Jonathan walked out of his last class feeling weary and sore. His eyes burned from staring at the floating words on the test he had just completed. His attention had been elsewhere for the duration of the hour, forcing Jonathan to rush at the end and guess on several questions. What irritated Jonathan most was that he had been distracted by nothing—his mind was just an empty space filled with the echoes of faraway thoughts. He had searched for those thoughts the entire test to replace the echoing but found nothing. Still, Jonathan couldn't find anything to think of.

This nothingness had replaced all the things that had been on his mind for the past few weeks. Constantly, thoughts and questions were buzzing around in his head, begging to be acknowledged, dissected, and answered. Most of those questions had to do with Brynn.

Jonathan wondered if his brain had fried from the thoughts crowding around and was rectifying itself by turning to silence. The quiet was unsettling—Jonathan was so accustomed to having an active mind.

He rubbed his eyes and blinked. When his vision adjusted, he saw Annabel walking towards him with her books pressed to her chest. She offered him a hesitant smile.

"You look worn out," she observed. For some reason, her comment annoyed Jonathan. Did she always have to point out the obvious?

"Yes," Jonathan agreed. He rolled his shoulders back and grimaced when he felt them crack.

"Was the test hard?"

"I suppose," he answered shortly, not in the mood for conversation. He focused his attention on a bulletin board overflowing with flyers.

Next to him, Annabel shifted on her feet. "I need to talk to you about something. Could we go somewhere private?"

He looked down at her quizzically. "What is it?"

"I'd rather not talk about it here."

Jonathan looked back to the board. "It can't be that serious. What do you need to tell me?"

"Jonathan—"

"I'm waiting."

Annabel's lips pursed in frustration and she sighed. Keeping her eyes on Jonathan's jawline, she began to ramble. "My friend, Callie—you know Callie, right?"

"Yes," Jonathan answered even though he had no idea who Callie was and had no intentions of meeting her.

"Right, so she said she saw you a few weeks ago," she continued. "In a diner. With another girl."

Jonathan's brows furrowed in confusion. When had he been somewhere with a girl other than Annabel? His thoughts traveled back a few weeks and found the answer. He had been with Brynn one night and they had gone to Checker's. That had been the night when they sort of made up. Jonathan was still unsure of where they stood. They talked occasionally but it was always tense and short. Being around her felt awkward at times and Jonathan tried his best to avoid her if he had the option.

"I don't want to make any accusations or sound jealous," Annabel interrupted his thoughts. She spoke quickly and her eyes darted around. Nervously, she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "But you never hang around other girls or at least I've never seen you around one."

"What are you asking, Annabel?" he calmly inquired.

She exhaled deeply. "What were you guys doing?"

"Nothing that would jeopardize our relationship."

"I wasn't implying—"

"No, but you were thinking it."

Annabel put her hand on his shoulder. He looked down at her tiny hand and then looked her in the eye. After several seconds, she bit her lip and looked down. "Who is she?"

"No one you should be worried about."

She scoffed. "That's not what Callie said."

"And Callie knows everything," Jonathan sighed. He walked down the hall to the staircase. Annabel was on his heels, her shoes clicking against the floor.

"I have a right to know, Jonathan," she snapped. "And Callie said she looked troublesome."

Jonathan let out a loud laugh and looked over his shoulder at her. "Troublesome?"

He descended down the stairs and halted when he did not hear her following after him. Jonathan looked up; Annabel stood at the top of the steps with her arms crossed over her chest. She glared at him angrily.

Jonathan silently cursed and leaned against the railing. He stared at Annabel for a few seconds and for once, she held his gaze. The annoyance he had been feeling towards her for the last few minutes slowly melted away.

"She's not troublesome," Jonathan answered quietly.

"Who is she?"

"Her name's Brynn. I met her last year."

Annabel looked away but kept her irritated expression intact. Her fingers tapped against her forearm as she thought. "Why have you never mentioned her before?"

"We had a misunderstanding last year," Jonathan cautiously answered. He had a feeling Annabel would not like to know what actually happened.

