Hey everybody! I know, I know, I'm HORRIBLE for not updating all this time, but school's been SO hectic with finals & all, but now I've got some free time & I'm using it for updates! BTW, sorry for any confusion. Chapter 8, Very Superstitious, got deleted because the chapters got all screwed up somehow. I'm probably not going to repost it though, it doesn't really alter the story's course.

Irma: About time you've got this show back on the road!

Hay Lin: Can't you just do the disclaimer without commenting?

Irma: KaNdRaKaRgrl doesn't own WITCH. Happy?

Hay Lin: Very. Here's chapter 14 guys!

Chapter 14

Break My Heart

The slam of pane to sill had long since past, leaving only an echo of a forgotten moment to sing the breaking song of a lost little girl, standing beneath a window closed, the cooling touch of metal long left her hands as she finished her descent down the fire escape ladder, facing the world, waiting for some sort of sign to drop from Candracar to tell her where to go next.

"Irma?"

The water girl jumped at the sound of her name, her head whipping around, fists raised, only to meet the slightly confused expression of Martin Tubbs. She felt her shoulders break free of tension, visibly relaxing under his gaze of perplexity.

"Something wrong, my little sweet potato?" he asked, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder, and for once, Irma didn't completely blow up like a human Pompeii at the use of his commonly way too sugar-sweet drowned nickname.

"You haven't heard?" Irma asked, gloom descending at his naïve words. The whole town had to have known by now, so why was Martin asking her to recall the whole sordid misunderstanding once again?

"Well, there was this one bit on the news that mentioned the words 'Irma' 'stealing' and 'wanted' in it, but I thought it was just one big mistake…" He trailed off, swinging his arm around Irma's drooping shoulders and leading her along the sidewalk, the normally snappish water girl following along docilely.

"That's all it is, Martin, just a big mistake…a big mistake that cost me my best friends."

Irma guessed her eyes had begun to glisten, because she felt Martin tighten his grip on her shoulders. "Hey, everything's going to be okay, my little passion flower. How could anyone stay mad at a gem like you for long?"

Despite her raging desire to keep it at bay, Irma felt the corners of her mouth tugging up in an attempt at a smile. "Now there's the Irma I fell head over heels for. C'mon," he said, leading her around a corner, and Irma didn't even have time to turn and run before the blare of sirens assaulted her, gleaming glints of red twirling in the night as her father's squadron surrounded the pair of them, Mr. Lair motioning for Martin to come up beside him, leaving Irma cornered.

"Irma," Mr. Lair started, walking up to his daughter and extending his hand. "We just want to ask you some questions, honey…"

His words were lost on her. She was too busy staring at Martin, her beautiful sea eyes tainted with hurt. "You…you helped them set me up…"

"Irma…"

"NO!" she cried, clenching her teeth against the tears. "I didn't! I never stole from her! But nothing I say can convince you!" She sank to her knees, and her father came to pull her to her feet, leading her sadly over to the nearest squad car. "Nothing can convince you…" she whispered through her choking voice, and her father could only look down at her in shame as he slammed the door shut, somberly starting off for Heatherfield's County Jail.

BREAKMYHEARTBREAKMYHEARTBREAKMYHEARTBREAKMYHEART

Hay Lin let out a yelp as she was jolted from dream world, springing up and out of Cornelia's guest bed, panting from a nightmare she couldn't even remember, a fear she couldn't even place. It was as if half of her had disappeared and only now come back…

…and then she remembered everything: Irma bringing back the ashes, shoving her out the door, screaming as she fell to the floor in pain, unconsciousness numbing her entire figure into blank sleep…

Sprinting downstairs to an empty apartment and the ashes still sitting on the table, she snatched up the nearest phone and dialed Irma's cell, dial tone filling her ears as she slammed it back down on the table, looking up at the ceiling, hoping her grandmother could hear her silent pleas for guidance up in Candracar…

BREAKMYHEARTBREAKMYHEARTBREAKMYHEARTBREAKMYHEART

This sucks. Those were the two simple words running wild through Irma's head as she sat curled up in the corner of a dank, dark jail cell, the police force's idea of 'keeping the situation on the down low' until they could get a hold of Hay Lin to confirm Irma's statement that NO, she DID NOT STEAL FROM HER BEST FRIEND. She lifted herself up off the stiff mattress and walked over into the streams of moonlight pouring in through the barred up window, wishing she was on the outside looking in.

"Well, well, well, I see we've finally landed where we're supposed to be."

Irma froze. She heard her cell door being unlocked, footsteps coming up behind her, a face leaning right into hers…

The guy with the camcorder, the guy that had shown her 'proof' that she had stolen from Hay Lin. Only now, he was clad in the uniform of an officer. "You know, we never did get to finish what we'd started…" Irma opened her mouth, starting to scream as she remembered him forcing her up against the wall, prying entrance into her lips, stealing a kiss that she wasn't willing to give. With one fluid motion the man reached into his pocket and had the barrel of a gun to Irma's head before you could say 'Guardians in the castle!'

"Tell you what, babe. You do what I say, and I don't blow your head off."

Irma closed her eyes, gritting her teeth as she felt her hands clapped into a pair of handcuffs behind her back. "You are a sick, sick man," she growled under her breath.

"What was that?" he questioned in a voice eerily calm. Before she could open her mouth to say 'nothing' the still unnamed officer took her by the shoulders, slammed her face-up onto the bed, and grinned down into her struggling face, trying to replace tears with anger. And before he got around to tugging his shirt off, he took a shiny black cane-like instrument and whacked it across Irma's skull. And as her mind numbed, all the water girl remembered was the officer's hot breath hitting her neck and the slowly growing louder frush of fire…

BREAKMYHEARTBREAKMYHEARTBREAKMYHEARTBREAKMYHEART

Irma's blue eyes opened to the station's reception room, Will, Taranee, and Cornelia's worried faces relaxing above her as she began to sit up. "What…what…"

"Articulate as always," Cornelia said. "You're lucky the Heart gave us some warning, or that guy would've gotten what he wanted."

"Is…is he…?"

"Yeah, he's the one behind bars instead of you," Will finished since Irma was short of words that night.

"Thank you," Irma whispered, the memory of sounds of fire flooding back to her.

Taranee was the only one to say you're welcome. Will just stared at her, and Cornelia looked away, trying to place her feelings toward the whole thing.

"Did Hay Lin…?"

"Yeah, she called a little while ago, said you were completely innocent and all. We think you guys should talk…get this all sorted out."

And without further ado, Irma launched herself at Will, not bothering to hide the tears, not bothering to think of the consequences of her sobbing later. The leader simply wrapped her arms around her and, with Taranee rubbing her back, Cornelia just standing off to the side to watch the group hug, Irma lost herself in the confusion, drowning in her thoughts of what was to come.

Well, I'm sorry to say that this story will come to an end in a few chapters, but I've got the sequel all planned out. So the faster you review, the faster this ends and the sequel begins! 71 reviews till I update!