Hey y'all! I swear I haven't forgotten about you! I started a new job, am finally FINISHED WITH MEDICAL SCHOOL, and I finally have more time to write. I can't promise I'll be great with the updating, but I'm still trying my hardest to keep up. Hopefully y'all like the new chapter, and let me know where you want this story to go. I have some great ideas stored away in the busy brain of mine, and I love for you guys to influence how I get there eventually. Throw some curveballs my way, alright?

Also, here's a little reminder that this is going to eventually be a Mitchie/Alex pairing, but we have to go through what brought them together first, okay? Anyways, thank you guys so much for hanging in there. It's been a weird few months for me, and I would love to just get back to writing. Hope like Hell you guys leave reviews and tell me what you do and don't like in the story and I'll do my best to sway it in the direction you guys want it to go, while still putting that twist in it that y'all go nuts about.

xoxo

shootmeshameless.

Present Day: Mitchie's POV

I pulled up to the house that would help me get everything I wanted: The grow house.
After knocking on the door, I was met by three sloppily dressed men. They invited me inside when I told them I was there for business. The first thing I noticed in the main room was the large stack of boxes. Boxes full of little baggies full of coke. I didn't want to get involved with coke and he knew that. I was there for weed. I'd never been much of a smoker so I thought I'd be the perfect dealer, since the dealer should never mix work with pleasure.
The three men escorted me as we made our way to the basement to meet up with Angel.

In the dingy room, there were plants of different strains in columns stretched across the back wall. Along the wall to the left of the stairs were scales and bags for weighing and packaging the product. Sitting next to one of the weighing tables was a man. It was him. He was pricing his weed with another dealer that was working for him and soon dismissed him after handing him an ounce of "Blue Bream."
"Come here young lady." He gestured to the chair between him and the small coffee table they used for trimming their bud.
"So you know why I'm here Angel."
"I know. And I got a feeling you could make me a lot of money, y'know? You'd be real popular with my male customers."
"Alright. What's surface value, mark up, and what percent do I get?" I retorted in a businesswoman type of voice. I was here to make some quick cash and go on my vacation.
"We were thinking we would give you a half a pound to sell. You'd get thirty percent and we would get seventy percent, obviously. A half ounce goes for eighty bucks, an ounce goes for one-sixty and so forth... Got it?"

I nodded my head in understanding of the sales portion of our business arrangement.

"Solid then. We'll have that packaged up in just a few minutes," Angel said excitedly.

"Awesome. Thanks again man."

I'd known Angel for a really long time through some of my old "E" dealers from high school. The guy sold pretty much anything he could get his grimy little hands on, but knowing him as long as I have, he's a good guy... He just really likes money... And coke. Apart from being a drug dealer, he was a father to two really young kids, a brilliant philosopher, and an overall cheery guy. He's not the type to get all hard with anyone unless it was necessary to shake them up.

"Alright, so I'll see you in a week?" I asked.

"Absolutely. I know you only wanna sell for a week or two, but if you're ever lookin' to push for me full-time, let me know, alright kid?"

"Okay Angel."

The other three men asked me to follow them after they each grabbed backpacks full of "product" and I led them to my car. I unlocked my trunk and they put the bags in it and we shook hands. They made their way back into the house after looking around to see if anyone had seen and needed to be "handled."

I called Alex before I started my car.

Alex's POV

"Hey Mitch!" I practically squeeled into the phone.

"Hey Lexi. So I figured out how we're gonna make the money, but don't ask me what I'm doing to get it because you'll be pissed."

Mitchie sounded like she was serious and as much as I knew I shouldn't push her to tell me, I was going to get it out of her, because if she was putting herself in any danger, I wouldn't be able to handle it. She's always coming up with these ridiculous plans that get her or both of us into more trouble than it's ever worth what we end up with.

"What is it..." I asked, hesitantly.

"I told you, I don't want you to know because it's stupid, but it'll work."

She seemed like she was hiding it for a reason, but if it was as stupid as she's saying, I want to protect her from it.

"Look, if it's something you don't feel comfortable with, I don't even want to go on this trip. I want you to be smart about this, Mitch."

"I want to take you on vacation though! Trust me, nothing bad is gonna happen."

She was oozing confidence, but she always did.

"Just fucking tell me, Mitch. Jesus." I was getting fed up at this point.

Mitchie groaned into the phone loudly, followed by a sigh of discontent.

"I'm just gonna sell some stuff... No big deal."

I shook my head.

"What are you going to sell? Your record collection?" I asked, partly hoping I was right, but feeling bad if she was because she loved those records. She'd spent her entire life collecting them.

"Ah, fuck. Why didn't I think of that?!" she half yelled through the phone.

"Okay, so then what are you selling?" I was relieved because she wasn't selling her collection, but the rest of me was worried at what else she could be getting herself into.

She took a long pause and sighed again.

"...Weed."

"You can't be seriously thinking about this as a good idea, Mitch!" I yelled.

"Whatever. Can I just come meet up with you and talk to you about this in person? My phone is dying."

"Fine. Meet me at my place but be aware that I'm going to be pissy when you get here."

