HEY!!! I know its been a while but I was on vacation, and I'm going back on
vacation next week!!! Expect many updates when I get back because all my
friends will be going to college and I have another 2 weeks before I go,
(my college has to be difficult and start later than everyone else) Okay,
well theres nothing I have to disclaim really besides the fact that I do
not own anyone on Higher Ground or the idea, I only own my characters. And
as far as the characters go I added them just to give more flexibility in
the story line, back up really lol. Okay well as always LET ME KNOW WHAT
YOU THINK :)!!!!
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"Adam, Adam look at me. If you know somethin you gotta let us know." Faith pleaded with the boy
"Look, I may have left the neighborhood but the neighborhood never left me. I never forgot where I came from, and I'm not gonna now. I'm not a rat. I may seem like a prep or a punk rich kid from the village or whatever you think I am, but I don't sell out my friends."
"I thought you east side boys were all alike prep" Bosco interjected
" East side don't mean shit. I'm from where I'm from."
"Look kid, I don't know what the hell you're talkin about but his life and the lives of many others could be in serious danger... now if you really care about-"
"If Josh is responsible for these hits or whatever you think he's doin, know that he ain't just doin it to do it, he has his reasons and you better believe they're good." Adam shrugged past a pleading/annoyed Faith and Bosco's stone glare.
"No one is doubting his intentions Adam, just his choices" Faith continued her argument while Adam walked away.
Bosco stared hard into the ground, truth be told, he couldn't blame the kid for keeping his mouth shut, hell he almost ALMOST respected him for it. As far as this Josh kid went, the only thing he had an issue with was the fact that he wasn't doing it himself.
Adam turned the corner leaving the two frustrated officers alone in the hallway.
"Damn kids, they never put things into perspective you know?...Boz?"
"I don't know, I think that kids gotta pretty good head on his shoulders"
"You would" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Mikey? Look, I don't know if you can hear me, I mean... hell, I don't remember a thing anyone said to me while I was layin here but... well, I just want you to know that I'm sorry and that ... that you have to get better okay? cause we all need you back here, even Maurice. I know you guys have your problems but he loves you, you just piss him off so much" she laughed slightly at this and wiped a tear from her eye.
"Oh mike, what the hell were you thinkin, this is all my fault"
Marissa sighed and turned her back to his bed. If only their lives had been more like leave it to beaver and less like the Godfather.
"Hey babygirl, I hope those ain't tears in your eyes cause I'll have to pop the punk that put them there" a quiet, raspy voice struggled to escape the young mans tattered lungs.
"Mikey???" Marissa turned around in shock and threw herself into her brothers chest.
"No one thought you'd wake up!"
"Babe you're gonna have to... OUCH... "
"Sorry, I panicked" Marissa smiled softly and backed off her brothers wounds
"Oh my god I can't believe you're awake and okay, I gotta go get Maurice..."
"No! I don't think thats such a good idea. We ain't on the best of terms right now if you know what I mean, frankly I don't think he gives a shit whether or not my hearts still pumpin"
"Shut up, you know thats not true. You know how he gets when he feels like hes not in control, these past few months, especially these past few weeks with.. you know... everything... he's just trying to grasp at what he can"
"yea well. I still think we should maybe wait a while. Hey look at it this way! Say he's not okay with me being okay and we get into one of our "heavy conversations", I'm not exactly in any condition to be dealin with his wrath now am I"
Marissa laughed at this and consented.
"Can I get you anything?"
"Hows about one of them cute little candy stripas"
"How about some food"
"Eh... beggas can't be choosas"
"No, especially not you" Marissa leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Maybe fate wasn't perpetually trying to take everything away from her. Maybe she did have a shot at a real life.
"I'll be back later, get some more rest" Marissa turned and left the room.
"Some more rest? I've been in a freakin coma how much more rest could I need?" Mikey laughed and turned on the tv.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At the Boscorelli household:
"Well, I'm sorry sweetie but Marissa's not home, she's at ... well... a "summer camp" for the next few weeks or so, but I can let her know you stopped by. What was your name again hun?" The middle aged woman barely looked up from her tv guide crossword puzzle.