"What kind of misunderstanding?"

"It was a trivial matter. We cleared things up."

They stood silently as Annabel thought about what he said. He wondered if she would say something when she cocked her head to the side and said, "I want to meet her."

Jonathan hid his surprise well but she had definitely caught him off guard. "You want to meet her?"

"Yes."

Jonathan sucked his lips inside his mouth as he weighed her words in his head. The idea of Annabel and Brynn in a room together sounded absurd. The two were so different—Annabel was quiet, modest, and shy; Brynn was…well, Brynn was Brynn. She was unpredictable and as of lately, even more so.

"Well?"

Jonathan shifted on his feet then scratched his neck and shrugged. "If you really want to meet her…"

"I really do."

I wish you wouldn't, he thought bitterly. Instead of saying it aloud, Jonathan nodded. "I'll talk to her."

Annabel descended down the stairs and stopped on the bottom one. She leaned down and kissed Jonathan on the cheek. "Thank you."

He fought the urge to roll his eyes. As they walked out of the building and towards the library, Jonathan regretted saying yes. There would be drama without a doubt.

He didn't like the idea of his girlfriend and ex-best friend getting to know each other.

. . .

Ever since Brynn had descended into her dark state of mind, she had been experiencing certain moods. On some days, she was angry, irritable, and prone to snapping. Others, she was far-off, despondent, and anxious. Then there were days where she was a mix of all those characteristics. Those days were the worst; she could never think straight and forgot about the morals she had once followed. One second, she was hot with blinding anger; the next, she was numb and didn't give a damn about anything in the world. Feeling so many emotions at once confused her.

Today was one of those days. To make things worse, it was also one of those days where Brynn couldn't get Olivia's voice out of her head. The sound of her mother whispering to her just made things a hundred thousand times worse.

Brynn walked off campus late that night. A car drove by her and its lights blinded her briefly. The smell of sewage and rain water wafted into her nose and made her stomach roll. The cold air of the night settled on her skin. Brynn pulled her jacket tighter around her body and braced herself against the wind.

All day, Brynn had been fighting off the image of Olivia Rivers. Numerous memories tormented her throughout the day: the time when her mother jumped on her and screamed at her to be quiet; when her mother had shot herself in the head and covered Brynn in her brain matter; and when Olivia had retreated into her head after learning of Charles Branden's death. The memories were so clear and disturbing that Brynn had skipped her last two classes of the day. She had lied in bed for the remainder of the evening and begged her mother to get out of her head.

No can do, sweetie, she imagined Olivia hissing. I'm always with you.

The more she thought about her mother, the more she was reminded of the horrible things the woman had done. Brynn thought about her father and his untimely death and her imprisonment at the orphanage. She thought about the three other men her mother had murdered. Did they have any families? If so, did they feel an unbearable amount of pain due to their losses? The questions gnawed at her until she was forced to get out of bed and trudge to the library. She fired up the computer and did a search of the men who had been murdered by Olivia. The websites she visited did not offer much and left many of her questions unanswered.

Brynn desperately wanted answers. According to what she had read, all the victims had been former clients of Olivia. That was the only link between them. Brynn had not been given a reason for why her mother had killed them other than because she was psycho.

She decided to take the matter into her own hands.

Brynn walked for thirty minutes before reaching the Gotham City Police Department. It was an old, red-brick building a few stories tall. Police cars were parked in front and a few officers lingered around, talking. One officer was hauling in a man with handcuffs. Brynn took a deep breath and walked up the stairs and into the building.

At this late hour, it was relatively empty. The officer dragging the man disappeared around a corner, followed by another officer. At the front desk, a middle-aged, blonde woman jotted down a few notes in a notepad. Brynn approached her slowly and waited for the woman to notice her.

She looked up at Brynn with a bored, tired expression. "Can I help you?"

"I was wondering if you had any files on the murder victims of Olivia Rivers," Brynn told her.

The woman laid down her pen and stared at Brynn skeptically. "We do. And you are?"

