A/N: IT'S TIME. SHE MEETS THEM. SHE MEETS HIM.

And would you believe it if today's the movie anniversary? Because it so is! Happy weekend!

The ladies spent the afternoon trying to dig up newspaper articles and adverts on anything they could learn about Santa Carla.

The wharf was home to the largest amusement park on the coast, and the summer season was the bustle of the town. Tourists would come from far and wide to enjoy the warm air, great seaside food, and the entertainment. Vinnie knew that the place was a tourist trap, ready to help unsuspecting families empty their pockets.

A solemn frown fell over her as the afternoon crawled on. They weren't getting very far. There was only one person she knew that had experience in the area.

Jackson.

He was working away on getting issued policies in the mail, and was making sure they were issued as quoted. Vinnie reached for the stamps next to him and started stamping the manila envelopes. He nodded his appreciation, giving her a toothy smile.

"Thanks for the help." He offered genuinely, pushing a completed stack her way.

Vie let out a hum, stamping away.

"It's nothing. The change of pace is nice."

They worked together in silence for about a minute before Vinnie gathered the courage to ask about what was really on her mind.

"Jackson, do you remember what we were talking about the other day? About the fire up the coast?" She asked carefully, setting down the envelopes in the outgoing mail slot.

"I do." He nodded, brushing his hair back and out of his face. "My mom called about it a couple of days ago. She said that the winds have pushed the fire away from her house."

"That's really good to hear."

Vie felt her cheeks curve up slightly with a relieved smile, but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"I have a question for you if it's not too much trouble."

"Not at all."

"Do you happen to know anything about Santa Carla?"

Jackson visibly paled, and that was even with the fresh tan from his weekend surfing. It was like the board was knocked out from underneath him. Vinnie could hear a hitch in the back of his throat and she quickly changed her mind.

Maybe it wasn't a good idea to ask him about it.

"Hey," She started again, this time gently. "I didn't mean any trouble. I'm sorry I asked."

"No, no." Jackson shook his head. "It's not that. You didn't mean any harm. It's a rough town. There are different gangs that run the boardwalk. Some scare away the tourists, some are just looking for a good time."

He took a breath to remind himself that he was far away from the bay area. He was safe. But he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

"Why do you wanna know?"

Vinnie frowned.

"A friend of mine went missing. That's the last place she said she would be."

There was a slow pause.

"Don't tell me you're going up there to find her." Jackson's tone was harder now, laced with accusation.

Vinnie wasn't sure if she was ready to tell him, and kept her head down instead of making eye contact with him. The stamped envelopes were suddenly much more interesting, but Jackson knew why she was deflecting.

"It's a bad idea." He pushed. "Vinnie, you can't go. It's not safe."

Without so much as a glance to him, Vie pursed her lips together. He wasn't going to be any help.

"Thanks for the advice." She brushed past him, trying to hide her flare of embarrassment.

Vinnie was going, regardless of what Jackson thought about it.

She went straight to her boss to ask for a couple of days off. Vinnie wasn't going to let anyone else get in her way. He was distracted when she asked and he ended up approving it without question. He knew that Vinnie wasn't one to ask for days off. He gave a generic spiel of giving a bigger heads up in the future, but everyone knew how lenient he was.

Rae came up with a list of hotels in the Santa Carla area and Betty found a map of the boardwalk and it's rides, and by the end of the day they had done much more detective work than their actual work. But if Vinnie found Stella it would all be worth it.

She had a gut feeling that Stella was still gone, and as she drove into the apartment parking lot that Vinnie already had her answer.

As Vinnie pulled up she saw Marcella sitting on the porch with her head in her hands, smoking a half burnt cigarette.

She looked deflated, like all of the anger was wrung out and what she was left with was looming fear and sadness. Her daughter was missing.

Vinnie wordlessly sat down on the step next to her, letting her purse slip onto the concrete.

And they just sat there for a little while, listening to the birds and the cars pass by. Marcella offered Vie the smoke but she passed. Marcella puffed at it and let out a huff of smoke, and Vinnie watched as it danced up into the air.

