I know, I know, I've taken a really long time to update. In my defense, I was busy, and I was sad that I only got two reviews.  Also, I was lazy.

Please review!!

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"Jonny Booth," Seth said, scrunching his eyebrows together as he read the article in the newspaper. "Car thief extraordinaire." He looked up from the paper. "How did the police miss that? Shouldn't they be researching stuff in LA?"

Summer let out a sigh. "And how would they know that this guy was friends with Alex's ex? No, they would have dismissed this; we only caught it because we knew the name."

Seth rolled his eyes, and was promptly hit in the head with a grape Summer threw at him. Something like this usually would have made Marissa laugh. Not right now, though.

They were all sitting in the kitchen, discussing their next move in their investigation on the kidnapping. But Marissa just couldn't concentrate. She couldn't get the memory of Ryan's pained face out of her head. He had looked so hurt... so betrayed. How could she have done that to him? But then she thought of Alex, thought of her smile; and how it felt when they kissed...

She chanced a look across the table. Alex was gazing inattentively at the wall opposite, not looking as though she was paying much attention to the conversation either. Marissa stared at her, studying her every feature. She took in every angle in her face, the exact hue of her eyes, the shape of her lips. Just looking at her, Marissa felt her breathing speed up a little. How do you do this to me? she wondered. And then she felt a shade of possibility creep up on her. Is it you? she thought uncertainly. Are you the one I can't be without?

Seth's voice interrupted her reverie. "So we'll do it tonight, then," he was saying.

"Do what?" Marissa asked. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Alex look up, paying attention now.

Seth cracked his knuckles. "We'll go to LA. We have to continue our investigation, don't we?"

Summer nodded. "Yeah." Then she stood up, and started to pace around the room. "So, we'll go down there, and try and talk to someone about where Jonny might be. Then, when we figure it out, we find him. Hopefully, he's alone, and we can get him to confess to the kidnapping, and rat out that Adam guy."

Alex looked doubtful. "There are a lot of holes in that plan," she pointed out. "How do we find out where he is without people getting suspicious? And how do we convince him to confess, if we do find him?"

Summer waved a hand at her dismissively. "Don't worry, we're good at avoiding suspicion. We get ourselves into trouble too much to be bad at it."

Marissa laughed a bit, remembering. "Once we lost one of the prizes at an auction, and as we were waiting for the guys to bring it back, we stalled the event by auctioning off Summer's shoe."

Alex laughed too. "You're kidding me."

"Unfortunately, she's not," cut in Summer. "But anyway, don't worry about our sneakiness skills. We'll get his whereabouts. And when we find him..." She paused for a moment. "Well, we'll figure that out when we get there."

"Comforting."

Summer shrugged. "Hey, it's a work in progress. But are you in?"

"Of course," said Alex quickly. "I- I just don't want to screw this up."

There was something funny about how she said that. Marissa looked at her, puzzled, but before she could place her finger on it, Alex stood up. "I'm going to get some air," she said quietly. She headed slowly for the back yard.

Summer and Seth didn't seem to notice anything. "We should start planning this out," Seth said, pulling a pen and a pad of paper towards him. "I wonder if we'll need disguises..."

Marissa could see Alex sitting on the top step of the back porch, playing vaguely with a strand of hair. Marissa stood up, and started walking to the back yard as well. "I need some air, too," she said to Summer, who had looked up. "I'll be right back."

Alex didn't look up as Marissa slid open the glass door, and made her way across the deck. As she sat down on the porch next to her, Marissa could see the blonde had her eyes closed. "Hi Marissa," she said softly.

Marissa gave a quiet laugh. "I'm that predictable, huh?"

Alex opened her eyes, and Marissa found herself swimming in a sea of deep blue. "Just a little bit," Alex answered, the corners of her mouth twitching. Then she turned her gaze to her shoes. "That, and I can still hear Seth and Summer bickering inside like fourth graders."

"True," Marissa amended. She too, could hear the faint sounds of her friends arguing amiably from the kitchen. "Should we tell Seth and Summer that Ryan saw us? I don't think they know; he sneaked in and out pretty quickly."

Alex was shaking her head. "No. We've got enough on our hands with this crazy plan in LA."