"uh. Shelby. Look. This was a bad idea anyhow you know what, don't even tell her I came, It was dumb of me to think... "
Shelby let her eyes stray across the apartment halls and into the rooms. Her fingertips lightly grazed a bureau that sat next to the living room entrance. The apartment was small as most were in neighborhoods such as this. The living room, dining room and entrance were all the same area. There was a tiny kitchen with a cross over the open frames where a door should have been. The walls were a sky blue and white linen hung from the window frame. Statues of the virgin Mary and other religious figures hung from the walls and rested on the few countertops that the small room provided. The sink was half full with dishes soaking. It was a cluttered apartment but not a messy one. It was lived in, it was a home, there were family pictures everywhere. A mother, in some a father, two boys and one girl. A pang rushed through Shelby, an innate irrepressible urge, a longing to have half of what she saw just by looking around. She missed her mother and her sister.
"To think what sweetheart?" the woman's voice invaded her thoughts.
Mrs. Boscorelli finally looked up from her puzzle long enough to take a good look at the girl who sat before her. Tired eyes were glazed over with defeat. The girl was shades lighter than her own daughter, light hair, light eyes, light skin, but the eyes, the eyes spoke the same words. They spoke of pain, exhaustion, and faulty frustration. The familiarity chilled her.
"Shelby... was it? what was it exactly you needed from her, maybe I can help you."
"No, I don't ... I don't really know why I'm here myself to be honest with you. I just thought that... well never mind, look I really gotta go, thanks for the iced tea." Shelby stood up quickly to head for the door.
Mrs. Boscorelli instinctively stood up. Though she wasn't Martha Stewart homemaker mom of the year, she loved her kids, she'd do anything for any of them, or friends of theirs. She couldn't in her right mind let this girl walk out.
"Wait a minute hun! Don't go, uh... here" she pulled out two 20's from her bra and handed them to Shelby.
"Uh, thats okay... really."
"Well, do you even have a place to go?"
"Of course I do"
The older woman was not naive, she took one good look at the run down teenager in front of her and knew there was no one waiting for her besides the streets.
"Look, Marissa's not here but her room is. If you need a place to stay, even if its just for tonight you're welcome. I won't be here, I work nights so you'll have the place to yourself. Its not much but its better than what's out there."
"Thats very nice of you, but I'm a complete stranger. Would your daughter be okay with the fact that you let random people sleep in her bed."
"Well you're a friend of hers aren't you. Look, I've gotta get to work. I'm leaving the 40 here and the rest is up to you."
"You're not even worried I'll take something?"
"Honey, look around, there isn't anything to take. Shit I'm gonna be late. Alright, well I gotta get outta here so do you what you want but if you're gonna leave, take care of yourself, if you decide to stay there's some left over lasagna in the fridge." Mrs. Boscorelli grabbed a leopard print raincoat and ran out of the apartment.
Shelby sighed. It was better than the motel 6/whorehouse up the block. What was she doing? A friend of Marissa's? yea right. Ironically enough, out of all the kids there they did have the most in common. Maybe that was the problem. She took a step down the hallway past a small bathroom on her left and slowly pushed open the door to Marissa's room. A pale lavender radiated off the walls contrasted extremely by a fuchsia trim and turquoise bed spread. Shelby stepped further into the room and onto the dark wood floors. A small lavender area rug sat in the center of her floor. Some cut up photos were still laying there, it was as if she'd left in a hurry. A soft breeze was blowing up her white curtains and horns blared in the distance. Shelby ran her fingers over the light wood furniture. A dresser, a desk, a night stand. There was a picture of the five of them next to her bed. Marissa must have been around 3 or 4 in the picture tops, she was sitting on top of an older man's lap, her father probably. It was the only one of him in her room. All the others were of kids or her brothers. One picture in particular caught her eye seh bent to pick it up .
