A/N: (long author's note warning) Sorry, guys. I've been trying to write but I've been feeling a little depressed with my life. But- not to get too personal, I was able to write a somewhat cheerful chapter. :) If anyone is feeling down, do not hesitate to P.M me.

I know how it's like to feel hopeless. But life can get better if you grab the reins and stop putting on a fake facade that is not you! Don't pretend to be someone you're not. For a while I've felt different inside and I've been hiding it. Sometimes it feels like I'm striving to be the person everyone else wants me to be. Don't ever let that happen to you. It's horrible.

And- woah, this is a motherlode of reviews for Chapter 11. Time to break out that cape! *brandishes superhero costume* SUPERHERO REVIEW RESPONDER... yeah terrible name, I'm really bad at coming up with nicknames and usernames. I mean, Cary Swirls- dis- dis- is proof! My name is not Cary, nor Swirls- though wait who'd name their kid that anyway?- and they have literally nothing to do with me other than the fact that I guess I like swirl patterns.- Welp, I better stop stalling! REVIEW RESPONSE TIME!

Oh, and wait- procrastination you're my bff- last chapter you guys guessed who the taxi driver might be. It is dun dun dun dun- ALDEN! Congrats to those of you who got it right lol and all ur guesses were fun to read! (Hint hint he said: "Certainly. No reason to worry." His most famous catchphrase lol.)

OKAY, NOW DA REVIEWS:

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A very obsessed fangirl: Thankq! Hope you like this! It is a LITTLE on the cliche side, but I WAS RUNNING OUT OF IDEAS, OKAY? DON'T SUE ME FOR A BIT OF WRITER'S BLOCK!

Fan Person: I do not feel that way at all! If anything it makes me feel glowy since someone read like all of my fanfictions! It is not Mr Forkle, tho good guess! :) Thx for reviewing.

CoCo: Lol yes. Sophie, don't go kissing Tam's archenemy while he's in trouble! I hope it wasn't too confusing; I meant for it to seem like Tam abandoned her. Sophie didn't realize he was in trouble since she was kinda in a situation herself and just the way it happened... She figured he just ran off while he could. Awh, thank you! :)

Mrs. Moonlark: Hiii again! It makes me happy that you enjoy my story that much! Ik, it surprised me mid-read! My fam actually went last weekend. I brought a couple of small slips of paper I wrote nice stuff on and hid them in books. AND I WAS IN THE LIBRARY AT THE TIME. A piece of advice I think is important tho is to only put them in when u r at home. A few ppl were staring at me weirdly and I bet the security cams caught me in action lol. They probably thought I was putting who knows what in there. Ah yes, da Tam meme... ;p I bet it is. Thank you for reviewing! (yep Alden is the driver! Gr8 going!)

kikixoxo484: :) Hiyyyyaa! Sometimes I forget that actual people are reading my story. I just write, save, edit, then hit post. Lol. But thanks so much for your review :D. It brought me a smile, and in this world now smiles are pretty valuable. Yup! It was Alden.

bookbedhead101: Helloooo! Thank you for reviewing! :)

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Okay, I should warn you guys. Um, it's possible? - that this chapter may be crossing the Cliche Line in stories for sure now. Uh oh. Now, I personally love cliches- some are predictable yet written well to make up for it and still others who write cliches that bound back and surprise the readers. But I want this to try and stay as unpredictable as poss. Welp, I'll try and spin this outta Cliche Territory now. Please please please let me know if it seems too cliche, tho, bc I'm trying to keep this fanfic (mostly) original.

ONE MORE THING I SHOULD COVER! Again, this is rated T! As in, teen. Or 13+. I would highly recommend that you are at least 12 or 13 if you are reading this. This will have NO smut, although the kissing scenes may get hot and heavy at times... But there IS mild language/violence/mentions of alcohol and tobacco. It's not illegal if you read this and you are younger, but this is the type of fanfic that maybe fits a slightly older audience and I don't want to be responsible for anyone losing some of their innocence lol.

12- Karma's Name is Nicole

This is it, Sophie. There's no going back now. Turn that fricking doorknob and do it fast, before you turn to stone or something! I sigh deeply and place a hand on the cold bronze metal. Do it already! my subconsciousness screams, we're all dying in the suspense.

