A/N: How are ya'll? Anyone still reading this?

Jenny was tired. Life was exhausting her, and she missed feeling happy. It wasn't like she was wallowing in self pity, but life just didn't have any meaning anymore.

A life without Erik.

Jenny prayed and prayed he'd come back soon – even if they just stayed friends. She would rather suffer by watching him happy with another guy than suffer by being alone. It had been a good three months since he'd left, and though she had called him every night for two of those months, Erik never answered. Jenny stopped calling then.

She got the message, but why couldn't he even talk to her? All she wanted was a little, 'I'm okay' from him, so she could stop worrying.

Okay, so she wasn't worried, she was more desperate to see him. But still, there was worry in there somewhere. Surely, though, Serena would have known if something had happened to him.

Jenny was starting to think Serena was getting extremely annoyed by her. Every time she saw the young van der Woodsen, she would ask her if she'd heard anything. Serena would reply in a rather impatient tone that she hadn't. The only news that had come was that he had decided to stay a little longer.

Dan asked her over and over again whether she was okay. Her answer was the same every time, though she never really meant it. "I'm fine, Dan."

Jenny roamed the streets, yawning. Her feet led her to places with secret meetings; like the corner street in front of the ice cream parlour where Jenny and Erik had spent their school day afternoons, or the first club they had ventured to together.

One sunny afternoon, Jenny bumped into a cute blond-haired blue-eyed freckled boy, though her skin had crawled at the memory of him. "Sam," she greeted curtly.

"Oh, Jenny," Sam sighed, as though they were old friends. Jenny got the impression Sam was like that – lovable, friendly, sweet. No wonder Erik had liked him. Jenny's stomach churned as the thought passed through her mind. "Have you heard from Erik?"

Jenny shook her head slowly.

"How 'bout we get a drink, then we can talk," Sam muttered, though it wasn't a suggestion. It seemed he had already made up his mind as he dragged Jenny around the block to Starbucks.

Jenny glided through the door with ease, the smell of chocolate and coffee filling her nose, the warmth nice in the unusually cool Spring air. Sam hurried her over to the line. He ordered a sweet, light latte, and Jenny ordered her simple, classic favourite.

They sipped at a booth in silence for a while. Sam, obviously not the silent type, decided to speak up. "Have you heard anything? About Erik, I mean?"

"No, no I haven't. I didn't know you two had broken up, really," Jenny replied quietly, tracing the rim of her cup. It was a stupid, now that she thought about it, to assume they were still together. Erik was practically on a missing persons file, after all.

"Yeah," Sam agreed quietly, looking away. "I told him he could come back to my place, and he agreed, but I guess he seemed kind of tense all night. Then he suddenly told me he couldn't 'do this' anymore, and begged me to let him out. He caught a cab, and Lord knows where he went. I was so worried about him."

Jenny's heart softened towards the poor kid. His eyes were like a sad puppy's, and he was so sincere. It made her feel guilty even sitting here with Sam. "I'm sorry, Sam."

"I'm sorry too. You know, I don't think he liked me as much as he said, but I did like him. I always wondered why he didn't like me, but I think I get it now. He was in love with someone else, and I was a distraction. I can't blame him; I might need a distraction from him too. But whoever it was, he sure did love a lot. And I don't think faking a new relationship or running away will stop that," Sam said, giving Jenny a meaningful glance.

Jenny shrugged back pointedly, as though she didn't know what he was talking about. She did know, of course, but she didn't want to talk about it. She was losing hope he'd come back every day, now.

Sam sighed and slid out of the booth, giving her a frustrated look. "Jenny, you sure don't know how lucky you are."

Jenny scanned her bench area when she walked home. She flipped through the mail, expecting nothing more than a few bills and overdue book statements.

"Bill, bill, overdue book, overdue movie, bill, bank statement," Jenny sighed, tossing the letters over her shoulder. But amongst all the boring, plain white envelopes lay a little lilac one, with her name scrawled messily on it. That was the day Jenny got the second letter.

Oooh! A second letter!

Whaddya guys reckon thats all about?

Review, x.