Disclaimer: I do not own The Simpsons characters; only the original characters listed in this fic.

I accept constructive criticism. c:

~•~•~•~

"Hell no, Becky!"

"Nina, stop being a Debbie Downer! Just let me-"

"Rebecca, come near me with that bright yellow and I will make sure you see black!"

Lisa and Allison watched with amusement as Nina and Becky were arguing over the blonde wanting to paint her nails yellow; the brunette was extremely against it, preferring colors as close to black as possible.

"Now you're threatening me? Look, just let me do it for tonight and then you can take it off tomorrow!"

"Wh- I don't care if it's just for tonight, that color is not going anywhere on my nails!"

Lisa could nearly see the vein starting to pop on Nina's forehead as she failed to drive off the perky girl; she was almost worried that she'd take the curling iron resting nearby and retaliate. Sophie, having enough of the commotion, sighed in frustration and set down her plate of pizza before standing with her hips on her hands. "Can't I enjoy my pizza in peace?!"

The two girls turned to their friend and began talking over each other as they tried to make her see their point of view. Before they could talk any further, Sophie placed her hands over their mouths. "Shush!" She fixated an irritated look onto the brunette. "Is it really going to kill you to wear the polish for one night? Hell, have her put it on your toes even, it's fall! Who the hell is going to see them?"

Becky's eyes lit up in triumph before the look was withered away by the scowl now fixed onto her. "And you, can't you ever listen when someone says not to do something? When was the last time you saw Nina wear yellow? You should know better!" The two girls looked down with sheepish eyes as their friend tore into them.

"Now, are you two going to come to an agreement on something or am I going to have to knock some sense into you?"

The duo's eyes widened at the threat before they quickly nodded their heads. Sophie sighed and moved her hands off their mouths. "Good. Now don't interrupt me and my pizza again." The satisfied girl sat back down on the floor and continued eating her beloved slice.

Nina and Becky's eyes eventually met before the former cleared her throat. "So, uh…my toes are still clean…you wanna give it a shot on there? Might need some work…"

The blonde's eyes sparkled as she grinned. "Nonsense, I'll do anything to make them look good! But…how about we do a pink or green instead? Nothing too bright?"

"Make that purple and you've got a deal."

The two shook hands as Lisa and Allison continued to watch, having giggling fits over their friend's antics. It amazed Lisa how quickly Nina and Becky could get into petty arguments and out of them; it was like a revolving door. The other girls were usually the peacekeepers, Sophie being the more violent one as she had been dealing with their crap since first grade. Alex, however, chose whichever side she felt like that day, depending on what the argument was. She was often amused by the bickering duo that she wanted to see how into it they could get before Sophie had to get physical.

Speaking of Alex, Lisa hadn't seen her for a little while.

She turned towards Allison with a questioning look. "Has Alex come back down yet?"

Frowning, the redhead shook her head. "No, not yet. You think she's stuck in the bathroom? Maybe she doesn't feel good…"

Lisa's mouth turned down further out of concern. The fashionista didn't seem sick earlier but a sudden stomachache or even that time of the month could have snuck up on her. "Hm…I'm gonna run up and check on her, just to be safe." Allison nodded before heading over to Sophie so she could take the pin curls in her hair out.

The Simpson girl walked out of the family and living room to start heading up the stairs before turning to the right to look at the bathroom door. To her surprise, it was wide open and dark, showing that no one was even inside.

'She's not there?'

Looking up and down the hall now, Lisa noted that all the doors were shut like usual, including hers. Wondering if Alex had went into her room to look for something, she stepped towards her door and slowly turned the knob. Pushing it open, she was dismayed to see that her room was the same as she had left it; the only living, breathing thing in there was the napping form of Snowball at the foot of the bed. The blonde's face only became more bewildered at the absence of her best friend.

'Alex, where the heck are you? This is getting strange…'

Shutting the door carefully, Lisa bit her bottom lip as she tried to scramble her brain for where else Alex could be up here. She began pacing as she thought until her feet bumped into something on the floor. Looking down, she spotted something familiar: the bottle of nail polish remover.

'Wait…this is outside Bart's room…' Lisa picked up the bottle and stared at it, hoping that this inanimate object would give her a clear answer. 'She couldn't be in there…could she?'

Turning her head to the door, she came face to face with a skull and crossbones poster. The blonde couldn't fathom as to why her friend would be in her brother's room but her gut was telling her to look, even if her efforts would bear no fruit. Sucking in a deep breath, she grabbed the knob and turned it, letting herself into Bart's room. The breath that she was about to let out lodged in her throat as she noticed something amiss: the window was jarred open, the night breeze fluttering the curtains.