"I'm scared I'm gonna lose her forever."

Vie turned to look at her and Marcella wiped a stray tear from her eye.

"Stella's my baby. She's my little Star."

Regardless of how malicious she was before, Vinnie leaned in and pulled her arms around Marcella.

She needed someone to lean on, and Vie could feel wave after wave of turmoil and regret flow from her. She wasn't thinking before. She had been angry, but it was more than that. She was scared.

"We're going to find her." Vinnie promised, and Marcella fell apart in her arms. "We're going to find her, but I'm going to need your help."

Vinnie was used to the Santa Barbara crowds, but she couldn't believe the sheer amount of people that were walking around Monterey Bay. Every kind of person from every walk of life had made their way to Santa Carla.

It was about lunch time by the time that Vinnie pulled up to the entrance to the Boardwalk.

Her thoughts had been racing a mile a minute and she was reminded more than once by Betty and Rae to stay calm. Things like this would take time. She wasn't likely to find Stella right away.

The oversized parking lot was packed with cars and even more so with pedestrians.

The flock of people heading from the parking lot to the boardwalk raised her spirits, if only for a moment. That could be the best place to start.

Stella and her friends drove to Santa Carla in a beige two door Oldsmobile Cutlass. The trouble was that there were a lot of cars that looked just like a Cutlass.

Armed with a memorized license plate number, Vinnie decided to go on foot. She was going to have a lot of ground to cover.

Summer was coming up fast and the sun was already sweltering out in the open, and as Vie waded through the parking lot she was breaking a sweat.

Vinnie waded through the aisles of cars ignoring the Nevada and Colorado license plates she passed, her focus zoning out the blue and red and black cars that she walked by.

Zigzagging through the aisles was quick, but she had a lot of ground to cover.

Vinnie was focused, maybe too focused, and after a while she felt a tap on her shoulder.

Turning on her heel, Vie came face to face with a man in uniform. He wore a tight fitting cap on his head, and the patch sewn on his breast pocket made her skin crawl.

Security.

"Excuse me, ma'am." He drawled, eyeing her down. "What are you doing?"

She offered a nervous little laugh before remembering what Rae told her.

"Don't draw attention to yourself. If you get kicked out of the boardwalk your chances of finding Stella and her friends are going to shrink down to nothing."

Vinnie blinked once, letting out a relieved exhale.

"I can't remember where we parked." She answered calmly, scanning over the parking lot with the quip of her lips turning down. "I was supposed to meet my friends here."

Looking back to the security guard she watched as his defensive stance melted into something softer. He rested his hands against his belt before speaking.

"Well, I can't offer my help with that. But I'm afraid you're startling other visitors." He scolded lightly. "It looks like you're trying to break into one of the cars."

The implication dawned on her in an instant.

"Oh, I would never." Vinnie rushed out, putting a hand over her heart.

The security guard waved his hand for her to put her own hand down.

"I'll let you off with a warning. Your friends will show up. Just wait, and don't go causing any trouble for the other guests." He advised before tipping his hat and walking back towards the boardwalk entrance.

Vinnie balked as he walked away.

What if she really needed help? What if she really was lost?

As she walked inside the boardwalk she noticed the stands and poster spaces filled with missing person signs. There were dozens of them. Maybe even hundreds of them. The thought sobered Vinnie up almost immediately.

"It's sad, isn't it?" A passersby mentioned. "This is a runaway town."

"Well they don't call it the Murder Capital of the World for nothing." Their friend added.

Vinnie's ears pricked up as they walked by. It must have been a scare tactic to keep tourists at bay.

Right?

"How do you find someone?" She spoke up, and they turned to Vinnie with a curious look. There was a moment of hopeful silence before one of them chuckled.

"You don't find people here. This is where people go who don't want to be found."

Her mood deflated as they walked away. Vinnie walked on, taking one of the park maps to plan out the best route for her to go. One thing was for sure. The boardwalk was huge.

The path she followed wandered past the concessions and games, past the thrill and spin ride, past the souvenir shops. There was so much to see. There were so many places that Stella could be. Maybe it really was a good place for people to get lost and stay lost.