"Adam" she breathed it was a group of kids playing by an opened fire hydrant, splashing each other. Adam and another girl were getting hit by 2 other boys she didn't recognize. Marissa was laughing in the background.
Shelby went to sit on the bed
"Who the hell are you?" a voice caught her by suprise and she dropped the picture.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back at Horizon
"What was she thinking?"
"What is she ever thinking?"
"Its funny, I never even knew she had the ability to think."
"Shut up Dave"
"You shut up Daisy, aren't you supposed to be her best friend, shouldn't you know where she is?"
"Leave her alone Jules"
"EZ your just hard for Daisy so why don't you just step"
"Why doesn't everybody just relax. She's never gone for long. I'm sure she just needed some time for herself or whatever."
"So she could have gone for a walk by the lake. Come on guys face it, she ran away. They'll find her or she'll come back, its how it is always goes." Scott ran a tired hand through his wavy hair.
"Gee Scott your compassion astounds me" Daisy's voice dripped with sarcasm "You know, maybe if you didn't mess with her head none of this would have happened"
"What are you talking about messed with her head?"
"Wasn't her head already messed up, I mean wasn't that why she was here?"
"DAVE!! shut up!" they all chorused
"Face it, you led her on, you were inseparable up until your precious Marissa showed up"
"Leave Marissa out of this. She didn't do anything"
"Please, she was after you from the second she saw you"
"Actually, if I may interject. What the hell I'm going to anyhow. I think its a safe bet to say that I knew her best and can stand correct in staying it was Mr. varsity here who was after her from the minute she arrived" David pointed out.
"The dysfunctional dipshit has a point meat" Ezra admitted
"Look, Shelby and I weren't going out."
"Oh give me a break! you were the closest thing to a working couple I've seen since I've arrived in this god forsaken hell hole."
"Yea but they were never legit!" Jules pointed out
"You're all so blind, just know that if anything happens to her it should be on your shoulders."
"You can't blame me for what she does to herself. It's not my fault she ran away and can't handle anything, and its not my fault for liking Marissa, and why don't you try getting a life of your own to concern yourself with instead of making yourself Shelby's servant henchwoman."
Scott pushed past a stunned Daisy and a silenced room of fellow cliffhangers and walked out of the cabin.
Scott cared about Shelby. He wasn't gonna deny that he'd had strong feelings for her and that up until Marissa came, those feeling were only for her. But Marissa was, as mean as it may sound, new. Not just that, but he just felt good around her. He felt normal. With Shelby they were best friends on a level that could never be compromised but he was Scott from Horizon, with Marissa it was like for a second, he was back to being Scott the normal teenage cocky jock from your average high school.
Right now he had to much on his mind, it was times like these he'd crave hits the most, it he could just find anything, anything to stop thinking about it all. He wanted to go find Shelby and bring her back, if he had any idea where to start looking he'd have run right then and there, but it was pointless, she could be anywhere from hiding in the woods to San Francisco.
"You thinkin bout her?"
"Dave, if you have any random intelligence left in that oversized empty air balloon you call your brain, you'd back off right now."
"It was a simple question"
"She'll come back"
"Which one?"
Scott looked up, the insinuation was clear. Truth be told he was talking about Shelby, he was thinking about Shelby, but in the back of his mind, he was also worried about Marissa. He didn't know what he wanted, or who for that matter.
"Did she tell you anything? about why she was leaving"
"If she did I wouldn't tell you."
Scott just glared at him. Dave cleared his throat and looked up at the sky.
"Well, I guess I'll be going, wouldn't want to miss any important emails or anything."
"Yea guess not" Scott rolled his eyes and watched him walked away, a little insulted at the implication that Marissa would be sending emails to David the human mistake over him.
"maybe peter knows something" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I called her mother, her sister, the sheriff, no ones seen her or heard from her" Sophie tossed the phone book onto the desk and sat down, head in hands.
"I don't know where else to look Peter."
"Okay just calm down, she couldn't have gone too far, I mean she knows this could jeopardize her enrollment here, she's going to come back. We just, we have to wait "
"She was so upset over this Scott/Marissa thing, God only knows what state of mind she was in..."