What the heck? Who's 'we?' I mentally hiss, impatient of my mind's many mysteries.

The different parts of you, my subconsciousness replies snidely.

Like me, says some distant and trance-y voice in my mind.

Now open it already! I wanna make sure Tam's not dead or unconscious! adds my subconsciousness.

I roll my eyes. Stop panicking, I tell myself. When I panic, I usually make up imaginary voices instructing me what to do since I'm incapable. I take another incredibly profound breath, and twist the doorknob.

When I walk in the first thing I notice is the brunet girl with light shades of makeup applied to all of her face, caressing Tam, who was sitting in an armchair all tied up in ropes. He's struggling and yelling profanities that I will never, ever unhear.

I freeze in place for a mere fraction of a second, my mind now shouting, SHE'S TOUCHING YOUR BOYFRIEND! RED ALERT! RED ALERT! WHORE! WHORE!

Then I finally unfroze, snapping into action. "Get your smelly-a** hands off Tam!" I shout, hurrying over to the limp but strong-willed boy fidgeting in his imprisoning seat.

"Who're you?" scowls the girl, crossing her arms over her chest. "And how did you..." Her voice trails off. "Tammy! You said you were telling your parents you were out on a date! I should've known..."

She sneers at me, inspecting me as if I'm a piece of lint on her designer jacket. "Oh, you really outdid yourself, didn't you?" she shook her head. "You could've done way better than this crapbag. Look at her-"

"Don't you dare talk about my girlfriend like that!" Tam shouts, wriggling in his tight ropes.

"You'll get ropeburn, stop struggling, Tam," I instruct, rushing to his side.

"So what?" he mutters. "It's better than being stuck here with my psychopathic ex-girlfriend."

"Ex-girlfriend?" I stare at him in open awe.

"Yeah," the girl states, putting her hands on her hips. "Once I moved out of town I figured we could continue our relationship long-dist. But apparently that's too much for you to do!" she yells, her eyes slits as she glares at Tam.

Tam rolls his eyes. "Chill, Nicole."

Nicole grooms her short brown hair, avoiding my boyfriend's steady gaze. "Tam," she says slowly, "how could you? I called... I called fifty times every damn week! And did you pick up? NEVER! I was left to voicemail every. Single. Time!"

Tam wriggles some more in his ropes. "Ya know. Maybe I'd feel more up to explaining if you cut these ropes loose."

"Yeah... no," Nicole shakes her head. "Now you get to know how it feels! As for you..." Nicole whirls around to face me. We glare and it's like the modern version of the cowboys circling each other on their horses, positioning their gun on their target. "You need to be disposed of," she spits.

She pushes me down on the floor next to Tam's armchair, grinning wildly as she fumbles for a rope.

Which was her mistake and my triumph.

Because I unclipped my loose hairclip from the side of my blonde hair and used the sharp edges on Tam's rope.

He groans. "This isn't working!" he complains. "Didn't you bring an army knife?"

I shake my head no and continue in my unsuccessful endeavoring. Shimmying the sharp side, I manage to make a dent in the extremely thick ropes. "It's not working," Tam repeats hopelessly.

"Shut up and you need to get a new education teaching you to have a more positive outlook on life," I narrow my eyebrows at him, and just as I did, the hairclip slipped through half of the rope! "Omigosh did you see that, Tam?" I gasped.

"Now it's your turn to shut up," Tam mouths. Nicole's finally found a rope and she's refocused on us. Swinging her rope madly from side to side she makes a break for me. "Run," Tam's lips say.

"No," I mouth back. I'm not leaving without what I came for. Tam.

"Hey Nicole?" I ask.

"What?" Nicole sneers, unraveling the ropes and holding them out in front of me.

"I can set you up with a new boyfriend!" I cannot believe I just said that.

Nicole rolls her eyes as if I said something really stupid and degrading. "Do you honestly think the only reason I came back to my hometown was to kidnap my ex and teach him a lesson or two whilst getting to torture his current girlfriend?"

"Uhh, yeah?"