Bart never left his window open during this time of the year, especially when he wasn't going to be in his room for a long period of time. Stepping closer to it, she noticed that his telescope was on its side on the floor. There were also wood splinters on the windowsill and the lock…

Lisa reached up and tapped it with her index finger. The lock was busted.

'Oh no…someone broke in!'

She quickly turned around and scanned the room in a panic, using the moonlight as her only guidance. No one seemed to be in the room with her but it still left her with a big question: where the heck was Alex at?

'She shouldn't be wandering around with some criminal in the house…she could get-'

Her thoughts came to an abrupt stop as she spotted something small and shiny on the floor, the moonlight glinting off of it. Squinting her eyes, Lisa stepped towards the object, kneeling down and picking it up. Examining it closely, she gasped out loud as she realized what it was.

It was one of the buttons on Alex's blouse.

It could have belonged to a random girl that Bart occasionally brought over but Lisa knew in her heart that the gold and pearl shank button belonged to one of the fashionista's favorite Zendi blouses. Something was wrong. Really wrong. Lisa clenched the button in her fist before standing up and running out into the hallway, looking up and down frantically. "Alex!"

'In Maggie's room?' She ran to her little sister's room and swung the door open. Empty.

'Mom and dad's room?!' She ran even faster into their room and nearly bounced the door off of the wall. Not a soul.

"Dammit! Alex!" The blonde turned and ran towards the stairs, taking two at a time as she rushed down. Allison had just left the living room when she met Lisa with a concerned look. "Lise, what's wrong? I heard you yelling and-" Before she could finish, Lisa grabbed her shoulders and gave her a panicked look.

"Allison, Alex is nowhere upstairs! A-And I went into all the rooms and Bart's window is o-open and I-I think someone broke in and took her!"

"What?!" The redhead's eyes widened. "A-Are you sure? Maybe she went downstairs and we didn't see her-"

Lisa's grip grew tighter, causing the other to wince. "Allison, you said yourself you didn't see her! And look-" She removed a hand from Allison to show her the button she found. "I found this!" Looking at the button in her palm, the younger girl's face paled as she realized that it undeniably belonged to her missing friend.

"Oh my God…" Allison stepped away and gripped her hair with both hands, mussing up the pin curls as she shook her head. "This is not happening…we have to get help!"

"Girls, you good?"

Both girls jumped as Nina's voice sounded from the edge of the living room, joined by Becky and Sophie as they looked at the two with confusion. "We heard yelling, is everything alright? Did Alex come back down yet?" Lisa and Allison tensed up at her mention of the disappeared girl: someone had to tell them what was going on. The redhead's mouth opened a couple of times before she could even get a word out. "A-Actually…we have a-"

Before she could explain, the Simpson girl sped off towards the basement, swinging the door open and barreling down the stairs. "Lisa, wait!"

The three girls' faces now were colored with surprise at their friend's sudden departure. "Lisa?"

"Whoa, is she okay?"

"Allison, what's going on? Is Alex okay? I don't see her with you…"

While getting bombarded with questions, Allison took in a sharp breath as she looked towards the basement entrance before turning back towards her friends. "Maybe we should go downstairs…"

~•~•~•~

"So guys, you know this guy named Danny? Average height, shaggy black hair, always wears a letterman jacket?"

The boys turned to look at Donny as he spoke, cutting through the scented smoke lingering in the air. Lewis nodded at his question. "Yeah, jock prick who thinks he's hot stuff because he's the star quarterback. What about him?"

"Well…" Donny blew out a few rings of smoke before leaning forward on the couch. "He comes to me after sixth period the other day and starts giving me attitude. Talking about how I need to 'stay away from his girl' and 'watch my back before he takes me out'. I blew him off and told him to piss off and stop wasting my time. Any idea what the hell that's about?"

Milhouse groaned and looked up at him from the floor. "Did a girl with brown hair in a ponytail and ringlets come up and flirt with you recently?" The dirty blonde scrunched his face as he combed through his memories. "Uh…yeah, I think so? I don't know, there's a lot of girls who've been trying to talk to me…"

At this, Richard chimed in. "Was she wearing a cheerleading uniform and chewing bubble gum?"

"Uh…yeah! Why?"

Richard tutted and fixed Donny with a stern look. "That's Taffy, stay away from her, man. Bad news, that chick. She's Danny's girlfriend…if you can even call her that." Milhouse jumped back in to continue. "Taffy flirts with nearly every other guy in school that she thinks is cute, Danny finds out and threatens or tries to beat them up, they get into a big argument, break up for about a week and then get back together. Once you see them making out in the hall, it's a matter of counting down until the whole thing repeats."