"Sophie... come on. Look at me." Peter raised her head to his and stared into her eyes.
"She'll be back soon, I promise"
"I know, I know, you're right. I'll pull myself together just give me a few minutes?"
"Sure." Peter squeezed her shoulder and then left the room only to come face to face with Scott.
"Barringer I know no more than you do and even if I did find out anything that information is confidential."
"Look, I just wanna know if she's alright"
"Who?"
Scott opened his mouth to say Shelby but then caught himself wondering whether or not Peter could maybe fill in some of the questions he still had regarding Marissa. He shook his head. *one thing at a time Scott*
"Shelby"
"Look, you and I both know she's a tough girl, she'll take care of herself"
"So you still don't know anything either"
Peter just sighed. Scott closed his eyes and leaned against the wall.
"I hate girls"
"Only gets worse with age" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marissa was heading home to pick up a few things for Mikey, Adam had disappeared Maurice was working as was her mother. Maurice had decided that she could either stay with him at the station or stay at the hospital with Mikey. She'd chosen the latter.
Marissa picked up her pace, it was getting late and she needed to get back before it got any darker. As she walked her thoughts traveled back over the past few weeks. She was glad to be home, it wasn't the same though. It hadn't been in a while, she'd just been to caught up in everything to let herself realize it. She found herself, oddly enough, missing Horizon a little, not the school, or the fact that she had to go there, just the fact that there was a group of kids that had the potential to be close, if they could all get over themselves that is. It was almost like a second chance, she just liked that fact that it reminded her of her own friends back in the day.
"You shouldn't frown so much, you know what they say, you never know when someone may be fallin in love with your smile"
Marissa jumped back and wrapped her long black sweater around her tighter.
"who says I want anyone to fall in love with me"
A cigerette burned in the darkness of the alley way and when a cab past she could see a smile stretch out over a shadowy face. One she recognized instantly.
"Josh?"
"Hey Marissa" He cautiously stepped out of the shadows and stood awkwardly in front of her. He looked like he needed food and a shower.
"How the hell are you out?"
"Don't ask dumb questions babygirl"
"Are you okay?"
"Yea. I heard you weren't doin so hot yourself though"
Marissa's eyes fell for a moment but then lit up again.
"Josh I'm fine, its so good to see you!" She threw herself at him and he caught her laughing. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and he put her down.
"Come on"
"Where are we going"
"You can't stay here, and you need a shower"
"Rissa..."
"Lets go"
"Look its not such a good idea for you to be here with me"
"Babe, you don't even know where I've been these past few months, trust me, you're like a trip to Disney"
"Yea, I heard your brother sent you to come cabin in the woods with white picket fences."
"Something like that"
"Do you have any more of those?"
"Since when do you smoke"
"Fuck you, do you have any more?"
"Not for you"
"Josh"
"Marissa"
"So when were you supposed to get out"
"A couple more months"
"Then what the hell are you doin bustin out now?"
"I had some business to take care of."
"Josh what are you doing"
"What'd I say about those questions"
"Look, I can't take any more hospital visits okay"
"Don't worry about it"
"Yea okay, I won't "worry" about another person I care about laid up in some -"
"Marissa, what the hell did they do to you up there"
"I don't even know" she laughed and led the way back to the apartment.
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"She's usually back by now. No, she's ALWAYS back by now" Daisy paced across the floor during a makeshift group.
"Daisy has a point" Jules said nervously
"You guys, she can handle herself" Kat offered
"She's so selfish. Thats the one thing no one wants to say. She thinks that she can just leave and not worry what other people are gonna have to deal with because of it."
"You're such an egomaniac. Selfish? How dare you"
"Yo, Meats gotta good point, she don't think about anyone but herself"
"She probably just doesn't think any of us would care"
"Gee I wonder who gave her that idea" Daisy shot an evil glare towards Scott who rolled his eyes.
"GUYS! calm down" Peter stepped up to separate it and stop the conversation from going any further in that direction.
