Smooth Criminal

Dedicated to and inspired by Michael Jackson

August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009

May his soul rest in peace, for he has given us the gift of music that will live on forever in our hearts as a testament to his generosity and amazing musical talent.

It was just past eleven in the morning, and Juliet was sitting on the couch in her sitting room, staring at the ceiling in utter boredom. Usually, at this time, she would be taking a walk with James, cooking with James, talking with James. Sad as it was, she had grown accustomed to having James around her most of the time. She had almost forgotten how to interact with normal people, the ones who weren't smooth-talking southern con artists.

Yesterday, when James had told her that he would be helping Horace with security, she had actually been excited to spend the day alone. That had been before she had realized that there wasn't much entertainment to be found within her house. Her fridge was stocked with food from all the cooking lessons she's had with James, the house was spotless, and she had read all the novels on the bookshelf, provided by Horace, at least once in her lifetime.

Juliet groaned, feeling absolutely pathetic. Never had she felt a need to be constantly surrounded by people. It was odd that while living on the same island that changed her, she could feel herself reverting back into her old dependent self.

No, she was not dependent. When she had been dependent on Edmund she felt worthless and downtrodden. She had such a low opinion of herself that she felt that every scathing word or comment directed at her was warranted. Juliet did not feel that way now, even though she was yearning for company. She now found enjoyment and comfort in the company of others, especially the aforementioned southerner.

It wasn't such a bad thing, she realized, to desire companionship. It was far better than being a loner, and though that had been her M.O. in another life, time had afforded her another chance.

But there was nothing to do about it now. What was she going to do, run to the flame station, fling open the doors and proclaim how much she missed him? If it ever came to that, then she would definitely need to find a new hobby and fast.

Actually, she thought, she could go on a walk by herself. In the "Age of Ben" as she liked to call it, she would always go on walks by herself to avoid the awkward "chance meetings" with the tyrant himself. If she was lucky, she would be able to slip away unnoticed. Regardless of her desire for company, she didn't want to engage with incessant small talk with her neighbors, especially with Lily the loquacious.

Juliet sneaked out of the house, making sure to close the door softly to prevent alerting her neighbors. Luckily for her, today was a busy day and many if not all of the available workers had been called in. For some reason, Horace never asked her for help, even on the busiest days, and whenever she offered he would smile at her, then promptly brush her off. One day, when she wasn't feeling so apprehensive around the man, she would confront him about his strange behavior…

She mentally berated herself for even thinking about Horace or even Dharma in the long term. It wasn't her goal to get attached when she was so determined to leave within the next few months. This was merely a vacation, nothing more, and it was in her best interest to enjoy herself while it lasted before reality set in.

Juliet decided to push that idea to the back of her mind for later: there was no need for morbidity on such a beautiful day.

After locking her door and walking down the porch steps, she began her trek across the Dharma green. The area looked so peaceful now that that all the occupants were fast away at work at some other corner of the island. It had a certain character that had been lost on her over the course of her original three years. The yellow houses, the bright, vibrant colors of the plants, and the towering foliage made her feel like she was on the set of a movie she couldn't quite remember the name of.

Just as she stood for a moment to try to recall the same of said movie, she felt a hand rest on her right shoulder. She brushed it off quickly and spun around to face the offender. When she realized who it was, she almost groaned at her utter misfortune.

"You don't have to look so happy to see me Juliet."

She suddenly felt ashamed at her rude behavior towards a man who had done nothing to warrant it. "I'm sorry, you just surprised me is all. Can I help you…" she paused, fumbling with his name for a moment. "…Leroy?"

"You remembered my name, but I'll have to lessen my opinion of you because you had to think about it," Roy said, with a rather grandiose sigh. "I was thinking of creating a shrine in your honor and you just ruined it with your callous attitude."

Juliet blinked once, then again, then said, "Has anyone ever told you that you have a penchant for drama?"

"I do get that a lot. Can't imagine why though," he said smiling. "And it's Roy. I hate it when people call me by my full name.

Juliet nodded, suddenly feeling awkward in this man's presence. She wished he wouldn't seek her out so much. Couldn't he see that she just wanted to be left alone today? Granted, she hadn't done much with the allotted alone time, but who was to say that she couldn't find enjoyment on her walk?

After a few moments of awkward silence, he spoke again. "Look, I'm not very good at this…"

Juliet turned to look at him, crossing her arms over her chest self-consciously. "What do you mean by "this"?" she asked, making air quotes to clarify.

