A/N: Thank you all so much. Darcy has grown so much from when I wrote the first chapter (I'm nearly on the 10th in my writing lol) and this fic is going to be so much fun with what I have planned. I hope you enjoy it. This is also posted on Tumblr under "asirensrage" and I've posted a couple of moodboards and a drawing for this already, so come join me there.

Chapter 3: Cherry Bomb

She dreamt of blond hair and laughter that echoed around her. She snapped back at it but all it did was make the voices laugh more. Endlessly amused at her frustration. Needless to say, she did not sleep well. Again.

Darcy opened the store in a worse mood than yesterday. This whole lack of sleep thing was not working for her. Thank god she picked up a pack of smokes. She couldn't bring herself to smoke inside the store though, even if it was legal. God, she'd never get the smell out of her clothes if she did that.

She fell into the motions of opening the store, which included pulling up the blinds and checking the donation bin which looked like it had been broken into. They'd need to get the lock fixed. It wasn't uncommon that people decided to steal what they could. This place was filled with lost souls looking for somewhere to belong, but that didn't mean Darcy had to accept it. It hadn't even been a week since the last break-in. They were just lucky she hadn't caught them in the act yet.

For all that she had lost, Darcy liked working in the thrift store. It was an easy job and Sampson paid decently for the time. She wasn't entirely sure how he made his money since some days passed and no one bought anything, but she wouldn't complain. If it was a front, she couldn't be held as an accessory if she knew nothing. The only odd thing was how no one had been working here already. Though, with the rate that missing posters got plastered to the bulletin boards around the town, maybe she just had good timing.

Clark showed up again when the sun was high in the sky and she had already given directions to two different sets of tourists. She didn't know why they needed them. The town wasn't that big and the Boardwalk was pretty straightforward. She figured out where everything was within a day.

"You look like shit," he said.

"Language," she admonished without any real bite. She leaned forward to look at him. Her hair was held back in a couple of simple victory rolls but mainly left loose. The last thing she needed to do was give herself a headache on top of the lack of sleep. She needed coffee. "If I give you five bucks, can you grab me a coffee and bring it? You can keep the change."

He looked at her. "How do you know I won't just take the money and run?"

"And miss the pleasure of my company?" she asked. "You do that and you won't be allowed back in."

He stuck out his tongue at her. "Alright, alright. I'll do it."

"Good. Add a bit of sugar in it, but that's it. I don't like milk." She opened the cash register and pulled out a five-dollar bill. She'd replace it with her own once she felt more human again and actually had the desire to move.

Clark took it and disappeared. Thankfully, he was only gone for about ten minutes before he returned with the nectar of the gods. She winced slightly as it burnt at the first sip.

"So what happened to you?" Clark asked. He was browsing through one of the racks as he left her to wake up.

"What do you mean?"

"You look like you got totally wasted."

"I feel like I did," she said, "only without actually doing so. I didn't sleep well." She paused for a moment. Clark had been here longer than she has from what she could tell. "You know the gangs here, right?"

He turned to her and scrunched up his face. "The Surf Nazis?"

"Ugh, no, the other assholes. The bikers."

It took him a moment before he answered. "The Lost Boys?"

She snorted. She was right that it had something to do with Peter Pan. So which one wore the tights? The image of Paul in his tight pants the other night sprung to mind and she tried not to laugh. That answered that question.

"Why you asking?"

"I met them with Frankie the other day." She took another sip of her coffee. God, she wanted a cigarette. She held back on the desire though.

"Yeah? You like them?"

"Don't know them. Just wanted to know what you think."

"They're assholes," he said instantly. It made her grin. "They ride into the crowds all the time. I don't go near them, but girls love them. They always find their way to some party."

"Good to know," she said. That didn't really explain anything about them. Perhaps that was one of the things about gangs. The only ones who really know about them were those in the gang itself. Hopefully, they'd lose interest soon so she could go back to minding her own business.

Clark left without another word. She turned back to her coffee and tried to wake up. For the first time since Sampson told her, she was grateful he was hiring someone. Then at least she could sleep in.

Night was never a quiet thing in Santa Carla.

The Boardwalk filled with people, like ants on food left on a sidewalk, and the noise and lights made it seem far brighter than it had any right to be. At least in Darcy's opinion. She headed in the opposite direction.

It wasn't far to the motel where she rented a room. It would have been ideal to have an apartment, but there were few places that rented a place out. She didn't want to live with roommates that were strangers.