"You all have good valid points, but the bottom line is, Shelby isn't here to defend herself or her actions and as frustrating as it is, we can't do anything about it."
"So what are we supposed to do?" Daisy asked angrily
Peter sighed and looked down
"Just wait"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!!!!
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"Adam, Adam look at me. If you know somethin you gotta let us know." Faith pleaded with the boy
"Look, I may have left the neighborhood but the neighborhood never left me. I never forgot where I came from, and I'm not gonna now. I'm not a rat. I may seem like a prep or a punk rich kid from the village or whatever you think I am, but I don't sell out my friends."
"I thought you east side boys were all alike prep" Bosco interjected
" East side don't mean shit. I'm from where I'm from."
"Look kid, I don't know what the hell you're talkin about but his life and the lives of many others could be in serious danger... now if you really care about-"
"If Josh is responsible for these hits or whatever you think he's doin, know that he ain't just doin it to do it, he has his reasons and you better believe they're good." Adam shrugged past a pleading/annoyed Faith and Bosco's stone glare.
"No one is doubting his intentions Adam, just his choices" Faith continued her argument while Adam walked away.
Bosco stared hard into the ground, truth be told, he couldn't blame the kid for keeping his mouth shut, hell he almost ALMOST respected him for it. As far as this Josh kid went, the only thing he had an issue with was the fact that he wasn't doing it himself.
Adam turned the corner leaving the two frustrated officers alone in the hallway.
"Damn kids, they never put things into perspective you know?...Boz?"
"I don't know, I think that kids gotta pretty good head on his shoulders"
"You would" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Mikey? Look, I don't know if you can hear me, I mean... hell, I don't remember a thing anyone said to me while I was layin here but... well, I just want you to know that I'm sorry and that ... that you have to get better okay? cause we all need you back here, even Maurice. I know you guys have your problems but he loves you, you just piss him off so much" she laughed slightly at this and wiped a tear from her eye.
"Oh mike, what the hell were you thinkin, this is all my fault"
Marissa sighed and turned her back to his bed. If only their lives had been more like leave it to beaver and less like the Godfather.
"Hey babygirl, I hope those ain't tears in your eyes cause I'll have to pop the punk that put them there" a quiet, raspy voice struggled to escape the young mans tattered lungs.
"Mikey???" Marissa turned around in shock and threw herself into her brothers chest.
"No one thought you'd wake up!"
"Babe you're gonna have to... OUCH... "
"Sorry, I panicked" Marissa smiled softly and backed off her brothers wounds
"Oh my god I can't believe you're awake and okay, I gotta go get Maurice..."
"No! I don't think thats such a good idea. We ain't on the best of terms right now if you know what I mean, frankly I don't think he gives a shit whether or not my hearts still pumpin"
"Shut up, you know thats not true. You know how he gets when he feels like hes not in control, these past few months, especially these past few weeks with.. you know... everything... he's just trying to grasp at what he can"
"yea well. I still think we should maybe wait a while. Hey look at it this way! Say he's not okay with me being okay and we get into one of our "heavy conversations", I'm not exactly in any condition to be dealin with his wrath now am I"
Marissa laughed at this and consented.
"Can I get you anything?"
"Hows about one of them cute little candy stripas"
"How about some food"
"Eh... beggas can't be choosas"
"No, especially not you" Marissa leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Maybe fate wasn't perpetually trying to take everything away from her. Maybe she did have a shot at a real life.
"I'll be back later, get some more rest" Marissa turned and left the room.
"Some more rest? I've been in a freakin coma how much more rest could I need?" Mikey laughed and turned on the tv.
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At the Boscorelli household:
"Well, I'm sorry sweetie but Marissa's not home, she's at ... well... a "summer camp" for the next few weeks or so, but I can let her know you stopped by. What was your name again hun?" The middle aged woman barely looked up from her tv guide crossword puzzle.