"You're really not making this any easier, you know," Roy said, scratching his head nervously. He then sighed and said, "I'm stuck in my house and I've got nothing to do."

"So you came to me…because…" she stopped searching for the words before continuing, "I'm sorry, how do you want me to help with that?"

"I'm relatively new here, just like you, and I don't really know anyone that well. The Dharma folk don't seem to trust me with any work just yet, which makes me wonder why I was even recruited," he shook his head so quickly that Juliet wondered whether he had given himself whiplash. "Anyway, this may sound desperate, but I was wondering if you wouldn't mind, er, hanging out with me today. I've got board games… and stuff…and now you think I'm a complete dork. That's okay, I get that all the time, and…. I have got to do something about this rambling problem."

"Relax,"Juliet coaxed as she gently placed her hand on his shoulder. "I happen to be a bit of a dork myself, so even if I were to think of you as such, you shouldn't think of it as an insult on my part."

His green eyes lightened as he smiled. "Thanks for the much needed boost of confidence. Since that last time we talked, I honestly thought you hated me."

"What made you think that?"

"I wanted to talk to you because, for some reason, you kind of remind me of well, me. I could tell you don't seem to know what you're doing here. I didn't think anyone else would really understand that. But when I introduced myself, you seemed pretty keen on getting away."

Juliet nodded slowly in understanding. "It wasn't that I didn't like you, it was the shorts I hated. I didn't want people to see me wearing them. I just wanted to hide inside my house until someone could get me some decent clothes."

He looked puzzled if not downright baffled by her statement. "What normal woman these days doesn't like wearing shorts?"

"I'm a dork, remember?"

"Ah, I see," he said. "We are a rare breed."

She laughed lightly, surprised at how comfortable she had become in his presence. With this man, her heart rate was not in constant flux. "Well I was going to go on a walk," she said. His smile faltered a little, prompting her to quickly finish her statement. "But I know if I did that, it wouldn't get rid of my boredom."

"Walk with me," Roy said, his voice lowering slightly. He grinned at her promptly raised eyebrow. "I've always wanted to say that, and what better person to say it to than a self-proclaimed geek."

She fell into stride with him as he led her in the direction of his house. "So what's your job here at the Dharma initiative?"

He paused a moment before answering. "I'm what you would call a theoretical astrophysicist."

Juliet turned to look at him with wide eyes. "They let a theoretical astrophysicist take a day off on one of their busiest days? Forgive me for saying that doesn't really make sense."

"Okay, you got me," he said, looking both surprised and impressed. "I kind of took the day off. My partner's taking over for me."

"So I'm guessing you're not really new here. You must have been here a while before you could be in your position."

"Wrong," he said. "I was in Ann Arbor for six months doing research before coming back. I have been here before, but that was before all these new recruits came in. Most of the people I knew are still researching. I don't really recognize anyone I was acquainted with before."

Juliet sighed, surprised at her sudden feeling of disappointment. "Why did you feel the need to lie to me? You said you weren't important, but clearly you are. You said you're new here, but that's really only a half truth."

He sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "My intentions weren't malicious, I assure you. When I get nervous, I can't seem to control the words that come out of my mouth."

"I just really hate liars," Juliet said softly. She cringed, realizing she sounded like a disgruntled teenager. "I have half a mind to just go back to my house right now and—"

He grabbed her wrist, causing her to stop her tirade and glance down at his hand upon hers. "Please don't. I really didn't mean to offend you or anything and I really don't want to spend the rest of my day staring at my living room walls."

"Why did you take the day off if you knew you didn't have anything better to do?"

"I guess it's because I knew you'd be here today," he replied. As soon as the words left his mouth, he slapped his palm to his forehead at his stupidity. "I'm not a stalker or anything, I promise. It's just when I first saw you, I knew I wanted to meet you. I guess I thought we were kindred spirits or something and now I know I was right."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah," he said without hesitation. "I know because I feel comfortable talking to you. I mean, you are a bit intimidating, but even so I don't really find it hard to talk to you."

"You said I make you nervous."

"I don't usually talk to pretty girls."

Juliet raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure how to respond to that."

"Then don't. It's a fact, something not to be disputed."

"I thought it was a matter of opinion."

He looked at her for a few moments before shaking his head and saying, "Fact."

She blushed, shaking her head again. "I can hardly call that good science."

