_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
*Mello and Matt are still punching each other's brains out*
Me: MY GOD, the reviews are already in, for Christ's sake! STOP BEING IDIOTS D:
Mello: OH RLY?
Me: YA RLY
Matt: NO WA-
Me: Ok just stop it. Anyway, I've chosen the best answer:
Near_Twilight: And both Matt and Mello are wrong, Lelouch Lamperouge brought sexy back.
Lelouch: I LIKE THAT ANSWER.
Me: ME TOO! She wins the pie :D
Mello: WTF, YOU JUST CHOSE THE ANSWER THAT MADE THE LEAST SENSE!!
Me: WELL IT STOOD OUT, OK?! But, if it shuts your big mouth, these are the votes: Mello- 1, Matt: (JUST MATT, MIND YOU) 0, Both- 2, and....Um, there was one vote for Near, too, I think.
Near: Logically.
Mello: MY GOD, MATT, EVEN NEAR GOT A VOTE! AHAHHAHAHAHAAA!
Matt: ;3; FANGIRL ARMY, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?!
Me: OwO Annyyyway, you guys have to do the disclaimer.
Matt: OK, YOU KNOW WHAT? IF I CAN'T HAVE SEXY, THEN I DEMAND THE TITLE OF "MOST BADASS".
Mello: PFFFT, HAVE YOU LOOKED AT ME LATELY? THE SCAR AND LEATHER SCREAMS BADASS! You're just a sore loser.
Matt: SHUT YOUR TRAP! *punches*
Me: *is completely ignored* -_- Yeah....so I guess this one's up to the reviewers as well. BEST ANSWER GETS A COOKIE :D
Lelouch: Lelouch Vi Britannia commands you to obey the disclaimer that Misseh does not own Death Note or its characters, nor does she own Time to Pretend by MGMT. She does, however, own the OC, Far.
Me: THANK YOU, OH SEXY ONE xD Haha, Far's all grown up now, and boy is she one PISSED OFF girl with attitude, lol. But, then again, I guess she just wants to be with Near again.
Near: o//o
Me: JERK.
Near: -_-
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Eleven: Welcome to Hell
One year can fly by when you're young, but in terms of waiting, one year is an eternity.
Far was sick of waiting.
Headphones in her ears; her packed bags firmly in her pale hands, she walked down the large crowded halls of the orphanage. The volume was on maximum, overpowering the sounds of gossip as the waves of children stared at her march towards her firm destination. She took in a deep breathe, and began singing the words at the top of her lungs, never giving a damn at who approved or not.
"I'm feeling rough, I'm feeling raw, I'm in the prime of my life.
Let's make some music, make some money, find some models for wives.
I'll move to Paris, shoot some heroin, and fuck with the stars.
You man the island and the cocaine and the elegant cars…"
Far shot glares at the dirty looks some children were giving her, daring them to speak. They shrank away, not daring to challenge the athletic fifteen year-old. Amazing how they're quite when I'm around, but they're suddenly chatty when my back's turned, she thought angrily, turning a corner.
"This is our decision; to live fast and die young.
We've got the vision, now let's have some fun!"
She dropped her bags in front of Roger's office, staring at the door. She turned the knob, not bothering to knock.
"Yeah, it's overwhelming, but what else can we do?
Get jobs in offices, and wake up for the morning commute?
Forget about our mothers and our friends,
We're fated to pretend.
To pretend…
We're fated to pretend.
To pretend…"
Roger's head peeked up from behind a pile of papers as he heard singing, and quirked a brow at Far's entrance. She looked at her mp3 player to pause the song for a moment, and stared the old man straight in the eye.
"I'm leaving, Roger."
Roger's face paled, his eyes widening a bit. "Y-You're what? When did you decide this all of a sudden?"
"It's been decided, and that's all you need to know. You can't change my mind, so don't bother."
"B-But Far, you've become first now, and you have so much promise and talent regarding your singing; are you just going to throw that all away?"
Far sighed, twirling a strand of her long silver hair between her fingers. It's grown so much longer now, she thought, looking at the waves of hair that reached up to her waist. A lot has changed, but it's not as though someone was around to notice.
"Yes, Roger, I'm throwing it away. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to chase after an asshole."
Roger stared with his jaw dropped as Far turned on her heels, slamming the door behind her. He sighed deeply, running a hand over his balding head. These teenagers…help me, Lord, before I tear what's left of my hair out here…
"I'll miss the playgrounds and the animals and digging up worms.
I'll miss the comfort of my mother and the weight of the world.
I'll miss my sister, miss my father, miss my dog and my home.
Yeah, I'll miss the boredom and the freedom of the time spent alone…," Far sang, yanking up her bags from the floor and walking back down the halls, her head held high and speakers still blasting.
"There's nothing really; nothing we can do.
Love must be forgotten; life can always start up anew…"
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
The United States: The Land of Opportunity. New York: The City that Never Sleeps.
Or, to a fifteen year-old albino girl, traveling alone with almost nothing but the clothes on her back; having no money, no food, no place to stay: Hell.
Far knew she would have been much better off staying at Wammy's, but she had a job to do. With some investigation, she found out Near had formed a team called the Special Provisions for Kira, or the SPK for short. She knew their headquarters was in New York City, and all she had to do was find it.
It was a lot harder than it sounded.
Far was currently at a standstill; on the verge of homelessness and practically broke. She had a sleazy job as some bar singer in the bad part of town, and she would sleep on the pool tables after closing. Her boss was pretty nice…for someone who was convicted twice for sexual assault, that is.