"uh. Shelby. Look. This was a bad idea anyhow you know what, don't even tell her I came, It was dumb of me to think... "
Shelby let her eyes stray across the apartment halls and into the rooms. Her fingertips lightly grazed a bureau that sat next to the living room entrance. The apartment was small as most were in neighborhoods such as this. The living room, dining room and entrance were all the same area. There was a tiny kitchen with a cross over the open frames where a door should have been. The walls were a sky blue and white linen hung from the window frame. Statues of the virgin Mary and other religious figures hung from the walls and rested on the few countertops that the small room provided. The sink was half full with dishes soaking. It was a cluttered apartment but not a messy one. It was lived in, it was a home, there were family pictures everywhere. A mother, in some a father, two boys and one girl. A pang rushed through Shelby, an innate irrepressible urge, a longing to have half of what she saw just by looking around. She missed her mother and her sister.
"To think what sweetheart?" the woman's voice invaded her thoughts.
Mrs. Boscorelli finally looked up from her puzzle long enough to take a good look at the girl who sat before her. Tired eyes were glazed over with defeat. The girl was shades lighter than her own daughter, light hair, light eyes, light skin, but the eyes, the eyes spoke the same words. They spoke of pain, exhaustion, and faulty frustration. The familiarity chilled her.
"Shelby... was it? what was it exactly you needed from her, maybe I can help you."
"No, I don't ... I don't really know why I'm here myself to be honest with you. I just thought that... well never mind, look I really gotta go, thanks for the iced tea." Shelby stood up quickly to head for the door.
Mrs. Boscorelli instinctively stood up. Though she wasn't Martha Stewart homemaker mom of the year, she loved her kids, she'd do anything for any of them, or friends of theirs. She couldn't in her right mind let this girl walk out.
"Wait a minute hun! Don't go, uh... here" she pulled out two 20's from her bra and handed them to Shelby.
"Uh, thats okay... really."
"Well, do you even have a place to go?"
"Of course I do"
The older woman was not naive, she took one good look at the run down teenager in front of her and knew there was no one waiting for her besides the streets.
"Look, Marissa's not here but her room is. If you need a place to stay, even if its just for tonight you're welcome. I won't be here, I work nights so you'll have the place to yourself. Its not much but its better than what's out there."
"Thats very nice of you, but I'm a complete stranger. Would your daughter be okay with the fact that you let random people sleep in her bed."
"Well you're a friend of hers aren't you. Look, I've gotta get to work. I'm leaving the 40 here and the rest is up to you."
"You're not even worried I'll take something?"
"Honey, look around, there isn't anything to take. Shit I'm gonna be late. Alright, well I gotta get outta here so do you what you want but if you're gonna leave, take care of yourself, if you decide to stay there's some left over lasagna in the fridge." Mrs. Boscorelli grabbed a leopard print raincoat and ran out of the apartment.
Shelby sighed. It was better than the motel 6/whorehouse up the block. What was she doing? A friend of Marissa's? yea right. Ironically enough, out of all the kids there they did have the most in common. Maybe that was the problem. She took a step down the hallway past a small bathroom on her left and slowly pushed open the door to Marissa's room. A pale lavender radiated off the walls contrasted extremely by a fuchsia trim and turquoise bed spread. Shelby stepped further into the room and onto the dark wood floors. A small lavender area rug sat in the center of her floor. Some cut up photos were still laying there, it was as if she'd left in a hurry. A soft breeze was blowing up her white curtains and horns blared in the distance. Shelby ran her fingers over the light wood furniture. A dresser, a desk, a night stand. There was a picture of the five of them next to her bed. Marissa must have been around 3 or 4 in the picture tops, she was sitting on top of an older man's lap, her father probably. It was the only one of him in her room. All the others were of kids or her brothers. One picture in particular caught her eye seh bent to pick it up .
"Adam" she breathed it was a group of kids playing by an opened fire hydrant, splashing each other. Adam and another girl were getting hit by 2 other boys she didn't recognize. Marissa was laughing in the background.
Shelby went to sit on the bed
"Who the hell are you?" a voice caught her by suprise and she dropped the picture.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back at Horizon
"What was she thinking?"
