Hehe... This chapter is in parts, because unexpected soap opera melodrama inspiration has struck, and I decided to alter my original storyline because of it! Heheh.. The melodrama is now notched up to HIGH. :) One of my characters is now a frigging crazy schizophrenic, but well what can I say, it's crazy. And the craziness is only just beginning. :) :) Enjoy. -Jazz





"What the hell is this?"

Erika had just returned to the girl's dorm from her wood-chopping duties, to find a sealed envelope sitting on her bunk. She eyed it suspiciously, an otherwise blank white envelope with her name written in exquisite calligraphy.

Kat smiled warmly. "Adrian came in and left it for you," she explained. "Isn't that sweet?"

"Hardly," said Erika, now studying the envelope in her hands. "What the hell is it? Anthrax?"

Kat laughed.

Daisy rolled her eyes, "That's probably the last thing he'd send you," she said.

"Open it," Kat urged, equally piqued by her own curiosity, as she was anxious for Erika.

Perplexed, Erika ripped open the envelope carelessly, and pulled from it a piece of folder paper. Kat appeared beside Erika, watching as she unfolded the paper, not caring that perhaps it wasn't any of her business.

Erika now held the paper in its full glory. Kat smiled, and realization alighted her eyes as her eyes touched it.

Erika merely frowned, and turned it sideways, as if not comprehending.

It was a drawing.

"It's beautiful! Look, that's him," began Kat, indicating the objects she spoke of as she spoke, "there's you, and look, there's a space missing for his heart. Isn't that so sweet?"

Daisy rolled her eyes again, as she stacked her deck of tarot cards.

"It says, basically, that you have his heart."

Erika appeared irritated as she grasped the depiction from Kat's grasp and shoved it back into its envelope. "God he's desperate," she remarked.

"That's a shock," Daisy uttered under her breath.

Kat smiled sweetly. "Why are you such a nonbeliever?"

"Love's a joke," Erika opined heedlessly. " It doesn't exist. People who think they're in love are so fucking weak and vulnerable it's pathetic."

"I disagree," said Daisy. "You saw Shelby without Scott. Look at her now. Scott's love made her stronger."

Erika didn't bother to conceal her incredulity. "Stronger? Nun uh. Happier, maybe. More pathetic, definitely. She depends on Scott for her fucking state of well being."

Daisy met Erika's gaze, but it was awhile before anything came through her unreadable expression. A knowing smile slowly spread across her face. "You're afraid," Daisy stated.

Erika blinked. "Of what."

"Being vulnerable."

Erika laughed. "No shit," she said.

"So what, you just push it away?" intervened Kat.

Erika shrugged, finding it hard to care what they said.

"It's not too late," Kat continued. "It's never too late."

"I don't want to hear your fucking preaching on love."

"You know," said Shelby, "Love probably saved my life.. Or at very least my sanity."

"You are no where near sane. I mean, if you're going to make arguments, you'd at least think that you should try to make valid ones."

Juliette listened attentively, but unlike her, unlike her usual self, unlike her former self, she said nothing. She merely took it in, maintaining a thoughtful and conflicted expression as she did.

"You guys really think love makes you stronger?" she said at last.

"Yeah," replied Kat easily. "You know what else I think? Auggie's still waiting for you, Jules."







Auggie was finishing up his homework in the main lodge, when Juliette came and appeared beside him.

"Augusto?" she said tentatively.

"Hey Twig," he responded.

"Hi."

"What's up."

"I need to talk with you," she said.

Auggie folded his books, and set down his stuff. "Sure."

They exited the main lodge until they reached the outdoors, where it was quieter.

"A lot's been going on with me, I know that you know that," Juliette began, she and Auggie walking side by side. "Thanks for understanding that."

"No problem, Jules," he replied easily, wondering where she was going with it.

She shrugged, as if trying to find the words. "It's just been hard for me."

"And you wanna tell me 'bout it?" said Auggie. Quickly, he added, "I understand if you don't."

"I want to tell you. I haven't been fair to you. At all. I'm sorry. I'm just used to dealing with these kinds of things by myself."

Auggie wrapped an arm around her protectively. "Well don't even think about doing that anymore. You've always got me Jules, you know that?"

"I know. I'm sorry."

"It's alright, Twig."

Amber was supposed to be somewhere at that moment, somewhere that, she reasoned, couldn't have been that important if she couldn't remember. She stood unmoving, watching like a hawk would its prey.

What did he think he was doing, dumping her?! He couldn't do that.

Besides, her thoughts ran on, he still wants you. He needs you.

He's in denial.. He has to be. There's no other logical explanation.

She watched him, doodling stupidly in that damned notebook. That's all he ever did. Such predictability- men were often of the like.

