A/n: I UPDATED. With a filler chapter. . Please don't eat me for this, I promise I'll get to the ploty-goodness soon. Anywho, just a bit more about Suzie with a few of the others peppered in. Please read, enjoy, review, and don't stop PMing me telling tmy to get a move on with the next shapter. xD

Yours truely,

~Raven

PS: I dont own any of the song lyrics and if you can guess what the lyrics are from you get major brownie points. Also, happy late birthday to Aftermath!!

Suzie woke the next morning to the smell of bacon. She turned to look at her night-stand clock, noticing that it was already 10:30. She sighed, forcing herself out of bed. The grabbed her work uniform, a black miniskirt and a red tank-top. She didn't exactly like it, but she put up with it.

Opening the door, the teenager trudged off to the bathroom. She growled as she could hear the music blaring from the closed door even from down the hall. 'Just great, Catharine is still in the shower.' She though, beginning to bang on the door.

"Hurry up! I, unlike some people, have to go to work today!" She yelled over the music. It really was a wonder that their grandmother wasn't deaf yet.

The younger girl opened the door, a sopping wet head poking out. "If you need to get in so bad, I'm out." She replied, going back in to turn the music down.

Suzie walked in the humid room, shutting the door and hanging her new clothes on one of the towel pegs. Catharine stood in front of the mirror, brushing out her hair as the next song began to play, a rather old one, but one both of them enjoyed.

We're livin' in a repetition,

Content in the same old shtick again,

Now the routine's turnin' to a contention,

Like a production line goin' over and over and over roller coaster.

The two stood with their backs together for the next part, pretending to have microphones in their hands as they sang along.

Now I cannot speak, lost my voice.

Speechless and redundant

'Cause 'I love you's' not enough,

I'm lost for words.

A bit of a laughing fit ensued, as it was something they normally did whenever that song played. The song continued to play as Suzie undressed, stepping into the shower. She didn't mind her sister being there at all, she had gotten over self-consciousness years ago. Catharine announced that she was leaving after Suzie had started, leaving the Green Day playlist on and shutting the door behind her.

The elder of the siblings finished as quickly as she could. She hopped out and dried off as best she could before throwing on her uniform. Her hair was brushed into a pony tail and dark eye-shadow was applied to her eyelids. Again she sighed at the dark outfit, all this for just waitressing?

She emerged from the bathroom, immediately greeted by Machk's 'smiling' face. She let out a laugh as she patted the dogs head, walking to the stairs. In the kitchen, Catharine had helped the elder woman get the food off the stove and onto the plates. They sat down, discussing nothing in particular as they ate. Suzie scraped the rest of her eggs into Machk's happily awaiting mouth and stood, placing her dishes in the sink before heading out to the foyer. She threw on a dark trench coat before heading out the door.

It was a short walk to the café and restaurant where she worked, named "Just a Cup of Tea." As she pushed entered, she was forced o blink few times, the interior was dark, as it always was, and her eyes couldn't adjust that quickly.

Suzie went back to the kitchen, punching her card and putting her coat in her employee cubby. Another girl in similar attire with chestnut-colored hair emerged from the other side of the kitchen, embracing Suzie in a hug. "Hey! Glad to see you look well rested!"

The brunet laughed, hugging the girl back. "What's on for today, Em?" she asked, calling the girl by one of her many nicknames.

Emily winked back at her. "The band wants you to sing first at noon. They're setting up now if you wanna pick your ten.

Suzie gave a small shocked look, having never been the first to sing. At the café, that mostly catered to teenagers and college students, the waiters and waitresses would often sing for the band in order to save money for the restaurant, earn extra tips for themselves, and show off some of their skills. That was one of the job requirements, 'you must be able to sing.' And thus, they always had one extra waiter, to take the place of the one singing. She simply nodded, moving gently past her friend to seek out the lead guitarist.

He was behind the eating bar, helping himself to a cup of coffee as he normally did in the mornings. He turned, taking a sip from the grey mug and smiling at the sight of the girl. He put the mug down and wiped off his mouth, leaning with one arm on the counter. "Good morning, got your list ready?" He asked, adjusting his black glasses.

She smiled back, nodding. She began to relay a list of songs that she wanted to perform. For one or two of the songs, the guitarist shook his head, claiming that the band didn't have that one down yet. Suzie would just shrug and offer another song. Once she was done, he got out a pad and paper and wrote down what she had selected. "Hey, Evan, why did you want me to go first today?" she asked, eyeing the taller teenager curiously.

He looked away and shrugged, going off to the platform where the band was setting up and sharing the list with them. Suzie eyed the clock; it was almost 11:30, opening time. She stayed behind the counter, as it would be her position until she went on stage.

--

Troy was proud of himself that he managed to get Walter to go to get a bite to eat with him, and as a bonus, managed to find Tyler and talk him into it as well. It wasn't that hard when anyone BUT Tyler was paying. Troy didn't mind, his father had given him the money for lunch anyway.

The three entered the dark restaurant as the music died, and the occupants began to cheer for the band and singer. Emily waved Troy over to the booth she was standing at, right in front of the stage. She already had three menus for them and was laying them out as they took their seats. Tyler smiled at her, causing the younger girl to blush a little as she scurried away.

A grouchy Walter flipped through the menu, deciding that he wasn't hungry.

The be-speckled boy turned to the stage, his eyes growing wide at the sight of Suzie there as the band began the next song. It was an eerie tune that erupted into a guitar solo. The girl behind the mike closed her eyes as she took hold of the stand and began her act.

Perfect by nature,

Icons of self-indulgence,

Just what we all need,

More lies about a world that

Never was and never will be,

Have you no shame? Don't you see me?

You know you've got everybody fooled.

Look, here she comes now,

Bow down and stare in wonder,

Oh how we love you,

No flaws when you're pretending.

But now I know she never was and never will be,

You don't know how you've betrayed me,

And somehow you've got everybody fooled.

Without the mask,

Where will you hide?

I can't find yourself,

Lost in your lie

I know the truth now,

I know who you are,

And I don't love you anymore

It never was and never will be,

You don't know how you've betrayed me,

And somehow you've got everybody fooled.

It never was and never will be,

You're not real and you can't save me,

And somehow now you're everybody's fool.

Instantly troy could see the hidden meaning behind the lyrics. He knew the reason that Suzie sang that song. It was to remind herself of who she really was. When people saw the Fox, they didn't see the girl, just the icon. They saw a beautiful, powerful, and perfect figure that would save them. In reality, it was just a masquerade. The Fox couldn't save Suzie, and was barely even real other than an alter ego of Suzie's, as the last lines suggested.

The crowd erupted into cheering again, and Troy gave a loud whistle as Suzie bowed and ran over to their booth. Her dark-tan face was tinted red from the attention as she leaned in for a peck on the lips from Troy.

Walter gave a look of disgust at the couple, but slid over, allowing the girl to sit next to him as Tyler was on the same side as Troy.

"I've got a few minutes before my shift starts, if there's anything we need to talk about."She said, folding her arms on the table.

Tyler nodded, leaning on one elbow. "Those kids just disappeared last night. Are you sure the juce they've got can do that?" he asked, the question directed at the teen next to him.

Troy nodded, recalling a past experience, "The last person I caught that was on it did something similar, only he could run at about twenty miles per hour."

Walter scoffed at this, but said nothing as the other three turned to him.

From a distance, Suzie could hear her manager complaining to Emily that work had to get done, and the brunet knew her break was over. She got up, leaving the other three to ponder the matter without her.