"What is she ever thinking?"
"Its funny, I never even knew she had the ability to think."
"Shut up Dave"
"You shut up Daisy, aren't you supposed to be her best friend, shouldn't you know where she is?"
"Leave her alone Jules"
"EZ your just hard for Daisy so why don't you just step"
"Why doesn't everybody just relax. She's never gone for long. I'm sure she just needed some time for herself or whatever."
"So she could have gone for a walk by the lake. Come on guys face it, she ran away. They'll find her or she'll come back, its how it is always goes." Scott ran a tired hand through his wavy hair.
"Gee Scott your compassion astounds me" Daisy's voice dripped with sarcasm "You know, maybe if you didn't mess with her head none of this would have happened"
"What are you talking about messed with her head?"
"Wasn't her head already messed up, I mean wasn't that why she was here?"
"DAVE!! shut up!" they all chorused
"Face it, you led her on, you were inseparable up until your precious Marissa showed up"
"Leave Marissa out of this. She didn't do anything"
"Please, she was after you from the second she saw you"
"Actually, if I may interject. What the hell I'm going to anyhow. I think its a safe bet to say that I knew her best and can stand correct in staying it was Mr. varsity here who was after her from the minute she arrived" David pointed out.
"The dysfunctional dipshit has a point meat" Ezra admitted
"Look, Shelby and I weren't going out."
"Oh give me a break! you were the closest thing to a working couple I've seen since I've arrived in this god forsaken hell hole."
"Yea but they were never legit!" Jules pointed out
"You're all so blind, just know that if anything happens to her it should be on your shoulders."
"You can't blame me for what she does to herself. It's not my fault she ran away and can't handle anything, and its not my fault for liking Marissa, and why don't you try getting a life of your own to concern yourself with instead of making yourself Shelby's servant henchwoman."
Scott pushed past a stunned Daisy and a silenced room of fellow cliffhangers and walked out of the cabin.
Scott cared about Shelby. He wasn't gonna deny that he'd had strong feelings for her and that up until Marissa came, those feeling were only for her. But Marissa was, as mean as it may sound, new. Not just that, but he just felt good around her. He felt normal. With Shelby they were best friends on a level that could never be compromised but he was Scott from Horizon, with Marissa it was like for a second, he was back to being Scott the normal teenage cocky jock from your average high school.
Right now he had to much on his mind, it was times like these he'd crave hits the most, it he could just find anything, anything to stop thinking about it all. He wanted to go find Shelby and bring her back, if he had any idea where to start looking he'd have run right then and there, but it was pointless, she could be anywhere from hiding in the woods to San Francisco.
"You thinkin bout her?"
"Dave, if you have any random intelligence left in that oversized empty air balloon you call your brain, you'd back off right now."
"It was a simple question"
"She'll come back"
"Which one?"
Scott looked up, the insinuation was clear. Truth be told he was talking about Shelby, he was thinking about Shelby, but in the back of his mind, he was also worried about Marissa. He didn't know what he wanted, or who for that matter.
"Did she tell you anything? about why she was leaving"
"If she did I wouldn't tell you."
Scott just glared at him. Dave cleared his throat and looked up at the sky.
"Well, I guess I'll be going, wouldn't want to miss any important emails or anything."
"Yea guess not" Scott rolled his eyes and watched him walked away, a little insulted at the implication that Marissa would be sending emails to David the human mistake over him.
"maybe peter knows something" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I called her mother, her sister, the sheriff, no ones seen her or heard from her" Sophie tossed the phone book onto the desk and sat down, head in hands.
"I don't know where else to look Peter."
"Okay just calm down, she couldn't have gone too far, I mean she knows this could jeopardize her enrollment here, she's going to come back. We just, we have to wait "
"She was so upset over this Scott/Marissa thing, God only knows what state of mind she was in..."
"Sophie... come on. Look at me." Peter raised her head to his and stared into her eyes.
"She'll be back soon, I promise"
"I know, I know, you're right. I'll pull myself together just give me a few minutes?"