It hadn't been much of a stab in the dark, she knew where he'd be.. He was always there when he wasn't swooning over.. Erika.

Amber immediately blocked out all thought. The last thing she wanted to think about was Erika, her towering height and all, her blond hair that was always upswept in a ponytail, hard green eyes that seemed to penetrate all who dared to cross their path..

Amber had seen the way Adrian had looked when Erika had suddenly appeared after months of estrangement, the pleasant surprise that had overtaken his dark eyes, the way his lips twisted into a smile.. All of it sickened her. Adrian had even spoken of Erika while she had been away.

It was all wrong, she said to herself.

Of course it's wrong, a second voice that sounded in her head reassured. That's why you must set him straight.

Amber slowly drew closer to him, her slinky steps virtually imperceptible to him, so absorbed he was in his artwork.

It was then that she caught a glimpse of his art herself, and her stomach churned.

She composed herself immediately when he caught sight of her.

He looked up only momentarily from his work. Why, oh why what that stuff so infinitely precious to him? she wondered. They were but lines of pencil scribbled across a paper. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

That was it? she asked herself.

You can hold the guy's attention for more than a second, can you not? another voice sounded in her head.

Of course I can, she uttered to herself under her breath.

Amber sat down beside him, a mischievous twinkle in her eye, a devilish smile on her face, so conspicuous, and yet so imperceptible to someone right beside her, absorbed in his sketching.

Her lips on his neck, he flinched under her touch.

He turned to her, his eyes level with hers. Finally, she thought, I have his full attention.

"I dumped you remember?!"

Amber merely grinned broader, as if it was an encouragement to continue.

Adrian stopped her. "Amber!"

"You can't just dump me," she replied flatly. "I refused to be dumped."

Adrian looked like he was about to laugh. "You don't have any say in it," he said clearly. "You were a mistake."

Amber could feel an unmistakable anger beginning to boil beneath the surface of her skin.

Don't let his words anger you! she heard the voice that dwelled in her head say.

"I was a *mistake*?! Excuse me?!"

"You heard me," Adrian replied, unusually unsympathetic. "I never had feelings for you, but I let myself be seduced by you! Go away!"

"Oh, I don't go away."

Like a parasite, she thought, you will never be able to get away from me. I am infested in your very skin.

He wants you, another voice sounded. He needs you.

"Amber! I'm serious."

"So am I," Amber said coolly. "I don't like being told what to do."

He completely ignored her now, picking his pencil back up, and returning his attention to his artwork.

She recaptured his attention by sliding her snakelike fingers along his jaw. "You don't know what I'm capable of," she maintained.

He removed her fingers from his face. "I don't want to know, either."

Now she was just angry.

What do I do, now? she asked internally, hoping to receive an answer from one of the voices that frequently dwelled in her mind.

But to her utter dismay, none came. "Adrian!" she shouted.

"What? Listen," he said, visibly growing impatient. "I know it's not easy being dumped, but now you have to move on."

"I don't move on. I want your body," she said, sliding a chipped fingernail down the length of his arm, leaving a scratchy path on his skin.

Everyone reached a point when their well of patience had gone dry, their frustration no longer manageable.. And Adrian had reached that point.

"Amber, get the hell off of me. You're going to have to learn how to deal with rejection sooner or later. Sorry it had to be me."

The look in Amber's eyes was eerie, bordering on creepy. "Last time I was rejected," she revealed, "I landed here. Last chance, Adrian."

"I pass on it."

"No, you don't!" Amber screeched, and it was only then that she read the look in his eyes. There was resolve in those dark eyes.

The voices must have misled her, she reasoned.

She wanted to do something- anything to vent to anger. The voices had misled her!

She impulsively slapped Adrian across the face.

He, although, to her dismay, seemed neither hurt by her strike, or surprised.

"You don't want me as an enemy," she vented at him.

"Actually, noting would make me happier," Adrian said, gathering his things, and leaving her. "See ya."

Amber could feel the rage bubbling inside her. "Oh, I am so not through with you yet," she muttered under her breath.

The next day.........



It was like any other day for Scott Barringer. The alarm clock sounded noisily in the silence of his room, 7:00am exactly on the dot, but today, it didn't irritate him nearly as much as usual. He awoke feeling refreshed and full of energy, despite that he'd spent most of the night studying.

Today, he had something to live for. It wasn't with him at the moment, but it was out there nonetheless, a beautiful girl waiting for him to see her and scoop her up in his arms, and they'd live together happily forever, as far as he was concerned.

His dad was already up, scanning the newspaper at the kitchen table by the time Scott had gotten downstairs to fix himself some breakfast before he headed off to school.