Brynn hesitated before giving out her name. It would be best to go by an alias in this situation. "Erika Nelson."

"And what is it you intend to do with those files, Ms. Nelson?" the woman inquired.

"Research."

"I'll need you to be a little more specific."

Brynn glared at the officer behind the desk. She hadn't expected there to be so many questions involved. "I can't say. I'm working on a story for the Gotham Times."

"Aren't you a little young to be working there?"

"I'm an intern," she lied. Her patience was quickly deteriorating and her heart was speeding up. She needed those files; they could give her the answers to the questions that kept her up late at night. What if they revealed the reason for why Olivia had killed all those people?

"Unfortunately for you, Ms. Nelson, I can't hand out police files to some intern who shows up asking for them. You'll need a court order to get your hands on those. Come back later," she said and went back to her note taking.

Brynn glared at the woman angrily. Badly she wanted to lash out at the hag behind the desk. If only she knew what those files meant to Brynn. Grudgingly, Brynn took a step back and stomped out of the station. She slammed the door shut behind her.

She was halfway down the stairs when a man called out to her. Brynn looked over her shoulder and saw a young officer looking down at her. She looked at him warily.

"What?" she snapped.

The officer took a few steps down. "I heard your conversation with Gloria."

"So?"

"You want those files?" he asked her.

Brynn's heart stopped. She narrowed her eyes at the dark-haired man, looking for any traces on his face that he was messing with her. Brynn crossed her arms over her chest and said, "I do."

"What if I told you I could get them to you?" he asked with a lopsided smile.

Brynn maintained her stony features. She didn't want to let on to how excited his words had made her. "I'd say why haven't you gotten them yet?"

The young officer tsked. "It comes with a price."

Brynn froze and her instincts told her to back away. She had an inkling of suspicion of what that 'price' might be. But the desire to have those files was overwhelming.

A year ago, Brynn Kiley would have run in the opposite direction in a situation like this. Her immediate answer would be no. She'd forget all about the files and go on with her life and maybe even convince herself that there was nothing wrong with her. Yes, her mother was a serial killer; no, that did not make Brynn one. Brynn had not inherited some crazy gene that would cause her to snap at a moment's notice. Back then, Brynn had morals, brains, and people who would help her out.

But things had changed dramatically in the last year. Technically, Brynn was no longer Brynn. The girl she had once been was history. That girl had ended on the night when she had screwed up her only meaningful friendship and her relationship with her family. This new Brynn was someone else entirely and her emotions were all over the place. Things that would have bothered her a year ago now had no meaning to her. She no longer had a sense of what was right and wrong; she simply acted. A year ago, Brynn would have known this was wrong. She had respect for herself.

Now, Brynn viewed herself as a monster who didn't deserve anything in life. One more black mark on her soul wasn't going to change things. She was already damned; she had been since birth.

On that night, the new Brynn simply shrugged and followed him without a second's hesitation.

A half hour later, she stood in an alleyway next to the building with her arms wrapped around her body, waiting for the officer to return with the copied files he had promised her. She took slow, shaky breaths and counted to one hundred. She tried her best not to think about what had just happened.

The door opened and he came out with four, thick, manila folders. Wordlessly, she took the files from him and started to walk away. His hand clamped around her arm and pulled her back. He expected to get a jumpy reaction out of her but she just looked at him with a blank expression.

"If word ever gets out about this," he said in a low voice, "I'll have you framed for so many crimes you'll never see the light of day again."

He let go of her arm and pushed her forward. Brynn stumbled out of the alleyway, nearly dropping the folders. She regained her balance and slowly walked back to campus.

When she arrived to her dorm, Brynn dropped the folders on her desk. She undressed and stepped into the bathroom. She brushed her teeth and washed her hands for ten minutes. Then she went back into her room, crawled under the covers, and passed out. She slept for a solid fifteen hours, missing all her classes for the next day.

When she awakened that next afternoon, Brynn started reading all the files. She put up a mental barrier as she read them so she wouldn't have to think about how they had come to be in her possession.