"You're so hot when you're pissed off at me. Maybe I should do shit like this more often."

"See you soon, asshat."

"Yes ma'am," she said laughing.

I knew it was part of our usual banter for her to make some sort of joke about me being angry, since it only happened when she was scheming, but if she'd known why I was always mad when she made these bad decisions, she probably would never joke like that again.

I spent the twenty minutes it took her to get to my house thinking of ways to talk her out of this. I didn't want to use "dirty money" to go on a vacation, and I didn't want her to get in trouble or get hurt because I know how drug dealers can be with clients and other dealers... I know it can get messy and it sucks that I could potentially have to visit my friend in the hospital or a cemetery.

Mitchie pulled into my driveway with a smile on her face while rocking out to a song I'd never heard. She put the car in park and took her keys out of the ignition. She then glanced at her phone, tapping away at the screen, locking it, and shoving it into her purse. After making sure she had everything, she locked her car and made her way up the walkway to our side door and I soon heard her footsteps coming up the stairs to my bedroom as I checked myself in the mirror to make sure I looked okay.

I knew it was stupid to care what my best friend thought of my appearance, but it was important to me that if I ever had the guts to tell her how I felt, she'd remember all the times I looked good. I wanted her to look at me and tell me I looked amazing, with the same "in awe" face she had at the Demi concert we'd gone to when we were sixteen.

Flashback

Junior Year of High School

"Turn that shit off Alex, please!" Mitchie shouted over the loud ringing of the alarm.

"Last night seriously happened," Alex mused, sitting up on the mattress after slamming her hand on the clock to turn it off.

"I know! I feel like it hasn't even happened yet. Like we're still there," Mitchie responded, a smile stretched across her face.

Both girls sat in comfortable silence while they adjusted to the morning light beaming through the hideous beige curtains covering the motel windows.

"I guess we'd better get on the road before my parents start to suspect something," Alex said, disappointment lacing her voice.

The girls both showered and began to pack their things. On their way to check-out, they saw a familiar face.

"Hey! Alex and... Mitchie, right?" Demi half-shouted from the sidewalk outside the motel.

"You remembered! Awesome," Mitchie replied.

"You guys are checkin' out pretty early..." Demi said as more of a question than a statement.

"We have to get back home before my parents figure out that we came down here and freak out," Alex said, much calmer than the night before.

"Ooh, rebels! My kinda people!" Demi said loudly, giggling through her words.

"Hardly. Alex has been basically shitting herself since we left, all paranoid," Mitchie stated flatly and full of sarcasm.

"Anyways! What are you doing in a dump like this, Demi?" Alex asked, quick to change the subject from her being a wreck.

"Sometimes when we stay in a town for a few nights, we'll stay in random crappy hotels so that people don't find us. Everyone assumes that because we have enough money to, we'll be staying a the fucking Tipton or something. So this kinda deters the crazies, if you get my drift." Demi explained.

"Hell yeah! So you're hot and smart. My kind of company right there," Mitchie laughed out.

"Yeah. Pretty and smart," Alex said shyly.

Demi glanced at Alex with curious eyes, wondering why she freaked out so much the night before as Alex stood there, playing with a loose thread hanging off of her hoodie.

Mitchie was the first to break a very awkward one-way staredown.

"So... Do you have Instagram or like, Snapchat or something?"

Demi and Alex both looked towards Mitchie with a confused expression.

"Tell me you know what they are, for fucks' sake," MItchie exaggeratedly stated, earning a small laugh from both girls.

"Of course I do. I'm still debating whether or not I want to tell you what they are though... I mean, not because I think you guys are creeps or anything, but because I don't want awesome fans like you guys realizing how lame I am."

Alex and Mitchie looked at her in bewilderment, the thought crossing both of their minds was that it was impossible for Demi Lovato- The Demi Lovato- to be "lame."

"Hey, I was just trying to break that awkward-ass silence between you two. I get that Alex here is a total creeper and a bit of a mess, but you were basically staring holes into her tits."

Mitchie earned another laugh from both girls, Demi's being extremely loud and colorful while Alex's was a bit more reserved and mousy.

"Hey, whoa there! I can appreciate a good rack when I see one. I got no tits, but I got a huge ass, so sometimes, I gotta look at the shit I don't have," Demi said with a small chuckle and a grin stretching across her face.

"Anyways..." Alex said awkwardly.

The small talk went on for a short while afterwards and soon enough, the girls were headed to the gas station for gas, snacks and drinks for the long trip ahead.

"I can't believe we have Demi's Snapchat... This is insane, Micth!" Alex exclaimed through intense breaths.

"I know right?" was all Mitchie had to say back.

"How did you act so cool around her? It's like you guys are best friends or something! I thought I was going to die the whole time she was talking to us... Like there wasn't enough air."

"I guess I just felt like I knew her? It isn't like I really give two shits what some stranger things anyways, so I really had nothing to lose. I figured being myself was my best bet, because if I'm being totally honest, I was really fucking nervous to meet her... But like I said, nothing to lose, Lex."

Alex thought about what Mitchie had said in the car while she was in the gas station.

This was going to be a long trip home.