Ashley pouted, frowning. She didn't like the way Gary had suddenly changed the moment that girl had walked in. She seemed familiar, but she couldn't quite place it.

"Who's that?" she asked, pouting.

Gary turned to look at her, seemingly thousands of light years away. Then he returned to his drink.

"That's Mia Ketchum, Ash Ketchum's sister and the latest pop sensation," supplied Nick with a sideways glance at the table she was now seated on.

At least Jay is with her. Although, from this angle, it seems as if Jay's the one who's upset.

"Oh."

Ashley stared, sneering, at the so-called "pop sensation". She didn't look all that great, and she probably couldn't sing either, what with all the new high tech equipment singers use to enhance their vocal abilities nowadays. She flipped her hair behind her shoulders.

I'd probably be a better pop star than her. Why is it that the ugly ones seem to get all the luck?

Or maybe she was just telling herself that to reassure that Mia's raven black ponytail wasn't made from a mass of silky hair with a healthy glow. That her skin didn't shine with a perfect, if slightly pale, tan. That her blue eyes didn't seem to capture the attention of anyone who beheld them. That her lips weren't a natural baby pink. Yes. That was it. It was just make up. The eyeliner she wore probably enhanced the look of her blue eyes or something. In fact, they were probably contact lenses. She probably needed glasses. Stupid wench. Probably had a lot of surgery as well for her face. A glance at her body and she knew that no amount of surgery would help her.

"She's only 15," he added, just to see her reaction.

As predicted, both girls' mouths dropped open in surprise. They'd expected her to be about 18, but no. Upon closer inspection, she was clearly a young child. Her expression portrayed wisdom beyond her years, but an innocence which could only have come from a child. A mild look of disgust crossed Ashley's heavy overdone features.

"So she's still growing?"

"It would seem so."

"… with the aid of a hell of a lot of plastic surgery," she muttered under her breath.

Not softly enough, it seemed, for Jack's previously passive features turned into a frown. Before he could say anything, however, Gary lifted his head, as if to participate in the conversation. Ashley's hope flared, expecting the inevitable. She knew he had something against that Mia girl as well as Ash. Surely he would restrain his friend. Just for her.

"She wouldn't. It's against her nature. She believes in the true beauty of all that is natural," he remarked lightly, picking up his glass of water.

He watched as the sunlight hit the carved glass, bouncing off and sparkling in every direction. Natural beauty. The beauty of all things which surround them. Once upon a time, he had stopped and noticed his surroundings too. Now, he'd lost the ability to appreciate anything of this world. No matter how hard he tried, it remained bland. Boring. Normal. She had once shown him the true splendour of everything. Shown him the path to appreciating everything. Now he had lost his way. Without her, there was no one to light the way and he continued to stumble, further and further away from the trail…

Ashley frowned at her boyfriend. What was wrong with him?

"Gary," she whined, pouting.

For an instant, Gary was unable to keep the annoyance from his facial expression. Nevertheless, he composed himself swiftly, and it seemed Ashley hadn't picked up on it at all. He smiled wanly at her.

"Would you prefer chocolate or honey drops?"

Nick stared at his friend sympathetically. It took a lot to put up with a girl like Ashley. Nevertheless, he knew it wouldn't last. It had been almost three months now, admittedly, but that was merely because Gary couldn't help but take his time when trying to break it off with someone. He looked at the girl by his side. Amber. He could tell this was all for show. To keep their parents happy. Amber already had a boyfriend, but he was an assistant at some laboratory and deemed unworthy by her parents. Even now she had a bored look, staring into her drink.

"That's Mia, right?" she asked.

Surprised that she had actually bothered to speak, he nodded.

"I knew her when we went to school together. What happened to her best friend was tragic."

Nick nodded again, looking away. He'd heard about the incident too. It must have been a difficult time for her. How old had she been then? Eight?

"She was the sweetest little thing. It's funny though. She was the only under fifteen in high school, yet she seemed so mature. To think, she hadn't bothered with elementary, yet she knew more than we did."

Amber's expression turned to one of genuine grief.

"If only…"

Nick looked at her, confused. If only what? Who was she? What did she know about Mia? Only what had been passed around the school. All the standard knowledge. So what did she mean by the "If only"?

"What are you talking about?"

Amber looked up at him, startled. She smiled a bittersweet smile.

"You don't know who I am, do you?"