One thought slipped through the barrier as Brynn read. Being a whore runs in the family.

. . .

Jonathan didn't see Brynn for nearly a week. Usually, he spotted her walking to class or going into the library. From time to time, they would stop and talk to each other and on one occasion, they had walked to class together. It didn't feel like it used to; everything felt tense between them and Jonathan never knew what to say to her. He had apologized for abandoning her over the summer but he wasn't sure if she had really forgiven him. Brynn was so unreadable nowadays that even he couldn't figure out what she was thinking.

Had he not overheard the girl in front of him in the library line whisper, "Oh my god, what did she do to her hair?" he never would have noticed Brynn walk in. Curiously, he followed the girl's gaze and nearly dropped his books when he recognized Brynn. What on earth?

Her straight, strawberry blonde hair had been cut to her shoulders and dyed dark brown. The ends were choppy and uneven, going for a purposely messy look.

Jonathan's eyebrows jumped to his hairline when he took in the rest of her. Brynn wasn't looking very Brynn-like today. She was wearing black skinny jeans, a white V-neck, a jean jacket, and beat up biker boots. She had painted her lips cherry red. She looked like one of those grunge kids that liked to hang out at the record store down the street.

Brynn caught him staring at her and nodded in acknowledgment. Jonathan curtly nodded back and trained his eyes on the back of the head of the girl in front of him.

He wasn't sure what to think about what he had just seen.

After checking out his books, Jonathan's legs took control and walked in the direction Brynn had gone. He looked around the shelves and didn't see her anywhere. Jonathan walked farther back and saw her sitting in front of a computer in one of the cubicles. He debated whether or not to approach her. In the end, his legs won and slowly, he approached her.

She sensed him approaching and looked up in surprise. "Hey," she said cautiously.

"Hi," Jonathan greeted her. An awkward pause followed. Jonathan coughed and stupidly added, "I came by to say hi."

"Okay." Brynn nodded. She looked as uncomfortable as he felt.

Brynn motioned at a chair outside her cubicle. "Do you want to sit?"

He pulled the chair into her cubicle and sat a few feet away from her. They looked at each other for a few minutes before speaking. Jonathan was the one to break the silence.

"Your hair," he said. "It's…different."

Self-consciously, she ran a hand through it. "Does it look bad?"

"I personally preferred your natural color," he truthfully answered. "But no, it doesn't look bad. Just different. Like you."

She narrowed her eyes at him and he realized how stupid his words had been. "No, I meant like your personality. I mean—I-"

She watched him patiently as he rambled. Jonathan gave up and leaned back in his chair. "I should just shut up now, shouldn't I?"

"That'd be smart," she replied although she didn't sound angry. Brynn studied him with curious eyes.

"I didn't come over here to talk about your hair."

"I had a feeling that wasn't the reason."

"How are you?" Jonathan asked. "I haven't seen you recently."

Brynn's face darkened and she looked away. "I've been busy."

"Oh." Jonathan's eyes were glued to her face. Had something happened recently that she didn't want to talk about?

He wished for the millionth time that she was as easy to read as Annabel.

Brynn kept her eyes trained on the wall behind him. It was obvious that she didn't want to speak to him. Jonathan felt like an idiot. Why did he keep coming back? She clearly wanted nothing to do with him and after what happened at her house, he could understand why. He should just leave her alone and allow her to get on with her life.

"I'm sorry," he abruptly said. "For what happened at the beginning of summer and how I reacted. It was immature of me and if I could go back, I would change it."

"You don't have to apologize again," she said quietly.

"I want to. Like I said, I was immature. Extremely immature, actually," Jonathan added shamefully. Why had he acted like any other stupid boy back then? Jonathan knew he wasn't like them and he despised them all greatly. They were heartless creatures who screwed people over. So why had he acted like one of them when she rejected him? What had possessed him to be that way with his best friend? Was he naturally like that?

"Jonathan," Brynn said, interrupting his thoughts. "I forgive you, alright? Let's forget that it ever happened. I'm over it."