Her feet carried her out and to the end of one of the piers. The Pacific water was dark and the waves were thrashing, and she looked down and out to the sandy beaches packed with swimmers.

There were so many people. It made her stomach roll.

The sun and the heat zapped the energy from her bones, and after another hour of wandering the boardwalk Vie knew she wasn't going to get very far. She snuck past a different security guard on her way back to the parking lot.

She needed a new plan.

She didn't call ahead, but Vinnie passed by one of the Super 8 Motels by the beach on her drive into town. As she passed by it again she noticed how the neon sign shone bright.

Vacancy

Between the drive from Santa Barbara and walking the boardwalk Vie needed to regroup.

Red in the face and pulling herself out of the sun Vinnie dragged herself and her weekend bag into the foyer. A bushy haired woman was popping her bubblegum behind the desk before giving Vie a once over.

"How much for a room?"

Benny's was a biker bar from the looks of it, and from the moment Vinny saw it she got a tingle of goosebumps down her back.

She couldn't shake the feeling that she was going to find exactly what she was looking for there. There was something about the bar that made her belly ache, and she couldn't help but go inside.

Inside the bar was packed. People were crammed in shooting darts and playing pool and watching a baseball game on the TV in the corner. Not to mention the copious amounts of liquor and beer.

It was a riot.

The only empty seat wasn't even a seat at all. There was a single empty space to lean against the bar and Vinnie made quick work to get there.

When the bartender made his way over to her Vinnie ordered a beer on tap. Did she even want to drink? She couldn't remember.

The afternoon went by in a haze and after Vie accidentally fell asleep she woke up disoriented.

It was already dark outside when she pushed herself up from the hotel mattress. She had been asleep for hours. She missed out on precious time to search for Stella and was kicking herself.

So yes, she reminded herself. She could really use a drink.

While she scanned the rest of the bar she couldn't shake the feeling of anticipation in her belly.

This was exactly where she was supposed to be. Maybe this is where she would find Stella. Even though her belly ached at the thought of Stella sneaking into a bar, she was pulled from her thoughts as someone called out to her.

"Hey honey. You know, ladies night is on Thursdays."

She sneered at the nickname.

Vinnie tilted her head to the left, and up until now she had done a good job of avoiding talking to the other people standing by the bar. But the guy talking to her screamed trouble.

He was rugged, only wearing a jean vest as a shirt, showing off his rough and tough arm tattoos. The bandana tied around his head screamed that he was a biker, and she didn't want anything to do with it. As he leaned in towards her the smell of chewing tobacco filled her nose and Vie stifled the urge to turn away.

"Oh, come on." He implored with a slimy wink. "There's only one reason why a girl like you would be drinking alone at the bar in the middle of the week."

She didn't like what he was getting at. She took a half step back as the guy tried to cage her in against the bar, and her fight or flight skills were quickly turned to flight.

Vinnie stopped mid step when a different, ring covered hand was wrapped around her shoulder, pulling her out of reach of the creep.

She turned and looked up through a wild mane of blonde hair to see her savior looking down at her with a toothy grin. Baby blue eyes were brimming with life and mischief, but she didn't feel any danger. If anything, a wave of relief washed over her.

"Babes, I've been looking all over for you."

The man half chastised her, but she could see only playfulness in his eyes. His voice practically danced as he spoke and she leaned in closer to him without thinking about it.

"We thought you'd be waiting for us outside the bar."

He looked down to Vinnie with a smug grin, ignoring the other guy completely as she fell into him. He was coming to her rescue. He urged her again, the hand moving to the small of her back.

"Come on, the guys are waiting."

Vinnie smiled clumsily, letting the blonde tug her away from her place at the bar.

"Shit, sorry. I really needed a drink and couldn't wait anymore sweetheart." She added to play along, and for good measure she wrapped her arm around the blonde's waist to make sure the other guy could take a hint.

Her hero finally lent his attention to the biker with an almost sardonic grin. With his arm perched around Vie's shoulder he turned to face him head on.

"We got a problem here, bud?" The blonde asked lightly, but his eyes held a different bite.

