I'm in the bathroom at home, wearing my Linkin Park T-shirt with one of my many pairs of black jeans.

After I wash my hands, I look at myself in the mirror. For some reason, forgetting that I've opened the door, I find myself singing Battle Symphony. Softly, at first, like there's a scared part of me that doesn't want people to hear.

Jason shows up as I'm, fairly loudly, singing the chorus for the last time.

I blush when I'm finished, feeling kinda self-conscious on being noticed.

"Don't be embarrassed, Nyx, that was really good. You sounded kinda like Lzzy."

"Bullshit! She's way cooler than I'll ever be."

"Nyx. You can't possibly think I'd bullshit you. Geez, can't you take a compliment?"

"Not really."

"Foster thing?"

I leave the bathroom then shake my head. "Brooklyn thing. Not really sure I can give you much of an explanation beyond that though I do admit being compared to Lzzy is both flattering and fucking awesome. Give me a girl who can belt it any day. That breathy voice crap really fucking pisses me off."

"Girl power all the way then."

I grin, wide and toothy. "Fuck, yes!"

"Tell me the Pierces, at the very least, encouraged that."

"William, not so much really. Ashley, a little more than him. No, they didn't have me call them by their first names. They preferred being called Mr. and Mrs. Pierce. Sure as hell wasn't going to use Mom and Dad anyway." I don't admit that those words feel kinda strange, even considering they're only three letters long.

"A smoker named Ashley?"

We look at each other than crack up. God, it feels so good to laugh.

"So, before you were placed with the Pierces, did you have any friends at the center or whatever it's called?"

"There was a boy named Benjamin that was pretty nice to me. We were both really into Breaking Benjamin, especially Diary of Jane. He even used to call me Jane. It's my middle name. One day, he just disappeared. I went looking for him. After a while I found him..."

I wipe my eyes because I feel them welling up. "He'd committed suicide. I noticed a piece of paper so I picked it up and, in his familiar handwriting, were lyrics. Lyrics for..."

I wipe my eyes again.

"Diary of Jane?"

I nod. "Don't think I'd be able to listen to either version of that song, especially the acoustic, without thinking of him and crying. He was only 13 and it turned out he'd been taking shit for being gay. I can't fucking stand homophobia."

"God, Nyx, I'm sorry."

"I wish I'd told him what he meant to me. Just how much I valued his friendship. There was a funeral held for him but I couldn't bear to go. I was left feeling like I didn't get to tell him goodbye. To be honest, I still feel like that's something I haven't told him."

My voice softens. "I don't think I'll ever feel like I said it."

"Do you want to go to Brooklyn and see if you can find his, well, resting place?"

"So I can say goodbye? He's not there, damn it! I can't ever find him again."

"Well, you can talk to him."

"How do I know if he's listening? I remember how his eyes used to light up when I spoke and it made me feel special. His eyes, like mine, didn't match, though our left eyes were the same. His right eye was green though."

I smile. "My name for him was Ben-Jacks because his last name was Jackson."

"Like how you'd call me Jay-Todd."

"Yeah, it's kinda a Brooklyn thing nicknaming people like that."

I bite my lip. "Can I do a few things first before I see him?"

He smiles. "You want to get him some flowers?"

I choke back some tears and nod.

"Not a problem, Nyx."

"O.K, let me grab a few things and we'll go."

I get my hoodie with my Swiss army knife and earbudded iPod then, after deciding to change into my Breaking Benjamin T-shirt, tie it around my waist. I also grab my wallet and phone.

As for how we get to Brooklyn, since I know it well enough to have a map of the place in my head, if you guessed I ported there, you'd be right.

However, you'd be wrong if I thought it's good to be back because, to be honest, it feels kinda weird. I'm not really sure why though.