In a nutshell, Far had hit rock bottom. All she needed was to find him, or at the least, he could come and save her from the mess she had entangled herself in.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
Near groaned, fixing the party hat on his head as the limo shook while hitting bumps in the poorly paved roads. He stared with anxiety out the window, seeing nothing but worn-down buildings and bums lining the streets the limo passed.
"Gevanni, just what on earth do you have planned?" Near said in an annoyed tone, staring at his subordinate with narrowed eyes. Gevanni smiled innocently, holding his hands up in front of him in defense.
"Ah, I just want to get you to loosen up on your birthday, for God's sake! And if it takes a couple of heavy drinks to do that, then by all means, do it!"
Near shook his head, twirling a strand of his hair. "This is a ridiculous idea. What made you think that I'd want to become a drunken idiot for my birthday celebration?"
"A drunken Near….Now I'd like to see that," piped up Halle, another of Near's subordinates, from the opposite side of Gevanni. She crossed her legs and stared at the albino boy, imagining the wondrous possibilities of what fun her ditzy superior could provide.
The limo finally came to a stop in front of some strange bar, whose name could barely be made out in the sign's dim lights. The building looked almost ready to crumble, and music pounded through the walls.
"….Is this it?" Near asked almost disbelievingly. Gevanni nodded, quickly getting out of the limo and opening the door for Near.
"Ladies first," he sniggered.
"That explains why you're outside, doesn't it, Gevanni?"
Halle smirked as she got out of the limo on the other end of the car, amused by Near's comeback. Gevanni hung his head, leading Near into the dark and mysterious bar. Upon entering, a group of skimpily dressed girls greeted them, and led them to a table.
As Near sat down, one of the girls placed a tall, fruity drink on the table in front of him, and proceeded to sit on his lap. She tossed her hair over her shoulder, batting her lashes.
"Judging by the hat, today's your birthday; am I right, sweetie?" she cooed. "So, what fun would the birthday boy like to have today?" she asked, walking her index and middle finger across his shoulder.
How degrading, he thought sadly, pushing her hand away. "Sorry, miss, but I'm not looking for that kind of service. However, I believe my good friend Gevanni would gladly appreciate your type of 'fun'."
"W-What?!" Gevanni shouted disbelievingly, his eyes wide as a group of giggling girls fought for a spot on his lap. "Near, you bastard! Why's it always me?"
Near smirked, twirling a hand of his hair as he watched bemusedly at his subordinate getting smothered by scarcely clothed yet overly redone women. His attention turned away from the scene as the lights in the bar dimmed, the only brighter light coming from the stage. A young, pale woman in a revealing maid's outfit stepped onstage unwillingly, taking her spot at the mic. Her expression was forlorn; eyes dull and dead-looking as though she hadn't slept for days. Besides exhaustion, Near noticed something else…perhaps, depression.
"My God…she can't be any older than fifteen. What on earth is she doing in a place like this?" Halle whispered quietly, her eyes full of concern. Near could only stare at her as she began to sing, her voice flowing beautifully throughout the small establishment. Everyone was frozen; simply amazed that such talent would be found in such an unexpected place.
Near felt something inside him snap, the voice so familiar. Who is she? Why do I get the feeling I know her…, he thought, angry at his inability to put his finger on it. He frowned, watching her performance with a wary expression. The young woman's eyes wandered across the crowd, and when they landed on Near, their gazes locked. Her eyebrows furrowed together as her eyes widened to the size of saucers.
"….I believe it's time to go," Near blurted, feeling a sudden sense of urgency. Gevanni gave him a confused look, but silently agreed, following Near out the door. Halle was right behind, giving a final look back before closing the entrance to the bar.
Far had stopped her performance long ago, staring numbly at the now empty chair by the stage. I-Impossible…
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
"Well, Near, we're done for the night," Halle mumbled, grabbing her things along with Gevanni and another of her co-workers, Rester. They all waved quietly as Near sat stilly on his computer chair, the screen giving his face an eerie blue glow.
For the past hour, he'd done some work on the Kira case; however, after seeing that strange girl in the bar, he did some side investigation. I know I've seen her somewhere…
Near scrolled down the page, reading the file he'd pulled up on the woman.
"Farrah Maidens…What a lovely name…"
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A/N: LE GASP NUMERO DOS! A CLIFFHANGER AFTER A FIRST ENCOUNTER IN OVER A YEAR! ^^
Mello: I think your readers are seriously going to get pissed off at you for doing all these cliffhangers.
Me: B-But it gives the story suspense! ;3;
Mello: Suspense my ass. You just like toying with emotions.
Me: Oh, shut up. -_- I'll make it easier on the readers eventually. BTW, JUST NEED TO SAY THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING: Josephine_Falnor, Kavyle, RavenFire40, Toph13139, Beyond_Jadee, Vampy_Violet, simsbabii, icanreadyourmind, Broken_Glass_Walker, CHICKENRAMENZ, xXDeathlyRoseXX, angelofyouth1427,oXo_sUpErSpIcYsUgAr_oXo,
XXThe_wish_GranterXX, lafayette722, and 1Werewolf-Of-Darkness1 for being some of my most consistent reviewers! I may not be able to PM everyone personally as much as I used to, but I just want to say thanks for always reviewing despite and being so generous. It means a lot!
Mello: *coughKISSASScough*
Me: OH LOOK WHO'S TALKING, L-LOVER.
Mello: STFU.
Rolo: Oh hai there.
Me: o.o Uh....Ok...?
Rolo: :D Aren't I just adorable?
Me: Um...yes..? You and your brother are the best characters in Code Geass, you know, and-
Rolo: SPEAK OF MY BROTHER, AND YOU DIE.
Me: O.O
Shirley: He's serious.
Mello: Lol SPOILER ALERT.