A/N: I admit....it took kind of long to get this chapter up. But it's up, and that's all that matters. I promise, a kiss is coming in future chapters.
So anyway...horse in this chapter (cringe...Maureen's going to kill me with this horse part) is based on a real horse. I couldn't resist, I got the idea for it and I sort of based the horse on Ockie, the best horsie in the whole world :-)
Even if he's a bit crazy. I love him anyway.
Some this kind of switches point of views, but I hope it's easy enough to figure out when they do switch.
OK, now on with the chapter before I bore you all to death with my pointless ramblings...

          Mia walked down the busy street, ignoring all the sounds of noisy cabs and buses around her. She wiped the tears from her eyes and pulled her thin sweater tighter around her. It was freezing outside. She found herself wishing she had a warmer coat. The streetlights were on already and the sun was beginning to set. She couldn't hide from Grandmere forever. She had to go home eventually. She sighed.

          How could Grandmere be so shallow and emotionless? Manhattan was her home; all her friends were there. She couldn't move. Hadn't her own father insured her she didn't have to? Then again, with the whole Michael-making-fun-of-her situation, it might not be such a bad thing to move away. She couldn't avoid Michael forever, could she?

She stopped suddenly and leaned up against the nearest wall, banging her head in frustration. She was shivering and the penguin house, her normal place of refuge, would take so long. Not to mention it's a penguin house, so that's probably cold too. She looked at the building beside her.

Claremont Riding Academy,

the sign read. She had heard of it before. It must have been the back entrance, since she remembered the front entrance being right on Fifth. She opened the wooden door and peeked in. She could feel the warmth of the stable on her cheeks and couldn't resist it. She walked in cautiously and looked around. In the stall next to her, a huge, imposing black stallion nickered sweetly to her, sticking his head over the cloth stall guard and nudging her gently. She stepped back, a little frightened. She usually loved horses, but he was so big. She reached out cautiously and scratched his soft nose. His nameplate read:

October Star
"Ockie"

"Hey Ockie...you're a handsome guy, aren't you?" she said, as if talking to her own cat, Fat Louie. "I'm having a bad day....do horses have those? I bet you do. Like when someone whips you really hard or uses to sharp spurs? Grandmere hates horses you know... she would probably tell me to get away from you right now..." She rambled on. She sat down in front of the stall and he leaned over, his head resting on her should as he rocked back and forth slightly.

"They want me to move..." she said, tears streaming down her face now. "They want me to move to Genovia, away from here. I love it here. No matter how much Michael hates me." She scratched the huge horse's forehead absentmindedly and rested her head on his cheek for reassurance. She needed some support, even if it was from a horse she barely knew...

Helen Thermopolis paced the living room frantically, scared half to death of what might happen to Mia. "She's in Manhattan after dark..." she shrieked. "AFTER DARK!"

Frank Gianini hung up the phone once again. "Ronnie hasn't seen her either...don't worry about her...she's a smart girl..." he trailed off.

"Sure she's smart! I know she's smart! But she's in New York City, alone, after dark! Where is Lars?!" Helen sat on the couch suddenly and cradled her head in her hands. Frank wrapped his arms around her, trying to comfort the poor woman.

"We'll find her," he said to her reassuringly. "Don't worry. We'll find her," he repeated.

"Maybe Lilly knows..." she mumbled, grabbing the phone off the hook and dialing the Moscovitz's.

The telephone's shrill ring ran throughout the apartment. "Michael, I'm busy...get the phone!" Lilly yelled from her room. Our parents had just run off to attend to one of their patients and we were home alone for a while. Home alone with Lilly.

How fun.

I groaned and grabbed the phone off my desk. "Hello?"

"Michael?" Helen Thermopolis's frantic voice said through the receiver.

"Mrs. Thermopolis?" I asked, puzzled. Why was she calling?

"Have you seen Mia lately?" she asked. She sounded worried.

"No... Why?"

"Well, she ran off during her princess lessons. No one knows where she is..." she explained reluctantly.

"Where's Lars???" I could feel the beads of sweat dripping from my forehead. It was already dark. No sane person went outside in Manhattan after dark. Whatever provoked her to run off must have been big.

"At the Plaza...if you see her, will you call? I'm really worried...." she trailed off. I could feel my heart start to beat harder and harder.

"Of course," I said. She hung up.

"What was that about?" Lilly asked from the doorway.

"Mia's missing," I said, flopping onto my bed and trying to calm myself down.

"She's what?!" Lilly shrieked her eyes wide.

"Missing..." Damn it...damn it...damn it...

Lilly shook her head in disbelief muttering something under her breath. I heard her bedroom door slam.

I walked into the kitchen to grab a snack only to be reminded of Mia as I saw my very favorite picture of her on the fridge. She was in her baggy pajamas sitting in her sleeping bag with Lilly sitting next to her. They were both smiling.

Damn, she's gorgeous.

And damn, I'm so pathetic. I'm acting like a lovesick puppy and I keep making a fool out of myself. I need to stop worrying about her. She'll be fine. She's really smart. She won't stay on the streets. Please don't stay on the streets.

I'm one big fool. And one of these days I'm going to make a fool out of myself in front of Mia.

Oh, wait, scratch that. Already happened.

I sighed and opened the fridge, trying to rid my mind of all pathetic thoughts. Needless to say, it didn't work very well.

The doorbell rang. I dashed to the door, thinking it was Felix there about the band we'd talked about putting together over vacation. I swung the door open to see...

Mia standing there, with tears streaming down her face.

A/N: Cliffie! Mwahahahaha!
Ahem...sorry. I kind of....lost focus. So...uh...you like? REVIEW!