Marissa stayed silent, staring at Alex and trying to figure out what the expression on her face was. It seemed unsure... vulnerable. Something she didn't often see in her ex girlfriend, to be sure. And then it hit her. "Alex," she said in wonderment. "Alex, you're afraid, aren't you?"

Alex looked up, and Marissa knew at once her suspicions were correct. The fear was well hidden, but it was there, deep in the icy blue of Alex's eyes. The blonde gave a shaky laugh. "Unbelievable, isn't it?"

Marissa paused for a moment. "Well, I can't say it's a common thing for you," she said slowly. "But no, not unbelievable. Everyone gets scared. And we're going up against a guy who stuffed you in the trunk of a car. It's definitely understandable."

Alex was staring blankly ahead, eyes glazed with reminiscence. "I remember something Seth once said to me." Her voice was low, and tinged with something like amusement. "He was trying to set me up with Ryan... and he tried to convince me to go by telling me: 'He enjoys long walks on the beach, punching people, and not smiling.' I asked him if that's how he saw me, and he said: 'Yes, but with less smiling.'" She shook her head, grinning a bit. "I guess I've just built up this tough-girl reputation, and I've never let myself out of it."

"You don't have to do that," said Marissa quietly. "It's okay to let yourself be vulnerable sometimes."

Alex gave her a weak smile. "I know. I may just need some practice, that's all."

Unconsciously, Marissa put her arm around her shoulders. "It's going to be fine," she said soothingly, trying to keep her voice steady in spite of her body's reaction to being so close to Alex. "We'll catch this guy." She smiled. "If Summer's put her mind to it, it'll happen."

Alex laughed. "I think I'm ready to go back inside now."

"Okay." Marissa withdrew her arm, stood up, and headed back toward the kitchen, Alex following her. Re entering the room, they found Seth pouring over a piece of paper. "What's that?" she asked curiously.

Seth looked up, a grin on his face. "Well, I thought we might need disguises."

Marissa walked over to look at the paper, and rolled her eyes when she saw what was on it. Four cartoonish figures were sketched there, wearing various ridiculous outfits. The one that looked like Alex was wearing some sort of army inspired hat. The one that resembled Summer seemed to have a whip. "Seriously, Seth?"

Summer snorted, and snatched up the paper. "No. Definitely not seriously. But we did start thinking about our plan."

Seth nodded. "Right. We're going down to LA today, and we'll look around for any of this Jonny guy's friends or family. We casually try and get some whereabouts. Then, tomorrow, we'll start looking for him."

Alex shrugged, her composure clearly back up. "Simple enough. I like it. When do we leave?"

Summer tapped the counter with her fingers, considering. "In an hour," she decided. "We need to let our parents know where we're going, and we'll need money."

"And lunch," Seth added, looking toward Marissa's fridge.

"Help yourself," Marissa said, smiling.

So as Seth dug into a micro waved plate of leftover pasta, Marissa placed phone calls to everyone's parents telling them to not expect them back until later. Summer ran out quickly to the bank. Alex sat at the table, sneaking bites of pasta off Seth's plate.

An hour later, the four teenagers were piled into Seth's jeep. Alex and Marissa sat in the back, both staring out the window as the car made its way down to Los Angeles. Remembering the last time they had made this trip, Marissa's stomach twisted with emotion. She glanced to her left, and found Alex was looking at her, too. She smiled quickly, and then turned back to the window. Apparently she wasn't the only one thinking about what had happened in the back of Sandy's car.

They made the turn off the highway, and Marissa saw the sign welcoming them to Los Angeles. Summer twisted around in her seat, looking at Alex. "So," she said, brushing her dark hair out of her eyes. "Any ideas? Where should we be headed?"

Alex bit her lip for a moment. Then, "Try downtown, but stay on the dirty looking streets. Friends of Jonny Booth don't go shopping anywhere more expensive than Walmart."

Summer wrinkled her nose as she turned back around to face the front. "Ew," she said, predictably.

'Ew,' is right, thought Marissa vaguely as Seth turned the car onto an extremely shabby looking street. It was lined with stores, but they looked very unfinished and crude. The windows were unsettlingly dark, and some doors were boarded up.

"Welcome home," mumbled Alex.