He wasn't the least bit convinced that she was over it. The tone of her voice implied that she wasn't and it sounded like she didn't want to forgive him. Jonathan sighed and rubbed his hand over his face.

"Alright," he agreed.

"Why don't we try to start up again?"

"Start up again?"

Brynn nodded. "Where we left off before…all that. We had a good friendship."

"We did, didn't we?" Jonathan agreed.

"Yeah and it would be pointless to throw it all away because of some disagreement," she added. "So can we start over?"

"I'd like that very much," he said. Jonathan stuck his hand out and took on a cold tone. "Jonathan Crane. Resident genius."

Brynn snorted and leaned forward to shake his hand. "Brynn Kiley. Resident psycho."

They shook hands for a little longer than necessary. Holding her hand in his reminded him of that night so long ago. Jonathan pulled back, ending the connection. He shouldn't think about that night. They were trying to start over again.

Brynn offered him a small smile, making it the first time in months he had seen her do so. A chill ran down Jonathan's spine and he realized that he was concerned for her. Behind her eyes, there was a war raging; Jonathan could clearly smell the blood. Although she was good at hiding it, he knew she was losing.

Again, he wished she could be as open as Annabel.

Thinking of Annabel reminded him of her earlier request. Jonathan sat up straight and said, "I have to ask you something."

"Shoot."

"You remember Annabel?"

Brynn frowned and thought for a moment. "Not really."

Hesitantly, he said, "My girlfriend." He wasn't sure why he said it with so much caution. For some reason, part of him believed that the words would anger Brynn.

"Oh," she said emotionlessly. "Right. What about her?"

"She wants to meet you," Jonathan explained.

Brynn pushed a dark strand of hair behind her ear. He still couldn't get over how different she looked. "Me?"

"Yes, you."

"Why?"

"I know all of her friends so she wants to meet mine," Jonathan lied easily. It would be best to leave out the fact about how Annabel believed Jonathan was unfaithful and had some sort of relationship with Brynn. Mentioning that would no doubt give Brynn cold feelings towards Annabel.

Brynn shifted in her chair. "I guess. She probably won't like me."

"How could she not?"

Brynn glared at him as though he had said the dumbest thing ever. "I could think of a few good reasons."

"Well I can't," he argued. "So what do you say?"

Brynn stared at him for several seconds. He was beginning to believe that she would say no when Brynn sighed and shrugged. "When do we meet?"

"Does tomorrow work?" he asked. Jonathan was surprised when a feeling of dread crept into his stomach. The idea of Brynn and Annabel meeting still didn't seem like a good one to him. Jonathan shrugged off the thought and tried to convince himself that there was nothing wrong with it.

"That's fine. I'll meet her after class," Brynn told him. The tone of her voice didn't seem too thrilled about it.

"Great," Jonathan answered as he stood. "I'll see you tomorrow."

She weakly smiled at him as Jonathan left. On his way back to the main part of the library, Jonathan looked back and caught Brynn staring at him. Before she could look down, Jonathan got a good look at her eyes. They were filled with desperation and hopelessness and something else he couldn't place his finger on.

Her face stayed in his mind as he left the library. It left him with an uneasy feeling and Jonathan began to wonder if her problems went beyond what had happened at the graduation party.

. . .

Brynn kept her head down as she walked across the street and through the doors of the restaurant. Earlier, Jonathan had texted her to say that was where they would be meeting. It had probably been that Annabeth chick's idea. Never in a million years would Jonathan suggest a meet-and-greet in a public place. Brynn wondered how short the leash was that Jonathan was on. She assumed it was pretty short if this girlfriend of his was dragging him to public places.

She hadn't even met the girl and already, she strongly disliked her.

Once inside, Brynn scanned the small crowd for Jonathan. He was at the back of the restaurant sitting with a mousy blonde girl. Brynn groaned and debated whether or not to approach them. Coming here was a stupid idea. Jonathan didn't actually want to do this—it had been evident in his voice when he brought it up the day before. Brynn wondered if he even wanted anything to do with her anymore.

