In Joy and Sorrow Chapter 17

The first day Kat walked down the long, lonely Baltimore streets at night she was depressed, lonely and unwanted. She walked down a dark narrow alley, looking for somewhere to sleep for the night. She passed drug dealer buildings and turned a corner to see a tall man standing about 20 feet away. She stood back in the shadows to see which direction he would move in. Her stomach told her to leave but something else told her to stay. So she went with that other thing and stood, peaking around the corner of the building. The slender guy pulled out a needle from his pocket. He stuck it into him and shot up, dropping to the ground a few seconds later. Kat knew he was dead once he hit the sidewalk. She gathered up all her courage and slowly and carefully walked toward him. She bent down and felt for the non-exsisting pulse in the man's neck.

"Gone for good..." Kat said to herself, standing back up. She turned and started to walk away, sighing. 'That could've been Novak...' she thought. That switched her mind automatically to Sami. 'God...she's gonna kill me if she ever finds me...I let her down...' Kat turned and walked down another dark alleyway and leaned against the wall, sliding down it. She yawned and put her head against the dumpster she sat next to and tried her best to get warm. She put her hands in her hoodie pockets and closed her eyes, falling into a deep sleep.

The next morning...

Kat woke up to the beeping of a car horn. She sat up quickly and remembered suddenly where she was. The car beeped again and Kat realized that it was beeping at her.

"What the fuck?" she asked herself quietly as she stood up and brushed the small amount of debris off of her jeans.

"Come here, kid." the voice from the car said, sticking a frail looking hand out the window and signaling for her to come towards the black car. "Why should I?" Kat retorted, still standing in the same spot she was in.
"Heh, complicated I see. I suppose you won't fall for the "I've got candy in the backseat" trick either, huh"
"Psh, go away." The door slowly opened and a 40 looking year old man stepped out. He wore a nice looking suit and drove a black Lincoln. He started walking towards Kat.

"Leave me the hell alone." Kat said, starting to walk backwards.
"I just need to ask you something." the man said, walking a bit faster.
"Oh yeah, like what?" Kat asked, nearly stumbling over a tin can that had blew over in her trail. The man stopped walking and went back to his car and pulled out a small bag, with Kat watching his every move. He held out the bag for Kat to take and started walking over towards her. That's when Kat had the feeling that he wasn't gonna kidnap her. She walked over to him and examined the bag full of needles ready to be used.

"Fifty bucks for that." the man said, crossing his arms. "No..." was Kat's one word response. She backed away from the man slightly and handed him the bag. "I can't...it would be wrong...very wrong"
"Kid...I can see it in your eyes. You were meant to have this stuff. You can sell it and be sucessful...just take it." He held out the bag again and not to his surprise, she seized it from him. She pulled out fifty out of the sixty dollars she had left and handed it to him. "There," she said, stuffing the bag in her pocket, "now leave me the fuck alone." The man nodded.
"Good luck." he said, waving slightly. He got into his car and drove off.

Kat walked away, thinking about the man and the drugs she posessed.

"I guess I can just use this to sell for money..." she said to herself, walking down a street. "I'm not gonna use it myself..."

She walked down the street and through an alley and saw a boy about her age. He was skating down the alley she was walking on with a bunch of his friends. Kat stopped to let them pass her by. The boy with the brown hair, skateboarding in the front of the group, suddenly stopped. Kat turned to look at him.

"Um...can we ask you something?" the boy asked Kat, stepping off his skateboard, causing everyone else to do the same.
"Sure. What is it?" Kat replied, sticking her hands in her pockets, feeling around in them.
"We've been asking people this for awhile now, but would you mind taking pictures of us skating? We need them for something." The boy took a camera out from his hoodie pocket and showed it to Kat. She looked at the camera and remembered how much fun she used to have taking pics.

"Hell yeah, I'll do it. I love taking pictures." she said, smiling slightly. The boy smiled back. "Sweet." He handed Kat the camera. "Meet us down the street at the skatepark in an hour. We'll be there." Kat took the camera. "Awesome. What's your name?" The boy picked up the skateboard and put his foot down on it. "Randy." he said, nodding his head. "I'm Kat." "Well, Kat, we'll see you at the skatepark at 1." He pushed off on his skateboard and rolled down the alley with his friends. Kat stuck the digital camera in her pocket and walked the opposite way, with a slight smile on her face.

Back in West Chester, Sami, Justin, Jasmine, and Vinnie roamed around the streets and stores until the sun started to set.

"Oh shit..." Sami said, looking at the horizon. "What?" Vinnie asked her.
"I have to go home. I'm going to see HIM tonight." "You're so lucky." Justin said, holding onto an ice cream cone he bought. "Not as lucky as you think I am..." Sami mumbled.
"But you're lucky." Jasmine started, "You live with one of the most famous people in West Chester, you get to go see concerts anytime you want to...and you get to meet Ville..." Jasmine sighed happily and Vinnie rolled his eyes with a laugh. He leaned over to whisper something in Sami's ear.

"I swear, she's obsessed with Ville Valo." he said. Sami laughed. All of a sudden, a purple Lambo pulled up next to the sidewalk.

"Well, there's Bam." Sami said, walking towards the car. "I'll see you guys later"
"Have fun at the concert, Sam!" Justin said, waving with the others. Sami waved back and got into the backseat.

"I was about to start walking home when you pulled up." she said to Bam.
"You should've started back earlier." Bam replied, turning the car around and driving back home. "Hurry up and get ready when we get home"
"Ok."

A few minutes later, Bam and Sami pulled up at Castle Bam in the Lambo. They both got out and walked inside.

"Hurry up, Sam!" Bam yelled as Sami rushed past him to go upstairs into her room. "I know!" She ran into her bedroom and shut the door. She rushed over to her closet and looked in. "Fuck." she said, realizing her HIM shirt wasn't washed yet. She sighed and then quickly pulled out her all black blouse and a pair of dark blue jeans. She put on her big boots and kept her hair down. Grabbing her phone and HIM hoodie, she went into her bathroom and put on some heavy black eyeliner. She ran back downstairs and saw Bam and Jimmy kissing on the couch.

"Am I gonna have to wait...or are we gonna go?" Sami asked, leaning on the wall. They both jumped when they heard her voice.
"Sami you have to learn how to make more noise." Jimmy said, turning to look at her.
"Everyone says that to me." she said, laughing a little. Bam stood up. "Let's go." Bam walked towards the door and grabbed his keys. "Dad, you aren't going?" Sami asked, turning to look at Jimmy.
"Nope, I'm gonna stay here. I'm not feeling too well..." he replied. Sami nodded and went over to join Bam who was walking out the door.
"See you later, dad!" Sami said, waving.
"Bye, Bay." Bam said. "Have fun." Jimmy replied. Bam and Sami walked out the door and into the Lambo.