They walked up the porch stairs and he fumbled with his keys for a moment before opening the door to his house. "I'm one of the best scientists around. There's no higher scientific opinion on this island except for Pierre Chang, and even he thinks—"

She tripped over the threshold as she followed behind him. He quickly grabbed her waist to steady her. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she said, suddenly wishing it were darker she could hide her embarrassment. "You're friends with Pierre Chang?"

"Not really," he said tapping his finger on his chin in thought. "Excuse my language, but he's a bit of an arrogant bastard. We just work together as partners."

"Doing what?" she asked, trying her best to sound casual when in reality she was a little shocked at the new information.

"That I can't say. It's classified information."

"Oh," was all she managed to say in response.

"Why are you so interested in Chang?" he asked, looking very confused. "In my opinion it's best if you never cross paths with him if you can help it. He has quite a way with words that makes you want to bang your head against a wall."

"I somehow don't doubt that," she said, giving him an odd look before sitting down on a couch in his living room. "I just know he's pretty high up in the Dharma hierarchy, and if you can talk so candidly about him, you must be on par with him."

"I did say I was his partner."

"Partners don't always share work or credit equally," she said with a slight bite in her tone. "You could still be partners while one of you does three-fourths of the work."

He looked taken aback at her sudden change in mood and decided not to press the matter any further. "Yeah, well, we each do our fair share. Pierre just carries three-fourths of the ego involved."

"That sounds about right," she said, trying her best to control her sudden ire surrounding the subject. She made a mental note to get a better control over her emotions if she ever hoped to keep her secrets under wraps.

"What job do you wish you were assigned to?"

Juliet narrowed her eyes slightly at the question. "How do you know I wasn't assigned a job?"

"It's not like it's a well kept secret or something," Roy said as he shrugged. He leaned forward so that his face was a little more than a foot away from hers. "Do you want to be let in on an actual secret?"

"I suppose," she said coolly. In reality she had felt her breath hitch at the question.

"Horace hasn't asked for you because of that accident you had about a month ago."

Juliet shook her head. "That's not right. The doctor said that I was fine, as long as I didn't do any heavy lifting."

She had almost mentioned that she herself was a doctor and knew the extent of her injuries, but she quickly realized who she was talking to and thought better of it.

"The doctor said you were fine, Juliet. But he's not the only one Horace seems to listen to these days," he said as he raised his eyebrows dramatically. "Someone else must have prevented him from making you work."

"Who would do something like that?"

He shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "I honestly don't know."

Juliet had the distinct feeling that he did know, but he just wouldn't tell her. She shrugged, eying him carefully. "I wasn't looking for anything long-term; I just wanted to help out since Horace has been so hospitable to me and my friends."

His shoulders slumped and he looked put out. "You're not angry?"

"Should I be?"

"I guess not," he said avoiding her eyes. "If you don't mind my asking, why aren't you looking for anything long-term."

"I don't plan on staying here forever," she said, drawing imaginary circles on his dining room table. "I'm thinking of leaving within the next few months."

"Thinking?" he asked. "You haven't made up your mind yet, then?

"Someone's trying to do everything he can to keep me here," she replied, smiling. "I can't imagine why. I suppose he's too lazy to make friends."

"No, that's not it," Roy said contemplatively. "I think he has a bit of a crush on you."

Juliet snorted. "James Lafleur doesn't get crushes. He's ever in love with you or he just wants to sleep with you. "

"I'm guessing you know this from experience?"

"Of course not," she said shaking her head, looking mortified. "Why do you want to know anyway?"

"No reason," he said with a shrug. "I just would have bet my life savings that he had a thing for you."

Juliet threw him a skeptical look. "You're crazy."

"So I've been told," he said, sighing. "Don't reject my theory outright. You should test it yourself. "

"How do you propose I do that?"

"I'm sure you can think of something," he said, winking.

"You seem very interested in my relationship, or lack thereof," she said slowly. Then, as though hit with a ton of bricks, she gaped at him. "You…certainly you don't have a crush on James, do you?"

"You've got quite the imagination." He shook his head, chuckling. "He's definitely not my type."

"So then, you're…"

"Roy, and you are?"

She smiled. "You know what I meant."

"I've had the odd experience every once and a while, but I much prefer the fairer sex."

"Right," she said simply. "I can't take you seriously after you made such an outrageous proposal."

"If you don't believe me, you really should see for yourself. It's pretty obvious to anyone else. He's the reason why I never…"

She cocked her head to the side. "Never what?"