Donny winced at the bluenette's warning before Bart spoke up next to him. "Hey Milhouse, you used to date her, right? Back in fourth grade?"

Milhouse sighed and nodded, taking a sip of his vodka before replying. "Yeah, I did. Definitely dodged a bullet there…"

Bart snickered, his lowered lids closing as he took a chug of his own cup. He gave mixing duty over to Richard so he could keep himself busy: Bonestorm V and the repeated losses were starting to work on his nerve. Whatever he had put in there, it was mixing well with the high from the weed and giving him such a relaxed state of mind that nothing could really ruin his mood.

"Bart!"

Said mood was broken by the sudden shout, causing Bart to sputter some of his drink out as he jumped. Wiping his chin clean with his sleeve, he turned to the source of the shout to see his sister standing at the bottom of the stairs. "What the…Lise, what are you doing here? You're not being a very good host by leaving your-"

Lisa ran up to her brother and snatched the cup out of his hand, setting it down on the coffee table before gripping his shoulders hard. "Bart, this is no time for that, we've got a serious problem!"

The Simpson boy frowned as her frantic tone started to creep in through his inebriated state. Having her this close up, he could see the look of panic on her face. "Lisa, what is it? Shit, is mom and dad home early?"

"No Bart, just-"

"Is someone hurt? Wait, Patty and Selma didn't call, did they? I didn't hear the phone-"

"Bart, shut the hell up! Someone broke into the house and Alex is missing!" As soon as those words left her mouth, the atmosphere grew from fun to tense.

"What?!" The boys exclaimed in shock along with some higher-pitched voices. Turning towards the other voices, Lisa's heart sank as she saw her friends now crowded on the stairs, faces painted with distress and fear. She could also see Allison gnawing her bottom lip as she tried to remain calm among the hysteria.

Nina dug her fingers into temples as she muttered to herself. "This can't be happening…"

Becky's lower lip started quivering. "Oh no…what if they took her?!"

Sophie quickly wrapped her arms around the blonde to comfort her, even though her face was just as distressed. "Beck, stay calm. We're gonna find her, alright?"

Bart quickly stood up as he realized how grave the situation was. Not only did somebody break into their house and was hiding God knows where, one of his sister's close friends was nowhere to be found and was in danger the longer they couldn't find her. He gripped Lisa's shoulders and fixed her with a stern look. "Lise, you're sure about this? She didn't leave and go home all of a sudden?"

The girl shook her head. "Yes, I checked all the rooms and she wasn't in any of them! I even checked yours and that's when I saw the window was jammed open and one of her buttons was on the ground. If she left, it wasn't voluntarily and she would have said something if she had to go."

The Simpson boy swore as she gave him more details, especially that his room was the point of entry for the burglar. "This isn't good…"

Nelson stood up and cracked his knuckles, a scowl on his face. "Bart, let's go search the house and knock some sense into this scumbag."

Milhouse stood up on unsteady legs, giving Nelson an incredulous look. "Nelson, that's suicide! What if they've got a knife o-or even a gun?"

Lewis shook his head at his friend's protest. "Even so, we can't just stand by and do nothing! If we call the cops, they'll take forever to get here!"

Richard, in agreement, gave the others a determined look. "I agree. Besides, Alex could be in trouble. The longer we wait, the more likely she'll get hurt."

Donny grumbled and shoved his hand into his pocket, pulling out his cracked MyPhone and dialing. "I'm gonna call the cops, you guys come up with a plan and we can try and figure this out." Holding the phone up to his ear, he waited for someone to pick up before groaning in frustration as an automated voice answered. "Goddamn!"

While Donny worked on contacting the authorities, the others scrambled together to figure out how they were going to solve this problem. Although half of the group was ready to go find their friend and take care of the intruder, the other half was cautious and worried about how dangerous the stranger was and whether they could handle them. They were just a bunch of high school kids, after all. Kids who gathered together on a Saturday night to enjoy each other's company and decompress from the stress of everyday life and high school drama.

The only thing they could come to a solid agreement on was the hope that Alex was safe and sound nearby.

~•~•~•~

'Okay…maybe I can gouge his eyes out with my nails? Or I can spit in his eyes instead? Less bloody and grody than my first choice. Or if I'm really desperate, I could kick him in the-'

"Oy, missy."

Alex jumped as her train of thought was interrupted by the intruder's gruff command. Looking up from her lap, she narrowed her hazel eyes at him. "What do you want?"

The man scowled and pointed his knife at her. "Watch the attitude, brat. You're not getting anywhere but on my bad side. I've got some more questions."