Vinnie was so wrapped up in it all, watching the tattooed man shake his head and sit back down. He didn't even put up a fight. Her hero effectively turned and led Vinnie to the opposite end of the bar.

When she was confident that the creep was out of earshot she let go of the stranger with a breathless laugh. Vie looked up to her hero with a smile of her own.

"Thanks for the rescue." She whispered once they were far enough away.

When Vinnie gathered the courage to look up her defender was already looking down at her. He exuded a natural charm that comforted her.

"It was nothing, chica." He shrugged nonchalantly, the light dancing across his eyes. "I actually stole the spotlight from my friend. But he would have knocked that guy's lights out."

Vinnie cocked her head to the side, letting his joke settle over her with a grin.

"I could have taken him."

Her empty threat made the blonde shake his head with wild eyes.

"Yeah, sure girl. What the hell were you thinking anyway?" He was half teasing. "That meat head probably had eyes on you since you walked in."

His words made Vinnie stop in her tracks, like she had been walking on a tightrope and the line snapped under her. She blinked lightly, seeing the situation in a new light.

Why was she still following him?

For a moment she felt almost the same way that she did when the other guy was hitting on her, riddled with anxiety.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

"And what exactly were you doing?" Vinnie challenged, cautious eyes looking over him.

This made his eyes go wide with excitement, and somewhere from behind Vinnie she heard a round of oohs.

"Looks like you've been busted, Paul." Someone called out from the booth off to the side.

Vinnie didn't bother to look at them, but she did watch as her hero's eyes briefly danced over to the booth.

But the blonde, Paul, didn't back down either.

He placed an innocent hand over his heart and turned his back to the booth, facing Vie again.

"I just so happened to be keeping my eyes peeled for a damsel in distress." He countered with an easy, almost teasing grin. "And would you look at that? I found one. So I'd say you're welcome."

Vie couldn't believe her luck.

"I could have taken him."

Vinnie's stubbornness got the better of her, but her words fell on deaf ears.

"For real though, you stick out, valley girl."

"I'm not from the valley." She grumbled with a bite. With a scoff she looked around the room. "Maybe I should stick a bone through my nose, or get a dagger earring."

Vinnie grimaced at the idea, letting them know exactly what she thought of this dive of a bar.

"Hardy-fucking-har." Paul smirked, leaning against one of the metal support beams. "I just so happen to like dagger earrings."

A sense of clarity had finally caught up to her, and Vinnie looked back around the bar.

She wasn't focused, completely forgetting about Stella. But that feeling in her belly didn't leave her. She was sure that this was the place.

She looked back to where her place at the bar was taken by someone else and looked around for any groups of girls hanging out. Vinnie looked around to the seediest corners of the bar. Maybe there was a back room or an alley exit.

Stella had to be here somewhere close, she just knew it.

"Uh, space cadet?"

Blinking into focus, Vinnie snapped her eyes back to Paul's. She was forgetting whose company she was in.

"Uh," She hesitated. "Sorry."

Vinnie blinked again, looking around the bar.

"I was looking for someone."

There wasn't a response right away, and if Vie would have turned around she would have flushed hot at the attention she was getting. The entire table had their eyes on her.

But she was deep in her own mind.

"I was looking for someone." She repeated blindly. "Thought that they'd be here."

There was another pause, followed by an incredulous chuckle.

"In this shit heap?"

"I-I don't know." Vinnie tripped over her words, turning back towards the front of the bar. "I just, I needed to come in here. I better go."

Vinnie trailed off, and before she knew it the pull in her belly made her scan over the room again. She needed to keep looking. She was just about to walk away when a sharp, icy voice pulled her from her reverie.

"Who are you looking for?"

And now, Vinnie finally turned to look past Paul to the rest of the men sitting in the booth.

Her eyes landed directly in the direction of the voice in time with a series of goosebumps across her skin. It was instantaneous. The prickling ice through her veins melted as quickly as it came.

The man had pale hair that almost glowed in the low lighting and he had piercing eyes that were a cold fluorite.

If looks could kill.