"I had a bit of a crush on you," he admitted, refusing to meet her gaze. "I thought the two of you were together or something."

She blushed and laughed nervously. "You don't really have a crush on me."

"I said 'had'," he said, nose in the air. "I would use a different word to describe it now."

"Which is?"

"I'm not at liberty to say."

"I never thought I would find someone who was more frustrating than James," she said rolling her eyes. "And, yet, here you are."

"Be nice. I just want to be friends without some proverbial cloud hanging over us," he said waving his hand dismissively. "I admire you and think you are a very interesting person. I'll leave it at that."

"Interesting?"

"You seem to be in discord with everything around you," he said lifting his eyes again to stare at her. "And, yet, here you are."

For a moment, Juliet believed Roy knew something he shouldn't and in that instant she swore she felt her heart stop. The moment ended when he started laughing.

"Look at me," he said between chuckles. "I sound like some clairvoyant nut job. I can't explain to you what I mean. I wouldn't say you don't belong you just seem different than the others."

"Don't you believe the flattery is a bet excessive?" Juliet asked, wondering exactly what mixture of drugs the man was on. "I don't belong here because I don't choose to. I don't want to get attached to anything, not when I've already made up my mind. That's it. Sorry to disappoint, but there really isn't anything notable about me."

"In saying that, you're only proving my theory even further," he said, sounding amused. "You're a really extraordinary person, you just don't know it."

"You don't even know me," she argued.

"I don't have to."

"You should know that you're making me feel very uncomfortable."

"That wasn't my intention at all, I promise," he said, holding his hands up in defense. "I just thought you should know."

There was a very pregnant pause in which Juliet tapped her fingers on the table, trying to think of something to say.

"I'm sorry," he said at last, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "This is one of the only days I have before I have to return to the lab and work with Chang and I've just had to say something to kill the mood."

Juliet shook her head. "It's alright. Maybe I should just get going—"

"I got it!" he said, jumping up and snapping his fingers suddenly. He looked down at her and smiled at her bewildered expression. Without explaining himself, he grabbed her hand and pulled her up from the chair. "Come with me."

"Excuse me for being a little apprehensive," she said, glancing nervously at her hand, "but would you mind telling me where you're taking me?"

He said nothing as he led her across the kitchen floor, past a very messy looking bedroom and down a rather dim hallway. She suddenly crashed against his back as he stopped abruptly in front of the second to last door. He pulled a key out of his pocket and then proceeded to unlock the door.

He placed his hand on the doorknob, paused, and turned to look at her. "Now, it may not be very sophisticated, but I spent quite a bit of money preparing this room. I never had anyone to share it with just yet."

Juliet raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Is that your verbal equivalent of a drum roll?"

He just smiled at her, grabbed her hand, and led her into the dark room. Moments later, a bright light illuminated the room and, after a few moments of adjusting to the light, Juliet smiled as she realized what Roy had been talking about.

The room she now stood in was empty except for a table, a lumpy , but comfortable-looking sofa, and a large plastic sheet spread across the opposite wall. The room would have been entirely unremarkable, if not for the rather large object sitting on the long table, and the circular tins surrounding it.

"I call this my home theater," he said proudly. "Like I said, it's not much, but it's pretty hard to get a hold of. I had to say I needed it for 'research'."

"I think it's brilliant," she said, beaming at him. She took a few steps toward the movie reel on the table, her eyes filled with barely suppressed awe. "I haven't seen one of these since—" she quickly shut her mouth, realizing she had said too much."

"Since before you came to the island?" he finished helpfully.

"Right," Juliet replied, lamely. She cleared her throat in an effort to regain her composure. "I can't believe there's been one here all along."

"So I take it that you would like to watch a movie?"

"That would be great," she said, sitting down on the sofa, which was indeed quite comfortable.

"I thought you wanted to go home," he teased.

"I was uncomfortable. I'm not used to people saying things to me so candidly before. I didn't mean to—"

He pressed a finger to her lips. "You don't have to apologize to me. I was just joking around with you. I'm really glad you decided to stay."

"Thank you for letting me," Juliet said gently. She then smirked and looked at her nails. "Even though this is obviously part of your job."

He looked stunned for a moment, and then he hesitantly asked. "What do you mean?"

"There's no one else around except me and a theoretical astrophysicist," Juliet said. "I know you guys still don't trust us enough to leave one of us here on our own. You were probably handpicked to be my babysitter, or rather a security guard."