There had never been any interruptions when she walked back from work. Aside from a few catcalls when she was still close to the boardwalk, she was usually left in peace. Apparently, that was no longer a thing.

She was already getting tired of the sound of motorcycles. That didn't stop the one that had reared up from the side street she was about to cross. He stopped by her, not quite blocking her way but still making himself known. She pulled out a cigarette. It wasn't the blond but she had a feeling she was going to need it.

He held a lighter out before she could grab hers. Her eyes narrowed at him but she leaned forward and lit it.

"Are you stalking me?" she asked as she exhaled.

"Do you want to be stalked?" he asked, grinning widely. It was the other mullet. The one with the curls. He had an easy smile, looking far more innocent than she suspected he was.

"No."

"Why you out here? Don't like the boardwalk?"

"No," she said again. "Not really."

He bit the nail of his thumb as he continued to grin at her. "So where you going?"

She took another drag of her cigarette and blew it out slowly. "Home. I'm going to bed."

"Want company?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm good, thanks." She moved forward and much like the last interaction she had with one of them, he followed. "Don't you have somewhere else to be?"

"Trust me, babe, no place I'd rather be. Can I give you a ride?"

She paused, contemplating it for a moment. She didn't have an aversion to motorcycles but she didn't know him. The reminder of the missing posters lingered in her mind. "I'll walk."

"Aw come on, I'll be good!"

"Somehow I doubt that," she drawled. She kept walking. There was another roar of motorcycles and she glanced at the one next to her. "You guys really travel in packs, huh?"

"You'll like it," he said, looking far too amused at the suggestion.

She barely got another two steps before the other motorcycles were circling her. Marko joined them seamlessly. She stood there, smoking and waiting until they finally stopped. A couple of them veered close but they finally eventually stopped when she dropped the butt of her cigarette, stomped it out and asked, "are you done?"

"Where you going, Darcy?" the blond mullet from the other day asked.

"Home. Get out of the way."

"Come on, chica," Paul called out, leaning forward over the bars of his bike. "Let's party."

She ran her tongue over her teeth before she looked at him. "Where's Frankie?" she asked. "Last party you invited me to was with her and I haven't seen her since." The men all started to laugh and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up again.

"Who?" Paul asked, blinking at her. He still had a smile on his lips and she half wished she was closer just to wipe it off of his face.

"You know who," she snarled. They all laughed again and her eyes narrowed. "Alright, I'm done." She moved, going to push her way past them or kick over their bikes if she had to. She was over this already.

"Darcy, wait," the curly one said.

"Yeah, babe, we're just playing," Paul called out.

"I'm not. I don't know who the fuck you are and I'm not interested."

"Dwayne," the dark-haired one finally spoke.

"I'm Marko," the curly mullet spoke up.

"You know me," Paul said with a wink. "And that's David." He motioned to the bleached-blond mullet who was staring at her. They were all staring at her, really.

"Pleasure," she drawled. "Now get out of the way."

"Darcy," the one named David called out. "Join us."

"No," she looked at him. "I'm going home and going to bed."

"Aww," she heard someone call out. Her version swayed slightly. Join us, Darcy. Come on, Darcy. She could go out with them. Not like she had many friends or the store was that busy. She could...she dug her fingers into the pressure point between her thumb and her index finger, trying to use the pain to focus. It broke through the pressure building around her and she glanced down, reaching for another cigarette.

She lit it herself, ignoring the offer of a lighter from Paul and Marko. She inhaled slowly and held it for a second before exhaling. "I'm going home. Get out of my way."

There must have been something in her tone because two of them finally moved back slightly, granting her an exit. She walked forward only to realize they were following. She turned and glared at them.

"I didn't ask for an escort!"

"What type of men would we be to let a woman walk home alone in the dark?" David asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah!" Marko called out. "Never know what's out there." That made them all laugh.

God fucking damn it. She turned and walked. They followed behind and she ignored the fact that she could feel their stares on her. She just wanted to get to bed.

They reached the motel.

"Shit, babe, you live here?" she heard Paul ask. "Just come home with us."

"There," she said, ignoring the blond. "You walked me home. Go away."

They all grinned at her. "Goodnight, Darcy," David said.

"Yeah, night babe! Dream about me!"

"Dream about us!" Marko called out, fixing Paul's comment. Dwayne just watched her. She ignored them all and went to her room.

It was only after she cleaned herself up and was finally drifting off to sleep when she realized they never answered her question about Frankie.

[tbc]