He decided on two pieces of toast.

Silence from his father.

Scott popped the slices of toast into the toaster.

"Scott," his dad's voice sounded.

"What."

"I know we didn't exactly end on good terms last night, in our argument, but I believe there is more to discuss."

Scott couldn't have cared less. "I know you don't like what I'm doing, but I don't care."

"Out of curiosity Scott," said his dad, his tone suddenly sharp, "what do you plan to do after school?"

The answer was easy. "Be with Shelby."

Scott could hear the frustration and exasperation in his dad's voice. "Scott- "

"I'm going to live my life the way I want to live it," Scott continued, "and I don't care what you think about it."

"And what are you going to do about money?"

Scott's toast popped out of the toaster. "We'll figure it out as we go," he replied.

"Are you completely out of your mind, Scott?! Try to think realistically."

"I am," said Scott, now buttering his toast. "You can't run my life. I'm going to do what I want. I'm not going to let you intervene."

"You can't just expect me to watch from the sidelines as you ruin your life. Why do you think I brought you home, Scott?!"

"To destroy me? Oh, that's right, you've already done that. I'm not going to let you do it again."



As the Cliffhanger girls returned to their dorm after class, another sealed envelope awaited Erika on her return.

"Look, it's another one," Kat remarked. Juliette giggled- if she wasn't completely back to normal, she was pretty close.

It was a ritual, now. Erika would receive an envelope with her name in beautiful calligraphy on the front, inside would be a drawing of some sort, and they'd all aid to figure out what exactly it meant, what Adrian was trying to convey. The drawings he sent were beautiful, but sometimes cryptic in meaning. They were usually along the lines of how he felt for Erika, although they'd only seen a couple of them so far. But apparently, all of his drawings meant something.

And once Amber caught a glance of it, it meant something to her too. It was the same drawing Adrian had been sketching since she'd last talked with him the day before.

A border of thorned roses that intertwined each other, a broken glass rose in the centre, lying in shards. In the shards was a reflection of Erika's face.

"Now this one, I really don't get," Kat said, studying the picture with equal fascination and frustration.

"Maybe.." began Juliette, waiting until the Cliffhanger girls turned her way, " Maybe it means that Adrian's heart is a rose, and that it's broken, and only Erika can fix it."

"That doesn't make much sense," Daisy commented. "Maybe he means, his heart is a rose in that it is shrivelling up and dying, and the thorns represent.. Something?"

"Is that from Adrian?"

"Yeah," said Juliette, in high spirits. "Isn't it pretty?"

"I don't know why he bothers," said Amber. "If he's going to lust after someone, you'd think he'd at least go for someone attractive."

Juliette's jaw dropped.

"Amber," Kat warned.

Erika's lips twisted into a smile as she fiercely met Amber's gaze. "Oh, she's just upset because now, she's got to get her cash elsewhere."

Amber vaulted off of her bunk, to meet Erika, who had risen from her own bunk.

Faintly, she could discern Kat's voice, cautioning. "Don't start now, guys."

Amber made no indication that she heard, her eyes alight with fury. Wildly, she swung at Erika, attempting to strike her face. But her hand was intercepted midway. Erika, who now held Amber's arm in place, her grip steel.

"I can snap you in half," said Erika, as she sends Amber backwards, slamming her into the dorm room wall.

"Erika!" Kat cried.

Shelby watched disinterestedly as she made her way towards the dorm exit.

"What are you doing, Shelby?!" asked Kat.

"I'm going to call Scott." And she was gone, leaving just Amber and Erika, and Daisy and Kat.

Against the wall, Amber tackled Erika as hard as she could, only to be thrown, now onto the floor.

Erika and Amber were now sprawled on the floor, Amber trying in vain to rise, but could only squirm as Erika kept her firmly in place, and struck her across the face.

"This is too easy," Erika whispered, "You're pathetic."

Kat was growing frantic. "This is enough. Erika stop it."

Erika laughed. "This is way too much fun."

Kat put her hands on her hips. "Erika, if you don't stop right now, I'm getting Peter."

For a few moments, Erika was unmoving, her eyes penetrating Amber's. She dug her nails into Amber's neck, if only to provoke a reaction.

And she did just that, a flash of fear crossed Amber's eyes.

Erika's grip reluctantly slackened, but her gaze was hard as ever. "This is a warning," she said to Amber. "If you've ever got another smart-ass comment to share, don't expect any mercy from me, don't expect me to care that 'Peter is coming'."

Shelby waited anxiously on the phone, and to her delight, Scott was quick to answer on the other end.

"Hi Scott," Shelby said with a smile.

"Hey, Shel. What's up?"