"You're a lot smarter than I gave you credit for," Roy said. He then sighed and continued, "I volunteered to watch you. I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to get to know you better."

"I should have known better than to think, for one second, that someone would genuinely want to spend the day with me," she said, feeling a bit foolish. "I don't mean to sound pathetic, but I'm one of the most ordinary people I know."

"Everything I said back there was the truth," he said, sitting next to her, his voice pleading. "You're nothing short or extraordinary. I honestly didn't think you would even talk to me, let alone let me, a perfect geeky stranger, take you to my house. You've actually really got to work on that. I could have been a real sicko, and you would have just gone along with it."

"The verdict's still out on that one."

"Okay, I deserved that I suppose," he sighed again. "If nothing else, please believe that I had a really good time talking to you, and I would really appreciate it if you would stay."

"Fine," she said, relenting. "But you have to promise me you won't lie to me anymore.

"You hate liars," he said, his voice slightly sad. "I guess that means you hate me by default, huh?"

"I really wish that were true," she said. "But for some reason, I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. If you lie to me again, I'll probably never speak to you again."

"I don't doubt that."

"I'm glad we've come to an understanding, then," she said in a business-like tone. "I can't say I've forgiven you, but I'd really like to watch a movie, so I guess I'll put our differences aside for now."

He grinned at her, all nervousness forgotten. "Alright, then. I can work with that. So what do you say to a double feature?"

She smirked again, "Have you ever heard of the phrase 'don't push your luck?"

He chuckled. "Got it."

No less than six hours later, after watching The Graduate, Ben-Hur and the first Godfather (during which Juliet had to bite her lip to avoid revealing future plot points), Juliet turned towards Roy and threw him a mock glare. "You're really sneaky. I didn't even realize when you put the last movie in."

"That's funny, considering you were the one who picked it."

She threw a pillow at him with little force. Looking at the watch on her wrist she sighed and stood up, looking down at her new friends with a smile.

"Thank you, for everything."

He looked up, surprised. "You're welcome. Does that mean you forgive me?"

"You were just doing your job, I guess I can't fault you for that."

"Admit it," he said, a twinkle in his eye. "You don't think I'm that bad of a guy."

"I'll get back to you on that."

He walked her to the door, pausing for a moment to undo its many locks. When the door was finally open, he allowed her to walk out first, following after her. She turned around, suddenly feeling nervous.

"I guess I'll see you around then," she said. "I guess next time you babysit, you should at least be able to pick the movie."

"I don't think there's a need for me to babysit you anymore. You're trustworthy enough, if not a bit too perceptive." He paused for a moment, as though contemplating his next move.

Coming to a decision, he reached for her right hand and pressed it gingerly to his lips.

"Come back any time you wish," he said, grinning.

Temporarily speechless, she simply nodded and began her descent down the porch steps. Her mind was working in overdrive and she was sure anything that came out of her mouth would be unintelligible garble.

"Oh, and Juliet?"

She turned around to face him, still slightly dazed.

"Your secret's safe with me."

Before she could respond, he turned around and went back into his house closing the door behind himself. She shook herself out of her stupor and began to feel the panic rise in her chest. She really hoped he didn't mean…surely he hadn't realized…

Juliet shook her head muttering to herself for being bothered by something so little. Of course he didn't know. He was probably just trying to get her a little riled up by nothing. There was simply no way he could be that perceptive.

For once, she decided not to over analyze the situation. She would have to let things be until tomorrow, when she would confront Roy about his cryptic message.

"Hey, Sunshine," a familiar voice said from behind her. "Did you miss me?"

A strange feeling of elation filled her chest as she heard his voice. A smile spread across her face before she could even manage to completely turn around to face him.

"Yeah," she said, breathlessly. "Actually, I did."

"No need to sound so surprised. You should already know you can't bear to live without—"

She jabbed hard him in the side with her elbow. "Don't get too carried away. I'd almost forgotten that I was still angry at you."

He looked completely puzzled as he stared at her for a few moments, wondering what exactly he had done wrong. "You've gotta enlighten me, 'cause I've got nothing."

She poked his chest with her index finger. "You were the one who told Horace not to let me volunteer to help, after I told you I was perfectly fine."

He opened his mouth to refute her, but thought better of it. "How'd you find out?" he asked instead, avoiding her accusatory gaze.

"A little theoretical astrophysicist told me."