They circled for a while before Alex pointed at a dingy store at the end of the street. "It's a coffee shop," she explained as Seth squinted at the window. "And if none of Jonny's buddies are in there, I'll wear that ridiculous hat Seth drew."

But her vow was unnecessary. As soon as they entered the smoky smelling coffee shop, Marissa felt Alex tense beside her. "In the corner," the blonde muttered when Marissa touched her wrist. "The one with the gelled hair, and the grimy one."

Looking over, Marissa saw the young men in question immediately. They both looked to be about twenty five, and were smoking cigarettes over two cups of coffee. One of the men had bleached blonde hair gelled crudely up in spikes, with narrowed, beady eyes. He was very thin, wearing a tattered, dirty vest and jeans. But he was nowhere near as dirty as his companion. The second man's hair, skin and clothes were so covered with an unpleasant layer of filth that it was difficult to make out what he looked like at all. He coughed thickly into a mucky handkerchief. Watching him, Marissa wrinkled her nose. Grimy, indeed.

"Let's see if we can overhear their conversation," whispered Summer into Marissa's ear, as she and Seth entered the shop. "Get in the back of the line... it's close to where they're sitting."

So they made the way to the back of the line, trying to ignore the stares of some of the occupants of the shop. All four teenagers were wearing clean, well fitting clothing, and in Summer's case, designer shoes. A middle aged man with a unkept beard gave Marissa a long stare, and she felt Alex move protectively next to her. Despite feeling a little scared, Marissa also felt a warmth in her chest as Alex's shoulder pressed against hers.

Once they were at the back of the line, they found that they could indeed hear the conversation the two men were having. Marissa strained her ears to listen.

"There's no question about it," the bleached blonde was saying in a dangerously soft and clipped voice. "We're going to find out what that scum bag did with that money."

"We've tried a million times," whined the grimy man, his voice high and wheezy. "He's just a dirty little weasel, the money's gone."

"Idiot," replied the blonde curtly. "If he's spent the money, we'll just make him pay it back. And you're a dirtier weasel than bloody Booth is. Maybe you should shower, once in a while."

Marissa saw Summer and Seth exchange a meaningful look, and heard Alex grind her teeth. Booth? Was it possible the men were talking about the same person they were trying to find? Marissa listened harder.

Another thick cough came from the dirty man. "Well, if I'm a weasel, at least I'm not tactless." There was a sound of an empty cup being set on the table. "We can't just go over to his house and demand payment."

"And why not?" demanded the first man. "What's stopping you, huh, Billy? You scared of his little old mum?"

Billy snorted. "Hardly. No, they just have no money. Didn't you hear? Booth's damn older brother violated his parole. They paid all their money bailing him out." There was a pause as he took a drag of his cigarette. "Stupid, really, since they haven't even found him yet."

"Jonny's split again?" The blonde let out a low whistle. "Now there's an idiot."

"Well, yeah."

The two men fell silent, and the four eavesdroppers looked at each other. So the men weren't talking about Jonny, they were talking about his younger brother. Seth and Summer looked kind of deflated, but Alex looked purposeful, for some strange reason. And before Marissa could ask her what was up, Alex walked right up to the two men.

"Hey- Billy, Darren. Where have you two been?"

Marissa's heart was beating like a rabbits'. What on earth did Alex think she was doing? How could she just go up to these people? But as she moved to pull her ex girlfriend's wrist back over to the line, Summer caught her shoulder. "Wait," whispered the tiny brunnette. "Let's see what she's up to."

Billy and Darren both looked up, and their eyes widened. Darren made a small sound of surprise. "Kelly? Goddamn, where have you been, kid?"

Alex shrugged nonchalantly. "I've been around," she said evasively. Then she cocked her head to the side. "Were you just talking about Jonny Booth? I heard you from the line."

Billy nodded. "He's gone and run away again. Didn't you know? I thought he and your man were tight."

Even from over her shoulder, Marissa could see Alex tense. "He's not my man anymore," she said flatly. "He broke up with me when he got busted for meth."

Darren raised an eyebrow. "He got busted? I didn't even hear."

"Me neither," added Billy. "He dropped you when he got thrown in prison? That's cold."

Alex shrugged again. "Well, it's not like I'd see him much, if he's behind bars." She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, and quickly changed the subject. "But again, what about Jonny? Have you heard from him since he split?"