"No, I guess I don't."

"Greetings. My name is Amber, leader of the Black Destiny," she announced with a dry laugh.

Nick felt his blood run cold. On the other side of him, Gary tensed.

"Is it just me, or do those two seem familiar?" inquired Jay wonderingly.

Mia nodded, sipping her drink.

"Ashley you would have seen with Jack. She was his girlfriend before Misty."

Jay choked on her drink.

Amber was the leader of the Black Destiny at our school."

"… huh? Black Destiny?"

"They were a group of girls who went around terrorising the school. They were involved in everything from breaking up friendships to hospitalising people," she replied wryly, "It would take someone who'd witnessed their doings to fully appreciate their power."

Jay raised an eyebrow.

"That bad, huh?"

"Worse."

Jay waited patiently for Mia's elaboration. By the quick sip her friend had taken from her drink, she knew Mia had more to say. An example of what they'd done.

"Keya was Amber's second in command. Together, they caused the death of my best friend, all those years ago."

Jay's eyes widened, then slanted in anger.

"What the hell? I'll never understand how you manage to see all this and not seem even the slightest bit upset. The two people who caused Minna's death… One is married to your brother's friend, and the other one is hanging onto the arm of your friend as if she actually meant something to him!"

"So you're saying she doesn't mean anything to Nick?" she asked, eyebrows raised.

Jay had the decency to at least blush slightly.

"That's not what I meant! What I mean is, how can you cope, knowing all this? If it had been me, I would've been arrested for two counts of attempted murder."

Mia shrugged slightly.

"Does it matter? They didn't intend for Minna to do that. Really, no one did. Minz was so cheerful all the time… people thought she would have just gotten over it after a while. I guess… I never saw how much she liked him… how much pain affected her…"

"What do you mean?"

"I never knew Minna could possibly have been suicidal, you know. She was always so happy. Now, I suppose I can see that she was too damn happy. Brett had been the only person who'd managed to gently push open the gateway to her heart. As a child, she had always been bullied because her father had been involved in a money scandal. It always confused her that her father had done something like that. Something so bad, when to her, he could only do good. He left them soon after. His pride couldn't take it, I think. Her mother blamed her for everything then, unwilling to accept any responsibility. Minna grew up thinking that no one loved her, so when Brett showed up, he was her everything. When that everything was taken away from her, she couldn't see a reason to live. She wouldn't have wanted her death to bring accusations and revenge. In the end, it was her choice, and her's alone."

"I guess when you put it that way…"

"No one intended for it to happen. The world is full of so many damn "If only's". There's no point in dwelling on the past. You just keep moving on. People deserve a chance to change. Yes, even if they have killed someone. You always have to look at two sides. Yes, they were guilty of committing a crime, but you also have to look at the why. Why did the commit it? What lead them to commit it? Is there a possibility that they might change and, if we let that go, will we be destroying the future of a would-be success? People do things that they regret, Jay. Unless you give them a chance, however, you won't ever know."

"So… is that why a success pop star is seated in Autumn's Café next to her high school dropout best friend?" she asked, grinning.

Mia smiled slightly, reaching out to punch her lightly on the arm. She sipped again at her drink before putting the money on the table.

"Let's go."

Jay nodded and got up to follow her. It seemed almost in slow motion as they reached the exit. Mia walking, staring dead straight at the door. Gary turning his head ever so slightly. For a moment, their eyes met and Mia's step faltered. But only for a split second. Nevertheless, she knew that, for that small moment, Mia's heart had stopped. Maybe, just maybe, Gary still had a chance. Assuming he didn't stuff up.

Jay's gaze swept across the group of four. Ashley glaring at them in jealousy. Gary had already turned around, as if nothing had happened. Amber looked away, but Jay had already caught the guilty look on her face. Nick was watching them in concern, but she threw him a dirty look anyway. Mia might have forgiven Amber, but she hadn't, and Nick should've known better than to be dating the enemy.

Hypocrite.

She ignored her inner voice. This was different. This time, Mia was the one who got hurt.

Ironic, isn't it? Jay's the overprotective one, yet it's she who needs the protection, not Mia. Or not… As an insight to Jay's character, if you haven't already picked up on it, she's very protective of her friends, especially Mia, because she's done so much for her. More history in later chapters. Maybe. Yes or no? It's your choice. Thank you for reading and please review!

Angel Skykitten