"Seriously? I thought kidnappers usually wanted their hostages to stay quiet, not play 21 questions." Alex held back a smirk as she could see the man take a deep breath, satisfied that she was getting on his nerves from not playing the helpless little victim.

"Haha, you're a regular comedian." Leaning forward from his seated position, the knife still gripped tight in his hand, he began his interrogation. "Where exactly did Marge and the fat man go to if they're not here?"

The blonde rolled her eyes. "Like I said earlier, I don't know. All I was told was that they weren't going to be home."

"Hmph…where are the kids at?"

"Two of them are here, the little one isn't."

"Where is she?"

Alex gave the man an incredulous look. 'Like hell I'm going to tell you where Maggie is, you psycho.'

Realizing that she wasn't going to answer to that, he changed the subject. "Are there other people in the house except for those two?"

"Yes…but they don't have anything to do with your little vendetta or whatever is going on with you and Mrs. Simpson." The criminal barked out a laugh and shook his head. "I'll be the judge of that, missy."

The fashionista frowned at his comment and clenched her fists on her lap. If this psychopath got her friends involved into this mess, damn the consequences, she was going to make him feel her wrath. "They're going to be looking for me, you know. Don't think they won't figure out that I didn't leave because I wanted to."

The man leered at the younger girl and scooted closer to her, causing her to unconsciously press herself against the wall. "And then what, hm? They're gonna find me? What the hell are a bunch of snot-nosed brats gonna do to me, darling? Gang up on me, take me down and save the day?" At this point, he hovered his face only a few inches from her own, his well-muscled body covering her slender one with its shadow. Alex swallowed hard as he was starting to get too close for comfort, her heart picking up in speed as a familiar panic was starting to creep in. "I've got news for you, kid. This ain't the movies, the good guys ain't gonna save the day and I sure as hell ain't leaving until I get what I came for."

Alex tried her best but her voice still came out with a slight quaver. "You sound so confident that you'll get what you want. There's some real tough guys in that house, you know."

"Oh…tough guys, eh?" His face broke into a sadistic grin that grew wider as he kept speaking. "Tough guys are who I got into fights with daily when I was young and I always won. Tough guys are the ones who talked shit and ended up with their teeth knocked out. Tough guys are the 'heroes' who don't know how to mind their goddamn business and end up with their throats slit…if your friends know what's good for them, they'd stay in that house."

The blonde's fear morphed into heated anger as he kept talking, going into a full surge at the threat to her friends. At this point, she didn't care if she got hurt but she was damned if he even thought of harming the others for doing the right thing and looking for her. Noticing that her legs ended up stretched out in front of her and underneath his own as he practically straddled her, she took in a deep breath.

"You son of a bitch!"

Eyes widening at the sudden shouting, the intruder opened his mouth to retort back but let out a yell as pain shot up his spine. Dropping his knife with a loud 'clank', his hands shot down to cup his groin. "Fuck!"

Seeing an opening, Alex used her strength to push the man back, giving her enough room to quickly crawl past him and towards the treehouse exit. 'Just a little further-'

Before the teen could reach freedom, a hand wrapped tight around one of her ankles, nearly crushing the bones. Just as she was about to let out a scream, hoping to alert someone nearby, her body was pulled back and thrown into one of the walls, knocking the wind out of her. Regaining her focus, a gasp of horror escaped her as her very enraged kidnapper bared his teeth at her.

"You're gonna pay for that, you little bitch."

Desperate to continue fighting back, Alex swung her right fist, aiming to connect with his temple. To her dismay, the man quickly entrapped her hand in his much larger, calloused one, giving a humorless chuckle.

"Cute, going and pulling a stunt like that, missy. And now you're trying to swing at me?"

Adjusting his hold, he opened her hand to lay palm to palm against his, lacing his fingers through her own. Squirming in discomfort at the intimate gesture, the blonde opened her mouth but instead of a demand, a whimper escaped as his grip began tightening.

"You know, I should warn you that I'm not in a great mood right now." He squeezed harder. A louder whimper.

"I busted my ass to break out of that penitentiary-" Harder. A cry of pain.

"I go into hiding and do all this planning just to break into this house-" Harder. A plea of 'stop'.

"I get this far into my plan and does it go smoothly? No, instead who I came for isn't even here and some little brat thinks she can overpower me and escape and snitch."

At this point, Alex's eyes were filling with tears as unimaginable pain started to travel up from her abused hand. Her fingers were starting to bend back at an unnatural angle; she wouldn't be surprised if this man snapped them in half. However, her fire wasn't completely gone yet. Licking her trembling lips, she fixed him a hard stare with watery eyes.