Billy coughed again into his dirty handkerchief. "No, nothing. But I was never really close with him, you know, I was kind of a hanger on."

Darren snorted. "Too right you were," he said, taking a long drag on his cigarette. Then he looked back at Alex. "I was closer with him, but naw, I haven't heard from him. Why don't you go check with his sneak of a brother?"

Alex dragged a hand through her hair. "Um, alright," she said airily. "Where do they live, anyway?"

Darren dug through his pockets, and pulled out a pen. He snatched a napkin from the dispenser on the table, and scribbled an address on it. "Not exactly a mansion," he said, handing it over to Alex. "But they've got a fully stocked fridge. Worth a visit." He grinned, his cigarette dangling out of his mouth. "Say hi to little Booth for me."

"Done," said Alex, stuffing the napkin into her pocket. "Thanks, Darren."

"No problem, Kelly."

Alex turned around, and with a self satisfied smile on her face, made her way to the door, catching Marissa's eye on the way. She, Seth and Summer followed her out, despite Seth's protests that he wanted a donut. When they got out on the sidewalk, Summer gave Alex an impressed look. "That was pretty good," she said approvingly. "You know what you're doing, huh?"

Alex shrugged, still grinning a bit. "I do what I can."

"It was amazing," Marissa murmured, looking Alex in the eye. She saw the blonde's smile twist into something else, a look of such undivided intensity that she could swear she felt her heart flutter. "You were really good," she added, her voice sounding as though her throat was coated with something sticky.

If either Seth or Summer noticed the tension, they didn't let on. "Can I see that napkin?" Seth asked Alex, eyeing her pocket. When she handed it to him, he squinted at the messy handwriting, and read it aloud. "3865 Accets Drive. That shouldn't be too hard; I think we passed Accets on the way here. Come on, let's get back to the car."

"No arguments from me," muttered Summer, who was clearly thinking more about the welfare of her shoes than anything else.

So Marissa followed Seth and Summer back to the car, walking carefully to avoid stepping in damp patches on the sidewalk, and every so often, sneaking glances at Alex. The blonde girl moved comfortably along the shabby street, managing somehow to fit in seamlessly with the coarse looking people shuffling along the road, and also to look absolutely beautiful. Marissa couldn't believe how anyone could ever look away from her. A tiny presence inside her nudged at her heart. You can't look away from her? whispered the voice. Could you ever be away from her? Could you live without her?

But before Marissa could really think about this pressing question, they had arrived at the car. She slipped into the back seat, managing to arrange her face in a somewhat composured expression. Seth started the engine and pulled out of the parking spot, Summer expressing her relief to be out of the shopping district with an enthusiasm to rival her love of chick flicks.

However, if Summer thought they were headed out of the slums, she had another thing coming. Looking out the window as they pulled onto Accets Drive, Marissa cringed. The houses could hardly be classified as houses; they were more along the lines of shacks. Garbage cans piled up at the curbs, although they were thoroughly outnumbered by the empty beer bottles. "The Booths aren't very well off," explained Alex unnecessarily.

"Ew," said Summer again.

Seth squinted at the faded numbers printed on the houses. "That's 3861... 3863..." he mumbled, and then pulled to a stop by the curb. "...And 3865." He twisted around in his seat to face Alex. "I'm going in... are you up for it?"

Alex rolled her eyes. "I'm not some little kid," she answered, unbuckling her seatbelt. "I'm coming."

It was easy for Seth to miss the vulnerable flash that shone briefly in Alex's eyes. But not for Marissa. She unbuckled her belt as well. "I'm coming too," she said firmly.

Summer stared at her from the passenger seat, wide eyed. "Are you serious, Marissa?" she asked, her voice much higher than usual. "That place has 'murder' written all over it." Her eyes flashed to Alex. "No offense."

Alex shrugged, a small smile on her face. "None taken."

Marissa was already out of the car, her mind made up. No way was Alex going in that house without her. "I'll be right back," she told Summer through her window. And then she turned to Seth and Alex, who both had exited the car as well. "Well, do we have a plan?"

Seth blinked, and didn't say anything. Marissa took that for a no, and looked to Alex. The blonde rubbed the back of her neck, looking thoughtful. "Well," she said slowly. "That depends."

"On what?"

