Mia POV:

I officially hate the rain.

I stood outside of the zoo, watching the dark clouds float above and willed them to go away.

Of course it didn't work. I'm lacking in the superpower department.

But you know what? I don't care anymore. Just like I don't care what Lily thinks of me. Just like I don't care that I don't have any friends. Just like I don't care that I lost my boyfriend.

My face broke into a false smile, which surprisingly lifted my spirits. I didn't care! Come and get me rain! Bring it on!

I sat down on a bench and let the rain soak through to my bare skin. I took my sweater off, tilted my head back, opened my mouth and let the cool droplets fall across my white skin. I rested my arms on the back of the bench and sprawled my legs out in front of me.

I closed my eyes and the last thing I remember before I blacked out was the cool taste of raindrops flowing down my throat.

Michael POV:

I sat down on the bench with a sigh.

So much for reuniting with Mia. But why had she been so mad at me? Was the damp, crinkled piece of paper that I was now folding and inserting into my pocket not supposed to be in my possession?

Well it did seem a little private. I guess.

Great.

Now Mia's mad at me, and I'm stranded at the Central Park Zoo in the middle of a rainstorm without a raincoat.

I sat down on the bench with a sigh and stared at the penguins in front of me. There they were, swimming and sliding around, with no knowledge of what had just taken place.

It would be nice to be a penguin.

I mean seriously. No worries at all. Food is provided for you everyday and you can swim all you want even when it's really cold. Plus you don't need an umbrella if it starts raining.

I leaned back against the stucco wall behind me and closed my eyes. Why wouldn't anything go right for me? I knew there was no hope of chasing after Mia. She would have probably called the limo by now. So I had no choice but to wait, at least until the storm passed.

In the distance I heard the roll of thunder and seriously hoped that Mia had found shelter. Maybe she had just gone to another exhibit?

I pushed those thoughts aside. What use was it now?

Because I had not heard thunder in a while, I decided to venture outside. Secretly I hoped Mia was still there.

I painfully rose from my position on the bench. You'd think they could get some cushions or something.

Slowly, with my hands in my pocket, one enclosed around the piece of paper I still had in my possession, I meandered over to the exit of the zoo.

I slowly pushed the door open to reveal that it was, in fact, still raining.

Sigh.

I searched in the distance for the "POG" as Lily so often jokingly referred to her.

I saw her sitting on a bench; her head slumped in front of her, in a most awkward manner. Had something happened?

I quickly rushed over to her, not caring about the rain that continued to fall. As I came closer, I could see that she was soaked thoroughly and had stupidly taken off her sweater. Whatever had possessed her?

I lifted a twig off of the ground, and cautiously poked her in the arm. If she was in fact merely resting her eyes, I wanted to be able to make the quickest and most blameless escape possible.

She didn't respond, which didn't worry me, because I knew that she was a heavy sleeper.

I cautiously poked her in the cheek, which I knew would wake her if she was in fact, just sleeping. She didn't respond.

This was seriously worrying. I knew that either the cold had gotten to her, or she had just been knocked out by something. I checked her pulse. She was still alive. Thank God.

Knowing that she wouldn't know I had ever done this, I gently picked her up in my arms, which I had never done before. She was surprisingly light, which again worried me. Had she been eating enough?

I hated to think that this was all my fault. What if I had never approached her? If I had never revealed that I loved her? She wouldn't be mad at me, and she wouldn't have been in this situation.

Oh well. Life's to short for what ifs. Or that's what I've heard.

I easily carried her back to the entrance of the zoo where a young guy was sitting in the booth. His eyes widened as he saw I was holding a body in my arms.

"Hey, um can you please just let me in without a fee?"

"Um well…my superiors…"

"DAMN! This is the Princess of Genovia! JUST OPEN THE DAMN GATES!"

He nodded his head furiously and pressed a green button. The gates swung open and I quickly carried her inside and laid her down on the nearest bench. I perched on the edge of the bench to catch a breath, my head between my knees. Who knew I had all that shouting in me. Now he probably thought I was an axe murderer.