"Sucks to be you, huh?"

Before she could enjoy that bit of spite, something flew out in front of her face and connected, causing her head to swing back as her cheek started stinging.

'He…he slapped me!'

Not giving the teen a chance to recover from the blow, the criminal grabbed a fistful of platinum locks, ignoring her shriek as he brought her face close to his livid one. "You just want me to kill ya, huh? Don't. Test. Me."

With each word, he gave her head a sharp tug, causing the tears start flowing finally as her scalp felt like it was on fire. At this, the man gave a vicious chuckle. "What happened, brat? Not so tough anymore, eh?" Leaning in, he left little more than an inch between their faces as he growled lowly. "Now you're gonna be a good girl and shut the hell up. Any more of your little stunts and I'll make sure you won't see the sun rise again, got it?"

Alex cringed harder as he spoke each word; his breath stunk of cigarettes and was making her feel even more dizzy. Taking her lack of speech as defiance, the man growled and gave a sharp tug of her hair again, pulling a cry out. "O-Okay! P-Please stop…"

Satisfied with her answer, he let go of her head before reaching for the leftover rope in the corner. "Turn around and put your hands behind your back. No funny business, either."

Not wanting to push her luck further, Alex complied while trying to collect herself. Her scalp was burning and she was sure a few strands were pulled out, the affected cheek was throbbing hard and welting and her mascara was running down from her tears. While her hands were bound with the rope, she couldn't stop an ironic idea coming into her head despite her present danger.

Her mother would surely have a fit over her bald spot and make her go to the dermatologist ASAP.

A bitter smile came on her lips before it vanished.

That is, if she made it out alive.

'FML…'

~•~•~•~

It took the teens a couple of calls from five different phones before they could get someone on the phone and this is what they had to deal with.

"Okay, slow down, guys. Now, are you sure that no one left the window open and your friend didn't just get a ride home?"

Lisa's patience grew thinner as the voice of Chief Wiggum repeated the same question from before. "Yes, we're sure! My friend wouldn't up and leave like that!"

Bart jumped in, leaning in so he could be heard clearly over the speaker phone. "And I haven't opened my window in a couple of weeks since the temperature dropped."

Hearing the muffled murmur as the chief discussed with other voices, a rustle sounded as his voice became clear again. "Look, kids. I know you're worried about all this but I don't have many men to spare to check for you." After this, a snorting laugh rang out. "I mean, they're doing overtime for this Crowley case and we're not even giving them raises."

Seeing that his sister was on the verge of popping a vein and saying some foul words to the chief, Bart squeezed her shoulder and gave her a stern look, urging her to take a deep breath. Getting his own irritation out of the way, he spoke again. "Chief Wiggum, you're really going to just let a missing teen and a possible burglar go like that? What happened to 'to protect and serve'?"

Wiggum sighed and started in an annoyed tone. "Ugh, that slogan? You know, they really oughta change that to 'to protect and serve but only for important things…oh, and uh, before 8 PM'. These crazies really like to come out at night, ya know?"

The Simpson siblings ground their teeth as he rattled on. Chief Wiggum's incompetence seemed to get worse over the years, along with his weight. It was a miracle the man hadn't been fired and bedridden at home for all the cases he's screwed up or neglected. If it wasn't for Lou and Eddie's guidance, his position surely would've been passed onto the former for having some degree of justice and taking matters into his own hands. But that hadn't happened and the teens were at a standstill of how to help Alex.

"Chief, how about you get off your fat-"

"I think Jack Crowley is here!"

A noise that sounded like a drink being spit out sputtered from the other line while Lisa looked at her brother with a gaping mouth.

"Bart, what are you-"

Quickly motioning her to be quiet with his finger over his lips, the older teen continued. "Chief, are you still there?"

"Y-Yeah, I am! Are you sure he's there, kid?!"

"I am. I actually saw that car he stole, that Mustang, down the street. Plus…" Bart looked upwards as he tried his best to recall his past memories to sweeten the lie. "He did stay with us for a little while when we were younger…maybe he came back to see mom?"

"Holy cow…you just gave us a big breakthrough, kid!" Wiggum's voice became fainter as he turned from the phone and began barking orders to the rest of the department. A few seconds later, his animated voice returned. "Give us your address, quick!"

"742 Evergreen Terrace. Please hurry!"

"Don't worry, we'll be there in two shakes of a meal!"

With the click of the phone, Bart let out the breath he'd been holding as he turned to his sister. "Well, that went smoother than I expected."

"Bart, what the heck? You just lied to the police! About a wanted criminal!"

"...Your point being?"