Alex shrugged. "Well, if it's just Jonny's mom in there, I don't think we'll get very far. She's not really close with her kids, and I don't know her well. But if his kid brother's there... I mean, Jon told his brother everything. And-" She blushed a bit. "-Shaun's always had a bit of a crush on me. If he's there, and he knows anything, he'll spill."

Seth was smiling. "No one can resist you, can they?"

"Oh shut up," said Alex, sauntering up the driveway to the house's faded green door. Seth and Marissa followed, and as Seth hopped up on the front step, Alex knocked three times, hard.

For a moment Marissa thought, (and somewhat hoped), that there would be no answer. However, after about twenty seconds, the door swung open, revealing a boy of about sixteen. He had very dirty blonde hair, shrewd features, and murky green eyes. He was wearing a thin, white cotton shirt, and a pair of blue jeans ripped at the knees. He was very skinny, giving an impression of someone who only had a real meal every once in while. A distinct tough air emanated from him, but as soon as he saw Alex standing there, his pinched face broke out into a wide grin. "Kelly!" he exclaimed, stepping back from the doorway in surprise. "No way!"

Alex grinned as well. "Hey, baby Booth."

With a bark of laughter, Shaun Booth beckoned them all inside, chattering incessantly, obviously asking Alex every question he could think of. Marissa noticed that although he briefly nodded toward Seth and herself, he didn't take much notice of them. He had eyes only for Alex. Although Marissa might have taken offense to this on another occasion, here she understood. Shaun wasn't the only one who couldn't take his eyes off of Alex.

He led them all into the living room, and sat them in chairs. Throwing himself onto a flea bitten couch near Alex, he motioned absentmindedly to an armchair in the corner. "Do you remember my mum, Kelly?"

Marissa jumped. Before the boy had pointed her out, she hadn't noticed the armchair had an occupant. But there was someone there; a thirty something woman holding a half empty beer bottle. If Marissa had thought Shaun appeared underfed, he was nothing compared to his mother. The woman with the flyaway mousy brown hair was thinner than anyone Marissa had ever seen. Her clothes hung off her like loose skin and she had deep, purple circles under her bulging eyes. She took a swig of her beer, and turned her haunting gaze to Alex. "I remember you," she said, her weak voice incredibly soft, barely more than a whisper. "You came to visit Jonathan."

Alex nodded. Marissa could see from her face she was uncomfortable. "Nice to see you again, Mrs. Booth."

Shaun spoke up again, his young voice full of excitement. "So, Kelly, what're you doing here? Are you back in town? I haven't seen you in forever."

Alex's eyes flickered to glance briefly at Seth and Marissa. Then she turned her gaze back to Shaun. "Not exactly," she started slowly. "My friends here... they need some help. And, well, I was hoping to maybe talk to your brother."

The atmosphere thickened so quickly Marissa could have sworn she felt it pass over her. While Shaun merely stiffened up, his mother sat up in her armchair, her head balancing precariously on her feeble shoulders. "Jonathan's not here," she whispered sharply.

"I know," said Alex quickly, clearly trying to ease the tension in the room. "I was just- I wanted to-"

But Mrs. Booth wouldn't be eased. "You should go now," she said, her faint voice seeming somehow heated and powerful. "It was nice of you to come."

The dismissal was impossible to ignore. Alex stood up, and then so did Seth and Marissa. Mrs. Booth took another swig of her beer. "Shaun will show you out."

Marissa felt extremely disheartened. It was clear Jonny's departure was a forbidden topic, but they needed information so badly. She glanced at Alex quickly as they followed Shaun to the door. Should they try again? Turn around and go back to the living room? But Alex just gave a small shake of her head. Marissa felt herself deflate a little. They were giving up.

But when they made it to the doorway, and stepped out of the threshold, Shaun didn't close the door behind them. Instead, he left it open a crack, and peered out at Alex, his thin face serious. "I don't know why you need to talk to my brother," he whispered, murky brown eyes flashing. "But I know you would never ask me if you didn't really need help." He gave a weak smile. "My mum doesn't know this, but he calls me sometimes. The number's 616-873-2390. Now, get out of here Kelly." And he flashed one last grin, and closed the door.

Alex turned around to face Seth, grinning quite a bit herself. "I told you he'd spill."

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