The icy blonde was sharp in his features, and a smug, calculated expression was on his face. He could definitely knock someone's lights out.

"You must be the friend." Vinnie calculated by the way the others at the table joked around with Paul.

The look the blonde gave her was more of a glower than a grin, putting his white teeth on display. It was both off putting and appealing. He was frightening and striking to look at.

"That's a stretch." He replied coolly.

But there was something about it, something about his rogue stare that didn't sit well with Vinnie. She blinked slowly, giving a once over to the other people in the booth before looking back to him.

"Sorry, but do I know you?"

A cheery grin broke out on Paul's face.

"Only in your dreams, sweetheart." Paul chuckled quickly. His jarring laugh made her recoil.

Ignoring the laughs from the others, Vinnie was still looking at the icy blonde. She was trying to grasp on to any recognition.

He was wearing a dark shirt, a jacket, and a trench coat in the summer heat inside of a packed bar. It was no wonder why he looked so grumpy. He was probably melting in all of those layers.

He said something to her, but she missed it.

"Hm?" She hummed in question, and the blonde smirked, never breaking eye contact.

"Who are you looking for?" The blonde repeated slowly.

There was a mischievous bite in his words.

"A girl." She admitted blindly. "A young girl named Stella."

Her belly ached with an angry, bubbling fire. Vinnie could have sworn she knew him.

A holler from across the room broke her from her stupor.

What was she still doing there?

She didn't know him. She didn't know any of them. Why did she tell them about Stella? The men watched on as she took half a step back.

"I've got to go." Vinnie retreated, turning on her heel before Paul put his hand on her shoulder.

"But what about this girl? Do you need any help, chica?"

No no no no no.

She slunk out of his hold and gave one last look to the icy blonde with a frown.

"No thanks. I can find her on my own."

Vinnie left the bar in a hurry, not daring to look back at the booth of men. Instead of heading back to the hotel she made a beeline to the boardwalk.

She needed to keep looking. She had missed out on so much time.

Vie was scolding herself. What was she thinking? Stella didn't even look old enough to get into the bar. There was no way that she was going to be there.

As Vinnie weaved through the people she saw more than half a dozen girls that looked like Stella from the back with no luck. She was starting to lose her wits. Time rushed by and before too long it was close to midnight. The boardwalk was closing, and with her spirits low Vie walked back to the hotel.

A day wasted.

She washed her face and changed into lighter clothes to sleep in, and just when she was going to brush her teeth she looked at her weekend back with a huff.

"Shit."

She forgot to bring a toothbrush.

She forgot the one thing she had on her packing list. Vinnie could have just used her finger or waited it out, but she remembered seeing a gas station across the street. It would probably have some cheap toothbrush she could snag.

Vie scanned the cars in the parking lot thinking about the Oldsmobile, but no dice. Under the bright fluorescents she squinted as the door chimed.

She shuffled past the aisles of chips and candy there was a small section for toiletries.

Just her luck. As she went to check out she paused, looking at the only other customer inside the gas station at this hour. There was someone looking inside one of the wall coolers, but from the back she recognized the patterned jacket.

"Weren't you -" she started, shaking her head to compose her thoughts. She had gained enough of his attention for him to turn around. "Weren't you at the bar?"

He gave her a speculative look before nodding.

"Yeah, I was." He grinned, taking a step back from the shelf.

Any of her frustrations from the run in at the bar had melted. Enough time had passed. She wasn't mad about the men teasing her, but more so that she let herself get distracted.

"I'm Marko." He introduced. "Paul's kind of an idiot." He added as an afterthought.

She smirked slightly, shaking her head. He was kind of an idiot.

"I hope you find who you're looking for." Marko's gentle charm made her grin, and before she walked back to the hotel she turned, offering him a small thanks at the door.

"Me too." Her whisper was more somber than she realized, and she looked back up to him.

The hint of a smile curved at her lips at his hopeful look.

"I'm Vinnie, by the way." She offered kindly. "Goodnight."

The lineup of motorcycles parked outside of the gas station was lost on her and Vinnie let the bell chime behind her as she walked back to the hotel.