The younger teen's eyes narrowed as she placed her hands on her hips. "You could get in major trouble if they find out. The last thing we need is you getting fined or arrested for this!"

The older teen matched his sister's glare, folding his arms over his chest. "Lisa, there's a time and a place to be a goody two-shoes and this is not it. Would you rather let the police be lazy asses and let Alex get hurt or get them here to help save her? Take your pick."

At the mention of her best friend, Lisa's face withered into concern at the thought of Alex suffering for someone else's incompetence. She had to concede with her brother for once as his manipulation could save a life. "Y-You're right…sorry, this is all just…"

Seeing his sister's eyes fill with tears as she looked down at the carpet, Bart sighed and pulled her into a tight hug, burying her face into his chest. "Don't cry, Lise. We're gonna get her back to us, even if we have to make up more lies."

Letting out a sniffle, the Simpson girl nodded and gave her brother a squeeze. "I hope this works out…"

"Lisa!"

Hearing her name shouted from the living room, Lisa pulled away from Bart's embrace and turned to see Allison and Richard standing in the doorway. "What is it?"

Allison spoke first. "We were coming up with ideas to try and save Alex and Richard, um…"

Noticing how she trailed off with hesitation, Richard cleared his throat and finished for her. "I think we should split up and go investigate the area."

Bart's jaw dropped at his plan while Lisa's eyes widened in alarm. "Are you saying we should drive us all into the arms of a criminal? Yeah, that sounds like a brilliant plan, Richard."

The Asian boy glared at the blond for his sarcastic quip. "I didn't mean all of us, dickhead. Just the boys go looking while the girls stay inside until the police arrive or Alex comes back."

Lisa chewed on her bottom lip as she ran the idea over in her head. "But still, that sounds kind of dangerous…and how are we so sure that Alex is still in the area?" Richard cursed as he didn't think of that issue.

"Shit…well, there goes my lead."

"Wait!" Three heads turned to look at Allison's face, her eyes lit up with fervor. "There might be a way." Turning to Lisa, she began. "Lise, did Alex take her phone with her?"

"Allison, what kind of question is that, you know she always-" Her eyes widened in clarity. "She always has her phone on her! Were you thinking of-"

"Calling her phone? Yes! If we call her, maybe she can answer it and we can find out where she is at the moment."

"And what if her kidnapper picks up instead?"

Allison looked at Bart with determination. "Then we demand he returns our friend or pays the price."

With her solid plan coming to light, the teens felt an inkling of hope in their hearts. This could either go really well or really bad.

~•~•~•~

Jack Crowley wasn't always a man of great patience, especially in his youth. When he wanted something, he wanted it ASAP. Now was one of those times where patience wasn't a virtue.

It was nearing 9 PM and there was no sign of Marge.

Grumbling obscenities under his breath once again, he shifted his cramped position in the treehouse to stretch his legs out, one going to its own corner. Unfortunately for his captive, this obtrusion would cause her to curl up further in the corner, wanting to get as far away from him as possible. Smirking at her obvious discomfort, he studied the girl from the corner of his eye.

She couldn't have been older than 15 or 16 although her outfit screamed 'I'm so mature for my age!'. Her platinum blonde hair was now mussed and barely showing a ghost of the curls from earlier. All that crap she had put on around her eyes was now smeared around and down her cheeks from her weeping. Her mouth was the one thing Jack was getting tired of so he had to remedy that. After tying her hands together, he grabbed a piece of cloth from his bag and used it as a gag for the brat. A chuckle had escaped at the enraged look on her face as he tied it on.

He couldn't help but note how she reminded him of those trust fund brats from when he was of school age. They were brutal towards him for coming from a low-class home and wearing the same shirts every week, laughing and pointing while they waited for their limos to pick them up. One girl especially told him straight to his face after he asked her out that garbage should stay on the floor where they belong. Not only did her words hurt but the disinterested way she had spoken while studying her French tips packed a punch. His grudge couldn't help but stay up until the present, never being shot down by an exception.

He didn't feel bad for roughing this girl up; if anything, she could run to daddy and get some plastic surgery for her poor face.

Thank you, next (next)
Thank you, next (next)

Both occupants of the treehouse jumped at the sudden music, breaking the tense silence. Jack's eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out the source of the sound; he got his answer when the girl's eyes widened and looked down at her skirt pocket.

'These brats and their cell phones…'

"Is it tracked?"

The girl's eyes went back up to look at his, narrowing a bit as she shook her head. Pressing his chapped lips together, he stared at her pocket before reaching forward, ignoring her flinching, pulling the green MyPhone out. Instead of a random number, the caller ID read 'Lisa', surrounded by nerd emojis and way too many hearts.

