidson was something she wasn't scared to admit being afraid of.

But then there were still the answers. Either choice had a bad side. She supposed she should choose the one that she at least got something good out of.

She realized she'd been standing there staring for too long. She needed to make a decision. "Fine," she spat out. "But if you try anything, anything at all, I will personally drag you down to the jailhouse and ensure you a most enjoyable life behind bars."

"Yeah, whatever," was his only reply.

And so they left, heading across the street to his parked vehicle. He rolled it out onto the road and started the engine. He patted the seat behind him. "Well, what are you waiting for?

"Are you sure it's safe to drive that thing in all this snow."

He looked at her like she was sprouting horns and fairy wings. "Snow?"

She hadn't noticed that it'd stopped snowing. "It must've stopped," she said simply.

"Um, sorry to burst your bubble, but it never was. Do you need new contacts or something?"

"Excuse me, I pride myself with twenty-twenty vision. I don't even have contacts."

"Yeah, sure," he scoffed. "Now can you hurry this up? I've got somewhere to be at two."

At two? She thought. "So do I? …" she muttered, more to herself than him.

Duncan didn't say anything else, so she climbed onto the seat behind him. She'd barely even lifted her feet when she sped off. She bit her tongue to stop herself from screaming, and much to her chagrin, she had to pin herself to Duncan to keep from falling off. He just threw his head back and laughed. "Watch the road, Neanderthal!" she tried shouting over the wind. Either he didn't hear her, or he didn't care – most likely the later – because he had to swerve to avoid hitting a parked car while simultaneously running a stoplight. "Duncan!" Of course this did nothing but throw him into a harder fit of laughter. It felt like a lifetime or swerves and bumps before Courtney opened her eyes again. He'd finally stopped and parked somewhere.

She carefully loosened her grip around his waist and got off. Naturally, she tripped, and naturally, he had to catch her, and naturally, she hit him where it hurt.

"Gah … brings back … memories … eh, princess?"

Courtney rolled her eyes. "Where are we?"

"My side of t –" he stopped when he caught her glare. "Um, west side of town, Berkeley Avenue."

"Never been here before."

"Figures a princess like you wouldn't associate with the lessers of society."

"This princess used to live like the 'lessers' of society. By the way that's not a word. Why do you think I'm so high maintenance now? I never wanted to end up in a place like this again."

"A place like this? I live around here, you know."

"And no one should have to live like this."

"I thought you were all about superiority?"

"I'm all about those who actually strive to achieve something with their lives, instead of being happy staying in places like this."

"Sorry to break it to you sweetheart, but some people don't have a choice."

"Except they do. We all have a choice. Whether we realize it or not, there's always been that choice. Most just don't see it. And they don't take the chance to choose. And before they know it, they're stuck in the projects with a wife and a kid with no knowledge of properly raising a child … he made his choice. Oh, he made his choice. Much later than he should have. At a time where it was too late. Except it's never really too late, is it? He left. Just like that. I was given to my aunt at three years old, and I never saw either of them again. Some sob story, huh …" She realized he was staring at her and cleared her throat. "Anyway. I should probably get home."

He squinted his eyes. "You're crying."

"No I'm n-" and she broke down, sobbing and clutching onto him, and for once she didn't even care that it was Duncan who was holding her. And he had the choice to push her off, tell her to grow up, that everyone had problems and she needed to deal with it. But he didn't. And they stood there, and before he knew it he was shedding tears as well. Much more silently than she, of course. But he didn't care when the guy coming out of the bar looked at them like they were crazy. Didn't care when she stopped crying and still held onto him. And for once he didn't try to make any moves on her. Didn't poke fun at her. He just held her, and hoped that he was enough.

Eventually they got back on his bike and he drove her home, and this time she didn't complain at all. When they stopped in front of her driveway, he looked around. "You sure live out in the middle of nowhere."

"It allows for privacy."

He raised an eyebrow. "And just what kind of business do you run?"

She shoved him playfully, unlike the punch he'd thought he'd registered. "Shut up. It belonged to a drug lord in the 1960's."

"Seriously? I've got to check that out!"

"Ah, no." She held him back with the palm of her hand. They stood there acting out a movie moment, her hand on his chest, surprised by his extremely muscular build, feeling his steady heartbeat and what not. He just stared down at her.

"I'd kiss, you, but then you'd be inclined to do more," she said, breaking the silence.

"True enough," he said with a smirk.

"Just … thanks. A lot."

"For not kissing you?"

"No, you idiot … you know what I'm talking about."

She cleared her throat. "Anyway, I should get inside. And you should get back to 'your side of town'." He rolled his eyes. "I will."

She turned and walked up the driveway without looking back. "Night, Princess," he whispered to himself. He turned to get back on his motorcycle and realized she'd left her coat. It looked expensive. She'd probably be missing it once she realized it was gone. He hesitated, though, to go and hand it back to her then. It can wait, he thought. It would give him an excuse to see her again. Of course, he didn't know it'd end up being one of the biggest mistakes of his life

So like I said, it was more of a filler, and there wasn't any actually progression into the main story, but it sort of gives an introduction to what I want to do next. Gosh, I keep having to go back and read my own work cuz I keep adding things to the story that I didn't mean to and I can't just take it out and change it so I have to mold the story around it. Anyway, here goes.

SPOILER:

JASMINE'S ELIMINATION TToTT I'm still crying over it (not literally but I did almost cry when it happened) It was so BAD though! I really thought she would get herself out of that tree in time. Freaking Honey-BooBoo. Gosh I kind of hate Sugar now. But I guess she's just that kind of competitor. I like Sky a lot more now with Dave gone. But man Shawn had better not get voted off tonight. I swear if he does, and it's because of some fluke … Anyway, I just needed somewhere to rant a little (I don't use my tumblr that much anymore, and that was like my TDI headquarters, and my instagram is mainly a PJO fandom account)

Thanks for reading this chapter, I'll try to get the next one out sooner.