"Sure." Peter squeezed her shoulder and then left the room only to come face to face with Scott.
"Barringer I know no more than you do and even if I did find out anything that information is confidential."
"Look, I just wanna know if she's alright"
"Who?"
Scott opened his mouth to say Shelby but then caught himself wondering whether or not Peter could maybe fill in some of the questions he still had regarding Marissa. He shook his head. *one thing at a time Scott*
"Shelby"
"Look, you and I both know she's a tough girl, she'll take care of herself"
"So you still don't know anything either"
Peter just sighed. Scott closed his eyes and leaned against the wall.
"I hate girls"
"Only gets worse with age" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marissa was heading home to pick up a few things for Mikey, Adam had disappeared Maurice was working as was her mother. Maurice had decided that she could either stay with him at the station or stay at the hospital with Mikey. She'd chosen the latter.
Marissa picked up her pace, it was getting late and she needed to get back before it got any darker. As she walked her thoughts traveled back over the past few weeks. She was glad to be home, it wasn't the same though. It hadn't been in a while, she'd just been to caught up in everything to let herself realize it. She found herself, oddly enough, missing Horizon a little, not the school, or the fact that she had to go there, just the fact that there was a group of kids that had the potential to be close, if they could all get over themselves that is. It was almost like a second chance, she just liked that fact that it reminded her of her own friends back in the day.
"You shouldn't frown so much, you know what they say, you never know when someone may be fallin in love with your smile"
Marissa jumped back and wrapped her long black sweater around her tighter.
"who says I want anyone to fall in love with me"
A cigerette burned in the darkness of the alley way and when a cab past she could see a smile stretch out over a shadowy face. One she recognized instantly.
"Josh?"
"Hey Marissa" He cautiously stepped out of the shadows and stood awkwardly in front of her. He looked like he needed food and a shower.
"How the hell are you out?"
"Don't ask dumb questions babygirl"
"Are you okay?"
"Yea. I heard you weren't doin so hot yourself though"
Marissa's eyes fell for a moment but then lit up again.
"Josh I'm fine, its so good to see you!" She threw herself at him and he caught her laughing. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and he put her down.
"Come on"
"Where are we going"
"You can't stay here, and you need a shower"
"Rissa..."
"Lets go"
"Look its not such a good idea for you to be here with me"
"Babe, you don't even know where I've been these past few months, trust me, you're like a trip to Disney"
"Yea, I heard your brother sent you to come cabin in the woods with white picket fences."
"Something like that"
"Do you have any more of those?"
"Since when do you smoke"
"Fuck you, do you have any more?"
"Not for you"
"Josh"
"Marissa"
"So when were you supposed to get out"
"A couple more months"
"Then what the hell are you doin bustin out now?"
"I had some business to take care of."
"Josh what are you doing"
"What'd I say about those questions"
"Look, I can't take any more hospital visits okay"
"Don't worry about it"
"Yea okay, I won't "worry" about another person I care about laid up in some -"
"Marissa, what the hell did they do to you up there"
"I don't even know" she laughed and led the way back to the apartment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"She's usually back by now. No, she's ALWAYS back by now" Daisy paced across the floor during a makeshift group.
"Daisy has a point" Jules said nervously
"You guys, she can handle herself" Kat offered
"She's so selfish. Thats the one thing no one wants to say. She thinks that she can just leave and not worry what other people are gonna have to deal with because of it."
"You're such an egomaniac. Selfish? How dare you"
"Yo, Meats gotta good point, she don't think about anyone but herself"
"She probably just doesn't think any of us would care"
"Gee I wonder who gave her that idea" Daisy shot an evil glare towards Scott who rolled his eyes.
"GUYS! calm down" Peter stepped up to separate it and stop the conversation from going any further in that direction.
"You all have good valid points, but the bottom line is, Shelby isn't here to defend herself or her actions and as frustrating as it is, we can't do anything about it."
"So what are we supposed to do?" Daisy asked angrily
Peter sighed and looked down
"Just wait"
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