I looked up into the face, of the same guy who had let me in.

"What do you want?"

"Um… I just wanted to make sure… that you didn't… kill her or something."

Oh man.

"Listen. Do you have a phone around here? She's out cold and we need to get her bodyguard to pick her up."

"Um yeah… follow me."

I made a fleeting glance over to Mia.

"Don't worry I have a surveillance camera in here." He pointed to a small camera in the corner. "We can watch her from the office."

I sighed in relief. Why did they have video cameras in the zoo anyway? I voiced my question.

He chuckled. I bet he was thinking that for my next axe murderer attack I would pick somewhere without cameras.

"Well I don't really know. Probably to make sure people don't harm the animals, and just to keep a general eye on the animals and everything that is going around in the zoo."

"Oh."

We reached the office. I looked over to what I assumed was his backpack. It was covered with Greenpeace stickers. I bet him and Mia would get along REALLY well. Maybe they already know each other.

I accepted the phone he handed me and quickly dialed Lars' cell phone number. I handed it to him.

"Now just tell this guy that the Princess is in the Central Park Zoo, near the entrance and that she's out cold and that you couldn't wake her up."

He looked frightened but accepted.

"Um yeah… Hi. This is Jonathan. And I work at Central Park Zoo. And I've just found the Princess of Genovia out cold on one of our benches.

"Yes, she has a diary with her."

"Yes I know it's her."

"How did I get your number?" I looked at me nervously. I mouthed "First number on her cell phone to him".

"Yeah it was the first number on her cell phone."

"Okay I'll be waiting at the entrance."

"Bye."

He turned to me questioningly.

"Why did you not want this guy to know it was you?"

I knew this was coming. Damn.

"Um… well you see, she used to be my girlfriend, and she doesn't exactly like me anymore for reasons I'm not willing to discuss with you."

I glanced at the video camera screen quickly, to see that Mia was okay. She was still blacked out.

"Oh."

Silence stretch between us. Finally I spoke.

"Um… just don't tell him or her for that matter, that I found her and brought her to you, okay?"

"Yeah sure man."

"And I'll wait with her while you wait at the front and then leave when I hear you coming, okay?"

"Okay."

I sighed and started to walk out of the office. He followed and we both split to go our separate ways. I came up to Mia, whose possessions were sitting next to her. I was tempted to look at her journal, but after the previous experience only hours before, I decided it wasn't the brightest idea.

I sat down on the remaining bench above where her head rested and slowly stared down at her resting form. I slowly stroked her wet hair. It felt so good to be able to touch her again.

In the distance, I heard the quick, heavy footsteps of Lars and the even quicker steps of Zoo Boy trying to keep up with him. I quickly ran around the corner to the exit, fearing Lars would come after me.

It was cold outside, and I stuck my hands in my pockets for warmth. My right hand rested around Mia's slip of paper.

If only things hadn't turned out this way.

AN: Thankyou for all the wonderful reviews! Sorry that it took such a long time to update!

funkylicious: I'll try to keep them comin'!
Dione: Sorry the updates don't come faster... I'll try to update faster. I realize that waiting for the next chapter for so long is annoying. Thankyou for the compliment!
tina: well here's chapter 10! Enjoy!
warrior-wolf: Now its updated! I hop you like this chapter!
frostyqueen: I'm glad you liked it! I aim for a reader in suspense!
Nick: thankyou for the compliment. I realize that Mia is a bit more agressive in this story, but I fel that to fit what I wanted to write, I had to change her abit. I hope you keep reading and reviewing!
thetroublew/love: Sorry i didn't update sooner and thanks for the review. Hopefully they will come faster now.
SAXandCLARINETgrl: Thanks for the review! And sorry for such a long time till I updated after such suspense! I know its frustrating to have Mia acts so stupidly, but if she didn't how would there be any suspense:)
sparklingt87: I agree. They are VERY stupid kids.
hgill: Thanks! I appreciate the review!
Hawaiian- Rachael: Thanks for the review! I hope you like this chapter!