Probably not, Brynn bitterly realized. He has his 'girlfriend' to keep him company…

Brynn decided she wanted nothing to do with him and his little toy. She took a step back to leave. As though her decision had signaled him, Jonathan turned around and saw her. He lifted his brows questioningly. Are you coming? His face read. Or do I have to get up and drag you over?

Angrily muttering, Brynn walked in their direction. Jonathan would pay for this…

"Brynn," Jonathan greeted as she approached their table. The blonde girl turned around and looked Brynn up and down. Tentatively, she offered her a weak smile.

"Hi," Brynn quickly offered as she sat down. In front of the younger two were plates of salad and half-empty cups.

"Sorry we ordered without you," Jonathan said. "We were tired of waiting."

"I wasn't hungry anyway," she lied.

A brief pause followed. Annabeth watched Brynn with curiosity; Brynn stared back, distrusting; Jonathan's eyes went back and forth between the two of them. His hands were folded in front of his mouth and his shoulders were tense. From the looks of it, Brynn wasn't the only one who disliked this idea.

"So," Brynn ended the silence. Her eyes darted to Jonathan. "How long have you and Annabeth been dating?"

"Annabel," the girl corrected in a voice as sweet as honey. She smiled softly and looked at Jonathan. "How long now? About a month and a half?"

Jonathan looked down at his plate and nodded. "That sounds about right."

Brynn forced a smile on her face. It looked twisted and forced. "How sweet."

"We met at freshmen orientation," she went on and looked at him adoringly. Annabel turned her attention back to Brynn. "How did you and Jonathan meet?"

"I was forced to study with him," Brynn replied. She looked at Jonathan and mockingly smiled at him how Annabel had. Jonathan didn't look amused.

"Oh," his girlfriend replied. "For what subject?"

"Psychology."

Annabel's face lit up. "I met Jonathan when he was giving me a tour of the Psychology department!"

"Ha ha, what a coincidence," Brynn sarcastically chuckled. Annabel's smile faltered and she questioningly looked at Jonathan. He said nothing and continued to stare at Brynn.

Brynn reached out and stole a crouton from Jonathan's salad. He swatted her hand away. "Get your own," he snapped.

"Learn to share," Brynn muttered. She adjusted the red headband in her hair and zoned out Annabel's voice. She was blabbering about something—probably how much she and Jonathan loved each other.

The more time she spent with her, the more Brynn grew to dislike her. She was annoying and way too sweet. It wouldn't surprise Brynn if she was a fake. There was a look in her eyes that told Brynn she was not welcomed. The girl probably didn't like the fact that Jonathan associated with other females.

How did Jonathan even put up with her? Brynn was using all her energy to not tell her to shut up.

"Brynn?"

She looked up. Jonathan and Annabel were staring expectantly at her.

"Sorry what was that? I wasn't listening," Brynn said.

Something flashed across Annabel's face. It looked like annoyance. She plastered on one of her sickly-sweet smiles and repeated the question. "What are you studying right now?"

"Nothing, actually," Brynn replied. "I haven't been to class lately so…"

"She's kidding," Jonathan interrupted. He shot Brynn a look that said Cut it out. "Brynn will probably do something art-related. She likes photography."

"Mmm, cool," Annabel said although she didn't sound the least bit impressed. "I think I'll major in Psychology."

"You too?" Brynn feigned shock. She pointed at the couple and snorted. "You guys were a match made in heaven."

No longer was Annabel smiling. She stared at Brynn with her lips tightly pressed together. She looked ridiculous doing so. The younger girl didn't frighten Brynn in the least bit.

Brynn held her gaze and lifted her eyebrows questioningly. Wanna go? She silently threatened.

"Sorry, how did you say you guys met again?" Annabel asked coolly.

"Through Psychology class," Brynn repeated. "He tutored me."

"Hmm."

"What?"

Annabel shrugged. "He never mentioned it. Is that how you guys became friends?"

"What is this, Twenty Questions?"

"Brynn," Jonathan chastised angrily.