Ready to let it ring out, Jack was about to put the phone down until an idea popped into his head. Letting a cruel grin take over, he waved the device at his hostage. "Looks like your friends are looking for ya. What do you say we say hello to them, missy?"

~•~•~•~

The living room was rife with tension as the teens waited with bated breath, Lisa's phone sitting on the coffee table on. Donny and Nelson were leaning on one of the walls, their folded arms and bent legs not showing the anger they were feeling. Lewis was sitting on one of the armchairs with Nina on the arm, his hand discreetly rubbing the small of her back in comfort. Milhouse and Bart stood behind the couch where Lisa, Allison and Sophie were sitting, staring hard at the phone. Richard sat one the other armchair, eyes going between the device and Becky with concern, sitting on the floor with her head on Sophie's lap, looking to be on the verge of tears.

Shortly after her, Bart, Allison and Richard refined the redhead's plan, they went to the others to inform them of what they were about to do.

Lisa would call Alex. After her, or her captor, speaks up, then the call would be put on speaker for everyone to listen in. Allison stressed the importance of listening for any background noises to identify their location; she was also hoping to get some verbal clues in the most discreet way possible. She also tasked Nina with having the police on speed dial to pass said clues on or in the worst case, urge them to chase after the criminal in case their friend was in fatal danger.

The Simpson girl's palms were sweating as she stared at the screen, praying to Buddha that this plan was going to work.

Click.

Silence for a few seconds.

"H-Hello?"

It took everything in them not to shout or cry in relief as Alex's voice spoke through the speaker. Lisa herself let out the breath she had been holding before speaking.

"Alex! Thank God you picked up! Where are you, we're worried sick?!"

"L-Lisa…" Her throat cleared. "I, um, had to step out for a bit. Needed fresh air, you know?"

Lisa frowned. She could tell when the fashionista was lying. "But you never told us…and I found your shirt button in Bart's room, like someone ripped it off…" A sharp breath was taken in on the other end.

Licking her dry lips, she spoke slowly and carefully. "Alex…is someone holding you hostage?"

Silence again.

"Y-Yes…oh God, Lise, I'm so scared! I-"

The scared teen's voice cut off and Lisa was about to scream for her, fearing the worst, until a gravelly voice came on instead.

"Sorry for the hysteria, missy. My friend here isn't in the best emotional state, ya see."

The temperature in the room nearly dropped with how cold the echoing voice sounded. It brought chills to even the toughest ones in the room, realizing how serious this situation was. Bart regained his composure and leaned over the couch, half-yelling at the stranger. "Who the hell are you? What have you done to Alex?"

An amused chuckle sounded. "Hold on son, I ask the questions around here. Keep buggin' me and I just might have to throw this phone out the window."

"No!" Lisa shouted as she leaned forward. "Please, we just want our friend back! W-What do you want from us?"

"Well, for starters…where's your mother at?"

The teens all looked at each other in confusion, not expecting that sort of question. "Wh-What? Why? How do you know mom?"

"Oh wow, y'all really don't remember me? Funny, since your mom and I go way back…"

Bart and Lisa were really confused now at his remark. It was damn near impossible to pinpoint who this stranger was; the amount of people they had met through their parents over the years was infinite.

Shaking his head before they got off-track, the Simpson boy spoke. "Look man, she's not home so just-"

A scoff sounded. "No shit, son. I've been around and I haven't seen one sign of her in this area. I'm looking for details, kid."

"And why the hell would I tell you where my mom is?"

"Because if you don't-" A rustling sound and a small cry echoed out. "I'll slit this trust fund brat's throat and come for the rest of you until I get. What. I. Came. For."

A couple of faces paled in fear while a few reddened with anger, Bart's own included as he growled under his breath. 'That son of a-'

"You son of a bitch!"

To everyone's shock, Becky stood up from the floor, her hands curled in shaking fists as her cheeks flushed with rage. "You're gonna hurt an innocent girl over…I don't even know what! You're a monster, a goddamn monster! Give us our friend back or you're gonna pay! I mean-"

A roaring laugh rang throughout the room as the kidnapper found amusement in her anger.

"Holy shit, I- haha! I never thought a bunch of brats would have the balls to threaten me!" Just like a switch was flipped, the voice became even colder than before. "You're gonna make me pay? Is that right? Then go ahead and come for me, you little shits." A cry sounded again, louder this time and followed by desperate pleas. "Come for me or get the police involved and I'll rough this brat up even worse than I already did."

Allison gasped in alarm as her worst fears were founded: this man was a savage and had already hurt Alex. "Oh no…"

Nelson came off of the wall and approached the phone, the vein in his neck throbbing as he screamed. "She better be in one piece when we get her, you scumbag! I ain't scared of you!"