"What's up here? Well.. Amber and Erika are really going at eachother.. Well actually Erika's probably beating Amber to a pulp."

Shelby could hear Scott's laugh. "Yeah, I can believe it. Wish I was there."

"I'm counting the days," Shelby informed him happily. "There's 27 until the Morp."

"27, eh? God, that's a long time. I love you Shel."

"I love you," she said in reply.

"By the way, I forgot to ask you about this before, but I found this picture when I got home and opened my duffel. It was in the side pocket."

"Yeah. Guilty, my doing. I didn't know what to do with myself. I loved you so much, but I had to stay goodbye. I just needed to tell you, and I couldn't have you forget me. I'm *so* sorry about it all."

"Shel, don't even think about taking the blame. It's *not* your fault."





It was lunch break.

The Cliffhangers were in the cafeteria, eating and chatting away idly.

Looking around, a peculiarity suddenly stuck out at Adrian. "Where's Amber?" he asked curiously.

Daisy chuckled. "Ask Erika," she said.

Adrian turned to Erika. "Erika?"

"She's in the infirmary," Kat explained quickly.

But Adrian's gaze never moved from Erika. He watched her, an air of suspicion, their gazes locked, her eyes like steel. "I beat up your girlfriend," she revealed. "I would apologize, but, I'm not sorry at all."

Adrian's gaze drifted momentarily, if only to assess her revelations, before he met her gaze again. "Amber was never my girlfriend."

Erika forced a laugh. "Yeah, sure. Tell me another one."

Kat could sense the palpable tension. "Give it a rest you two," she said.

"Why don't you believe me?!" Adrian demanded, ignoring Kat.

Erika folded her arms. "Maybe because you've never given me a fucking reason to."

Adrian's eyes closed, and scrunched up, before he looked at Erika with so much longing it visibly consumed him. He was in pain. The lovely, steel emerald eyes that lashed out at him, her words that stung like the sharpness of a whip. "I love you," he said.

Erika merely shook her head, dismissing his every word. "And I suppose that's why the minute I left you starting fucking that bitch."

"Man, Erika," Auggie intervened, "d'you know how much Adrian sulked when you weren't here? I thought he was never gonna come out of it."

"I really don't give a shit."

Erika turned her attention away from Adrian, when she noticed that Daisy was studying her intently. "Tell me, Erika- are you hostile towards Adrian because you don't like him- or because you're upset because his attention shifted to someone else?"

Erika was visibly irritated with the scrutiny. "Whatever," she dismissed, and loped off, away from the scene.

Daisy chuckled. "I guess now we know the answer," she muttered.

The gang turned to her, and she didn't disappoint.

"Once she begins to confront her feelings and her past, everything will be nice and peachy, hunky-dory," Daisy continued. When their looks became questioning, Daisy answered in usual fashion. "It's *in* the cards."

"Un huh.." said Auggie skeptically.

Adrian hadn't paid the least attention to the conversation, he watched as Erika left, and now appeared torn, as he turned his attention away. Impulsively, he rose, and would have left, ran after Erika, had Auggie not stopped him.

"Yo man, I wouldn't go after her if I were you."

"Why not?"

"Didn't she tell you to stay the hell away from her?"

Adrian slowly sat back down. "Good point," he admitted.

"Don't want you to lose your head, man!"

"Yeah."

But it wasn't long before he stood again, intending to run after her. "Where do you think she is?"

Shelby rolled her eyes. "Adrian, sit down."

"She just needs some time," Kat added. "Don't worry about it."

Adrian smiled weakly. If only he could.



Amber sat on a chair in the infirmary, an ice pack to her cheek.

Her thoughts were relentless as they swarmed through her mind, fantasizing of vengeance, driven by her anger, by her believed injustice.

Erika is so going to pay for this, she thought determinedly as she examined the damage to her face in a near mirror. Her cheekbone was bruised, the colour purple. It certainly wasn't flattering. Ooh, is Erika going to pay for this.

But how? the voices asked her.

Amber thought about it. Okay, so maybe physical combat isn't my best option for getting even, she thought. For revenge. God, I *hate* her!

And Adrian.. He's going to pay, too. No one rejects me and gets away with it. And he's never even going to see it coming.

But how? the voices repeated. Oh, how?

An idea sprung to her mind, and she mulled over it excitedly.

Hmmmm.. It worked the last time I had a score to settle, didn't it? But oh, will there be complications.

Complications? a voice rang in her head. Complications?! Bah! Amber, reality check, this is what you do best.

Aside from fucking, you mean, she thought in response.

Well yeah, aside from that.

Unable to suppress it, Amber cackled evilly as she thought of the destruction she could and would, bring.

Brace yourselves, dear cliffhangers, do I have something in store for you.