"I'm just curious," Annabel calmly replied.

"I'm sure you are."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing."

"Obviously it meant something."

"Guys—" Jonathan tried to interrupt. The two girls ignored him.

"I find it strange that Jonathan's never mentioned you before," Annabel flatly stated.

"He doesn't like talking about you much, either," Brynn retorted. "I can see why. You're unbearable."

"Christ, Brynn," Jonathan growled.

Annabel leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. "If I'm so unbearable, why is he dating me?"

Brynn looked to the ceiling and shrugged. "Maybe because you're his rebound?"

Annabel's jaw dropped. "Rebound?" Her head snapped to Jonathan. "What does she mean by rebound, Jonathan?"

Before he could answer, the light bulb went on in her head. Annabel's eyes burned with anger. "I'm your rebound from her?"

"Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner," Brynn muttered under her breath.

Annabel threw her napkin on the table and stomped away. Jonathan jumped up and called her name. Frustrated, he ran a hand through his hair.

Brynn let out a low whistle. "Well, that was fun."

"What was that all about, Brynn?" he demanded.

Brynn lifted her hands in defense. "I didn't do anything."

"You're kidding, right?"

"How can you even put up with her?" she exclaimed. Brynn pointed in her direction. "She keeps you on a leash!"

Brynn rose from her seat and walked out of the restaurant. Jonathan was on her heels and grabbed her arm. She yanked it out of his grip and continued walking.

"You had no right making that rebound comment," Jonathan snarled when they got outside. He looked up and down the street for Annabel. She was nowhere to be found.

"You know it's true," Brynn muttered.

"It is not true," he hissed. "I got over you. I thought we went over this. I thought we were trying to start over?"

"Not if she's around."

"She's my girlfriend, Brynn."

Brynn snorted. "You're dating a thirteen year old with no breasts who has yet to get her period. That screams desperation to me."

Jonathan's mouth dropped open in shock. He squeezed his lips together angrily and shook his head. "I can't even look at you right now."

"Fine! Go find your stupid girlfriend. Obviously she's more important than I am," she snarled.

Jonathan stomped away leaving Brynn with a sour feeling in her mouth. Of course he chose that brat over Brynn. Friendship meant nothing to him.

Angrily, Brynn kicked a trash can over and walked across the street back to the dorms. She tried to ignore the knot that had formed in her throat.

Befriending Jonathan again would be next to impossible with that whiny bitch around.

. . .

A/N: For the millionth time, I'm sorry that this chapter is so late. I hardly have time anymore to update. Hopefully, there will be a chapter up next weekend. I think I have some free time.

Thank you margaret7122, ElektraMackenzie, NightRain2DaySnow, hh, dEnIsE tHe StRaNgE, cbaudelaire, moria, Reyelle, aaronroman, SJBHasADayPass, BabyAngel-tears, Roxie13, dido, aurea, AlainHotCoco1, Amber, and schuhu for your wonderful reviews and to the people who followed/added the story to their alerts. WOOH 400! I'm not doing a sneak peek this time only because I feel like I'm going to give too much away. I'll do one for 500 (if we reach it), I promise.

So this chapter will probably get some mixed reviews because of the scene at the police station. I just want to say that Brynn has changed and she's really not Brynn anymore. At times, old Brynn will show (like when she and Jonathan made up in the library) but for the most part it's new Brynn. I want to remind you guys that Brynn is depressed right now. She doesn't view herself highly anymore and thinks she's worthless. Therefore, Brynn is careless with her actions and makes more bad decisions. Believe me, I hate writing about her this way and it just gets worse as the story goes on.

I should also mention that Brynn and Jonathan's relationship will be topsy turby. They make up, they argue, make up, argue, so on and so on. It also doesn't help since Brynn and Annabel dislike each other so much. Jonathan will be torn on who to side with when they argue.

To answer AlainHotCoco1's question, the shoes and why they were in Brynn's room will be mentioned in the next chapter.

I will try to update faster! Until then, read and review to let me know what you think.