"I'm not even gonna' bother asking you about that one," he remarked with furrowed brows. "I wasn't trying to undermine you or anything. You look fine, sure. But need I remind you that you slammed into a tree and survived. No matter how invincible you may think you are, you're bound to have some mental trauma after that."

"But I—"

"I know you have nightmares, Juliet," he said softly, holding his hand up to stop her from arguing with him. "You wake up screaming so loudly that I've got to sit with you to make sure you don't do pull your hair out or scratch your eyes out."

She paused for a moment, thinking. "Is that why you've been staying over so often?"

"I knew if I told you about it, you'd just feel guilty," he said with a wry smile. "And when you feel guilty about something, you burn things. I wasn't so sure my stomach could handle the trauma."

"Oh you're so clever," Juliet said, rolling her eyes. Then she sighed and said, "But how many times do I have to tell you—"

"—that you can take care of yourself," he finished, mocking her voice. "I didn't do it 'cause I think you're weak. I did it because I care about you. End of story."

"I guess there's no arguing about that."

"Damn straight," he said, looking smug.

She decided to ignore this and decided to address something that had been bothering her ever since she had left Roy's house.

"Are you going to pretend you didn't ask Horace to send someone to babysit me as well?"

"You know, you're really good at this game," he said, sighing. "Alright, alright, you got me. But I ain't gonna apologize for nothing. You've got to let someone else take care of you every once and a while, even if I have to trick you to do it."

Juliet nodded absently, thinking. Horace hadn't distrusted her after all, but Roy had wanted her to think that he had so she wouldn't feel so foolish. She wasn't sure if she should feel grateful to him or angry that he had lied to her yet again. Even though he had promised her right after he had lied, his actions didn't make her any less angry.

Maybe he really was psycho, she thought. He had, after all, suggested that James was infatuated with her of all people. If he could think up such inconceivable dribble, the possibilities were endless.

"Quit dreamin' about me and come on," Sawyer said, shaking her out of her reverie.

He turned away from her and held out his hand for her. "Well, let's take you home."

She looked at him with a rather surprised expression on her face at his sudden impulse to act like a gentleman. However, seeing that it caused him embarrassment, she hesitantly entwined her fingers with his and began walking in the direction of her house.

Juliet noticed, right away, that he was gripping her hand a little too hard. "You know, you're acting kind of strange today. Is there something wrong?"

They had stopped in front of her door, and Juliet reached into her pocket to retrieve her key from her pocket. When she tried to move in front of Sawyer to unlock her door, he placed a hand on her shoulder and gently pulled the key from her hand. She sent him a questioning glance, but remained silent as she watched him unlock and open her door.

The door swung wide open and Sawyer stepped through the doorframe first. Juliet followed, wondering why James was acting so strangely. Her house was immaculate as usual. A coffee cup lay on the sitting room table next to an earmarked copy of Alice and Wonderland that she had been reading before she had declared boredom.

She bent over the table to retrieve the book and, after sending Sawyer a worried sidelong glance, she decided to go to her room to change into something more comfortable. As she walked down the hallway leading to her room, she tried her best to determine the cause of her friend's sudden distress. Did something happen at work that made him agitated? She had told him he needed to work on his extremely low tolerance levels—

As she reached her room, Juliet screamed and dropped her book, her heart gripped with a sudden fear.

Sawyer reached the room in record time, stepping forward to protect her body from any harm. When he did not see any assailant, he turned toward Juliet, who was pointing at something across the room. His eyes followed her finger to her vanity mirror and his eyes widened, confirming his fears.

Written on the mirror, in what appeared to be blood of some kind, were the words 'You're Next'.


Hey! Miki-hime here :) ! Here's another LONG update! I've had this idea in my head for a while because I've felt the need to shake things up for a while. What does this mean? I'm obviously not telling, but I'll tell you it does have continuity with an event in season 5… in a way. I usually don't like creating original characters in fanfiction but, at least for this arc, I'm going to try my hand at it. Hopefully he didn't come off as too two-dimensional. I introduced the character in an earlier chapter, after watching Heroes earlier that day. For some reason, Roy looks like Zachary Quinto in my head. I have no idea why…

The chapter is inspired by the song "Smooth Criminal" by the late, great, Michael Jackson. May he rest in peace. The last scene reminded me a bit of the "blood-stains on the carpet" lyric, so I thought that was a good song to choose. It also happens to be one of my favorite songs ever!

There is plenty in store for these unsuspecting characters, so stay tuned! And, as always, don't forget to let me know what you think.