"Is that so? Well, I guess it's easy for you to sound tough over the phone, eh?"

"You mother-"

All of a sudden, the sound of sirens began rising in the background of the phone call. The kidnapper cursed. "Dammit…I hate to cut this call short but looks like there's some heat nearby."

Allison cried out. "No, wait!"

The man grumbled at the interruption. "One sentence and that's it."

"What…what's your name?"

"Hmph…guess you kids don't watch the news often. It's Jack. Jack Crowley."

Click.

The room became silent once again with the click as a signal. The situation had somehow worsened within those few minutes. Not only was Alex injured and a hostage under a criminal, that criminal was an escaped convict that had been making the news for the past few weeks. Bart and Lisa swallowed hard as the memories began to flow back. Their mom had taken in a convict in their childhood that could paint very well and lived in their basement. They remembered the day he didn't come home and she had to tell them that he had committed arson and would be going back to prison for a very long time.

They never expected to meet him like this again.

Within a few seconds, a wail of despair came from Becky as she sank to her knees and buried her sobbing face in Sophie's lap once again. The brunette did her best to comfort her friend, running a shaking hand through her half-done hair. "Shh, Becks, it's gonna be alright."

"Godammit!" Nelson roared as he kicked the corner of the couch in rage. "That bastard is gonna get what's comin' to him, just lemme get my hands on him!"

Donny walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Relax, man. We're all pissed but we gotta think clear if we wanna help her."

"Don't worry, we're going to help her."

Multiple heads to look at Nina as she spoke, her face matching her ton of determination. Seeing everyone's eyes on her, she smirked and held up her phone towards them. "I couldn't wait for your signal so I took matters into my own hands."

The display screen showed 911 listed on the top and a call time lasting for five minutes and twenty-seven seconds. "The operator said that they were only a couple of blocks away."

Lewis looked up at her with awe. "Damn, Nina. Way to go!" Giving her a fist bump, he grinned at the others. "Now we just gotta figure out where exactly they are. Did anyone pick up on anything?"

While the others scrambled for anything that stood out, their thoughts were interrupted as some noise from outside seemed to get louder. Milhouse was the first to notice and got up from his chair, groaning as he walked over to the window to peek.

"What's with all that noise? …Ah!"

Bart ran up to his best friend. "What is it, Milhouse?"

"I-It's the cops! They're here!"

Once he said that, red and blue lights began to shine into the living room and onto their faces, the sirens being heard clearly now. More than one car began to park outside the Simpson house, blocking the road off for other drivers. "About freakin' time!"

As the rest of the teens began making a commotion, going over what to tell the police and if they should call their parents, Lisa sat on the same spot on the couch. Thinking hard and deep, she gnawed on her bottom lip until it turned red as she tried to figure out where Alex could be.

She couldn't hear much background noise for most of the call, only Alex's distressed cries could be heard. Lisa shivered at the thought of what Jack had done to her. Pushing that aside, she continued putting pieces together. Most likely, they were still in the neighborhood. The fashionista was feisty and Lisa knew she wouldn't have gone without a fight; it would have been risky to drag her throughout Evergreen Terrace and cause a scene. 'Think Lisa, think…'

She closed her eyes. It also had sounded like rustling in the back, almost like…leaves? Lisa frowned.

That didn't make much sense; there were trees throughout the whole neighborhood so of course they'd be near one. But it wasn't the sound of leaves itself, it was how loud and close it was…almost like they were in the tree?

'Wait…these trees on the street aren't that strong…you'd have to go find one of the few oak trees. But then how would they sit up on the branches and not fall? They'd be better off in a treehouse…'

From that last word, Lisa's eyes opened quickly.

'Treehouse…the treehouse?! That couldn't be, but…there were sirens sounding before the call ended…oh my God…'

"Bart, I know where they are!"

Startled by Lisa's sudden yelling, everyone turned to her, her brother's eyes widening. "You do?!"

The Simpson girl's face fell into a look of resolve. "They're hiding in the treehouse."

~•~•~•~

Hi guys, back with another chapter (finally)! :D

This chapter took a few revisions to get to a satisfactory place, I'm starting to tread into unfamiliar territory with the violence and drama. I also was hoping to get some more progression stuffed into this chapter but the length started getting crazy so I had to split it into two parts.

I hope you guys enjoy this, I'd like a couple of reviews to make sure things are going well in the story before I continue on the next chapter. I'm hoping to solidify my story outline also so I know where to start certain plot points.

Reviews and criticisms are welcome!