She shakes her head. "No! I wouldn't pay a few hundred dollars for that!" She points at Tam like he's some creature that escaped from the zoo.

"I know the feeling." I nod.

"Hey!" Tam protests. "I'm your boyfriend!"

I roll my eyes. "Yeah well, we need a little more communication. Like telling each other about certain debts and or burglaries committed?"

Tam had the grace to stare down at his feet. "Sorry, Soph," he mumbles.

"That's okay. But seriously, I thought you ditched me!"

"Well now you know."

Nicole bites her bottom lip, looking really annoyed. "Can you like shut up?" she tells both of us, successfully tying me up while I was distracted.

Tam sends me a look that says Great going before shooting back in a high pitched mocking tone, "Can you like not tell us what to do?"

I stifle a giggle while it's about to burst out my chest. Clearing my throat I shift my expression to serious. "Look, let us go and I'll set you up. I know a guy," I say, even though I kind of don't. The idea just popped in my mind and now I was going with it.

Nicole arches up an eyebrow. "Who?"

"A really really hot dude," I state, moving around in my ropes.

Nicole rolls her eyes. "Yeah right. I doubt you know any hot guys. Quit giving me this weird crap and stay still so I can load you guys."

"Load us... where?" I stutter, and look back at Tam, who appears to be equally confused.

"Nicole, just let us go," Tam insists, crinkling up his nose. "Why do you always have to go to such extremities?"

Nicole weaves a hand through her curly brown hair and purses her lips. "Believe me, Song, I don't wanna do this any more than you wanna be kidnapped, but life is life and karma has no sympathy."

Neither did her eyes. In fact, they were blazing with determination.

"I'm not gonna let Timber down on my first job. So just shut your piehole already so it's not any harder than it has to be." She nods at the exit, where two burly guys stood, one holding car keys and the other a shotgun. I dearly hoped it wasn't loaded.

My jaw hinges closed but I stare at Tam fearfully. I try to slip one hand out of the ropes, but it's too tightly knotted. "What do we do?" I mouth, and Tam only bites his lower lip.

"You'll see," he mouths back, and a flurry of emotions spiral around my stomach, my chest constricting.

Were we ever going to get out of this?

And in one piece?

The two dudes who were guarding the door escorted us out the building. When I say escort what I really mean is forced.

They ushered us along, the man with the shotgun locking it to my forehead, notifying Tam that the second he tries anything, I'll be dead.

As for me, the threat of death was more than enough to shimmy my body across the street to their black camo truck.

"Get in," the guy orders. Tam narrows his eyebrows but obeys, throwing his limp body in the backseat of the truck, rolling to an upright position.

The gruff dude tosses me in next, after removing the gun from my skin, and then he proceeds to climb into the front. The other one jumps in the driver's seat and they plug the keys in the ignition. "What about Nicole?" I question, shivering. Why did the truck have A/C on in winter?

One of them glances in my direction, shrugging. "She has her own car. Now shut up."

"I will once you turn the heating on," I argue, trembling in the ripped plush seats.

"No, you will now," the guy says calmly, "unless you have a death wish." He whips out the shotgun and threateningly points it at me. "Song, if you can't get your girlfriend to shut up, her complaining about the temperature'll be her last words."

Tam's jaw sets, but even with the ropes wrapped around his entire body, he somehow managed to move closer to me. "You need to stay quiet, Soph," he murmurs into my ear softly. Our hands brush, and the mere contact with his skin arouses fireworks inside of me.

I stare into his eyes longingly and his bangs skim my forehead. I flinch as I remember the cold metal pressing against it moments beforehand.

He notices and scrunches up his face in anger at our captors. His face soon softens again, and he leans back in the seat, not so comfortably. "Stay quiet and we'll stay alive," he adds with an air of caution.

I bolt my lips shut but scooch nearer to Tam. He sags in his ropes but the fire in his eyes encourages my hopes.

A/N: So cringeworthy... but I hope my writing's improved since the first chapter of I Fell for the Bangs... Please review and let me know what you think of the new plot. Was there enough Sotam or do I need to up my game more in order to really feel da romance? Who do you think is Timber? And how is Nicole connected to him/her?