A/N: Sorry about the very, very, very late update! I have been so busy lately! Junior year is full of stuff to do…that and I was in a speech tournament so I had to get ready for that too. Okay I better address some stuff before we begin.

KC-Chick Yep you will find out more about Laggards in this chapter…sorry I took so long to update.

The O.C.-oholic: 'Anyway, that chapter was short and sweet, I like the little bit of humor at the end! But maybe more things can happen in a chapter, I'm not talking about chap. 36, but other chapters before it, like 34 & 35, nothing much happened' …I thought a lot happened in 34 and 35 like Ryan goes to see Marissa and she dismissed him, and 35 is them heading home and Marissa finding out she has to head back too, for Jimmy's sake

Anna: Aww thanks for the compliment I blushed a little when I read it…love ya'

Newportbabe44: Yeah I plan on updating my other one when I find more time, its just hard to do two stories at once…I haven't had much time lately but once I find more…I WILL UPDATE IT!

Here you go, and once again I'm sorry for the late update!

Love You, Converses Rolled Down

Marissa began to sweat in her sleep, pressed hard against the bus window. Summer shook her, trying to stop Marissa's nightmare.

"Coop, wake up!"

Marissa's head dropped then her head rose and eyes opened, "huh," she asked sleepily.

"You were sweating, and screaming," Summer helped her friend sit straight in the seat, "what's going on with you?"

She rubbed her forehead with the end corners of her shirt, "just…a bad dream that's all."

"Coop, I can tell when you are keeping something from me."

"I'M NOT!" Marissa yelled, a little louder than she intended too, "I'm not," she whispered.

"You can tell me…" Summer turned her body to face Marissa, "you can tell me anything."

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Seth looked up from his book, upon hearing Marissa yell, Ryan was still sound asleep against the window.

"Summer," he tugged on her arm, that was an aisle away from him.

She didn't respond but continued to whisper to Marissa. Seth shrugged and looked back to his book. He wasn't really reading he was just starring at the same word, thinking of his mother's condition, and the state his father must be in.

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Marissa cried into Summers hands, falling almost completely on her.

"I don't get this," Summer pulled Marissa out of her lap and back against the window.

"I…"

FLASHBACK

The night crept into a small crack under Marissa's door. Laggards closed up tightly at night, so the movements she intended to make had to be hushed. The glass of milk beside her quivered as she got carefully out of bed, the medicine the nurses assumed she had taken floated at the bottom of the glass. Marissa opened the door cautiously, and made her way down the all-white hall. She had been told by Halley that her mother was the one in charge of her medicine, and a file with "Cooper, Marissa" had everything she needed to know inside it. Halley hadn't been at work the past couple of days, so Marissa had to find the file on her own.

She tip-toed down to the lobby and waited for the night-shift nurse to change; she wasn't about to try to trick Nicole, the new head nurse. Betty, the old frail nurse, came and told Nicole to 'get the hell out,' that it was her turn to 'watch the crazies.' Marissa laughed, Betty hated her job, her life, but this job got her away from her husband.

Slowly, soon after Betty took her seat at the front desk, her eyes closed. Marissa waited until she was sure the eyes would stay shut. She crawled toward the desk, her body as close to the floor without actually laying on it. Betty stirred in her sleep and Marissa leapt under the desk. The files were in a drawer inside the office, but the keys to get in were on Betty's lap. Marissa's lean hand hovered over Betty's lap, under she was sure she had a good grip on the keys did she literally grabbed them.

She crawled over to the office door and opened it delicately; the file cabinet was pushed against the far wall. She closed the door behind her, and walked over to the cabinet, opening the middle drawer with the keys. Her name jutted out at her, she smiled broadly, and grabbed it. She turned, only to bump into Betty, who had a syringe filled with a clear liquid. Betty jammed the syringe into Marissa's milky white hip and injected all the needle had to offer. The file floated to the ground, almost in slow motion, as Marissa fainted hard onto the ground.

END OF FLASHBACK

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Julie was cleaning her home, from that day's activity with Luke, when she came upon Marissa's file from Laggards. She smiled roughly at the thought of her daughters new out look on life. No Ryan, no cutting, no Jimmy, and only love for Julie. She stuffed the file into a cabinet above the sink and continued to clean.

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Summer sat in awe as Marissa finished, what she could remember of that night she tried to steal the file.

"Who do you think has it now?" Summer asked quietly.

"My mom," Marissa sat lower in her seat, "my whole life is in that file. I need it back Summer."

Summer nodded, "not now, Marissa, not while Kirsten is like this."

"Well, I got to get it before I go back to New York."

Well what did you think....we all know I need reviews before I update lol....next chapter we will see Kirsten but I needed to address the "Laggard's" issue....Review and tell me what you think guys! Love, Converses Rolled Down